D-Day veteran Bernard Morgan celebrated his 100th birthday in his WWII uniform – SWNS
D-Day veteran Bernard Morgan celebrated his 100th birthday in his WWII uniform – SWNS
Every child born into the Morgan family of Cheshire will be able to hold in their hands a very unique piece of World War II memorabilia thanks to the current patriarch, Bernard.
Sergeant Bernard Morgan was working as a Royal Air Force codebreaker in 1945 when he deciphered a secret telex that read: “The German war is now over… The surrender is effective sometime tomorrow”.
Last week Bernard celebrated his 100th birthday, and while he had already offered copies of the communicae to two different museums, he’s vowed that the real one will pass to his family when he dies.
Ahead of his birthday, the great-grandad read out the note to interviewers, dressed in the uniform he wore on D-day to remind others of the liberties they had won in the victory.
Bernard was the youngest RAF sergeant to land in Normandy in June 1944, when he and his team of codebreakers disembarked on Gold Beach, where the British Army defeated the 352nd Infantry Division and suffered 1,100 casualties.
“I am always keen for the younger generation to know exactly what went on during the War and to appreciate the sacrifice that our lads made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today,” said Morgan.
He was stationed in Schneverdingen, Germany, when he got the message on around May 6, 1945, declaring that the war in Europe was ending via his Typex machine.
The note stated:
The German War is now over. At Rheims last night the instrument of surrender was signed which in effect is a surrender of all personnel of the German forces – all equipment and shipping and all machinery in Germany.
Nothing will be destroyed anywhere. The surrender is effective some time tomorrow. This news will not be communicated to anyone outside the service nor to members of the press.
D-day veteran Bernard Morgan holding the letter on his 100th birthday – SWNS
Following the news, and as you might imagine, Bernard had a big party with his close comrades—lighting a huge bonfire and celebrating into the night while being careful not to give the game away. He kept both the note and his role in the war hidden for 50 years due to secrecy documents he had signed, which finally elapsed in 1994.
“The Imperial War Museum in London and in Manchester both wanted the original copy— they weren’t interested in a photocopy—but I’m keeping it for my family,” he said.
“It was a surprise,” he said of receiving the note, “we couldn’t tell anybody until we got the final message to say the war in Germany was now over.”
“We had to decode it—it was in code. It was great when we got that. I was in a little place called Schneverdingen, Germany, near Hamburg. It was nice to see that no more soldiers, sailors, or airmen were giving their lives… and also to thank the civilians who gave their lives for the same reason,” he added.
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credit - Trustees of the Natural History Museum London
credit – Trustees of the Natural History Museum London
The Isle of Skye isn’t known colloquially for paleontology, but during the Jurassic Era, it was a hotspot for pterosaurs, and a newly-described species of this flying reptile is surprising scientists.
Belonging to the clade Darwinoptera, it joins two other species both of which were found in China, and is the second different species to be found on the famous island.
The rarity of Middle Jurassic pterosaur fossils and their incompleteness have previously hampered attempts to understand early pterosaur evolution.
The animal now bears the genus name Ceoptera evansae: Ceoptera from the Scottish Gaelic word Cheò, meaning mist (a reference to the common Gaelic name for the Isle of Skye: Eilean a’ Cheò, or Isle of Mist), and the Latin word ptera, meaning wing. The species name is in honor of Professor Susan E. Evans, for her years of anatomical and palaeontological research, in particular on the Isle of Skye.
This discovery shows that all principal Jurassic pterosaur clades evolved well before the end of the Early Jurassic, earlier than previously realized. Contrastingly, the discovery also shows that pterosaurs persisted into the latest years of the Jurassic, alongside avialans, the dinosaurs which eventually evolved into modern birds.
“The time period that Ceoptera is from is one of the most important periods of pterosaur evolution, and is also one in which we have some of the fewest specimens, indicating its significance,” said lead author Dr. Liz Martin-Silverstone, a paleobiologist at the University of Bristol.
“Ceoptera helps to narrow down the timing of several major events in the evolution of flying reptiles,” added Professor Paul Barrett, author on the paper who works at the Natural History Museum.
“Its appearance in the Middle Jurassic of the UK was a complete surprise, as most of its close relatives are from China. It shows that the advanced group of flying reptiles to which it belongs appeared earlier than we thought and quickly gained an almost worldwide distribution.”
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Allegiant Stadium home of Superbowl 58 - CC 2.0. h2kyaks, retrieved from Flickr
Allegiant Stadium home of Super Bowl 58 – CC 2.0. h2kyaks, retrieved from Flickr
The biggest sporting event in America went green this year thanks to its position out in the desert. 621,000 solar panels channeled the electricity needed to power the Allegiant Stadium, home of both Super Bowl VXIII, and the Las Vegas Raiders.
According to CBS News, the stadium entered into a 25-year agreement with NV Energy to buy power from the solar farm, which can power 60,000 homes outside of game day.
Las Vegas sees 300 days of sun a year, so the initiative makes perfect sense, and it’s not the only sustainability initiative found in and around the Allegiant. They recycle all the rubber pellets from the turf, run food scrap collection from the on-site restaurants and divert them from the waste stream to feed livestock, and compost all the grass clippings from the field.
They also have a super-efficient roof which reduces the need for air-con, and multiple efficiency systems like low-energy lighting, lighting control systems, and air handling units.
But the standout feature is the 100% renewable electricity, generated from the sun.
“People sometimes get nervous about renewable power because they’re not sure if it’s going to be reliable,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, who inspected the stadium’s main electrical entry room, reports CBS News.
“The fact that renewable power can power a facility like this reliably should speak volumes about what could happen in other communities.”
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Tom Brady with two Boston boys star in Superbowl ad – Dunkin’
Tom Brady with two Boston boys star in Superbowl ad – Dunkin’
Another Super Bowl, another round of specially crafted ads with big celebrities and plenty of laughs. Here’s a roundup in case you’re wondering what you missed while you got up from your seat during commercials.
1) Talkin’ Like Walken – BMW
What’s it like when you have one of the most easily mimicked voices? Christopher Walken gets an earful of impressions from anyone he meets.
2) Renner’s Morning Routine – SILK
After a terrible road accident in real life that required years of recovery and rehabilitation, Jeremy Renner is looking good—and his morning routine to make breakfast for his daughter is full of life (and features his real-life daughter).
3) The Dunkings – Dunkin’ Donuts
Watch a gaggle of A-list celebrities from Boston embarrass themselves as a rap group, trying to impress J-Lo in her studio. Even Tom Brady gets in on the act.
4) Mountaineering with Patrick Stewart – Paramount+
A selection of characters from Paramount Pictures join Sir Patrick Stewart trying to make it to the top of a cliff.
5) Michael Cera – CeraVe Moisturizer
Taking satirical aim at skincare and perfume ads, Michael Cera promotes his ‘special cream’ that features his actual name in the title.
6) Arnold’s Audition – State Farm Insurance
Arnold’s Austrian accent prevents him from being able to ace the audition for State Farm Insurance. Danny Devito makes a surprise appearance.
7) Messi and Michelob Ultra
The GOAT of soccer makes an appearance dribbling around beachgoers while waiting for the keg to be changed. Former Miami quarterback Dan Marino looks on, as well as ‘Ted Lasso’.
8) Big Game Day Commercial – T-Mobile
A plethora of stars take turns auditioning for T-Mobile including Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper with his mom, Jennifer Hudson, characters from the TV series SUITS, and two of your favorite best friends from Scrubs.
9) ‘Twist on it’ – Oreo
Forget the coin toss, this classic American cookie is proposing a whole new way of making 50/50 decisions.
10) Perfect 10 – Kia
Heartwarming and tear-jerking describes the ad fro Kia’s new electric car, which takes a back seat to the characters in this short film featuring a young figure skater who gives a special performance for her grandfather who couldn’t see her compete in person.
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Quote of the Day: “The most damaging phrase in the language is: ‘It’s always been done that way.’” – Grace Hopper (1906–1992)
Photo by: Matthew Henry
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
By Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / Woodland Park Zoo (cropped)
By Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / Woodland Park Zoo (cropped)
Alaska Airlines flight attendant Amber May has had some unusual requests in her 10 years of flying, but being asked to help save some flamingo eggs just about topped them all.
“A passenger rang the call button and asked if I would help keep some eggs warm,” May said in a release from the company.
The passenger as it turned out was a senior zookeeper from Woodland Park Zoo, in Seattle. She was transporting 6 precious flamingo eggs in an incubator which she received from the Atlanta Zoo.
Woodland Park’s stand of flamingos are all past breeding age, so they couldn’t set their own birds up to breed and had to rely on younger ones elsewhere, but the incubator had stopped working, with several hours still to go in the flight.
Responding to the zookeeper’s plea for help, May promptly filled rubber gloves with warm water which the keeper used as a makeshift nest to keep the eggs warm; May continued to supply water-filled gloves as needed throughout the entire flight as the water inside became tepid.
To provide extra insulation for the eggs, passengers seated nearby gave up their coats and scarves.
“The flamingo eggs would not have survived in a non-functioning portable incubator for five hours,” Joanna Klass, a Woodland Park Zoo animal care manager, said in a news release. “We’re so grateful for the creative thinking that led to the safe transport of our precious eggs.”
Released by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / Woodland Park Zoo
Then, months later, May received a call from the zoo with the invitation to name one of the flamingos. The delighted stewardess chose Sunny, which was the name of her granddaughter newly born.
Then, May and granddaughter Sunny were invited to come visit the animals, and baby Sunny got to meet her namesake up close.
“Having baby Sunny meet flamingo Sunny was just wonderful,” Amber said. “I am excited to see them both grow up. I was honored and so happy that the chicks had hatched—all six of them!”
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PICTURED ABOVE: An artist’s impression of the small moon of Mimas which may very well hold a subsurface ocean. PC: Frédéric Durillon, Animea Studio Observatoire de Paris – PSL, IMCCE
Reprinted with permission and alterations from World at Large, an independent news outlet covering world news, conflicts, travel stories, conservation, and science news.
It’s been known for a decade that Saturn’s icy moon of Enceladus almost certainly hides a subsurface ocean beneath its northern pole. But as scientists writing in Nature recently challenged, the same is true for a much smaller and unlikely moon called Mimas.
Think of a glacier shaped like a ball the size of California or Spain and you have some idea of what Mimas looks like. Imagining this compact snowball becomes a bit more difficult if you think that between 12 and 18 miles down lies a contained ocean containing a little less water than the whole Mediterranean Sea.
These subsurface oceans on icy moons are extremely exciting targets for astrobiologists since it’s believed that life first evolved on Earth in its shallow seas. These cryo-geologic features are present on Enceladus and the Jovian moon of Europa, but until now, no one was looking at bodies as small as Mimas, which is many times smaller than the other two.
“Mimas is a small body whose most distinctive feature is a crater so large that it gives the moon the appearance of the Death Star space station from the Star Wars franchise,” writes Matija Ćuk from the SETI Institute in California, and Alyssa Rose Rhoden from the Southwest Research Institute, who together wrote a comment on the paper.
Previous research has suggested two possibilities for Mimas’ interior: either an elongated rocky core or a global ocean. The latest analyses by Valery Lainey and her colleagues at the Observatoire de Paris, reveal that changes to the rotational motion and orbit of the small moon are affected by its interior in such a way as to suggest that beneath its cratered, pock-marked exterior, there lies an ocean and not a rocky core.
To do this, Lainey et al. took careful measurements of the moon’s moments of inertia, or its resistance to rotational acceleration. The inertia allowed the team to understand the moon’s gravitational field.
The team used data from the Cassini spacecraft, which has been exploring the Saturnine environment for many years and led to some of the largest advances in the understanding of the famous ringed planet and its moons.
Moving backwards to go forwards
Time for a science lesson: Saturn and Earth are slightly flattened planets. Among other things, this causes the orbit path of moons to shift in a flat circular motion. Take a ball in one hand and a ring in the other, then move the ring in a flat motion without touching the ball within, and you have a visual picture of this phenomenon.
For the sake of the example, if the ball (or planet) is rotating clockwise, and the ring (or orbit) is moving clockwise as well, this is the effect that flattened planets have on the precession, or shifting of the orbital path, of their moons. If the moon’s shape and/or gravitational field are elongated like an egg, this phenomenon is reversed, i.e. the planet and moon rotate clockwise, but the orbital path is rotating counterclockwise.
PICTURED: Mimas’ large crater called Herschel. PC: NASA/JPL-Caltech – SSI/CICLOPS Kevin M. Gill. CC 2.0.
What Lainey and her colleagues discovered is that Mimas’ orbital precession is the latter case, but if so, the movements of a frozen body of ice and rock do not match the patterns of inertia recorded. Instead, the measurements of Mimas’ position suggest that the evolution of its orbit is better explained as being influenced by an internal ocean.
The authors calculate that the ocean lies beneath an icy shell approximately 12 to 18 miles (20–30 km) deep. Simulations suggest that it appeared between 25 and 2 million years ago. As such, signs of such an ocean would not have had time to make a mark on the surface, such as heavy fracturing on the surface of Europa, or the cryo-volcanoes that spew out ice, gas, and sloshy material present on Enceladus.
“The idea that Mimas’ ocean could have formed relatively recently also has implications for other features of the Saturnian system that remain mysteries, in spite of clues retrieved by the Cassini mission,” explain Ćuk and Rhoden.
“Saturn’s bright icy rings are apparently young in geological terms, but not all scientists agree. The heavily cratered icy moons seem ancient, but the source of the bodies that made the craters is disputed, and there are suggestions that the moons themselves are also geologically young”.
“The clues provided by Mimas and its ocean could help to resolve some of these conundrums. Finally, adding Mimas to the catalogue of ocean worlds changes the general picture of what these moons can look like. The idea that relatively small, icy moons can harbor young oceans is inspiring, as is the possibility that transformational processes have occurred even in the most recent history of these moons,” they add.
Lainey and colleagues’ findings will no doubt motivate a thorough examination of mid-sized icy moons throughout the solar system, of which there may be dozens. Most notably, there is a suite of mid-sized icy moons orbiting Uranus, which was selected as the highest-priority target of a NASA flagship mission by the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey. WaL
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credit - City of Greenville, South Carolina Government / Facebook
credit – City of Greenville, South Carolina Government / Facebook
Finding a needle in a haystack is always easier when the needle isn’t worth thousands of dollars, but the stress of it all was borne by the trash collectors from the city of Greenville, and reunited a woman with her lost wedding band.
It was a routine stop at the local recycling center for Melanie Harper, but as she was separating plastics and paper, she accidentally separated white gold and diamonds as well.
Her wedding band slipped off into the bins and she was sure the chances of finding it were slim. Harper emailed the city’s public works department and asked them if they could keep an eye out for a glittery band amid the trash, and while she went home unoptimistic, the litter pickers and public works employees upended the whole container in a parking lot and went to work.
Sifting meticulously through the refuse, the workers epitomized the ideas of public service, and perhaps it was destiny that the man who found it was named “Golden.”
“After hours of searching, Travis Golden struck gold. White gold. They called a very grateful Melanie, who came out to PW to reunite with her ring,” read a post from the Greenville South Carolina Facebook page, which gave a shout-out to Golden and the other staff members who pitched in to find the ring. “We are so grateful for your commitment to our community.”
credit – City of Greenville, South Carolina Government / Facebook
“Finding a needle in a haystack = hard. Finding a ring in a recycling bin = nearly impossible. Unless you’re City of Greenville Public Works, where employees truly dive into their work!” the post added.
It’s not the first time this has happened in the country recently. Last August, GNN reported that parks supervisor Lauren Perez from Corpus Christi organized the complete disruption of Monday morning trash collection in order to locate a 40-yard dumpster where she knew a 17-year-old had lost a ring containing her father’s ashes.
Trash collection workers Jesse Martinez and Robert Trevinco joined Perez in combing through the trash left baking over the weekend’s nearly 100°F heat. They searched for hours until they came upon a big with the Subway boxes—where the girl’s mom had told them they would be—and methodically began opening them one by one until, at last, a purple jewel shined in the morning light.
“It was in the last bag we went through,” Perez told the Washington Post. “I was so excited to let her know.”
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The new spiral diopter lens could be used on contact lenses and implants for cataracts Credit: Laurent Galinier
/ SWNS
The new spiral diopter lens could be used on contact lenses and implants for cataracts Credit: Laurent Galinier / SWNS
Ophthalmologists have developed a spiral-shaped contact lens that maintains clear focus at different distances and in varying light conditions.
The new lens works much like progressive lenses used for vision correction but without the distortions typically seen with those lenses. It could help advance contact lens technologies, intraocular implants for cataracts, and miniaturized imaging systems.
The inspiration for the design came when the paper’s first author, Laurent Galinier, was analyzing the optical properties of severe corneal deformations in patients. This led him to conceptualize a lens with a unique spiral design that causes light to spin, like water going down a drain.
This phenomenon, known as an ‘optical vortex,’ creates multiple clear focus points, which allow the lens to provide clear focus at different distances.
“Creating an optical vortex usually requires multiple optical components,” Galinier told Optica. “Our lens, however, incorporates the elements necessary to make an optical vortex directly into its surface. Creating optical vortices is a thriving field of research, but our method simplifies the process, marking a significant advancement in the field of optics.”
In Optica, Optica Publishing Group’s journal for high-impact research, the researchers describe the new lens, which they call the spiral diopter, and Bertrand Simon from another optics laboratory said their invention could revolutionize ophthalmology.
“Unlike existing multifocal lenses, our lens performs well under a wide range of light conditions and maintains multifocality regardless of the size of the pupil,” said Simon from the Photonics, Numerical and Nanosciences Laboratory in France. “For potential implant users or people with age-related farsightedness, it could provide consistently clear vision, potentially revolutionizing ophthalmology.”
“In addition to ophthalmology applications, the simple design of this lens could greatly benefit compact imaging systems,” said Simon. “It would streamline the design and function of these systems while also offering a way to accomplish imaging at various depths without additional optical elements. These capabilities, coupled with the lens’s multifocal properties, offer a powerful tool for depth perception in advanced imaging applications.”
The researchers created the lens by using advanced digital machining to mold the unique spiral design with high precision. They then validated the lens by using it to image a digital ‘E,’ much like those used on an optometrist’s light-up board. The authors observed that the image quality remained satisfactory regardless of the aperture size used.
They also discovered that the optical vortices could be modified by adjusting the topological charge, which is essentially the number of windings around the optical axis. Volunteers using the lenses also reported noticeable improvements in visual acuity at a variety of distances and lighting conditions.
“This new lens could significantly improve people’s depth of vision under changing lighting conditions,” said Simon. “Future developments with this technology might also lead to advancements in compact imaging technologies, wearable devices, and remote sensing systems for drones or self-driving cars, which could make them more reliable and efficient.”
Exciting stuff.
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Quote of the Day: “Listening well is a superpower. Keep asking someone you love ‘Is there more?’ until there is no more.” – Kevin Kelly
Photo by: Ed Yourdon
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A survey of 2,000 single Millennials and those from Gen Z currently seeking partners sought to uncover the anatomy of the perfect Valentine’s Day date.
Valentine’s Day may be the sweetest day of the year because almost three in five (58%) dating Americans say dessert is the number one highlight of the date.
Ideally, according to four in ten, Valentine’s Day dates should begin with flowers or a gift. 33% want to be picked up from their home by their date.
The date should then continue with going out to dinner (59%) or to a movie (33%) and end with some form of togetherness — whether it be alone time with their date (48%) or a goodnight kiss (43%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of HI-CHEW candy, results of the random double-opt-in survey showed that 80% of respondents plan to celebrate on February 14th this year.
Of those respondents, 63% plan to step out, while 20% plan to stay home.
A third of Millennials, however, are looking to go all in with an overnight getaway, compared to one quarter (24%) of Gen Z.
For those who are planning to stay put, the top plans are to watch TV or a movie (61%), cook a nice dinner (59%), become intimate (51%) and eat desserts or candy (38%).
“While many respondents may stick with old favorites, it’s always great to look to try something new to make this Valentine’s Day special,” said a company representative.
A new study found the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai Chi was more effective in reducing high blood pressure than other forms of exercise such as brisk walking or stair climbing.
Chinese scientists compared two groups of participants with high blood pressure over one year—one practicing Tai Chi and the other performing aerobic exercise.
The authors of the study, published in the JAMA Network Open journal, say their results should encourage health advisors to promote the gentle martial art in preventing heart disease in those with hypertension.
Researchers from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences took 342 participants with prehypertension–blood pressure that’s slightly higher than normal–and split them into two groups.
Half the participants (average age 49) performed Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art practiced for self-defense and health, during four supervised sessions every week for one year.
The traditional mind-body exercise guides individuals to concentrate on very slow and fluid movements that can benefit an individual’s balance, breathing, and heart function. (Watch a beginning lesson below…) Previous studies have also shown its benefits in reducing blood pressure.
The other half of participants performed aerobic exercise including climbing stairs, jogging, brisk walking, and cycling four times a week during the same time frame.
Researchers measured the systolic blood pressure (SBP) of participants at six months and at the end of the study. At both stages, they found significant differences in the blood pressure of the two groups.
Each participant had blood pressure readings of between 120 and 139 at the beginning of the study.
At 12 months, the average blood pressure of the Tai Chi group fell by 7.1 points, whereas the aerobic groups’ fell by just 4.61. Similar results were also observed after six months.
Both the blood pressure readings taken during the day and those taken while sleeping at night were each found to be significantly reduced in the Tai Chi group compared with their aerobic exercising counterparts.
Dr. Yanwei Xing, a lead author of the study, said the results showed definite benefits of practicing Tai Chi for reducing blood pressure.
“Twelve months of Tai Chi are superior to aerobic exercise for reducing blood pressure load in patients with prehypertension—which would be more beneficial in reducing the risk of hypertension.”
Dr. Xing suggested public health bodies should promote Tai Chi as a method of preventing heart disease, especially because it is suitable for people of all ages and physical conditions to practice. Particularly beneficial for seniors, Tai Chi can help improve body flexibility and balance, which reduces the risk of falls in older adults.
“From the perspective of implementation, a Tai Chi program proves to be a safe, moderate-intensity, mind-body exercise that is easy to practice in community settings.”
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Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes – Going Home charity vinyl
Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes – Going Home charity vinyl
In a heartwarming display of camaraderie, dozens of guitar gods and rock music icons answered the call to produce a charity single to benefit teens with cancer, an overall effort by Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits that has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The track features an unprecedented line-up of Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes—and ‘legendary’ does not begin to cover it: From David Gilmour to Ronnie Wood, Slash to Eric Clapton, Sting to Joan Armatrading, Bruce Springsteen to Pete Townshend, Joan Jett to Albert Lee, and Brian May to Tony Iommi, the superstars kept stepping up.
Notably, with great honor, the track opens with Jeff Beck’s final spine-tingling recording.
“Before I knew where I was, Pete Townshend had come into my studio armed with a guitar and an amp. And that first Pete power chord…man, I tell you. We were in that territory, and it was just fantastic.
“And it went on from there. Eric Clapton came in, played great, just one tasty lick after another. Then Jeff Beck’s contribution arrived and that was spellbinding. I think what we’ve had is an embarrassment of riches, really.”
The song dropping on March 15th (hear a sneak peek below) is an update of his film anthem ‘Going Home’—from Knopfler’s first foray into movies—the soundtrack to Local Hero (starring Burt Lancaster) released 41 years ago. It’s a memorable tune that is still played before every home game of the Newcastle United football club in England.
Mark’s longtime collaborator Guy Fletcher edited the contributions into a 9 minute piece with Roger Daltrey on harmonica, and Ringo Starr on drums alongside his son Zak Starkey—their two drum tracks switching from one to the other, revealing an unmistakable family style. Sting completes an extraordinary rhythm section on bass.
“(Jeff Beck’s contribution) was absolutely meant to be,” says Fletcher. “And what he did with it, it just brings you to tears.”
All the net proceeds will go to Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK and its American equivalent Teen Cancer America, which was co-founded by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who (who also established the Daltrey/Townshend Teen and Young Adult Cancer Program at UCLA Medical Center). Further funds are being raised thanks to guitar makers who’ve donated 8 guitars to be signed by the contributing artists. 4 of the 8 have already been sold for the US charity.
Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes ‘Going Home’ UK version – Credit: Sir Peter Blake
In January, Knopfler sold his own guitar collection at Christie’s for over $8 million, 25% of which is going to charity. One Gibson Les Paul signed by many artists from the project sold for nearly a half-million dollars.
Even more cash is being raised by the record label, NeoFidelity Recordings, making a six-figure donation to the charity and the record’s cover artist, Sir Peter Blake (who created the iconic cover for Sgt. Pepper’s,) donating a limited edition print run of 150 large wall prints of the cover art, which features portraits of all the artists. Each print has been hand signed by Sir Peter Blake CBE and is being sold for around $1,000 in the UK to benefit Teenage Cancer Trust. A US version will be available to purchase at a later date to benefit Teen Cancer America.
Other performers playing on the track include: Joe Bonamassa, Paul Carrack, Ry Cooder, Steve Cropper, Sheryl Crow, Peter Frampton, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Sonny Landreth, Alex Lifeson, Phil Manzanera, Dave Mason, John McLaughlin, Tom Morello, Rick Nielsen, Brad Paisley, Nile Rodgers, Mike Rutherford, Joe Satriani, John Sebastian, Andy Taylor, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Keith Urban, Steve Vai, Waddy Wachtel, Joe Walsh, and others.
One of the guitars earmarked for Teenage Cancer Trust will be auctioned off by Knopfler at a private donor event in Newcastle on the evening of March 1, prior to soccer team Newcastle United’s match on March 2. A number of artists who performed on the song will attend the match, where a sneak peak of a portion of the song will be played for Newcastle United fans as the players enter the stadium.
After the overwhelming support showed by his Guitar Heroes, Knopfler most wants to thank each and every one of the performers for their “sterling response”.
“I really had no idea that it was going to be like this.”
stem cells in menstrual fluid-CREDIT: K. SCHWAB, C. TAN and C. GARGETT at Monash University-released
Purple blobs are clones of the stem cells that Caroline Gargett and colleagues identified in menstrual fluid-CREDIT: K. SCHWAB, C. TAN and C. GARGETT, The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Melbourne
(Originally published by Knowable Magazine – written by Sneha Khedkar)
Long overlooked, menstrual stem cells could be the source of important medical applications.
Roughly 20 years ago, a biologist named Caroline Gargett went in search of some remarkable cells in tissue that had been removed during hysterectomy surgeries. The cells came from the endometrium, which lines the inside of the uterus. When Gargett cultured the cells in a petri dish, they looked like round clumps surrounded by a clear, pink medium.
But examining them with a microscope, she saw what she was looking for — two kinds of cells, one flat and roundish, the other elongated and tapered, with whisker-like protrusions. Gargett strongly suspected that the cells were adult stem cells — rare, highly valued, self-renewing cells, some of which can become many different types of tissues.
She and other researchers had long hypothesized that the endometrium contained stem cells, given its remarkable capacity to regrow itself each month. The tissue, which provides a site for an embryo to implant during pregnancy and is shed during menstruation, undergoes roughly 400 rounds of shedding and regrowth before a woman reaches menopause.
But although scientists had isolated adult stem cells from many other regenerating tissues — including bone marrow, the heart, and muscle — “no one had identified adult stem cells in endometrium,” Gargett says.
Such cells are highly valued for their potential to repair damaged tissue and treat diseases such as cancer and heart failure. But they exist in low numbers throughout the body, and can be tricky to obtain, requiring surgical biopsy, or extracting bone marrow with a needle. The prospect of a previously untapped source of adult stem cells was thrilling on its own, says Gargett. And it also raised the exciting possibility of a new approach to long-neglected women’s health conditions such as endometriosis.
Before she could claim that the cells were truly stem cells, Gargett and her team at Monash University in Australia had to put them through a series of rigorous tests. First, they measured the cells’ ability to proliferate and self-renew, and found that some of them could divide into about 100 cells within a week. They also showed that the cells could indeed differentiate into endometrial tissue, and identified certain telltale proteins that are present in other types of stem cells.
Gargett, who is now also with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, and her colleagues went on to characterize several types of self-renewing cells in the endometrium. But only the whiskered cells, called endometrial stromal mesenchymal stem cells, were truly “multipotent,” with the ability to be coaxed into becoming fat cells, bone cells, or even the smooth muscle cells found in organs such as the heart.
Around the same time, two independent research teams made another surprising discovery: Some endometrial stromal mesenchymal stem cells could be found in menstrual blood.
Gargett was surprised that the body would so readily shed its precious stem cells. Since they are so important for the survival and function of organs, she didn’t think the body would “waste” them by shedding them. But she also recognized the finding’s significance: Rather than relying on an invasive surgical biopsy to obtain the elusive stem cells she’d identified in the endometrium, she could collect them via menstrual cup.
By Monika Kozub
Gargett’s team has shown that these special stem cells are present in both the lower and upper layers of the endometrium. The cells are typically wrapped around blood vessels in a crescent shape, where they are thought to help stimulate vessel formation and play a vital role in repairing and regenerating the upper layer of tissue that gets shed each month during menstruation.
This layer is crucial to pregnancy, providing support and nourishment for a developing embryo. The layer, and the endometrial stem cells that prod its growth, also appears to play an important role in infertility: An embryo can’t implant if the layer doesn’t thicken enough.
Endometrial stem cells have also been linked to endometriosis, a painful condition that affects roughly 190 million women and girls worldwide. Although much about the condition isn’t fully understood, researchers hypothesize that one cause is the backflow of menstrual blood into a woman’s fallopian tubes. Endometrial stem cells that get deposited in these areas may cause endometrial-like tissue to grow outside of the uterus, leading to lesions that can cause excruciating pain, scarring and, in many cases, infertility.
Researchers are still developing a reliable, noninvasive test to diagnose endometriosis, and patients wait an average of nearly seven years before receiving a diagnosis.
But studies have shown that stem cells collected from the menstrual blood of women with endometriosis have different shapes and patterns of gene expression than cells from healthy women. Several labs are working on ways to use these differences in menstrual stem cells to identify women at higher risk of the condition, which could lead to faster diagnosis and treatment.
Menstrual stem cells may also have therapeutic applications. Some researchers working on mice, for example, have found that injecting menstrual stem cells into the rodents’ blood can repair the damaged endometrium and improve fertility.
Other research in lab animals suggests that menstrual stem cells could have therapeutic potential beyond gynecological diseases. In a couple of studies, for example, injecting menstrual stem cells into diabetic mice stimulated regeneration of insulin-producing cells and improved blood sugar levels. In another, treating injuries with stem cells or their secretions helped heal wounds in mice.
A handful of small but promising clinical trials have found that menstrual stem cells can be transplanted into humans without adverse side effects.
Gargett’s team is also attempting to develop human therapies. She and her colleagues are using endometrial stem cells — those taken directly from endometrial tissue, rather than menstrual blood — to engineer a biodegradable mesh to treat pelvic organ prolapse, a common, painful condition that is often caused by childbirth.
Despite the convenience of collecting adult multipotent stem cells from menstrual blood, research exploring and utilizing the stem cells’ power — and their potential role in disease — still represents a tiny fraction of stem cell research, says Daniela Tonelli Manica, an anthropologist leading studies at Brazil’s State University of Campinas.
But, she and others have turned menstruation into an exciting new frontier in regenerative medicine; it’s not just a monthly inconvenience anymore.
This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, a nonprofit publication dedicated to making scientific knowledge accessible to all. Sign up for Knowable Magazine’s newsletter, here. The author, Sneha Khedkar, is a biologist and former research fellow turned freelance science journalist in Bengaluru, India.
Quote of the Day: “Shared joy is double joy, and shared sorrow is half sorrow.” – Swedish proverb
Photo by: (copyright) GWC
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Fabrizio gets to try first prosthetic limb that allows wearer to sense temperature using a MiniTouch – SWNS
Fabrizio gets to try first prosthetic limb that allows wearer to sense temperature using a MiniTouch – SWNS
The first-ever prosthetic limb that allows the wearer to sense temperature and feel the warmth of another person has been created.
The MiniTouch device allows amputees to perceive and respond to temperature, an ability that developers hope will improve their human connections.
It works by transmitting thermal information from the fingertip of the prosthetic hand to the wearer’s residual arm.
Using the device, a man in Italy who’s been an amputee for three decades was able to differentiate between hot and cold objects with 100 percent accuracy.
The scientists in Italy and Switzerland hope it could soon restore a full range of sensations through prosthetics.
The MiniTouch prosthetic hand provided realistic and real-time thermal sensory feedback to a 57-year-old man from Pistoia—the first amputee to try the device.
Fabrizio was overcome with emotions after feeling the warmth of another person again, 37 years after his hand was amputated from the wrist.
“It was a very strong emotion for me. It was like reactivating a connection with someone.”
Using the MiniTouch, Fabrizio was able to discriminate between, and manually sort, objects of different temperatures or materials. (See the video below from Reuters…)
“When one of the researchers placed the sensor on his own body, I could feel the warmth of another person with my phantom hand,” said Fabrizio.
The team says the new technology, presented in a study published in the journal Med, marks the first time natural temperature sensations have been incorporated into a functional artificial limb—one of the last frontiers for restoring sensation to robotic hands.
“For the first time, we’re really close to restoring the full palette of sensations to amputees,” reported Professor Silvestro Micera, a joint senior author of the study from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies. “And it can be easily integrated into commercial prostheses.”
The MiniTouch uses off-the-shelf electronics integrated into commercially available prosthetic limbs and does not require any surgery. Rather, the device is attached to a point on the wearer’s same limb, producing sensations in their phantom index finger.
Clinical tests in Bologna, Italy at the Inail Prosthesis Centre in Vigorso di Budriothe, showed that Fabrizio was able to perfectly distinguish between three similar bottles containing cold (12°C), cool (24°C), or hot (40°C) water with total accuracy. The device improved Fabrizio’s ability to quickly classify metal cubes of differing temperatures.
“When you reach a certain level of dexterity with robotic hands, you really need to have sensory feedback to be able to use it to its full potential,” said Dr. Solaiman Shokur, co-author from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.
“We think having the ability to sense temperature will improve amputees’ embodiment—the feeling that ‘this hand is mine’.”
EPFL’s Jonathan Muheim, another study co-author, believes that thermal sensations in neuro-prosthetics has been neglected, even though there’s increasing evidence of their importance in our everyday life.
The next step for MiniTouch is to integrate thermal information from multiple points of an amputee’s limb, instead of just the index finger. For example, enabling some sensation in the back of the hand which allowing amputees to sense when another person touches their hand.
Their long term goal is to develop a multimodal system integrating touch, perception, and temperature that would be able to tell the user ‘this is soft and hot’, or ‘this is hard and cold’. Prof. Micera concludes it’s all to offer a “richer and more natural perception of the tactile world.”
WATCH the MiniTouch video below from Reuters….
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Penguin and Squid –Photo released February 8, 2024 by Birdworld via SWNS
Penguin and Squid –Photo released February 8, 2024 by Birdworld via SWNS
A penguin has become a ‘guide-bird’ for a fellow African Penguin with poor eyesight, escorting her around their enclosure to get food and build confidence.
The animal helper named ‘Penguin’ has bonded with ‘Squid’ the three-year-old that suffers from cataracts, a debilitating condition that clouds the lens of the eye.
Squid is often disoriented during busy feeding times and relies on Penguin’s “unwavering calmness”.
Penguin has become Squid’s beacon, guiding her around the enclosure and acting as her ‘eyes’.
The hand-reared birds are now inseparable—to the delight of their human keepers at Birdworld who are sharing their remarkable relationship.
“The intuitive behavior observed between Penguin and Squid has revealed a remarkable level of empathy and understanding, showcasing the profound connections that can form within the animal kingdom,” said Polly Branham a spokesperson for the aviary in Surrey, England.
Squid (left) and Penguin getting some dinner – Photo released by Birdworld via SWNS
When Squid was hatched, she displayed the typical lively and vocal traits of a penguin chick, despite developing cataracts at just six weeks old—a unique occurrence within her otherwise healthy family.
Waddle I do without you?
Having been nurtured within the colony, Squid honed her skills alongside her peers—learning the essence of being a penguin—but she used to be quite anxious about approaching the fish bucket at feeding time.
“The excitement of the other penguins created a more unpredictable environment, and she would shy away from this for fear of getting caught in the crossfire of beaks,” explained Branham. “That is how Penguin has been such an enormous help to her.
“His stability was something she could rely on, the base from which she has steadily expanded her world.”
Senior Penguin Keeper, Natalie Marshall said of the inspiring duo, “We didn’t expect Penguin and Squid to form such a close bond, and it’s evident that Penguin’s resilience significantly influenced Squid’s self-assurance.”
“Given that she has not known any different, Squid has adjusted without realizing, and we see in the way she walks (stooping forwards) and how she behaves around the other penguins (being taken by surprise if approached from a blind spot) that she compensates and is fully integrated into the colony.”
Although cataracts are an operable condition in some penguin cases, the staff believes she is thriving without it.
Artistic reconstruction by Prehistorica_CM of the Cabrières Biota – Photo released February 9, 2024 via SWNS
Sylvie Monceret-Goujon co-discovered the Cabrières Biota containing fossils from 470 million years ago – SWNS
Two amateur paleontologists have discovered a site of ‘worldwide importance’ in France containing nearly 400 fossils that date back 470 million years.
The exceptionally well-preserved fossils provide evidence that this site was a place of refuge for animals escaping global warming.
The site in Montagne Noire is one of the world’s richest and most diverse fossil sites dating to the Ordovician period, which lasted for about 42 million years, during a time when southern Europe, Africa, South America, Antarctica, and Australia were bunched together in a super-continent that was moving towards the South Pole.
The amateurs who came across these fossils were over the moon when they realized the importance of their discovery.
“We’ve been prospecting and searching for fossils since the age of 20,” said Eric Monceret and his wife Sylvie. “When we came across this amazing biota, we understood the importance of the discovery and went from amazement to excitement.”
The fossils are in a remarkable state of preservation, and contain extremely rare soft elements such as digestive systems and cuticles.
Analysis of the site, known as the Cabrières Biota, revealed the presence of arthropods (a group that includes millipedes and shrimps) and cnidarians (which includes jellyfish and corals), as well as many algae and sponges.
Artistic reconstruction by Prehistorica_CM of the Cabrières Biota – Photo released February 9, 2024 via SWNS
The site’s high biodiversity suggests that this area served as a refuge for species that had escaped the high temperatures prevailing further north at the time.
Moreover, this biota was once located very close to the South Pole, revealing the composition of Ordovician southernmost ecosystems.
“At this time of intense global warming, animals were indeed living in high latitude refugia, escaping extreme equatorial temperatures,” said lead author Dr. Farid Saleh from the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland.
This is only the beginning for the Swiss researchers and their colleagues at The French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), who published their findings in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Using innovative methods and techniques, they aim to reveal the internal and external anatomy of the organisms, as well as to deduce their phylo-genetic relationships and modes of life in a polar ecosystem.
GIVE HOPE TO FOSSIL HUNTING FRIENDS By Sharing the Find on Social Media…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of February 10, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Reading through the annals of famous authors’ quotes about love, I’m horrified by the relentlessness of their sour assessments. “Love is merely a madness,” wrote Shakespeare. “Whoever is not jealous is not in love,” said St. Augustine. “General incivility is the very essence of love,” declared Jane Austen. “It is impossible to love and be wise,” moaned Francis Bacon. “Real love always has something hidden—some loss or boredom or tiny hate,” says Andrew Sean Greer. I am allergic to all that dour noise! Personally, I have been entangled in a lot of romantic love during my time on Earth, and most of it has been interesting, educational, and therapeutic. I am deeply grateful for ALL of it, even the heartbreaks. Any wisdom I have developed owes a great debt to my lovers. What about you, Aquarius? Where do you stand on these issues? I suspect the coming months will provide you with ample reasons to embrace my attitudes.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Have you discovered all there is to know about your sexual feelings and proclivities? Have you come to a complete understanding of what turns you on and how you might express it? I hope your answer to those questions is “no,” Pisces. In my view, all of us should keep evolving our relationship with eros. There is always more to discover and explore about the mysteries of our desires. Always more to learn about what excites and inspires us. The coming days will be an excellent time for you to enjoy this research.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
In honor of the Valentine season, and in accordance with astrological omens, I offer you a love letter from an unpublished novel by an Aries friend. Consider saying something similar to a person who would be thrilled to hear it. Here it is. “We will seize the sexiest joy we can conjure. We will turn each other into boisterous deities in quest of liberation from all unnecessary limitations. We will tenderly shock each other with mysterious epiphanies and rivers of bliss. ‘Wild’ will be too mild a word for the awakenings we provoke in each other’s futures.”
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
“The greater the fool, the better the dancer.” Composer Theodore Hook said that. Poet Edwin Denby agreed. He said, “There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good.” Choreographer Martha Graham added, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.” I bring these thoughts to your attention because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to get freer, more sensuous, and more unconstrained. Dancing your inhibitions into oblivion will be an excellent way to pursue these goals. So will doing everything with a dancer’s abandon.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Emotionally and spiritually, you will ripen at a robust rate in 2024. Your intelligence will mature into wisdom in surprising and gratifying ways. Harvesting rich lessons from long-smoldering confusions and long-simmering mysteries will be your specialty. PS: Some of you Geminis joke around and say you never want to grow up. But I hope you minimize that attitude in the coming months.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
A psychic told me that in one of my past lives, I was Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. It’s an intriguing theory that could help explain why my horoscopes are popular in Italy. What about you, my fellow Cancerian? Is there an aspect of your reincarnational history that aids your current destiny? Or are there past events in your current life that are becoming more influential? The coming weeks will be a good time to meditate on these possibilities. While you ruminate on your history, check in with the spirits of your ancestors and departed allies to see if they have any inspirational messages for you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Kevin Kelly wrote the book Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier. There he observes, “Listening well is a superpower. While listening to someone you love, keep asking them ‘Is there more?’ until there is no more.” Dear Leo, this is excellent advice for you in the coming weeks. I urge you to specialize in gathering the deep revelations of those you care for. Opening yourself to them in unprecedented ways will boost your soul power and enrich your wisdom.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Imagine you are walking on a hill at night. You are headed to meet a person you adore, who awaits you with champagne and chocolate. The weather is balmy. The moon is full. You are singing songs you both love, announcing your arrival. The songs tell stories about how much you two love to yearn for each other and how much you love quenching your yearning. When you arrive, dear Virgo, what will you tell your beloved to make them feel supremely understood and appreciated?
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Has your approach to togetherness become infused with habit or numbness? When was the last time you got extravagant for the sake of love? Has it been a while since you tried a daring romantic move or two? I bring these questions to your attention, Libra, because now is an excellent time to rev up your imagination as you upgrade intimacy, companionship, and collaboration. I hope you will authorize your fantasy life to be lush, unruly, and experimental. Spur yourself to dream up departures from routine that intrigue your close allies.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
I suggest we choose the brilliant Scorpio physicist and chemist Marie Curie (1867–1934) as your role model in 2024. She is the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields. She managed to pursue a rigorous scientific career while raising two children and having a fulfilling marriage. Being of service to humanity was a central life goal. She grew up in poverty and sometimes suffered from depression, but worked hard to become the genius she aspired to be. May the spirit of Marie Curie inspire you, dear Scorpio, as you make dramatic progress in expressing your unique soul’s code.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The Valentine season is looming, and many of us are receptive to advice about togetherness. I’ll offer some principles that I believe are essential to you Sagittarians as you nourish ALL your close relationships, including your romantic bonds. They are from novelist Graham Joyce. He wrote, “Two people in love don’t make a hive mind. Neither should they want to be a hive mind, to think the same, to know the same. It’s about being separate and still loving each other, being distinct from each other. One is the violin string, one is the bow.”
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Lately, I have been intoxicated a lot. Not because I’ve ingested drugs and alcohol. Not because I have been doing three-hour meditations or studying sacred texts. I’ve felt so wildly free and euphoric because life has been dismantling some of my fears. Once it happened when my psychotherapist spoke just the right curative words at a pivotal moment in our session. Another time, I came upon a very large hare while strolling in the woods and had an epiphany about how to heal a painful trauma in my past. On another occasion, I dreamed of a healer exorcizing my abandonment fears. There were three other similar events, as well. I bring this to your attention because I suspect you may soon also get intoxicated through the loss of fears.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
Quote of the Day: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds with nothing to do.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Photo by: Luke Chesser
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