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Your Weekly Horoscope: A ‘Free Will Astrology’ From Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of November 25, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Have you located any of your soul twins? If not, is that an interesting prospect for you? Please note that soul twins are not necessarily the same as dream lovers. They may simply be people with whom you share deep values and perspectives. They might aspire to influence the world in ways similar to you. With a soul twin, you feel at home in the world and extra happy to be yourself. I bring these meditations to your attention, Scorpio, because the coming months will be an especially likely time for you to encounter and engage with soul twins. Be on the alert!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was charismatic and forceful, but also hot-tempered and prone to rude behavior. The writer Goethe, his contemporary, said “his talent amazed me,” and described him as an “utterly untamed personality.” Beethoven seldom lived in one home for very long and loved to sing at the top of his lungs as he washed himself. Although he played piano with exquisite skill, he was quite clumsy as he moved through the world. Can you guess what astrological sign he was? Same as you! Sagittarius! I’m not saying you are exactly like this wild, unruly genius, but you do have tendencies in that direction. And in the coming weeks, I expect you’ll be inclined to be more Beethoven-esque than usual. Please work on emphasizing the winsome aspects.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I hope you have developed good boundaries, Capricorn. I hope you are so skilled at taking care of yourself that you steadfastly refuse to let people manipulate you or hurt you. Just to make sure your discernment is working at peak levels, though, I will offer you a tip. In the English language, we have the idiom “to rub salt in a wound,” which refers to the fact that daubing salt in an open gash in the skin makes the pain even worse. But did you know that smearing sugar in a wound is equally distressing? The metaphorical lesson is that you should be vigilant for seemingly nice, sweet people who might also violate your boundaries to hurt or manipulate you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I estimate this horoscope is worth $22,225. It has been made possible by my many years of disciplined meditations, extensive reading of holy texts, and an ever-growing devotion to astrology and my readers. But here’s the fun part: You can read these words for free! No cost at all! I will, however, ask you to do something for me in return. First, give your gifts joyously and generously in the coming weeks, holding nothing back. Second, don’t be in the least concerned about whether you will receive benefits in return for your gifts. Find the sweet spot where you love bestowing blessings for no other reason except this one: You are expressing your gratitude for the miraculous life you have been given.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Do you possess gambits, tactics, and knacks that we might refer to as your “bag of tricks”? I hope so, because such an asset will be extra valuable during the coming weeks. You will be wise to employ every cagey move you can imagine and call on every favor that’s owed to you and cash in on every advantage you have accrued. I don’t want you to engage in outright cheating, but I encourage you to use ploys and stratagems that have full integrity. Be on the lookout for secret shortcuts, magic cookies, and wild cards.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
When we experience authentic awe, our humility deepens. This in turn tends to make us kinder, smarter, and more positive. So how can we stimulate awe? Among the many possible ways are gazing at magnificent art, hiking in a natural wonderland, or being in the presence of a beautiful human soul. In accordance with astrological omens, I recommend that you go in quest of awe and related feelings like reverence, amazement, adoration, and veneration. Your mental, physical, and spiritual health will flourish in response.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
It’s the Season for Cherishing and Smoking Out Secrets. So let’s talk about the subject. 1. Some secrets are sad, haunting, even risky—and worth keeping secret. 2. Other secrets can be beautiful, healing, and potentially life-changing if they are revealed gracefully. 3. Some secrets are buried so deeply that only very persistent seekers dig them up. 4. Some secrets are “hidden” in plain view, and only visible to people who are clear and brave enough to identify them. I suspect you Tauruses will have a special knack for managing all types of secrets in the coming weeks, including those I mentioned.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I hope you won’t fill yourself up with appetizers and hors d’oeuvres in the coming weeks, Gemini. My soul will be at peace if I see you save your hunger for the main courses. Your motto should be “Feasts, not snacks!” or “The Real Deal, not the pretenders!” or “The jubilee, not the distractions!” If you ever find yourself feeling halfhearted or inattentive, you’re probably not in the right situation. Here’s an affirmation to go with your mottoes: “I am liberating my divine appetite!”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Playwright Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) is regarded as one of history’s great writers. That does not mean everything he said was wise, useful, or worthy of our attention. For example, he was once asked to give his opinion about ballet. “During the intermissions, the ballerinas stink like horses,” he replied. I hesitate to bring up such a vulgar reference, but I wanted to make a vivid point. In the coming weeks, I hope you will ignore the advice of people who don’t know what they are talking about, no matter how smart or charismatic they may be. I hope you will not attribute expertise to those who have no such expertise. I hope that as much as possible, you will rely on first-hand information, rigorous research, and reliable influences.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Researchers have determined that there are two basic dispositions among tigers. One is what they call “majesty.” Creatures with this orientation tend to be dignified, imposing, and agile. The other type of tiger personality revolves around “steadiness.” This is the opposite of neuroticism, and includes the qualities of being affable, easy to get along with, and well-adjusted. I know many astrologers associate lions with you Leos, but I prefer to link you with tigers. If you agree with me, here’s my prediction: You are beginning a phase when you will be more majestic than steady—but with plenty of steadiness also available if you want it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
“It is better to entertain an idea than to take it home to live with you for the rest of your life,” wrote author Randall Jarrell. That’s decent advice, though I will add a caveat. If you entertain an idea for a while and it turns out that you love it, and you also love the beneficent effect it has on you, you may be smart to take it home to live with you. I’m guessing you Virgos are at a pivotal point in this regard. Not yet, but soon, you will know whether it will be wise to get cozier with certain influences you have been flirting with—or else decide they are not ones you want to keep.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
If I could give an award for Most Curious Genius in the World, it would be to Libran author and naturalist Diane Ackerman. She would also get my prize for Most Voracious Learner and Best Questioner and Most Exuberant Seeker and Searcher. “To hear the melody,” she writes, “we must hear all the notes.” In response to the question, “What is life?” she offers this answer: “corsages and dust mites and alligator skin and tree-frog serenades and foreskins and blue hydrangeas and banana slugs and war dances and cedar chips and bombardier beetles.” In accordance with current astrological omens, I encourage you to be like Diane Ackerman in the coming weeks.

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

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“It is better to entertain an idea than to take it home to live with you for the rest of your life.” – Randall Jarrell 

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Quote of the Day: “It is better to entertain an idea than to take it home to live with you for the rest of your life.” – Randall Jarrell 

Photo by: Carla Quario

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?

Garbage Man Saves Kitten from Being Crushed, Now Adopted and Healthy in Time for Christmas

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Andy Corbley
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Tiny Tim with Laura Morris, his new owner. Credit Blue Cross Animal Hospital
Tiny Tim with Laura Morris, his new owner – Credit Blue Cross Animal Hospital

Seconds away from being crushed in a garbage truck, a snow-white kitten has found a new home in time for Christmas after being saved by the driver.

The two-day-old feline was found weighing just 93 grams, less than a tangerine, when a quick-thinking garbageman heard his tiny mews and fished him out of the trash that was being dumped and compacted in his truck.

Arriving at Blue Cross Animal Hospital, his coloration and his birth so near the most wonderful time of the year earned him the name Tiny Tim.

Tiny Tim needed to be hand-fed every two hours and, with his eyes not yet open as a newborn, he was kept in an incubator for warmth.

Following his brush with death, Tiny Tim was able to find a loving new home with another Blue Cross rescue kitten named Oskie, the sole survivor from his litter.

“I’m so glad I brought him to Blue Cross, what an amazing job the team has done,” said the refuse collector who came to Tiny Tim’s rescue. “I’m glad to see him so well.”

MORE FELINE RESCUES: Chicago Marathon Runner Rescues Stray Kitten During the Race–Bystander Gives it a Home

Three-legged Oskie had his hind leg amputated after an infection. The best friends were both adopted by Laura Morris, who works for the Blue Cross.

Tiny Tim when he arrived – Credit Blue Cross Animal Hospital

“I couldn’t believe he had been put in the bin, he’s so cute and lovely,” she said. “Tiny Tim’s so inquisitive, confident, and happy. It’s incredibly rewarding to see him as he is now, compared to when he first came to us.”

THIS KITTEN WAS FOUND IN AN ATM: Firefighters Save Kitten Stuck in an ATM – And His New Name is Cash

Learning from another cat is incredibly valuable for Tiny Tim as he grows, giving him more chances to experience feline behavior firsthand, adds Laura.

“We are so happy he is now in a loving home where he is happy, healthy, and fed, which is all pets want for Christmas,” said Morris’ colleague Amanda Rumball, London animal welfare officer at Blue Cross.

SHARE This Little Guy’s Story From Trash To Treasure On Social Media… 

Thousands of Years Ago, a Woman Underwent Two Surgeries to Her Head–and Survived Both Procedures

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Andy Corbley
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A Copper Age women underwent two separate surgical procedures that left two overlapping holes in her skull. (Image credit Sonia Díaz-Navarro et al)
A Copper Age woman underwent two separate surgical procedures that left two overlapping holes in her skull. (Image credit Sonia Díaz-Navarro et al. via Live Science)

Researchers don’t know why, but a late-Neolithic, early-Copper Age woman underwent two cranial surgeries throughout her adult life—newly found archaeological remains from Spain have revealed.

Imagine for a moment everything that a successful surgery requires: orderlies, razor-sharp implements, anesthetic, disinfectant, and anatomical knowledge of the affected are the bare necessities for a procedure, none of which are common finds among Stone Age habitations

Yet in a burial site at Camino del Molino, located in Caravaca de la Cruz in Southeastern Spain, the skull of a 35 to 40-year-old woman was found with expertly made trepanations, or surgical entries into the cranium.

Trepanations mean the surgeon was trying to access the dura mater, the outermost layer of tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and forensic analysis showed it was neither a wound of violence, nor some form of ritual cannibalism, because the areas around the trepanations were clean; without fractures, and the woman lived months after the second of the two procedures was finished.

It’s a stunning demonstration of medical knowledge and acumen for a people who had only just barely worked out the smithing of copper tools.

It also demonstrates the value that these primitive societies placed on the lives of loved ones, as this woman might already have been a grandmother and near the end of her life, yet was operated on twice in her twilight years, which would have included a substantial period of recovery during which she contributed no food or labor to the community while still consuming food collected by others.

The funerary site of Camino del Molino contains 1,348 individuals, and this woman who had lived a full life for a Neolithic/Copper Age human, lived months after the second of two surgeries in the same part of the brain was concluded. She eventually died during the period of the funerary pit’s second use phase which stretched from 2566 to 2239 BCE.

The Copper Age woman’s skeleton as seen at the burial site. (Image credit: Sonia Díaz-Navarro et al. via Live Science)

“This is a cranial region rarely documented in prehistoric trepanations, as it contains the temporalis muscles and important blood vessels,” the authors write in their paper on the discovery in the International Journal of Paleopathology.

One of the authors spoke to Live Science about their discovery, describing the full extent of the procedure and what it must have required in a Paleolithic environment.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 24,000-Year-Old Cave Art Suddenly Found in Well-Known Paleolithic Cave Shelter in Spain

“This [trepanation] involves rubbing a rough-surfaced lithic [stone] instrument against the cranial vault, gradually eroding it along all its edges to create the hole,” said Sonia Díaz-Navarro, corresponding author on the paper from the Department of Prehistory, Archaeology, and Anthropology at the University of Valladolid.

“To perform this surgery, the affected individual likely had to be strongly immobilized by other members of the community or previously treated with a psychoactive substance that would alleviate pain or render them unconscious,” she said, adding that plants with natural antibacterial properties must have been used to prevent the obvious and serious risk of infection

Two overlapping holes were discovered between the woman’s temple and the top of her ear. The first was 2.1 inches wide by 1.2 inches long, and the second was smaller, at 1.3 by 0.47 inches, created into the already-healed bone tissue of the first trepanation.

ANOTHER CASE OF PREHISTORIC SURGERY: Evidence of Amputation in Prehistoric Times Shows Patient Surviving for a Decade–Proves Medical Expertise Existed

The authors determined that it must have been this rubbing or scraping technique that was used, rather than drilling, as it was safer and presented a lower risk of bleeding out. Despite the obvious difficulty in the act, the authors note that the whole literature of ancient or prehistoric surgery has demonstrated little detectable error in the use of the bladed stones.

While holes in her head were not the result of a wound inflicted by another human or animal, the authors can’t rule out the possibility that the surgery was performed as the result of a wound or injury, as other skeletons in the Camino de Molino bear signs of trauma.

HEAD Over To Social Media And Share This Truly Staggering Ancient Medicine…

Wendy’s Worker Saves Customer’s Life: ‘I was like, ‘Girl, you know how to do CPR; get over there’

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Andy Corbley
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Alexandria Cowheard. WKYT - fair use
Alexandria Cowheard. WKYT – fair use

A Wendy’s worker was given the impromptu opportunity to have a break from work; normally a delightful surprise, but it wasn’t for R&R.

At a franchise location on Richmond Road in Lexington, Kentucky, a man had collapsed in the parking lot. Alexandria Cowheard was on shift and alerted to the situation by her coworker.

She had already called 911 by the time she arrived at the man’s unconscious body, but the color of his face told of the need for immediate action.

“I didn’t panic visibly, but in the back of my mind, I was like, what do I do,” Cowheard said. “I kind of short-circuited a little bit before I was like, ‘Girl, you know how to do CPR; get over here and do these chest compressions.’”

The 22-year-old Alexandria learned CPR in her senior year of high school, and after a short time doing chest compressions, he “did that snoring thing again,” and gasped for air.

The whole thing took just a few minutes, but to the adrenaline-soaked mind of Alexandria, it seemed a long while.

MORE CPR SAVES: 12-Year-Old Saves Man Who Passed Out Underwater, Credits CPR Learned from ‘Stranger Things’

The young woman is working at Wendy’s while going to school at BCTC to become a certified nursing assistant, according to WKYT, and the future medical professional wants to work in the NICU when she finishes school.

At that moment though, she put her future career aside and went right back to work.

WATCH the story below from WKYT…

SHARE This Young Woman’s Confidant Heroics On Social Media… 

Mom Channeled Her Terminal Cancer into Debt Relief Fundraiser–Wiping Out $65 Million in Medical Debt

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Andy Corbley
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Andrew and Casey - released Andrew Gregory
Andrew and Casey – released Andrew Gregory

A wife and mother turned her last month on Earth into a fundraiser to wipe out medical debt burdens of families and individuals in need.

Passing away 12 days ago at the age of 38, Casey McIntyre’s death and the humble request at its onset has raised $650,000, which has the likely potential to pay off $65 million in privately-shouldered medical debt.

A mother of one and a publicist at Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House, Casey is survived by her husband of 8 years Andrew Gregory and her daughter Grace. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2019. A long battle resulted in a transfer to hospice care for her final 6 months.

On November 12th, a post appeared on her social media accounts that announced her passing, saying “I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved.”

On her obituary page, it’s written that “she was a consummate New Yorker who always knew which bodegas had the best magazine selections, whether to take the B or the Q, what restaurants were best to spot celebrities, and [who] gave every new New Yorker the same advice: make sure you buy a coat that covers your butt, because that’s where you lose a lot of warmth.”

Casey decided to host a “debt jubilee” a term of growing popularity used to describe fundraising for debt purchases. As GNN has reported several times, America is so loaded up with debt, and many creditors like hospitals and universities provide so much service on credit that the chance for a cash payout is more attractive than a long, slow, perhaps uncertain collection of debt.

In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street protests, a pair of hedge fund managers created RIP Medical Debt, which has so far wiped out billions in private medical debt for pennies on the dollar.

MORE POSTHUMOUS GIVING: New Hampshire Man Had No Car and No Furniture, But Died with a Big Secret, Leaving His Town Millions

It was for this organization that Casey decided to raise money. Staying a long time in hospital, she received a great level of service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, but recognized that this wasn’t possible for everyone.

On the Sunday following Casey’s death, $220,000 had been raised, which “stunned” Andrew.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Debt Activists Cancel $10 Million in Student Loan Debt After Buying it All for a Penny on the Dollar

“We’re overwhelmed, and it’s been really powerful to see the response to people wanting to eliminate strangers’ medical debt.”

That amount has increased nearly 3x after the story was published in the New York Times.

SHARE This Truly Stunning Gesture And Tearjerking Success Story On Social Media…

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward

Photo by: Joanna Kosinska

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?

Hero Truck Driver Saves Choking Woman Who Showed Up at a Construction Site

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Andy Corbley
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- credit Inside Edition, screengrab
– credit Inside Edition, screengrab

An Illinois woman has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving; a pair of healthy children, the keys to a German-made SUV, and the fact that when her life depended on it, she parked in front of a hero in waiting.

Jeff Hanus was calmly sitting on the side of the road in his cement truck at the Ozinga job site near Bolingbrook at I-55 and Route 53, listening to classical Chinese violin on the sound system in his coat, hat, and gloves.

All of a sudden, his working day became very unusual, as a woman pulled up in front of his truck, got out, and gave the international symbol that her airways were blocked: two hands on the neck.

Hanus, a former Army infantryman, jumped into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver, three thrusts up and in from under the ribcage, which dislodged the piece of food that was choking her.

“I was in the right place at the right time, and I did what, in my opinion, most people would have done,” he told Inside Edition with all the composure of a classical violinist.

But that wasn’t the end of this font of silent charisma, who had some more words to say when he spoke to Fox 32, when he reflected on accusations of being hero.

ANOTHER HEIMLICH HERO: Hero Bus Driver Saves Boy From Choking on Coin, Rushing Him to Safety–WATCH

“There’s a Native American saying: it is not the path that we walk, it is how many lives we touch along the way,” said Hanus.

The Chicago Bulls reached out to Hanus and gave him free courtside tickets for his heroism.

WATCH the story below from Inside Edition… 

SHARE This Man’s Right Place Right Time Rescue With Your Friends… 

Seven Swimmers Owe Their Lives to Australian Teens on Boogie Boards–2 Rescues in One Week

By
Andy Corbley
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Braith, Max, George, Harrison, Alex, and Zach rescued this family and two other girls from a flash rip tide – Supplied by Kiama SLSC
Braith, Max, George, Harrison, Alex, and Zach rescued this family and two other girls from a flash rip tide – Supplied by Kiama SLSC

Unrelated teenage surfers rescued swimmers from drowning off the south coast of Australia on two separate occasions last week, proving that while the stereotype of young surfers is one of laxness, it isn’t all a bad thing.

It was November 18th that six friends aged between 12 and 15 were boogie boarding on Kiama Beach in the Australian state of New South Wales, when just 20 minutes after rescue personnel finished their shift and went home for the day, they became aware via screaming that 6 people had been swept hundreds of meters out to sea in a rip current.

A mom with her three young daughters, and two young women were all caught in the violent water, leaving buddies Max Laird, Braith Davidson, George Griffin, Harrison Smee, Alex Norris, and Zach Marsden as the only entity on the beach able to affect a rescue.

Luckily, these strapping young lads are all members of the Kiama Surf Life Saving Club, and Harrison, the oldest of the crew at 15, led them back to dry land on their boards to save some lives.

George described the event as “shocking,” but told ABC News Australia that “we just had to do what we could.”

“I got to an 8, 9-year-old kid called Matt, and by the time I got to him he was completely underwater, just his hand above the surface of the water, so I was pretty worried,” said George.

MORE SURFER STORIES: Sydney Resident Watches with Joy as Surfer Paddles out to Save Drowning Magpie

Harrison, George, and their comrades rescued all 6 girls, just nights after another group of surfers on another beach rescued another person—this time a distressed teenage boy swimming alone after safety patrol hours.

Rescue on Jones Beach – supplied to ABC by Lucas Mak

This rescue, which took place on Jones Beach about 2 miles north of Kiama Beach, was carried out by high schoolers Lucas Mak, George Kalajzich, and Dax Cairncross who used a surfboard to reach the drowning fellow who had also been caught in a “rip” as they call it Down Under.

MORE AUSTRALIAN RESCUES: Woman Lost 8 Days in the Australian Bush Survives to See Her 4 Children Again ‘It is miraculous’

Lucas and his friends – supplied to ABC by Lucas Mak

“We met the guy out in the rip and started paddling back to the shore slowly. He couldn’t really walk so his mates picked him up,” Lucas said.

A spokesman for the Surf Life Saving Club said that the rescues were a testament to the awareness, bravery, and focus that can be shown even by young people when given the right training, as the youngest rescuer involved was just 12 years old.

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New Hampshire Man Had No Car and No Furniture, But Died with a Big Secret, Leaving His Town Millions

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Geoffery Holt Trust
credit – Geoffery Holt Trust

In the small town of Hinsdale, Geoffery Holt lived a slightly eccentric, but mostly quiet life working contentedly as the groundskeeper of a mobile home park.

Relying on either a bicycle or a lawnmower as his mode of transport, his friends remembered him as an articulate fellow, and his obituary page describes him as “fundamentally modest and demure,”— “intellectually curious, humorous, and somewhat eccentric.”

He was a person “who made friends easily” and “an authority on automobiles and an aficionado of diecast metal cars as well as model railroading.”

The next line hints at the surprise that the 4,200 residents of Hinsdale received along with the news of his death—that he had a knack for market economics and amassed a $4.2 million fortune through investing in mutual funds which he left in its entirety to advance education, health services, recreation and culture in the town.

The story, broke first by the Associated Press, records the shock of several residents in the New Hampshire town who would often see him riding his sit-down lawnmower to the convenience store, or sitting on it in the trailer park reading a newspaper in threadbare clothes watching the cars go by.

Hinsdale has abundant fishing and hiking opportunities, and nearly the whole local economy is small businesses. The money was left to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, which believes it could transform the town, but the town administrator on the other hand said the money would be used just as Mr. Holt used it—frugally.

OTHER STORIES LIKE THIS: Alabama Town Shocked to Learn Farmer had Secretly Paid People’s Pharmacy Bills for a Decade

Interest payments from the Foundation’s trusts, which have now increased to around $150,000 a year, will be used to fund various grants that institutions or organizations can apply for.

In a statement to CNN, Kristen Oliveri, a spokesperson with the Foundation, said Holt’s “generosity has the potential to be transformational for a small community like Hinsdale.”

“The Charitable Foundation is honored to help put such generosity into action, and we look forward to helping distribute these funds in the years to come,” she said.

The first order of business though is to get a set of electronic ballot machines, since Holt was an avid voter and a supervisor of the hand counting of ballots during elections.

MORE HIDDEN FORTUNES: Billionaire Reaches His Goal Of Giving Away His Entire Fortune After 38 Years Of Secret Donations

An online obituary page is attracting heartfelt well wishes from those who’ve heard of the story, with a woman from the Midwest named Dee saying “hope to invest as well as Mr. Holt did. Kudos to him and his lifestyle – may it live on!”

“TY Geoffrey for giving us all a reason to smile and feel optimistic about society in the future especially now at the Holiday season. May the road rise to meet you. RIP,” read another.

WATCH the story below from AP… 

CELEBRATE Geoffery’s Memory And Generosity Share This Story On Social Media…

Scientists Discovered More Than 100,000 Ancient Coins at an Excavation Site in Japan

By
Andy Corbley
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released by Maebashi city government
released by Maebashi city government

In the Kanto region of Central Japan, a trove of 100,000 ancient coins has been uncovered by city archaeologists, some of which date back 2,000 years.

Stacked like cordwood in the Sojamachi district under a site where a company was planning to build a factory, many were minted in China, some as far back as the Western Han Dynasty (220 BCE – 9 CE).

According to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, 334 of the coins have so far been examined. 44 types have been identified, ranging from the time of Emperor Wendi (175 BCE) of the Western Han to ones as recent as the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).

The paper didn’t say what the materials were, but given the mint and the burial method, they’re probably all copper or bronze.

An innovation of the Chinese, the bronze and copper coins were minted with a hole in the middle. Along with saving material, it allowed for easy transport, storage, and counting as the coins could be slid down a rope made from straw or reeds and carried like a keychain.

It was in this state that the coins were found, stacked and buried—perhaps hastily, according to Asahi Shimbun, whose report mentioned that they were found in property that belonged to wealthy members of the medieval Japanese society of Maebashi.

OTHER JAPANESE HISTORY: Japanese Archaeologists Find Beautiful Bronze Mirror Buried With a 7-Foot-Long Sword

Each bundle contained about 100 coins and a total of 1,060 bundles were dug up, and traces of a straw mat suggests that they were bundled up before their burying.

MORE COIN HOARDS: Man Finds Surprise of a Life in His Field: 700 Coins from Civil War ‘The Great Kentucky Hoard’

The oldest coin is a Chinese ban liang, which may mean “half pair,” or “half bright”—from the first set of coins minted in a unified China.

Other relics have been found in the area, and it has given rise to the belief that it was the center of power of a long-gone province called Kozuke from the Kofun Period.

SHARE This Uncovered Fortune With Your Friends Who Love Eastern History…

“Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days because it reminds us to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” – Wilbur D. Nesbit

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Good News Network
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Faith Goble, CC license

Quote of the Day: “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days because it reminds us to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” – Wilbur D. Nesbit

Photo by: Faith Goble (CC license)

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?

Faith Goble, CC license

Scan of 27 Million Compounds Identified a New One that Outperforms Pain Medications

By
Andy Corbley
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Predicting analgesic compounds based on a two amino acids peptide to treat chronic pain (image credit: Drs. Ulises Santiago and Samantha Perez-Miller)
Predicting analgesic compounds based on a two amino acids peptide to treat chronic pain (image credit: Drs. Ulises Santiago and Samantha Perez-Miller)

Scanning a library of 27 million different molecules, a bi-institutional team identified some that work more effectively than the existing pain medications gabapentin and pregabalin.

Prescribed to nearly 50 million Americans in 2020, gabapentin is used to treat pain and dysfunction related to restless leg syndrome, epilepsy, hot flashes, and neuropathy or nerve pain, while pregabalin is prescribed to nearly 10 million Americans, but has even harsher side effects that can lead to death.

Calcium channels play a central role in pain signaling, in part through the release of neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA—“the currency of the pain signal,” according to Rajesh Khanna, director of the NYU Pain Research Center.

The newly identified molecule binds to an inner region of a calcium channel to indirectly regulate it, outperforming gabapentin without troublesome side effects and providing a promising candidate for treating pain.

“Developing effective pain management with minimal side effects is crucial, but creating new therapies has been challenging,” said Khanna, the senior author of the PNAS study which recorded his discovery. “Rather than directly going after known targets for pain relief, our lab is focused on indirectly targeting proteins that are involved in pain.”

In particular, this research centered around a protein called CRMP2, a key regulator of the calcium channel and which binds to it from the inside. He and his colleagues previously discovered a peptide (a small region of amino acids) derived from CRMP2 that could uncouple CRMP2 from the calcium channel.

When this peptide—dubbed the calcium channel‐binding domain 3, or CBD3 (not to be confused with a cannabidiol)—was delivered to cells, it acted as a decoy, blocking CRMP2 from binding to the inside of the calcium channel.

This resulted in less calcium entering the calcium channel and less neurotransmitter release, which translated to less pain in animal studies.

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Peptides are difficult to synthesize as drugs because they are short-acting and easily degrade in the stomach, so the researchers sought to create a small molecule drug based on CBD3.

Starting with the 15 amino acids that make up the CBD3 peptide, they honed in on two amino acids that studies showed were responsible for inhibiting calcium influx and mitigating pain.

“At that point, we realized that these two amino acids could be the building blocks for designing a small molecule,” Khanna told NYU press.

In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, the researchers ran a computer simulation that screened a library of 27 million compounds to look for a small molecule that would “match” the CBD3 amino acids.

The simulation narrowed the library down to 77 compounds, which the researchers experimentally tested to see if they lessened the amount of calcium influx. One compound, which the researchers named CBD3063, emerged as the most promising candidate for treating pain.

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Khanna’s lab then tested CBD3063 with mouse models for pain related to injury. The compound was effective in alleviating pain in both male and female mice. Notably, in a head-to-head test with the drug gabapentin, the researchers needed to use far less CBD3063 (1 to 10 mg) than gabapentin (30 mg) to reduce pain.

To explore whether CBD3063 helped with different types of chronic pain, Khanna partnered with researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, Michigan State University, and Rutgers University. Collaborators ran similar studies administering CBD3063 to treat animal models of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, inflammatory pain, and trigeminal nerve pain—all successfully reversing pain, similar to gabapentin.

But unlike gabapentin, the use of CBD3063 did not come with side effects, including sedation, changes to cognition such as memory and learning, or changes to heart rate and breathing.

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In the long term, they hope to bring a CBD3063-derived drug to clinical trials in an effort to offer new options for safe and effective pain relief.

“Identifying this first-in-class small molecule has been the culmination of more than 15 years of research. Though our research journey continues, we aspire to present a superior successor to gabapentin for the effective management of chronic pain,” said Khanna.

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College Project Sparks Student to Start Orphanages for Homeless Kids in Philippines: ‘Why haven’t I started this?’

By
Andy Corbley
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Joanna Maniti visits her orphanage for the first time.
credit – Joanna Maniti, released to the Daily Trojan.

Inspired by two mission trips to the Phillippines, Joanna Maniti was standing in front of her Univ. of Southern California class explaining her idea for a hypothetical non-profit to help homeless children and orphans she had met when she had a ‘lightbulb moment’.

Rather than hypothesize about a non-profit that would help the archipelago’s orphans, she decided to go ahead and start one herself, and so was born Cherish Hearts International.

“I had this reflection of, ‘Why haven’t I actually started this during my time at USC?’” Maniti told the Daily Trojan. “Right after the class, I just sent out a bunch of emails to old contacts of mine in the Philippines, and the first person who responded ended up being our first partnership within Cherish.”

In 2016 and 2018, Maniti visited the island of Mindanao, and was devastated to see the conditions of the unhoused and orphaned children living on the streets. She volunteered at a children’s ministry, but eventually her trip had to end and she returned to the US.

She decided to major in business, and in the fall of 2020 took a class at USC on how to design and run a non-profit, which she turned into Cherish Hearts International, which acts as a liaison to international business stakeholders to uncover areas of opportunity for the building of schools and shelters, the first of which opened in the summer of 2022 on Mindanao.

Consisting of four classrooms, two washrooms, and a kitchen, the orphanage was built with the help of All the World Outreach and other donors.

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Despite all this effort, Maniti was not able to set foot in the orphanage, meet the children there, or see how the classes were going, until a full three years after the project was started due to heavy government lockdowns and travel restrictions.

“We’ve been trying to take a trip there for the past three years, so being able to go this past year was a milestone for Cherish,” Maniti said. “[The trip] just further showed the need of this project. There are a ton of street children out there who just don’t have homes to go to or family members. It was a lot of emotions at once.”

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Interviewing Maniti for the USC newspaper, Ava Satterfield at the New Trojan heard from Maniti that she wished she had got into non-profit work at the level of undergraduate, and suggested that anyone interested should get involved as early as possible.

Anyone looking to get in touch about donations or collaborations can visit the website here, or message Maniti on her LinkedIn.

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NASA Sends Data Over 10 Million Miles for the First Time Using a Laser

By
Andy Corbley
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Illustration of the DSOC flight laser transceiver communicating with the ground systems - NASA/JPL/Caltech, via SWNS.
Illustration of the DSOC flight laser transceiver communicating with the ground systems – NASA/JPL/Caltech, via SWNS.

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment has succeeded in sending and receiving communications via laserbeam, and is now set to transform how spaceships communicate with each other and with Earth in the spacefaring future.

The test data was beamed about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth, from the recently-launched Psyche spacecraft to the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California.

The DSOC experiment aims to demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times greater than the state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used by spacecraft today, and NASA says this is the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications.

The DSOC demo achieved “first light” in the early hours of 14 November, after its flight laser transceiver—a cutting-edge instrument aboard Psyche capable of sending and receiving near-infrared signals—locked onto a powerful uplink laser beacon transmitted from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) Table Mountain installation in California.

Test data was sent simultaneously via the uplink and downlink lasers, a procedure known as “closing the link” which was a primary objective for the experiment.

“Achieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars,” said Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Radiowave communications from spacecraft like the Martian rovers for example take many hours to arrive back on Earth, which is just not fast enough for an industry that may have humans operating permanently on the Moon and traveling to Mars over the next two decades.

DSOC is configured to send high-bandwidth test data to Earth during its two-year technology demonstration as Psyche travels to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter as part of its primary mission objective to study a metallic asteroid.

At Psyche’s farthest distance from our planet, DSOC’s near-infrared photons, the particles of light containing the megabytes of data in transit, will take about 20 minutes to travel back (they took about 50 seconds to travel from Psyche to Earth during the 14 November test). In that time, both spacecraft and planet will have moved, so the uplink and downlink lasers need to adjust for the change in location.

“Tuesday morning’s test was the first to fully incorporate the ground assets and flight transceiver, requiring the DSOC and Psyche operations teams to work in tandem,” said Meera Srinivasan, operations lead for DSOC at JPL.

“It was a formidable challenge, and we have a lot more work to do, but for a short time, we were able to transmit, receive, and decode some data.”

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With the successful first light, the DSOC team will now work on refining the systems that control the pointing of the downlink laser aboard Psyche’s transceiver. Once achieved, the project can begin its demonstration of maintaining high-bandwidth data transmission from the transceiver to Hale Mountain at various distances from Earth.

This data takes the form of bits (the smallest units of data a computer can process) encoded in the laser’s photons—quantum particles of light. After a special superconducting high-efficiency detector array detects the photons, new signal-processing techniques are used to extract the data from the single photons that arrive at the Hale Mountain telescope array.

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Both radio and near-infrared laser communications utilize electromagnetic waves to transmit data, but near-infrared light packs the data into significantly tighter waves, enabling ground stations to receive more data.

“Achieving first light is a tremendous achievement. The ground systems successfully detected the deep space laser photons from DSOC’s flight transceiver aboard Psyche,” said Abi Biswas, project technologist for DSOC at JPL. “And we were also able to send some data, meaning we were able to exchange ‘bits of light’ from and to deep space.”

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New 10 Minute Treatment Restores Sense of Smell and Taste in Patients with COVID Parosmia

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit Drop The Label
– credit Drop The Label

Using an image-guided, minimally invasive procedure, scientists may be able to cure the loss of smell, known as parosmia, occasionally found in people who were infected with COVID-19.

While most COVID patients did recover their sense of smell over time, some patients however continue to have these symptoms for months, or even years, after infection.

Lead author professor Adam Zoga said that post-COVID parosmia is increasingly being recognized, and that patients can develop distaste for foods or drinks they used to enjoy.

“Parosmia has previously been reported as a rare disorder occurring after brain trauma, brain surgery, stroke, viral syndromes, and with some head and neck tumors,” said Zoga. “We were not entirely confident that the procedure would work for parosmia.”

The treatment involves injecting anesthetic directly into the stellate ganglion on one side of the neck to stimulate the autonomic nervous system, which is accurately achieved with CT guidance.

The minimally invasive procedure takes less than 10 minutes, and no sedation is necessary. It’s been used to treat several other conditions including cluster headaches, phantom limb pain, Raynaud’s and Meniere’s syndromes, angina, and cardiac arrhythmia.

For the study, 54 patients were referred by an ear, nose, and throat specialist after at least six months of post-COVID parosmia that was resistant to pharmaceutical and topical therapies.

The researchers added a small dose of corticosteroid to the anesthetic, suspecting that the COVID virus may be causing nerve inflammation.

Follow-up data was obtained for 37 patients, with 22 of the 37 reporting improved symptoms at one week post-injection. Of these 22, 18 reported significant progressive improvement by one month post procedure.

No complications or adverse events were reported.

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“The initial patient had a tremendously positive outcome, almost immediately, with continued improvement to the point of symptom resolution at four weeks,” said Professor Zoga.

“We have been surprised at some outcomes, including near 100% resolution of phantosmia, a condition that causes people to detect smells that aren’t there, in some patients, throughout the trial,” he said, adding that this injection is working where other treatments have failed.

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“Countless as the sands of the sea are human passions.” – Nikolai Gogol

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Countless as the sands of the sea are human passions.” – Nikolai Gogol

Photo by: Aaron Burden

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?

After Teen Dies, Friends Visit His Grandma for Breakfast Every Wednesday to Ease Their Loss

By
Andy Corbley
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courtesy of Peggy Winckowski
courtesy of Peggy Winckowski

It’s Wednesday morning in St. Louis. Outside Peggy Winckowski’s house, it’s not just the Sun or the song of the birds that arrive at her front door, but a horde of hungry teenagers.

They’re all students from Bishop DuBourg High School, ready to enjoy a hug with ‘grandma’ and a plate of hot food as part of what they together term the Wednesday Breakfast Club.

But it hasn’t always been bacon, banter, and bright eyes; the Breakfast Club took on a new meaning when ‘Grandma Peggy’ lost her grandson Sam Crowe, a Bishop Dubourg sophomore, to a hit and run last year.

It was the young mister Crowe who first started the Breakfast Club, which used to meet at a nearby diner. One day he announced “my grandma can cook better than this,” and so it was that the mediocre diner was abandoned in favor of Grandma Peggy’s.

Every Wednesday, a baker’s dozen teens would show up for bacon and eggs, until the fateful July day when the group learned of Sam’s death, and breakfast became the last thing anyone felt like thinking about.

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That is, until the very next Wednesday, when hoping to make the spirit of her grandson proud, Peggy was up before dawn warming skillets, cracking eggs, and whipping batter.

And not wanting to be poor guests, the teens came back, in greater and greater numbers just about every Wednesday afterwards.

“They came here every day for the whole week,” said Winckowski. “They just wanted to make sure that I was OK.”

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“Sam would be so proud,” she told CBS News’ Steve Hartman. “Look at what he started, it melts my heart.”

“We benefit from her, she benefits from us,” added Breakfast Club member Mya Dozier. “It’s like we feed off each other.”

WATCH the story below, or for those outside the US: View the video at CBS.com…

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A Forgotten Masterpiece Was Hanging Above a French Woman’s Hot Plate–Now, it’s Heading to the Louvre

By
Andy Corbley
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Christ Mocked by Cimabue - The Louvre
Christ Mocked by Cimabue – The Louvre

A few years ago, the art world was abuzz with news that a painting by the 13th-century master Cimabue was discovered and was going up for auction.

At the time, it was found in the house of a 90-year-old French woman hanging above her hot plate. Christ Mocked also known as The Derision of Christ, was identified only because one of the elder’s children decided to bring an appraiser into the house whilst they were preparing to help her move.

The elder had originally planned to find a new home for the painting in the nearest wastebasket, assuming the 10 x 8 painting to be a simple Greek icon.

Going up at auction in 2019, it sold for over $25 million, four times its predicted amount. Smithsonian reports that Fabrizio Moretti, the buyer who was working on behalf of two other collectors, believed it to be of inestimable value.

“It’s one of the most important old master discoveries in the last 15 years,” he told the New York Times after the sale. “Cimabue is the beginning of everything. He started modern art. When I held the picture in my hands, I almost cried.”

Cimabue is believed to be the pseudonym of Fiorentino painter Cenni di Pepo, who was born in 1240 and may have been the teacher of the celebrated Italian master, Giotto.

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“The Derision of Christ of Cimabue is a crucial milestone in art history, marking the fascinating transition from [iconograpy] to painting,” the French Ministry of Culture stated after it, in collaboration with the Louvre, managed to buy the painting for its collection.

“Cimabue lays the foundations for a new way of painting and addresses questions that will be central to the Renaissance: the illusionist representation of space, the body, light, and human feelings.”

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The painting is part of a diptych that included 8 different altar paintings; only two of which are known today.

Merely fifteen works of Cimabue are known, and these are mainly frescoes. Christ Mocked will join the monumental Maestà, another masterpiece of Cimabue whose restoration is currently ongoing for an exhibition event in spring 2025 at the Louvre.

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‘No-Kill Caviar’ Method Produces Superior Product While Boosting Endangered Sturgeon Population

By
Andy Corbley
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No kill caviar, harvested according to the Köhler method - credit AWI.
No kill caviar, harvested according to the Köhler method – credit AWI.

A long-destructive industry is now experiencing a sustainable revolution thanks to a determined German scientist.

The industry: caviar. The revolution: harvesting those tiny black pearls of culinary glory without harming the sturgeon gestating them.

The eggs of a female sturgeon, caviar is a treasured commodity, but even though this ancient fish survived the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs, all 27 species are Endangered or Critically Endangered in the wild according to the IUCN. All commercial caviar production today is from aquaculture.

In the early 2000s, there was a caviar crisis, leading to a depletion of wild stocks, and an increase in illegally sourced caviar. According to one caviar supplier, by 2004 consumers and chefs had lost confidence in the industry, as they couldn’t be sure it wasn’t taken from a wild fish, or processed in a garage somewhere using Borax as a preservative.

Enter “no-kill caviar,” a licensed aquaculture technique developed by polar and marine scientist Angela Köhler from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Germany.

She had gone to the Caspian Sea as part of her research into understanding the threat to sturgeons there from pollution. During her work, she went to attend a caviar conference where she saw a fully mature female fish killed only for the caviar harvesters to find the eggs were too close to spawning and therefore not suited for sale.

Now, the AWI offers a license to caviar-culturalists to use their patented method of harvesting caviar from live sturgeon in a method more akin to work in a maternity ward than a slaughterhouse.

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Female sturgeon, who bear eggs at around 8 years of age, are monitored with ultrasounds until their eggs are ready, after which they’re gently massaged until their eggs are released naturally. In AWI’s innovative process, signaling molecules in very small natural concentrations activate a machinery of enzymes within the eggs that stabilize their membranes in milliseconds.

“If conducted correctly, the quality of the caviar is superb,” AWI writes on their website. “The caviar produced according to the AWI method is also particularly clean and pure as has been shown in high-resolution microscopy images.”

“There are no blood vessels and follicle cells sticking to the eggs’ surface. Thus, the caviar does not need any preservatives (Borax), has a long shelf life of up to 9 months, and exhibits a fine fresh marine taste.”

Slow-growing, predatory fish that can grow up to 1.5 tons, sturgeon are a marvel of riverine evolution, but have suffered as a result of overfishing and development, particularly of dams that isolate their territory and dirty the sections of river they live in.

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Consequently, trading sturgeon products is strictly controlled by the CITES Treaty, and no wild catches are permitted in most areas of the globe.

In America, there’s already a no-kill caviar operation supplying a number of exclusive restaurants. The California Caviar Company, or the CCC, was the first in the country to license the patented method from Köhler, and today owns 20,000 sturgeon for sustainable caviar production.

“We visit the farms and have a look at whether they are candidates for an AWI license,” Köhler told The Guardian. “We also give advice on how to install a caviar lab, apply the patented processes, and train the staff.”

Having already licensed farms in the UK, Iceland, Sweden, and Ireland, Köhler has received requests from China, Iran, Russia, and other Caspian countries.

Long thought of as cuisine of the rich and haughty, a new breed of caviar-culturalists are looking to carry on the enjoyment of this time-honored culinary treat while saving a legendary and fantastical fish from extinction.

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