In a true paradigm shift, persevered timbers show that early man, and potentially older species than Homo sapiens, were building wooden structures 476,000 years ago.
Wikipedia lists the earliest carpentry assemblage ever found previously as a water well cover carved from oak boards from 5,600 BCE. The oldest wooden tool ever found was a carved spear from about 416,000 years ago.
These 5-foot-long logs had clear signs of woodworking with stone tools, with the end of one set atop another at a right angle. There are notches cut into the ends to allow them to fit into one another, a technique that makes them seem a little like Lincoln Logs.
Nothing of the sort has ever been found from this period and is rarely found from the Neolithic period.
Professor Larry Barham at the University of Liverpool led the excavations on a river bank near Kalambo Falls in the southern African country of Zambia, and said that it changed how he views our early ancestors.
“This find has changed how I think about our early ancestors, they made something new, and large, from wood,” Professor Barham told the BBC. “They used their intelligence, imagination, and skills to create something they’d never seen before, something that had never previously existed.”
While unlikely to have been a hut or a cabin, the researchers believe it could have been part of a platform that hosted other structures on top of it, or, because of its proximity to the river, a kind of jetty to go fishing from.
While ancient wooden digging sticks were found during the excavations, no bones of any hominid have been unearthed. Homo sapiensfossils begin to appear around 315,000 years ago, leading to the possibility that we either haven’t dug in the right place for Homo sapiens, or a previous species of our genus was intelligent enough to use stone tools to perform basic carpentry techniques.
“But it could be a different species—[perhaps] Homo erectus or Homo naledi—there were a number of hominid species around at that time in southern Africa,” said Geoff Duller, professor of geography at the University of Aberystwyth, and co-author on the study.
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Quote of the Day: “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare
Photo by: Sherise Van Dyk
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Animal lover Dave Brooker goes everywhere with his beloved pet turkey that has followed him everywhere from the pub to the dentist since she was born two years ago on his farm in England.
He named the chick Trouble Version Two—or, T2 for short.
The unlikely duo’s story began when the turkey’s mother was sitting on a dozen eggs and the weather turned foul (no pun intended). The first two that hatched died, so he set up a heated brooder to get the turkeys strong enough to go back under their mum.
“T2 was the first one out, and I fed her for 10 or 11 hours. She was on her own, with me checking on her, and must have thought I was her parent.
The others all went back under the mother quite easily, but not T2.
“Ever since, she literally goes everywhere with me.”
Locals in Maidstone, Kent are often baffled as they see the 56-year-old sitting alongside T2 in his car when they stop at traffic lights, or when he feeds her a favorite snack—the sausage meat from a scotch egg—in the middle of a parking lot.
She can often be seen casually sitting in the White Horse pub with a packet of chips and very well-behaved.
“At the pub, she sits on her blanket and stays there. Unlike most dogs who would run around, you sit her down with a pack of cheese & onion crisps and she’s happy.
Dave Brooker shopping with his pet turkey T2 – SWNS
Although some people find their undeniable bond a little unorthodox, the pair are inseparable and even sleep in the same room together at their home.
“She’s like my child,” Brooker admitted. “She’s good company and entertaining—sometimes I even think she’s part human.”
“I’ve got a video of her walking on the bar as a little chick,” said Brooker, who also owns three horses.
The only time the pair are separated is when Brooker goes to work as an online order picker for Tesco.
“I was at the dentist recently and I asked the receptionist if she could turkey-sit for me. She thought it was a joke, but then I brought T2 in. They all loved it.
He now finds himself talking to people he wouldn’t normally be having conversation with—and she’s had a lovely effect on her owner.
Dave Brooker in the car with his pet turkey T2 in Kent, England – SWN
A Somalian man recently noticed T2 in the pub and said she reminded him of his childhood days when he kept turkeys on his family’s farm.
“She draws quite a fair bit of attention from people,” he admitted. “But, she’s very tame, very sociable and she lets people pet her.
“Quite often I’ll be feeding her in Tesco car park and kids will come over. It just helps people think about turkeys in a different way, because most people actually haven’t seen a live turkey.”
“Turkeys are interesting birds and they look prehistoric. T2’s my little velociraptor.”
“I went through a bad spell of anxiety and depression back in 2014, and it’s helpful to have a bond like this with an animal.
Mr Brooker’s companion has made such an impression on him in their short two years together that he now chooses to abstain from eating turkey at Christmas, and refers euphemistically to December as the month when all the turkeys ‘go on holiday’.
Watch the SWNS video below…
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Engineers in Australia have found a way of making stronger concrete by utilizing coffee grounds, giving the roast a “double shot” at life and reducing waste going to landfills.
The RMIT University team developed the technique that makes concrete 30% stronger by adding waste coffee grounds after it is turned into biochar using their “low-energy process”.
Globally, 11 million tons of spent coffee is generated annually. Disposing of organic waste poses an environmental challenge because it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, which is 21 times worse than CO2 for the climate.
Furthermore, concrete used in construction projects around the world requires 50 billion tons of natural sand mined every year. Coffee biochar can replace a portion of that sand, which is a finite resource, explained research team leader Professor Jie Li.
“The ongoing extraction of natural sand around the world–typically taken from river beds and banks–to meet the rapidly growing demands of the construction industry has a big impact on the environment.”
“With a circular-economy approach, we could keep organic waste out of landfill and also better preserve our natural resources like sand,” said Li.
“The inspiration for our work was to find an innovative way of using the large amounts of coffee waste in construction projects rather than sending it to landfills,” said Dr. Rajeev Roychand, lead author of the research paper published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
He said the study is the first to prove that waste coffee grounds can be used to improve concrete—and several local governments battling with the disposal of organic waste have shown interest in their work.
“They have already engaged us for their upcoming infrastructure projects incorporating pyrolysed forms of different organic wastes.”
Pyrolysis involves heating organic waste in the absence of oxygen at 350 degrees Celsius.
“Our research team has gained extensive experience in developing highly optimized biochars from different organic wastes, including wood biochar, food-waste biochar, agricultural waste biochar, and municipal solid-waste biochar, for concrete applications,” said co-researcher Dr. Mohammad Saberian, who is working with his team next on field trials.
These exciting findings offer an innovative way to greatly reduce the amount of organic waste that goes to landfill—and the construction industry could play a role in transforming it into a valuable resource to ensure sustainability. . . Watch their video below.
Nearly three-quarters of gamers are certain that video games have improved their lives.
A recent survey of 2,000 American gamers revealed how video games are more than just hobbies—72% of respondents attested to the positive impact of the pastime on various aspects of daily life.
Sixty-eight percent credit games for enhancing relaxation, and 67% say they improve problem-solving skills. More than six in ten believe they also sharpen critical thinking and enhance better hand-eye coordination.
38% of respondents said gaming helps them with the ‘soft skill’ of cooperating with others.
More than two-thirds (68%) could feel their moods change when playing video games—with 51% feeling more relaxed, 27% feeling happier and 19% feeling sharper.
The random double-opt-in survey commissioned by the mobile game Solitaire Grand Harvest (by Playtika) was conducted by OnePoll.
“Research reinforces video games are far more than entertainment; they’re a powerful force for personal growth and positive change,” said Amir Coifman, general manager of Solitaire Grand Harvest.
“Our goal is to meticulously craft immersive experiences to offer relaxation, challenge problem-solving skills and foster community, allowing players to become better versions of themselves.”
A new study shows that bats evolved to avoid cancer and the data may uncover how humans can treat or prevent viruses as well as cancer.
A rapid evolution in bats, the only winged mammal, may account for their “extraordinary” ability to both host and survive infections and even to avoid cancer—and that success is in their genes.
Bats are exceptional among mammals for not only their ability to fly but also their long lives, low cancer rates, and robust immune systems.
The ability of bats to tolerate viral infections may stem from unusual features of their innate immune response—and these characteristics may have implications for human health.
For example, by better understanding the mechanisms of the bat immune system that allow bats to tolerate viral infections, researchers may be better able to prevent disease outbreaks from animals to people.
Comparative genomic analyses of bats and cancer-susceptible mammals may eventually provide new information on the causes of cancer and the links between cancer and immunity. Studies of bats and other organisms complement studies based on mouse models; mice are more amenable than bats to experimental manipulation but exhibit fewer characteristics with implications for human disease.
In a paper published in Genome Biology and Evolution by Oxford University Press
this week, researchers used the Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read platform, and bat samples collected with help from the American Museum of Natural History in Belize, to sequence the genomes of two bat species—the Jamaican fruit bat and the Mesoamerican mustached bat.
The researchers at of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York carried out a comprehensive comparative genomic analysis with a diverse collection of bats and other mammals.
They found genetic adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 proteins in bats that were cancer-related, meaning that researchers have previously found such proteins suppress cancer.
Notably, the study found these altered cancer-related genes were enriched more than two-fold in the bat group compared to other mammals.
“By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals we continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes,” said the paper’s lead author, Armin Scheben.
“These investigations are the first step towards translating research on the unique biology of bats into insights relevant to understanding and treating aging and diseases, such as cancer, in humans.”
Founded in 1890 and home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the not-for-profit Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory furthers biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Additional funding came from National Institutes of Health and Simons Center for Quantitative Biology.
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Quote of the Day: “The only fight that matters is the struggle to take the world’s chaos and make it mean something.” – Joe Hill
Photo by: Mayer Tawfik
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The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio held adorable graduation for babies Kimyah and DJ on their discharge NICU – graduation of preemie twins– Kimberly Thomas / SWNS
The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio held adorable graduation for babies Kimyah and DJ on their discharge NICU – graduation of preemie twins– Kimberly Thomas / SWNS
An adorable ‘graduation’ was held for a pair of twins born at just 22 weeks who beat the odds—and finally were allowed to go home.
Babies Kimyah and DJ were given as little as a 10% chance of survival when they entered the world.
The siblings were the smallest babies some of the Ohio nurses have ever seen, as they could fit in their mother’s hands.
But, miraculously, they battled through and were released from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio after around four months in intensive care.
The staff held a ‘graduation’ for the family to celebrate the special moment—with the 11-month-old siblings given caps and gowns to mark the occasion.
“I was super excited when I found out they were able to come home,” said mom Kimberly Thomas.
Nurse Becky Stuart said it was “a huge celebration.
“During their time in the NICU, I treated them as if they were my own children. I love them and formed a bond with them that will stick with me forever.”
The 25-year-old mother from Bedford, Ohio, says she first knew something was wrong when she started leaking amniotic fluid, which protects the fetus during pregnancy. She called her doctor, who found she was already in labor, and four centimeters dilated.
At just over five months pregnant, Kimberly was told her twins would have a slim chance of survival—around 10%.
Growing twins with mom Kimberly Thomas – Cleveland Clinic / SWNS
Once the twins were delivered, they were immediately resuscitated and intubated. Nurses say they could fit each twin in the palm of their hands—and the smallest-size diapers were still too big for them.
“These were the smallest babies I had ever seen, much less taken care of,” said nurse Sara Perrin.
Their parents was not allowed to hold her babies for the first month of their lives because their skin was too fragile to touch. But she spent every day and night with them in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) until they were discharged.
“I don’t think there was one day I didn’t spend at least a few minutes with them, just to talk to my babies,” said mom. “I pretty much lived in the NICU for four-and-a-half months.”
While in the NICU, DJ suffered a lung collapse and Kimyah had a small bleed on her brain – but they still managed to meet their milestones despite this.
After 138 days, the twins were allowed to go home with Kimberly and father Damante Jackson. Now, almost one year on from birth, the twins are catching up to their height and weight goals.
Kimberly with DJ and Kimyah in the clinic on Valentines Day 2023 – Cleveland Clinic / SWNS
Although they remain on target with achieving their developmental milestones, it will still be a few years before they can tell if the twins will experience any developmental delay, the Cleveland Clinic said.
But Kimberly can now hold her children whenever she wants—and continue to celebrate milestones with them.
“Kimyah and DJ are very active and love exploring,” said mom. “Thinking about everything they’ve been through, it was hard to imagine us ever getting to this point.
“It was unclear if they would be able to do anything by themselves. Now, they’re trying to do everything by themselves.
“You have to stay positive and focus on the outcome you want.
Dr Firas Saker, a medical director at the clinic, added: “It’s amazing to see the twins thriving. It serves as a reminder to all of us here why we do what we do every day.”
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A company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for passenger service, announced it plans to locate its first major aircraft production facility in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of aviation.
The Wright Brothers, who invented and flew the first powered aircraft in the U.S., lived and worked in Dayton and opened the first American airplane factory there in 1910.
Just miles away, Joby Aviation’s new facility will be capable of delivering up to 500 aircraft per year at the Dayton International Airport, supporting up to 2,000 new jobs.
The California based company plans to invest up to $500 million to pair with state incentives and a possible loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“We’re building the future of aviation right where it all started, in Dayton, Ohio,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby. “The Wright Brothers harnessed revolutionary technology of their time to open up the skies, and we intend to do the same—this time, bringing quiet and emissions-free flight that we hope will have an equally profound impact on our world.
Joby’s production aircraft is designed to transport a pilot plus four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph (322-kph), with a maximum range of 100 miles and a “revolutionary quiet noise profile” that is barely audible against the backdrop of cities.
The company hopes to redefine urban transportation by operating these aircraft as part of aerial ride-sharing networks in cities around the world, starting in 2025, building on partnerships with Delta and Uber.
Hovering eVTOL Electric air taxi by Joby Aviation
Hiring Soon
Joby plans to start hiring in the coming months, with early roles expected to focus on the build out of the scaled facility and the machining of parts that will initially be incorporated into Joby’s California low-volume production line. Those interested in applying for roles at Joby’s Ohio facility can do it here at www.jobyinohio.com.
The company’s headquarters, research and development, and pilot production facility will remain in California. With 150 open positions across three Northern California sites, the flying car company continues to grow its presence in the state.
Toyota is a long-term investor in Joby and worked with them on the design and successful launch of their Pilot Production Line in Marina, California—and plans to continue to advise them on scaling production of the air taxi in the new Midwest location.
Dayton is also home to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories which has played a key role in supporting Joby’s development.
“Our partnership with Ohio is a great example of how successful public-private partnership amongst industry, local, state and federal government can bring important new technology to life,” said Joby CEO Bevirt.
“This will mark the largest aviation job creation deal in Ohio history,” said JobsOhio President J. P. Nauseef. “Today, we continue Ohio’s historic legacy as the past – the present – and the future of aviation innovation and further affirm we are in the midst of an economic renaissance of the American Midwest.”
The missing poster for the Lego figure. Release date, 18/9/23. See SWNS story SWLSlego. A school boy who created a 'missing person' poster after he lost his beloved Lego man has been reunited with the figure. Jack Steel, ten, was left devastated after he lost his Lego figure, which is based on himself and is also called Jack. To help find the figure, the school boy created a missing poster and even offered a £2 reward for whoever found it. The poster read: "Lost: has anyone seen this Lego man?
A ten-year-old who lost his beloved ‘Lego man’ has been reunited with the figure, after creating a ‘missing person’ poster for it.
Missing: Lego man – Lorna Walker / SWNS
Jack Steel was left devastated after he lost the figurine, especially because it actually represents himself and is named Jack throughout all his Lego adventures.
To help find the missing piece, the British schoolboy created a ‘LOST’ poster—and even offered a reward of £2 for whoever found it.
The poster begins: “Has anyone seen this Lego man?”
“He is very special to me,” Jack added.
Alongside a drawing of the figure, Jack pointed out the visual features: “Light brown quiff with matching eyebrows. (Quiff being a hair style, in the parlance of the region.)
“Hawaiian Shirt (blue with palm trees and an orange stripe on the bottom. Dark green pants.”
LEGO figurine based on Jack Steel – by Lorna Walker / SWNS
Luckily, Jack’s Lego man was found in the park where he plays in Ulverston, Cumbria, by a local schoolgirl.
The girl’s mom then contacted Jack’s mom, Lorna Walker, after seeing his missing poster on Facebook.
Lorna said her son was quite distraught when he realized he had lost it.
“He came to me very upset that he had lost it and thought it must have fallen out of his bag.
“After school we retraced our steps home, (but) with no luck.
That’s when he came up with the poster and Lorna shared it on Facebook, explaining to all that he had designed the figurine himself during an interactive exhibit at the Lego Discovery Centre in Manchester on a recent family trip.
“He took great care in picking the perfect parts.”
Jack Steel at the Lego Discovery Centre in Manchester – Lorna Walker / SWNS
The boy had placed the little guy in the front pocket of his bag to take it to his grandma’s after school to show her, but forgot to zip it and it had fallen out.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of September 23, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
My favorite creativity teacher is author Roger von Oech. He produced the Creative Whack Pack, a card deck with prompts to stimulate imaginative thinking. I decided to draw one such card for your use in the coming weeks. It’s titled EXAGGERATE. Here’s its advice: “Imagine a joke so funny you can’t stop laughing for a month. Paper stronger than steel. An apple the size of a hotel. A jet engine quieter than a moth beating its wings. A home-cooked dinner for 25,000 people. Try exaggerating your idea. What if it were a thousand times bigger, louder, stronger, faster, and brighter?” (PS: My analysis of the astrological omens suggests it’s a favorable time for you to entertain brainstorms and heartstorms and soulstorms. For best results, EXAGGERATE!)
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
If you buy a bag of popcorn and cook it in your microwave oven, there are usually some kernels at the bottom that fail to pop. As tasty as your snack might be, you may still may feel cheated by the duds. I will be bold and predict that you won’t have to deal with such duds in the near future—not in your popcorn bags and not in any other area of your life, either literally or metaphorically. You’re due for a series of experiences that are complete and thorough and fully bloomed.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Writer George Bernard Shaw observed that new ideas and novel perspectives “often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths.” As you strive to get people to consider fresh approaches, Sagittarius, I advise you to skip the “blasphemies and treason” stage. I think that if you proceed with compassion and good humor, you can go directly from “jokes and fancies” to “questions open to discussion.” But one way or another, please be a leader who initiates shifts in your favorite groups and organizations. Shake things up with panache and good humor.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Novelist and astrologer Forrest E. Fickling researched which signs are the worst and best in various activities. He discovered that Capricorns are the hardest workers, as well as the most efficient. They get a lot done, and they are expeditious about it. I suspect you will be at the peak of your ability to express these Capricornian strengths in the coming weeks. Here’s a bonus: You will also be at the height of your power to enjoy your work and be extra likely to produce good work. Take maximum advantage of this grace period!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
The British band Oasis has sold over 95 million records. The first song they ever released was Supersonic. Guitarist Noel Gallagher wrote most of its music and lyrics in half an hour while the rest of the band was eating Chinese take-out food. I suspect you will have that kind of agile, succinct, matter-of-fact creativity in the coming days. If you are wise, you will channel it into dreaming up solutions for two of your current dilemmas. This is one time when life should be easer and more efficient than usual.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“When sex is really, really good,” writes Piscean novelist Geoff Nicholson, “I feel as though I’m disappearing…” Hmmmm. I guess that’s one version. If you want it, you can have it in abundance during the coming weeks. But I encourage you to explore other kinds of wonderful life, as well—like the kind that makes you feel like a genius animal or a gorgeous storm or a super-powered deity.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
So it begins: the Building and Nurturing Togetherness phase of your astrological cycle. The next eight weeks will bring excellent opportunities to shed bad relationship habits and grow good new ones. Let’s get you in the mood with some suggestions from intimacy counselors Mary D. Esselman and Elizabeth Ash Vélez: “No matter how long you’ve been together or how well you think you know each other, you still need to romance your partner, especially in stability. Don’t run off and get an extreme makeover or buy into the red-roses-and-champagne bit. Instead, try being kind, receptive, and respectful. Show your partner, often and in whatever tender, goofy way you both understand, that their heart is your home.”
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
From May 2023 to May 2024, the planets Jupiter and Uranus have been and will be in Taurus. I suspect that many Taurus revolutionaries will be born during this time. And yes, Tauruses can be revolutionaries. Here’s a list of some prominent rebel Bulls: Karl Marx, Malcolm X, activist Kathleen Cleaver, lesbian feminist author Adrienne Rich, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, artist Salvador Dali, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, and dancer Martha Graham. All were wildly original innovators who left a bold mark on their cultures. May their examples inspire you to clarify and deepen the uniquely stirring impact you would like to make, Taurus.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini writer Joe Hill believes the only fight that matters is “the struggle to take the world’s chaos and make it mean something.” I can think of many other fights that matter, too, but Hill’s choice is a good one that can be both interesting and rewarding. I especially recommend it to you in the coming weeks, Gemini. You are poised at a threshold that promises substantial breakthroughs in your ongoing wrangles with confusion, ambiguity, and enigma. My blessings go with you as you wade into the evocative challenges.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Author Crescent Dragonwagon has written over 50 books, so we might conclude she has no problem expressing herself fully. But a character in one of her novels says the following: “I don’t know exactly what I mean by ‘hold something back,’ except that I do it. I don’t know what the ‘something’ is. It’s some part that’s a mystery, maybe even to me. I feel it may be my essence or what I am deep down under all the layers. But if I don’t know what it is, how can I give it or share it with someone even if I wanted to?” I bring these thoughts to your attention, Cancerian, because I believe the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to overcome your own inclination to “hold something back.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In her book Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface, psychologist and author Martha Manning says she is more likely to experience epiphanies in “grocery stores and laundromats, rather than in the more traditional places of reverence and prayer.” She marvels that “it’s in the most ordinary aspects of life” that she is “offered glimpses of the extraordinary.” During these breakthrough moments, “the baseline about what is good and important in my life changes.” I suspect you will be in a similar groove during the coming weeks, Leo. Are you ready to find the sacred in the mundane? Are you willing to shed your expectations of how magic occurs so you will be receptive to it when it arrives unexpectedly?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
“These are the bad facts,” says author Fran Lebowitz. “Men have much easier lives than women. Men have the advantage. So do white people. So do rich people. So do beautiful people.” Do you agree, Virgo? I do. I’m not rich or beautiful, but I’m a white man, and I have received enormous advantages because of it. What about you? Now is a good time to tally any unearned blessings you have benefited from, give thanks for them, and atone by offering help to people who have obtained fewer favors. And if you have not received many advantages, the coming months will be an excellent time to ask for and even demand more.
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: “The most ordinary aspects of life offer glimpses of the extraordinary.” – Martha Manning
Photo by: Jeremy Thomas Photos
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The ramps to Sun Top Lookout - courtesy of Alvin Baptiste'
The ramps to Sun Top Lookout – courtesy of Alvin Baptiste’
From the deck of Sun Top Lookout in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washinton, a hiker can see miles of surrounding forest country with Mount Rainier sparkling in the distance.
Thanks to a prospective Eagle Scout with a big heart, that view is now available to everyone after he led a team of volunteers to build a wheelchair ramp up to the observatory.
Darren Baptiste from Auburn can remember when he decided he wanted to become an Eagle Scout, as well as when he decided to turn his enterprising gaze to helping disabled or wheelchair-bound people enjoy the same things he takes for granted.
The 15-year-old was at a Cub Scout meeting and encountered a wheelchair-bound Eagle Scout, who was doing just that. Fast forward to Baptiste’s final push toward the highest rank and he decided to sign off his application with a significant initiative of building a wheelchair ramp on the Sun Top Lookout.
John Hearing, a Forest Service volunteer who’s overseeing other accessibility projects and who chairs the Snoqualmie Fire Lookouts Association, told Russell Leung at the Seattle Times (paywall) that the Sun Top Lookout was uniquely suited for Baptiste’s idea.
“We get a lot of visitors up there,” Hearing said, estimating 3,000 hikers visited the lookout last year who get to use a parking lot that places them extremely close to the gorgeous view. “But people with mobility issues couldn’t get up there; they couldn’t make that last 150 feet to get to the lookout.”
With Hearing’s help, and volunteer labor from other scouts and some of Baptiste’s family, they embarked on a project that would involve some geometry, carpentry, and leading a team, which he admitted wasn’t easy.
Darren Baptiste (second from right) and John Hearing (second from left) at work along with two volunteers – courtesy of Alvin Baptiste
The ramp was originally planned to be 14 feet long but had to be more than doubled in order for the project to work.
Building the ramp wasn’t exactly in line with Baptiste’s career prospects—he wants to become a commercial airline pilot—but his mother Melanie Baptiste says he’s always been a hands-on person.
“He loves to fix things, he loves to do things with his hands, he loves to build things. So this has been right up his alley, but it’s been challenging for him and I can’t wait for him to see it finished,” she said. “I think it’s something he’ll be able to look back on and just feel a great sense of accomplishment.”
With the ramp, and just a couple more merit badges, Baptiste’s long journey toward the goal he set for himself will be complete, saying “I stuck with it, kept trying and got through all the hardships.”
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Chris Oman and Rebecca MacDonald were tying the knot in Scotland—with photographer Michael Carver taking pictures.
Michael was packing up when his partner texted him to say that the Northern Lights could be seen over the venue at Bogbain Farm.
Moving at breakneck speed, he asked a guest to fetch the bride and groom in the middle of their wedding afterparty while he set up for what he knew could have been the chance of a lifetime.
“I know how quickly this can come and go so I shouted at some poor guy who was smoking outside to quickly run in and grab the bride and groom whilst I set up my camera,” Michael said.
“I could see the skies flaring up and was even able to see the bright colors with my eyes. We had found Chris but Rebecca was no place to be found. Eventually someone dragged her from the dance floor and I had a few seconds to try and grab a shot while the Northern lights pulsed brightly.”
The newlyweds raced outside and got into position before the lights faded into twilight just seconds after Michael had taken a set of photos.
Newly married couple Chris and Rebecca were thrilled with their photos, which added to the already-magical night.
“There had been rumors during the evening that there may be Northern Lights but no sign before Michael was leaving,” said Rebecca. “We’d said our goodbyes when I heard people shouting for me and saying the Lights were out. Michael got Chris and I in the perfect position and the photos have come out amazing.”
“It was just an unexpected but amazing way to celebrate our wedding! We both feel so lucky to have seen such a spectacle and have Michael capture it so beautifully.”
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Across Europe, autumn heralds the arrival of the coveted and delicious porcino, or Boletus edulis mushroom. A cultural and culinary icon in Italian cooking, these mushrooms are the target of recreational mushroom picking in Italy and other countries, but they are also powerful antioxidants and can protect against everything from Crohn’s disease to preeclampsia.
Porcini have been harvested for probably thousands of years, but it’s only recently that they’ve been identified as having the second-highest content of a powerful nutrient among all mushrooms examined for it.
The nutrient is called ergothioneine, styled ‘ERG’ for short, and may very well be the 15th vitamin that science has only just discovered we need. If a vitamin is classified as a compound that organisms need for survival, and which they cannot synthesize themselves, but which isn’t a mineral, a fatty acid, or an amino acid, then ergothioneine is a vitamin. It cannot be created in our own bodies, and we even adapted an endogenous transporter molecule specifically for ergothioneine.
Vitamins in large part must be obtained from the diet, and humans’ only whole food source of ergothioneine is mushrooms as near as makes no difference. Some bacteria and yeast can also synthesize ergothioneine naturally, and in consuming them humans consume ergothioneine. However the scientific particulars of that, including the bioavailability of yeast-born ERG, the levels obtainable through consumption, and the potential side effects, are practically non-existent.
A broad review of ergothioneine published in 2020 reports that its deficiency in humans has been found in cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome, CVD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pre-eclampsia, overhydrated hereditary stomatocytosis, “and is significantly lowered in others such as certain leukemias”.
“Brain and serum ERG levels are also markedly different in Parkinson’s disease… and even in sudden infant death syndrome, and ERG has been shown to be protective against β-amyloid-induced neuronal injury, and cytotoxicity,” the authors note, noting that 1-5 mushroom servings per week in the diet can as much as halve one’s chances of developing cognitive impairment.
PICTURED: Pleurotus citrinopileatus, or the golden oyster mushroom – CC 3.0. Kerry Givens
The 15th vitamin
Part of the story of ERG becoming a nutrient of such importance as to potentially be considered a new vitamin is SLC22A4, or Solute carrier family 22, member 4. This transport molecule was first identified as being a transporter of carnitine and tetraethylammonium, as well as around 85% of all pharmaceutical drugs designed to take up natural products once inside the body.
The authors of the review quoted above state that a groundbreaking discovery showed in 2005 that ergothioneine was taken up by SLC22A4 at rates 100 times greater than tetraethylammonium, and it became known afterwards as the ergothioneine transporter.
Ergo, (pun intended) vertebrate life either evolved SLC22A4 specifically for fungal consumption and ergothioneine transportation, or it adapted SLC22A4 to suit the transport of ergothioneine after evolving it for some other purpose. In both cases, and since SLC22A4 is found in birds, fish, mammals, and some reptiles, it means life adapted to using ergothioneine as an antioxidant a very long time ago.
Ergothioneine is the main antioxidant in mushrooms. WaL published a three-part story on mushrooms as functional medicine, and indeed the variety of active compounds like triterpenes, polyphenols, and a type of fiber called beta-glucan most importantly, all have incredible antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers.
In the 2020 review, the authors point out that ergothioneine can prevent the formation of or detoxify, hydroxyl radicals, singlet oxygen, ozone, superoxide, peroxide, hypochlorite, and peroxynitrite—all of which are common “oxidants” which ergothioneine is “anti” to.
Mice, the authors discuss, that had their ergothioneine pathways removed via genetic alterations were at exceptionally higher risks of oxidative stress, and were thus more liable to ischaemic stroke, erythroid differentiation, hearing loss, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, hearing loss, type 1 diabetes, and diabetic embryopathy.
For this reason, people consider ERG a 15th vitamin because of the rapid degradation of the individual without it, and in fact there is a notable relationship between ergothioneine consumption and longevity.
ERGO, eat mushrooms
Many mushrooms that are thought of as cooking ingredients could easily be described as crossing over from food into edible medicine, something some people call “functional food”. At what point does a food item become so protective and fitness-promoting can we consider it in the same class as medicine? Modern scientists are hashing that out more or less in this generation, but oyster mushrooms certainly fit the bill.
“Many authors indicate that oyster mushrooms could be classified as functional food due to their positive effect on the human organism,” reads a review on the species, concluding that among the various compounds, such as beta-glucans, terpenoids, and polyphenols, oyster mushrooms exhibit “immunostimulatory, anti-neoplastic, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anti-oxidative properties”.
Among ERG-containing mushroom species, the highest known to science is the golden oyster mushroom, which if you saw growing from a log in a rain-soaked forest, certainly would appear to be a magical healing herb. Some cultivated specimens have been found to contain 10 milligrams of ERG per gram of dry-weight mushroom.
Porcini, which are mostly not cultivated, can be up to 7.2 mg per gram, the second-highest known source of ERG among measured mushrooms. WaL
In August, a clouded leopard mother named Rukai gave birth to a kitten, who’s “eating, sleeping and growing,” according to the keepers at the Oklahoma City Zoo where he was born.
The tiny tropical predator, named JD, is doing well, and the zoo reported that as part of a program to ensure the clouded leopard’s survival in the wild, this little fellow will play an important role as an ambassador to the public, 99.999% of whom will never see this nocturnal predator in the wild.
But even with all this seriousness, the zoo couldn’t help but forecast their August as “cloudy, with a 100% chance of making you go ‘Aww.'”
Clouded leopards are native to South and Southeast Asia, but have disappeared entirely from several nations like Vietnam and Taiwan. Current science states that it was the first cat to diverge from the common ancestors of all big cats over 9 million years ago.
Clouded leopards have incredible dexterity, and can climb down trees head first and are able to hang from tree branches by bending their hind paws and tail around a tree limb. They can climb onto horizontal branches whilst hanging with their back to the ground like a monkey.
A unique population, the Formosan clouded leopard native to Taiwan, is officially considered extinct, though anecdotal sightings are enough to make science also officially open to considering the alternative. If they do still exist, they would be the rarest wildcat on Earth.
A solitary cat in the wild, early captive-breeding programs involving clouded leopards were not successful.
“For a long time, [zoos] were having a lot of injuries and even deaths of females when people were trying to do breeding introductions,” Adrienne Crosier, a biologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, told Smithsonian Magazine.
“So, we started pairing young individuals—male and female—together so that they would grow up together, they would have that bond and then they would breed as adults.”
Earlier this year, the Panther Ridge Conservation Center in Florida welcomed four clouded leopard kittens, as did a zoo in Nashville, a real boon to the population which is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
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ADORABLE 🥰 Nashville Zoo has welcomed their very own clouded leopard cub!
Quote of the Day: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry and don’t worry.” – Walter Hagen
Photo by: Amy Treasure
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In 2015, Drs. Xiao Zhen Zhou (left) and Kun Ping Lu discovered the association between cis P-tau and Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injuries and stroke. The new study is the first to identify the toxic protein outside the brain in the placenta and the blood of preeclampsia patients. (Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry photo)
In 2015, Drs. Xiao Zhen Zhou (left) and Kun Ping Lu – Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry photo
A protein long believed to be linked with Alzheimer’s has now been identified as a potential smoking gun for the most common cause of mortal childbirth complications after a drug was shown to have cure-like effects in mice.
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication that affects up to 8% of pregnancies globally and is the leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality due to premature delivery, complications with the placenta, and lack of oxygen.
It was during the course of looking for a treatment for pre-eclampsia that Brown University’s Surendra Sharma and Sukanta Jash discovered that a key marker for the disease was also present in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
Cis P-tau protein is a toxic amyloid found abundantly in the brains of people with strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and other cognitive degeneration, an association discovered by Drs. Kun Ping Lu and Xiao Zhen Zhou from Western Ontario University.
Dr. Zhou was in the middle of trialing an antibody drug that targeted cis P-tau while leaving other proteins unharmed.
Drs. Sharma and Jash were curious whether the same antibody could work as a potential treatment for pre-eclampsia. Upon testing the antibody in mouse models they found astonishing results.
“In this study, we found the cis P-tau antibody efficiently depleted the toxic protein in the blood and placenta, and corrected all features associated with pre-eclampsia in mice,” Dr. Sharma told the Western University press.
“Clinical features of pre-eclampsia, like elevated blood pressure, excessive protein in urine, and fetal growth restriction, among others, were eliminated and pregnancy was normal.”
Lu and Sharma had met at Brown in 2019, where Lu was invited to give a lecture on his research. Following an engaging session and a few dinners together, a collaboration between the Western researchers and Brown was forged.
“Science surprises us. I had never thought of working on finding a therapy for preeclampsia,” Lu admitted. “It also shows that a collaboration can be transformative.”
Sharma and his team at Brown have been working on developing an assay for early detection of preeclampsia and therapies to treat the condition. He believes the findings of this study have brought them closer to their goal.
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A team of Scandinavian researchers has recovered messenger and micro RNA from a Tasmanian tiger specimen kept in a museum collection.
It’s the first-ever collection of RNA from an extinct creature in history, an achievement long sought after in the study of extinct species and for other applications.
The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was truly unique for an apex predator. This large predatory marsupial was king among Tasmanian forests which remain largely intact since its extinction 130 years ago.
For this reason, the potential resurrection of the thylacine has received a lot of attention, as it would immediately solve many problems facing the balance of the Tasmanian ecosystem without the complexities of trying to replace the apex predator role with a non-native animal.
The thylacine evolved on Tasmania, and putting it back would be by far the easiest solution provided the incredibly difficult task of somehow recreating the thylacine through paleogenomics could be accomplished. Colossal Biosciences in Texas is currently working to produce viable thylacine-like embryos using already sequenced DNA to raise in surrogates over the next few years.
Now though, a Swedish-Norwegian team has isolated the transcriptome of the skin and skeletal muscle tissues from a 130-year-old desiccated Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm.
The functional difference between DNA and RNA is that DNA stores genetic information which only RNA can read. RNA reads and carries out the instructions for protein-coding contained within DNA.
The researchers were able to isolate useable RNA from a thylacine that carried instructions for skin and skeletal muscle coding which might be key to any resurrection.
“This is the first time that we have had a glimpse into the existence of thylacine-specific regulatory genes, such as microRNAs, that got extinct more than one century ago,” says Marc R. Friedländer, Associate Professor at the Wenner-Gren Institute at Stockholm University.
The authors point out that museum collections around the world contain vast collections of endangered and extinct species, and their technique for recovering the thylacine RNA holds promise for the study and or protection of all these creatures.
They write that the RNA from the thylacine looks a lot like that of existing marsupials.
“Resurrecting the Tasmanian tiger or the woolly mammoth is not a trivial task, and will require a deep knowledge of both the genome and transcriptome regulation of such renowned species, something that only now is starting to be revealed,” says Emilio Mármol, the lead author of a study recently published in the Genome Research journal.
The idea of resurrecting a species has nothing to do with cloning, and has so far centered around the idea of altering the genetic expression of the animal’s closest living relative in utero. In the case of the wooly mammoth, it would be the elephant, and in the case of the thylacine, perhaps the fat-tailed dunnart or Tasmanian devil.
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Whether she likes Disney Princesses or not, a 7-year-old girl was certainly celebrating her birthday like one after finding a 2.95-carat diamond on a hike in Arkansas.
Found in Crater of Diamonds State Park, located on the site of an extinct diamond volcano, it’s about the size of a green pea, golden brown in color, and without a single broken facet.
Aspen Brown and her father Luther went to the park in September for her birthday, several weeks after construction workers had dug out a 150-foot-long trench for infrastructure, which the Park Superintendent, Caleb Howell, said probably brought several tons of diamond-bearing material to the surface.
Dad Luther remembers the moment quite clearly, as it was a very warm day in the diamond search area.
“She (Aspen) got hot and wanted to sit down for a minute, so she walked over to some big rocks by the fence line,” Mr. Brown said according to a park statement. “Next thing I know, she was running to me, saying ‘Dad! Dad! I found one!’”
It’s the second-largest diamond found in the park this year, and was found close to where another large diamond, the 3.72-carat Caro Avenger, was discovered in 2019. The birthday girl decided to name it the “Aspen Diamond.”
A Google search for a diamond of that size in white shows they can cost anywhere from $12,000 to $50,000 polished and set.
“Aspen’s diamond has a golden-brown color and a sparkling luster. It is a complete crystal, with no broken facets and a small crevice on one side, created when the diamond was formed,” said Waymon Cox, assistant park superintendent. “It’s certainly one of the most beautiful diamonds I’ve seen in recent years.”
100 million years ago, a hotspot where pressures, temperatures, and materials mix in the perfect quantities to forge diamonds deep in the Earth’s mantle—the second layer of the planet below the crust—was forced to the surface through volcanism.
Smithsonian Institute’s Sarah Kuta reports that precious stones found in the park include garnet, jasper, quartz, amethyst, and agate, as well as diamonds in three colors: yellow, brown, and white.
The Crater of Diamonds is the only safe place in the world where the public can prospect for diamonds and keep what they find. Around 89 carats in total have been found there.
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