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Instead of Demolishing its Tallest Building, Australia Holds Contest to ‘Upcycle a Skyscraper’ Saving Tons of CO2

By
Andy Corbley
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The Quay Quarter Tower - released by 3XN
The Quay Quarter Tower – released by 3XN

In 2014, the Australian firm AMP Capital launched a bold and bizarre call to action to the architectural community of Sydney—replace their skyscraper headquarters without demolishing it.

They wanted their AMP Center, the once-tallest building in Sydney, to become the world’s first “upcycled skyscraper,” and the results were truly inspirational.

By grating a second tower onto the existing core of the AMP Center and not demolishing it, 12,000 tons of CO2 were saved which would have otherwise been created through the use of heavy machinery and the loss of carbon captured in the cement. 12,000 tons is equal to 3 years of the 49-story tower’s maximum energy consumption.

Built in the 1970s, the AMP Center wasn’t necessarily on its last legs, but wasn’t viable for the company any longer. But the firm was unwilling to commit to the massive costs of carbon and money when another option was available.

First though, sufficiently bold architects were needed for the project. Three firms teamed up, led by Danish architects 3XN, an Engineering company called Arup, and the Australian architects BVN.

“The tower was coming to the end of the end of its life, in terms of viability… but the structure and the ‘bones’ can actually last a lot longer,” said Fred Holt from 3XN in a video interview. “You can’t always retain everything. But if you can retain the structure—and that’s where the majority of your embodied carbon is—then you’re lowering your footprint.”

MORE ARCHITECTURE NEWS: When Architect Asks AI to Design Futuristic Skyscrapers It Proposed a Vertical Forest

At first it was unclear how much of the original structure would be saved. Beginning on the project, the team realized the original tower was actually about 4 meters shorter than the original drawings suggested.

Towers, it turns out, shrink—a result of the concrete spreading and settling. And it was only when construction began in 2018 that the architects could really get a sense of whether the concrete was as strong as their initial estimates, as well as where—and how much—extra weight could be placed.

The Quay Quarter Tower with a view over the harbor – released by 3XN

They installed hundreds of sensors to track the tiniest of movements to ensure that by aligning their new construction with the old one, there wouldn’t be any surprises waiting for them at key moments.

In short, the build was a huge success, and the architects boast that walking from the new construction into the old tower is an unnoticeable transition.

MORE SUSTAINABLE TOWERS: The New Green Building Revolution Uses Timber to Build ‘Plyscrapers’ That Save Tons of CO2

Five stacked units with sharp points twist up toward the sky, while an envelope covers both the new extension and the old tower such that no one could tell the difference. Office space was expanded from 4,500 to 9,000 personnel, and the lack of demolition saved AMP around AUD$150 million.

The Quay Quarter Tower, as it’s called, won World Building of the Year upon its opening late in 2022. 3XN hopes it serves as a case study for the future potential in upcycling towers.

WATCH the transformation below… 

SHARE This Unheard Of Upcycling With Your Carbon-Conscious Friends… 

“Willing to experience aloneness, I discover connection everywhere.” – Jennifer Welwood

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Willing to experience aloneness, I discover connection everywhere.” – Jennifer Welwood

Photo by: Umberto

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?

This Gel Stops Brain Tumors After Surgery, Offering Hope for Glioblastoma Cancer Patients

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Good News Network
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Johns Hopkins / SWNS

Medication delivered by a novel gel cured 100% of mice with an aggressive brain cancer, a striking result that offers new hope for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most common brain tumors in humans.

“We think this hydrogel will be the future,” said study leader Professor Honggang Cui of Johns Hopkins University.

Cui’s team combined an anticancer drug and an antibody in a solution that self-assembles into a gel to fill the tiny grooves left after a brain tumor is surgically removed.

The gel can reach areas that surgery might miss and current drugs struggle to reach to kill lingering cancer cells and suppress tumor growth.

The gel also seems to trigger an immune response that a mouse’s body struggles to activate on its own when fighting glioblastoma.

When the researchers re-challenged surviving mice with a new glioblastoma tumor, their immune systems alone beat the cancer without additional medication. The gel appears to not only fend off cancer but help rewire the immune system to discourage recurrence with immunological memory, researchers said.

CHECK OUT: Vaccine that Could Cure and Even Prevent Brain Cancer Developed by Scientists

Still, surgery is essential for this approach, the researchers said. Applying the gel directly in the brain without surgical removal of the tumor resulted in just a 50% survival rate.

“The surgery likely alleviates some of that pressure and allows more time for the gel to activate the immune system to fight the cancer cells,” Prof. Cui said.

The gel solution consists of nano-sized filaments made with paclitaxel, an FDA-approved drug for breast, lung, and other cancers. The filaments provided a vehicle to deliver the antibody called aCD47. By blanketing the tumor cavity evenly, the gel releases medication steadily over several weeks, and its active ingredients remain close to the injection site.

By using that specific antibody, the team is trying to overcome one of the toughest hurdles in glioblastoma research. It targets macrophages, a type of cell that sometimes supports immunity but other times protects cancer cells, allowing aggressive tumor growth.

MORE WINS: New Brain Cancer Immunotherapy Shows Promise in Human Trial – Most Patients Saw No Tumor Growth

The results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

One of the go-to therapies for glioblastoma is a wafer co-developed by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1990s, commercially known as Gliadel. It is an FDA-approved, biodegradable polymer that also delivers medication into the brain after surgical tumor removal.

Gliadel showed significant survival rates in laboratory experiments, but the results achieved with the new gel are some of the most impressive the Johns Hopkins team has seen, said Betty Tyler, a co-author and associate professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who played a pivotal role in the development of Gliadel.

“We don’t usually see 100% survival in mouse models of this disease,” Tyler said. “Thinking that there is potential for this new hydrogel combination to change that survival curve for glioblastoma patients is very exciting.”

HEARTWARMING: Mom Wins Lottery with Ticket She Bought Celebrating Daughter’s Victory Over Cancer

The new gel offers hope for future glioblastoma treatment because it integrates anticancer drugs and antibodies, a combination of therapies researchers say is difficult to administer simultaneously because of the molecular composition of the ingredients.

“The gel is implanted at the time of tumor resection, which makes it work really well,” Tyler said.

The challenge now is to translate the gel’s results in the lab into therapies with substantial clinical impacts.

DON’T FORGET TO SHARE THE HOPE ON SOCIAL MEDIA….

Lager Beer, the World’s Favorite, was Invented By Accident 400 Years Ago When 2 Yeasts Walked into a Bar – Study

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Good News Network
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lucas Oliveira
lucas Oliveira

Lager is the world’s most popular beer, and new research shows it was invented by accident more than 400 years ago in Bavaria.

The yeast that is currently used to brew cold beer originated in Munich, at the court of Maximilian the Great, after two different yeasts came into contact and mated.

Their coupling created the new species Saccharomyces pastorianus, which works at a much slower rate and at cooler temperatures in caves and cellars.

For thousands of years, all beers were fermented with the particular strain named Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It ferments warm and relatively quickly – producing what we refer to as ale. Evidence of fermented beverages from China date back at least 7,000 years ago, and from Israel up to 13,000 years ago.

In a new study, a microbiologist at the Technical University of Munich explained that lager uses S. pastorianus, which is responsible for the production of bottom-fermented lagers.

“It is a hybrid that arose from the mating of the top-fermenting ale yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the cold-tolerant Saccharomyces eubayanus around the start of the 17th century,” said lead author Dr. Mathias Hutzler.

RELATED: A Beer A Day (Even Non-Alcoholic) Seems to Keep the Doctor Away

For their study published in FEMS Yeast Research, the team combined documents with evolutionary and genetic data to trace the beverage’s origins to the Munich brewery of the Duke of Bavaria in 1602.

The mingling

They found S. cerevisiae (the most common yeast used in European brewing at the time, which produced ale) had contaminated a batch of beer brewed with the wild variant S. eubayanus at a wheat brewery in the small town of Schwarzach in southern Germany.

The paler beers that today are the most popular in the world are the lagers, like Heineken, Miller, and Corona—and researchers sought to understand the historical shift from ale to lager in Europe.

The mystery of the lager yeast’s parentage was solved in 2011, when S. eubayanus was discovered in the Patagonian Andes in Argentina.

The new study shows S. pastorianus developed in three stages. First, the yeast strain S. cerevisiae came to Munich from Bohemia, where brewers had made wheat beer since at least the 14th century—it’s the same species that is still used today to make ale-style beer, wine, and bread.

Then, in a Munich brewery in 1602, it mated with S, eubayanus, which was also involved in making beer, giving rise to S. pastorianus.

LOOK: Zac Efron Bonds with 81-Year-Old Hero Who Inspired His New Film, ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’

The new species of yeast was distributed around Munich breweries first, and then throughout Europe and the world. Lager now accounts for approximately 90 percent of the beer consumed annually.

According to Dr. Hutzler, no one had figured out how S. pastorianus came about, until now.

LIFT YOUR GLASS–By Sharing This Discovery With Beer-Lovers on Social Media…

Guy on Pub Crawl Dressed as Gandalf Bumps into ‘Real’ Ian McKellen For Best Birthday Surprise Ever

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Good News Network
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Ben Coyles with Sir Ian McKellen – SWNS
Ben Coyles with Sir Ian McKellen – SWNS

A man celebrating his birthday dressed as Gandalf from Lord of the Rings was on a pub crawl when he suddenly bumped into Sir Ian McKellen.

Tolkien super-fan Ben Coyles was out marking his 22nd birthday when he ran into the iconic British actor who played the part.

McKellen, who portrayed Gandalf the wizard in the blockbuster film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit), was in the English city of Bristol for a stage role.

Ben was walking to the next celebratory bar with a group of friends on April 13 when they turned onto Corn Street and saw the Oscar-nominated man himself.

Almost in shock, Ben’s friends managed to take a couple photos for him featuring his hero.

“We had no idea he would be there,” said Felix Spencer. “We were on our penultimate pub when someone comes up and asks if we would like our Gandalf to meet the real Gandalf.

“So I turn around and assume it’s going to be someone pulling my leg but when I turn round Sir Ian McKellen is right there.

A few of Ben’s friends knew he was in town—performing in Mother Goose at the Bristol Hippodrome on April 14th with comedian John Bishop—but they never imagined bumping into him.

Ben Coyles with Sir Ian McKellen – SWNS

“So, it was really bizarre,” said Ben, a music student at the University of Bristol. “I didn’t recognize him immediately, then I was like ‘OH MY GOD, IT’S SIR IAN MCKELLEN!’

“Everybody said ‘what on earth is going on?!’

“He asked me how old I was, and said ‘happy birthday’, and shook my hand.

“I was flabbergasted, I had no idea what to do or say.

“We had zero idea that he was walking down that street.

“He’s a really lovely bloke, an excellent guy, nice, down to earth and humble and I’d like to buy him a drink.

RELATED: ‘Lord of the Rings’ Cast is Crowdfunding to Buy J.R.R. Tolkien’s Home And Dedicate it to Fans

“If I was 10-20 meters ahead of him it wouldn’t have happened—the planets aligned.”

SEND Some Whimsy to Wizarding Fans on Social Media–SHARE the Moment…

Revolutionary Music Therapy Helps Paralyzed Man Walk and Talk Again – It ‘Unlocked the Brain’

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Good News Network
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Ian Palmer with his music therapist, Clare – SWNS

A patient who was left almost completely paralyzed from a rare disease is now walking and talking again, after a music therapist prescribed mindful listening to his favorite song every night—in this case, a tune by The Carpenters.

71 year-old Ian Palmer was struck down with Guillain-Barré syndrome last June, forcing him to spend seven months in a hospital where he was unable to walk or speak properly. The rare condition happens when a person’s own immune system attacks their body’s motor nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.

“It selectively targets the motor nerve cells and you have to wait for them to regenerate—which in your 70s is quite worrying!”

“I was in intensive care, being suctioned 24 hours a day, as I couldn’t swallow, and this was leading to choking problems, and I had a nasogastric tube fitted for over four months.”

Ian’s speech was affected by the syndrome because it caused damage to his larynx, the tunnel in the back of the throat where air passes through to create sounds.

But when Ian was transferred to Sue Ryder Neurological Care Centre, a state-of-the-art care unit in Lancashire, England, clinicians used music therapy techniques to overcome ‘near total paralysis of his body’.

His specialist, Clare, taught him mindfulness techniques using his favorite records—and he began listening to The Carpenters each night.

Ian Palmer with his music therapist, Clare – SWNS

Ian was admittedly skeptical, but he can now walk 2 miles a day (3k) and have conversations with his family after the exercises “opened up” his brain.

He’s never been very musical, so when Sue Ryder first suggested music therapy he said, ‘What good is that going to do?’

“I’m a typical Northern man, and I thought, ‘What’s a girl with a guitar going to do for me—get me to the gym.’”

“But it really worked. Clare sat me down and explained the process. I learned that music is very unlike other therapies, as it opens up all of the brain.”

She taught Ian to sing a long note using his diaphragm to assist.

“I told her, ‘I don’t even know where that is!’ But, she explained that by calling on the diaphragm, you’re training the brain so that it can use other muscles too.

“It learns the pathways and reopens them.”

CHECK OUT: The Lullaby Project Connects Mothers Behind Bars with Their Babies, Helping Them Write Original Lullabies

Clare also got Ian to practice mindfulness techniques, with some assistance from his favorite records.

“She wanted something I could relax to, and being of a certain age, The Carpenters was my choice. She asked me to do it before bed, and now I put The Carpenters on every night.

“She told me to push away the thoughts, and just focus on the music.

FUN: Older Gentleman Steals Dance Floor With Flawless Michael Jackson Moves: Age is Just a Number (WATCH)

Ian, who has since been discharged from the clinic, which also has locations around England and Scotland, said he was amazed at the difference music therapy had made to his experience.

“One of my goals was to walk through my front door. Now I can take my headphones and go for a walk doing my vocal exercises. There’s been such a positive impact.”

Using his diaphragm, he also learned how to breathe more effectively.

“My mum couldn’t understand me when she first came to visit. But now I’m confident that the music therapy I’ve received has more than dealt with it, and my voice has been able to join the rest of my body in recovering.”

POPULAR: Singing Bus Driver Becomes a Star After Making Music Video to Show Family in India What He Did for Work (WATCH)

And there might not have been a better a song choice than We’ve Only Just Begun…

SING PRAISES For Holistic Medicine By Sharing on Social Media…

“The greatest gift to offer any situation, moment, or person is a positive state of heart and mind. That’s the possibility engine.” – William Sebrans

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “The greatest gift to offer any situation, moment, or person is a positive state of heart and mind. That’s the possibility engine.” – William Sebrans

Photo by: adrianna geo

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?

Chipotle is Giving Away Free Burrito Lunches to Healthcare Workers – Sign Up Today

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Good News Network
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Chipotle
Chipotle

It’s time to celebrate American healthcare workers—and Chipotle is giving us an easy way to say thank you.

To mark National Nurses Week in early May, the Mexican restaurant chain announced more than $1 million in free lunches for healthcare professionals.

2,000 healthcare workers will win ‘Burrito Care Packages’ which come with 50 free entrées for their team. In total, they will feed 100,000 nurses and their colleagues.

Launched on April 27, healthcare workers in the US can sign up for the chance to win the Care Packages until the final day of Nurses Week, Friday, May 12. Learn more and sign-up at chipotle.com/healthcare-heroes.

No purchase is necessary, and the company will begin reaching out to the winners directly by May 19.

“Given the demands placed on the healthcare community every day, we know finding time to bond, celebrate, or even eat as a team can be challenging,” said Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer. “The Burrito Care Packages offer a convenient opportunity for healthcare units to come together and share a delicious meal on us.”

LOOK: Heartwarming Photo Captures Man’s Gesture of Gratitude Towards the Nurses Who Saved His Wife’s Life

Round-Up Your Bill to Support Nurses

To support its 2023 campaign, Chipotle is making it easy for all customers to round-up their change to the next highest dollar amount (until May 12) to support the American Nurses Foundation, a charitable and philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association.

Since the pandemic began, the brand has given away more than $4 million in free Chipotle to medical professionals.

SHARE the Free Lunches With EVERY Healthcare Worker You Know on Social Media…

Great-Grandma Gets 90th Birthday Wish to Ride a Harley Again, Courtesy of a Biker Gang

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Good News Network
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Barbara Morris celebrates her 90th on the back of a Harley – SWNS
Barbara Morris celebrates her 90th on the back of a Harley – SWNS

A great-grandmother who is mad for motorcycles was granted her birthday wish to ride on the back of a Harley-Davidson – a call-back to her youth while celebrating turning 90.

Fearless Brit Barbara Morris said she “felt 21 again” during her spin around town on the powerful American cruising bike.

She mentioned to her family several years ago that if she made it to 90, she’d like to get back in the saddle one last time.

She was left stunned when her sons arrived recently at her nursing home with members of a local biker group. Though wearing a dress, she had no concerns about straddling the bike right there on the spot, before taking a trip with 13 other riders to a pub.

“I just felt the years melt away,” said the great-grandmother of six. “It was just an incredible experience to feel the wind blowing in my face again.”

Barbara got her first motorcycle license as a teen in the 1950s. She’s pictured below with her best friend Mac.

Barbara at 18 on the back of a bike in 1953 –SWNS

Her granddaughter Kirsty Harvey, 34, who helped organize the surprise for Barbara along with the local biker chapter of Widows Sons, said the inspiring senior had a ‘daredevil spirit’ and wasn’t fazed by anything.

“My uncle said to her ‘You always said if you made it to 90, you wanted to go on a Harley,’ and then she said, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you remember that’.”

Barbara Morris with members of Widows Sons – SWNS

“She’s got nerves of steel, she’s not really afraid of anything. She’s kind of from that generation that was made of tough stuff. Nothing really fazes them.”

Barbara got her first bike, a Royal Enfield 350, when she was about 19, and used it to get around while in college. She quickly caught the bug for riding, which she then passed on to the rest of her family.

“She always had a little bike that she nipped about on. Her three sons later all had motorbikes and a keen interest in motorbike racing and groups.”

To ride on a powerful Harley-Davidson was made all the more special because she’d never been on one before.

WATCH: Older Gentleman Steals Dance Floor With Flawless Michael Jackson Moves: Age is Just a Number (WATCH)

Kirsty explained how they brought in the staff at the Ambleside Bank Residential Home in Manchester to organize the surprise. “They permed her hair and did her make-up, and got her dressed up nicely.”

SWNS

“She can’t see very well, so they had to take her right up to the bike, and when she realized what it was, her face was ‘just a picture’.

LOOK: 80-yo Woman Celebrates Doing a 5K Every Day Since Pandemic–1,000 in a Row!

“She thought it was just a nice bike to look at, and when we actually told her she was going on, she was a bit speechless. She couldn’t believe it.”

INSPIRE More Silver Shenanigans By Sharing With Seniors on Social Media…

Astronomers Solve the 60-Year Mystery of Quasars – the Most Powerful Objects in the Universe

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Good News Network
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Quasar Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO and Mentes Astronomicas (CC license)
Quasar Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO and Mentes Astronomicas (CC license)

Scientists have unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of quasars – the brightest, most powerful objects in the Universe – by discovering that they are ignited by galaxies colliding.

First discovered 60 years ago, quasars can shine as brightly as a trillion stars packed into a volume the size of our Solar System. In the decades since they were first observed, it has remained a mystery what could trigger such powerful activity. New work led by scientists at the Universities of Sheffield and Hertfordshire has now revealed that it is a consequence of galaxies crashing together.

The collisions were discovered when researchers, using deep imaging observations from the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, observed the presence of distorted structures in the outer regions of the galaxies that are home to quasars.

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Most galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers. They also contain substantial amounts of gas—but most of the time this gas is orbiting at large distances from the galaxy centers, out of reach of the black holes.

Collisions between galaxies drive the gas towards the black hole at the galaxy centre; just before the gas is consumed by the black hole, it releases extraordinary amounts of energy in the form of radiation, resulting in the characteristic quasar brilliance.

The ignition of a quasar can have dramatic consequences for entire galaxies – it can drive the rest of the gas out of the galaxy, which prevents it from forming new stars for billions of years into the future.

This is the first time that a sample of quasars of this size has been imaged with this level of sensitivity. By comparing observations of 48 quasars and their host galaxies with images of over 100 non-quasar galaxies, researchers concluded that galaxies hosting quasars are approximately three times as likely to be interacting or colliding with other galaxies.

The study published this week in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has provided a significant step forward in our understanding of how these powerful objects are triggered and fueled.

Professor Clive Tadhunter, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, said: “Quasars are one of the most extreme phenomena in the Universe, and what we see is likely to represent the future of our own Milky Way galaxy when it collides with the Andromeda galaxy in about five billion years.

RELATED: Astronomers Observe 2 Neutron Stars Colliding and the Extreme Reaction ‘Defies All Expectations’

“It’s exciting to observe these events and finally understand why they occur – but thankfully Earth won’t be anywhere near one of these apocalyptic episodes for quite some time.”

Quasars are important to astrophysicists because, due to their brightness, they stand out at large distances and therefore act as beacons to the earliest epochs in the history of the Universe. Dr Jonny Pierce, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire, explains:

“It’s an area that scientists around the world are keen to learn more about – one of the main scientific motivations for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was to study the earliest galaxies in the Universe, and Webb is capable of detecting light from even the most distant quasars, emitted nearly 13 billion years ago.

CHECK OUT: Ringed Planet That Defies Known Physics Discovered in Outer Reaches of Our Solar System

“Quasars play a key role in our understanding of the history of the Universe, and possibly also the future of the Milky Way”.

(Source: University of Sheffield)

UNCOVER the Mystery for Your Friends By Sending This on a Collision With Social Media…

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

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Good News Network
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Our partner Rob Brezsny 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 April 29, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
After the fall of the Roman Empire, political cohesion in its old territories was scarce for hundreds of years. Then a leader named Charlemagne (747–814) came along and united much of what we now call Western Europe. He was unusual in many respects. For example, he sought to master the arts of reading and writing. Most other rulers of his time regarded those as paltry skills that were beneath their dignity. I mention this fact, Taurus, because I suspect it’s a propitious time to consider learning things you have previously regarded as unnecessary or irrelevant or outside your purview. What might these abilities be?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I’m turning this horoscope over to Nigerian poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo. She has three messages that are just what you need to hear right now. 1. “Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have.” 2. “You must let the pain visit. You must allow it to teach you. But you must not allow it to overstay.” 3. “Write a poem for your 14-year-old self. Forgive her. Heal her. Free her.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Historical records tell us that Chinese Emperor Hungwu (1328–1398) periodically dealt with overwhelming amounts of decision-making. During one ten-day phase of his reign, for example, he was called on to approve 1,660 documents concerning 3,391 separate issues. Based on my interpretation of the planetary omens, I suspect you may soon be called on to deal with a similar outpouring. This might tempt you toward over-stressed reactions like irritation and self-medication. But I hope you’ll strive to handle it all with dignity and grace. In fact, that’s what I predict you will do. In my estimation, you will be able to summon the extra poise and patience to manage the intensity.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Is it even possible for us humans to live without fear—if even for short grace periods? Could you or I or anyone else somehow manage to celebrate, say, 72 hours of freedom from all worries and anxieties and trepidations? I suspect the answer is no. We may aspire to declare our independence from dread, but 200,000 years of evolution ensures that our brains are hard-wired to be ever-alert for danger. Having provided that perspective, however, I will speculate that if anyone could approach a state of utter dauntlessness, it will be you Leos in the next three weeks. This may be as close as you will ever come to an extended phase of bold, plucky audacity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
“Dear Sunny Bright Cheery Upbeat Astrologer: You give us too many sunny, bright, cheery, upbeat predictions. They lift my mood when I first read them, but later I’m like, “What the hell?” Because yeah, they come true, but they usually cause some complications I didn’t foresee. Maybe you should try offering predictions that bum me out, since then I won’t have to deal with making such big adjustments. —Virgo Who is Weary of Rosy Hopeful Chirpy Horoscopes.” Dear Virgo: You have alluded to a key truth about reality: Good changes often require as much modification and adaptation as challenging changes. Another truth: One of my specialties is helping my readers manage those good changes. And by the way: I predict the next two weeks will deliver a wealth of interesting and buoyant changes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Poet Pablo Neruda wrote, “Let us look for secret things somewhere in the world on the blue shores of silence.” That might serve as a good motto for you in the coming weeks. By my astrological reckoning, you’ll be wise to go in quest for what’s secret, concealed, and buried. You will generate fortuitous karma by smoking out hidden agendas and investigating the rest of the story beneath the apparent story. Be politely pushy, Libra. Charmingly but aggressively find the missing information and the shrouded rationales. Dig as deep as you need to go to explore the truth’s roots.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
We’ve all done things that make perfect sense to us, though they might look nonsensical or inexplicable to an outside observer. Keep this fact in your awareness during the next two weeks, Scorpio. Just as you wouldn’t want to be judged by uninformed people who don’t know the context of your actions, you should extend this same courtesy to others, especially now. At least some of what may appear nonsensical or inexplicable will be serving a valuable purpose. Be slow to judge. Be inclined to offer the benefit of the doubt.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I completely understand if you feel some outrage about the lack of passion and excellence you see in the world around you. You have a right to be impatient with the laziness and carelessness of others. But I hope you will find ways to express your disapproval constructively. The best approach will be to keep criticism to a minimum and instead focus on generating improvements. For the sake of your mental health, I suggest you transmute your anger into creativity. You now have an enhanced power to reshape the environments and situations you are part of so they work better for everyone.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In the 17th century, renowned Capricorn church leader James Ussher announced he had discovered when the world had been created. It was at 6 pm on October 22 in the year 4004 BCE. From this spectacularly wrong extrapolation, we might conclude that not all Capricorns are paragons of logic and sound analysis 100 percent of the time. I say we regard this as a liberating thought for you in the coming weeks. According to my analysis, it will be a favorable time to indulge in wild dreams, outlandish fantasies, and imaginative speculations. Have fun, dear Capricorn, as you wander out in the places that singer Tom Petty referred to as “The Great Wide Open.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
We often evaluate prospects quantitatively: how big a portion do we get, how much does something cost, how many social media friends can we add? Quantity does matter in some cases, but on other occasions may be trumped by quality. A few close, trustworthy friends may matter more than hundreds of Instagram friends we barely know. A potential house may be spacious and affordable, but be in a location we wouldn’t enjoy living in. Your project in the coming weeks, Aquarius, is to examine areas of your life that you evaluate quantitatively and determine whether there are qualitative aspects neglected in your calculations.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“Dear Dr. Astrology: Help! I want to know which way to go. Should I do the good thing or the right thing? Should I be kind and sympathetic at the risk of ignoring my selfish needs? Or should I be a pushy stickler for what’s fair and true, even if I look like a preachy grouch? Why is it so arduous to have integrity? —Pinched Pisces.” Dear Pisces: Can you figure out how to be half-good and half-right? Half-self-interested and half-generous? I suspect that will generate the most gracious, constructive results.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
According to a study by Newsweek magazine, 58 percent of us yearn to experience spiritual growth; 33 percent report having had a mystical or spiritual experience; 20 percent of us say we have had a revelation from God in the last year; and 13 percent have been in the presence of an angel. Given the astrological omens currently in play for you Aries, I suspect you will exceed all those percentages in the coming weeks. I hope you will make excellent use of your sacred encounters. What two areas of your life could most benefit from a dose of divine assistance or intervention? There’s never been a better time than now to seek a Deus ex machina (a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence).
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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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“Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking… but start.” – Ijeoma Umebinyuo

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking… but start.” – Ijeoma Umebinyuo

Photo by: Nighthawk Shoots

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?

Woman Saved After Her Dog Found a Kidney Donor at the Beach: One-in-22 Million Odds

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Cenydd Owen
credit – Cenydd Owen

In an absolutely jaw-dropping change of fortune, a Welshwoman with late-stage renal failure met a kidney donor on the beach who happened to be a perfect match.

44-year-old Lucy Humphrey from Caerphilly has lived her whole adult life with lupus, but it was in 2017 that she heard from her doctors that if she couldn’t find a new kidney in 5-year’s time, there was a chance she would die.

Requiring kidney dialysis, Humphrey and her partner Cenydd Owen had to cancel their campervan holiday, and so decided to drive it instead to the beach to have a barbeque.

While they were there, one of their two Dobermans, a big lug called Indie, kept running over to another camper to pester her while she was crocheting. By the third time, Owen went over to apologize.

There were no hard feelings between the camper, 40-year-old Katie James, and Indie, and in fact she was soon over at the barbeque chatting with Humphrey.

It was there James learned that Humphrey needed a kidney. She spoke up to mention that she had just joined the kidney donation register and offered to swap phone numbers.

“And to be honest I didn’t think anything else would come of it,” Humphrey remarked to the Daily Record.

MORE INSPIRING STORIES: Inspired By Daughter’s Life-Saving Kidney Donor, Father Returns the Favor and Becomes a Donor

However, blood tests later revealed the two campers were a perfect match, something which Humphrey described as a 1-in-22 million chance. The transplant took place in October of 2022, after which Humphrey needed 4 weeks to be discharged from the hospital due to James’ donated kidney not “waking up” fast enough.

After that, she could finally go on that campervan holiday, have a drink with dinner, and do many more activities besides.

MORE WELSH NEWS: Wales is Building a National Forest That Will Span the Length and Breadth of the Country

“I’m so grateful for her… I told my partner in 2019 if I didn’t find a transplant within five years it was possible something would happen and I would die,” said Humphrey. “I want this to be a message to other people not to give up hope.”

“The Kidney Gang” credit – Cenydd Owen

James said when she first signed up she was told she wouldn’t receive any information on what her donated kidney would accomplish—whether it saved a life or not, or even who it went to.

Like this, she not only knows for sure it saved a woman’s life, but it created a lasting friendship—proof of which lies in the smartphones of James, Humphrey, and Owen, where WhatsApp messages bear the address “The Kidney Gang” from the group chat they created.

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Good Gardening—A New Year: What Have You Got in the Ground?

By
Andy Corbley
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Painting by Josephine Wall – CC 3.0
Painting by Josephine Wall – CC 3.0

Welcome back to Good Gardening! Last week most of our Good Gardeners were lying dormant still, and didn’t have anything so far to share. Perhaps on the cusp of May, there will be news and pictures—or at least we can start with mine.

Since our last post, my garden has sprung to life thanks to a mild Italian winter. I took a chance to start a bit early, which is why the tomato plant in the central frame is as tall as it is (my grandmother told me it was doomed).

In the left frame one can see a line of yellow bell peppers, and on the right, the sown carrots beginning to emerge from their thick winter mulch. The flowers in the middle are calendula, which I also started early to build as deep a root system as possible to survive the summer.

I also planted a Japanese maple to commemorate the birth of my son, Harrison, on April 13th. I had to make the difficult choice between a rising maple and a spreading maple, but unlike what I remember from living in the US, here in Italy, the rising maple is quite popular, and I liked the idea of saving space along the ground. I covered the upturned soil in moss, watered it, and covered it with leaves because the birds rip up the moss I plant.

 

 

“More beings than most – Awake but one time a year – and with that are glad,” – Andy Corbley

 

Topic Week 14: What have you got in the ground?

Question 1: How did you prepare your garden for the growing season?

Question 2: What have you got peeking out of the soil so far?

Question 3: Do you like to start things inside early or sow directly?

Tell Us Here in The Comments… or, send your questions, tips, and photos to [email protected]. Join our Facebook Good Gardens thread every Friday on the GNN Facebook Page…

Good gardening rules

  • Green thumbs can help novice greenhorns.
  • Share your gardening photos and resources.
  • Garden jargon encouraged!

INVITE Friends to our Gardening Discussion on Social Media–And Share Your Photos and Tips!

Volcanic Microbe Discovered Can Eat CO2 ‘Astonishingly Quickly’ to Cut Climate-Heating Gases

By
Andy Corbley
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Vulcano, Italy - credit Vicky Brock CC 2.0.
Vulcano, Italy – credit Vicky Brock CC 2.0.

A microbe discovered living on the slopes of an Italian volcano can eat and store CO2 in its body faster than any other species yet known.

Scientists hope to be able to harness the creature’s powers to create carbon-capture ponds to aid in pulling CO2 out of the atmosphere.

While reducing the input of fossil fuel-released CO2 into the atmosphere is still important, many scientists are now predicting that the predicted effects of climate change will take place regardless based on the amount of CO2 already in the atmosphere; as such the removal of that CO2 moves into equal importance.

Near the Sicilian city of Palermo, the island of Vulcano played host to a microbe that ate CO2 “astonishingly quickly” and that sinks in water.

The sinking is unique because it would allow machinery to collect the CO2 the microbes absorbed, meaning carbon-capture ponds wouldn’t need to act like landfills; they could be refilled over and over again.

“The project takes advantage of 3.6 billion years of microbial evolution,” said Dr. Braden Tierney, from Weill Cornell Medical College, to The Guardian.

“The nice thing about microbes is that they are self-assembling machines. You don’t have that with a lot of the chemical approaches [to CO2 capture].”

MORE CARBON NEWS: Facebook, Google, Stripe, Shopify Investing a Billion Dollars in Pre-Orders for Captured Carbon

Microbes have been seen by many different parties as a potential part of the solution to climate change.

In 2022 GNN reported that scientists working for the biochemical firm LanzaTech discovered a way to genetically engineer bacteria that consume carbon oxide and carbon dioxide before converting them into two widely used chemicals, acetone and isopropanol, that would otherwise generate hundreds of thousands of tons of CO2 emissions.

MORE SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE:  Tiny Marine Microbe ‘Could Turn Out to be Secret Weapon in Battle Against Climate Change’

Processes like these are significant because they fit into already existing company infrastructure, in this case, the production of acetone and isopropanol which are used in dozens of common household products from cleaning agents to lightbulbs.

“There will be circumstances where the tree is going to outperform microbes or fungi. But there will also be circumstances where you really want a fast-growing aquatic microbe that sinks,” said Dr. Tierney.

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Hero Conductor Stops Train to Rescue 3-Year-Old Boy Lost on the Tracks (Video)

By
Andy Corbley
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YouTube
YouTube

Neither the early morning start nor the distraction of a smartphone managed to take a New York train conductor’s eyes off the tracks earlier this week.

He spotted a 3-year-old wandering around the tracks dangerously close to an electrified third rail, and slammed on the brakes while going 70 mph before warning all traffic that could have been passing through Tarrytown Station of the danger.

Once the train came to a stop, cameras show the assistant conductor Marcus Higgins jogging down the tracks to rescue the child.

News reports claim the child is autistic and non-verbal. He was separated from his mother when he fell over the side of a barrier and into the cutting where the train tracks sat.

“Emergency, emergency, emergency, I need you to kill rail we got a toddler on the track,” the conductor can be heard saying.

Given the child’s disability, he didn’t take note of Higgins’ warnings not to touch the electrified rail. Once it was clear he didn’t understand, Higgins’ colleague, still on the train, started hammering the station to cut the power to the rail.

The station responded, and Higgins brought the boy on board the train where he was later reunited with his mother and sister.

WATCH the story below from Fox News… 

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Stunning ‘House of Arches’ Uses Gorgeous Geometry to Keep Three Generations Cool in Rajasthan’s Heat

By
Andy Corbley
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Mirai House of Arches in Bhilwara - credit Sanjay Puri Architects
Mirai House of Arches in Bhilwara – credit Sanjay Puri Architects

In northwest India, an architectural firm cleaned house on the award circuit with a truly sumptuous family home built to stay naturally cool in 104°F (40°C) heat.

At nearly 10,000 square feet of interior space, the building houses a family of three generations wrapped in natural stone and wood that bend around fluctuating ceiling heights. But the showpiece of the Mirai House of Arches is the “curvilinear punctuated envelope” of terracotta that surrounds the house.

Creating shaded balconies, porticoes, and patios, the envelope takes advantage of sun position, average wind direction, and the excellent thermoregulatory capabilities of the natural materials to keep the house cool during the 8-month Rajasthan summer.

The science lies in the separation of the envelope from the house itself. Even as the rays of the sun heat the envelope, wind and moisture evaporation can make their way into the space between the house and the envelope to reduce the radiative heat that enters the living areas.

“Based on the location, the southern and eastern sides have minimum open space with adjacent villas on those sides to be built in the future,” said Sanjay Puri of Sanjay Puri Architects, the firm that built the house.

OTHER SUSTAINABLE HOUSES: This Breathtaking Café Made Entirely Out of Cardboard Shows Just How Eco-Friendly Architecture Can Be

On the northern and western sides, there is a shaded lawn and garden, with a door opening to the living room.

“There is an interesting play of volumes in each part of the house, bedrooms of a single volume, dining area of a double volume, and a living area of an intermediate 1.5 level volume.”

Mirai House of Arches in Bhilwara – credit Sanjay Puri Architects

Mirai House of Arches is built in a city called Bhilwara, which has a legendary past, and is today known as the “city of looms.” The dramatic house suits this legendary founding.

SIMILAR INDIAN CONCEPTS: Architecture Built 1,000 Years Ago to Catch Rain is Being Revived to Save India’s Parched Villages

It has won the Architecture Master Prize 2022, the Best Implemented Project of Private Residence 2022 at the Golden Trezzini Awards, and the Best Residential Project in Architecture at the CDA Awards 2022 in Paris.

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“A true lover always feels in debt to the one he loves.” – Ralph W. Sockman

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “A true lover always feels in debt to the one he loves.” – Ralph W. Sockman

Photo by: Fernando Jiménez, 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?

Britain Names the First Two ‘Celtic Rainforests’ to Be Restored to Primeval Glory

By
Andy Corbley
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credit Ben Porterco - Wildlife Trusts
credit Ben Porterco – Wildlife Trusts

Two so-called “Celtic rainforests” in the UK are to be restored with a mixture of native planting and natural reforestation.

The hope is that they will provide rich habitats for dozens of species, improve groundwater quality and flood prevention, and allow residents and tourists to experience an exceptionally rare forest biome called temperate rainforest.

The most famous and largest temperate rainforests on Earth are found in the US states of Oregon and Washington, along Brazil’s Atlantic coast (known as the Atlantic Forest), and on New Zealand.

Britain, especially Wales, would have featured a certain amount of these Celtic rainforests in areas that experience high moisture content coming off the ocean, and low variations in annual temperatures.

One such place is Creg y Cowin on the Isle of Man, where 28 hectares (70 acres) of native Celtic rainforest will be planted by hand, and another 8 hectares (20 acres) left to regenerate naturally.

The Manx Wildlife Trust will be responsible for the project, and it anticipates “the return of oakwood dwellers such as wood warbler, pied flycatcher, and redstart, as well as raptors, owls, and woodland invertebrates.”

MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: The US Halts Old-Growth Timber Sales in World’s Largest Remaining Temperate Rainforest

Historic agricultural dwellings called “tholtans” will be left on the landscape for their historical and cultural significance.

Elsewhere, in Gwynedd, North Wales, another 40 hectares (112 acres) of Celtic rainforest will be raised via a mixture of native planting and regeneration. The selected site is the peak and slopes of Bwlch Mawr, near the university town of Byrn Mawr.

MORE REWILDING IN BRITAIN: Irish Metalhead Turns His Ancestral Estate into Model of Rewilding: It Naturally Grew Into Biodiverse Eden

“There’s real momentum now to restore and expand our amazing temperate rainforests, and it’s brilliant to see the Wildlife Trusts advancing their plans,” Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain, told the Guardian in the wake of the announcements.

The projects were funded by a £30 million donation from the UK insurance company Aviva, which hopes to sequester carbon in these new rainforests.

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Watch Mesmerizing Scene of Thousands of Sheep Being Herded Down an Idaho Highway

By
Andy Corbley
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Credit - Life on the Range
Credit – Life on the Range

Some exceptionally-managed drone piloting allowed ranchers in Idaho to capture a video of thousands of sheep being herded along the road.

As many as 2,600 lambs and ewes were involved in the crossing in the town of Eagle, just one stop on their way toward the Table Rock area where they would reach the fresh pastures needed to sustain the large flock.

Locals gathered in what passes for droves in that rural part of the country. The crossing is a tradition that’s marked with a small festival.

The footage was organized, captured, and released by Life on the Range, an education outreach program organized by the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission to help inform and connect Idaho residents and Americans in general with the life, times, and challenges of ranching.

WATCH the footage in its entirety… 

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