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2,000-Year-old Buddha Statue Turns Up at Ancient Egyptian Port—What Was it Doing There?

By
Andy Corbley
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- Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism
– Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism

When the Ancient Egyptians were still leaving offerings to Amun in their temples, a faith from more than 4,000 miles away was already turning up at the docks of the Pharaohs.

A 28-inch long (71-centimeter) statue of Gautama Buddha was found in excavations of the Egyptian port of Berenice on the Red Sea, dating back to the Roman Era.

Evidently, ships laden with goods from India and offshore islands were, even at this early stage of history, already capable of crossing the Indian Ocean routinely on trading missions, bringing spices, jewels, and religion with them.

A Polish-U.S. archaeological mission discovered the statue “dating back to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice.”

The find holds “important indications over the presence of trade ties between Egypt and India during the Roman era”, the head of Egypt’s supreme antiquities council Mostafa al-Waziri said.

The statue depicts Buddha with a halo around his head and holding a lotus flower in his hand.

Known as the Maritime Silk Road, the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean were plied for thousands of years, connecting the wealth of China to that of India and the Spice Islands, back to the Arab World and North Africa, through to Constantinople and Europe beyond.

GNN has previously highlighted the incredible complexity of global trade even in the earliest periods of civilization.

MORE ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS: Archaeologists Uncover ‘Complete Roman City’ From 1,800 Years Ago in Luxor–Including Pigeon Towers

Last year, cutting-edge analysis of tin isotopes has shown that tiny tribes of pastoral nomads from modern-day Uzbekistan supplied a third of all the precious tin needed to make the bronze that fueled ancient Mediterranean commerce.

Getting the tin from Uzbekistan to the Med involved a vast multi-regional, multi-vector trade network that bears comparison with our own time—3,500 years after it was developed.

SHARE This Interesting History Lesson With Your Friends… 

Greece Makes Hundreds of Beaches Accessible to Wheelchairs With Self-Operating Ramps into the Water

By
Andy Corbley
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A Seatrac on Samos - TOBEA, released
A Seatrac on Samos – TOBEA, released

Describing access to the sea as an inalienable human right, Greek tourism authorities are retrofitting 287 beaches across the country with self-operating wheelchair ramps.

Self-operating means that wheelchair users can operate it by themselves without assistance from a friend or employee, offering a flexible freedom rarely found in difficult terrain such as beach sand.

So far, work crews have already installed the Seatrac system on 147 beaches, where disabled people can enjoy swimming in the country’s famous blue waters.

The scope of the project goes beyond beaches and has seen the Acropolis of Athens equipped with a wheelchair elevator, and many other sides receive renovations to make wheelchair-bound visitors more welcome, including bathrooms, sidewalks and walkways, snack bars, and other amenities.

“People with disabilities and people with limited mobility can engage in activities such as swimming that contribute to their physical and mental health,” Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s tourism minister, announced at a press conference.

“Seatrac does not provide only independent access to the sea,” Ignatios Fotiou, who helped develop the technology, to the Washington Post. “It provides dignity and independence to people with mobility issues that want to enjoy swimming. They can choose where to go and ask their friends to join them, not the other way around.”

The government of the country created a website for all the info needed to plan a wheelchair-included trip to the beaches of Greece, including a map of all the beaches nearby equipped with the Seatracs.

WATCH the beach joy in their video…

SHARE This Story With Anyone You Know In A Wheelchair… 

Middle-Aged Dads Form Dance Team Called ‘Outta Puff Daddys’ Proving Age is Just a Number (Watch)

By
Andy Corbley
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The Outa Puff Daddys - SWNS
The Outta Puff Daddys – SWNS

A group of middle-aged dads formed a dance crew to perform at their kids’ school but become unlikely social media stars with over 300k followers—one of which is Hugh Jackman.

The ‘Outta’ Puff Daddys first came together in 2012 in Brighton for a surprise performance at their children’s annual dance show.

Now the viral TikToks and Instagram Reels of their synchronized dancing have their kids cheering them on alongside a six-figure following.

Having never danced professionally before and ranging in age from 42 to 60, the dads were taught by their kids’ street dancing teacher for the surprise performance and received such a good reception they decided to carry on permanently.

Paul Jukes, 48, the group’s leader and artistic director, says dancing together has helped the members through bereavement, unemployment, and depression, reminiscent of the classic British comedy The Full Monty. 

“The irony is that even though I’m the leader, artistic director, and choreographer of the group, I’m not normally the most confident [guy],” said Jukes, whose crew name is ‘Jukebox’, obviously. “If we’re in a party situation we’re off at the side but when we’re together those inhibitions are lost, and we just embrace life to the max.”

Jukebox remembers the moment they surprised their kids at the dance show.

“We performed at the Brighton Dome which seats 2,000 people so for your first live dance performance it was quite something. We literally took the roof off,” he said. “The noise was phenomenal and of course, the kids in the audience were like, ‘hang on a second, that’s your dad.’”

“Most people would assume our kids are going to be embarrassed by us but none of us in the crew have that. All our families and kids are really supportive and really love it.”

The Outta Puff Daddys – SWNS (2)

“And of course, it has been deemed cool by them to have the following we have with over 300,000 followers on Instagram and videos that get over one million views.”

“We all have crew names and one of our members is called Wolverine, and recently received a comment from Hugh Jackman giving him a massive thumbs up.”

MORE DANCING STORIES: One-legged Woman is a World Class Salsa Dancer and Inspiration to All (WATCH)

The group actually began performing around the country at festivals over the last 3 years. Jukes experienced a period of depression in 2017 and he credits the group for playing a key role in his recovery.

“I believe everyone should be constantly underpinning and supporting their mental health— as we all do with our physical health—so that when those moments arise, we immediately have strategies in place,” he said.

“One of those is making sure I absolutely attend our weekly dance sessions because they are so integral to my mental health.”

The group is having to adapt to its members’ changing bodies as they get older, but that has not stopped them from continuing to dream big.

MORE RIDICULOUS DADS: Watch the Love Between Men and Their Cats in New Film Purr-fect for Home Viewing With Your Pet

“There are a few arthritic knees in the crew, so we nurture and support each other to make sure what we do is achievable,” said Jukes. “One of our crew members is 60 years old now and he’s just incredible.”

“We joke about it as a crew but hey, let’s go to Vegas and Hollywood. An Outta Puff Daddys residency – why not?”

WATCH the daddys in action below… 

SHARE This Prank-Turned-Passion With Your Friends On Social Media… 

Two Scholars Reveal Incredible Insights Into Floridian Natives Through Long-Lost Language Translations

By
Andy Corbley
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Spanish translations of Timucua (right) - credit Collections of the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University.
Spanish translations of Timucua (right) – credit Collections of the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University.

Imagine a Classics department at a University where the historians never bothered to learn the Greek or Latin of the original texts and you’ll have some idea of what the study of North American antiquity has been like.

Take for example Timucua, a dead language spoken by peoples native to Florida and Georgia, unrelated to nearby native languages, but was the most widely used tongue of any in that part of the world by the time of the Spanish Colonization.

An interesting thing happened during the predictably tragic story that followed: some Franciscan priests worked to apply the Spanish-Latin alphabet to the Timucua, in order to advance education and conversion to Christianity, which gave us a written form of a Native American language from the 16th century—a rare thing.

Now, years after a pair of scholars took on the task of translating those writings, they’ve managed to create the largest database of Timucua words in history, and put the Latin and Greek back in the Classics department, to speak allegorically. They’ve also made some startling discoveries about the mental capacities of these vanished people.

Aaron Broadwell, a linguistics professor at the University of Florida, and his colleague historian Alejandra Dubcovsky, have found that the Timucua had a rather more active role in the translation of their language into Spanish than other native peoples.

“The traditional understanding of the way this works is that the missionary appears and learns the language and then translates the stuff himself,” Broadwell told the Smithsonian. “But if we look closely at the text, we can see that it didn’t happen that way.”

The Spanish texts read more like a phrasebook than a dictionary—specifically a phrasebook for priests looking to encourage the godliness of the Timucua. As a result, and much like a phrasebook written today, there are a lot of questions—however, they have more to do with implying the Timucua traditional practices are sinful than facilitating honest communication.

MORE LINGUISTIC DISCOVERIES: Ancient Grammatical Puzzle That Has Baffled Scientists for 2,500 Years Solved by Cambridge University Student

“Did you make incantations over the lake before fishing in it?” reads one.

“Do you engage in the devilish practice of whistling to the wind to make the storm stop?’” reads another.

This is where the Timucua were clearly more intelligent than the Spanish believed, because the reverse translations, as Broadwell puts it, are “considerably less judgy.”

For example, the Timucua translation to that question is “did you whistle to the wind to make it stop?” and the translation of “have the man and a woman been joined together in front of a priest?” is “did you and another person consent to be married?”

“It’s very hard to learn these languages, and Native people don’t want to share everything. And those translators aren’t given any credit,” Dubcovsky also told the Smithsonian, noting that the priests probably couldn’t understand enough of the language to double-check the translations the Timucua were making, hence why potentially ‘devilish’ practices are included in the text.

It also implies to some degree that the Timucua probably did most of the work.

MORE NATIVE AMERICAN NEWS: The ‘Sioux Chef’ Brings Indigenous Food Back to the Forefront of American Diets

Broadwell and Dubcovsky worked together on a paper examining and elaborating these findings in 2017. Broadwell also founded and curates the Timucua Dictionary, the largest and pretty much only available database on the native language.

The details that have emerged show that while unique, Timucua bears some resemblance to the Choctaw language spoken by groups nearby, and that Timucua was a complex language capable of thoroughly addressing all manner of topics.

As to the question of why Timucua didn’t have a written alphabet, Broadwell points out that for as many people as there are on the Earth, scant few have ever developed a writing system.

SHARE This Fascinating Fragment Of American History On Social Media… 

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.” – Graham Greene

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.” – Graham Greene

Photo by: Chris Burgett

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?

MIRACLE MONDAY: Homeless For 28 Years, Linda is Offered Miracle Reunion With Her Family and Moves Back Home

By
Miracle Messages
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Just in time for Mother’s Day, this week’s Miracle Monday column showcases a heartwarming family reunion for a woman who had been living on the streets for 28 years, and finally got the chance to return home to Wisconsin.

“We waited 28 years. Every year, every day, every hour, just wondering where she was and if we were ever going to find her—afraid of that phone call that something happened to her and no one knew who her family was,” said Angie, Linda’s younger sister, when they all gathered at the backyard picnic table.

Her life was about to change when Linda met Gabby, who worked for Miracle Messages in South Florida.

Gabby had spoken with her several times before, but on a Tuesday night in January, Linda finally decided to share one of her dreams: although she felt scared and apprehensive of what might happen, she would like to try to reconnect with her mother and children.

“Gabby sat with me on the ground that night, and it was cold. She took down my information. I will never forget that,” Linda recalled.

“Gabby. I love you. You are going to be part of this family forever.”

Early meeting with Gabby – Miracle Messages

Struggling with addiction and chronic illnesses, Linda was living unsheltered under the 14th Street Overtown bridge in Miami. She asked Gabby and Miracle Messages to help her reconnect with her mother and her kids, who she hadn’t seen since they were small children, and who were now in their 30’s.

Gabby explained to her how the Miracle Messages reunification program worked, and asked Linda if she had a message that she would like us to pass along to her kids if we were able to find them. Her message to them was, “I miss you. I love you.”

In less than a week, an internet sleuth who volunteers for the team found her mother, Darlene, who immediately said she wanted to reconnect with Linda. She called the rest of her family to let them know Linda had been found.

SIMILAR STORIES: Woman Spontaneously Offers Homeless Man a Job on Her Farm Proving the Power of Kindness

“The only way I can explain it is that it’s a miracle,” Darlene told Gabby. “I never gave up hope [of finding her].”

Linda’s children, Evelynn and Marcos, hadn’t heard any updates from their mom in over two years when they got the call from Miracle Messages and immediately booked a flight to Miami.

Gabby drove the siblings around the neighborhood where she had last talked to Linda. Even though they struggled to find her, the day was full of hope—and soon Linda was located and agreed to go back home with them.

Linda welcomes Gabby to Wisconsin – Miracle Messages

Shortly after arriving in Wisconsin, Linda enrolled in a treatment program.

A few months later, Linda’s family invited Gabby to a family reunion to thank her for bringing their family back together—and Miracle Messages captured an emotional video that was posted on YouTube.

During the reunion, Gabby had the opportunity to ask Linda what she missed most while she was away.

LAST WEEK’S MIRACLE MONDAY: MIRACLE MONDAY–A New Weekly Column: Homeless Uncle Inspired Him to Reunite the Unhoused with Families Before it’s Too Late

She responded, “Being together with my sisters and my mom. I am so grateful. There are not words to describe it. I didn’t know how they were going to respond. Thank you, Gabby and Miracle Messages.”

“There’s always been a missing link in this family and Linda brought us back together,” said Angie, Linda’s sister. “I feel like we are whole again.”

Miracle Messages is an award-winning 501(c)3 nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness rebuild their social support systems and financial security, primarily through family reunifications, a phone buddy program, and basic income pilots. Volunteer today!

A Mom Posted to Find Friends for 24-yo Son with Down Syndrome–the Flood of Support Shocked Her

By
Andy Corbley
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Donna Herter
Donna Herter

Christian Bowers has Down Syndrome, but likes to do normal guy stuff like go bowling and play video games.

Making friends was never hard for the young man, now 24, until he finished school and found, as many people without Down Syndrome do for that matter, it’s not as easy and straightforward to maintain a social life.

Bowers’ mother, Donna Herter, watched her son sink further and further into the dumps because he didn’t have any friends to visit him.

Eventually, Herter put up a post on Facebook asking if any local guys near Rochester, Minnesota, would be interested in coming to hang out with Christian for two hours, a service for which she was willing to offer $80,00 in compensation.

A nurse on the night shift, she put the post up at 4:00 AM before ending her workday and going to sleep. When she woke up, it had amassed 5,000 comments.

“I was freaking out. My hands were shaking, I was sweating. I was just looking for some local guys, I didn’t want to invite like the entire world into our house,” she told CBS News.

Her friends encouraged her to calm down and take a closer look at the comments, in which she found parents offering suggestions and others volunteering to help.

Donna Herter

She eventually found 7 fellows from Wentzville, Minnesota, who visit Christian once a week on a rotating schedule. Herter says her son goes to sleep with a smile on his face now, and is excited about life in general, and of the future as well.

Friendships are important for people born with Down Syndrome, and associations urge parents to plan for the eventuality of their child exiting school and needing to take a more precise attitude towards socializing.

OTHER NEWS LIKE THIS: France’s First Public Official with Down Syndrome Helps Everyone See Disability Differently

Christian occasionally attends gatherings and groups of other special needs men and women his age, but craves friendship with the rest of the population as well.

“And I’ve never asked him, but I assume because it kind of makes him feel normal, just for an hour or two. ‘Hey, somebody who doesn’t have Down syndrome wants to hang out with me,'” she said.

One of the 7 friends, James Hasting, said he felt terrible that Herter had reached the point where she was trying to pay people to visit her son. Hasting, who volunteers with special needs folks, said hanging out just for a few hours to watch a movie or play video games with Christian has changed the way he looks at the world.

SHARE This Inspiring Turn Of Kindness For A Lonely Young Man… 

Former NBA Star Rick Fox is Manufacturing Concrete That Absorbs More CO2 Than it Creates

By
Andy Corbley
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Rick Fox
Rick Fox

If someone asked you what Rick Fox was famous for, you would have to say the three NBA Championships he won with the Lakers, but the next generation might know him instead as the face of sustainable concrete.

Believing that tropical storms are becoming more intense due to carbon content in the atmosphere, Fox went all in and became the co-founder and CEO of Partanna which manufactures concrete that absorbs more carbon from the air than it contributes during manufacturing.

It all happened back in 2019 when Fox received a call from his manager just after Hurricane Dorian smashed into Fox’s home on the Bahamas, the country where he grew up. His manager, who was also displaced by a natural disaster—the fires in California in 2018, said she had met an architect called Sam Marshall who was developing carbon-negative concrete.

Fox, whose post-NBA career has included dozens of acting credits, as well as production work, and even the sponsoring of an esports team, was nevertheless able to find time to team up with Marshall to launch Partanna. The firm just received $12 million in seed funding from Cherubic Ventures.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of amazing journeys and industries, from entertainment to movies and TV. I’ve been on sets with Oscar-winning actors and directors, and I’ve been on championship NBA teams. There’s been nothing more rewarding for me in my life than to be a part of this team where we’re leaving something behind,” Fox told TechCrunch+, reporting on the funding announcement.

MORE SPORTS HEROES: Shaquille O’Neal Gives Teen 10 Pairs of New Size 18 Shoes to Pay Forward Childhood Good Deed

Every part of the concrete process is designed to reduce its environmental impact.

Instead of using Portland cement, which is a major source of carbon emissions, they use a special mixture of natural and recycled ingredients that’s cured at ambient temperature rather than the high temps that make concrete and cement responsible for the largest share of the manufacturing emissions pie chart.

The binder components consume CO2 as they cure, which means they actually remove carbon from the atmosphere. They use a brine activator that’s found in natural pozzolans, which helps avoid using the energy-intensive clinkering process.

A prototype Partanna home

What this means for the bottom line is that a 1,250 square-foot home made with Partanna absorbs 22.5 tons of CO2, rather than emitting 77 tons, which is what a house that large would otherwise do.

Fox sees Partanna as offering the most to those in disaster-prone areas—such as his native Bahamas, where Partanna and the Government of the Bahamas announced their intent to develop the world’s first carbon-negative affordable housing development.

MORE SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS: Visionary Gardener Turns Piles of Beached Seaweed Into Bricks for Sustainable Construction

“Convincing the industry that Partanna is a viable alternative to cement—we hope that the successful delivery of homes in The Bahamas, and our growing project pipeline, will help to evidence the strength of our technology,” Fox said in a statement.

Because the company captures carbon in their buildings, they started selling carbon credits—a product that companies can buy to offset the emissions from their operations. In this case, the credits are buildings for poor people in the Bahamas or Saudi Arabia—where they recently signed an agreement with development company Red Sea Global to build a manufacturing facility on Saudi’s Red Sea coast.

SHARE Rick Fox’s Important Project With Your Friends… 

Hydrogen-Powered Swiss Jet May Herald Return of Supersonic Flight–And Cut Travel Time By 75%

By
Andy Corbley
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Destinus, released
Destinus, released

A European firm is hoping to revive the dream of commercial hypersonic travel with a prototype that will reduce flight times by 75%.

Unlike several other supersonic startups that have come and gone, this is their third prototype, with two others having already succeeded in test flights, proving critical systems can work on a design that would allow one to travel from Frankfurt to Sydney in around 4 hours 15 minutes, or Memphis to Dubai in 3 hours 30.

Headquartered in Switzerland, but with a team of over 100 people working across several European countries, Destinus has received tens of millions from private and public funds looking to fund renewable innovation.

Destinus is now preparing its third prototype—the one meant to test the fuel systems, since for their design, sustainable hydrogen is the only reasonable option.

This isn’t due to a question of emissions, but a question of weight. Kerosene is much heavier than hydrogen, and if the machine is hoped to be able to reach across oceans with room for luggage and passengers, it needs to be as light as possible.

The design of the jet itself is very standard, and can be seen on the Concorde jet and hypersonic cruise missiles used in the large militaries of the world—a shape known as the “Waverider” because of its ability to “ride” the “waves” of the breaking sound barrier.

MORE FUTURE TECH: Vermont Startup’s Electric Plane That Lifts-Off Vertically is Really Taking Off

In the lead-up to their third test flight, slated for takeoff in late 2023, the company is understandably tense.

“This is a pretty massive vehicle,” Martina Löfqvist, Destinus’ business development manager, told CNN. “It’s about the same size as the previous prototype in terms of being around 10 meters (long), but it’s 10 times heavier, and probably 20 times more complex as well, in terms of the structure and in terms of the propulsion system.”

MORE AVIATION NEWS: Aviation Startup ZeroAvia Flies Largest-Ever Hydrogen Electric Aircraft

Last month, Destinus acquired Dutch company OPRA to become their in-house hydrogen department—Destinus Energy. This has also allowed them to raise more money for the project by selling OPRA’s already-marketable gas turbines for hydrogen fuel.

The timeline for the growth of this bold attempt is to have a smaller-scale version ready for commercial flight in the 2030s, that could hold around 25 passengers, and full-scale versions ready in the 2040s.

WATCH a company explainer below…

SHARE This Second-Crack At The Concorde’s Crown With Your Friends… 

“Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem.” – Virginia Satir

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem.” – Virginia Satir

Photo by: Asa Rodger

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?

Stranded Dog Wags His Tail With Joy as Fire Crews Rescue Him From Sheer Cliff Face–WATCH

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Good News Network
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Video from Avon and Somerset Drone Team shows stranded dog's tail wagging with joy as fire crews abseil down to recuse him from a cliff face. See SWNS story SWMRdog; SWMRdog - Footage of a daring cliff-side rescue of a small DOG has been released. Firefighters at Temple Fire Station in Bristol were called out to Yate Quarry on Friday (14/4) after a spaniel fell into the quarry. With assistance from Avon & Somerset Police's drone squad, a firefighter was able to winch themselves down the side of the steep quarry and rescue the stranded pup. Footage captured from the drone shows the nine-month-old black and white springer spaniel perched precariously on a steep ledge - where it had fallen while on an evening walk with it's owners. A photo of the scene shows how the dog had fallen at least 30 feet - forcing firefighters to use a large winching system to retrieve it.
Video from Avon and Somerset Drone Team – SWNS

A stranded dog’s tail would not stop wagging with joy as fire crews reached his perilous perch, and rescued him from a sheer cliff face.

The video below captured the heartwarming moment.

Firefighters at Temple Fire Station in Bristol, England, were called out to Yate Quarry after the spaniel fell into the quarry.

Assisting was the Avon & Somerset Police’s drone squad, which could find the dog and transmit pictures back to the crews up at the top of the cliff. Eventually, a firefighter was winched with a harness and lowered halfway down the side of the steep quarry to rescue the stranded pup.

Footage captured from the drone shows the 9-month-old black and white springer spaniel perched precariously on a steep ledge, where it had fallen after tumbling down from the walking path while on an evening stroll with its owners.

A photo of the scene shows how the dog had fallen at least 30 feet—forcing firefighters to employ a large winching system to support a rappelling rescue worker.

Avon and Somerset Drone Team – SWNS

CHECK OUT: Drone Helps Save the Life of a 71-Year-old Man Who Has Cardiac Arrest While Shoveling Snow

Thankfully, the dog only suffered minor injuries with a broken leg.

Avon & Somerset Police’s drone squad posted a video of the April incident on its @AFRSTemple social pages, saying.

“Look at that tail wagging.”

LOOK: This Perfectly Spherical Dog With 100K Instagram Followers Reminds Us That Cute Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

“Wishing the little pup a swift recovery.”

LIFT UP Your Friends With This Sweet Moment By Sharing on Social Media…

First of its Kind Brain Surgery on Baby Inside the Womb has Successfully Prevented Heart Failure

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Good News Network
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healthy fetus (SWNS)
SWNS

Brain surgery has been performed on a baby still inside the womb in order to fix potentially deadly damage to vessels and saved the infant from suffering heart failure or stroke after birth.

It was the first treated patient in a clinical trial that is underway at Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, performed with oversight from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Fetuses with the rare pre-natal condition known as Vein of Galen malformation (VOGM) have arteries carrying high-pressure blood that are connected to one of the main veins deep at the base of the brain. In normal fetal development, they should link to smaller capillaries, thus slowing the flow and delivering oxygen to surrounding tissue.

The U.S. team used ultrasound to carry out the successful procedure for a woman who was 34 weeks pregnant.

The unnamed child was delivered two days later during a normal birth after her labor was induced, due to broken membrane. The child was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit for several weeks, but mother and baby are now together at home.

“In our first treated case, we were thrilled to see that the aggressive decline usually seen after birth simply did not appear,” said lead author Professor Darren Orbach of Boston Children’s Hospital.

LOOK: Baby Sisters With Rare Disorder Make Dramatic Leaps With New Therapy After Doctors Said They’d Never Walk or Talk

Repeated echocardiograms after birth displayed marked improvement in cardiac output. Scans showed normal heart and brain function.

“We are pleased to report that at six weeks, the infant is progressing remarkably well, on no medications, eating normally, gaining weight and is back home,” said Dr. Orbach in a statement.

“There are no signs of any negative effects on the brain.”

Experts described the method and outcome as “pioneering” in Stroke, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Stroke Association. The premature newborn did not require any cardiovascular support or surgery following the treatment. It had a normal neurological exam and showed no strokes, no fluid buildup, and no hemorrhage on brain MRI scans.

“This approach has the potential to mark a paradigm shift in managing Vein of Galen malformation where we repair the malformation prior to birth and head off the heart failure before it occurs, rather than trying to reverse it after birth.

“This may markedly reduce the risk of long-term brain damage, disability, or death among these infants.”

The high blood flow usually has an even more serious effect on the heart and brain after birth, putting enormous pressure on the newborn’s heart and lungs. This may lead to pulmonary hypertension, heart failure or other life-threatening conditions.

CHECK OUT: New Brain Implant Device Could Restore Function in Paralyzed Limbs

It is estimated that VOGM, the most common congenital vascular brain malformation, occurs in as many as one in every 60,000 births. It’s most often detected on a pre-natal ultrasound scan (then diagnosed by MRI) during the late second or third trimester of pregnancy.

Current standard of care is treatment after birth with embolisation, a catheter-based procedure to close off the direct artery-to-vein connections and block excess blood flow to the brain and heart. However, embolisation itself is high risk and is not always successful at reversing heart failure. Additionally, severe brain damage may have already occurred at birth, which may lead to life-long cognitive disabilities and life-threatening conditions for the infant, or even to death.

Professor Gary Satou, a fetal cardiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved with the study, said the intervention may be “very impactful” in a specific group of patients.

“As always, a number of these fetal cases will need to be performed in order to establish a clear pattern of improvement in both neurologic and cardiovascular outcomes. Thus, the national clinical trial will be crucial in order to achieve adequate data and, hopefully, successful outcomes.”

TEARS OF JOY: Preemie Born the Size of a Superman Doll Now Poses For Photos at Every Birthday With His Sidekick

Prof. Colin Derdeyn, a neuro-interventional radiologist at the University of Iowa, who was not involved with the study, also cautiously welcomed the breakthrough.

“The key advance here is to intervene before the physiologic events of birth can cause life-threatening heart failure. There are caveats; one successful case is not enough experience for us to conclude that the risks of this procedure are worth the benefits.

“However, the positive hemodynamic changes that they observed in utero and after birth —reduction in flow, reduction in size of the draining vein, reversal of the abnormal reversed flow in the aorta—are really encouraging.

“These are some of the most exciting and surprising aspects of this case report. This is pioneering work being done in a very careful and responsible way.”

REVEAL This Ultrasound News To Your Friends By Sharing on Social Media…

Watch the Sheep That Thinks it’s a Dog – Gallivanting With the Family Pups

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

A sheep that thinks it’s a dog simply loves cavorting with a trio of pooch pals.

The video shows Rolo the sheep giving chase to the dogs as they play in a farmer’s field—jumping around like a BFF canine companion.

The ‘sheep dog’s’ owner, who lives in Entre Rios, Argentina, can be heard laughing and exclaiming in Spanish: ​

“Careful Rolo. You’re not a dog, darling!”

GNN doesn’t have any more details, such as the age of the frisky sheep, but definitely thought the video was worth sharing to deliver a chuckle, along with the other good news stories this week…

ALSO CHECK OUT: Twin Babies Hilariously Imitate Their Older Brother – Proving Twins Are 2x the Fun (WATCH)

SHARE The ROMP and Herd a Few Smiles From Pals on Social Media…

Just a Handful of Walnuts 3x Weekly Boosts Attention and Brain Growth in Adolescents, Especially Those With ADHD

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Good News Network
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Artizone, CC license on Flickr
Artizone, CC license on Flickr

A handful of walnuts three times a week is enough to boost attention and brain growth in secondary school kids, according to a new study of students in Spain.

The nuts contain a type of omega-3 oil that is particularly beneficial to growing brains.

Scientists who studied 700 kids aged 11-16 found the cognitive development and psychological maturation increased in those that ate the nuts regularly.

They also found a big difference in those diagnosed with ADHD wherein the walnut-munchers were much more able to concentrate in class than before and were less hyperactive.

Students from 12 different schools in Barcelona were randomly divided into two groups. A control group, which received no intervention of any kind and the experimental group, which received packages containing 30 grams of walnut kernels that they were told to consume every day for a period of six months.

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The research team from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, found the benefits even in those who only ate them 100 times in the 182 days.

Walnuts are rich in alpha-linolenic fatty acid (ALA), a type of omega-3 that plays a fundamental role in brain development—especially at this life stage when kids’ bodies are changing a lot as they grow.

“Adolescence is a time of great biological changes,” said Principal investigator Dr. Jordi Julvez from the IISPV.

“Hormonal transformation occurs, which in turn is responsible for stimulating the synaptic growth of the frontal lobe—the part of our brain that enables neuropsychological maturation, i.e., more complex emotional and cognitive functions.

“Neurons that are well nourished with this type of fatty acids will be able to grow and form new, stronger synapses.”

They also found an increase in functions relating to fluid intelligence, which is less influenced by learning. It is inherent to the person’s biology.

ANOTHER TIP FOR TEENS: Snacking on Grapes May Add 4-5 Years to Lifespans of Those Who Regularly Eat Fast Food

“We assessed (fluid intelligence) with increasingly complex tests, such as having adolescents figure out what pattern a row of letters followed,” explained Dr. Julvez.

While there have been previous studies on the effect of nuts on our health, the impact of their consumption at such a critical stage for cognitive development as adolescence has never been examined.

Ariadna Pinar, a doctoral student from IISPV and first author of the study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, said their findings demonstrate that following a healthy diet is as important as maintaining these habits over time.

“Adolescence is a period of great brain development and complex behaviors that requires a significant amount of energy and nutrients.

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“If boys and girls would heed these recommendations and actually eat a handful of walnuts a day, or at least three times a week, they would notice many substantial improvements in cognitive abilities and it would help them face the challenges of adolescence and entering adulthood.”

DOLE OUT This Fantastic Food Tip to Friends on Social Media–SHARE IT! 

“I‘m learning how to grow into the space I was always meant to occupy.” – Jane Shore

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Quote of the Day: “I‘m learning how to grow into the space I was always meant to occupy.” – Jane Shore

Photo by: Belinda Fewings

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Black Holes Chew Up Wayward Stars Like Messy Toddlers–Taking a Few Bites Before Flinging Leftovers Across the Galaxy

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A star (bright orange dot) flying across the galaxy after being ejected from an intermediate-mass black hole – SWNS
Remnants of a wayward star, circling around a black hole – SWNS

A research team that analyzed black holes determined they are a bit like a messy toddlers when they swallow up wayward stars—taking a few bites before flinging the leftovers across the galaxy.

The protracted and violent meals were unveiled in remarkable detail using computer simulations, because black holes are invisible—and their gravity is so strong that even light can’t escape.

“We obviously cannot observe black holes directly because they don’t emit light,” said lead author Fulya Kıroglu, a PhD student at Northwestern University in Illinois. “Instead, we have to look at the interactions between black holes and their environments.”

“We found that stars undergo multiple passages before being ejected. After each passage, they lose more mass, causing a flair of light as it’s ripped apart. Each flare is brighter than the last, creating a signature that might help astronomers find them.”

Finding black holes is important because they may be the source of a mysterious force known as dark energy. It has even been posited that they are tunnels between universes, a type of wormhole.

The findings apply to medium-sized black holes (between 100 to 10,000 solar masses), which are much harder to detect than their supermassive counterparts.

“Astrophysicists have uncovered evidence that they exist,” said Ms. Kiroglu. “But that evidence can often be explained by other mechanisms. For example, what appears to be an intermediate-mass black hole might actually be the accumulation of stellar-mass black holes.”

Her team developed new hydrodynamic models including a large star, which was sent towards it. Then they calculated the gravitational force acting on its particles during the approach.

They were able to calculate specifically which particle was bound to the star and which particle was disrupted, and flung loose.

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A star (bright dot, right) flying across the galaxy after being ejected from an intermediate-mass black hole – SWNS

The study showed stars could orbit an intermediate-mass black hole as many as five times before finally being ejected. With each pass around, the star loses more and more of its mass as it’s ripped apart.

The black hole kicks the leftovers back out into the galaxy, moving at searing speeds.

The repeating pattern would create a stunning light show that should help astronomers recognize, and prove, the existence of intermediate-mass black holes.

“It’s amazing the star isn’t fully ripped apart,” she added. “Some stars get lucky and survive the event.

“The ejection speed is so high that these stars could be identified as hyper-velocity stars, which have been observed at the centers of galaxies.”

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She next plans to simulate giant and binary stars to explore their interactions with black holes.

Supermassive black holes are believed to power their galaxies—and one currently sits at the heart of the Milky Way.

The findings were presented at a virtual meeting of the American Physical Society.

FLING This Fascinating Research Toward Stargazers on Social Media…

Endangered Sturgeon–A Fish Once So Popular a King Declared Them ‘Royal’–Making a Comeback in UK

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‘Royal Sturgeon’ caught in the Hundred Foot River at Oxlode, Pymoor in 1906 - SWNS
‘Royal Sturgeon’ caught in the Hundred Foot River at Oxlode, Pymoor in 1906 – SWNS

A giant armor-plated fish once so popular King Edward II declared it ‘royal’ is being reintroduced to British waters.

Conservationists are bringing back the critically-endangered native sturgeon decades after the ancient species was nearly wiped from UK rivers.

A team led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has launched the UK Sturgeon Conservation Strategy and Action Plan—a science-based guide developed by experts that outlines the actions needed to recover numbers of both the Atlantic and European sturgeons in the UK.

Growing up to 16 feet in length (5m), the fish has long whisker-like barbels and diamond-shaped armored plates along their backs.

“Sturgeons look like they’ve swum straight out of a paleontologist’s textbook,” said Hannah McCormick, ZSL’s conservation project officer for estuaries and wetlands.

“These impressive and ancient animals were once common in UK rivers and along our coastline. Fast-forward 700 years, and sturgeons have all but disappeared from our waters, after dam construction in rivers blocking their migration routes and overfishing caused numbers to plummet in the latter half of the 20th century.”

This UK-wide plan follows successful conservation in France and Germany that helped save European sturgeons from the brink of extinction. In 2020, juvenile sturgeon of two different species, both of which were feared extinct, were spotted in a river in the Republic of Georgia.

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SWNS

After increased sightings in British waters. the team will be identifying essential habitats, restoring migratory passages, and trying to keep the fish from being accidentally caught by fishermen.

“These ancient fish outlived the dinosaurs and in fact still closely resemble their ancestors, which swam in Earth’s seas and rivers 100 million years ago,” McCormick said.

Both European and Atlantic sturgeons are fully migratory species—beginning their lives in rivers, before traveling out to the sea.

Once at sea they live most of their 60-year-long lives in coastal and marine waters, only returning to freshwater as adults every few years to reproduce.

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1100-pound sturgeon caught
After fishing tourists take photo, sturgeon was tagged and released in Canada

Jenny Murray, Blue Marine Foundation’s senior restoration projects manager, said: “The development of this Action Plan has been an exciting first step that contributes to the European efforts of restoring sturgeons.

The public can support the sturgeon’s return by raising awareness of this beautiful species and reporting any sightings to UK’s Save the Sturgeon website.

LOOK: Holy Mackerel! Fish Really Is Brain Food – Even if You Only Eat a Small Amount

REEL IN This Story to Share With Your Fish-Loving Pals On Social Media…

What You Should and Shouldn’t Be Doing With Your Elderly Dog – It’s National Pet Week

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Veterinarian Dr. James Greenwood - SWNS / OnePoll
Veterinarian Dr. James Greenwood – SWNS / OnePoll

To mark National Pet Week which begins May 7, a pair of dog experts compiled the top things you should and shouldn’t be doing with your senior pooches—including, keeping them mentally stimulated, but not expecting them to run for more than 60 minutes.

A dog’s life cycle runs much quicker than a human’s, so older pups may not be able to keep up with their owner’s multi-mile walks. The same goes for expecting them to run long distances or climb steps with slippery flooring.

A survey of 2,000 dog owners, commissioned by Forthglade (a British company that makes natural dog food) found that 43 percent believe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

But veterinarian Dr. James Greenwood and dog behaviorist Caroline Wilkinson agree that teaching your old dog new tricks is a great idea when it comes to keeping your pet healthy–and their brains active—in their golden years.

Mental Health

“It’s absolutely possible to teach an old dog new tricks, to keep it mentally stimulated later in life, and reduce cognitive decline,” said Wilkinson, who believes a dog is considered senior when they’re 8-10 years old.

“We know that half the time spent on mental activity is just as stimulating for your dog as double the time on physical activity, and so this is a really easy way to keep their life enriched and happy as they get older.”

Respondents in the poll listed the top ways they spend ‘quality time’ with their dog: 65 percent cited playing games, 55 percent said taking their dog to their favorite walking spots and 53% said treating their pup to their favorite foods.

Exercising

When it comes to exercise, a quarter of dog owners believe elderly dogs should be walked for 30 minutes a day on average, according to the survey by market research company OnePoll.

Dr. Greenwood confirmed that as a dog ages, it’s important to keep them moving, but only within their individual capabilities.

“If stiff joints or mobility problems do start to become an issue, speaking to a vet should always be the first step, as lots can be done to keep older dogs mobile”.

Diet

Wilkinson says a nutritious diet should be at the top of the list for senior dog care, yet 37% of those polled feel unsure if they should even change their dog’s diet as it ages.

“Like us humans, not only does a diet boost their long-term health physically, but the stomach is the second brain, so it also affects how the dog is feeling. A healthy diet helps with everything from energy to play and good behavior, right through to improving sleep.”

Look for natural dog foods made specifically for elderly canines.

DOs and DON’Ts For Elderly Dogs

DO: Keep an eye out for any changes to your dog both physically but also mentally—anything that differs from the norm.

DON’T: Put your own agenda and lifestyle before the dog. Ensure their walks are tailored to their age and try and minimize drastic changes to their lifestyle or routines.

DO: Remember your dog’s abilities may be changing. Older dogs may struggle on hardwood floors and steps for example, so putting runners and rugs down will help them with mobility.

MORE DOG POLLS: Vast Majority of Dog Owners Believe They Can Read Their Pooch’s Mind

DON’T: Don’t dismiss an older dog by presuming they don’t want to still be active, or thinking that once an old dog gets a condition, we can’t do anything with them anymore.

DO: Keep their brain active by engaging with them in simple training exercises, which could have both a physical and mental element. Consider teaching these tricks (and use healthy treats as a reward for completing the task):

• Running through your legs
• Speaking
• High five or waving
• Dancing – great for dogs with wiggly butts
• Shaking with its paw
• Walking backwards
• Putting away their toys
• Bowing down

CONSIDER Sharing This Advice With Aging Pets and Their Owners…

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

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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 May 6, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
I’ve selected a passage to serve as one of your prime themes during the rest of 2023. It comes from poet Jane Shore. She writes, “Now I feel I am learning how to grow into the space I was always meant to occupy, into a self I can know.” Dear Taurus, you will have the opportunity to grow ever-more assured and self-possessed as you embody Shore’s description in the coming months. Congratulations in advance on the progress you will make to more fully activate your soul’s code.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Georges Rouault (1871-1958) was a Gemini painter who bequeathed the world over 3,000 works of art. There might have been even more. But years before he died, he burned 315 of his unfinished paintings. He felt they were imperfect, and he would never have time or be motivated to finish them. I think the coming weeks would be a good time for you to enjoy a comparable purge, Gemini. Are there things in your world that don’t mean much to you anymore and are simply taking up space? Consider the possibility of freeing yourself from their stale energy.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Britain occupied India for almost 200 years. It was a ruthless and undemocratic exploitation that steadily drained India’s wealth and resources. Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t the only leader who fought British oppression, but he was among the most effective. In 1930, he led a 24-day, 240-mile march to protest the empire’s tyrannical salt tax. This action was instrumental in energizing the Indian independence movement that ultimately culminated in India’s freedom. I vote to make Gandhi one of your inspirational role models in the coming months. Are you ready to launch a liberation project? Stage a constructive rebellion? Marshal the collaborative energies of your people in a holy cause?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
As crucial as it is to take responsibility, it is also essential to recognize where our responsibilities end and what should be left for others to do. For example, we usually shouldn’t do work for other people that they can just as easily do for themselves. We shouldn’t sacrifice doing the work that only we can do and get sidetracked doing work that many people can do. To be effective and to find fulfillment in life, it’s vital for us to discover what truly needs to be within our care and what should be outside of our care. I see the coming weeks as a favorable time for you to clarify the boundary between these two.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo-born Marie Laveau (1801–1881) was a powerful herbalist, activist, and midwife in New Orleans. According to legend, she could walk on water, summon clairvoyant visions, safely suck the poison out of a snake’s jowls, and cast spells to help her clients achieve their heart’s desires. There is also a wealth of more tangible evidence that she was a community activist who healed the sick, volunteered as an advocate for prisoners, provided free teachings, and did rituals for needy people who couldn’t pay her. I hereby assign her to be your inspirational role model for the coming weeks. I suspect you will have extra power to help people in both mysterious and practical ways.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
What are the best methods to exorcize our personal demons, ghosts, and goblins? Or at least subdue them and neutralize their ill effects? We all have such phantoms at work in our psyches, corroding our confidence and undermining our intentions. One approach I don’t recommend is to get mad at yourself for having these interlopers. Never do that. The demons’ strategy, you see, is to manipulate you into being mean and cruel to yourself. To drive them away, I suggest you shower yourself with love and kindness. That seriously reduces their ability to trick you and hurt you—and may even put them into a deep sleep. Now is an excellent time to try this approach.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
As she matured, Scorpio poet Sylvia Plath wrote, “I am learning how to compromise the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities without such screaming pain.” I believe you’re ready to go even further than Plath was able to, dear Scorpio. In the coming weeks, you could not merely “compromise” the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities. You could synergize them and get them to collaborate in satisfying ways. Bonus: I bet you will accomplish this feat without screaming pain. In fact, you may generate surprising pleasures that delight you with their revelations.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Some primates use herbal and clay medicines to self-medicate. Great apes, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas ingest a variety of ingredients that fight against parasitic infection and help relieve various gastrointestinal disturbances. Our ancestors learned the same healing arts, though far more extensively. And many Indigenous people today still practice this kind of self-care. With these thoughts in mind, Sagittarius, I urge you to spend quality time in the coming weeks deepening your understanding of how to heal and nurture yourself. The kinds of “medicines” you might draw on could be herbs, and may also be music, stories, colors, scents, books, relationships, and adventures.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The mythic traditions of all cultures are replete with tales of clashes and combats. If we draw on these tales to deduce what activity humans enjoy more than any other, we might conclude that it’s fighting with each other. But I hope you will avoid this normal habit as much as possible during the next three weeks, Capricorn. I am encouraging you to actively repress all inclinations to tangle. Just for now, I believe you will cast a wildly benevolent magic spell on your mental and physical health if you avoid arguments and skirmishes. Here’s a helpful tip: In each situation you’re involved in, focus on sustaining a vision of the most graceful, positive outcome.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Is there a person who could serve as your Über Mother for a while? This would be a wise and tender maternal ally who gives you the extra nurturing you need, along with steady doses of warm, crisp advice on how to weave your way through your labyrinthine decisions. Your temporary Über Mother could be any gender, really. They would love and accept you for exactly who you are, even as they stoke your confidence to pursue your sweet dreams about the future. Supportive and inspirational. Reassuring and invigorating. Championing you and consecrating you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Congratulations on acquiring the Big New Riddle! I trust it will inspire you to grow wiser and kinder and wilder over the coming months. I’ve compiled some clues to help you unravel and ultimately solve this challenging and fascinating mystery. 1. Refrain from calling on any strength that’s stingy or pinched. Ally yourself solely with generous power. 2. Avoid putting your faith in trivial and irrelevant “benefits.” Hold out for the most soulful assistance. 3. The answer to key questions may often be, “Make new connections and enhance existing connections.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Before forming the band called The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney performed under various other names: the Quarrymen, Japage 3, and Johnny and the Moondogs. I suspect you are currently at your own equivalent of the Johnny and the Moondogs phase. You’re building momentum. You’re gathering the tools and resources you need. But you have not yet found the exact title, descriptor, or definition for your enterprise. I suggest you be extra alert for its arrival in the coming weeks.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

SHARE The Wisdom With Friends Who Are Stars in Your Life on Social Media…

“Something unexpected: The heart cannot actually break, it can only break open.” – John Welwood

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Quote of the Day: “Something unexpected: The heart cannot actually break, it can only break open.” – John Welwood 

Photo by: Isaac Quesada

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?

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