Quote of the Day: “A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.” – Tom Wilson
Photo by: Toa Heftiba
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?
Ancient genomes of 13 individual Neanderthals show they ate, slept, loved and died in the company of their kin and were connected to other groups that made up a region’s Neanderthal population.
An international team mapped DNA from the bones of eight adult males and five children to shed fresh light on our ancient cousins.
Their findings provide the first snapshot of an actual family that lived 54,000 years ago.
“Our study provides a concrete picture of what a Neanderthal community may have looked like,” said co-author Benjamin Peter, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany. “It makes them seem much more human to me.”
Eleven of the specimens come from remains dug up in Chagyrskaya Cave in the Alta Mountains of southern Siberia.
They include a father and his teenage daughter, along with a pair of second degree relatives: a young boy and an adult female, perhaps a cousin, aunt or grandmother.
The fascinating combination suggests they must have lived, and died, at around the same time, and together make up the largest known genetic study of Neanderthals to date.
Further findings inform other hypotheses, such as that the DNA was mostly spread through traveling females, and that like humans, the bond of marriage, or pair-bonding as it is known in animals, of Neanderthal’s also saw women change social groups to live with her husband’s family.
Chagyrskaya Cave has been excavated over the last 14 years producing one of the largest assemblages of its kind in the world.
Besides several hundred thousand stone tools and animal bones, Russian scientists recovered more than 80 bone and tooth fragments of Neanderthals.
They occupied western Eurasia from around 430,000 to 40,000 years ago and are closely related to modern humans.
“The fact [these individuals] were living at the same time is very exciting. This means they likely came from the same social community,” said first author Dr. Laurits Skov, also from the Max Planck Institute. “So, for the first time, we can use genetics to study the social organization of a Neanderthal community.”
Another striking finding is the extremely low genetic diversity—consistent with a group size of 10 to 20 individuals. This is much lower than those for any ancient or present-day human community, and is more similar to the sizes of endangered species at the verge of extinction.
The study in the journal Nature found genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA suggests the communities were primarily linked by female migration. What’s more, it did not involve Denisovans that occupied Denisova Cave 60 miles away.
There was no evidence of gene flow from this other group of mysterious ancient humans in the previous 20,000 years.
DNA has been retrieved from just 18 Neanderthals since the first draft genome was published in 2010.
They have provided a broad review of the population but little was known about their social organization—until now.
The Neanderthals at Chagyrskaya and Okladnikov hunted ibex, horses, bison and other animals that migrated through the river valleys that the caves overlook.
They collected raw materials for their stone tools tens of miles away. The occurrence of the same raw material also supports the genetic data that the groups inhabiting these localities were closely linked.
Previous studies of a fossil toe from Denisova cave showed that Neandertals inhabited the Altai mountains considerably earlier as well, around 120,000 years ago.
Genetic data shows the Neanderthals are not descendants of these earlier groups, but are closer related to European Neanderthals.
“Detailed analysis of present-day hunting and gathering societies shows both men and women frequently move between groups and that dispersed relatives often maintain lifelong ties, which is not the case for apes.”
“A father whose daughter moves to another community is able to recognize his
grandchildren as kin and to bond with, or at least tolerate, his son-in-law. This can allow vast social networks to form, if population densities are high enough,” said Cassidy.
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An opportunity to meet Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, but charity superhero Yuri Williams got so much more than just a handshake when The Rock decided he wanted to do something special for him.
Soon to hit the silver screen as a superhero himself, The Rock surprised Yuri on live TV, brought him back to the Good Morning America studio to give him special tickets to see the premier of Johnson’s new movie, “Black Adam,” raise awareness for Yuri’s work, and add another suit to his costume collection.
Williams is just one man, but he’s many heroes—Deadpool, Spiderman, and The Mandalorian are all costumes he puts on to put a smile on the faces of the people in need of one, whether they be the homeless, sick children, elderly, or veterans.
GNN reported last year that his place at the at the forefront of fun has helped his charity, A Future Superhero and Friends, organize toy drives, blood drives, school supply giveaways, youth art fairs, and so much more, and they’ve done it in all fifty states.
Much of his work is taken up by visiting children with special needs, or who suffer from serious illnesses.
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“Yuri’s literally like the first person to put a smile on A.J.’s face,” said mom Katrina Morgan, whose son has cleft lip.
After struggling with depression during, and after his mother’s passing from cancer in 2009, Yuri decided the best way to recover was to channel his pain into relieving others’.
“We’ve never met until now, but I’m really so proud of you brother and the work that you do because I always like to say, this kind of stuff you’re doing, that’s the best part of fame,” Dwayne told Yuri on Good Morning America.
Part of The Rock’s incredible rise to fame as Hollywood’s highest paid actor has been his infectious, larger-than-life personality, which often includes a big hug or a surprise gift for a fan or hero.
GNN reported in January that The Rock surprised a fan and Navy Veteran by turning over the keys to his own personal pickup truck.
WATCH Yuri’s big surprise on live TV below.
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No-fishing zones are successfully restoring tuna while at the same time boosting the fishing industry, according to new research.
It’s well-known no-fishing zones can help sedentary marine life such as coral or lobster, and now scientists at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa have shown for the first time that they are also helping migrating fish travelling long distances.
Previously it was assumed no marine protected area (MPA) could be large enough to protect species that travel long distances, such as tuna.
But Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is almost four times the size of California, and the world’s largest no-fishing zone.
Scientists aboard fishing boats nearby but outside the area observed 54% more yellowfin tuna were caught, 12% more bigeye tuna and the catch rate for all other species increased by 8%.
There are huge economic benefits to the zones too—globally the tuna fishing industry generates nearly $40 billion a year and supports millions of jobs across the world.
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Writing in the journal Nature, the team put the positive results down to tuna actually being homebodies, mostly living their lives in the same place.
“Over the past 30 years, we have learned that tunas do not venture as far away from home as we once thought,” said Professor Jennifer Raynor at the Univ. of Wisconsin and co-author of the paper. “The Hawai’ian Islands are a nursery for baby yellowfin tuna, and it turns out that many of these fish stay in the region.”
The zones have a cultural impact too because yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna, otherwise known as ‘ahi, have historically been central to Hawai’i’s culture and diet.
“Being born and raised in Hawaii, I know how important ʻahi is to the community here,” co-author Sarah Medoff, at the Univ. of Hawai’i Mānoa. “It’s not just something eaten in fancy sushi restaurants, it’s the focal point of family gatherings, weddings, birthdays, graduation ceremonies and New Year’s Eve parties.”
READ MORE: Hawaii’s State Bird Soars Back From Brink of Extinction After Only 30 Birds Left on Islands
“It’s reassuring to know that the monument is protecting this resource for my own children and for future generations.”
Papahānaumokuākea was not created to generate benefits to the local tuna fishery when it was created in 2006 and expanded in 2016—it was always intended to protect biological and cultural resources.
The area is sacred to Native Hawai’ians who co-manage the monument alongside the state of Hawai’i and the federal government.
Professor Kekuewa Kikiloi from the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, who was not involved in the study, said the research demonstrates just how important the protected areas in the Pacific are.
“This research by Medoff et al. reaffirms the value of large scale marine protected areas in the Pacific,” he noted. “The protections that were fought for by Native Hawai’ians and other stakeholders for Papahānaumokuākea serve to benefit everyone, including fishing interests.”
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Alongside Captain James Cook or Winston Churchill, a new statue in London’s iconic Southbank honors a British hero who is not likely known, even by Brits themselves.
Unsung hero Jo Newby has fostered an astounding 92 children over the course of her 2 decades of volunteering.
The statue was commissioned by the snack bar brand, KIND Snacks after a nationwide search this year to uncover the UK’s kindest hero. The 52-year-old woman from East Yorkshire received nearly 500 heart-warming nominations led by her husband of 21 years, Chris.
The statue, which stands four meters tall (13-ft) on Observation Point, holds 92 balloons in one hand—each symbolizing one child she has fostered, and a pair of children’s soccer cleats in the other to pay homage to her work for children with disability in sports.
READ MORE: John Cena Smashes Guinness World Record – Granting 650 Wishes for Sick Children
“It’s all so surreal…I can’t believe it,” said Jo Newby. “I just get on with my day to day and don’t ever stop to think about the wider impact that I may be having.
“All I think about is the children and making sure they feel happy, included and safe.”
She also adopted a child with additional special needs, while supporting and caring for her husband, Chris, during his battle with pancreatic cancer.
“She’s like the really fun auntie you never you knew you wanted but you actually really needed, because without her I have no idea where I would have gone,” said Sophie, one of Newby’s fostered kids.
She is a co-founder of Barton Inclusive Football Club Hull, consisting of three competitive pan-disability football teams for children and young adults in the area—a program that local coaches say just doesn’t exist anywhere else in the region.
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Jo’s statue was created using 3D scanning technology from recycled materials.
“I’m so honored to be chosen as the UK’s kind hero, and for my husband Chris to have nominated me without my knowing. The world is so full of sadness and anger. I just hope that people can see what an impact kindness has on others.”
“To me, Jo is the most amazing, kind and selfless woman in the world, so when I saw #MyKINDhero callout I had to put her forward,” said Chris. “To have her recognized and identified as the UK’s kind hero makes me burst with pride.”
WATCH local English news report on the victory…
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Quote of the Day: “The things that make me different are the things that make ME.” – A.A. Milne
Photo by: Molnar Balint
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?
Scientists have puzzled over the origin of Namibia’s fairy circles for nearly half a century. It boiled down to two main theories: either termites were responsible, or plants were somehow self-organizing.
About 50-90 miles from the coast in the Namib (80-140km), there are millions of so-called ‘fairy circles’ – circular gaps in the grassland, each a few meters wide, together forming a distinctive pattern across the whole landscape and visible for miles around.
Now, researchers from the University of Göttingen, benefitting from two exceptionally good rainfall seasons in the Namib Desert, discovered that the grasses within the fairy circles died immediately after rainfall, but termite activity did not cause the bare patches.
Instead, continuous soil-moisture measurements demonstrate that the grasses around the circles strongly depleted the water within the circles and thereby likely induced the death of the grasses inside the circles.
The researchers followed the sporadic rain events in several regions in this desert and examined the grasses, their roots and shoots, and potential root damage induced by termites. Termites, tiny insects that live in large colonies around the world, often have been blamed for the death of the grasses. The researchers took great care to investigate the circumstances of dying grasses within fairy circles right from straight after the rainfall, which triggered the new growth of the grasses.
Additionally, they installed soil-moisture sensors in and around the fairy circles to record the soil-water content at 30-minute intervals starting in the dry season 2020 to the end of the rainy season 2022. This enabled the researchers to record precisely how the growth of the new emerging grasses around the circles affected the soil water within and around the circles. They investigated the differences in water infiltration between the inside and outside of circles at ten regions across the Namib.
The data show that about ten days after rainfall, the grasses were already starting to die within the circles while most of the interior area of the circles did not have grass germination at all. 20 days after rainfall, the struggling grasses within the circles were completely dead and yellowish in color while the surrounding grasses were vital and green.
When the researchers examined the roots of the grasses from within the circles and compared them to the green grasses on the outside, they found that the roots within the circles were as long as, or even longer than, those outside, indicating the grasses were putting effort into the growth of roots in search of water. The researchers found no evidence for termites feeding on roots.
It was not until 50-60 days after the rainfall that root damage became more visible.
“There was no biomass for these insects to feed on,” explained Dr Stephan Getzin, Department of Ecosystem Modeling at the University of Göttingen. “Termites are not responsible because the grasses die immediately after rainfall without any sign of creatures feeding on the root.”
“Under the strong heat in the Namib, the grasses are permanently transpiring and losing water. Hence, they create soil-moisture vacuums around their roots and water is drawn towards them. Our results strongly agree with those of researchers who have shown that water in soil diffuses quickly and horizontally in these sands even over distances greater than seven meters.”
Decline in soil water inside and outside of the circles was very slow after initial rainfall, when grasses were not yet established. However, when the surrounding grasses were well established, the decline in soil water after rainfall was very fast in all areas—even though there were almost no grasses within the circles to take the water. Getzin explains:
“By forming strongly patterned landscapes of evenly spaced fairy circles, the grasses act as ecosystem engineers and benefit directly from the water resource provided by the vegetation gaps. In fact, we know related self-organized vegetation structures from various other harsh drylands in the world, and in all those cases the plants have no other chance to survive except by growing exactly in such geometrical formations.”
The research, published in Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, has implications for understanding similar ecosystems, especially with regard to climate change, because the self-organization of plants buffers against negative effects induced by increasing aridification.
A video clip shows a German researcher demonstrating what happens inside a fairy circle in Brandberg, Namibia 35 days after a rainfall in 2021…
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42 percent of Americans said that going on a vacation with their partner has rekindled the spark of love again, according to new poll.
A survey of 2,000 adults looked at the potential of vacationing with others and found that three-quarters of respondents said vacations are great for those looking to keep love alive in their relationship (77%).
Overall, the average person reported that vacations make feel 65% happier, with more than half (58%) agreeing that their ‘world feels bigger’ after coming back.
Conducted by OnePoll for BeachBound, the survey found that 76% agree that just spending time on vacation with their loved one makes them feel refreshed—and eight out of ten said traveling with someone is one of the best ways to strengthen your bond.
In fact, 64% of respondents said they’ve learned the most about their loved ones while on vacation.
Vacationing with a loved one is also a time for stepping out of your comfort zone, with 61% revealing they’re more likely to be adventurous with others on vacation than by themselves.
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Also, seven in 10 people shared that they feel more in touch with themselves when returning from a trip than before, and a third of Americans have even had an epiphany about some aspect of their life when on vacation.
“With couples seeking opportunities to reconnect, a romantic getaway and escape from daily life can help couples rediscover themselves,” said Erica Doyne, senior vice president, marketing and communications for AMResorts.
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However, another poll taken conducted year showed that almost two-thirds (63%) of American adults were more interested in planning “staycations”—trips that are closer to home—than they were a few years ago.
Whether it’s up the road or thousands of miles away, couples are likely to improve their relationship by getting out of the house.
A stunning mosaic unmatched in Syrian art history was unveiled last week after excavations in Homs, the war-torn country’s third largest urban area.
The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums dated the 65-foot-long (20 meter) decorative flooring back to the Roman era, some 1600 years ago.
A large circle in the middle of the mosaic, which used half-inch painted tiles to depict epic scenes, contained images of ‘Achilles’ from Homer’s The Iliad, which told of the Trojan War between Troy and the Greeks.
There are also depictions of Greek or Roman gods, like Neptune (Poseidon) and Hercules, as well as the mythological Amazonian queen Penthesilea.
“What is in front of us is a discovery that is rare on a global scale,” said Hamman Saad, a senior official at Syria’s General Directorate of Museums and Antiquities.
The mosaic was discovered in a 4th-century building in the city of al-Rastan, which may have been a public bathhouse.
#Nabu is pleased that it has participated with the DGAMs in #Syria in the endeavour to uncover a fantastic mosaic piece attributed to the Roman era in al-Rastan, Homs Governorate.
— Nabu Museum (@nabumuseum) October 12, 2022
The Directorate announced the news this morning
We will publish some literature on this unique piece pic.twitter.com/dgXlAL95D2
This video below shows the area where it was found.
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Excavations will continue in tunnels and surrounding ruins of hallways and other rooms. See more photos here.
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A 15-year-old experienced the wildlife moment of a lifetime while on summer vacation.
Ethan Becker was snorkeling with his dad Chuck when they spotted a sea lion heading straight toward them.
Chuck got out his underwater camera and began recording after he realized his son was in no danger and the curious animal seemed simply to want to play.
Ethan spun around with the sea lion, in the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico, allowing the mammal to embrace him in a slow dance for almost a minute, before it swam over to have a look at Chuck.
After inspecting Chuck’s flippers, the animal swam away and left Ethan and Chuck in awe of what had just happened.
Ethan, who lives in Washington with his dad, described it as a moment he’d never forget.
“I don’t really know how to describe it as I was just totally taken back.
“It felt so euphoric in that moment that I almost forgot to put the snorkel in my mouth so I could breathe!
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“Looking back, I probably should have been more scared of being bit. But if I was ever given the chance I’d definitely dive there again.”
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Quote of the Day: “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” – Lao Tzu
Photo by: Luigi Manga
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?
There’s something strange in the neighborhood, and it’s up for rent.
Sony and vacation rental company Vacasa are taking bids for the holiday rental of a fully-furnished, fully-functional, and fully-frightful Ghostbusters headquarters.
A group of friends can win a three-night stay at a recreation of the building set used in the famous 1984 movie in Portland, Oregon.
The private two-bedroom, three-story firehouse built in the early 1900s includes all the comforts of home with a full kitchen, multiple living quarters and endless Ghostbusters features, including a scientist-approved Ghost Containment System and a Dark Room where guests can develop and analyze photos of the Scourge of Carpathia.
The beds are freshly made, the ectoplasm has been expertly cleaned up, and the pantry is stocked—with StayPuft marshmallows and cheezy crackers (as long as Slimer doesn’t get to them first).
“We’re dedicated to the details, and this Ghostbusters Firehouse in Portland is no exception,” Allison Lowrie, CMO of Vasaca, told CNN. Among these details are perfect replicas of the flight suits worn by the Ghostbusters, to take all possible Instagramable experiences to the next level.
“It’s designed to be enjoyed by Ghostbusters superfans and travelers with a sense of ’80s nostalgia alike,” said Lowrie.
All of Egon’s essentials, including smoking Ghost Traps, a P.K.E. Meter, Proton Packs, Aura Video-Analyzer, and even an Ecto-Containment Unit are available throughout the firehouse so guests have everything they need to send ghosts back to their place of origin or the nearest convenient parallel dimension.
Visit the Vacasa.com listing on Oct. 21, 2022, at 10 a.m. PT for the chance to experience the Ghostbusters Firehouse in Portland for a nightly rate of $19.84 (plus local taxes + fees), in honor of the year the first movie was released.
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Four years after Congress passed bipartisan legislation requiring the FDA to allow over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, President Biden issued an Executive kick-in-the-butt Order that gave them 120 days to act.
Now, this new category of OTC hearing aids, are enabling consumers with mild to moderate hearing impairment to purchase them directly from stores or online retailers without the need for a medical exam, prescription, or a fitting adjustment by an audiologist.
This has lowered the cost of hearings aids, furthering the Administration’s goal of expanding access to health care at lower prices for the American public. It is also designed to foster innovation and competition in the hearing aid technology marketplace.
The FDA estimated that the new rule could lower average costs by as much as $3,000 per pair.
You can now find a range of prices at retailers such as Walgreens, CVS, Hy-Vee, and Walmart. Best Buy will offer nearly 20 hearing devices online and at nearly 300 stores by the end of the month for as low as $200, reports The Hill.
Walgreens started selling them in stores and online for $799 a pair, while Walmart now carries them in 1,000 of their in-store vision centers—and at 474 Sam’s Club locations—for between $199 and $999 per pair.
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Please note that the OTC category applies to only ‘air-conduction’ hearing aids intended for people 18 years of age and older with mild to moderate hearing impairment, and devices intended for severe hearing impairment or users younger than age 18 still require a prescription.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats passed this year, also tackles health costs. It allows Medicare to negotiate prices for high-cost prescription drugs for the first time ever.
The legislation lowers seniors’ drug prices, and caps those out-of-pocket expenses at $2,000 per year.
RELATED: Researchers Discover Proteins That Could Soon Restore Damaged Hearing and Irreversible Deafness
Starting this January, seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries will also begin to see the benefits of these cost-saving measures:
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A California bakery created ‘Pan Solo’—a 6ft replica of the Star Wars hero frozen in carbonite out of bread.
Sci-fi fanatic and expert baker Hannalee Pervan spent 100 hours on the life size sculpture.
The head chef and co-owner of One House Bakery in Benicia, California, grew up watching Star Wars with her mom Catherine, who also worked on the sculpture.
Hannalee’s father Peter helped make what doubled as a tasty homage to the famous spaceborne rogue, and a Halloween project, by going out to get the supplies the two ladies needed.
They spent a month making the model from flour, water, and sugar, creating each feature and then baking them one by one.
“We start with a rough idea and then me and my mom just jump in and start making and baking things and seeing if they work,” said Hannalee. “Sometimes we get it in the first try and others we have to bake multiple times. We had many reference photos and we obsessed over the smallest details in them.”
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First they made his basic body shape before they moved onto his face and hands.
The sculpture went on display outside the shop on the 9th of October after nearly three months of planning and 12-14 hour shifts
“My mom and I had been brain storming iconic images in the sci-fi universe,” said the 37-year-old. “We settled on Han Solo stuck in carbonite because it was one of our favorite moments in Star Wars. It was also a little scary for Halloween and we thought we could really make it look cool using the properties of the dead dough.”
“My mom instilled are true love of Sci-fi in me,” she added. “It’s kind of our thing we share together.”
The shop also currently features the “Pain-dough-lorian” a scale model of the Boba Fett-inspired bounty hunter protagonist of The Mandalorian on Disney+. The fierce and tasty space fighter is dressed in bread armor, sculpted according to Hannalee’s exceptional attention to cannon.
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Powerful space satellites that can identify individual whales from their markings have been used for the first time to track a Critically Endangered species.
Scientists are using the tech, which is powerful enough to map a 15 square centimeter area in a single pixel, to follow the North Atlantic right whale to keep them away from ships and find out where they go in the summer and autumn.
The latest satellites are able to capture finer images than Google Earth, meaning conservationists can identify species and even individuals.
By knowing where whales are off to, people could warn fisheries through which the whales pass, or ships to chart a new course in order to prevent collisions and net entanglements.
Writing in the journal Marine Mammal Science the researchers said until now people do not know where 50% of North Atlantic whales go in summer and autumn.
They successfully spotted “Ruffian”, a North Atlantic right whale hailing from the Gulf of St. Lawrence who has a large white scar across his back after being injured by fishing gear in 2008.
“The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered, with about 336 individual whales accounted for,” said Matus Hodel, a Ph.D. student at University of Ottawa. “Knowing where the whales are at any given time enables fisheries to open or close to avoid the whales and enables ships to bypass them to prevent collisions.”
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“This is a new type of satellite imagery which has a spatial resolution of 15 cm, which means each pixel in the image represents 15 cm on the ground,” he added. “For context, this is much finer than Google Earth satellite images [and] in some cases, it also allows us to identify individual whales, in circumstances where a whale has sufficiently distinct markings.”
The research spanned from April 2021 to late summer 2022, during which the University of Ottawa team conducted aerial surveys to locate and photograph the whales.
It’s a part of the Canadian Space Agency’s wider smartWhales initiative to explore ways to detect the North Atlantic right whales using space tech.
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Quote of the Day: “Remember that hope is a powerful weapon even when all else is lost.” – Nelson Mandela
Photo by: Todd Cravens
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?
An eagle-eyed pooch has become an expert at finding lost golf balls in London, so much so that he’s helping provide golf charities with the balls they need to teach kids around the world.
Charles Jefferson must have felt he hit a hole-in-one when one day his dog, a cavapoo named Marlo, emerged from the bushes with a pristine tour-grade ball on the puppy’s first visit to a local London golf course.
Jefferson, a top-level amateur golfer for four decades who used to work with the European Tour, realized that a retrieved mint condition Titleist Pro V1 retails for around £3.50, and that his Marlo might have a unique ability for finding lost balls.
He spent the next six years walking up and down courses with Marlo, watching and chatting, and getting out in the open air.
Between Mitcham Golf Club and Wimbledon Common Golf Club, Mr. Jefferson and Marlo filled dresser drawers with golf balls, but rather than a single instance of selling around 600 to a mate, he never had any interest with the “retrieval market” a cottage industry that’s cropped up around recovering golf balls.
As an advertising and branding agent, Jefferson leapt at the chance to turn Marlo’s abilities into a force for good after he heard of a donation drive to promote the prevention of litter from lost golf balls.
RELATED: Scottish Government Scores Hole in One for Wildlife, Blocking Golf Course on Protected Coastline
The DP World Tour was seeing if they could fill a 20-foot long shipping container with second-hand tour-grade balls, with the intention of then sending them to Kenya’s Junior Golf Foundation, the South African Disabled Golf Association, the European Disabled Golf Association, the UAE’s Chicks with Sticks, and India’s Golf Foundation.
CNN estimates that 300 million golf balls get lost every year, and the United Arab Emirate’s DP World Tour hoped to encourage shooters to recover at least a tiny fraction of these for charities.
As Jefferson’s agency was helping with the branding, all eyes in the department turned onto him. He promptly dumped 600 more of Marlo’s finds in the container to make an admirable dent in its 200,000 capacity.
WATCH the story instead…
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To mark National Hemorrhoid Day October 19, we’re reposting this original GNN article from June, 2016…
Why didn’t my doctor warn me about this?
For decades, I have accepted as inevitable my protruding hemorrhoids. The problem began in the 80s when I was working a stage spotlight and freelancing as a TV news camera operator—and it continued through three natural child births in the 90s.
Recently I learned there was a simple procedure for ‘banding’ these little suckers, which would tie them off for good.
Well, after four visits to the gastroenterology clinic, my doctor was sorry it hadn’t worked for me—and said the only option remaining was painful, invasive surgery. I told him I was rarely constipated, but I don’t think he believed me.
One thing he never asked about was my urination habits.
Wanting to avoid surgery, I was talking to my sister and she said her hemorrhoids had disappeared once she started using a little seven inch stool to raise her feet while she pooped.
Further research revealed that in Asian countries where they squat over a hole the populace is virtually hemorrhoid-free, while westerners who sit like ladies have incidences of 20% or more. It turns out, when you sit upright, your posture creates a kink in the colon which inhibits the natural flow of waste.
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I figured I’d try it out and she told me about the “Squatty Potty” stool, which has helped a lot of constipated people and sells for between $25–$75. I ordered one, but it didn’t help me.
In the meantime, with a simple realization I cured myself of those devilish hemorrhoids: ‘It’s the pee, stupid!’ At least for me, anyway.
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Call me the type-A personality if you want, as I’m often in a rush. I own a small business—this Good News Network website–and I’m always working to eliminate a mile-long To-Do list. And even while relaxing and enjoying a movie at home, whenever I’d go to the toilet between scenes, I was terribly impatient to get back to watching Robert Downey, Jr… So, to make the urination process go faster, I’d bear down, pushing it out with added pressure, especially toward the end as the drip slowed down, eager to leave the bathroom.
When I finally realized I was using the same muscles as people with constipation, although to affect a different outcome, so to speak, I thought this might have something to do with my decades-old problem. Patience was never my strength, but now I had powerful motivation to sit still.
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For the next five days, whenever I’d go to the bathroom to pee, I’d relax, letting it come out naturally to the last, ever-so-leisurely drop. When I finally decided in the shower to check my progress, I reached down and there were no hemorrhoids – for the first time since I can remember.
After several months I knew I had achieved a permanent cure.
I might be an idiot for never realizing my part in creating the problem, but why didn’t my doctor ask about my urination habits? He is the expert, yet he didn’t ask that simple question.
Maybe I’m the only one who has been hurrying through their time in the bathroom, eager to get back to the exciting world outside. But, just in case anyone is like me – and suffers the consequences, which include occasional ruptures of blood when they burst – I thought I’d write this embarrassing article, in hopes that my coming out of the (water) closet might help others.
You’re welcome.
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275 exotic parrots are now on their way to a new wildlife sanctuary after their heroic caretaker pulled all of them up into his stilted house like Noah’s Ark to ride out Hurricane Ian.
There’s no question in Will Peratino’s mind that if he had not done so, the waves which crested his 5-foot high fencing around Malama Manu Sanctuary on Pine Island would have drowned all of them.
After the devastation, a full-scale volunteer effort transported all 275 parrots by boat through flooded canals to solid ground where they will be taken to another wildlife sanctuary.
The efforts were led by Project Dynamo, a volunteer rescue operation from Tampa that heard about Peratino’s plight. They put together a team and four boats to put all the parrots into cat-sized pet carriers and bring them off the ravaged Pine Island.
One of the volunteers came from the new sanctuary, who said they are likely to take the birds in for 6 months to a year.
“It’s been a long week,” Peratino said once all his birds were safely on their way. “This represents us being able to accomplish what we wanted to do which was to save all these birds. We heard other people just abandoned their pets, and there’s now way we could do that.”
There is a lot of work ahead for this parrot-loving man, to build a new home for the flock, which includes breeding pairs meant to safeguard populations of endangered animals from becoming extinct.
It’s as close to a modern reproduction of the story of Noah as one can find.
You can help build another ark. A GoFundMe page to fund the rebuilding of the sanctuary has raised $34,000 of its $200,000 goal.
WATCH some of the rescue below from AP
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A company has shrunk the wind turbine from being as tall as the Statue of Liberty to a 10-foot bladeless box that provides more power than 15 solar panels.
They are designed for small-scale, commercial use, as they’re noise free, and incapable of killing birds. Because they sit on the edge of roofs, they pair well with solar panels. If a building also has batteries to store the energy, it could be near to total self-sufficiency.
The relentless march of innovation in renewable energy continues at breakneck speed. Perhaps more so than solar, wind power is plagued criticism of the danger it presents to wildlife, and high maintenance requirements.
Called Aeromine, their boxy turbines generate energy in 50% greater amounts then a solar panel, and 16-times as much when the wind is right.
It takes works off the fact that when wind strikes a flat building wall, it accelerates as it rushes up and over the obstacle. Catching these wind gusts through a small opening, it channels the force towards an internal propeller located at the bottom of the unit.
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“I like to think of this as kind of disruptive and complimentary to the solar business,” Aeromine cofounder and CEO David Asarnow told Fast Company. “Our production can be stronger. At the same time, when you pair the two, you really have a path for on-site energy independence.”
Asarnow explains that 20 or 40 could line the walls of a building while leaving most of the roof free for solar panels.
Aeromine will first look to sell its product to warehouses and other large flat-roofed commercial buildings where it will have the maximum impact. In a current pilot, one of the units is being tested on the roof of a BASF factory near Detroit.
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