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80-Year-old Man Walks Through Blizzard to Rescue 3 Cars of People

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Andy Corbley
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ideo still embedded cbc shannon st. onge

A retiree rescuer hiked half a kilometer through a winter whiteout to reach a woman that had used social media to alert the local neighborhood that she was stuck and afraid for her safety.

At 80-years old, Andre Bouvier Sr. is being hailed as a hero for rescuing not only the woman, but three other cars likewise stuck in an impassable blizzard which locals describe as a “Saskatchewan Screamer.”

Many have had the same thought as Shannon St. Onge when looking at the approach of snow on a weather forecast—that they have time to finish their errands. The director of finance at the First Nations University of Canada, her signature on a check required her to drive her usual commute of 25 kilometers (15 miles) from her home in Pense, over to the city of Regina.

As she was leaving, the winter snow began to fall, and taking a dirt road for better traction on her tires, she quickly became lost, with no ability to see more than a sliver of the road’s edge from a rolled-down window. After a while she stopped and called 911, with the operator suggesting she wait out the storm as her tank was full and she was warm.

“She (the operator) took my information and told me an officer would call me back. Almost 14 hours and counting and nobody has called me yet to check in,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

“Would the gas tank last until morning? What if I was hit by another vehicle? What if I fell asleep and the tailpipe was blocked? What if I didn’t make it home at all?” St. Onge wondered.

CHECK OUT: Rookie Lifeguard Faced With Saving a Kangaroo From Rough Surf in Her First Ever Rescue

Determined to ensure the safest end to her turn for the worse, she went out in the storm and discovered her location on a road sign, then found a neighborhood Facebook group for the area she was passing through—alerting those it contained of her plight through a Google Maps pin.

That’s when Andre Bouvier Sr., doing some at-home genealogy research, got a call about St. Onge’s situation, and bundling up while ignoring his wife’s concern for his safety, the 80-year-old went out to find her, on foot, since he couldn’t manage to start his tractor.

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

On the way he found three other stranded vehicles, totaling seven people, and walking the quarter mile there and back, he led the helpless cars one by one to his home.

“Once we arrived to [his] house, and I parked the car, I got out and jumped into his arms and gave him a great big bear hug,” St. Onge told CBC News. “I was sobbing with gratitude, I was so grateful.”

MORE: A Hero Just Passing By Saves Young Mom and Son From Dying in Wyoming House Fire

Bouvier let the survivors sleep at his house, where they ate and laughed, and departed the next morning after he had plowed the driveway.

Bouvier remarked that everyone would have done the same, and that it took very few thoughts or courage to help.

(WATCH the CBC video for this story below.)

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Scotland Aims to Save Wild Salmon By Planting Millions of Trees Along the Rivers

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Andy Corbley
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Mick Garrett/CC license
Mick Garrett/CC license

With salmon spawning rivers in Scotland reaching record temperatures, the country has launched a mass native tree-planting campaign to cloak the shallows in shade in order to protect the frigid waters the salmon prefer.

Last spawning season for at least one day, the water temperatures in 70% of the spawning grounds were recorded as “too high” for salmon eggs to survive. But freshwater biologists discovered that only 30% of the riverine mileage had adequate tree cover to keep water temperatures cool throughout the day.

There are a total of 64,000 miles (103,000 km) of salmon river habitat in Scotland, and the tree planting is hoped to increase the overall biodiversity of insect, bird, and plant life along them.

The tree nurseries include aspen, willow, hawthorn, Scots pine, native rowan, juniper, and birch, and will start with 250,000 individuals and grow to more than a million. The areas are to be fenced off to prevent them being eaten by deer.

The angling season just started for salmon along rivers like the Dee, in Aberdeenshire, near Cairngorms National Park. Deeside is one of the world’s most famous salmon fishing rivers, and it’s estimated to provide between £5-6 million ($7-8 million) annually to the local communities.

MORE: 500 Acres of Old Growth Redwood Forests Donated to Tribal Council for Lasting Protection in Mendocino

“We need more people fishing, not just women and children,” local angler Cameron Stewart told the Guardian. “We gain so much from it. Just being outside and being in the wild. Even if you don’t catch anything, you come back from the day fulfilled.”

RELATED: Bee Bricks That Help Thousands of Solitary Bees Are Now a Requirement for New Buildings in Brighton

The River Dee is not the first river to feature these tree planting programs to create shade. Fishery boards across the country have experimented with shade tree planting and seen benefits in biodiversity.

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Cannabis Could Hold the Key to Preventing Neurodegenerative Diseases Like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

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Cannabis could hold the key to preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as it contains a chemical that protects brain cells against aging, according to new research.

What’s more, the ‘miracle compound’ CBN (cannabinol) is non-psychoactive. In other words, it doesn’t get people high.

Senior author Professor Pamela Maher said, “We’ve found cannabinol protects neurons from oxidative stress and cell death—two of the major contributors to Alzheimer’s.

“This discovery could one day lead to the development of new therapeutics for treating this disease and other neuro-degenerative disorders—like Parkinson’s disease.”

Studies on medical cannabis have focused on the active substances THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

Little is known about the therapeutic powers of CBN—which is molecularly similar but less heavily regulated.

The team at The Salk Institute in California previously identified the neuro-protective properties. Now they have worked out the mechanism.

MORE: World’s Largest Real-Life Study on CBD Products Finds Improvements in Pain, Anxiety, and Sleep

Lab experiments showed CBN stops a type of cell death called oxitosis. The process is triggered by the loss of an antioxidant called glutathione.

In experiments, nerve cells were treated with CBN—before oxidative damage was stimulated.

Further analysis found CBN boosted mitochondria—the power stations of cells.

In damaged neurons, oxidation caused them to curl up like donuts—a change that’s been seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

Impregnating cells with CBN maintained their healthy shape—and kept them functioning well.

When the test was replicated in nerve cells with mitochondria removed, CBN was no longer effective—confirming the finding.

RELATED: U.S. DEA is Finally Allowing Companies to Grow Their Own Cannabis for Scientific Research

Prof Maher said, “We were able to directly show maintenance of mitochondrial function was specifically required for the protective effects of the compound.”

The study also showed CBN did not activate cannabinoid receptor—which happens during a psychoactive response.

So medications containing it would work without causing the individual to become ‘high.’

First author Dr Zhibin Liang said,”CBN is not a controlled substance like THC—the psychotropic compound in cannabis.

“Evidence has shown CBN is safe in animals and humans. And because CBN works independently of cannabinoid receptors, it could also work in a wide variety of cells with ample therapeutic potential.”

The study has implications for a range of neuro-degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s—which is also linked to glutathione loss.

LOOK: Georgia Lab Experiments Shows CBD Reduces Plaque And Improves Cognition in Early Onset Alzheimer’s

Prof Maher said, “Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in changes in various tissues—not just in the brain and aging.

“So the fact this compound is able to maintain mitochondrial function suggests it could have more benefits beyond the context of Alzheimer’s disease.”

She called for further research into CBN and other lesser-studied cannabinoids in the marijuana plant.

Prof Maher and colleagues are now seeing if they can reproduce the results in a pre-clinical mouse model.

The study is in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

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“This world is your best teacher. There is a lesson in everything. There is a lesson in each experience. Learn it and become wise.” – Sivananda

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Credit: Suhash Villuri

Quote of the Day: “This world is your best teacher. There is a lesson in everything. There is a lesson in each experience. Learn it and become wise.” – Sivananda

Photo: by Suhash Villuri

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Pregnant Mom Saves Unborn Baby’s Life By Rushing to Hospital Despite Showing No Warning Signs: ‘It was Instinct’

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SWNS
SWNS

A mom says her mother’s instinct saved her unborn baby’s life—after she rushed to hospital convinced something was wrong despite showing no warning signs.

43-year-old Jemma Austin had a gut feeling that something wasn’t quite right when she was 22 weeks pregnant.

Jemma said, “I was on a walk with the dog and I just had this feeling I should go and see my consultant. I didn’t have any symptoms, but I just knew I should go in. I couldn’t ignore it. It was a mother’s instinct.

Jemma and her partner, Paul Jordan had been trying for a baby for five years, and had gone through two rounds of IVF.

It was lucky she did go in, as the doctors found that her cervix was open and measuring 8mm.

“They asked me why I came in,” she said. “Was I in any pain? But I just said it was my instinct.”

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The medical team managed to put a cervical stitch in, and Jemma stayed on bed rest in Worcestershire Royal Hospital for two weeks until she went into labor at 24 weeks.

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The couple’s baby boy, named Axel, was born 14 weeks early on February 12, 2020, weighing just 1lb 7oz.

“He was so tiny when he was born. I got to hold him for just a moment before he was taken away. It was so up and down but he pulled through.

Both Jemma and Axel battled sepsis after the birth and their baby boy had a seizure in his first week.

“He was on and off his ventilator,” Jemma said. “But he was such a little fighter. I knew he’d make it.”

RELATED: Most Parents Say They Develop ‘Superpowers’ After Having a Baby, According to New Poll

Axel spent 107 days in the hospital, but finally came home with his parents last June.

Now he’s approaching his first birthday and is a happy little boy.

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“He’s such a miracle,” Jemma said. “I feel so lucky to have him.”

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Idaho Man Breaks 52 World Records in 52 Weeks – Watch the Highlights of His Wild Year

By
Andy Corbley
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Jennifer Rush
Jennifer Rush

What better way to show kids that anything is possible than by setting a world record for most kiwifruits sliced over the duration of one minute, with a samurai sword, while standing on an exercise ball?

That’s just another week in the life of David Rush, one of the world’s most prolific Guinness World Record holders with over 200 titles, and now the owner of what is probably a world record in its own right: breaking a Guinness World Record every week for all 52 weeks in a year.

The process is thorough and complicated and will take much longer than 52 weeks to verify, but NPR confirms that Guinness has so far approved 43 of Rush’s 52 submitted records.

Throughout 2021 Rush, an author, speaker, entertainer, and STEM advocate from MIT, wanted to help inspire kids to pursue STEM education and not to get discouraged and give up. His method of communication was to break a variety of world records.

His YouTube channel features the aforementioned Kiwi-slicing, as well as a wide variety of juggling records such as fastest 100-meter dash while juggling blindfolded, longest time juggling three objects while standing on an exercise ball, most consecutive razor-sharp axes juggled and caught, and most thrown grapes caught in one’s mouth whilst juggling three objects.

There was also a variety of beat-the-clock records, like fastest time to set up a chessboard, most t-shirts put on in 30 seconds, most bars of wet soap stacked in one minute, and the fastest time to burst 10 balloons.

MORE: Teen Folds a Thousand Origami Cranes in One Sitting – For Guinness World Record

“STEM is hard and when a student struggles with science or fails at math they may say they can never be an engineer,” he wrote. “In 2015 I broke my first GWR to create a tangible example for folks to show that if you set your mind to a goal, believe in yourself, and pursue it with a passion, you can accomplish nearly anything. Going on to break an average of 1 a week is an extension of that to inspire kids to pursue hard STEM subjects and anyone to pursue anything that’s hard.”

RELATED: Midwestern Dad Breaks 31-Year World Record For 1.5 Million Push Ups – All For Charity

He saved the hardest for last, which involved legitimate athletic ability, which was the fastest 100-meter dash while blindfolded. The principal challenge, Rush detailed, was staying within the track markers.

Guinness commented on Rush’s video record-breaking on his YouTube page. The organization expects 53 more records in 2022.

(WATCH the video showing a 52-week montage of Rush in his element.)

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Doctors Say Cancer Patients Cured a Decade After Immune Cell Therapy at University of Pennsylvania

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Andy Corbley
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A healthy human T-Cell; National Institutes of Health
A healthy human T-Cell; National Institutes of Health

A 75-year-old California man has, after ten years of observation, been declared free of cancer after an immune cell treatment wiped out his blood cancer and a decade passed without it returning.

The treatment is one of several next-generation treatments for cancer, called CAR-T cell therapy, which retrains one of the most effective immune cells to target cancer fast, and then stay on patrol for years, evolving to keep the cancer at bay.

“I’m doing great right now. I’m still very active. I was running half marathons until 2018,” Doug Olson who lives in Pleasanton, California, told local news. “This is a cure. And they don’t use the word lightly.”

In fact, it was only three weeks after the experimental treatment was administered that Olson’s University of Pennsylvania doctors, Carl June and David Porter, got to sit Olson down and tell him the good news that they were not able to find a single cancer cell in his body.

The cancer-fighting paradigm for years had been to attack cancer cells radioactively, or with other chemicals, due to the cancer’s ability to disguise itself from the host’s immune system. Now several methods of therapies that involve reconfiguring the immune system to do its job right are being used on thousands of patients.

MORE: Experimental Treatment in Spain Puts 18 Cancer Patients in Complete Remission

CAR stands for the protein “chimeric antigen receptors” which can detect tumors and allow the T-cells to attack them. They’re extracted from the patient, genetically-engineered to produce CAR, and then reintroduced. So far, five such treatments have been approved by the FDA to treat leukemias, lymphomas, and myelomas. Dr. June estimates that tens of thousands of people have received CAR-T cell treatment so far.

While it can cure people, it’s not a miracle cure. It remains expensive and technically demanding, while leading to only around 25%-35% of people into total remission, as is the case with Olson. Dr. June and Porter believe that with continual refinement, that percentage can increase.

RELATED: Your Body’s Own ‘Cannabis-Like’ Substance Can Reduce Chronic Inflammation During Exercise

As for Olson, he’s regularly running with his son to try and keep himself in prime condition. “If my cancer was gone, I certainly didn’t want to die of a heart attack,” he told Nature.

(WATCH the ABC6 video for this story below.)

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Even Dying Stars Can Still Give Birth to Planets, Scientists Discover

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Discs surrounding so-called evolved binary stars not uncommonly show signs that could point to planet formation. CREDIT © N. Stecki
Discs surrounding so-called evolved binary stars not uncommonly show signs that could point to planet formation/© N. Stecki

Planets are usually not much younger than the stars around which they revolve. Take the Sun: it was born 4.6 billion years ago, and not long after that, Earth came into the world.

But KU Leuven astronomers have discovered that a completely different scenario is also possible. Even if they are near death, some types of stars can possibly still form planets. If this is confirmed, theories on planet formation will need to be adjusted.

Planets such as Earth, and all other planets in our solar system, were formed not long after the Sun. Our Sun started to burn 4.6 billion years ago, and in the next million years, the matter around it clumped into protoplanets.

The birth of the planets in that protoplanetary disc, a gigantic pancake made of dust and gas, so to speak, with the Sun in the middle, explains why they all orbit in the same plane.

But such discs of dust and gas needn’t necessarily only surround newborn stars. They can also develop independently from star formation, for example around binary stars of which one is dying (binary stars are two stars that orbit each other, also called a binary system).

When the end approaches for a medium-sized star (like the Sun), it catapults the outer part of its atmosphere into space, after which it slowly dies out as a so-called white dwarf. However, in the case of binary stars, the gravitational pull of the second star causes the matter ejected by the dying star to form a flat, rotating disc. Moreover, this disc strongly resembles the protoplanetary discs that astronomers observe around young stars elsewhere in the Milky Way.

RELATED: Gigantic Planet Found Hidden in Plain Sight

This we already knew. However, what is new is that the discs surrounding so-called evolved binary stars not uncommonly show signs that could point to planet formation, as discovered by an international team of astronomers led by KU Leuven researchers.

What’s more, their observations show that this is the case for one in ten of these binary stars. “In ten per cent of the evolved binary stars with discs we studied, we see a large cavity in the disc”, says KU Leuven astronomer Jacques Kluska. “This is an indication that something is floating around there that has collected all matter in the area of the cavity.”

LOOK: Mysterious Purple Coating Found on Mars Rocks in Every Direction

Second-generation planets

Discs surrounding so-called evolved binary stars can show signs that could point to planet formation/© N. Stecki

The clean-up of the matter could be the work of a planet. That planet might not have formed at the very beginning of one of the binary stars’ life, but at the very end. The astronomers moreover found further strong indications for the presence of such planets. “In the evolved binary stars with a large cavity in the disc, we saw that heavy elements such as iron were very scarce on the surface of the dying star”, says Kluska.

“This observation leads one to suspect that dust particles rich in these elements were trapped by a planet.” By the way, the Leuven astronomer doesn’t rule out the possibility that in this way, several planets can be formed around these binary stars.

MORE: Mysterious Object Unlike Anything Astronomers Have Seen Before Discovered

The discovery was made when the astronomers were drawing up an inventory of evolved binary stars in our Milky Way. They did that based on existing, publicly available observations. Kluska and his colleagues counted 85 of such binary star pairs. In ten pairs, the researchers came across a disc with a large cavity on the infrared images.

Current theories put to the test

If new observations confirm the existence of planets around evolved binary stars, and if it turns out the planets were only formed after one of the stars had reached the end of its life, the theories on planet formation will need to be adjusted. “The confirmation or refutation of this extraordinary way of planet formation will be an unprecedented test for the current theories”, according to Professor Hans Van Winckel, head of the KU Leuven Institute of Astronomy.

The KU Leuven astronomers soon want to verify their hypothesis themselves. To this end, they will use the big telescopes of the European Southern Observatory in Chile to take a closer look at the ten pairs of binary stars whose discs show a large cavity.

The article about this discovery is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Source: KU Leuven

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“I wish I could make him understand that a loving good heart is riches enough, and that without it intellect is poverty.” – Mark Twain

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Quote of the Day: “I wish I could make him understand that a loving good heart is riches enough, and that without it intellect is poverty.” – Mark Twain (The Diaries of Adam and Eve)

Photo: by Will O

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Higher Olive Oil Intake Associated With Much Lower Risk of Death From Various Diseases

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By Marco Verch Professional Photographer
By Marco Verch Professional Photographer

Replacing margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with olive oil was associated with lower mortality risk from diseases, according to a large new study.

Consuming more than 7 grams of olive oil daily (1 and 1/2 teaspoons) is associated with lower risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative and respiratory diseases, according to a new study.

The study also found that a lower risk of mortality was associated with the replacement of 10 grams / 2 teaspoons per day of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, or dairy fat with the equivalent amount of olive oil.

Published January 10 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the findings were based on an analysis of participants from the Nurses’ Health Study, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Researchers analyzed 60,582 women and 31,801 men who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the study baseline in 1990.

During 28 years of follow-up, their diets were assessed by a questionnaire every four years. The questionnaire asked how often, on average, they consumed specific foods, types of fats and oils, as well as which brand or type of oils they used in the kitchen and at the table.

The findings support current dietary recommendations to increase the intake of olive oil and other unsaturated vegetable oils.

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“Clinicians should be counseling patients to replace certain fats, such as margarine and butter, with olive oil to improve their health,” said Marta Guasch-Ferré, PhD, a senior research scientist at the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the study’s lead author. “Our study helps make more specific recommendations that will be easier for patients to understand and hopefully implement into their diets.”

Olive oil consumption was calculated from the sum of three items in the questionnaire: olive oil used for salad dressings, olive oil added to food or bread, and olive oil used for baking and frying at home. One tablespoon was equivalent to 13.5 grams of olive oil.

The consumption of other vegetable oils was calculated based on the participants reported oil brand and type of fat used for cooking at home. Margarine and butter consumption was based on the reported frequency of stick, tub or soft margarine consumption, and the amount of margarine or butter added from baking and frying at home. Intakes of dairy and other fats and nutrients were also calculated.

RELATED: Mediterranean Diet and Extra Olive Oil Can Lower Risk of Breast Cancer

The researchers found olive oil consumption increased from 1.6 grams/day in 1990 to about 4 grams/day in 2010, while margarine consumption decreased from about 12 grams/day in 1990 to about 4 grams/day in 2010. The intake of other fats remained stable.

Participants with higher olive oil consumption were often more physically active, had Southern European or Mediterranean ancestry, were less likely to smoke, and had a greater consumption of fruits and vegetables compared to those with lower olive oil consumption.

The average consumption of total olive oil in the highest category was about 9 grams/day at baseline and included 5% of the study participants.

When researchers compared those who rarely or never consumed olive oil, those in the highest consumption category had 19% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality, 17% lower risk of cancer mortality, 29% lower risk of neurodegenerative mortality, and 18% lower risk of respiratory mortality.

CHECK OUT: Israeli and Palestinian Farmers Find Peace Through Olive Oil

The study also found substituting 10 grams/day of other fats, such as margarine, butter, mayonnaise and dairy fat, with olive oil was associated with 8–34% lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality. They found no significant associations when substituting olive oil for other vegetable oils.

Over the course of 28 years, there were 36,856 deaths to examine that occurred in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

“It’s possible that higher olive oil consumption is a marker of an overall healthier diet and higher socioeconomic status. However, even after adjusting for these and other social economic status factors, our results remained largely the same,” Guasch-Ferré said.

He pointed out that the study cohort was predominantly a non-Hispanic white population of health professionals, which “should minimize potentially confounding socioeconomic factors, but may limit generalizability as this population may be more likely to lead a healthy lifestyle.”

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In an accompanying editorial, Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, added, “The current study and previous studies have found that consumption of olive oil may have health benefits. However, several questions remain. Are the associations causal or spurious? Is olive oil consumption protective for certain cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and atrial fibrillation, only or also for other major diseases and causes of death? What is the amount of olive oil required for a protective effect? More research is needed to address these questions.”

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Ancient Trees Have Incredible Lifespans That Also Help Keep The Surrounding Forests Alive

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Old Burr Oak / The Morton Arboretum

New research suggests that ancient trees possess far more than an awe-inspiring presence. They provide a suite of ecological services to forests, as well as sustaining the entire tree population’s ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

Old Burr Oak / The Morton Arboretum

In the February edition of Nature Plants, Chuck Cannon, PhD, director of The Morton Arboretum’s Center for Tree Science in Lisle, Illinois, reported that old and ancient trees (often more than 10 to 20 times older than nearby trees) radically change the overall genetic diversity and composition fitness of their surrounding populations.

Collaborating with scientists at Tuscia University in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain, he said the findings also indicate that these trees contribute evolutionary properties to forests that are vital to their long-term survival.

“We examined the demographic patterns that emerge from old-growth forests over thousands of years, and a very small proportion of trees emerge as life-history ‘lottery winners’ that reach far higher ages that bridge environmental cycles that span centuries,” said Cannon.

“In our models, these rare, ancient trees prove to be vital to a forest’s long-term adaptive capacity, substantially broadening the temporal span of the population’s overall genetic diversity.”

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These trees, which comprise less than 1% of a population, given model conditions, contribute a vitally important amount of genetic and biological diversity to a forest’s overall population, documenting a broad range of historical environmental conditions that span hundreds or even a thousand years.

To put it simply, according to the authors, ancient trees have survived countless environmental changes over hundreds or thousands of years, and in turn, this genetic resilience is passed on to the forest. Moreover, these old trees sequester a disproportionate amount of carbon compared to typical mature trees.

RELATED: Hedgerows Are 2,000 Times More Valuable For Ecosystems Than We Could Imagine

The authors report that the death of ancient trees is more a random product of their environment rather than a predictable process.

According to the study, the researchers found in their models that the maximum age that trees could reach was particularly sensitive to the lower range of observed mortality rates. However, at higher mortality rates, like those that might be seen as resulting from climate changes, the ability of trees to reach the same impressive ages is limited.

“As the climate changes, it is likely that mortality rates in trees will increase, and it will become increasingly difficult for ancient trees to emerge in forests,” said the Morton Arboretum botanist.

The authors note that while forest restoration and tree planting efforts are important tools to improve both local and global environments, ancient trees cannot be recovered or regenerated without many centuries and generations of trees passing.

RELATED: Italy is Protecting its Giant Trees Forever – Monumental Trees that Can Live for Centuries

“This study recalls the urgent need for a global strategy to conserve biodiversity, not only by preserving intact forests, but in particular the small remnant of a few ancient trees that have survived in managed forest landscapes,” concludes Gianluca Piovesan, a co-researcher at the Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences in the Università Tuscia, in Viterbo, Italy.

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A Hero Just Passing By Saves Young Mom and Son From Dying in Wyoming House Fire

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Ryan Pasborg / Green River Fire Department

A passerby is being hailed as a hero for risking his own life to help rescue a Wyoming family after their Jamestown home erupted into flames early Tuesday morning.

Ryan Pasborg / Green River Fire Department

A 34-year-old mother and her four young children, ages 12, 8, 6 and 4, were asleep in their Jamestown house when a fire erupted in the home.

Ryan Pasborg was running late for work Tuesday morning as he traveled from his home in Green River towards town when he smelled smoke and saw flames coming from a bedroom window.

When he didn’t see any emergency lights, the 32-year-old decided to pull into the driveway where he saw a young girl and two boys leaving the house. The three children told Pasborg that their mother and 4-year-old little brother were still inside—and without hesitation he entered the residence through a garage door and stepped into the kitchen.

Pasborg told authorities that he could not see anything inside because of heavy smoke, so he crawled on his hands and knees on the floor several feet into the kitchen before he bumped into the small child. He immediately grabbed the boy around the waist, picked him up and carried him outside.

With a windchill temperature well below zero, Pasborg quickly put all four children in his truck to keep them warm before entering the burning home a second time, this time crawling through the kitchen deeper into the house in search of the children’s missing mother.

Moments later, Pasborg found the woman lying on the floor, badly burned and struggling to breath. After dragging her outside, he noticed that she was unresponsive and no longer breathing, so he began performing lifesaving measures until she suddenly took a gasp of air.

WATCH: Hero Jumps Into Maryland Bay to Save Toddler’s Life, After Crash Flings Her Car Seat Into the Water

Pasborg then drove the family away from the now raging fire to the end of the driveway near the highway and awaited the arrival of emergency first responders.

Sheriff Deputy Jason Mower said he could not recall ever witnessing such courage and selflessness as that displayed by Pasborg, who surely saved the lives of the young mother and son.

“I think this is the first time in nearly 15 years of law enforcement that I’ve ever heard of a total stranger truly going above and beyond in a way and in a situation that many wouldn’t have dared to face,” Mower said.

“Not only is it a blessing in its own right that Mr. Pasborg was in the right place at the right time, but his willingness without second thought to risk his own life to help save this family was the difference between life and death for this young mother and her child; he gave them a fighting chance,” said Sheriff John Grossnickle said in a statement.

RELATED: Firefighters Rescue a Dog Trapped Down a 15-Foot Underground Burrow

“There are no words to adequately express the magnitude of Ryan’s bravery other than he is a perfect example of what it means to be a real hero,” Grossnickle continued. “His actions speak volumes about the true content of his character, and people like Ryan are a testament to the overwhelming power and strength of community that we are so fortunate to share with one another as friends and neighbors here in Sweetwater County.”

Not only was his bravery on display, but his generosity and compassion. Pasborg later purchased several hundred dollars worth of clothing and necessities and delivered them to the family at their grandmother’s house.

MORE: Hero Trucker Ignores Own Safety to Save Utility Worker Stuck in a Bucket With Fire Blazing Below

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Guy Tries His Best to Catch a Bunny Rabbit, Captures the Hilarious Fail on Video

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Three weeks ago, a man was caught in an amusing predicament after buying a pet rabbit.

“I went straight to a park,” explained YBS Bunny on YouTube, who was alone, at the time. “Bad idea.”

“Let’s say he gave me a run for my money. 😂”

He bought the rabbit to learn how to reconnect with the earth, by finding something to bond with.

“Then your bond, your connection, will extend to other things on the planet. People get ducks; people get cats; I chose a rabbit.”

Check out YBS Bunny’s epic chase around a tree, as he tries to capture his pet back in the box, in the video below.

RELATED: Watch 2 Cats Experience Snow For the First Time – Adorably Shaking Their Paws With Each Step

The white wabbit did finally depart the safety of the tree, and scampered into the open lawn—we’re hoping it got easier from there. YBS promised GNN an update tomorrow.

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“We are too sincere, too productive, and too realistic. We need to enter more fully and more willingly into that realm under the rocks and behind the mirror.” – Thomas Moore

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Quote of the Day: “We are too sincere, too productive, and too realistic. We need to enter more fully and more willingly into that realm under the rocks and behind the mirror.” – Thomas Moore

Photo: by Baran Lotfollahi

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?

 

Are We About to Witness a Super-Massive Black Hole Merger?

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Good News Network
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PICTURED: Edited Hubble Space Telescope montage (created by NASA) of various galaxies with growing black holes due to collisions with other galaxies. PC: Stuart Rankin-CC 4.0.

Reprinted with permission from World At Large, a news website of nature, politics, science, health, and travel.

Edited Hubble Space Telescope montage (created by NASA) of galaxies with growing black holes due to galaxy collisions, by Stuart Rankin – CC 4.0 license (cropped)

A galaxy featuring a pair of supermassive black holes could be about to receive a pretty loud wake up call, as the titanic entities will spiral together and merge in just a few months, with an expression of energy that will literally shake the entire universe.

This big bang could be the first of its kind that scientists will be able to witness, and the sheer mention of a prediction that we know when and where such an event would take place lead scientists around the world scrambling for telescope time to try and catch a glimpse in X-rays, gamma rays, and radio waves.

Most galaxies probably have supermassive black holes at their center, but scientists don’t know how they grow so large. One theory is that they periodically suck in material that makes them grow big and grow bright, becoming active galactic nuclei or AGN. Another theory is that when two galaxies collide, the black holes at their center set themselves on a collision course which causes them to merge, bringing them into the supermassive size.

Mergers would bring the black holes too close together for their light to be separated. Instead, they are detected either through gravitational waves at observatories like LIGO, or optically through periodic oscillations in the signatures of energy and heat churned out into the surrounding matter by the pair as they grow nearer to each other.

Ning Jiang of the University of Science and Technology of China was operating a survey telescope from the Zwicky Transient Facility in California where he and his team stumbled upon data that appeared to be from an AGN with two such black holes, in which the oscillations during an observing period of 3 years, decreased from 1 year to 3 months, suggesting that within 100 days, the pair of black holes would tie the knot.

“If the interpretation is true, a coordinated, multi-band electromagnetic campaign should be planned for this first binary [supermassive black hole] merger event observed in human history,” the authors write in their paper which is yet to be peer-reviewed— and some critics are skeptical.

RELATED: Mysterious Purple Coating Found on Mars Rocks in Every Direction

Just have to wait and see

Fortunately for everyone involved and impacted by this exceedingly-bold prediction, the usual periods of waiting ascribed to astronomical research is much shorter, as the black holes merging could be 100 to 300 days, or even less.

If a merger does take place, along with a massive burst of light along the electromagnetic spectrum, there will be a shower of neutrino particles, which can be detected at the IceCube neutrino observatory at the South Pole, and a massive ripple in the fabric of space and time called a gravitational wave.

Bold claims require bold evidence, and Science Magazine had further opinions from scientists that believe the evidence is merely circumstantial.

RELATED: NASA Probe Enters the Sun’s Atmosphere for the First Time, Immediately Teaching Us New Things About Our Star

Theorist Daniel D’Orazio from the Niels Bohr institute in Copenhagen point out that the galaxy, logged as SDSSJ1430+2303, lacked the diminishing oscillations in its light curve in the years before Jiang started observing it. Before then, there were steady emissions of energy into the surrounding matter, suggesting that it is merely a black hole binary galaxy and nothing more.

However, on the 14th of September, 2015, the LIGO-Virgo collaborations announced the first observation of gravitational waves from a signal of two black holes with masses of 29 and 36 solar masses merging about 1.3 billion light-years away. During the final fraction of a second of the merger, it released more than 50 times the power of all the stars in the observable universe combined.

CHECK OUT: This is What it Looks Like When a Black Hole Snacks on a Star

This merger would be an awful lot bigger. Rather than containing 36 times the mass of the sun, they would contain the mass of hundreds of millions of suns— and no one can say for certain what the observable effect would be in this case.

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Ginger Cat is Local Star for Stealing Hundreds of Toys and Presenting Them Sweetly to Neighbors

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Andy Corbley
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Photos: (Left) Ingrid Moyle, (right) Kay McCall

A cat burglar and kleptocat, has stolen the hearts of Australians after becoming an internet celebrity for his relentless robbing of locals and their toys.

Photos: (Left) Ingrid Moyle, (right) Kay McCall

Kay McCall and her husband were moving into a new apartment last year in Ferny Hills, near Brisbane, when they met a ginger cat who hopped over the fence looking for a head pat and chin scratches.

It became an enjoyable daily encounter, but as the visits continued they began to notice an accumulation of toys in their yard.

It wasn’t long before they caught him in the act. It turned out, the orange visitor was bringing more than affection and neighborliness.

McCall says he left in their yard several odd socks, a school tee-shirt, and lots of toys.

“He brought a beautiful little Peter Rabbit,” she told ABC News Australia. “After a while, we just accumulated a ridiculous number—literally an entire table-full.”

They decided to post a picture of the “Pirate Kitty” and his haul on a Facebook group for locals, seeing if any of the toys belonged to the neighbors. Indeed, dozens of people reported they had been visited by Pirate Kitty, or recognized one of this plundered items— and he instantly became a local icon.

Pirate kitty needed a home

Eventually, McCall tracked down the ginger cat’s loving owners and established that, no, it wasn’t a vagabond—and that it had a home nearby—but the family couldn’t keep him from wandering off.

Later the owners asked if the McCalls were able to help Pirate Kitty find a new home, since it was impossible for them to ensure his safety.

LOOK: Girl Makes Special Pouch For Her Cat to Take Him Traveling Around Italy—His Favorite Hobby

A local resident, Ingrid Moyle, who regularly fostered stray animals, had recently lost some family members, so she decided that a new lover in their home would be a good idea.

Because Pirate Kitty didn’t respond to his actual name ‘Johnny,’ Moyle called him ‘Kylo’ after one of her favorite angsty Star Wars characters.

“I was a Pirate Kitty fan from the very first post … and then I saw the post that Kay put up saying his previous owners couldn’t keep him anymore,” Ms. Moyle said.

Turning Pirate Kitty into an indoor cat was surprisingly easy—but ending the chronic thievery was all but impossible.

Kylo’s morning haul of toys in his new home – Ingrid Moyle

“I have a very, very large box of toys of different sizes and shapes, so I just tip this toy box on the floor downstairs in the lounge room.”

Kylo now chooses a toy and drags it up the stairs to their bedroom, where he presents it to his new mother while she is presumably trying to sleep. He then runs off to get another one.

RELATED: Why Cats Love to Sit in Boxes – Even Fake Ones, According to Science

Since the happy ending, the Pirate Kitty’s fan base has asserted that Kylo actually now owns Moyle, rather than the other way around—and everyone looks forward new posts about the cat’s mischief in the Ferny Hills home.

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500 Acres of Old Growth Redwood Forests Donated to Tribal Council for Lasting Protection in Mendocino, Calif

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Good News Network
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Photo by Max Forster Photography, courtesy of Save the Redwoods League
Photo by Max Forster Photography, courtesy of Save the Redwoods League

For a second time, the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League has orchestrated a donation of coastal redwood forestland to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council to permanently protect trees on the Lost Coast in Mendocino County, California.

The League purchased the 523-acre property, formerly known as Andersonia West, in 2020. To ensure its lasting protection, the conservation group transferred ownership to the Sinkyone Council, which then granted the League a conservation easement.

Through the partnership, the Sinkyone people resume guardianship of a land they lived on generations ago, before European settlers moved in—and the forest will again be known as Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ (pronounced tsih-ih-LEY-duhn), meaning “Fish Run Place”

“Renaming the property Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ lets people know that it’s a sacred place,” said Crista Ray, a tribal citizen of Pomo Indians and a board member of the Sinkyone Council.

“Today I stand on the shoulders of giants, my ancestors … to bring them honor, and to not let our old ways be forgotten, for our next generation,” said Buffie Schmidt, a tribal citizen and board treasurer of the Sinkyone Council. “Our ancestors are still here, they’re still around us. As I listen to the wind, I feel like my ancestors.”

“The Sinkyone Council today represents the Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of this land. Their connection to the redwood forest is longstanding, and it is deep,” said Sam Hodder, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League. “The League is honored to support a return of Native people to this place and to partner with the Sinkyone Council in their management and stewardship of Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ. We believe the best way to permanently protect and heal this land is through tribal stewardship. In this process, we have an opportunity to accelerate the pace and scale of conserving California’s iconic redwood forests.”

RELATED: Native American Tribe in Maine Gets Back Sacred Island Taken 160 Years Ago

Save The Redwoods League

Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ is a coastal conifer forest with 200 acres of old-growth coastal redwoods and 1.5 miles of waterfront wilderness on Anderson Creek—a Class I fish-bearing stream and tributary to the South Fork Eel River.

Second-growth redwoods, Douglas-firs, tanoaks and madrones tower over a lush understory of huckleberries, elderberries, manzanitas and ceanothuses. This habitat corridor supports coho salmon, steelhead trout, marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl—all species listed under the US Endangered Species Act.

CHECK Out: At Long Last, Smallest Native Californian Tribe Has Land To Call Their Own

Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ is the League‘s second land donation to the Sinkyone Council. The first, in 2012, was the 164-acre Four Corners property north of Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ, the first project for which Save the Redwoods entered into a conservation agreement with a tribal entity.

Both organizations are committed to the prevention of habitat loss, commercial timber operations, construction and development.

As a Tribal Protected Area, Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ is a vital addition to 180,000 acres of adjacent conserved lands east of the 7,250-acre Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.

Protection of Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ

The League’s initial purchase of this 523-acre forest for $3.55 million in 2020 was fully funded by Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E) Compensatory Mitigation Program (program), which develops projects related to PG&E’s 30-year conservation goals that were developed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

PG&E also reimbursed the League and Council for transactional costs and management plan preparation, in addition to a $1.13 million endowment to support ongoing stewardship of Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ.

POPULAR: One of the Largest Native American Tribes Has Just Voted to End Their 100-Year Dependency on Coal

“This is a great collaborative effort that demonstrates our environmental stewardship commitment to protect these valuable resources and the communities we serve,” said Mariano Mandler, senior director of environmental management for PG&E.

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This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘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 February 5, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
“All things are inventions of holiness,” wrote poet Mary Oliver. “Some more rascally than others.” I agree. And I’ll add that in the coming weeks, holiness is likely to be especially rascally as it crafts its inventions in your vicinity. Here are the shades of my meaning for the word “rascally”: unruly, experimental, mischievous, amusing, mercurial, buoyant, whimsical, and kaleidoscopic. But don’t forget that all of this will unfold under the guidance and influence of holiness. I suspect you’ll encounter some of the most amusing and entertaining outbreaks of divine intervention ever.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The year 1905 is referred to as Albert Einstein’s “Year of Miracles.” The Piscean physicist, who was 26 years old, produced three scientific papers that transformed the nature of physics and the way we understand the universe. Among his revolutionary ideas were the theory of special relativity, the concept that light was composed of particles, and the iconic equation E = mc squared. With that information as a backdrop, I will make a bold prediction: that in 2022 you will experience your own personal version of a Year of Miracles. The process is already underway. Now it’s time to accelerate it.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Aries actor Bette Davis said that if you want to improve your work, you should “attempt the impossible.” That’s perfect advice for you right now. I hope to see you hone your skills as you stretch yourself into the unknown. I will celebrate your forays into the frontiers, since doing so will make you even smarter than you already are. I will cheer you on as you transcend your expectations and exceed your limits, thereby enhancing your flair for self-love. Here’s your mantra: “I now have the power to turn the impossible into the possible and boost my health and fortunes in the process.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote, “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” You’ll be wise to make that your motto during the next five months, Taurus. Life will conspire to bring you more and more benefits and invitations as you take full advantage of the benefits and invitations that life brings. The abundance gathering in your vicinity may even start to seem ridiculously extravagant. Envious people could accuse you of being greedy, when in fact, you’re simply harnessing a crucial rule in the game of life. To minimize envy and generate even more benefits and invitations, be generous in sharing your plenitude.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
“‘Because there has been no one to stop me’ has been one of the principles of my life,” wrote Gemini author Joyce Carol Oates. “If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere,” said Gemini actor Marilyn Monroe. “Play the game. Never let the game play you.” So advised Gemini rapper and actor Tupac Shakur. “Who I really am keeps surprising me,” declared Gemini author Nikki Giovanni. I propose that we make the previous four quotes your wisdom teachings during the next four weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Your animal symbol is usually the crab. But I propose we temporarily change it to the tardigrade. It’s a tiny, eight-legged creature that’s among the most stalwart on planet Earth—able to live everywhere, from mountaintops to tropical rainforests to the deepest parts of the sea. In extreme temperatures, it thrives, as well as under extreme pressures. Since it emerged as a species half a billion years ago, it has survived all five mass extinctions. I believe you will be as hardy and adaptable and resolute as a tardigrade in the coming months, Cancerian. You will specialize in grit and resilience and determination. PS: Tardigrades are regarded as a “pioneer species” because they take up residence in new and changed environments, paving the way for the arrival of other species. They help create novel ecosystems. Metaphorically speaking, you could be like that.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
I regularly ask myself how I can become more open-minded. Have I stopped being receptive in any way? What new developments and fresh ideas am I ignorant of? Have my strong opinions blinded me to possibilities that don’t fit my opinions? In accordance with astrological omens, Leo, I encourage you to adopt my attitude in the coming weeks. For inspiration, read these thoughts by philosopher Marc-Alain Ouaknin: “If things speak to us, it is because we are open to them, we perceive them, listen to them, and give them meaning. If things keep quiet, if they no longer speak to us, it is because we are closed.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Like all the rest of us, Virgo, you have limitations. And it’s important for you to identify them and take them into consideration. But I want to make sure you realize you also have fake limitations; you wrongly believe in the truth of some supposed limitations that are, in fact, mostly illusory or imaginary. Your job right now is to dismantle and dissolve those. For inspiration, here’s advice from author Mignon McLaughlin: “Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else,” counseled poet and activist Maya Angelou. Author Toni Morrison said, “The function of freedom is to free someone else.” Author and activist Nikki Giovanni wrote, “Everybody that loves freedom loves Harriet Tubman because she was determined not only to be free, but to make free as many people as she could.” I hope the wisdom of these women will be among your guiding thoughts in the coming weeks. As your own power and freedom grow, you can supercharge them—render them even more potent—by using them to help others.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself,” testified Miles Davis, one of the most unique and talented jazz trumpeters and composers who ever lived. Popular and successful author Anne Lamott expressed a similar sentiment: “I’m here to be me, which is taking a great deal longer than I had hoped.” If those two geniuses found it a challenge to fully develop their special potentials, what chance do the rest of us have? I have good news in that regard, Scorpio. I believe 2022 will be a very favorable time to home in on your deepest, truest self—to ascertain and express more of your soul’s code. And you’re entering a phase when your instinct for making that happen will be at a peak.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In the course of human history, three million ships have sunk to the bottom of the Earth’s seas. At one extreme have been huge vessels, like the Titanic and naval cruisers, while at the other extreme are small fishing boats. Many of these have carried money, gems, jewelry, gold, and other precious items. Some people have made it their job to search for those treasures. I believe there could and should be a metaphorical resemblance between you and them in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. Now is a favorable time for you to hunt for valuable resources, ideas, memories, and yes, even treasures that may be tucked away in the depths, in hidden locations, and in dark places.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“It is astonishing what force, purity, and wisdom it requires for a human being to keep clear of falsehoods,” wrote author Margaret Fuller. That’s the bad news. The good news is that your capacity for exposing and resisting falsehoods is now at a peak. Furthermore, you have a robust ability to ward off delusions, pretense, nonsense, inauthenticity, and foolishness. Don’t be shy about using your superpowers, Capricorn. Everyone you know will benefit as you zero in and focus on what’s true and genuine. And you will benefit the most.

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

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“In teaching my students, I try to figure out what questions I can ask that have no right answer. I seek to force students to develop original thought.” – Meg Gorman

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Quote of the Day: “In teaching my students, I try to figure out what questions I can ask that have no right answer. I seek to force students to develop original thought.” – Meg Gorman

Photo: by Rubén Rodriguez

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?

 

Bride Has ‘Slowest Walk Down the Aisle’ as Her Ring Bearer Pet Tortoise Steals the Limelight on Her Big Day

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

A bride had the ‘slowest walk down the aisle in history’ as she made her pet tortoise the ring bearer at her wedding.

Vets Ericka and Jay Johnson first met while doing a wild tortoise survey 20 years ago, so felt it was only right for their beloved Sulcata tortoise, Tom Shelleck, to be part of their wedding celebrations.

The 41-year-old said that strawberries were dotted down the aisle for ‘always hungry’ Tom to follow before the pair tied the knot last year at Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens in Arizona.

The mom-of-one said that everything ran smoothly and he even became the ‘center of attention’ on her big day.

Photos captured show the 20-year-old reptile creeping down the aisle following a trail of fruit while bearing rings on a floral basket attached to his shell.

Ericka said, “The only thing we were worried about was if ladies had painted toenails and he’d look at them and think they were fruit and maybe get off track and bite some toes, but fortunately that didn’t happen.

RELATED: An Office Worker Captures Beautiful Wildlife Photos On His Lunchbreak – LOOK

“I was proud of how he did. I think he did great and we’re really happy with how everything went.

“The day after the wedding I had several people text me like ‘Hey, do you have any pictures of Tom?'”

Ericka said it took around three minutes for Tom to get down the aisle—while it took everyone else a matter of seconds.

MORE: 65 Different Species of Animals Laugh, Says a New Study

Still, getting him in the right direction was easy.

“He eats mostly hay and dry things like that because he’s a desert-adapted species, so he’s not supposed to eat a lot of fruit but since he loves strawberries so much we knew it was a surefire way to get him to go down the aisle.”

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