Quote of the Day: “Why didn’t I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.” – Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Photo: by Nelson Santos Jr
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
This blog was submitted to GNN by one of our readers for publishing. If you have an interesting story of kindness or positivity, be sure and send it to us for review.
Situated along the coast of the Bay of Bengal is one of the most beautiful territories of India. Named Pondicherry / Puducherry, it charms visitors with its soothing breezes and jaw-dropping sunsets.
Among the numerous government and private colleges here is a gem known as the Tagore Government Arts and Science College, which stands out from the rest—not so much for its education, but the amazing ecosystem grown on campus by the college principal, Sasikanta Dash.
After 4 years of consistent effort, since Dash took the position in 2017, the green spaces have become mesmerizing.
“I was appalled by the vast treeless lands staring at me,” he told GNN. “It was a defining moment for me as I could gauge the under-utilized potential of this blank space.”
Then and there he decided to convert this place to the most lustrous green cover ever possessed by a college.
Today the college boasts of its 8 acres of green cover—home to plants and wildlife and oxygen-rich air coming from trees that include 100 palms, neem, banyan, burflower (Kadamba), and Bodhi. They have beautiful blooming flowers like jasmine, crape jasmine, champa (a variety of magnolia), hibiscus, sadabahar (periwinkle), morning glory, and many more.
RELATED: India Fishermen Divert Their Catch of Ocean Plastic So it Can Be Used to Rebuild Roads
Best of all are the orchards of nutritious fruits that include 50 Jackfruit trees, 25 mango trees, 45 coconut and papaya trees, and 10 pomegranate trees, along with guavas, lemons, bananas, and blackberries hanging from limbs and shrubs inside the campus.
Some land is also devoted to producing seasonal vegetables. Students can watch a variety of birds that now call the campus home—including woodpeckers, parrots, kingfishers, cuckoos, sparrows, and owls.
“We have constructed rainwater harvesting setups that recharged 1.2 million liters of water last year,” says Dash proudly. “Recently we have been able to successfully draw honey from honey-combs installed as part of a new apiculture initiative at the college.”
POPULAR: Villagers Went Without Streetlights for 45 Days to Help a Bird and Its Hatchlings In India
And every single celebration here is honored by planting a tree, which are also planted in fond memories of departed souls.
The team at the college fully supports Dash’s efforts to create a nourishing environment, and helps maintain the flourishing ecosystem. Together, they strive to gift the students an environmentally sustainable campus that will inspire them to create legacies for India in all fields.
“We have come a long way from 100 trees 4 years ago to a mini forest (3000 trees) today,” says Dash. “It feels extremely good to say that a tour of the campus with its nature trails and seating benches will rejuvenate your spirits…equivalent to a nature tour in an eco-resort.”
He welcomes everyone to visit the college for a glimpse of ‘the harmonious sustenance of humankind and nature’.
“It would be great if you could share your suggestions on how to make it an even better place.”
SHARE His Inspiration—and Invitation—With Colleges Around the World on Social Media…
News of the arrest of a poacher nicknamed ‘Tiger Habib’ has brought “sighs of relief” to local police and conservation officers in Bangladesh.
The Guardian reported this week that police chief Saidur Rahman said Habib Talukder was finally in custody, and charged with numerous violations of wildlife conservation law.
He lived near the vast Sundarbans mangrove forest and would “flee whenever officers raided the area”.
The 50-year-old has been on the run for 20 years, Rahman said, and is suspected of hunting and killing dozens of Bengal tigers that live and swim in the local mangrove forest—containing one of the world’s largest populations of the majestic species.
RELATED: Great News For Tiger Populations Surging in India – and Discovered in Thailand
After an earlier crackdown on poaching and banditry, a 2019 study by Bangladesh’s forest department found a total of 114 Bengal tigers living in the Sundarbans area, a UNESCO heritage site. That number is up 7 percent from the record low in 2015.
One forest conservation officer described Habib as “a big headache for us.”
But with his capture, Bengal tigers—and the rest of the world—can rest more easily.
MORE: Nepal Set to Become First Country That Doubles Its Wild Tiger Population
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A new partnership has vowed to plant 10 trees for every man, woman, and child in the Glasgow region as part of a new urban ‘forest’ network.
The ambitious planting pledge is being called the Clyde Climate Forest initiative, and it will ‘breathe new life’ across the eight local authorities around Scotland’s largest city.
The 18 million trees to be planted over the next decade will increase woodland cover in the region from 17% to 20%.
The Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network, founded in 2007, is leading the way to help the city demonstrate its commitment to reaching Net Zero, as Glasgow hosts the next annual UN climate change conference, COP26, in November.
In Inverclyde, the first saplings were planted by Council leader Stephen McCabe, who, along with volunteers from the Friends of Coves Community Nature Reserve group, agreed that ‘must do all we can to protect our planet.’
“The pandemic has brought into focus like never before the value of local spaces as places to exercise, de-stress and engage with nature,” said Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council.
There are around 112 square-miles (29k ha) of broadleaved woodland in the region, but they are fragmented due to urban development. The new planting aims to connect these woodlands and help restore nature and boost biodiversity.
The project team aims to focus on areas of deprivation—former coal mining sites, vacant and derelict land, and urban streets—but will operate on the planting principle ‘the right tree in the right place’.
RELATED: World Achieves its Target to Protect More Land, Adding 42%—the Size of Russia—in Last Decade
They are also calling on community groups and land managers to help identify places to plant new trees, or replace ones that have been lost in the past.
Work is also beginning to encourage smaller land owners and local authorities by providing free woodland assessments to identify potential new areas to be greened up with trees.
“Trees are nature’s own green lungs, improving the air that we breathe and soaking up harmful CO2 emissions from our environment,” said Councillor Andrew Polson who is Chair of the Land Use and Sustainability Portfolio for Glasgow City Region.
RELATED: Scotland Blows World Away With Wind Power Equal to 118% of Nation’s Electricity Needs in 2017s
“We all have a fantastic opportunity to work collectively to improve our living environment whilst tackling climate change at the same time.”
This is a first for Scotland, with eight local authorities working together with government and other partners on a major woodland creation initiative, but the nation of Scotland has been no slouch when it comes to reforesting.
It carried the UK on its green shoulders in 2018 when England fell short of its tree planting targets, but Scotland surged past its own by planting 22 million new trees.
The majority of woodland planting will be funded through Scottish Forestry’s various grant schemes but also through funding mechanisms that the Clyde Climate Forest can leverage on its own.
LOOK: 361 Golden Retrievers Met Up in Scotland to Celebrate Their Breed’s Birthday
For instance, the project secured a £400,000 grant from the Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund. Individuals and community groups can also donate to the Clyde Climate Forest project, here.
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Quote of the Day: “Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.” – Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Photo: by Caju Gomes
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
We don’t have the details, but a video has gone viral for its amusing peek into a parent’s life with triplets.
With all 3 kiddos walking around the room at the same time, our immediate reaction was, ‘That’s a full time job right there.’
Just like the mama bear that needed to get all four cubs across the road, we couldn’t help but smile—and relate to—this dad who is doing his best to keep two of the triplet babies from climbing onto the kitchen table from multiple chairs.
If the family could bottle-up such youthful determination, they’d have plenty of buyers.
ALSO WATCH: Clever Australian Shepherd Appears to Outsmart Owner, So He Can Get Two Treats
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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 beginning June 3, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
“All I want to be is normally insane,” said actor Marlon Brando. Yikes! I have a different perspective. I would never want to be normally insane because that state often tends to be sullen and desperate and miserable. My preferred goal is to be quite abnormally insane: exuberantly, robustly, creatively free of the toxic adjustments that our society tells us are necessary. I want to be cheerfully insane in the sense of not being tyrannized by conventional wisdom. I want to be proactively insane in the sense of obeying my souls’ impulses rather than conforming to people’s expectations. I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because I believe the coming weeks will be a fruitful time for you to be my kind of insane.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
“It’s one thing to make a mistake, it’s another to become wedded to it,” advised author Irena Karafilly. Let’s make that one of your key truths in the coming weeks. Now is a good time to offer yourself forgiveness and to move on from any wrong turns you’ve made. Here’s a second key truth, courtesy of composer Igor Stravinsky: “I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.” Third key truth, from Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan: “Don’t be concerned about being disloyal to your pain by being joyous.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the number of perfect moments you will experience during the next two weeks could break all your previous records. And what do I mean by “perfect moments”? 1. Times when life brings you interesting events or feelings or thoughts that are novel and unique. 2. Pivotal points when you sense yourself undergoing a fundamental shift in attitude or a new way of understanding the world. 3. Leaping out of your own mind and into the mind of an animal or other person so as to have a pure vision of what their experience is like. 4. An absolute appreciation for yourself just the way you are right now.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
“There is strong shadow where there is much light,” wrote Virgo author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). That’s a good metaphor for you these days. Since I suspect you are currently shining as brightly as you possibly can, I will urge you to become acutely aware of the shadows you cast. In other words, try to catch glimpses of the unripe and unformed parts of your nature, which may be more easily seen than usual. Now, while you’re relatively strong and vibrant, investigate what aspects of your inner world might need improvement, care, and healing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
According to physicists, it’s impossible for a human being to suck water up through a straw that’s more than 34 feet long. So please don’t even try to do that, either now or ever. If, however, you have a good reason to attempt to suck water up a 33-foot straw, now would be an excellent time to do so. Your physical strength should be at a peak, as is your capacity for succeeding at amazing, herculean tasks. How else might you direct your splendid abilities? What other ambitious feats could you pull off?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio poet Ezra Pound had character flaws that bother me. But he also had a quality I admire: generosity in helping his friends and colleagues. Among the writers whose work he championed and promoted with gusto were 20th-century literary icons James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, Hilda Doolittle, William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway, William Carlos Williams, and Robert Frost. Pound edited their work, arranged to get them published in periodicals and anthologies, connected them with patrons and editors, and even gave them money and clothes. In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to be like Ezra Pound in the coming weeks. Make an extra effort to support and boost your allies. Assist them in doing what they do well. To do so will be in your own best interest!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Poet Tess Gallagher praises those times “when desire has strengthened our bodies.” I want you to have an abundance of those moments during the coming weeks. And I expect that cultivating them will be an excellent healing strategy. So here’s my advice: Do whatever’s necessary to summon and celebrate the strong longings that will strengthen your body. Tease them into bountiful presence. Treasure them and pay reverence to them and wield them with gleeful passion.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else,” observed poet Emily Dickinson. That’s the truth! Given how demanding it is to adjust to the nonstop challenges, distractions, and opportunities of the daily rhythm, I’m impressed that any of us ever get any work done. According to my astrological analysis, you Capricorns are now experiencing a big outbreak of this phenomenon. It’s probably even harder than usual to get work done, simply because life keeps bringing you interesting surprises that require your ingenuity and resourcefulness. The good news is that these surges of ingenuity and resourcefulness will serve you very well when the hubbub settles down a bit and you get back to doing more work.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Aquarius-born August Strindberg (1849–1912) was a masterful and influential playwright. He also liked to dabble in painting and photography. His approach in those two fields was different from the polish he cultivated in his writing. “I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way,” he testified about his approach in the visual arts. “I reject all forms of professional cleverness or virtuosity.” Just for now, Aquarius, I recommend you experiment with the latter attitude in your own field. Your skill and earnestness will benefit from doses of playful innocence, even calculated naiveté.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Which of the astrological signs feels the deepest feelings? I say it’s you Pisceans. You’re connoisseurs of deep feelings, as well as specialists in mysterious, multi-splendored, brushes-with-infinity feelings. And right now, you’re in the Deepest Feelings Phase of your personal cycle. I won’t be surprised if you feel a bit overwhelmed with the richness of it all. But that’s mostly a good thing that you should be grateful for—a privilege and a superpower! Now here’s advice from deep-feeling author Pearl Buck: “You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
“There is ecstasy in paying attention,” writes Aries author Anne Lamott. That’s always true for everyone, but it’s extra true for you Aries people. And it will be extra ultra-especially true for you during the next 20 days. I hope you will dedicate yourself to celebrating and upgrading your perceptual abilities. I hope you will resolve to see and register everything just as it is in the present moment, fresh and unprecedented—and not as it was in the past or will be in the future. For best results, banish all preconceptions that might interfere with your ability to notice what’s raw and real. If you practice these high arts with exhilarating diligence, you will be rewarded with influxes of ecstasy.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Your guiding wisdom comes from Taurus author Annie Dillard. She writes, “I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, to dangle from it limp wherever it takes you.” I suspect that Dillard’s approach will enable you to maintain a righteous rhythm and make all the right moves during the coming weeks. If you agree with me, your crucial first step will be to identify the nature of your “one necessity.” Not two necessities. Just the single most important.
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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JuJube the calf is facing some serious challenges, but farmer Dave is doing everything he can to ensure it grows up to enjoy life on this “ethical farm”.
A few weeks ago in Ontario, Canada, JuJube was born with difficulty walking and getting up, and a calf who cannot stand is unable to nurse or follow the herd around the vast expanse of rolling pasture.
With many acres of lush, green pasture and meadows to wander and graze upon, the calf’s mother Bernise has lived here for ten years, but in this situation, even a loving parent can’t help a sick creature like JuJube.
On this farm, which is family-owned and operated, they treat the animals more like pets—and Dave puts more emphasis on their health than profit.
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A veterinarian was hired to come out to the farm every few days to examine JuJube and check on his progress. They initially suspected he might suffer from white muscle disease, which is a deficiency in selenium. They gave JuJube vitamins and supplements by injection, along with anti-inflammatories and antibiotics because the animal could also be suffering from an infection in his joints.
JuJube has responded well to treatments, but just to make sure he’s looking healthy, farmer Dave has employed a drone to check up on the latest member of the herd…
WATCH the peaceful health check-up…
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FLY This Over to Your Animal-loving Friends on Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “Break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir (Today is World Environment Day)
Photo: by barnyz, CC license
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A woman who took a DNA test found a secret sister who looks exactly like her, shares the same hobbies and job, and even has a matching tattoo.
27-year-old Victoria Voorhees knew she was adopted, and took a 23&Me home DNA test kit to find out a bit more about her Hispanic heritage and genetic make up.
She was astonished when the results revealed she had a sister—and was sent a photo of a woman who looked just like her.
Victoria—who was adopted when she was two months old—always dreamed of having an older sibling.
But she couldn’t believe her eyes on seeing the photo of her sister for the first time: “At first I was like there’s no way, I didn’t think it was possible, and maybe they found someone that has some similarities to me, but I know now that’s not how it works!”
MORE: Woman Reunites With Birth Mom After 50 Years and Learns She Starred In Her Favorite TV Show
She sent her sister a message through the 23&Me app, as well as to a predicted cousin she had been matched with, and rushed home to tell her parents.
28-year-old Alyss Ravae and Victoria chatted, then they joined a call with their biological mother for the first time. “I showed her some photos of me growing up with my adoptive parents,” says Victoria, “and she was happy but still crying!
Alyss says of her sister, “We live very parallel lives even though we were given very different situations.”
It’s not just their mutual love of Halloween—of Stephen King, of It and The Shining—that she was fascinated by; they both have bat tattoos—on opposite feet but the same part of the ankle.
Alyss said: “When she sent me that [tattoo] picture I literally just dropped my phone.”
They also both have cats and make and sell pet portraits online.
Victoria said: “We both like hiking trails as well, I’m going to show her all the cool ones around here [in Chicago]!”
(SEE all those common traits in this TikTok video below.)
@terribletaurus666 ##duet with @victoriavvorhees completely different lives, shared dna, but basically the same person 🤣 ##adoption ##fyp ##storytime ##lostsiblings
♬ Stranger Things (Main Theme) - I Love TV Themes
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In life and death situations, the instinct to save those we love can grant us near superhuman powers. On the eve of this past Memorial Day weekend, thanks to a small but mighty hero who rose to meet such a challenge, a father and little girl are alive to tell the tale.
Chase Poust is only 7. He, his dad Steven, and his 4-year-old sister, Abigail were out for a family boating excursion on Florida’s St. Johns River near Mandarin Point. Chase and Abigail were swimming at the stern of the anchored boat while Steven was on deck fishing.
It was an idyllic outing—until a strong current loosened Abigail’s grip and she let go of the boat. Instantly realizing his sister would be swept away, Chase let go of the boat as well to try and reach her.
Steven leaped into the water but after realizing he couldn’t keep up with both kids, he was faced with an agonizing decision. “I told them I loved them because I wasn’t sure what’s going to happen,” Steven told News-4 JAX. “I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me.”
Directing Chase to swim to shore for help, Steven stayed behind, keeping as close as he could to Abigail as the life-vest that was keeping her above the waves floated further and further from his reach.
It was a tough go for the 7-year-old, but rather than attempting to swim all out, Chase wisely paced himself. Stopping to float or dog paddle when he tired, he’d rest and then set off again.
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“The current was going the opposite way of going to the boat and the shore so it was very hard to swim that way,” Chase told JAX.
It took Chase an hour to reach the shore. Once on solid ground, he ran to the nearest house and called for help.
Members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were dispatched to search for Steven and Abigail.
Miraculously, the two were found and rescued about an hour later—more than a mile away from the family’s abandoned boat.
RELATED: Video Captures Hero Cop Running to Lift Overturned Car Single-handedly to Save Woman
Steven Poust couldn’t be prouder of his son, or more grateful. Thanks to the determination of a pint-sized superhero, this is likely to be one Memorial Day the Poust family will never forget.
(WATCH the WJXT 4 video about this story below.)
Featured image: WJXT 4/YouTube
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The U.S. Department of the Interior announced this week that it has suspended all oil and gas drilling activities established under the previous administration in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
One of nation’s largest undeveloped wilderness areas, the refuge is known for its fragile tundra, its coastal area underneath which 11 billion barrels of oil sits, and for being an important habitat for caribou, polar bears, and birds in Alaska.
After the Bureau of Land Management held a lease sale on January 6, it subsequently issued 10-year leases on nine tracts covering more than 430,000 acres.
According to a statement, a comprehensive environmental review of the leases will now take place under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Secretarial Order 3401 will also address legal deficiencies in the current leasing program’s environmental review.
The Department is notifying lessees that it is suspending oil and gas leases in the Arctic Refuge while this review goes on—in order to determine whether the leases should be reaffirmed, voided, or subject to additional mitigation measures.
MORE: Arctic Oil Drilling Plans Suffer ‘Stunning Setback’ as Almost ‘No One Shows Up’ For the Sale
According to the New York Times, various environmental groups have vocally given their support to the suspension—and are calling out for a permanent ban on drilling in the Arctic.
“Until the leases are canceled, they will remain a threat to one of the wildest places left in America,” Kristen Miller, acting director of the Alaska Wilderness League, told The Times. “Now we look to the administration and Congress to prioritize legislatively repealing the oil leasing mandate and restore protections to the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain.”
In one statement, more than a dozen Indigenous and conservation organizations thanked the current administration for taking steps to protect the land.
“These lands are sacred to the Gwich’in and Iñupiat peoples and nursery to the Porcupine caribou, polar bears, and millions of migratory birds,” they wrote.
“More work remains, however, and we look forward to working with the administration on stronger action to correct this unlawful leasing program and preserve one of our nation’s most majestic public lands.”
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Waking up just one hour earlier could reduce a person’s risk of major depression by 23%, suggests a sweeping new genetic study.
The study of 840,000 people, by researchers at University of Colorado Boulder and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, represents some of the strongest evidence yet that chronotype—a person’s propensity to sleep at a certain time—influences depression risk.
It’s also among the first studies to quantify just how much, or little, change is required to influence mental health.
As people emerge, post-pandemic, from working and attending school remotely—a trend that has led many to shift to a later sleep schedule—the findings could have important implications.
“We have known for some time that there is a relationship between sleep timing and mood, but a question we often hear from clinicians is: How much earlier do we need to shift people to see a benefit?” said senior author Celine Vetter, assistant professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder. “We found that even one-hour earlier sleep timing is associated with significantly lower risk of depression.”
Previous observational studies have shown that night owls are as much as twice as likely to suffer from depression as early risers, regardless of how long they sleep. But because mood disorders themselves can disrupt sleep patterns, researchers have had a hard time deciphering what causes what.
Other studies have had small sample sizes, relied on questionnaires from a single time point, or didn’t account for environmental factors which can influence both sleep timing and mood, potentially confounding results.
In 2018, Vetter published a large, long term study of 32,000 nurses showing that “early risers” were up to 27% less likely to develop depression over the course of four years, but that begged the question: What does it mean to be an early riser?
To get a clearer sense of whether shifting sleep time earlier is truly protective, and how much shift is required, lead author Iyas Daghlas, M.D., turned to data from the DNA testing company 23 and Me and the biomedical database UK Biobank. Daghlas then used a method called “Mendelian randomization” that leverages genetic associations to help decipher cause and effect.
“Our genetics are set at birth so some of the biases that affect other kinds of epidemiological research tend not to affect genetic studies,” said Daghlas, who graduated in May from Harvard Medical School.
More than 340 common genetic variants, including variants in the so-called “clock gene” PER2, are known to influence a person’s chronotype, and genetics collectively explains 12-42% of our sleep timing preference.
CHECK OUT: Study Shows That Sleeping With a Weighted Blanket Can Reduce Insomnia
The researchers assessed deidentified genetic data on these variants from up to 850,000 individuals, including data from 85,000 who had worn wearable sleep trackers for 7 days and 250,000 who had filled out sleep-preference questionnaires. This gave them a more granular picture, down to the hour, of how variants in genes influence when we sleep and wake up—the results of which have just been published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
In the largest of these samples, about a third of surveyed subjects self-identified as morning larks, 9% were night owls and the rest were in the middle. Overall, the average sleep mid-point was 3 a.m., meaning they went to bed at 11 p.m. and got up at 6 a.m.
With this information in hand, the researchers turned to a different sample which included genetic information along with anonymized medical and prescription records and surveys about diagnoses of major depressive disorder.
MORE: You Should Not Be Eating Late at Night: Here’s Why and How You Can Avoid it
Using novel statistical techniques, they asked: Do those with genetic variants which predispose them to be early risers also have lower risk of depression?
The answer is a firm yes.
Each one-hour earlier sleep midpoint (halfway between bedtime and wake time) corresponded with a 23% lower risk of major depressive disorder.
This suggests that if someone who normally goes to bed at 1 a.m. goes to bed at midnight instead and sleeps the same duration, they could cut their risk by 23%; if they go to bed at 11 p.m., they could cut it by about 40%.
It’s unclear from the study whether those who are already early risers could benefit from getting up even earlier. But for those in the intermediate range or evening range, shifting to an earlier bedtime would likely be helpful.
What could explain this effect?
Some research suggests that getting greater light exposure during the day, which early-risers tend to get, results in a cascade of hormonal impacts that can influence mood.
Others note that having a biological clock, or circadian rhythm, that trends differently than most peoples’ can in itself be depressing.
RELATED: New Study Shows Healthy Sleep Habits Help Lower Risk of Heart Failure by 42%
“We live in a society that is designed for morning people, and evening people often feel as if they are in a constant state of misalignment with that societal clock,” said Daghlas.
He stresses that a large randomized clinical trial is necessary to determine definitively whether going to bed early can reduce depression. “But this study definitely shifts the weight of evidence toward supporting a causal effect of sleep timing on depression.”
For those wanting to shift themselves to an earlier sleep schedule, Vetter offers this advice:
“Keep your days bright and your nights dark,” she says. “Have your morning coffee on the porch. Walk or ride your bike to work if you can, and dim those electronics in the evening.”
Source: University of Colorado at Boulder
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A spectacular new image has been released by NASA showing the ‘downtown’ of the spiral galaxy we live in.
The photography is a composite made up of 370 observations that were taken at the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory over the past couple of decades. It shows billions of stars and a seemingly endless number of black holes 26,000 light years from Earth, at the center of the Milky Way.
Much of the work that went into making this image was undertaken by Daniel Wang. An astronomer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he spent his pandemic year working on the photo you can see above.
MORE: Giant Storms on Jupiter Captured By Incredible NASA Images Sent From Juno Spacecraft
“What we see in the picture is a violent or energetic ecosystem in our galaxy’s downtown,” Wang said to Associated Press. “There are a lot of supernova remnants, black holes, and neutron stars there. Each X-ray dot or feature represents an energetic source, most of which are in the center.”
Well, we can’t deny that what Wang got up to over the last year sure beats our Netflix bingeing. We’re grateful for his work.
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Quote of the Day: “To do more for the world than the world does for you—that is success.” – Henry Ford (unveiled first car 125 years ago)
Photo: by Dominik Lange
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Along with their devotion to one another, Marty Weber and his longtime partner Jeff Poissant shared many things in common. They owned a business together. Both loved nature. Both served in the U.S. Army, and both experienced firsthand some of the challenges military veterans can face.
When Poissant passed away four years ago from cancer, Weber could think of no better way to honor their 30-year union than by supporting military veterans in need.
In order to make that happen, Weber is donating 36 rural acres bordering New Jersey’s Pinelands National Reserve to be used as a rehabilitation center/retreat for mental illness and addiction. Its name? Jeff’s Camp.
Given that Weber turned down a $3 million dollar offer for the property, this is an extremely generous gesture.
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Working with two already-established homeless outreach programs—Just Believe and New Life Addiction Services—Jeff’s Camp will feature an 8,000-square-foot facility incorporating a thrift store and a sober living residence providing treatment, rehabilitation, and vocational training—all in a serene, wooded setting.
“While (New Life) is working with them on the medical side, we can work on the rehabilitative/vocation side, getting them back into society, touching people, getting back into that public eye, and getting people what they need. That’s what the store is going to do,” Just Believe director Paul Hulse told NJ.com.
In an impromptu May 27 ceremony, Weber signed a letter of intent to deed over the land on which Jeff’s Camp will be built. Watching was a group that included New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim—whom Weber once ran against as a candidate for New Jersey’s 3rd district seat.
Obviously, there are no hard feelings.
“If ever there was an issue that tries to unite our country it would be about supporting our veterans,” Kim told NJ.com. “So this is something where it should be all hands on deck. It should be a no-brainer to everybody.”
A no-brainer perhaps, and a fitting testament to two veterans who loved one another and their country.
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Unless a hardy wildflower is blooming from their depths, cracks in the sidewalks aren’t the most pleasing of sights, nor are potholes on anyone’s list of favorite things.
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Unless you’re a French street artist with a delightful penchant for mosaics. Then, you mend those broken places with gorgeous colored tiles that lift the spirits of all who pass by.
Going by the name Ememem, he has dubbed his mosaic technique for repairing damaged streets ‘flacking’.
From his home city of Lyon, he’s taken his artistic talents on the road—to other European cities, including Paris.
Check out these Instagram gems below.
Featured image: Instagram/@Ememem.Flacking
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Matt Stutzman was born in Kentucky without arms, and pretty much from the get-go he was in love with sports.
For years Matt played basketball using his feet, but he realized he wasn’t accomplished enough to make the big league. So he pivoted towards archery, and he’s never looked back.
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In the London Paralympics in 2012, Matt placed an impressive silver for the U.S.A.
Now, at the upcoming Summer Paralympics in Tokyo? Of course ‘The Armless Archer’ is aiming for that coveted gold medal.
(WATCH the BBC video to see Matt’s skills below.)
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A seven-year-old astronaut in training will become the first child ever to send something to the moon after impressing the world’s leading space pioneers.
Elizabeth Norman is obsessed with space and staged the launch of a massive homemade Vulcan Centaur rocket from her garden earlier this year.
Her enormous enthusiasm for all things lunar captured the attention of US experts currently prepping the real Vulcan Centaur for the first moon landing in nearly 50 years.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has a miniscule space left on an upcoming mission to send the first ever private pod to land on the lunar surface.
They’ve offered to take something belonging to ‘Astro Liz’, and now a sticker carrying the name of her space blog will be part of the first ever lunar ‘time capsule’.
Her family, who are from Leicester in England, have even been invited to wave it goodbye on launch day in Florida at the end of 2021.
The schoolgirl is one of a handful of people in the world to include a personal item on the first ever mission of its kind.
And she’s already doing her own astronaut’s physical training routine to prepare for a future in space, to one day go visit the moon—and her sticker—in person.
Elizabeth said: “I can’t wait to see a video of the capsule with my sticker on the moon taken by the lunar lander.
“Astrobotic is making my space dreams come true and I’m so excited to watch the launch… I love science and space because there is so much to learn and I love exploring and doing experiments.” Her future goals? “To walk on the moon and to explore the highest mountain on Mars.”
Proud mom Jennifer Norman said: “None of us could believe it when we found out she would have the opportunity to make her mark on the Moon… For her to be included in such a historic moment is incredible and has shown anything is possible—her confidence and ambition have grown so much since she found out.
Elizabeth’s passion for space took off after watching coverage of NASA’s Perseverance Rover being sent to Mars in July 2020.
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She threw herself into learning all about space—Elizabeth has already built a bionic arm to learn about robotics, and has just completed a five-week NASA program where she designed and carried out her own virtual mission to Mars.
She even set up a science-themed YouTube channel in July last year, where she uploads educational videos.
Her work caught the eye of Tory Bruno, the CEO of ULA, and lunar lander manufacturer Astrobotic.
He watched the launch of her seven-foot cardboard version of the rocket he’s currently prepping for launch—as it sailed 30ft into the air, impressing Elizabeth’s neighbors.
So impressed, he reached out and asked if she could be part of the real launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on board ULA’s Vulcan Centaur when it takes off later this year.
As part of the mission, space technology company Astrobotic is offering people and businesses the chance to buy space on the lander—known as a lunar payload: NASA is paying $79.5 million for 14 slots on the mission.
Elizabeth couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming launch—after all, if anyone knows the sky is far from the limit, it’s her.
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Quote of the Day: “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.” – Ayn Rand
Photo: by Ian Schneider
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