Quote of the Day: “Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope.” – Josh Billings
Photo by: Unsplash
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?
In 2022, the longest “predator exclusion fence” anywhere in the Pacific was completed on Kauai, encircling 168 acres of prime seabird nesting habitat.
The nesting birds include endangered species that were under constant threat of ravaging feral cats and pig before the 11,200-foot-long fence was raised.
Now, 4 years later, these seabirds are following their ancestral instincts and raising their chicks just meters away from nest sites that, 5 years before, would have double as their grave sites.
Originally developed on New Zealand, a predator exclusion fence (PEF) is no mean fence. It was designed to block passage of the 4 most deadly invasive mammalian predators across the Pacific.
It’s too high for a cat or fox to jump over, is capped with a slick, claw-proof hood to prevent cats from climbing over, includes a combination rubber mat and skirt multiple inches below the ground to prevent pigs burrowing under, and boasts a metal mesh no teeth can chew through, yet also so fine that no rat can slide through it. The fence cost $1.7 million.
A similar fence on Oahu saw the number of Newell’s shearwater chicks quadruple in the first several years after it was completed. This is the kind of progress that the US Fish and Wildlife Service, in concert with local partners on Kauai, wanted to bring to Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
Therewithin, the hills and pinnacles of Nihokū and Mokolea Point present as ideal, and ancestrally conserved nesting habitat for a variety of birds, including Newellʻs shearwater, red-footed boobies, red-tailed and white-tailed tropicbirds, great frigatebirds, the endangered Hawaiian petrel, and the Laysan albatross. The PEF also shelters the Critically-Endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, and the Critically-Endangered nēnē or Hawaiian goose—the state bird.
HELPING HAWAII:
Nihokū and Mokolea are located on the northern shore where little artificial light pollution exists to disorient the birds, like petrels, which navigate by the stars and Moon. Neither are there any powerlines or other elevated obstructions that the birds could collide with.
Until such a time as when the island can appropriately contain, remove, or otherwise deal with invasive animals, this special fence will help create a sanctuary—a veritable seabird factory—that will keep these iconic aviators of the Hawaiian skies alive in the long term.
SQUAWK About This Brilliant Helping Hand To Hawaii’s Birds…
In a story that shows how it’s never too late to learn, a man in the UK has graduated from nursing school at 64.
His education actually saw the Nigerian immigrant, who is a father of 5, studying alongside his son, who was attending the very same university.
John Adesoye graduated with a degree in nursing from the University of West England after completing a 2-year nurse associate program, and a 2 year nurse apprenticeship program, at the National Health Services Foundation Trust in Bristol.
John grew up in a poor farming family in Nigeria and developed a keen interest in electronics, having been fascinated as a child with how his family’s radio worked. He later lived in Greece, working as an electronics technician and servicing electronic equipment, and then moved to the UK.
The father-of-5, who now lives in Bristol, has secured a nursing role at Southmead Hospital where he had completed his apprenticeship.
“I didn’t think I’d ever go to university, to be honest. But I have passion for learning,” Mr. Adesoye said in a press release. “Even when I was small, I was so curious. When I got the chance to go to university, I didn’t take it for granted—I followed it with my heart.”
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Though most of his degree was completed at the local Southmead Hospital, a strange production of fate saw him spend 1 day of every week studying on campus alongside none other than his very own son Daniel, who was studying for a degree in creative music technology.
He remarked that working among a cohort of young students in turn made him feel young again, whether seeing his own son at university had the same effect, however, he didn’t say.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY: All 4 Daughters Named Valedictorian of Their High School–Outsmarting the Odds of 1 in 11 Billion
“Don’t listen to people who say you’re too old for university,” said Adesoye. “If I can do it, others can too. People are more brilliant than they think and they’re stronger than they think.”
John isn’t the first to graduate in his golden years; GNN has reported on the topic often enough to know that the maxim “it’s never too late to learn” is true at 65, or 105.
SHARE This Man’s Determination To Keep Age As Only A Number…
Newly released camera trap footage from a recent study captures the oldest Sunda clouded leopard ever recorded in the wild.
This 8.5-year-old female in Borneo’s rainforests offers a new and exciting glimpse into the life of one of the world’s most elusive wild cats. (See the video below…)
The research is the first to document a female’s lifespan in the wild, and the data also confirmed that these leopards are far more mobile than previously assumed, with some individuals traveling up to 19 miles between forest reserves.
It also found that females were 68% harder to detect than males. Camera trap data demonstrates why: females spend far more time in the trees, and their slender bodies and fluffier tails help them balance there.
Males, by contrast, spend much of their time on the ground patrolling and re-marking territory, which is why they turn up on camera more often.
Found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the Sunda clouded leopard is known as a ghost of the forest, is rarely seen, and also carries the largest canine teeth of any wild cat relative to body size, drawing comparisons to saber-toothed cats.
OUT OF THE SHADOWS:
• Earth’s Tiniest Wildcat Is Captured on Camera for First Time – the Rusty-Spotted Cat of India
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• Thailand’s Mythical ‘Fire Tiger’ Captured on Trail Cam, One of the Rarest Sightings in the Cat World
The study’s dataset was made possible by the indigenous communities of Sabah, in partnership with the forestry and wildlife departments of Sabah state, who serve as wildlife rangers and community engagement officers for Panthera, the wild cat-dedicated conservation organization who conducted the study.
Patrolling dense terrain, running camera trap networks, and acting as frontline guardians against poachers. That partnership began in 2020 through work on human-elephant conflict, and grew into community reporting of illegal logging and, eventually, government-funded ranger stipends.
SHARE This Amazing Research With Your Friends Who Love Wild Cats…
125 years ago today, the beloved American jazz trumpeter, composer, and singer Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans. Nicknamed Satchmo, or Pops, Armstrong was one of the most influential figures in jazz, with a trail-blazing career that spanned more than five decades. Take a moment to listen to “What a Wonderful World”… (1901)
Invasive species of Asian mussels have met their match in Alberta’s riverine sniffer dogs.
These K9 conservationists have been employed by the provincial government for over a decade to help catch zebra and golden mussels from colonizing the rivers and lakes of Alberta.
Hilo, Jane, and Winnie, 2 black labs and a black-lab cross, are part of the paws-on-the-ground response at boat inspection stations across the province. It’s now Alberta law that any watercraft must stop at an inspection station whether they are coming or going, and these patrol pooches are trained to smell the odor of developing mussel larvae which can be so small as to be detectable only by the faint feeling like sandpaper on the sides of boats or docks.
“The dogs are really complementing that human inspection and giving us kind of a better idea about what could be on that boat,” said Cindy Sawchuk, the leader for the province’s Aquatic Invasive Species Operations and Conservation Canine Program.
Sawchuk told the Canadian Press that golden mussels recently established themselves in California, posing another potential point of invasion through BC to the west.
“These mussels really like to hide in damp, dark places (and) a lot of them are hard to see,” said Sawchuk.
The mussels are filter feeders native to Southeast Asia. Their effect in Canada is outcompeting other bottom-dweller or filter-feeding fish that rely on the same food source.
MORE WORKING DOGS TO BARK ABOUT:
Dogs are rewarded with special toys for every mussel patch they find. It’s a very enriching line of work for the animals, who receive a spark of dopamine while looking for the mussels.
While a fun activity for the dogs—it’s deadly serious for people like Sawchuck and her colleagues. In similar provinces, a mussel infestation might cost $75 million a year to manage and be virtually un-uprootable.
In addition to staffing the inspection stations, the dogs are also being trained to scour shorelines for signs of the mussels, as seen in the video below…
SHARE The Story Of These Mussel-Bound, K9 Conservationists And Their Important Work…
From Colorado comes the story of a child prodigy pianist whose career was kick-started by a jaw-dropping donation from a complete stranger.
Brought to us via CBS News “On the Road” with Steve Hartman, the story began on the mock ebony and ivory of an unused electric keyboard forgotten in a basement 5 years ago.
It was found, one fateful day, but Jude Kofie, then a tender 9 years old and son of Ghanaian immigrant and father of 4, Isiah. This autistic boy put his hands on the keys and was changed forever; a Mozart-savant style talent had lain hidden his whole life.
As Jude began to express his “miracle” talent, he made the headlines of the local paper in Aurora, which is where Bill Magnuson, a local piano tuner, first read about the boy. Intrigued, the piano lover came to a talent show and saw first hand what Jude could do.
“He’s beyond special,” Magnuson told Hartman in an interview. “He’s Mozart level. It’s coming from somewhere beyond.”
Hearing of his father Isiah’s life story as an immigrant who raises 4 children and routinely sends remittances to family in Ghana was all Magnuson needed to convince himself to make a big decision—a $15,000 decision.
One day, without warning, a truck pulled up to the Kofie household, followed by a knock on the door.
MORE FROM HARTMAN: People Advised a Basketball Career, But Giant Man Wanted to Help Others–As a Texas Police Officer
Magnuson had spent a good chunk of his family inheritance to buy a brand new grand piano for Jude.
“[For] somebody to just love your son like that by making sure that his future is secured, we are super thankful,” Isiah said, wiping tears from his eyes.
The piano also came with a lifetime of tuning services provided by theirs truly, and a program of professional lessons, which have transformed Jude from a 9-year-old prodigy to a 14-year-old touring maestro with his own album, Introducing: Jude Kofie.
None of it would have been possible, one can’t help feeling, without the costly intervention of a total stranger; someone who, as Hartman concluded “isn’t a stranger anymore.”
WATCH the story below…
SHARE This Boy’s Incredible Talent With Your Friends…
On July 31st, mine developer Canada Nickel Company announced it had received final permitting approval from the Ontario government for its gargantuan nickel mining/carbon capture project
The approval is the first issued under Canada’s amended Impact Assessment Act, a reform of extractive industry regulations designed to allow the highest-quality projects to be permitted fast.
Financing for the project will come in part through the sale of carbon credits, as Canada Nickel develop what is now a proprietary carbon storage method that allows it to store atmospheric carbon within the milled stone out of which the nickel is separated.
Needed for stainless steel, plating, high-quality allows, and emerging as a must-have for next-generation EV batteries, the market for nickel as a globally-traded commodity is sequestered almost entirely within Indonesia, where poor tropical soils make mining nickel easy.
Some 67% of nickel is mined in the country, a greater share of market control than OPEC has over global oil production. Additionally, in 2024, nickel mining was identified as a primary national cause of deforestation on the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera.
Yet for decades there has been just one Western-based source of nickel. Many manufacturers have had to source from Indonesia, the Philippines, and China, where environmental and social effects of rural nickel mining can rarely be scrutinized, and even more rarely influenced.
Canada Nickel’s Crawford Project aims to be not only the largest nickel source accessible to Western markets, but one of the largest in the world; one where deforestation, erosion, and pollution can be properly prevented.
Indeed the Prime Minister of Canada himself believes that Crawford will set a new a worldwide standard for responsible mining.
Located in Ontario’s legendary Timmins mining district, the Crawford Project is estimated to contain 3.8 million tons of nickel, set within a total land package that could contain as much as 12 million tons according to published resource estimates. It holds a byproduct credit of chromium, and will be the only significant Western source of this metal as well.
Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby alerted shareholders to the news of permitting success on the last trading day of the week.
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“Today’s decision recognizes the strategic importance of responsibly developing Canada’s critical mineral resources in partnership with all levels of government and Indigenous Nations while maintaining rigorous environmental standards,” said Selby.
“We look forward to continuing to advance Crawford towards a construction decision in 2027.”
Building the Crawford operation will require some $1.9 billion. The projected return on this capital is expected to benefit from the company receiving as much as 50% in tax credits for incentivizing carbon storage.
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Canada Nickel’s In-Process Tailings (IPT) Carbonization technology involves injecting a concentrated source of CO2 into tailings generated by milling for a brief period, fixing the carbon geologically while the material is still in the processing circuit rather than after final deposition.
Lab-scale tests have demonstrated that this method is 8 to 12-times faster than passive carbon capture approaches, achieving net-zero carbon capture targets in less than 36 hours and gross capture rates of at least 26 tons of CO2 per ton of nickel in 6 days.
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That translates to an expected storage of 1.5 million tons of CO2 per year of operations.
To put this into perspective, that equates, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency to removing 350,000 gas-powered cars from the roads for a whole year, or around 200,000 average family homes’ electricity use, or, perhaps the most eye-opening equivalent, the carbon-savings from a whopping 450 wind turbines running for a year.
Given the quantity of mine tailings that will be generated by the 48,000 tons of material running through the mill every day, Canada Nickel estimates that the carbon storage potential across the 41-year mine life of Crawford could extend to 15 million tons per annum. At that point one is talking about a generational opportunity to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
SHARE This Story Of A Mine Becoming A Carbon Storage Powerhouse…
Editor’s Note: This story should not be construed as investment advice, always perform due diligence and consult with your financial advisor before making any investment decision.
Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp is the latest wild wonder of the USA to make UNESCO’s hallowed World Heritage Site list.
It joins the Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Everglades, and Yellowstone national Parks on the same list, and reflects the stunning biodiversity of American “blackwater” swamps.
Most of the Okefenokee Swamp is included in the 403,000-acre (163,000 hectare) Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the most-visited NWR east of the Mississippi.
Conservation in the swamp dates all the way back to 1918, by which time 1 million cubic meters of timber had already been logged. The federal government acquired most of the swamp for refuge purposes in 1936, and designated it an NWR a year later.
It would go on to collect the designations of Federal Wilderness and Wetland of International Importance under RAMSAR, before the Georgia organ of the National Parks Service announced in 2023 it would be nominated to be the state’s first ever prospective entry on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Okefenokee Swamp is the largest, lowland, freshwater peatland in the subtropical zone worldwide, and one of the largest and most intact ecosystems within the North American Coastal Plain global biodiversity hotspot.
The UNESCO Natural Heritage Site area comprises a diverse mosaic of wetlands, savannahs, and forests, including significant areas of endangered longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) of which less than 3% remains, supporting high concentrations of plant species endemic to the region.
Its extensive peat deposits provide an important archive of paleo-environmental history and critical carbon storage. The property supports exceptional biodiversity as well, including at least 856 plant species, 48 mammal species, 238 bird species, 39 fish species, and 90 reptile and amphibian species, and provides important habitat for migratory birds, threatened species, a significant population of American alligators, and a truly noteworthy diversity of carnivorous plants.
OTHER NEW UNESCO HERITAGE SITES: Little Known Ancient Site in Ohio Crowned by UNESCO–for Incredible Alignment with Moon and Sun
Shaped by the ongoing interaction of water, fire, vegetation, and wildlife, with alternating fire and rainfall processes driving peat formation, vegetation structure, and biodiversity, a 20-to-30-year cycle of drought and fire has allowed the Okefenokee to exist as the unique wetland it is.
SHARE This International Recognition Of America’s Beautiful Swamps…
Quote of the Day: “Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.” – Franz Schubert, who remained a bachelor his entire life.
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
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?
On this day 100 years ago, Tony Bennett, the famed jazz and pop singer, who passed away just last year, was born. Winner of 19 Grammys, he grew up in a poor family of Italian immigrants, but his uncle was a vaudeville tap dancer, giving Tony an early window into show business.
After singing in restaurants for money at age 13, he had three No.1 pop hits in the 50s—Because of You, Cold, Cold Heart, and Rags to Riches—but moved on to jazz and became the first male pop vocalist to sing with Count Basie. His 1962 cover, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, won two Grammys and became Bennett’s signature song—along with If I Ruled the World. WATCH a spine-tingling song recorded in his home during lockdowns… (1926)
A dog owner says her pooch saved her life, by repeatedly pawing at her armpit, which eventually alerted her to breast cancer.
The 61-year-old says her chihuahua Flag started the odd behavior years ago, constantly hitting the underside of her arm with his paw.
She originally dismissed the behavior, until she spotted a small lump under her breast and started to suspect her pup was trying to tell her something.
Kristine Richards, the retiree from Wellington, Somerset, went to an oncologist and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of hormone sensitive lobular breast cancer, which had already spread to her lymph nodes.
But, after a year of intense treatments, Kristine is now cancer free, and says that this is down to Flag’s detecting skills – because there were no other symptoms, even though the disease was advanced at the time.
“It was very annoying, I must say, at the time, but then I started to wonder… I had heard that dogs could tell if there was cancer.
Kristine finally went to the oncologist, who said it is quite common for dogs to sniff these issues out.
“You can’t underestimate the shock. I couldn’t take it in. I just started crying.”
“He saved my life. I owe my dog everything.”
Following her diagnosis, Kristine underwent surgical, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and drug therapy treatment.
But, one year later she heard the news that the cancer was in remission. Best of all, it has not come back in the years since.
Kristine reports that Flag stopped pawing at her arm after her first round of chemotherapy—and hasn’t done it again since.
“I am now in remission. I cried with relief when they told me. It was like getting to the end of a very long journey where you don’t quite know where you are going.”
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Flag is now her trained assistance dog, and gets lots of hugs and treats – especially the lamb ones which are his favorite.
Flag is a local celebrity, and was once even named the honorary town mayor of St Marychurch, in Torquay (the charming coast located in Devon, England).
Kristine recalled, “When I got him, he wanted to chew everything. My sister said he was useless and trouble—little did she know.“
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“He is very popular, my dog. He is a little community champion and super intelligent.”
CONSIDER SHARING THE CANCER TIP With Dog Lovers On Social Media…
The rookie lifeguard didn’t flinch.
A giant wave slammed into the California shore and a 10-year-old boy was instantly swept up.
Luckily, a 16-year-old lifeguard ran to help, rushing toward a rescue that would go viral on social media, earning Ryder Williams praise across the internet.
It’s Ryder’s first summer working as a lifeguard, scanning the shores at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, California, where the surf often pounds.
Last week, a sudden sneaker wave surged up the shore, knocking over the little boy and pulling him into the surprising surf. But, Ryder arrived in seconds.
“That’s when I turned the camera on and started to document it,” California photographer Scott Vander Dussen, who happened to be nearby, told the Los Angeles Times. “I had no idea it was going to be that intense…I’ve seen lots of interventions and rescues. I have never seen something like this.”
Tropical cyclones in the eastern Pacific Ocean were producing unpredictable powerful waves and dangerous currents all over the California coast. The massive 8-10 foot wave that knocked the boy over was soon followed by another.
And another.
“After the first wave, I was unable to pull him out because he was limp and the waves were pushing so hard,” Ryder said in a statement sent to the L.A. Times.
But Ryder has been comfortable and courageous in the water his entire life—through boogie boarding, surfing, and water polo (usually playing the center forward position that requires fending off defenders while treading water and trying to score).
The rookie lifeguard calmly ducked underneath the wave and simply tightened his grip even more.
The boy was not going to drown on Ryder’s watch.
“He told me: ‘I just was not going to let that happen,’” Ryder’s dad, Shane Williams said in an interview with The Guardian. “I almost started crying because how determined he was to save that boy’s life makes me so proud.”
The waves continued. Other adults ran to help, but even they were scattered by the surf. Ryder held strong, ducking under the onslaught and re-emerging every time.
Finally, another lifeguard arrived to help and the pair pulled the boy to safety. In the end, no one sustained any serious injuries—and beachgoers gave them all a round of applause.
Ryder, however, remained humble.
“This is my job and I love what I do. I’m thankful to my fellow lifeguards who perform rescues just like this every day.”
HERE’S ANOTHER TEEN HERO: Montana Teen Uses Rodeo Lasso to Rescue Drowning Man on Yellowstone River
Lifeguards across California have made thousands of rescues in recent weeks amid the Pacific storms and powerful surf.
HELP THIS HERO Catch a Wave By Sharing on Social Media…
A touring rock band almost met disaster in the middle of nowhere, until a 60-year-old stranger reminded them that there’s still a magical thing called ‘Midwest Nice’.
The Autumn Kings trio had just finished performing at the annual Rock Fest Wisconsin in Chippewa Valley when their van broke down on a rural highway.
They called every mechanic in the area but it required two days to fix the engine—yet they only had ten hours to make it to their next gig, the Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 500 miles away.
Just then, the band witnessed “one of the biggest acts of kindness of their lives,” according to their agent, Brandy Robidoux.
A complete stranger, Ernie, stopped to see if he could help, and ended up giving the band the keys to his Ford Explorer to use for several days—to drive over a thousand miles—so they could finish out their tour.
“The kindness of this one man restored our faith in humanity,” said the band on Facebook.
“With all the things you hear, about how the world is always going to hell, there are truly generous human beings—beyond comprehension,” exclaimed Jake Diab, guitarist and vocalist of the Detroit-based band.
“If it weren’t for Ernie, we wouldn’t have been able to get to Upheaval Festival.
“And Heaven was looking down on us (because) we had what I believe to be the greatest show of our career.”
“Without you (Ernie), it would NOT have been possible!”
When the Autumn Kings returned the red truck to Ernie’s house, they asked him why he wanted to help. It wasn’t just because he had a spare vehicle at home.
“I’ve never met a live band before,” quipped the Wisconsin man in his 60s, “but I just (did it) to help three strangers on the side of the road.”
A fan of the band, Brooke Murray, summed up the Ernie encounter perfectly: “This is the best and most Midwest story I’ve ever heard!”
WATCH the band tell the story below—and learn more about the Autumn Kings’ four LPs on Hopeless Records.
SHARE THE ERNIE–LOVE On Social Media…
MORE ROCK NEWS: The Couple From Woodstock LP Cover is Still Married 46 Years After Concert
An Englishman says he lives with the world’s oldest cat—a tortoiseshell born in 1995, making her 31 years-old.
The puss named Millie was first owned by Leslie Greenhough’s late wife, who took her in as a 3-month-old kitten.
Leslie told SWNS news agency that Millie’s long lifespan is a result of giving her only natural mineral water for the past decade—alongside “lots of treats” and “cuddles on the sofa”.
The family from Greater Manchester celebrated her birthday earlier this year, treating her to a bowl full of chicken.
“I am very proud she has made it to 31,” said the 71-year-old owner. “She is a real trooper.”
Leslie says his ‘life ambition’ is to get her in the Guinness Book of records, but sadly he can’t prove her age.
“Unfortunately, the only person who can do that is my late wife.”
And the only item of proof he has is an image taken in 1995 of Millie eating out of a food bowl his wife took.
A unique story explains how spring water became the cat’s drink of choice.
“Near to our house, work was being done to the water pipes, and because I am old and classified as a vulnerable person—so they began dropping off Buxton bottled water at my doorstep, which I also gave to Millie.
“When I turned my taps back on afterwards, dirty water came out, so I chose to stick with the Buxton, which I have stuck with ever since.
“She only drinks Buxton water—and has a daily diet of salmon, prawns, chicken and tuna.
“Millie is around 146—in human years. I think that says it all really. Imagine being 146 years-old—I can’t.”
“She’s developed a cautious attitude; she’s very shy. I think that’s helped her live longer.”
Millie’s personality has also mellowed with her age, becoming more “relaxed” and “chilled out” around the house.
“My wife would be amazed with how well she is doing.”
She’s needed extra care lately, however, due to the heatwave engulfing the UK.
Millie now has two fans blowing on her, at all times, and ice cubes in her water bowl to keep her cool.
The oldest cat ever confirmed in the world was named Creme Puff, and lived to be 38 years and 3 days old. The oldest feline currently verified living today cat is Flossie from the UK, who is currently 30 years old.
CELEBRATE SILVER-HAIRED CATS By Polling Your Friends to See Who Has the Oldest Cat…
Quote of the Day: “To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.” – Theophile Gautier
Photo by: Moritz Knöringer
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?
83 years ago today, in combat with the Japanese during the Solomon Islands Campaign in World War II, Patrol torpedo boat PT-109 was rammed by the Japanese Destroyer Amagiri. Its commanding officer, a certain Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, undertook almost single-handedly to rescued his crew of 12 men, saving all but two in the process, while being seriously injured. The event won Kennedy multiple decorations for bravery, and made him a bona fide war hero. READ how the event unfolded… (1943)
As NASA’s Curiosity rover ascended the Martian valley named Valle Grande back in June, it sent back images of a landscape covered in honeycomb-like textures.
“We’ve seen a lot of fascinating landscapes through Curiosity’s eyes, but this sea of polygons took our breath away,” said the mission’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Called polygonal fractures, small patches of these geometric shapes have been spotted several times before, but nothing at the scale discovered in Valle Grande.
In a 360-degree panorama that the rover captured on June 19-20, the polygonal shapes spread in all directions for as far as the rover can see. They even wrap around the sides of a nearby butte nicknamed “Miraflores,” which stands 20 feet tall (6 meters) and is topped with a thick cap of sand.
“We measured their shapes and chemistry carefully and are hopeful there are clues in the data as to how these features formed.”
A variety of processes can contribute to these honeycomb textures. Some of the polygons the rover has spotted in the past clearly formed as mud cracks. Other possibilities include cycles of warm and cold temperatures or compression that squeezed water out of the sediment when the surface was buried.
These newly discovered polygons are among the many surprises Curiosity has trundled across since landing on Mars fourteen years ago, in 2012. Besides sulfur crystals, shiny meteorites, and other interesting geologic features, the rover has made major discoveries about the ancient Martian environment — most importantly, that it had the water, chemistry, and nutrients to support microbial life.
MORE MARS NEWS:
• Perseverance Rover Stumbles Upon Mars Rock Bonanza: ‘It has been all we had hoped for and more’
• Strange Rock Found on Mars with Zebra Markings Has NASA Scientists ‘Excited’
Billions of years ago, lakes and streams dappled the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014.
The rover has previously uncovered chemistry left over from Mars’ watery history—a discovery that reconfirmed ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life.
Mars discoveries also included carbon-based molecules believed to be precursors to RNA and DNA, two nucleic acids that carry genetic information.
SHARE YOUR SPECULATION By Posting the News On Social Media…
A Eurasian lynx rescued from misery in Ukraine took her first steps on grass —and soon rolled over onto her back—after being rescued by a UK animal sanctuary.
The big cat named Ursa was found seriously ill in January after being illegally kept as a private pet in Kyiv.
She was moved to a wild animal rescue centre in the Ukrainian capital while the war raged and bombs continued to fall in the surrounding area.
The effort was supported in England by the Big Cat Sanctuary near Ashford, Kent, which raised the required $180,000 (£134,000) needed to evacuate Ursa to a new home in Britain.
Staff called it a “high risk” mission that included navigating complex border crossings, and an active war zone.
After flying her back to safety in February she was then moved into a temporary enclosure while a specially-built new one could be constructed.
This week she got to go outdoors and feel the grass under her paws for the first time as the nature-filled enclosure was finally completed.
“To see Ursa take her first steps here in Kent was an incredibly emotional moment for the whole team,” said Cam Whitnall, wildlife expert and managing director of The Big Cat Sanctuary.
“This mission was fraught with unpredictability, navigating a war zone with a vulnerable apex predator, but seeing her safe makes every risk worthwhile.
MORE BIG-CAT GOOD NEWS:
• Endangered Persian Leopards Mount Comeback in Asia’s Most Reclusive Nation
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Ursa was moved into the new home alongside other wild cats previously rescued in the UK—including another Eurasian lynx called Rhys, a Bobcat called Blob, and a Fishing cat named Boson.
“Today represents a huge milestone not only for our sanctuary, but for the future conservation of smaller wild cat species globally.
“By combining world-class welfare with cutting-edge technology, we are securing a sustainable future population (for them).”
“Ursa has spent her life under the shadow of conflict and neglect; now, that story has changed… She is finally in her forever home.”
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New research shows that blowing bubbles helps sperm whales to sleep soundly, hidden beneath the waves.
It actually stops them from floating to the surface during nap time.
While little is known about how sperm whales sleep, researchers believe that the ocean giants doze underwater for 10 to 15 minutes at a time with their heads facing upwards.
They keep away from the choppy waters of the surface while still remaining close enough to get a breath of fresh air if the need arises.
However, one issue has puzzled scientists. A sperm whale’s head is massive—taking up nearly a third of its body—and filled with oil, wax and air.
Those materials float, so how does the species stay underwater without popping to the surface like a cork while they sleep?
Now we know, after researchers from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, dug into the question with high tech underwater equipment.
They used devices that would allow them to tell whether the whales were asleep and also record the bubbles.
Suctioned to each whale, the equipment recorded the sound of the bubbles as they were released from the blowhole while also telling researchers how deep the whales were and whether their heads were facing up or down.
After affixing the recorders on 42 sperm whales in the Loften Islands off the coast of Norway, the research team recovered the devices.
Sperm whales can rest in three different ways. One is to put their head down and dive a bit, before their buoyant heads turn up towards the surface. They can also sink gently, tail-first about eight meters down, or they can rest as they ascend from deep dives over 200 meters.
The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, showed that those whales dozing closer to the surface blew more bubbles in their sleep, releasing bubbles around 11 times per power nap.
However, those drifting up from the depths only blew bubbles three or four times during their restful ascent.
Different resting depths require the whales to carry different amounts of oxygen—and last different lengths of time.
Deep diving means the whales need a lot of oxygen, explained study co-author Professor Patrick Miller, of the University of St. Andrews. But the pressure of the water compresses the air in their lungs causing the whales to be less buoyant.
“This means they need to blow fewer bubbles to stop themselves from floating upwards.
“However, when the whales rest closer to the surface, the air in their lungs will slowly cause them to rise to the surface. Blowing bubbles releases some of the air, making them less buoyant in the process.”
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But it was still not clear if blowing bubbles is a conscious decision by the whales to release some air as they sleep.
Study lead author Noémie Freymond, from the University of Neuchâtel, admits no one knows whether sperm whales sleep as we do—or if they sleep like dolphins and keep one half of their brain awake while the other snoozes.
“Blowing bubbles to make sure they don’t come too near the surface requires the whales to sense their environment and realize that they are coming too close to the surface.”
“Whether they turn out to be partially awake or fully asleep, sperm whales have definitely come up with a creative solution to ensure a restful slumber beneath the waves.”
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