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Drone Photographer Warns Surfers of Shark Circling Beneath Them

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These surfers may have ended up as fish food if it weren’t for a hawk-eyed photographer and his drone.

David Finlay of Kiama Beach, Australia was checking out the ocean waters with his aerial drone when he saw a shark in the waters underneath three oblivious surfers.

When the photographer spotted the marine predators, he alerted the local lifeguards to their presence.

WATCH: Goose Hails A Police Officer To Rescue its Baby Tangled in String

After the lifeguards raised the alarm, the surfers headed for shore – where they eventually made it to safety.

Should Finlay have missed the danger, the unfortunate swimmers may have become a sequel to the Jaws films.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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97-Year-old Fulfills Lifelong Dream, Becomes Firefighter For a Day

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You’re never too old to be a hero – not even if you’re 97 years old.

Bill Grun of Doylestown, Pennsylvania was given the birthday wish of a lifetime when firefighters from the Doylestown Fire Company No. 1 showed up at his retirement home.

The civil servants offered Bill a position on the Ladder 9 – also known as the biggest truck in their arsenal – as an honorary firefighter in recognition of his special day.

RELATED: 102-Year-old Crosses Off ‘Being Arrested’ From Her Bucket List

The spry senior delightedly accepted and was given a VIP ride around town. Bill was even allowed to sound the sirens at will.

The surprise was orchestrated by his retirement home Wesley Enhanced Living, as part of their WEL Wishes Program.

Bill is reportedly already planning his 98th birthday around a helicopter ride.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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New Study Shows that American Youth Violence is on the Decline

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McKinley Corbley
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Millennials may be given a lot of grief for taking selfies all of the time, but this new study shows that youth violence is in dramatic decline.

The study, conducted by researchers at Boston University, found a 29% decrease in violence related to young Americans between the years of 2002 and 2014.

“There is often the sense that teenagers are out of control and that things are always getting worse,” said Professor Christopher Salas-Wright. “However, our study makes clear that, over the last 10 to 15 years, we have seen a meaningful decrease in the number of adolescents involved in fighting and violence.”

CHECK OUT: Man Breaks Up Street Fight, Won’t Leave Until Teens Shake Hands

The amount of kids between the ages of 12 and 17 years old who committed any form of gang violence, fighting, or attack dropped from a high of 33.6% in 2002 to 23.7 in 2014.

While there were some disparities in violence related to race, Salas-Wright and his team wish to emphasize that the decline in youthful fighting is no small victory – communities wishing to eliminate the problem entirely should focus on intervention-based programs and consoling for teens, as well as conducting risk behavior analysis.

“While we are seeing noteworthy decreases in violence and other risky behaviors among youth, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that these problems persist,” said Michael Vaughn of Saint Louis University. “There is still much work to be done.”

Click To Share The News With Your Friends (Photo by Irving Aebiel, CC)

Watch Stag Climb to Elderly Woman’s Window Twice a Day For a Snack

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McKinley Corbley
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This 80-year-old woman may not be Snow White – but she’s enchanted quite a wild friend to keep her company in the woods.

Every day of the winter season, Mette Kvam leans out her window with homemade cookies and biscuits in order to feed her friend Flippen: a massive wild stag.

Since they first met one another outside Mette’s window, Flippen has visited her house in Aurland, Norway every winter for the last three years – and Mette is always waiting for him.

WATCH: This Couple May Not Have Children But They Do Have a Bear

The friendship began when the senior saw the creature moving through her snowy yard in 2014. She offered him a cookie and – to her surprise – he cautiously put his hoofs up on the side of her house and accepted the snack. Now, whenever he sin’t hiding up in the mountains during the warmer months, he is always visiting his elderly friend.

The friendship hasn’t just provided Flippen with valuable treats, either. Since Flippen was fondly named after his flipped ears, hunters always recognize him as Mette’s famed friend and avoid harming him in any way.

Though Flippen is too shy to be around anyone but Mette, he reportedly takes great pleasure in head scratches and nose pets from his human friend.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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50-Year-old Drug Saves Thousands of Moms After Childbirth

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An inexpensive and widely available drug could save the lives of one in three mothers who would otherwise bleed to death after childbirth, according to this new major study.

The drug, called tranexamic acid (TXA), works by stopping blood clots from breaking down. The global trial of 20,000 women found that death due to bleeding was reduced by 31% if the treatment was given within three hours. The findings also show it reduced the need for urgent surgery to control bleeding by more than 36%.

Severe bleeding after childbirth – known as post-partum haemorrhage or PPH – is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. More than 100,000 women globally die each year from the condition, but this clot-stabilizing drug has the potential to reduce the number substantially.

CHECK OUT: Bold Trials to Kill Vicious Cancer Type is So Successful, FDA Will Fast Track to Patients

The WOMAN (World Maternal Antifibrinolytic) Trial recruited mothers from 193 hospitals in 21 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, but also in the UK and elsewhere. The results show that of the women given tranexamic acid within three hours, 89 died from bleeding compared with 127 given placebo in addition to standard care. The researchers found no side effects from the drug for either mothers or babies. These findings provide the first comprehensive evidence on using tranexamic acid for post-partum haemorrhage and suggest it should be used as a frontline treatment.

Haleema Shakur, Associate Professor of Clinical Trials at the London School of Hygiene said: “We now have important evidence that the early use of tranexamic acid can save women’s lives and ensure more children grow up with a mother. It’s safe, affordable and easy to administer, and we hope that doctors will use it as early as possible following the onset of severe bleeding after childbirth.”

Tranexamic acid was invented in the 1960s by a Japanese husband and wife research team, Shosuke and Utako Okamoto.

MORE: FDA Finally Bans Antibacterial Soaps Containing Triclosan and 18 Other Chemicals

Ian Roberts, who co-led the study, said: “The researchers who invented tranexamic acid more than 50 years ago hoped it would reduce deaths from post-partum haemorrhage, but they couldn’t persuade obstetricians at the time to conduct a trial. Now we finally have these results that we hope can help save women’s lives around the world.”

Almost all of the deaths from post-partum haemorrhage are in low- and middle-income countries. Although giving birth in a health facility increases the chance of surviving post-partum haemorrhage, women still die from the condition even within hospitals.

Tim Knott, Senior Partner in Innovations at Wellcome Trust, said: “Globally, severe bleeding in childbirth remains one of the main causes of maternal death – with alarming numbers of women dying in many low- and middle-income countries. The WOMAN Trial team undertook a hugely important and incredibly ambitious study. Their work stands to make a critical difference in preventing women dying after childbirth.”

(WATCH the video below)

 

(Source: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

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Swipe Right to Save a Species: Last Male White Rhino Takes to Tinder

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McKinley Corbley
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Tired of the endless swiping on Tinder? Next time you open the app, be sure to keep an eye out for Sudan: “the most eligible bachelor in the world”.

Sudan is the last male white northern rhino on the planet, and conservationists at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya have partnered with the dating app Tinder to save his species.

Sudan was unable to mate with the only two other surviving female white northern rhinos, leaving his chances of natural reproduction at zero. However, scientists believe that they can save the species by using in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Though the operation has never before been performed on rhinos, officials say that there is still a chance for the rhinos if they try.

CHECK OUT: Manatee Population Has Rebounded 500 Percent, No Longer Endangered

“There is no guarantee of success.  We could spend this money and fail.  But we hope that you will agree that it is worth trying,” says Elodie Sampere of Ol Pejeta Conservancy. “Should any funds remain after success or failure, then the committee set up to safeguard the northern white future will reinvest those monies into protecting the world’s remaining rhino species.”

Assisted reproduction methods are estimated to cost about between $9 and $10 million – but Tinder users can now find the massive mammal on the app featuring a bio that says: “I don’t mean to be too forward, but the fate of the species literally depends on me. I perform well under pressure… 6ft (183cm) tall and 5,000lb (2,268kg) if it matters.”

Lonely singles who come across Sudan’s profile – which will be displayed in 190 countries and over 40 languages – can donate money to his fundraiser.

If you’ve already found love and have no need for dating apps, you can donate via the conservancy’s website or Sudan’s GoFundMe page.

Feeling Horny? Click To Share The News With Your Friends (Photo by Khalil Baalbaki/ZOO Dvur Kralove)

Pope Francis is Paying the Rent of a Private Beach for the Disabled

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McKinley Corbley
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Now every Italian – no matter their disability – can have fun in the sun and enjoy a day at the beach.

That’s because Pope Francis has just volunteered to pay a year’s worth of rent towards Work of Love; an organization that manages a private section of the Little Madonna beach exclusively for people with disabilities.

RELATED: Pope Opens Free Laundromat for Rome’s Poor

For the last five years, Work of Love has helped their beach – located 17 miles south of Rome – become the only section of Little Madonna that is fully equipped to accommodate people with disabilities. The volunteer-based organization has installed boardwalks, ramps, wheelchair transportation, and water vehicles that are all designed to give disabled people a pleasant beach experience.

Pope Francis, who donated an undisclosed amount of money, reportedly contributed enough funds to pay off the beach’s rent for a year, and to support their other endeavors and financial needs.

According to CNN, the organization expressed “enthusiasm and astonishment” over the pontiff’s generous donation.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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Bloomberg Gives $3Mil to Job Training For Coal Communities in Decline

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Bloomberg Philanthropies announced today a three million dollar donation for organizations providing career training to coal workers affected by job losses throughout an industry in decline. The funds will be used by the Just Transition Fund, and two other groups to support job training programs, foster economic development and offer new career opportunities in communities affected by the trend toward cleaner energy.

Coal continues to lose U.S. market share to cheaper and cleaner sources of energy, which have broadly benefitted the country in terms of public health and jobs – with nearly 500,000 Americans now working in the solar and wind industries.

RELATED: Appalachian Miners Trade Coal for Code, Digging Computer Skills

“The federal government has failed to help coal communities for decades, and now…so we are stepping up,” said Michael R. Bloomberg. “We discovered several local groups in coal regions that are doing great work to help out-of-work miners develop new job skills and find new career opportunities.”

Bloomberg’s foundation is also launching a national fundraising campaign for citizens who also wish to support the coal workers.

MORE: Solar Power in US Sets New Records, Beats Natural Gas for the First Time

The initial $3 million donation will support the following groups:

The nonprofit Coalfield Development Corporation works in southern West Virginia rebuilding the Appalachian economy by supporting social enterprises that help transform perceived liabilities into assets via job creation, higher education, and mentorship. Coalfield Development’s enterprises provide jobs and new career opportunities in sustainable construction, solar installation, mine-land reclamation, sustainable agriculture, and artisanship. Coalfield Development hires unemployed people, including laid-off coal miners, according to a 33-6-3 weekly schedule: 33 hours of paid work for the enterprises listed above, 6 hours of higher education, and 3 hours of life-skills mentorship. The result is real work experience, an Associate’s Degree, and renewed self-confidence.

The Just Transition Fund helps to create robust communities in coal-dependent regions across the U.S. by strengthening projects in sustainable economic development, equity, and clean energy solutions. Guided by its conviction that communities have the power and wisdom to solve their own problems if given adequate support and resources, the Just Transition Fund works with a wide range of federal agencies and philanthropic foundations to provide just that.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils is a network of grassroots organizations rooted in the coalfield communities in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Colorado. From its beginning in 1979, WORC has championed the preservation of family farms and ranches, while building sustainable and prosperous communities that balance economic growth with the health of people and stewardship of their land, water, air and wildlife resources.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is also launching a CrowdRise campaign entitled From The Ashes to raise money for coal communities, and will cover all transaction fees for any donations. The funds raised by the CrowdRise campaign will be used by these three groups to help workers left behind by the coal industry.

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Cop Herds Lost Goats into His Police Car, Finds Owners Using Cute Pics

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These farm critters must have looked mighty suspicious if they got picked up by the cops.

Sergeant Fitzpatrick of the Belfast Police Department in Maine was having a hayday with two rogue goats who he found wandering around town on Sunday.

“Got goats? We do, and they do not belong to us,” said a representative on the police department Facebook. “We had these two little ‘kids’ turn up on High Street near the parking lot for the rail trail. They are currently riding around with Sgt. Fitzpatrick, serenading him in goat music. Though he is thankful for the company on this cool Sunday morning, he would gladly return them to their owners. He is running out of vegetables to feed them.”

RELATED: Cop Posts Selfies with Dogs He Saved To Help Them Reunite With Owners

The kids’ rightful owner eventually saw the post and identified the passengers as Louis and Mowgli.

It may have been just another day on the town for the two pygmy goats, but it’s an afternoon that Fitzpatrick won’t soon forget.

“The goats have been returned home. Louis and Mowgli enjoyed their day trip with Sgt. Fitzpatrick but alas, all good things come to an end. Perhaps in the next budget year we can inquire as to getting some patrol goats.”

 

Did This Story Float Your Goat? Click To Share With Your Friends (Photos by the Belfast Police Department)

What Do 30,000 Sick Kids Have in Common? Piles of New Art Supplies From Michaels

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It’s not Christmas time; but for the duration of this week, 30,000 sick children across North America are waking up in their hospital rooms to receive a mound of free arts and craft supplies courtesy of one of the biggest art supplies chains in the country.

Celebrating National Volunteer Week, Starlight Children’s Foundation and Michaels have teamed up to deliver Michaels backpacks that will bring joy and comfort to hospitalized children across the U.S. and Canada. Generously provided by Michaels and assembled by team members across North America, Michaels backpacks are filled with cool arts, crafts, and other supplies to inspire creativity and bring smiles to seriously ill children of all ages. Starting last Sunday, Michaels’ team members will deliver a total of 30,000 backpacks to kids at over 380 hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

RELATED: The “Detroit Mower Gang” Cleans Up the City All Year for the Kids

“Michaels is helping to bring moments of joy of comfort to millions of seriously ill children and their families,” said Chris Helfrich, CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation. “Michaels backpacks will bring smiles to 30,000 children and we’re grateful for their continued generosity in communities across North America.”

Michaels team members from 1,300 participating local stores and corporate headquarters will deliver hundreds of bags room-to-room and take part in art and craft activities with hospitalized children and their families.

“Giving back is a key value at Michaels, and we are grateful to have a partner in Starlight Children’s Foundation that supports us in bringing our commitment to life. We are proud to have our team members across the country celebrating National Volunteer Week this way and hope the backpacks being delivered this week provide some comfort, amusement, and inspire creativity for both the kids and their families,” said Chuck Rubin, CEO of Michaels.

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Wife of Late Army Ranger Finishes His Cancer Bucket List

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A graduate of West Point; a football player for the Army; an Army Ranger – when you think of someone who represents all of those things, you immediately think of great strength, courage, and resilience. You don’t think of a 26-year-old struck down in the prime of his life by a rare and catastrophic cancer, but that is exactly what happened to Josh Powell.

Newly married to his beautiful fiancé Fabi, Josh had his whole life ahead of him, before he passed away from synovial sarcoma last October. Since then, Fabi has bravely embraced a new cancer fighting mission in her life – one that has its roots in one of Josh’s last wishes.

During his battle with cancer, Josh diligently kept a journal, and it was in one of those journal entries that Fabi discovered something that would set her on a totally different course in her life: a race course.

MORE: Hospital Grants Dying Patient’s Last Wish For Wine, Cigarette

Reading his journal entries gave Fabi the motivation to keep his memory alive, and to ultimately keep living, even on her darkest days. Many of the entries included Josh’s dreams and goals, and it’s one of those goals that Josh set that has inspired Fabi. He wrote:

“1. Register for St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital 5K
2. Run: 1 mile/ 2 miles/ 3 miles
3. Finish 5K
4. Beat Cancer
5. Recover from surgery.”

Unfortunately, Josh was never able to complete any of the goals on this list. As his wife, Fabi says there would be no greater honor than to complete as many of his goals as possible, as she feels closest to him while she’s doing the things they both loved.

Josh also told Fabi that he would one day like to volunteer at St. Jude, helping to encourage and inspire kids with cancer, which would somehow turn his battle with the disease into a journey for good.

RELATED: Daughter Fulfills Dad’s Last Wish With Side-Splitting Obituary

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital paves the the way for how the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer, along with other life-threatening diseases. The and treatments invented at St. Jude’s have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.

Josh wrote about running in one of the races at the St. Jude Nashville Marathon, and though he never got that chance, Fabi is ready to step in and make his goal come true. Fabi said he wanted to run for St. Jude because, “He wanted kids and families to focus on living and not the financial burdens that come with a cancer diagnosis.”

Race day is this April 29 in Nashville, and of course it will be a tough day for Fabi, but she is determined to keep Josh’s memory alive, and to somehow make good of the pain she has endured. To her, there is no greater honor than completing as many of Josh’s goals as possible. When asked how she expected the race to go, she said, “I expect race day to be amazing, yet emotional. I just want to make him proud and I know sharing our story and creating the legacy that he deserved by continuing to inspire others will do just that. This race is for you and everyone else affected by this battle!”

To become a St. Jude Hero, and walk or run in a local race, or at a large national 5K, half, or full marathon, visit the St. Jude website. You’ll be set up with an easy-to-use personal fundraising site, leaving you ready to go spread awareness and raise funds for those in need.

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Doritos Flies Couple to Prom After Snack-Themed Promposal

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McKinley Corbley
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Shaedon Wedel made headlines last month after he asked his 15-year-old friend Carlie Wittman with Down syndrome to prom with a Doritos-themed proposal.

The couple became so famous, in fact, that the snack company got wind of the event and offered to bring Shaedon and Carlie to prom in style.

The Kansas teens were given a helicopter ride to dinner before being flown over to the dance with all of their classmates cheering upon their arrival.

CHECK OUT: Candy Theft Victim Rewarded With Car Full of Kit Kats For Everyone

18-year-old Shaedon had originally popped the question using a custom-made Doritos tee shirt featuring a pun-tastic caption.

The front of the shirt read: “I know I may be NACHO typical Dorito but…”. On the back of the shirt, the words continued to say: “… I’m going to be CHEESY and ask: Will you go to prom with me?”

Well, it may have been a cheesy proposal, but the results were absolutely delicious.

(WATCH the video below)

 

Click To Share This Sweet Story With Your Friends (Photo by Shaedon Wedel)

Chinese Man Trapped in India Finally Arrived Home After 50 Years

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A Chinese Army surveyor who had wandered over the border 54 years ago has finally been able to return home to reunite with his family.

Wang Qi, an army surveyor who says he accidentally crossed into India was jailed and detained, and then relocated into a remote region where he eventually started a new family.

After a BBC report revealed his situation, Chinese officials traveled to his location and arranged for him to travel back to his homeland in February, along with his new family, to be reunited with old friends and relatives.

POPULAR: Penniless Artist in India Falls in Love–Rides Bike to Sweden to Be With Her

He has lived in “utter poverty” since his capture and it is unclear whether he and his wife and four children would return to India.

Friends and family enthusiastically greeted the 80-year-old at the airport with a large banner that reportedly read, ‘Welcome home, soldier, it’s been a rough journey.’

(Watch the joyful reunion video below from Star TV)

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States to Cut College Costs by Introducing Open Source Textbooks

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These two states are moving to slash the astronomical costs of higher education by introducing open source textbooks.

The University System of Maryland awarded mini-grants to 21 recipients across 12 different universities for converting all of their reading materials to open source software platforms for students. Between the seven Maryland community colleges and 5 public four-year institutions, the initiative has the potential to save over 8,000 students $1.3 million in textbook costs over the Fall 2017 semester.

New York state Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is also moving to invest $8 million of the state budget into open source educational materials. The budget also included a new proposal that will provide free college tuition to any families or students in the state making less than $125,000 per year.

CHECK OUT: Tennessee to Become Only State Offering Free Community College For Adults

“With this Budget, New York is once again showing what responsible government can achieve. The result is a Budget that advances the core progressive principles that built New York: investing in the middle class, strengthening the economy and creating opportunity for all,” Cuomo said in a statement.

“This Budget enacts the Middle Class Recovery Act to continue the Empire State’s upward trajectory and creates a path forward for those striving to get ahead. By making college at our world-class public universities tuition-free, we have established a national model for access to higher education, and achieved another New York first.”

In the U.S., the cost of textbooks in higher education has risen exponentially.  Since 1978, the cost of textbooks has risen 812%, outpacing even the cost of medical services and new housing. Nationally, students spend an average of $1,200 a year on textbooks.  Within Maryland alone, 2-year and 4-year students spend over $223 million in textbooks.

Click To Share The News With Your Friends (Photo by Lifesupercharger, CC)

Plastic-eating Caterpillar Could Munch Waste, Scientists Say

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Generally speaking, plastic is incredibly resistant to decay, and that’s certainly true of the one trillion polyethylene plastic bags that people use and discard each year.

But researchers may now be inching toward a solution for plastic waste; and the key is a caterpillar commonly known as a wax worm.

Federica Bertocchini and her colleagues at the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria made the discovery quite by accident, after noticing that plastic bags containing wax worms quickly became riddled with holes. Further study showed that the worms can do damage to a plastic bag in less than an hour.

After 12 hours, all that munching of plastic leads to an obvious reduction in plastic mass. The researchers showed that the wax worms were not only ingesting the plastic, they were also chemically transforming the polyethylene into ethylene glycol.

CHECK OUT: Trees Growing Out of Buildings Could Help Heal China’s Air Pollution Problem

Although wax worms wouldn’t normally eat plastic, the researchers suspect that their ability is a byproduct of their natural habits. Wax moths lay their eggs inside beehives. The worms hatch and grow on beeswax, which is composed of a highly diverse mixture of lipid compounds. The researchers say the molecular details of wax biodegradation require further investigation, but it’s likely that digesting beeswax and polyethylene involves breaking down similar types of chemical bonds.

“Wax is a polymer, a sort of ‘natural plastic,’ and has a chemical structure not dissimilar to polyethylene,” Bertocchini says. “We are planning to implement this finding into a viable way to get rid of plastic waste, working towards a solution to save our oceans, rivers, and all the environment from the unavoidable consequences of plastic accumulation.

“However,” she adds, “we should not feel justified to dump polyethylene deliberately in our environment just because we now know how to bio-degrade it.”

(Source: CSIC)

Click To Share The News With Your Friends (Photo by Federica Bertocchini, Paolo Bombelli, and Chris Howe)

Craftsman Donates Tools (and Himself) to New Tool-Lending Library

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McKinley Corbley
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This library of tools wouldn’t have half of the collection that it does today if it weren’t for Dave Merry.

The St. Paul Tool Library in Minnesota is a membership-based service that allows anyone to check out tools, workshop space, and materials for a monthly fee. The organization helps people save money and space, as well as alleviating carbon emissions by creating less demand for new tools.

Except that when the library first opened their doors in March, they didn’t expect many people to help kickstart their mission by responding to their call for tool donations.

Dave, who had been amassing his tool collection for years, donated it all in a single day.

The 78-year-old had to move into assisted living due to his wife’s health – and he couldn’t bear to part with all of his tools just because of the lack of space.

RELATED: Retired Senior Gets Job After Posting Ad About ‘Dying from Boredom’

So in turn, the senior donated his tools – and his expertise – to the library.

His vast knowledge of craftsmanship has proved invaluable to the members – not to mention his tools make up most of the library’s inventory.

The donation also comes as an homage to his brother George, who passed away at the age of 21 when Dave was just 15. Dave feels that – by helping other people – he is inspiring the community the same way that his brother did for him.

“It just meant a lot to me do something with wood and know that George would have done it too,” Dave told KARE11.

(WATCH the video at Kare11 news)

 

Fix Up Some Positivity: Click To Share With Your Friends – Photo by Boyd Huppert

Previously-Suicidal Man Runs Marathon With Guy Who Talked Him Down From Bridge

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McKinley Corbley
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Nine years ago, Jonny Benjamin was perched on the edge of a bridge ready to take his own life – and he is still alive today thanks to Neil Laybourn talking him down.

Then as of yesterday, the two crossed the finish line of the London Marathon together.

The duo completed the 26.2 mile challenge in 5 hours and 28 minutes as a means of raising money for Heads Together, an organization created by the three Royals (Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) to educate people and communities on how to properly deal with mental illness.

Jonny himself was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar, at the age of 20. When Jonny finally stepped up to the edge of Waterloo Bridge nine years ago in preparation to take his own life, Neil stopped to speak to talk him down. The two conversed for 25 minutes until medical officials arrived.

RELATED: Grieving Man Can Sleep Again After Girl Reaches Out in the Grocery Store

Neil and Jonny didn’t reunite after the suicide attempt until 2014, when Jonny launched a social media initiative to track down the stranger who showed him kindness.

Since he was saved from jumping off of the bridge, Jonny and Neil have become the best of friends and spokesmen for suicide prevention. The buddies even personally met with the Royals, who asked them to run the London Marathon.

Jonny himself has become a mental health advocate, YouTuber, and public speaker on the struggles of living with mental illness.

(WATCH the video below)

 

Run This Story Over To Your Friends: Click To Share (Photo by Jonny Benjamin)

Meet the First Girl Scout Troop For Homeless Kids in New York City

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McKinley Corbley
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The confident female youngsters who make up Girl Scout Troop 6000 may not seem especially out of the ordinary, but there’s more to the members than meets the eye.

All 22 young members of the troop are residents of the Sleep Inn, a 10-story homeless shelter in Queens, New York City, making Troop 6000 the first girl scout clan designed specifically for girls living in the New York City Shelter System.

The project was created as a way of giving the young homeless residents access to all the valuable educational and recreational opportunities presented by Girl Scout engagement. Spearheaded by Giselle Burgess, a homeless mother who works as a community engagement specialist for Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, the troop has become an invaluable part of raising the shelter girls.

Since it was created in February, the troop has served girls from kindergarten to high school.

WATCH: Girl Scout’s Hilariously Honest Cookie Reviews Lead to Record-breaking Sales

“Every girl in the five boroughs of New York City deserves a chance to reach her full potential: to have her eyes opened to possibilities for college and careers, to make loving and supportive friends, to learn from caring female mentors, and to chart her own course to achieve her goals,” says a Girl Scout representative. “That’s what Troop 6000 is all about.”

According to the Girl Scout troop page, studies have shown that Girl Scouts are more likely to pursue college educations and achieve higher socio-economic status – judging by the success of Girl Scout Troop 6000, these girls will be no exception.

“It’s just about the most right thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Mr. Van Bramer told the New York Times.

Click To Share The Sweet News With Your Friends (Photo by NYC Council Member Jimmy Van Bramers)

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