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Success: Green Sea Turtles of Florida and Mexico No Longer Endangered

NOAA

green-sea-turtle-NOAA

Years of coordinated conservation efforts have paid off for the green sea turtle populations in Florida and the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Fish and Wildlife Service announced the good news that the turtle species has fared so well they will no longer be considered an endangered species.

There are now 2,250 nesting females in Florida alone, up from just a handful in 1978. The graph below shows the increase along the Pacific coast.

Officials have reclassified the status of those two breeding populations as threatened, rather than endangered, and credits stronger protection of nesting beaches, reduction of bycatch by fishing fleets, and prohibitions on the direct harvest of sea turtles, for the surge in numbers.

RELATED: Manatee Population Has Rebounded 500 Percent, No Longer Endangered

“The knowledge that green sea turtles can overcome illegal harvest, plastic pollution and warming waters testifies to their resilience,” said Catherine Kilduff of the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group.

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In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, the federal agency also announced they would be dividing the world-traveling turtles into 11 distinct population segments globally, to allow for tailored conservation approaches for each population, while maintaining federal protections for all turtles.

“While threats remain for green sea turtles globally, the reclassification of green sea turtles in Florida and Mexico shows how the Endangered Species Act-inspired partnerships between the federal agencies, states, NGOs and even countries is making a real difference for some of our planet’s most imperiled species,” said Fish and Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe.

A motion to lift the green sea turtles’ endangered status was proposed last year and reviewed after public comment. (Photo credit: NOAA)

Baby Tortoises Survive on Galapagos Island for First Time in 100 Years

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During a December survey of giant tortoises on one Galapagos island, conservationists found evidence of the first hatchlings to survive in the wild in over a century.

Fate Reunites High School Sweethearts at 95 Years Old (WATCH)

 

High school sweethearts Bob and Marjorie attended two proms and were the toast of Bogota High School in New Jersey.

But the dawn of World War II, when Bob enlisted, pulled the two lovebirds apart and life delivered two seemingly separate paths–until recently when they found out they lived in the same town seven miles away from each other.

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Nearly 75 years later, they are helping each other live life to the fullest, meeting several times during the week, reports the Asbury Park Press.

(WATCH the video above from KSDK)

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Scientist Brings Us Wondrously Cute Sloth Photos in New Book “SLOTHLOVE”

Sloth With Flower - Released Sam Trull

While Sam Trull was exploring the jungles of Costa Rica, she encountered many fascinating critters, but one in particular stole her heart: the sloth.

After a 15-year conservation career working with primates and other wild mammals in different countries, Sam left her familiar home in the United States to dedicate her life to researching and protecting these 2- and 3-toed vegetarians.

She co-founded the Sloth Institute of Costa Rica in August 2014 and began amassing photographs, as well as data. Her new 100-page photo book, “Slothlove,” is a collection of dozens of portraits of adorable, googley-eyed sloth orphans that have become her furry foster children.

Baby Sloth - Release Sam Trull
All photos courtesy of Sam Trull

“The first time I held a baby sloth I was learning how to feed her. Her tiny claws clutched tightly to my shirt, and her nose wiggled with innocent perfection,” writes Sam in Slovelove. “I was told baby sloths don’t usually survive well in captivity, and there was a good chance she wouldn’t make it.”

“Looking down at her sleeping face, I made her a promise that I would do everything in my power to give her the life she deserved. I would always put her needs first, and I would make sure she felt safe, comfortable—and loved. That was two and a half years ago. Not only did that sloth survive, but there are now eleven orphaned sloths that I care for around the clock.”

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Her ongoing research is becoming one of the most in-depth long term behavioral studies of the tree-dwelling jungle creatures.

Sam, who studied zoology in North Carolina and primate conservation in the U.K., has logged over 15,000 hours of sloth study over the last three years.

In 2014, she made scientific history by performing the first ever sloth C-section.

Baby Sloth In Towel - Released Sam Trull
Beyond the adoring photos, Trull’s book tells the stories of orphans Chuck, Kermie, Elvis, Monster and Newbie.

“Having lost their mothers to dogs, electric wires, cars, or general forest destruction, they come in scared and alone and in need of a new place to call home,” she explained in the introduction to Slothlove.

“In the photos in this book, the sloths aren’t just looking at a camera lens; they are looking at what they perceive as their mom,” says Sam.

Sloths Hugging - Released Sam Trull

She hopes that by sharing their photos, stories, and facts—not only in the book, but through lectures and education for the Costa Rican locals who live among them—she can save more sloth lives.

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You can support her sloth conservation efforts by adopting a sloth at the Institute’s website – and even volunteer if you plan a trip to the Central American country.

Pre-order “Slothlove” on Amazon; the book is being released on April 19th, just in time for Earth Day. Don’t Let Your Friends Miss The Cuteness… Click To Share.

Program Helps Sick Kids In Hospital and After, Regardless of Ability to Pay

 

I had to share this video! It’s so sweet, and profiles some amazing and inspirational kids, doctors, nurses, and volunteers at this incredible pediatric hospital called Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. They focus on transitioning kids (with medically complex conditions) from the main hospitals to their homes, teaching kids how to “live” after their injuries. They teach the families how to care for the kids, even making doctor appointments and calling in prescriptions for six months after they get home.

LOOKCoffee Shop Employees Console Widow Through Window of Drive-Through

The hospital is small, and is expanding to double in size this fall. They have to turn kids away right now, but they’ll go from a 34 bed hospital to a 60 bed hospital by early 2018. Of course, they are in desperate need of support, as many of their programs are not funded by insurance or federal money. Anything to spread the word about them will be so beneficial to the kids that gain their lives back from the work done here.

The facility, in Maryland Heights, Missouri and founded in 1941, is one of a handful of hospitals in the United States that provide rehabilitation and subacute medical treatment for children, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

Watch the video above and get inspired to donate your money or time…

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80 Kids Shave Their Heads To Support Girl With Cancer Returning To School (WATCH)

Shaved Kids - Daily Camera Youtube

Even though this 9-year-old girl was diagnosed with cancer, she will get by with a little help from her friends – all 86 of them.

After Marlee Pack was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma last spring, the teachers and students of Meridian Elementary in Broomfield, Colorado weren’t about to let her struggle through it alone.

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Marlee’s friend Cameron decided to support her bestie by shaving her head in solidarity. Her gesture, then, inspired the school to organize a charity event entitled “Be Bold, Be Brave, Go Bald” on March 16th.

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80 students, three female teachers, both male principals and even a student’s mom all shaved their heads to raise money for the Saint Baldrick’s Foundation for cancer research.

(WATCH the video of the event below)  –Photo by the Daily Camera

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Leonard Nimoy’s Son Premieres Film ‘For the Love of Spock’ (TRAILER)

Love of Spock movie poster

A new indie documentary, “For The Love Of Spock,” will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival today, featuring a panel discussion with the film’s director, Leonard Nimoy’s son.

For the film, Adam Nimoy interviewed William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig, among others. Zachary Quinto, who portrays Spock in the modern Star Trek films, will narrate the documentary and joins Nimoy on the panel.

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Released in time for the 50th anniversary of the original series, the film looks at the enduring impression left by actor Leonard Nimoy and his portrayal of Spock in ‘Star Trek’.

The project was funded by Trekkie fans who donated $662,000 to a successful Kickstarter campaign last year. It will be available to stream later this year.

CHECK OUTDownload 2000 Magnificent Turn-of-the-Century Art Posters, Courtesy NY Public Library

For The Love of Spock is a tribute to his father, who died last February, and ensures the character’s legacy will forever “live long and prosper.”

Check out the show times at Tribeca Film Festival —and watch the trailer below…

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Gardening Giant Ortho to Drop Chemicals Linked to Bee Deaths

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One of the largest home and garden pesticide makers in America is halting its use of a chemical blamed for killing honey bees.

Among several possible causes of bee deaths and colony declines research has implicated a family of chemical pesticides called neonicotinoids – neonics, for short. Even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still researching the connection, Ortho announced this week it will start eliminating the chemical in all of it’s products.

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The company’s general manager Tim Martin said “It’s time for Ortho to move on” from neonics.

Europe banned the neonic-laced pesticides in 2013, and Ontario became the first region in North America to ban neonics last year.

Ortho’s announcement comes just as Maryland lawmakers passed a bill that would restrict the sale of home and garden pesticides containing neonics. The governor is still considering whether to sign it.

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The company says some of their products will be reformulated to work without the chemical while others will be taken off the market in 2017. Ortho plans to have no neonics in any of its products when the phase-out is finished in 2021.

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In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would consider whether to protect two species of wild bumblebees under the Endangered Species Act, reports CBS News. SHARE the Buzz… (Photo credit: orangeaurochs, CC)

Former Students Raise $185,000 for Retiring Beloved School Security Guard

Retiring Security Officer Instagram emfrisby

He was the last person many students saw as they departed the school on graduation day, and the one person who could be counted on to remember them whenever they returned.

Kifleab Tekle, affectionally known as “Kief,” spent 30 years shepherding the girls at the private school, helping them cross the street as kindergartners and making sure they were safe teens until they headed off to college.

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Even years later, after they left Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas, visiting alumni would be greeted at the front desk by a smiling Kief, instantly recognizing them, calling them by name, and asking about their family members.

When alums heard Kief was retiring this week, they decided to raise money for a gift. The Class of 2005 hoped to raise $2005 symbolic dollars.

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Even the organizers were stunned when their GoFundMe page raised $185,000 — nearly 2,000 people chipped in.

Kief was shocked and overwhelmed by the outpouring of gratitude. Just like the names he’s remembered for 30 years, this gesture is something he’ll never forget.

(READ more at the Daily Mail) — Photos: Emily McCombs Frisby/emfrisby, Instagram

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NASA Responds on Facebook to Climate Change Deniers Who Dissed Bill Nye‘s Science

NASA and Bill Nye Public Domain NASA

When climate change doubters misrepresented NASA findings in response to a Facebook post by Bill Nye, the space agency launched a series of corrections to set the facts straight.

Nye, “The Science Guy,” had posted a thread about prominent climate change critic Marc Morano turning down Nye’s $20,000 bet that 2010-2020 would be the hottest decade on record.

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The comments quickly turned into a debate with facts and figures being tossed around — some of them carelessly.

“Riiiiight,” commenter Fer Morales wrote, “Despite NASA confirming that fossil fuels are actually cooling the planet’s temperature, and that there’s more ice than in the last century in the polar caps. . .”

But NASA has never said anything of the sort, and the space agency, which generally avoids such social media back-and-forths, blasted-off with a series of charts, graphs, and other data, and chastised those who misquoted the agency’s findings.

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“Do not misrepresent NASA,” the space agency responded using its NASA Climate Change moniker. “Fossil fuels are not cooling the planet.”

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Debate quickly shifted with doubters saying the world is warming, but there’s no proof humans are causing it—and accusing NASA of inaccurate data.

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Then, they argued it could be caused by changes in the sun.

They may have missed the fact that NASA has been just about everywhere in the solar system.

“Other planets in the solar system are not warming,” NASA posted. “There is a small amount of evidence of seasonal changes in parts of the solar system, but there is no evidence of global warming anywhere—except on Earth.”

Maybe we need an adult version of “Bill Nye, The Science Guy” to educate more Americans about the dangers posed by climate change to populations around the world.

(READ more of the exchanges on Facebook)

Pack Your Bags: Free Admission This Week For All National Parks

Grand Canyon - McKinley Corbley

If you’ve ever wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, this week is the time to do it.

In honor of the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the U.S. agency is waiving admission fees for all national parks and monuments during National Park Week– April 16th through April 24th.

Though camping fees will still apply, 410 different parks are opening their doors to accept visitors from near and far for the celebration–not only wilderness areas, but historical sites like Gettysburg, Jamestown and the Wright Brothers Monument, and homes of presidents, like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

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“We have an amazing variety of special events taking place during the centennial,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Some commemorate our first hundred years, but many others look to the future, to the next 100 years, and will help connect with and create the next generation of park visitors and supporters. It is through them that America’s lands and stories will be preserved and passed on to future generations.”

With National Junior Ranger Day kicking off the event on Saturday, activities have been planned throughout the week to entertain kids and adults alike. Visit FindYourPark.com to learn more about National Park Week activities throughout the country.

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If you aren’t able to travel to a park during the coming week, other free admission days this year will include August 25 through August 28, to mark the National Park Service Birthday; September 24, for National Public Lands Day; and November 11, to honor Veterans Day. Invite Your Friends To A Park Field Trip… Click To Share  (Photos copyright McKinley Corbley)

Audience Joins Autistic Boy in Song To Ease His Nerves (WATCH)

 

A 13-year-old autistic youth has become a beloved internet star for doing an adorable talent show performance with a little help from his audience.

While halfway through singing “Let It Go” dressed as Olaf from the hit Disney movie Frozen, Jagger Lavely started to freeze up himself.

LOOKCoffee Shop Employees Console Widow Through Window of Drive-Through

The crowd at Oak Middle School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts wasted no time in joining the rendition, singing the words along with Jagger so he could make it through the song.

“It was just that magical moment where it just felt like the entire community rallied around him,” Jagger’s mom Stacey Lavely told WCBV.

(WATCH the beautiful performance above…)

Sean Parker Gives $250 Million for Immunotherapy Cancer Research

Sean Parker - CC Jdlasica

Sean Parker, known as the co-founder of Napster and first president of Facebook, has just donated $250 million to create a new center for immunotherapy cancer treatment research.

The Parker Institute For Cancer will be a collaboration of over 40 laboratories and 300 researchers working together to cure the deadly disease. Medical universities such as Stanford Medicine and the University of California will also be participating.

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As simple as a flu shot, the treatment causes cancer cells to self-destruct leaving patients – like beloved former President Jimmy Carter – cancer-free without having to undergo the trials of chemotherapy. After five years of research, the survival rate was 97% for patients who’d been in early stages of prostate cancer and 94% for patients facing a more aggressive form of the disease. That’s 20% better than average survival rates.

RELATEDJimmy Carter Stops Treatment as Cancer Seems to Have Vanished

“We are at an inflection point in cancer research and now is the time to maximize immunotherapy’s unique potential to transform all cancers into manageable diseases, saving millions of lives,” Parker said in a statement. “We believe that the creation of a new funding and research model can overcome many of the obstacles that currently prevent research breakthroughs. Working closely with our scientists and more than 30 industry partners, the Parker Institute is positioned to broadly disseminate discoveries and, most importantly, more rapidly deliver treatments to patients.”

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An early investor in Facebook, Parker started a philanthropic foundation for public health in 2015 with a $600 million contribution. The 36-year-old Silicon Valley mogul’s estimated worth currently stands at $3 billion.Grateful for Research Money? Click To Share… (Photo by Jdlasica, CC)

Library Connects Homeless Patrons With Mental Health Treatment –With Great Success

Leah Esguerra screenshot PBS NewsHour

People can check out a lot more than books at the San Francisco Public Library — they can find housing and mental health care, too.

The California library became the first in the U.S. to hire a social worker with a mental health care background–and since 2009 she’s provided services for 800 homeless patrons.

Best of all, social worker Leah Esguerra has found permanent housing for more than 150.

RELATED: Homeless Man Hands Out Resumes Instead of Asking for Cash-and Lands Job

About 5,000 people visit the San Francisco library every day — 750 of those are homeless. For many, it’s their only shelter during the day, and it also makes it a perfect hub to reach out to the homeless.

“It’s always easier to do outreach on the streets, that’s neutral ground,” she told PBS NewsHour. “But here [in the library], it’s their sanctuary. I have to be respectful.”

She provides clinical assessments and directs homeless people to shelter and services that can help any who need it.

Esquerra’s program has become so successful, the library has hired and trained three formerly homeless people to assist her as “health and safety associates.” After a 12-week vocational training program, they work part-time for $12 an hour, helping identify homeless patrons who may need help.

CHECK OUT: Download 2000 Magnificent Turn-of-the-Century Art Posters, Courtesy NY Public Library

Another sign of success: since it started nearly seven years ago, at least 24 other public library systems around the U.S. have launched similar programs.

The Dallas, Texas library has a peer-counseling program for homeless patrons, Queens Public Library in New York City has a phone app that connects the homeless with emergency shelter in their buildings, and nurses stroll through 27 libraries buildings in the Tucson, Arizona area library system looking for people who need medical attention.

RELATED: Cool Tiny House Village Opens With Electricity to Care for Seattle Homeless

But Leah is best known in the local neighborhoods where she has become so familiar to the homeless who visit the library, they often shout out to “The Library Lady” when she’s walking down the street.

(WATCH the video below from PBS NewsHour or READ more at CityLab) — Photos: PBS video

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Obama Forgives Student Debt for 400K Permanently Disabled Americans

Disabled Loan Forgivness cc Steve Johnson cc NYPhotographic

Nearly 400,000 Americans are about to get some debt relief on student loans they can’t afford to pay off because they’ve become permanently disabled.

The Obama administration plans to forgive $7.7 billion in federal student loans for more than 100,000 people who will be getting immediate relief starting next week.

If a person is disabled and doctors don’t see any hope of reversing the condition, they have a right under law to be freed from their student loan debt. But not everyone knows this, and the government had not previously notified them.

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A review of the student loan program found 387,000 people meet the requirements for debt forgiveness under the law — but were not aware they qualified.

On top of that, 179,000 of those were already in default on their loans, and in danger of losing tax refunds or Social Security payments even though they were unable to work.

Customized letters will go out to that group of people already in default starting Monday, with instructions on how they can apply for loan forgiveness right away.

More letters will go out over the next 16 weeks notifying others of their rights and how to apply.

RELATED: The Kentucky House Just Approved Free Community College Tuition Plan

“Americans with disabilities have a right to student loan relief,” Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell said in a statement. “Too many eligible borrowers were falling through the cracks, unaware they were eligible for relief.”

The announcement is part of President Obama’s “Student Aid Bill of Rights,” which ordered the federal government in March to overhaul rules on how Americans repay student loans.

(READ more at the Washington Post) — Photo credits:  Steve Johnson; NYPhotographic, CCPASS it On To Your Friends, Share It….

Young Scientists Take Inventions To White House To Wow President -LOOK

 

Young brainiacs from all over the country are convening at the nation’s capital for President Barack Obama’s final White House Science Fair.

The event will be the 6th and final science fair since it’s creation at the start of Obama’s administration. He said that if Americans take the time to honor sports heroes and athletes, we should give the same amount of attention to academics and science.

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Kids from grades K-12 are featuring creations that address everything from climate change, to human safety, to poverty, to just plain fun – whether it’s 3D-printed toys or a robot built to traverse dangerous coal mines, this clever group of youths have pulled out all the stops.

“We look forward to celebrating their ingenuity and entrepreneurship,” said White House officials in a statement, “not just in this moment, but as we look toward a future where they’ll be the scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and innovators who stand to change the world.”

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The unanimous vote for favorite science fair moment remains the year Obama teamed up with a 14-year-old to fire a marshmallow cannon across the State Dining Room.

“This is great!” exclaimed Obama, as the two pumped the machine. “The Secret Service is not too happy right now.”

(WATCH the video above) – And, SHARE the Future With Your Friends

Orchestra Replaces Violin For Talented Homeless Man After His Was Stolen (WATCH)

Mark Landry Homeless violin stolen screenshot CBC

When a thief stole a homeless man’s violin in Canada, a symphony of sympathy led to an orchestra replacing the beloved instrument.

Mark Landry woke up Tuesday morning to realize his violin was missing. The homeless man used it to play for tips outside the Montreal Metro, but without it, he was forced to sit silently, holding a sign in French announcing the theft and asking for donations to replace it.

CHECK OUT: Homeless Man Hands Out Resumes Instead of Asking for Cash-and Lands Job

Photos of the sign began popping up on social media, and when the staff at Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain saw them, they didn’t fiddle around.

“We said, ‘Oh my God, this poor man lost his only way of communicating his passion to others,’” orchestra CEO Jean Dupré told the Washington Post.

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He put in a call to local violin shop Maison du Violon. The story tugged the heartstrings of the store owners  and they sold Dupré a new violin and bow at cost, without making any profit.

By that afternoon, reporters and onlookers gathered around Landry as Dupré delivered the new violin — and the homeless man performed for his audience to a standing ovation.

(WATCH the CBC News video below, SEE his performance at the bottom)  — Photo: CBC News video

 

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One of the World’s Top Aging Researchers has a Pill to Keep You Feeling Young

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Anti-aging promises have been around since Ponce de Leon went looking for the Fountain of Youth, but the latest promising news comes from an MIT researcher with five Nobel winning experts advising him.

Dr. Lenny Guarente is packing decades of anti-aging research from his Massachusetts Institute of Technology lab and other leading universities into a pill made from all-natural ingredients.

The natural approach will let Guarentee and his Elysium Health co-founders, Eric Marcotulli and Dan Alminana, speed their product to market. Using natural components means they can’t patent their pills, but lets the company bypass the years-long FDA approval process.

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The pills rely on sirtuins, a group of enzymes linked to metabolism that have been shown in research to extend lifespans of mice and other animals. It was Guarente’s Center for Scientific Aging Research at MIT that conducted some of the first groundbreaking research into sirtuins.

Harvard researchers expanded on his findings when they discovered one particular type of sirtuins, NAD, “reversed aging” in mice. In the journal Cell they reported that tissue in two-year-old mice given NAD resembled that of six-month-old mice after just a week of treatment.

In humans, that would be like a 60-year-old suddenly sporting some of the same cells as a 20-year-old.

WATCH: 82-Year-old Woman Finally Finds Long Lost 96-yo Birth Mother

Elysium’s supplement, called Basis, is aimed at replicating that effect in humans, though it’s never been fully tested on people yet.

Even so, more than 30 leading scientists in the field of aging have signed on as advisors for Elysium’s launch. Among them are five Nobel Prize winners including brain researcher Dr. Eric Kandel who won the Nobel for Medicine in 2000 and Stanford cellular physiologist Dr. Tom Sudhof who won it in 2013.

The FDA doesn’t recognize aging as a medical condition, but it does increase the risk for illnesses that can kill people, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

CHECK OUT: Lonely Elderly Pianist Places Ad, Drums Up 80 Musicians to Jam

Guarente and his partners are taking an approach that does not focus on anti-aging or living longer — they see their supplement as a way for people to improve their health over a long lifetime.

Marcotulli told Fast Company, “For us this is about increasing healthspan, not lifespan.”

GIVE Your Friends a Lift, Share It Now… (Photo by Sun Star, CC)

Seafood Lovers Rejoice: Chesapeake Blue Crabs Rebound Like Crazy

crab-dredge-MD Dept Natural Resources
A year of significant expansion in the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population bodes well for a better harvest and lower prices for consumers this year.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources released its 2016 winter survey this week, which indicates a bay-wide crab population of 553 million, a 35-percent increase over last year.

This is the fourth highest level in two decades, and builds on last year’s 38-percent boost in abundance.

 

“Due to a milder winter, favorable currents and tides, and wise bay-wide management measures, the Maryland crab population continues to rebound and strengthen,” Fisheries Service Director Dave Blazer said. “With an increase in abundance and steady recruitment, we fully anticipate a robust crab season this year.”

Improvements were seen in all age groups of male and female crabs. The spawning female stock nearly doubled from 101 to 194 million and the adult male stock more than doubled from 44 to 91 million – the second highest levels since 1995.

The number of spawning-age female crabs remains below the 215 million target but above the minimum threshold established in 2011. The juvenile crab abundance increased slightly from 269 million to 271 million, which is just above the 27-year average.

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“The highly variable nature of the blue crab population means that we must maintain a degree of caution in considering management adjustments,” Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee Chairman Glenn Davis said.

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The 2015 bay-wide crab harvest increased by 42 percent over 2014 to 50 million pounds and remained at sustainable levels for the eighth consecutive year. This combined with increased abundance means that a slight liberalization of harvest limits for female crabs may be warranted this summer.

The annual Winter Dredge Survey, conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Institute of Marine Science since 1990, is the primary assessment of the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population. In the survey, biologists use dredge equipment to capture, measure, record and release blue crabs at 1,500 sites throughout the bay from December through March. Crabs tend to bury in the mud over the cold winter months, which makes it possible for scientists to develop accurate estimates of the number of crabs. SHARE the News…

Four Gunmen Arrested in Mexico Thanks To Spelling Error

Policia Car - CC Mic V

It’s a good thing that these police officers knew how to spell, or lives might have been lost.

Four armed Mexican gunmen were arrested in Michoacan, Mexico after officers were tipped off by a spelling error on a fake police car.

CHECK OUT: Four Sets Of Twins Stage Time Travel Prank on NYC Subway (WATCH)

Though the vehicle was identical to those used by the federal police, the criminals spelled ‘division’ with a ‘c’ instead of an ‘s’.

After the error raised suspicion, the men were successfully detained and their weapons with ammunition confiscated.

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The area is rife with violence from competing drug cartels and the arrested crooks are suspected to be associated.

Share The Irony With Spelling Fanatics Everywhere…  (Photo by Mic V, CC)

Wild Tigers Up 20 Percent in 6 Years; DiCaprio is One Reason Why

sumatran_tiger_and_cubs-copyright wwf-alex_walsh

The Global Tiger Forum kicked off a major tiger conservation meeting in New Delhi this week with exciting new numbers to report.

New census data shows the population of wild tigers to be twenty percent higher than 2010 estimates– with 3,890 roaming worldwide.

“For the first time after decades of constant decline, tiger numbers are on the rise. This offers us great hope and shows that we can save species and their habitats when governments, local communities and conservationists work together,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International.

ALSO: Manatee Population Has Rebounded 500 Percent, No Longer Endangered

The improvement was attributed to enhanced protection measures and increases in tiger populations in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan. Placing armed guards that regularly patrol for poachers has led to a tripling of tiger numbers in Thailand. The animals’ prey is multiplying too, in Thailand, which enables the tiger population to expand with the food source.

The meeting of tiger range governments at the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation this week is the latest step in the Global Tiger Initiative process that began with the 2010 Tiger Summit in Russia. Governments at that meeting agreed to the Tx2 goal to double wild tiger numbers by 2022.

Leonardo DiCaprio donated $1 million to the cause while in Russia for that conference.

Over the three day meeting, countries will report on their progress toward the Tx2 goal and commit to next steps. India’s Prime Minister Modi will address the conference on the essential role tigers play as a symbol of a country’s ecological well-being.

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Tigers are classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with habitat loss and poaching from a multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade identified as the major reasons.

In 2014, tiger range governments agreed to announce a new global tiger estimate by 2016, based on full, systematic national surveys. However, not all countries have completed or published these surveys. The new minimum estimate of close to 3,900 tigers–up from 3,200– is based on updates from countries where national tiger surveys have taken place since the IUCN assessment.

(Photo by Alex Walsh for WWF)