FOLLOW-UP: A group of university students were on a mission earlier this year to change Japan — and make hugging more acceptable. Inspired by the original Free Hugs campaign in Sydney, and by living in the U.S., where people smile at strangers, Saki Inoue longs for friendliness and more hugs between Japanese. (Read the AFP story here)
(Must-see video from Sydney on GNN-i earlier this year)
Although not as big a threat to climate change as the carbon emissions from automobiles, Japan today launched the first ever diesel-electric hybrid trains for passenger service. (AP)
Poland has halted the planned work on a road through one of Europe’s last remaining wetlands after the EU warned it would file an injunction. Construction within the environmentally protected Rospuda river valley would have started on Wednesday. (BBC)
The cashier in the sandwich shop was trained to recognize counterfeit money, a necessary skill these days since advanced computers and printers have made the copying of money more common. As she holds the fifty-dollar bill tightly, it changes color in her hands. She looks closely at the eyes of President Grant. They light up. She folds the bill in two but it springs back to its original shape. Accepting the payment as genuine, she nods and hands me my change. Although this may sound bizarre, these are exactly the kinds of security features the U.S. Secret Service may one day embed in paper currency to slow the tide of casual counterfeiters.
Since 1865 the U.S. Secret Service has been working tirelessly to thwart the efforts of would-be counterfeiters by building security features into the currency that make it easy (or easier) to identify the real bills from the fakes.
Take the last issuance of currency in 2004. A number of unique security features were added on top of those existing from previous currency releases, including:
A recent National Research Council report suggests making future generations of printed currency even more secure by adding interactivity to the mix and hi-tech enhanced security features. Changing the material on which the currency is printed can also help to solve the problem, but selecting a durable long lasting material is challenging. Plastic fits the (ahem) bill, however and is already in use in Australia. The currency looks and feels like a typical banknote but has much better longevity. The primary advantage? Using plastic to print only low-denomination notes would eliminate the current practice of bleaching these to reprint them as higher denominations, which could continue to be made of cotton.
Making the notes interactive can be done by borrowing cutting-edge technology from the electronics industry. Incorporation of flexible organic circuits powered by an embedded photocell would cause sections of the bill to glow. Alternatively, the use of piezoelectric materials would change shape when a voltage is applied by a simple device to be used by a cashier. The shape change could be as subtle as raised bumps on the note. Using both of these ideas together would produce a bill that, when squeezed, would produce light briefly. Perhaps even lighting the president’s eyes! Adding temperature-sensitive inks (think of mood rings here) and the warmth of a finger touch would cause them to change from one color to another or disappear entirely. Using other specialized dyes could result in color changes when the note is breathed on due to the higher content of carbon dioxide in breath than air. The list goes on and it is not clear yet which of the recommendations from the report will be adopted, but one thing is for sure, our currency is about to get a lot more interesting and bright.
Further reading about U.S. currency and the Secret Service can be found at the U.S. Secret Service Web site. The National Research Council report entitled, “A Path to the Next Generation of U.S. Banknotes: Keeping Them Real” can be found at The National Academies Press Web site.
Michael Little works in analytical chemistry and has almost 20 years experience in the research based pharmaceutical industry. Michael resides in Laval, Quebec, with his wife and three children. Michael has written occasional science articles for GNN since 2007.
A white American housewife is helping to break the curse of leprosy in India, at first by simply not turning away from them in the streets, and now, through her organization that provides 20,000 people living in leprosy colonies with microloans, mobile health clinics and schools. A PBS documentary, "Breaking the Curse," has brought her amazing tale to the screen. Thanks to Diana D. for submitting the story in Utah’s DeseretNews.com! For more info on Becky’s work visit RisingStarOutreach.org.
The Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center near Boise has saved nearly 150 orphaned black bears since its opening in 1989. These days they are fielding calls from wildlife rescuers in places as far flung as Turkey, South Korea, Pakistan and in China, where officials are preparing to return some giant pandas to the wild. Read this AP story about their latest success story, a cub they call Twister.
For more info visit: BearRehab.org
Fifteen-year-old Jacob Komar rebuilds old computers that are destined for the landfill and gives them to needy families. “I started Computers for Communities in 2001 when I was nine years old. I acquired computers that were being discarded from a local school. Then I refurbished and distributed them to families in my community that could not afford to have a computer at home. What a great feeling to see the smiles on those kids’ faces. I felt like I was Santa Claus!”…
“Since then,” Jacob said, “I have created a nonprofit organization that helps other groups do the same thing: locate discarded computers, refurbish them and distribute them to those in need. To date, we have donated over 1,500 computers!”
Things you can do: Start your own local Computers For Communities (CFC) group; Mentor kids in a CFC group; Make a monetary donation to CFC; Donate your old computer to CFC. Learn all about it on their Web site: Computers4Communities.org
Andrew N. of the UK submitted a story link that led to this article.
EDITOR’S BLOG – "The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." This quote by William James was used to launch a radio interview with me on the Healthy Life Network. Hosted by Dr. Beth Erickson, the program, called Mirrors of the Soul, explored how the Good News Network got started ten years ago, the effects that bad news and good news have on people, especially sensitive souls, and what stories over the decade became my favorites. Find out which network news shows are now featuring good news regularly. The interview plays on Windows Media Player and starts at about 4:00 from the start. No podcast for this, but look for a NEW Good News Network podcast to begin streaming this August providing Top Ten Good News every week.
"A massage therapy devised by an intensive care nurse helped a single mom to relax for the first time in years." It’s called the M technique and it’s done the same way every time. (London TimesOnline)
Editor’s Blog –
It has been said that most people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their life. Do you know what it is that you truly desire for your life? Do you have a dream, or are you looking for one? A friend of mine is hosting a free tele-seminar that could help you. He will be revealing: The four key elements to everyone’s personal life design as well as the 10 steps to creating a life that fulfills that design…
I can imagine my kids screaming in the back seat, “Robotarium! Robotarium!” Their obsession demands a visit to the first zoo ever created to showcase artificial life. Created as a public garden in Portugal, the Robotarium X features a four-meter high cage made of steel and glass housing 45 different robot “species” that interact as would animals in the real world.
Like nature itself, the bigger robots are formidable opponents and the smaller ones are in constant danger of getting their tails cut off. (Right, Spider-like and hanging from the ceiling, this “bug,” called Araneax, crawls down to anyone approaching the zoo and makes threatening gestures until they leave. No word if they are poisonous.)
A bright yellow structure houses the robots, most of which are powered by photo voltaic technology (solar energy). The robots are all of unique design and comprise 14 “species” both big and small categorized by their distinct behavior strategies and body types. The robots possess various skills, including obstacle avoidance, movement, sunlight detection and interaction with the public. Large robots respond to visitors by following their movements and either opening their petals or taking defensive actions.
Artist Leonel Muria, who designed the zoo, stated that “we must start looking at robots as a novel species that is being born to share with us planet and human society.”
“Robotarium X is also an art work of a new kind of art that realizes a critical questioning of knowledge and culture. Notions like nature, life, the artificial, machine, art, culture and science are challenged by this display.”
Michael Little works in analytical chemistry and has almost 20 years experience in the research based pharmaceutical industry. Michael resides in Laval, Quebec, with his wife and three children. Michael has written occasional science articles for GNN since 2007.
Two hundred student leaders from 33 states and Canada converged on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol to put Congress in the ‘hot seat’ on global warming through peaceful protest.
The students, standing in rows with 200 red chairs, formed a mass of color on Thursday behind large banners reading “Congress, You Are on the Hot Seat,” and “Act Now: Stop Global Warming.”
The voiceless demonstration was combined with personal lobbying by students with representatives in congress and the culmination of a seven-day grassroots activist training program, called Change It, designed to empower students to become the next generation of leaders for change in the environmental and social justice movement.
“Last year, we received an overwhelming response from students interested in learning how to be more effective change agents in the world, so we decided to double the number of participants in 2007,” said Jeffrey Hollender, president and chief inspirer at Seventh Generation. “I know that when this year’s participants return home, they will continue to ignite change in their community, and the world.
“Now in its second year, the Change It program is an intensive, all-expenses-paid, week-long training program led by the international environmental group Greenpeace and sponsored by Seventh Generation, best known for its leading brand of environmentally friendly household products.
Change It 2007 was facilitated by some of the nation’s top environmental leaders and featured speakers on global and social issues. Participants worked one-on-one with Greenpeace leaders who provided personalized training sessions focused on campaign strategy, lobbying, media relations and peaceful demonstrations.
The program helps transform students from merely participants in the environmental movement into leaders. Graduates of last year’s program have gone on to organize on-campus global warming pledge drives, Earth Day events and political lobbying. Some are working with university administrators to develop ethical purchasing and green building policies.
Thanks to conservationists who replanted native buckwheat along the California coast, the endangered El Segundo blue butterflies have returned after decades to Redondo Beach and Torrance, thriving on nectar from the restored native plants. (AP)
Magnesium is the ninth-most common element in the universe and a common element dissolved from seawater. Now it is fueling cars and engines while emitting zero carbon dioxide. Mitsubishi may have it ready for commercial use by the end of this decade. (Inventor Spot)
Andrew submitted this link to an AP story about a new technology developed for clearing deadly underwater mines. The ultimate in lifeguards, this robot is on a kamikaze mission. (Physorg.com)
Although hippos kill more humans than any other mammal in Africa, Jessica the hippopotamus has become part of the family in a South African home, even roaming into the kitchen for a snack.
She eats with the family’s dogs before going up river to cavort with a pod of wild hippos. She always returns home to the game warden who found her washed up after a flood when she was only one day old.
(WATCH the priceless video)
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A couple living on a farm near Masonville, Colo., said their 1-year-old grandson was rescued from a rattlesnake by the family’s chihuahua. Play video or click ‘Read more’ for full UPI article.
I came across a wonderful story about a cat who snuggles up beside citizens of a nursing home four hours before they die. It’s happened so often that nurses now know when to call family members and let them know when their loved ones are near death. Oscar’s story is in the Providence Journal.
Also read the New England Journal of Medicine article on Oscar.
“Pratibha Patil became the first female president of India last Saturday in a landslide election described as an historic step forward for women there.” (AFP)
"The Sandy River in Oregon will be a free-flowing river for the first time in nearly a century — and no longer a hindrance to steelhead and salmon returning to spawn — thanks to the demolition of two dams underway as utility company turns to wind power. (MSNBC)
