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Little Boy Beats Odds to Walk Mom Down Aisle Thanks to Special Harness – (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - SWNS
credit – SWNS

There “wasn’t a dry eye in the house” as a little boy took his first steps down the aisle at his mom’s wedding.

But it wasn’t the sight of him in his cute outfit, or his beaming smile that broke the tissue barrier, rather it was because of the special harness he had used to train himself for the occasion.

credit – SWNS

10-year-old Frankie Penfold was born with SUCLA-2 mitochondrial depletion syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder which affects the early development of the brain.

Symptoms include being mildly deaf, not being able to hold his head up, and not being able to walk, and eventually his parents Hannah and Tom were told by doctors he wouldn’t live past his teenage years.

Hannah admits it was “really heartbreaking” and that her relationship with Frankie suffered from barriers.

“I’d never heard of mitochondrial disease,” Hannah told the British news media outlet, SWNS. “It was really heartbreaking, and something I’ll never get over.”

In his earliest months, he was diagnosed with hearing loss, but then Frankie started to miss developmental milestones like lifting his head and sitting up. A battery of tests dragged on, leading to the diagnosis of SUCRA-2 just before his first birthday.

Tests also revealed that both Tom and Hannah had faulty gene copies which Frankie had inherited. The couple were told their son would never be able to sit up, hold his head up, crawl or walk, and he was only expected to live until his teenage years.

“It was massively eye-opening,” said Hannah. “As much as you try to live a normal life, there are barriers up, all the time.”

Eventually though, she and Frankie set a goal of walking down the aisle together at her marriage to Tom, with whom she already had two children.

CHLIDREN OVERCOMING THE ODDS:

He began having sessions on different physiotherapy machines at Gympanzees—a physical education organization for disabled kids based in Bristol. His favorite was a machine called the Upsy, which helps him stand upright, keep his head up and walk, aided by an adult.

“Frankie literally got in it, stood up for the first time—and his eyes just beamed,” his mother remembered.

Frankie spent five years training on the Upsy, and on Hannah and Tom’s wedding day, he was able to walk his mom down the aisle, followed by Penelope and Teddy, his older sister and brother.

“He worked so hard, and on my wedding day in 2023, he managed to do it,” Hannah said. “Frankie wasn’t nervous—he’s such a people person. I can’t put into words how much it went.”

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house—I’ll never forget that moment, for the rest of my life. People were smiling and crying and clapping the whole time,” she recalled. “It felt like each of those clips were precious memories—the achievement of what Frankie was doing was so much.”

WATCH the magic moment below… 

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New York Homeowner’s Yardwork Reveals Complete Mastodon Jaw Bones and Teeth

By
Andy Corbley
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New York State Museum / SUNY Orange
New York State Museum / SUNY Orange

From New York comes the story of a complete adult mastodon jaw unearthed during yard work.

The jaw, along with additional bone fragments and teeth, was recovered by researchers from the New York State Museum and are scheduled for carbon dating and comprehensive analysis to determine the mastodon’s age, diet, and habitat during its lifetime.

The homeowner from Orange County found two teeth concealed by the fronds of a plant on their property. Upon further investigation, the homeowner unearthed two additional teeth just inches underground.

Excavation efforts by museum staff and faculty from SUNY Orange community college yielded a full, well-preserved mastodon jaw belonging to an adult individual, as well as a piece of a toe bone and a rib fragment.

In a statement, the museum said the discovery would aid in the understanding of the region’s Ice Age inhabitants while also highlighting the abundance of prehistoric wonders yet to be discovered. With over 150 mastodon fossils found statewide to date—about one-third in Orange County—the area remains New York’s premier hotspot for these ancient relatives of modern elephants.

“This discovery is a testament to the rich paleontological history of New York and the ongoing efforts to understand its past,” said Dr. Robert Feranec, director of Research & Collections and curator of Ice Age Animals at the New York State Museum. “This mastodon jaw provides a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this magnificent species, which will enhance our understanding of the Ice Age ecosystems from this region.”

The American mastodon diverged from elephants and mammoths 27 million years ago, and died out around 11,000 years ago. In their pomp, they could grow to reach 10 feet tall (2.5 to 3 meters) and weigh around 6 tons (5,400 kg). Multiple hypotheses exist to explain why they went extinct, and paleontologists generally chalk it up to several of them at once.

MORE NORTH AMERICAN MEGA-MAMMALS: Seven-Foot Mammoth Tusk Unearthed in Mississippi Creek Belonged to Largest Species in North America

Mastodon remains are much rarer than those of North American mammoth species. Orange County is a hot bed of mastodon bones; responsible for one-third of all such finds in the state. This discovery is the first of its kind in 11 years.

Santa Cruz, California is another, where a woman found a mastodon tooth on a beach while running last year. She left it there and shared instead a picture of it on social media to see if anyone knew what it was. When a museum employee told her what she had passed up, she raced back to the place she found it only to learn someone else had taken it home with them.

That person eventually donated it to a museum.

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Dr. Cory Harris Chair of SUNY Orange’s Behavioral Sciences Department added that the excavation team are also hoping to further explore the immediate area to see if there are any additional bones that were preserved.

Following preservation and scientific analysis, the artifact will be featured in public programming in 2025.

SHARE This Find Of Mammoth Important To This Discovery Of This Animal… 

New ‘General’ Statue Unearthed at the Terracotta Army Hints at More Discoveries to Be Found

By
Andy Corbley
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Workers examining the remains of a terracotta army general- credit: CCTV credit CCTV
Workers examining the remains of a terracotta army general- credit: CCTV

Though under continuous archaeological excavation for nearly 50 years, the famous Terracotta Army in China has thrown up yet another discovery.

A new ‘general’ has been found in one of the excavation pits, identified by his crossed hands, ribbon-like adornments, and headdress. Only 10 other general statues have been discovered amid the 8,000 life-sized figurines.

Located in Shaanxi Province, the Mausoleum of the First Emperor, to which the thousands of terracotta soldiers and support staff are simply one feature, was discovered 50 years ago.

It is currently celebrating its half-centiniary with special museum exhibitions of figures and discoveries never put on display before.

The general was found in excavation Pit No.2, wherein three clay horses, two chariots, and various other terracotta figures were also found and which more, experts said, remain under the earth.

“Based on its location, we believe this figure was likely the highest-ranking military commander of this unit,” said Zhu Sihong, head of the excavation project in a report aired on Monday by state broadcaster CCTV.

Built by the order of Qin Shi Huang, the despotic first emperor of a completely unified China with borders that a modern map reader would recognize, the soldiers, chariots, animals, acrobats, and other figures that make up the Terracotta Army are reasoned to be a reflection of the Qin Emperor’s real fighting force.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Archaeologists Uncover 900 Ming Dynasty Artifacts From Shipwrecks in South China Sea

That makes every soldier valuable not only as an exemplary piece of ancient craftsmanship (no two are completely alike, whether in body position, facial aspect, clothing, or armament) but also a kind of primary source material for understanding the composition of the army that unified China after centuries of turmoil.

The general statues are easy to single out because of their headdresses and the positioning of their hands and arms, which tend to be clasped together or folded. With 8,000 figures and 10 known officers, one might hypothesize that each general commanded 800 men, and that the presence of an eleventh may suggest there are a few more figures left to be uncovered.

GET TO KNOW ANCIENT CHINA: Stunning Tang Dynasty Mural Unearthed in China Portrays a ‘Westerner’ with Blonde Hair

The mausoleum is one of the most historically important sites in the whole country, and still contains secrets. Surprisingly-large portions of the tomb complex remain unexcavated, including the section that is believed to contain the Emperor’s remains.

This section, from ancient writings, is claimed to have been crafted after the fashion of a garden with a vaulted ceiling covered in gemstones to represent the stars, and a fish pond of mercury. Bizarrely high concentrations of mercury have been identified in soils in the surrounding area.

SHARE This Story With Any Orientalist Friends You Have On Social Media… 

Endangered Thick-Billed Parrot That Once Roamed the US Is on the Way to Recovery

By
Andy Corbley
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Thick-billed parrots – Credit: OVIS / Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich
Thick-billed parrots – Credit: OVIS / Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich

A public-private partnership in Mexico just announced that the current population of thick-billed parrots is approximately 2,500 individuals—at least 10% higher than that recorded 12 years ago.

The number was determined in a recent population survey in a protected area in the state of Chihuahua, where once upon a time this charismatic species roamed north into the United States.

The thick-billed parrot is an emblematic species of the temperate forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental and once occurred in both Arizona and New Mexico.

Since 1995, this species, listed in danger of extinction by the Mexican government, has been the subject of numerous studies and actions for protection and management, while the mountain forests on which it depends have been the focus of extensive reforestation.

These efforts, led by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP) and the civil organization Organización Vida Silvestre (OVIS), along with the participation of local communities and other organizations in the US and Mexico, are yielding encouraging results as demonstrated by the increase in population, a statement from OVIS details.

“This emerging success story reflects the importance of collaboration between society and government and a vision of healthy ecosystems and sustainable communities, which is in line with the policies and practices that CONANP will strengthen in the following years,” said the head of CONANP, Pedro Álvarez-Icaza.

Credit: Ernesto Enkerlin / OVIS

The census data suggests that the population of thick-billed parrots will continue to increase as sustainable forestry management practices are consolidated by the communities of the region.

Sergio Jiménez, executive director of OVIS, thanked the support of the various institutions involved.

TAKING CARE OF OUR BIRDS: Hawaiian Crow That Went Extinct in the Wild Decades Ago Now Released on Maui

“This multi-institutional effort led by Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich, scientific director of OVIS, is bearing fruit after three decades, which gives us hope for other species at risk and points to the need for cooperation, persistence, and long-term planning to produce results and effective conservation.”

A major effort to restore populations of this parrot were undertaken in the 1980s among the sky islands of Arizona. These dramatic, short, and squat mountain chains amid the scorching lowlands were perceived as perfect havens for the reintroduction, but the problem was that predatory species like the American goshawk had already returned in large numbers to these hills, and their take of the parrots proved to be unsustainable.

NEWS ON THE WING: After Building Causes 1,000 Bird Deaths, $1.2M Window Makeover Shows Chicago How to Beak Kind

In October 2020, it was announced that a higher elevation would be sought amid the sky islands to form the basis for a new reintroduction attempt, including the Chiricahua mountains.

If populations recover substantially enough in Mexico, it may happen that the bird recolonizes its former haunts in the Southwestern US without the need for intervention from scientists.

SHARE The Story Of This Bird’s Steady Return To Form In The Mexican Mountains…

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

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Good News Network
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Getty Images For Unsplash+

Quote of the Day: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Photo by: Getty Images For Unsplash+ (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Getty Images For Unsplash+

Good News in History, December 19

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Good News Network
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163 years ago today, Italo Svevo, a pioneer of Italian literature, was born in Trieste. Considered alongside James Joyce as a father of the psychological novel, with his modernist classic, Zeno’s Consciousness. Svevo wrote two other books, which along with Zeno’s were considered flops. Nevertheless, he remains considered one of a united Italy’s finest ever authors. READ more… (1861)

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After Searching for Random Hero Who Restarted His Heart in McDonald’s He Finds a ‘Lifelong Friend’

By
Andy Corbley
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Brian Harris (L) and Paul Myers (R) said they'd become lifelong friends - credit York Press, via SWNS
Brian Harris (L) and Paul Myers (R) said they’d become lifelong friends – credit York Press, via SWNS

A man who collapsed in McDonald’s from cardiac arrest has become “lifelong friends” with the Good Samaritan who saved his life.

70-year-old Paul Myers was in the fast-food restaurant a year ago when his heart stopped. Luckily for him, Brian Harris walked inside at just that moment and leaped into action.

Performing CPR and eventually using a defibrillator, he restarted Myers’ heart before an ambulance took him to the hospital.

Determined to shake the hands that kept blood pumping to his brain, Myers took to social media in an effort to find and meet Harris. York Press now reports they’ve met up around three times since then and have become “lifelong friends.”

Recalling the moment when he began performing CPR, Harris said “I fought hard, I wasn’t going to give up, I was determined I was going to fight for his life.”

Myers added that he is “eternally grateful” that Brian saved his life but says that it’s been “really difficult” to think of a way to thank him.

“When we met up for the first time, he got there before me and said, ‘Mr. Myers, it is so good to see you alive.’ The only words I could give him were ‘thank you.'”

Myers has no memory of the incident, and says he was on his way to a church meeting in the morning when he realized he was struggling to breathe.

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He knew that if he “didn’t sit down he would fall down” so decided to go into a McDonald’s to take a rest. Harris was on a break from his job at the local railway station, and was nearing the restaurant.

“Then a woman came around the corner saying ‘I think there’s a man having a stroke,'” he remembered.

MORE CPR STORIES: Taco Bell Manager Revives Lifeless Baby that Pulled Up to the Drive Thru: ‘The EMT Said my CPR Saved his Life’

Harris said Myers’ pulse was barely discernible and he was clearly struggling to breathe.

Rather than losing it all, Myers came out the other side with a new friend, and hopefully for them both, a more intense exercise regime.

PUMP This Heartwarming Story Out Into The Arteries Of Social Media…

First Ever National Civics Bee Crowns 8th Grade Girl From Alaska for Knowing How Government Works

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit: US Chamber of Commerce Foundation
– credit: US Chamber of Commerce Foundation

A month ago, an 8th-grader from Alaska won the inaugural National Civics Bee aimed at cultivating the next generation of leaders through competition.

Winning the Alaska state civics bee, Emily Brubaker was able to participate in the national competition at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation building in Washington on November 12th. Her victory was rewarded with a $100,000 scholarship for a school of her choice.

Emily Brubaker takes first place (left) – credit: US Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Brubaker was one of 28 contestants from around the country, but she had a secret weapon: a background in advocacy. Born with a congenital disorder called hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia which affects her hair, skin, and teeth, she has already been to Capitol Hill to advocate making insurance companies pay for her treatment.

The bill in question is called the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act, which passed the House in 2022.

As a result of her advocacy, a friend encouraged her to apply for the Alaska state civics bee, and her parents helped her by creating civics flashcards and testing her after school.

“Sometimes when I was coming home after school, my mom would be like, ‘Emily time to study for civics,’ and I’d like, internally groan, and I’d be like, ‘Ugh, civics,’” she told Alaska Public Media.

Having won, the 14-year-old admits to seeing the value in that preparation, especially with the tough competition she faced from Michael O’Mara from Iowa.

The contest included team activities, a presentation, and a buzzer round, with scores across the three tallied. No one knew the scores during the competition, and Brubaker admitted she didn’t know where she was after the buzzer round when she and O’Mara finished at parity.

“They announced the third-place winner, Keith from New Mexico, and then the second-place winner, Michael from Iowa, and then they brought out the CEO of the Daniels Fund to announce the first-place winner,” she recounted to Alaska News Source. “When it was me, I actually started crying on camera.”

Streamers were shot out of cannons, and someone brought her an enormous cardboard check for $100,000 in the form of a 529 plan that would allow her to pay for virtually any school in the nation.

She wants to be a satellite programmer for NASA, and thinks MIT would be the best course of action for such a career.

OUR FUTURE LEADERS: At 17, Sophia Just Broke Her Brother’s Record for Youngest to Pass the California Bar

Brubaker says she will continue to advocate for the ELS Act, as it won’t be long before the family has to choose whether or not to perform the dental work needed for their daughter to have a functioning set of teeth onward and into the rest of her life.

If passed, insurance companies would not be able to deny covering a procedure stemming from a congenital anomaly like the one Brubaker has.

MORE BRIGHT YOUNG MINDS: UPDATE: High Schoolers Who Found ‘Impossible’ Proof of Pythagorean Theorem Discover 9 More Solutions to it

“Once I started studying and applying for the civics bee, I realized that I’ve been doing civics my whole life by advocating for this condition, and I just hadn’t realized it,” she said. “It’s actually super easy to be involved in civics and not know about it, because basically, just by existing in this country, you’re performing civic duties and responsibilities, whether it’s advocating on Capitol Hill for a bill or whether it’s like going and voting.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to continue boosting its competition, currently intending to have all 50 states represented in 2026 for the 250th anniversary of the United States.

SHARE This Inspiring Story Of A Child Activist Turned Champion With Your Friends… 

Scientists Finally Discover Why Some Cats Are Orange–and Why They Tend to Be Males

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Melanie Andersen on Unsplash
Photo by Melanie Andersen on Unsplash

Orange cats have won a reputation for being energetic rascals. In Italy, it’s said the red cat is always the leader.

That’s probably because red/orange cats are almost always males, and now we know why thanks to two teams of scientists probing the genetic lineage of the orange coat in domesticated felines.

Working separately,, reports Smithsonian Magazine, the two teams have independently arrived at the same conclusion—a mutation on the X chromosome.

Male animals have one copy of the X chromosome, while females have two—explaining yet further why female cats with orange in their coats tend to have it mixed in with other colors such as black in the case of a ‘tortoiseshell cat,’ and white in the case of a calico.

Kelly McGowan, a Stanford University geneticist who participated in one of the two studies, said that cats are a “fascinating exception” to the trend of orange coloration in other animals such as dogs, sheep, horses, and rabbits.

“Our work provides an explanation for why orange cats are a genetic unicorn of sorts,” she told Newsweek.

In most other mammals, mutations in a protein called Mc1r lead to red hair color, but not in cats. Instead, this decades-long mystery has been solved with the identification of the gene Arhgap36 that codes for a protein along the X chromosome.

Arhgap36 has never been suspected as a potential candidate for the “orange gene” before, in part because the protein it codes for regulates embryonic development—a life-or-death function, and not a place one would image to look for an asthetic mutation.

A tortoiseshell cat – Photo by Олег Мороз on Unsplash

Greg Barsh from the Stanford University team that included McGowan found that the Arhgap36 mutation in orange cats resulted in 13-fold increase in the production of RNA, the molecule that reads genetic material contained in DNA.

THE CAT’S PAST: Ancient DNA Shows Cats Domesticated Themselves – Why Are We Not Surprised?

Furthermore, they found that rather than being a dangerous mutation, the orange cats had just a sliver of DNA missing from the Arhgap36 gene, and that this absense meant it’s effects were seen only in melanocytes, or skin cells that produce hair color.

A GINGER MENACE: Ginger Cat is Local Star for Stealing Hundreds of Toys and Presenting Them Sweetly to Neighbors

The Arhgap36 was found on the X chromosome. Females inhereit a copy of the X chromosome from both parents, meaning that the influence of a mutated copy of Arhgap36 is almost always balanced out by the normal copy inherited from the other parent.

CAT MYSTERIES REVEALED: Why Cats Love to Sit in Boxes – Even Fake Ones, According to Science

By contrast, male cats have just one X chromosome—from their mother. If they receive a mutated Arhgap36, there will be no other influence on the cat’s fur color from the father’s side.

It’s the first time in animals that pigment production has been identified through this pathway.

Hiroyuki Sasaki from Japan’s Kyushu University told Newsweek “an obvious next question is when and where the genetic variation arose and how it spread, as our work showed that this variation is common in cats with orange coloration worldwide.”

SHARE This Story With Any Red Cat Owners You Know… 

Giant Puffball Mushroom Feeds Her Family for a Week

By
Andy Corbley
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Alissimon with the 11 pound mushroom - credit Alissimon Minnitt, released
Alissimon with the 11-pound mushroom – credit Alissimon Minnitt, released

If you’re the kind of person who likes foraging for mushrooms, you know that some edible species can be easily confused with poisonous doppelgangers.

But after first spotting a giant puffball mushroom, the thing you’re most likely to confuse it with is a football.

From England’s Buckinghamshire comes the story of a woman who has fed her family for a whole week on the meat of a single shroom, a giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea), that she found on a walk in a field near her home in North Marston.

“Around seven years ago, my dad and I went for a walk and encountered what we thought to be a football, but on closer inspection and some ­research we realised it was actually a giant puffball mushroom,” Alissimon Minnitt wrote on her Instagram next to a truly extraordinary picture.

“Today when I was visiting we were on a walk again, reminiscing about this experience out of the blue and then in the next field we spot a white dot. it couldn’t possibly be … could it? It was indeed a giant ­puffball, but not any giant puffball, an 11lb giant giant puffball. My arms are weak but my spirit is strong.

As a vegetarian, Minnitt knows the value of mushrooms in her diet. While most home cooks would struggle to make a fungus the starring role 7 nights in a row, she had learned plenty of recipes from her mother who was a “star” in preparing them while she was growing up.

Giant puffball pizza – credit Alissimon Minnitt, released

“It’s got quite a bland taste but it absorbs flavor really well. So as a bread substitute, in that case, it actually works really well,” she told The Times of London, who used it to make schnitzel, curry, pasta, and meatloaf, grilled slices like a steak, and even as the base for a pizza. “That was a really weird one, I wasn’t expecting it to be nice but it was amazing.”

After the week’s worth of meals, her family was “mushroomed out.” She put some pieces in the freezer and took the remaining 2 pounds and buried it in the soil where she found specimen.

MORE MUSHROOM STORIES: Porcini Mushrooms Rank Among Highest in the World for Rare ‘Essential Vitamin’

According to the Times, the spores of Calvatia gigantea can cause a certain lung disease if inhaled, although they’re also recorded as being a folk remedy for nosebleeds. For this reason, mature specimens are to be avoided.

FORAGING FOR NEWS: She’s an Ex-Addict Turned Forager, Her Anxiety is Gone: ‘Mushrooms Saved My Life’

The giant puffball produces spores internally, and blows them out like a sponge as it begins the downward slope of its life cycle. This is in contrast to typical toadstools which release them down through their gills.

SHARE This Unbelievable Mushroom With Your Friends Who Forage…

“There is no prejudice that the work of art does not finally overcome.” – André Gide

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “There is no prejudice that the work of art does not finally overcome.” – André Gide

Photo by: Paul Gauguin painting (cropped), Art Institute of Chicago

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, December 18

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Good News Network
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Brad Pitt in 2017 - credit: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC 2.0.

Happy Birthday to Brad Pitt who was born 60 years ago today in Shawnee, Oklahoma. In his early days, the actor starred in A River Runs Through It, and 12 Monkeys—the sci-fi flick that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Some of your faves may be Fight Club, the Ocean‘s franchise, Burn After Reading, or Inglourious Basterds, but Pitt received his second and third Oscar nominations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and one of the best baseball movies, ever—Moneyball. READ about his production work and WATCH some of his best scenes… (1964)

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Two Tigers Couldn’t Be Apart–A Love Story Born of Restoring Big Cats in Russia After 50 Years

By
Andy Corbley
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Boris traveled more than 200 km straight line to reunite with Svetlana (both pictured here after the reunion) - credit: ANO WCS, released.

Reprinted and altered with permission from World at Large

Conservationists have succeeded in restoring tiger populations in a region where they were virtually absent for more than 50 years in Russia.

It took a decade; from 2012 to 2021 in the Pri-Amur region of Russia, but more than a dozen members of the largest subspecies of the world’s largest feline are now roaming the wilds once more. The results were published in a study, the results of which, the authors say, “provide a potential framework for reintroductions of tigers and other large felids across the globe”.

The study specifically examined the success of rehabilitating and releasing orphaned cubs to restore tigers to their historical range in Russia.

The study followed the fate of 6 tiger cubs who were found as orphans in the forests of the Sikhote-Alin Mountains of Russia, which are closer to Beijing than Moscow, a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site, and the last stronghold of tigers in the country.

The cubs had been kept in specially designed enclosures where contact with humans was kept to an absolute minimum, and at appropriate ages, the cubs were offered live prey to learn how to hunt. The WCS’s Bronx Zoo and other partners advised on ways to raise and keep the cubs so they would not be dependent on humans.

POTENTIAL RECOVERY TARGETS: ‘The Javan tiger still exists’ – DNA Found May Herald an ‘Extinct Species’ Comeback

The cubs were subsequently released as subadults (at least 18 months old) into the Pri-Amur region of Russia, beyond the Sikhote-Alin mountains, but still part of the original range of Amur tigers, specifically in an attempt to restore a population there.

That’s ‘Amure’

Along with providing the framework for rearing cubs in semi-captive conditions and preparing them for the wild, the study presented another fascinating phenomenon: a love story.

The cats seen above are Boris and Svetlana, two unrelated Amur tigers who were part of the 6 original orphans released into the wild in 2014. During the following year, as the scientists watched their GPS collars ping their locations onto computer screens, they witnessed a magical act of love and devotion that would make Romeo Montague seem unfaithful by comparison.

In 2015, a year after their release over 100 miles apart, the scientists watched as Boris began walking in virtually a straight line directly north. Day after day he continued his march until his paws had chewed up 120 miles—stopping where Svetlana had made a den.

Six months later, a litter of Amur kittens was born. The New York Times, reporting on the story, said that the two tigers had been rescued from completely different parts of the mountains, but grew up in captivity together in the facility that reared the 6 tigers. Something special must have bloomed between them during those growing days.

“This study represents a tantalizing new development in expanding the ‘toolbox’ for conservationists to return tigers to those parts of Asia where they have been lost. The team was scrupulous in preparing young cubs for life in the wild, especially in ensuring they did not habituate to humans. Their careful approach succeeded and paves the way for more reintroduction attempts—not only of tigers, but of other big cats as well,” said Dr. Luke Hunter, Executive Director of the WCS Big Cats Program.

TIGERS RETURNING ALL OVER: Tigers Preparing to Return to Kazakhstan in World-First Big Cat Reintroduction Effort

And just like Boris and Svetlana’s unlikely union, Miquelle told The Times their international collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences was also unlikely, but yielded outstanding results.

“It’s a testimony to how really good things can happen when you start working collaboratively irrespective of nationality and politics,” Dr. Miquelle said. WaL

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Tiny Implantable Sensors Helped Broken Bones Heal in Weeks Rather Than Months

By
Andy Corbley
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Bob Guldberg and Kylie Williams in their lab - credit, University of Oregon via SWNS
Bob Guldberg and Kylie Williams in their lab – credit, University of Oregon via SWNS

Scientists have invented a set of tiny sensors that can help tailor rehabilitation programs for those recovering from broken bones.

Proper rehabilitation is key to ensuring the natural repair process is carried out correctly, and the devices offered crucial feedback that sped up this process in lab rats, allowing them to recover from femur fractures months ahead of schedule.

Developed by researchers at the University of Oregon, the sensors transmit real-time data about what’s happening at an injury site after being implanted in the body.

The team says that the sensors would allow physicians to monitor a patient’s progress and adjust exercises along the way to ensure they’re benefiting from the right amount of exercise.

They used the technology in a study, published in the journal NPJ Regenerative Medicine, to show that a resistance-training rehab program can “significantly improve” femur injuries in rats in just eight weeks. Most femoral fractures take around four to six months to heal completely.

“Our data support early resistance rehabilitation as a promising treatment to increase bone formation, bone healing strength, and promote full restoration of mechanical properties to pre-injury levels,” said senior author of the study, Professor Bob Guldberg.

It’s long been understood that post-injury exercise follows a Goldilocks principle: too little or too much can impede recovery, while just the right amount can enhance healing. However, pinpointing the exact type and intensity of exercise needed for the best recovery can be challenging, especially as it varies from patient to patient, and from bone to bone.

For their study, the researchers aimed to test whether resistance running, a specific type of recovery exercise, could provide the right mechanical stimulation to improve bone recovery.

To do that, they built custom brakes for rodent exercise wheels, which added resistance similar to increasing the level on an elliptical machine or stationary bike.

Rats with femur injuries and implanted sensors then ran on either a regular exercise wheel or the modified resistance exercise wheel.

The sensors transmitted strain data throughout the exercises, offering the research team a glimpse into the mechanical environment of bone cells during recovery.

Over the eight-week study, researchers monitored the healing process of the injured femurs and found that the resistance-trained rats displayed early signs of bone healing compared to those in sedentary or non-resistance conditions.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: New $1 Test Using Origami Paper Sensors Can Detect Infectious Diseases Like Covid–With Just a Mobile Phone

By the end of the eight-week recovery period, the sedentary, non-resistance, and resistance-trained mice showed bone healing, but the resistance-trained animals had denser tissue, indicating that resistance rehab enhanced bone formation.

In fact, the injured bones of the resistance-trained rats exhibited mechanical properties, such as torque and stiffness, comparable to those of uninjured bones, something that Guldberg says indicates resistance training enhances recovery, even without any additional drugs or biological stimulants.

EXERCISE MODALITIES: Visiting the Gym Today Could Trigger a Bright Idea Next Week, New Study Shows

“One of the most impactful aspects of this work is that our resistance rehabilitation could regenerate the femur to normal strength within eight weeks without biological stimulants, and we’re really excited about that,” said study leader Dr. Kylie Williams.

Although the research was conducted in rodents, the team hopes that data-enabled rehab can also be used to improve healing in human patients who sustain musculoskeletal injuries.

MORE REMARKABLE BIOTECH: UK Boy Has Brain Implant Fitted to Control Epilepsy Seizures in World First

Towards that goal, Penderia Technologies—a campus startup—is working on further improvements to the implantable sensors, including a battery-free design and wearable monitors to aid use in human patients.

“We are hopeful this work can one day be translated to clinical settings, where these sensors can capture personalized measurements that account for injury type and severity to best inform rehabilitation decisions,” Guldberg concluded.

BREAK The News Of This New Biotech Invention With Your Friends On Social Media…

18-year-old Is Youngest World Chess Champion–Besting Garry Kasparov Who Did it in 1985 at Age 22

By
Andy Corbley
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Gukesh Dommaraju in January 2024 - credit: CC 2.0. Frans Peeters
Gukesh Dommaraju in January 2024 – credit: CC 2.0. Frans Peeters

The FIDE World Championships have just concluded in Singapore having seen an 18-year-old become the youngest chess champion in history.

Gukesh Dommaraju has earned the title a full four years ahead of the legendary Gary Kasparov who became World Champion at 22 years of age.

Dommaraju won the title in 58 moves with a final score of 7.5 to 6.5, per the International Chess Federation. The youngster from Chennai told the Indian press that he was just 7 years old when he watched Magnus Carlsson dethrone his countryman Viswanathan Anand as World Champion.

It happened in Chennai—his own hometown and Anand’s as well. From that day, he vowed to bring the title back to India. Having realized that dream, he told reporters in Singapore that he expected sleep to elude them that night.

“I probably got so emotional because I did not really expect to win that position,” said Dommaraju, who cried as he hugged his father following his victory, at a news conference on Thursday. “I know I’m not going to sleep tonight.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised his achievement on X.

“His triumph has not only etched his name in the annals of chess history but has also inspired millions of young minds to dream big and pursue excellence,” wrote the head of state.

Gukesh Dommaraju in a 2024 Tournament – CREDIT Eldar Azimov / Wikimedia Commons-CC BY-SA 4.0

To the world chess community, it seemed that Dommaraju’s opponent over 14 games in the final round, Ping Liren, either broke under pressure or deliberately lost, such was the scale of the single mistake he made in the final game which cost him a match Mr. Anand admitted he was expecting to end in a draw.

YOUNGEST EVER: 8-year-old Boy Becomes Youngest Player to Beat a Chess Grandmaster: ‘I felt amazing’

“He appeared hasty to finish things, to exchange pieces quickly, and he got punished for that,” said Anand, who was crowned World Champion in the year 2000, wrote for The Hindu.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YOUTH: 16-Year Old Becomes the Youngest to Circumnavigate Earth in an Airplane

“It all unfolded unexpectedly, but Gukesh was rewarded for his perseverance, for his decision to keep trying and chess rewarded him for that.”

Dommraju and his support team said that having become World Champion his next goal is to dominate the chess world for years to come.

WATCH the final moves that made Gukesh World Champion (4:33)…

SHARE This Young Man’s Historic Accomplishment With Your Friends… 

Saddest Dog in Town Spent Over 2 Years at a Shelter But Finally Gets a Home for Christmas

By
Andy Corbley
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Jake the Doberman, the saddest dog in Warwickshire - credit: Dog Rescue and Adoption Kenilworth, retrieved from Facebook
Jake the Doberman, the saddest dog in Warwickshire – credit: Dog Rescue and Adoption Kenilworth, retrieved from Facebook

You wouldn’t know it from this photo, but this Doberman was nicknamed the “saddest dog in Warwickshire” after spending a heartwrenching 850 days in a shelter.

This included the past two Christmases, and despite the shelter’s best efforts, no one seemed interested in adopting him.

According to local outlet Coventry Live, Jake the Doberman was scared of other dogs. He was also scared by other people, and sounds, and “pretty much everything.” Living with dysplasia, and receiving treatment from the shelter staff, he was seen as just too much of a handful.

But while Jake was facing a third Christmas at the Dogs Trust in Kenilworth, local couple John and Amanda, looking to add four paws to their family, stopped outside his kennel.

Where others saw problems, John and Amanda saw solutions. Where others saw disability, they saw potential. After a few weeks of involvement with his training and therapy, they decided to adopt the lonely pooch.

“We are so happy to have Jake in his forever home for the holidays. Jake was so loved by the staff at Dogs Trust, and it was clear how much care and dedication they gave him during his time there,” Amanda said.

READ ALSO: Three Children Receive ‘the Best Christmas Present Ever’ – Bionic Arms

“When we collected him, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house—except for Jake, who happily jumped into our car! He’s settled in beautifully, growing in confidence every day, and has already made new friends, including the postie and a barman with dog treats.”

By the time of adoption, the shelter staff had come to view Jake as their own, and despite the joy of seeing him adopted, there was plenty of bittersweetness.

MORE ADOPTION STORIES: Couple Uses Wedding Fund to Pay for Surgery on Injured Dog Found on Side of Road: ‘She Deserved a Chance’

“Jake is a perfect example of why we don’t give up on dogs who need a bit of extra help,” said Emma-Jane Thomas, Manager at Dogs Trust Kenilworth. “Jake had some challenges to overcome, but seeing him build his confidence and settle into a happy place makes it all worthwhile.”

SHARE This Sad Dog’s Happiest Christmas Ever With Your Friends…

“Love has no age, no limit; and no death.” – John Galsworthy

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Love has no age, no limit; and no death.” – John Galsworthy

Photo by: James Wheeler

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, December 17

By
Good News Network
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Bernard Hill as King Theoden - © New Line Cinema, Wingnut Films, fair use

On this day 80 years ago, English actor Bernard Hill, most known for his portrayal of King Theoden in The Lord of the Rings, was born. Hill owns the distinction of being the only actor who has been part of two films that have won 11 Academy Awards, with the first being Titanic, in which he played Captain Edward Smith, and the second being The Return of the King. READ a bit more… (1944)

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Tiny Planet Makes Big Splash as Surprise Study Shows it May Be Producing its Own Organic Compounds

By
Andy Corbley
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The dwarf planet Ceres - credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
The dwarf planet Ceres – credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

In 2017, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft sent data back to Earth from the dwarf planet Ceres, located in our solar system’s main asteroid belt, that the body contained deposits of organic compounds.

At first, it was hypothesized that these were deposited by comet or asteroid impact, but a new analysis of the data has suggested that, in fact, these deposits are far more likely to originate within the planet itself, putting it suddenly and dramatically within the most likely candidates to host evidence of life beyond Earth.

Though exciting, it’s potentially less of a surprise than if such evidence were found elsewhere; Ceres is a water-rich body with potential geologic activity, both believed to be prerequisites for life. Debate and study about its origin and evolution are both extensive and inconclusive.

Researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC) looked back over the data from 2017 when organic compounds were detected in Ceres’ Ernutet Crater and discovered an additional 11 regions where similar organics are located.

“The significance of this discovery lies in the fact that, if these are endogenous materials, it would confirm the existence of internal energy sources that could support biological processes,” explains Juan Luis Rizos, a researcher at IAA-CSIC and the study’s lead author.

“Ceres will play a key role in future space exploration. Its water, present as ice and possibly as liquid beneath the surface, makes it an intriguing location for resource exploration,” Rizos told Sci-Tech Daily. “In the context of space colonization, Ceres could serve as a stopover or resource base for future missions to Mars or beyond.”

Ceres is the second-wettest planetary object in the inner solar system behind only Earth.

To make the discovery, the team at IAA used a combination of the Dawn Mission’s instruments to examine a particular area. First, they scanned the whole of the planet with a camera that possessed a high spatial, but low spectral resolution. With it they identified where to look more carefully—a region between the Urvara and Yalode basins.

OTHER SPACE BREAKTHROUGHS: Thrilled Astronomers in Chile Are First to Photograph a Moon-forming Disc Around an Exoplanet

They then examined with a camera that had high spectral, but low spatial resolution, and found evidence of the organic molecules. Their distribution in the region hinted at an ejection event which must have followed the impacts that created the basins.

Data from the Dawn spacecraft show the areas around Ernutet crater where organic material has been discovered – credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/ASI/INAF/MPS/DLR/IDA

These were much larger than any in Ceres’ history, catapulting material—in this case potentially organic material—from deep within the dwarf planet to the surface.

If a future spacecraft or telescope can confirm that they are organic in nature, then it would virtually confirm that Ceres is producing these organic compounds endogenously and would then probably be the best place to look for life in our solar system, as the shelter of the planet’s crust would protect water and life from solar radiation.

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“The idea of an organic reservoir in such a remote and seemingly inert location like Ceres raises the possibility that similar conditions could exist on other Solar System bodies. Without a doubt, Ceres will be revisited by new probes in the near future, and our research will be key in defining the observational strategy for these missions,” concludes the lead author of the paper.

SHARE This Little-Known Planet And Its Big Potential With Your Friends… 

Three Children Receive ‘the Best Christmas Present Ever’ – Bionic Arms

By
Andy Corbley
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Colette Baker, Finley Jarvis and Zoey Pidgeon-Hampton with their new Open Bionics arms - credit: SWNS
Colette Baker, Finley Jarvis, and Zoey Pidgeon-Hampton with their new Open Bionics arms – credit: SWNS

Three children were overjoyed after receiving ‘the best Christmas present in the world’—bionic arms.

Zoey Hampton-Pigeon, Finley Jarvis, and Colette Baker were given their new ‘life-changing’ Hero Arms on December 12th thanks to the fundraising work of a woman whose own child needed a prosthetic years ago.

Sarah Lockey saw her daughter Tilly lose both hands to meningitis. Today though, Tilly is a confident young woman who wears two Hero Arms daily, who hosts, together with her mom, a fundraising campaign every year called the Big Hero 3, which selects three random children across the UK to receive a prosthetic made by the Open Bionics Foundation.

Advanced, intuitive, robust, and light, the Hero Arm is “the world’s most affordable advanced multi-grip prosthetic arm,” according to the Foundation. The Hero Arm is available in over 801 locations across the US for below-elbow amputee adults and children aged 8 and above, and all throughout the UK where it is manufactured.

This year, the Big Hero 3 campaign raised £20,000. Two other charitable foundations, along with an anonymous donor, made up the rest of the £40,000 required, allowing Finley, Colette, and Zoey to have what will probably be the best Christmas ever.

To wit, Colette’s mom Alyse said her daughter ‘screamed’ when she found out she was not only receiving a Hero Arm, but would get one before Christmas.

“For Ettie, she’s excited about being able to do things like handstands, ride her bike without an adaption, and tying her shoes,” she said. “As parents, we are excited about these things too, but also all the other ways the Hero Arm will change Ettie’s life.”

Zoey was born with a missing limb, which the family discovered during an ultrasound in the 20th week.

“When Zoey was born she saw several specialists but there are no answers about why this happened to Zoey, it’s just one of those things,” said her father Thomas.

His daughter is an active young girl and member of a gymnastics club. She goes to swimming lessons and loves trampolining, but she’s most looking forward to being able to use a jump rope.

“A Hero Arm will make such a massive difference to her independence enabling her to do all these tasks, as well as her beloved skipping, without relying on help from others.”

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The last child is Finley Jarvis—born with no hand due to his mom being involved in a serious car accident whilst carrying him.

“Finn is a happy-go-lucky boy—he is kind, fearless, and extremely switched on,” said his father Ben. “He is now 11 and about to attend Brymore Academy secondary school—an agricultural school. With this opportunity of a Big Hero Arm the possibilities for him to excel are endless.”

MORE HERO ARM RECIPIENTS: 

Lockey said she and Tilly are hoping to do another campaign next year if any donors who want to get involved to help are interested.

“It is just incredible for three children to benefit and for their families all to meet and fundraise together,” Lockey said.

MEET the children below in a video update from the families…

SHARE This Inspiring Fundraising Work On Behalf Of These Sweet Sprouts…

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