Young Hockey Player Returns to the Rink Nine Months After a Devastating Injury
From the ice hockey rinks of Minnesota comes the story of a young man determined not to let an injury change his life the way his doctors assured him it would. Whether the desire to get back on the ice or faith in his creator, Jackson Drum defied the odds of a C1-2 spinal cord […]
Good News in History, October 6
114 years ago today, Beatrix de Rijk became the first female licensed Dutch aircraft pilot. This pioneering aviator was born in Surabaya, modern-day Indonesia in the Dutch East Indies, to a Javan mother and a Dutch father. In the Netherlands, she was the first Dutch woman to drive a German automobile, but she found the […]
Man is Shocked to Find His Dog Giving a Baby Koala a Piggyback Ride
The human world is full of headlines about people who can’t get along—and sometimes peace and harmony seem impossible. Thankfully, a cute animal story from Australia can remind us there’s another way. A few weeks ago, Steve Lamplough found two creatures from opposite corners of the animal kingdom bonding in his backyard. While at home […]
Always Fatal Huntington’s Disease is Successfully Treated for First Time With Gene Therapy
There is no cure for Huntington’s disease, a devastating brain disorder that causes severe motor loss, dementia, and eventual death. But, a clinical trial delivered positive results this week, finding that patients receiving a new treatment for 36 months experienced 75% less progression of the disease overall (compared to patients who did not receive the […]
Tiny Prehistoric Fish Fossil Rewrites Evolution With Clues for Mysterious Origins of Catfish and Carp
The fossil of a tiny fish found in southwestern Alberta, Canada, provides new insight into the origin and evolution of otophysans, the supergroup of fish that includes catfish, carp and tetras—which account for two-thirds of all freshwater species today. The specimen, located well inland from any seashore, was studied by researchers at Western University and […]
Camera Traps Reveal Beavers Have Finally Returned to the Bronx River After ‘a Very Long Time’
Beavers had not been seen in New York City for 200 years, after their coveted fur pelts became valuable and habitat was impacted by human activity. But, finally, in 2007 one was spotted in the Bronx River. Then, a second beaver arrived—nicknamed Justin Beaver, who joined José, the original—and they lived together for a number […]
Tonight’s Full Moon Is First Supermoon Since Nov–and Latest Harvest Moon in Nearly 40 years
Luna-lovers and stargazers will have a feast on the East coast tonight, as the first supermoon in 11 months will occur just before midnight. A supermoon is a colloquial term for when the Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth during it’s orbital rotation. This makes the Moon noticeably larger, and appears larger still […]
Good News in History, October 5
Happy 67th Birthday to popular science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson. Born in the Big Apple without a star in the sky to look up at, Tyson nevertheless became a face for astronomy and astrophysics as Director of the Hayden Planetarium and host of the television special Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson […]
Stray Dog Saved From ‘Death Row’ Turns into Brilliant Detective, Sniffing out Lost Animals
A stray dog that was saved from being euthanized has become an expert pet detective, displaying an uncanny knack for sniffing out lost animals. Rico was just days away from being put down when kind-hearted Rachel Rodgers, who runs a dog training school, paid almost $200 to rescue him from the Portuguese dog pound. “I […]
Gumbo Cook Worried About Regular Customer’s No-Shows Goes to His Home and Saves His Life
Something had to be wrong. For over a decade, his routine was as reliable as the sunrise: every day around 11 a.m, the door to the Shrimp Basket in Pensacola, Florida would swing open and one loyal customer would walk in. Donnell Stallworth, a cook at the Shrimp Basket, said the regular visitor is like […]