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Virginia Pals Save Flowers From the Landfill, Redeploying Them to Bring Joy

A pair of Virginians who found themselves habitually dismayed by the amount of floral waste they saw over a series of weddings and funerals decided to launch a small nonprofit to reuse them.

Friendly City Florals delivers flowers to hospice care homes, hospitals, and other events like funerals and weddings to make sure that the joy and special feeling a vibrant bouquet inspires can continue to do so as long as there is color in the petals.

The story begins when Rebecca Shelly, an experienced wedding industry worker, was cleaning up in the aftermath of a wedding reception in North Carolina last year, and was agonizing over stuffing hundreds of perfectly perky peonies into black garbage bags.

She saved as many as she could, but as Shelly told the Washington Post, one could have filled two U-Haul trucks with them all. This sense of regretful waste continued earlier this year, when Shelly and her friend Laura Ruth were grieving over a tragic double loss—both their fathers had passed away in the span of a few months.

The residents of Harrisonburg, Virginia, were remarking over how many bouquets of flowers had arrived at their house over the days.

“What if we could repurpose the flowers and brighten the day for somebody else?” asked Shelly, 32, who along with Ruth, launched Friendly City Florals. “We’ve put the word out everywhere that if you have too many flowers and don’t know what to do with them, we’ll take them off your hands.”

The pair now spend several days a week traveling to halls, houses, and venues to collect floral arrangements that would otherwise be thrown out. They bring them back to Shelly’s home, pick out any wilted stems, and replace them with fresher flowers before driving the bouquets out to those who need them.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/virginian-women-save-flowers-from-the-landfill-and-redeploy-them-to-bring-joy/

The World’s Largest 3D Printer Is Building Cozy Homes from Wood

At the University of Maine, one of the world’s largest 3D printers is using sawdust from the state’s lumber industry to 3D print cozy wooden cabins.

It’s part of a move towards making 3D printing faster and more sustainable in a state where the housing shortage that has metastasized in most states around the country is dire.

It’s thought that 80,000 new homes will be needed over the next 5 years to keep pace with demand, and though it takes years for building codes to be changed, the technicians at the Advanced Structures & Composites Center (ASCC) at the Univ. of Maine hope their new toy can help address this need.

Guinness World Records certified the machine at ASCC as the world’s largest prototype polymer 3D printer, capable of creating a 600 square foot house 96 feet in length, 36 feet in width, and 18 feet tall entirely out of bio-based material at a rate of 500 pounds per hour.

In 2022, it could print the walls, floors, and roof of the house in just 96 hours, but the ACSS has been refining the design with the hope of doubling the printing speed and getting it down to a 48-hour timeline.

“When they’re doing concrete, they’re only printing the walls,” Habib Dagher, the executive director of ACSS told CNN. “The approach we’ve taken is quite different from what you’ve seen, and you’ve been reading about for years.”

Indeed, GNN has reported on a fair number of 3D printing projects, but most if not all involve printing only the walls. One fantastical exception is an Italian firm that is 3D-printing domed, beehive-like, modular concept homes inspired by the Great Enclosure in Zimbabwe.

The ASCC is calling the house design the BioHome3D, and says it’s rare people who tour the concept version don’t ask when they “can have one up?”

The interior gives the feel of a modern Scandinavian wooden cabin, making it fit well with the Maine aesthetic. The ASCC is now doing work on how to incorporate conduits for wiring and plumbing “exactly where an architect would want them,” says Dagher.

More African Girls Can Get Ahead Thanks to School Uniforms Designed to Grow with the Student

In one of the poorest countries in the world, an American entrepreneur is empowering women and girls to stay in school and become household earners.

Employing women as seamstresses with a generous benefits package to sew school uniforms—one of the highest financial barriers to entry into the school system—two generations of females benefit.

The not-for-profit socially-minded enterprise is called Style Her Empowered, acronym SHE, and was founded by Payton McGriff who began her journey as a senior at the University of Idaho seeking a place in the market to start a business for a class project.

Remembering a book she had read two years earlier, called Half the Sky, which looked at rates of female enrollment in primary school around the world, she was inspired to find market solutions to the problem of over 100 million girls worldwide stuck in their society’s educational dereliction.

As it happened, a professor she knew at University was from the West African country of Togo, and he encouraged McGriff to travel to his hometown of Nôtse on a scouting mission over spring break.

She learned that not only do 69% of households live under the poverty line, but most of the household chores fall upon women and girls. On top of this, the cost of buying new school uniforms made it almost impossible for a child in this part of the world to make it all the way from first to twelfth grade.

“Every girl stood up and raised her hand so high and, not only that, told a very expressive story about how she had been shamed out of school because she didn’t have her uniform,” McGriff, now a 2024 CNN Hero, recalled to the news outlet, explaining how she surveyed schoolgirls for the largest challenges to staying in school.

“I realized, ‘Okay, this is a place to start.’”

The dresses made at SHE are simple, culturally appropriate, and come with extra fabric tucked into the hem that can be quickly released to elongate the dress up to 6 sizes. cords running down the sides of the dress allow it to be adjusted to fit any body shape.

SHE operates two factories in Togo where seamstresses make 75% more than the minimum wage, and enjoy a comprehensive Western-style benefits package. McGriff manages the business from Idaho, but her early collaborators make up all the middle managers, ensuring that the people reacting to the environment and needs at ground zero are those who were born into the social and cultural environment.

“The vision for starting SHE was always for it to become locally led because local women understand the challenges and the solutions far better than I ever could,” McGriff told CNN. “I may have struck the original match that started SHE. But what I’m so beyond inspired by is watching our team carry the torch.”

Today, SHE serves Nôtse and 20 other rural villages, and because there’s no trash service to any of these places, all leftover textile scraps are recycled into menstrual pads to address another major barrier to entry for students.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/in-togo-these-school-uniforms-are-at-the-center-of-a-movement-offering-girls-and-women-a-chance-to-build-better-lives/

Newly Discovered Protein Stops DNA Damage and Even Repairs it – Pointing to a Cancer Vaccine

By Good News Network -Aug 18, 2024

Researchers from Western University have discovered a protein that has the never-before-seen ability to stop DNA damage in its tracks. The finding could provide the foundation for developing everything from vaccines against cancer, to crops that can withstand increasing drought.

The researchers in Ontario, Canada, found the protein—called DdrC (for DNA Damage Repair Protein C)—in a fairly common bacterium called Deinococcus radiodurans, which has the decidedly uncommon ability to survive conditions that damage DNA; it can withstand 5,000 to 10,000 times the radiation that would kill a regular human cell.

Lead researcher Robert Szabla says Deinococcus also excels in repairing DNA that has already been damaged.

“It’s as if you had a player in the NFL who plays every game without a helmet or pads,” says Szabla, a grad student in Western’s Department of Biochemistry.

“He’d end up with a concussion and multiple broken bones every single game, but then miraculously make a full recovery overnight in time for practice the next day.” He and his colleagues discovered that DdrC is a key player in this repair process.

Every cell has a DNA repair mechanism to fix damage. “With a human cell, if there are any more than two breaks in the entire billion base pair genome, it can’t fix itself and it dies,” he said in a news release.

“But in the case of DdrC, this unique protein helps the cell to repair hundreds of broken DNA fragments into a coherent genome.”

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Szabla and his team used the most powerful X-ray source in the country, the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan to determine the 3D shape of the protein, from which they then worked backwards to better understand its “superpower” to neutralize DNA damage.

They discovered that DdrC scans for breaks along the DNA and when it detects one it snaps shut – like a mousetrap. This trapping action has two key functions.

“It neutralizes the DNA damage, and prevents the break from getting damaged further. And it acts like a little molecular beacon. It tells the cell ‘Hey, over here. There’s damage. Come fix it.’”

Typically, says Szabla, proteins form complicated networks that enable them to carry out a function. DdrC appears to be something of an outlier, in that it performs its function all on its own, without the need for other proteins.

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The team was also curious whether the protein might function as a “plug-in” for other DNA repair systems. They tested this by adding it to a different bacterium: E. coli.

“To our huge surprise, it actually made the bacterium over 40 times more resistant to UV radiation damage,” he reported in findings published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research. “This seems to be a rare example where you have one protein and it really is like a standalone machine.”

He says that, in theory, this gene could be introduced into any organism – plants, animals, humans – and it should increase the DNA repair efficiency of that organism’s cells.

“The ability to rearrange and edit and manipulate DNA in specific ways is the holy grail in biotechnology,” said Szabla. “What if you had a scanning system such as DdrC which patrolled your cells and neutralized damage when it happened? This might form the basis of a potential cancer vaccine.”

The Western team is just getting started studying Deinococcus.

“DdrC is just one out of hundreds of potentially useful proteins in this bacterium. The next step is to prod further, look at what else this cell uses to fix its own genome – because we’re sure to find many more tools where we have no idea how they work or how they’re going to be useful until we look.”

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“Currently, when we think of cancer treatments, we always think of treating it once it’s already happened. What if we can prevent the cancer from happening in the first place?”

Watch his video explaining it in easy-to-understand terms

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/newly-discovered-protein-stops-dna-damage-and-even-repairs-it-becoming-possible-key-to-cancer-vaccines/

@jesusredeemedme2425

I like old ship finds, like sunken treasure ships they're always finding all over the world. The latest I seen was the San Jose found off of Columbia worth over a billion dollars I believe its supposedly full of chests of emeralds and gold coins!

D-Day Hero Gets Over 200 Cards to Celebrate His 100th Birthday

A D-day veteran who defended landing troops from Nazi fighter planes has received more than 200 cards from well-wishers for his 100th birthday.

John Dennett, who now lives near Liverpool, England, was surprised by the haul of 217 cards and letters sent to him from across the county to mark his special day.

The widower celebrated with friends and family at a private party that featured wartime music, food, and entertainment.

“It’s a funny feeling. It’s only now that I’ve reached 100 that I realize I’m that old. I will just have to take it easy now,” he joked.

“All I hope is I reach 200!”

John was just 17 when he signed up to serve at the start of the war, against his mother’s wishes. He was an apprentice bricklayer, but after concealing his age, he managed to join the Royal Navy in 1941 and went to train in the US aboard the Queen Elizabeth.

Three years later, on June 6, 1944, he served as an anti-aircraft gunner aboard one of the 7,000 ships that delivered soldiers onto the beaches of Normandy, which turned the tide of WWII against the Nazis.

John also took part in the other major allied landings during the Second World War, both in North Africa and Italy.

‘We all want to feel like we belong’: Teen girl’s joy over a rare birthday party invite goes viral

One teenager's overjoyed reaction to being invited to a birthday party is going viral.

Macy is a 15-year-old high school freshman and she has Down syndrome. Her mom says she can “count on one hand the amount of birthday parties” Macy has been invited to since she started kindergarten. 

“Yesterday Macy got in the car and showed me an invitation to a birthday party for a friend at school who is also in the life skills program,” Macy’s mom, Heather Avis, began an *** post. 

“Her joy from this invitation is palpable. WOW!” Avis wrote. “To me it spoke of a longing fulfilled. All I could do was laugh with her and then cry as I celebrated with her.”

In the video, Macy’s excitement is contagious as she waves the invitation in the air for her mother to see. 

“You got invited to a birthday party?” Avis asks. 

“Yeah!” Macy replies, with a huge grin on her face. Moments later, she lets out a happy squeal.

“You can hear me start to get choked up because my sweet girl is so elated to be included,” Avis tells TODAY.com in an interview. “It speaks to the common humanity that we all share. We all as humans want to feel like we belong. We all want to be wanted.” 

Macy was in a general education setting with her grade-level peers until high school, when she switched to a life skills program for students with intellectual disabilities.

“As soon as Macy walked into the classroom as a new student, she was instantly embraced,” Avis tells TODAY.com. “No one was questioning if she has value and worth. She’s finding a place where she feels belonging and community.”

On May 30, Avis shared a much-needed birthday party update. In the footage, Macy is laughing and clapping her hands. Though Avis says Macy's language is limited, her body language tells you everything you need to know.

"What did you tell me when we were there?" Avis asks.

"I love it here!" Macy replies.

Later, she adds, "I love birthday parties!"

"Noteworthy detail: the birthday boy is a disabled student in the life skills class at Macy’s school. The party was inclusive not because a student in the general education program invited Macy, but because a person with an intellectual disability invited both disabled and non-disabled individuals," Avis wrote. "It was inclusive because people like Macy and the young man we were celebrating, who are often excluded, truly understand how to include others. Let’s reflect on that for a moment!"

Avis hopes that Macy will inspire others to embrace those who are left out. 

“We all have opportunity to be the person to say, ‘I’m going to create a space where everyone can belong,’” she says. 

https://www.today.com/parents/teens/teens-joy-birthday-party-invitation-goes-viral-rcna154928

Man With Locked-in Syndrome Completes 50k Word Book – Using Just His Eyes

An Englishman living with rare locked-in syndrome has completed a 50,000 word autobiography, using just his eyes.

Howard Wicks suffered a serious stroke as a teenager in Devon, leaving every muscle in his body paralyzed, except for his eyes.

The book chronicles the years leading up to and after his stroke, and was completed using an Eyegaze computer, a machine that tracks his eye movements.

The software allows the 29-year-old to communicate with others and to write his novel, which took 18 months to complete.

“It was a cathartic experience,” said Howard using the Eyegaze device. “I enjoyed writing it especially the parts I personally enjoyed living myself.

But, like for many authors, it soon became an all-consuming and challenging experience.

“It became a source of stress, as I felt I couldn’t truly enjoy myself until the book was completed.”

“The initial chapter introduces the reader to my life before the stroke, allowing them to understand who I was,” he told the BBC. “The book concludes with my transition from the hospital setting to community life.”

This stroke was a gift, not a curse. You’ve just got to shut out all the negativity and see out the heartbreak, then own what happens next. – excerpt from Howard Wicks

Howard hopes that the book will raise awareness for the nonprofit he founded in 2020, dedicated to supporting other people suffering from locked in syndrome.

“I have established a charity called the Locked in Trust dedicated to empowering individuals in a locked-in state to embrace the fullest potential of their lives,” said Howard.

But, in its first four years, the charity hasn’t achieved the reach or impact he envisioned, which was another motivation behind completing the book—“to propel the charity to the forefront of society.”

“From the moment I gained the ability to type, writing a book has always been a goal of mine,” Howard said.

“I believed that finishing it was essential for my happiness and personal progress.”

Fewer than 1,000 Americans are estimated to be living with locked-in syndrome, which is less than 1% of stroke victims.

College Lab Makes 3D Printed Arms to Help 12-Year-old Amputee Reach Her Drumming Goals

12-year-old Aubrey Sauvie never let her lack of hands interfere with the pursuit of her interests, whether that was Tae Kwon Do, art, or doing her own makeup.

Born a triple congenital amputee and missing both arms from below the elbows and several toes on one of her feet, it was from a very early age that she demonstrated to her family that there’d be very little necessity to accommodate her.

“It’s just one part of me,” Aubrey Sauvie told WKRN. “It doesn’t make me, me. It definitely was a challenge to learn, but as time went on, it became easier and easier until it wasn’t difficult at all.”

Indeed the family photo album is packed with pictures of her in dance competitions, breaking boards with a flying side-kick, or lined up in front of her snare drum with her school band, the drumsticks stuck in the creases of her elbows.

But that’s where even her dexterity and determination couldn’t succeed in producing the results she wanted—the sound of the snare just wasn’t right.

Aubrey’s middle school band teacher recommended her as a candidate for the Tennessee Tech University program, Engineering for Kids, where 10 students decided to make it a class project to create a pair of custom prosthetics so the firebrand could play the drums.

“So she plays the drums; does she also play the mallets?” Tennessee Tech mechanical engineering student Zakary Henson told the ABC affiliate as he recalled his thought process. “Does she play a xylophone? Something like that. So like is it going to have to have different handles? How is it going to be secured to the hand? All of these are questions we are thinking through.”

The solution as they saw it was a 3D-printed pair of durable yet flexible customized prosthetics with interchangeable grips, something which Tennessee Tech Professor of Mechanical Engineering Stephen Canfield said was a one in a million shot.

The students proceeded to work the entire semester taking measurements and testing prototypes before their one in a million shot turned out to be a home run—startling them as much as it delighted Aubrey.

Now the young drummer gets to hear the nice hard snap of a proper snare hit, which now has her envisioning a full drum kit.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/college-lab-crafts-3d-printed-arms-to-help-12-year-old-amputee-reach-her-drumming-goals/