Meet the Mom Making Sports More Inclusive With Custom Helmets

A mom of three turban-wearing boys set out to create a safety-certified multisport helmet specifically for kids like hers after she realized there wasn't a single helmet on the market to accommodate her sons' turbans. After two years of design and testing, Tina Singh created a model that is now in production and certified for use with bicycles, inline skates, kick scooters and skateboards for kids over the age of five. Speaking about the significance of her helmet, Singh says "It is also a demonstration of inclusion and diversity in sport participation."

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How Urban Sketchers are Finding Beauty In Everyday Cityscapes Across The Globe

Great landscape art can transport you to another world: the sweeping hills of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Southwest, the gentle quiet of Monet’s water lilies. But for years, groups of amateurs around the globe have been gathering with sketchbooks in hand to turn their attention to something far more ordinary — skyscrapers, sidewalks, train stations — and uncover the beauty hidden in everyday urban life. The movement known as Urban Sketchers began nearly two decades ago when journalist and illustrator Gabriel Campanario set out to get to know his new home in Seattle — and sharpen his drawing skills. “We had just moved to Seattle, and I started drawing. Like every day I drew the commuters on the bus, I would draw the mountains, the buildings,” Campanario recalled. He posted those drawings on Flickr and invited others to join. What began as an online group quickly turned into in-person meetups, then chapters, then global gatherings. Today, Urban Sketchers reports more than 500 chapters across more than 70 countries. “You can go to another town and meet up with a Sketchers group there,” Campanario said. “And you may not speak the language, but they all can look at your sketchbook and somewhat relate.” One of the earliest chapters, Urban Sketchers Portland, meets monthly. Organizer Amy Stewart says they choose a different neighborhood each time — sometimes sketching old houses, sometimes corner markets, sometimes a vintage movie theater. Stewart, a writer by profession, says most participants are amateurs, with a few experienced artists mixed in. At a recent meetup at Portland’s historic Union Station, roughly 50 sketchers gathered to capture its red brick walls and tall clock tower using everything from watercolor to pen and ink. For some, the appeal is in breaking old habits. Self-described “recovering architect” Bob Boileau enjoyed trading rigid drafting lines for something more expressive. “It’s nice to just get some squiggly in there and put some color, and draw how I feel,” he said. For others, it’s about rediscovering the world in front of them. Sketcher Karen Hansen said the practice forces her to slow down and notice shapes, shadows, and textures she used to overlook. “When you’re drawing and painting something, you’re really looking,” she said. Newer participants, like Noor Alkurd, find the geometry of cities surprisingly accessible — and inspiring. “I mean, come on — cityscapes are so fun!” he said with a laugh. “Drawing has helped me see more of everyday life. It helps you train your eye for what you find beautiful.” As the sketch session wrapped up, artists laid their finished pieces side by side. There was some talk about technique, some celebration of progress, but mostly a shared appreciation for capturing a moment — and noticing a little more of the city they move through every day.

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Scientists Are Storing Humanity’s Data In Glass, and it Could Outlast Civilization

Scientists say they’ve developed a way to store humanity’s most important information inside a piece of glass — and it could last longer than civilisation itself. From floppy disks to USB drives, preserving personal or historical data has always been a technological challenge. Even today’s data centres and cloud storage run on hard disks and magnetic tapes that eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Now, researchers have found a new solution that could preserve knowledge for more than 10,000 years: laser writing inside glass. Scientists at Microsoft’s Cambridge research lab in the United Kingdom say they’ve created a system that encodes digital information using a specialised laser. Instead of storing data magnetically, the laser transforms bits into groups of symbols, then engraves them as microscopic 3D deformations — known as voxels — within a thin piece of glass. To read the data, the glass is placed under an automated microscope, where a camera scans and decodes the tiny structures. The laser operates at 10 million pulses per second, writing one voxel with each pulse. By shifting the depth of focus, it can inscribe hundreds of distinct layers throughout a 2-millimetre-thick glass slab. The result: a single piece of glass can store 4.84 terabytes of data, roughly equivalent to two million books. The breakthrough, known as Project Silica, was detailed this week in Nature. Researchers say it could one day be used to archive scientific papers, cultural records, and other information meant to survive far into the future — even beyond our civilisation.

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How A ‘Ridiculous’ Idea Saved a Rhino’s Sight In Zimbabwe

The plan was based on lessons learned at the Palm Beach Zoo, where animals are trained to voluntarily participate in their own care. Corralling a wild rhinoceros into a small chute to give it eyedrops might sound absurd. But sometimes the absurd approach is the one that works. Animal behaviourists partnering with the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society in Florida travelled to Africa in August to help an endangered white rhino suffering from a life-threatening parasitic eye infection. Daniel Terblanche, security manager with Imvelo Safari Lodges, said no one in Zimbabwe would have considered such a plan. “Believe me, we didn’t think of it; it was a completely ridiculous idea to us," Terblanche said. "But without trying all of the things that we could to rectify that situation, we would have been in trouble, I think.” ‘A Blind Rhino Is A Dead Rhino’ Outside Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative works with Imvelo Safari Lodges to reintroduce southern white rhinos to communal lands for the first time in the nation’s history. Palm Beach Zoo CEO and President Margo McKnight was visiting last year when Imvelo managing director Mark Butcher explained that a male rhino named Thuza had a severe health issue. “This rhino had bleeding eyes. He was rubbing his eyes,” Butcher said. “I was looking at a potential where this guy was gonna lose his eyesight. And this is in a pilot project with a fantastic vision for conservation throughout Africa.” Thad and Angi Lacinak, founders of Precision Behavior, travelled to Zimbabwe to help the anti-poaching scouts. They adapted a strategy used at Palm Beach Zoo, where animals are trained to voluntarily accept medical care. “With this few animals in this location in Africa, it was essential that we save all of them," Angi Lacinak said. “When they called and said Thuza is going to lose his eye, a blind rhino is a dead rhino. No matter what it took, we were going to go over there and try.” Teaching A Rhino To Accept Eyedrops The idea: lure Thuza into a narrow space with his favourite foods, then slowly desensitise him to human touch and having water sprayed on his face. “Within about a week, we were actually putting the eyedrops strategically in his eyes while he held for it," Lacinak said. “And by the end of two weeks, we had transferred that skill set not only to Daniel, who led the guards, but to the guards themselves.” Southern white rhinos are classified as near threatened, with about 16,000 remaining in the wild. Poaching and habitat loss continue to pose serious risks. But at least for Thuza, one danger has been eased. “They’re consistently getting the medications into his eyes every day," Lacinak said. “And the rhinos are thriving now. They feel really confident that this solved their problem.”

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A Mystery Doctor On a Train Saved This Passenger's Life in the UK

Ian Drewery was on a routine train journey home from visiting his son in Swindon when everything suddenly stopped. The 69-year-old collapsed without warning as his Great Western Railway service approached Reading in September 2025. What happened next, he says, is the only reason he is alive today. The train was halted at Reading Station, where staff rushed a defibrillator on board. Among the passengers was an unidentified GP who immediately began CPR. On a return visit to thank the responders he could find, Ian reflected on the chain of events that kept him alive. “I was in the right place at the right time, to be surrounded by the right people,” he said. One of those people was Veronika Rogers, part of the GWR crew that day. She remembered kneeling beside Ian and refusing to give up. “I told Ian: ‘I do not let you go. You are going to make it, you will be here with me.’” At Reading Station, staff member Jack McIntyre recalled how quickly everything unfolded. “Veronika alerted me on the platform and it was quite extraordinary the way she came out and alerted all of us,” he said. “We got the defib, got on the train, give it to the GP that was on the train and they worked on him. It is just extraordinary that he is here today.” South Central Ambulance Service said the GP’s early CPR almost certainly saved Ian’s life. Meeting the staff who helped him was emotional. “It’s really good to be here, to meet the people that were involved in saving my life,” Ian said. “That lady, she give me such effective CPR and I would not be here today were it not for her.” He is now hoping the GP will come forward so he can thank her in person. “If she’s listening or sees this, I truly would like her to get in touch with the BBC so we can arrange to meet,” he said. For now, Ian’s gratitude is undimmed. A stranger’s quick actions in a moment of crisis turned a train carriage into a place of rescue — and gave him back his future.

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AI Just Helped Scientists Find High-Temperature Materials — It Could Change How We Build EVs and Smartphones

Scientists at the University of New Hampshire say artificial intelligence is dramatically speeding up the hunt for advanced magnetic materials. Their new resource, containing 67,573 magnetic compounds, even flagged 25 materials that had never been recognized as magnets capable of staying magnetic at high temperatures. “By accelerating the discovery of sustainable magnetic materials, we can reduce dependence on rare earth elements, lower the cost of electric vehicles and renewable-energy systems, and strengthen the U.S. manufacturing base,” said Suman Itani, lead author and a doctoral student in physics. The Northeast Materials Database, unveiled in a study published in Nature Communications, gives researchers a powerful tool for exploring materials at the heart of modern technology. Magnets make smartphones vibrate, power generators spin, and electric vehicle motors run. But the strongest magnets today rely on rare earth elements that are expensive, imported, and increasingly difficult to secure. Even with thousands of known magnetic compounds, researchers still haven’t identified a brand new permanent magnet from that pool. The team’s AI system was designed to sift through scientific papers and automatically extract experimental data. That information trained computer models to determine whether a material is magnetic and to predict the temperature at which it loses its magnetism. The results were then organized into one searchable database. The challenge has always been sheer volume. Millions of potential element combinations exist, far too many for researchers to test in a lab. AI compresses years of work into weeks. “We are tackling one of the most difficult challenges in materials science, discovering sustainable alternatives to permanent magnets, and we are optimistic that our experimental database and growing AI technologies will make this goal achievable,” said physics professor Jiadong Zang, a co-author of the study. Co-author Yibo Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in physics and chemistry, said the same large language model behind the database could play bigger roles in science and education. One example is converting old images into rich text formats to help preserve library archives. The project was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering at the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Scientists Aim To Stop Cancer Decades Early, Now A New Approach Called ‘Interception’ Could Change Everything

Cancer treatment usually begins after symptoms appear, a diagnosis is made, and doctors race to stop the disease. But a growing group of researchers believes the fight should start far earlier, long before a tumour forms. They call the idea “cancer interception,” and it aims to catch the earliest biological shifts that eventually lead to disease. The concept is simple: instead of waiting for visible signs of cancer, identify and target the slow, predictable steps that happen years, even decades, before a tumour appears. Those early steps are now becoming easier to track. Scientists have found that as people age, their bodies accumulate small clusters of mutated cells called clones. These mutations quietly build up, giving certain cells advantages over others. In blood cancers such as leukaemia, studying these clones has already helped researchers predict who is more likely to develop the disease later. A long-running study of around 7,000 women helped clarify how these mutations behave. Some clones grew faster because of the genetic changes they carried. Others reacted strongly to inflammation, expanding whenever the body was under stress. Understanding these patterns could allow doctors to identify people at higher risk years before any symptoms emerge. The research highlights a key truth. Cancer is not something that appears suddenly. It develops through a slow, multi-step process, with small warning signs that can be detected if we know how to look. One of the most promising tools is a new class of blood tests known as multi-cancer early detection tests. These tests scan the bloodstream for tiny fragments of DNA shed by cancerous or precancerous cells. Even very early tumours release this DNA, often long before they show up on scans. Some of these tests have shown encouraging results, especially for colorectal cancer. When caught at stage one, 92 percent of patients survive five years. At stage four, that number falls to 18 percent. The hope is that spotting the disease earlier could drastically improve outcomes. But the tests are not perfect. They miss some cancers entirely. And when they flag a possible cancer, doctors still need imaging or biopsies to confirm a diagnosis. False positives can send healthy people through stressful rounds of testing they don’t actually need. Researchers imagine a future where doctors use cancer risk scores the way cardiologists already use heart risk calculators. Age, lifestyle, inflammation, genetics, and MCED blood test results could be combined to guide personalised prevention, possibly including medication years before cancer develops. But this shift carries big ethical questions. What happens when a doctor tells a healthy person they’re at high risk? How much anxiety does that create? Unlike statins, which broadly reduce heart risk across many groups, cancer prevention tools vary widely in effectiveness. Overdiagnosis remains a serious concern. There are also issues of fairness and access. If MCED tests are expensive or only offered privately, they could widen health inequalities, especially in lower-income countries. Regulators in the U.S. and U.K. are now examining how reliable these tests must be, and what follow-up care should look like, to keep patients safe. In England, the National Cancer Plan released on February 4, 2026, committed the NHS to performing 9.5 million additional diagnostic tests each year by 2029. The plan also supports continued ctDNA testing for lung and breast cancer, with expansion to other cancers if proven cost-effective. All of this points to a shift in how scientists understand cancer. It is not an abrupt disease but a long process. Intervening early could save countless lives. The challenge now is ensuring these tools are used in ways that are safe, equitable, and grounded in evidence.

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Georgia's First All-Black Little League Team Honored 64 Years After Making History

The surviving members of a Georgia Little League team that made history during the Jim Crow era have been honored at a ceremony in Atlanta. The Simpson Road Trojans, described by CBS News as “one of Atlanta’s best Little League baseball teams” were recognized for their achievements, decades after they, as the state’s first all-black team, were invited to the Little League World Series. That dream was dashed due to a false accusation about a player’s age, CBS said, but the players were getting their recognition at Atlanta City Hall on February 16 ahead of the release of a new documentary. “These young men made history right here in our community, and their legacy continues to inspire generations,” said Atlanta Councilman Byron Amos. “What started on Simpson Road became a story of excellence, resilience, and pride. We are proud to celebrate their impact and preserve their story,” he continued, adding: “A documentary highlighting their journey is coming soon – stay tuned.”

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A Rare Bird Turned Up Behind A Belfast Trash Bin — A Wildlife Rescuer Gave It A Second Chance

Wildlife rescuer Debbie Nelson, who operates under the name Debbie Doolittle, says she knew immediately that the call she received in September 2025 was unusual. A nightjar, a bird rarely seen in Northern Ireland, had been found behind a trash bin on a Belfast street, the BBC reported. Nightjars are nocturnal birds with mottled brown feathers, wide mouths, and a distinctive call sometimes compared to a spinning wheel or a wind up toy. They are more common in the southern UK, and spotting one in the north is almost unheard of. “They were about to put some rubbish in the bin and they saw the bird behind it,” Doolittle told BBC News NI. She believes the bird may have become disoriented and collided with something before ending up on the ground. For Doolittle, the chance to work with the bird was rare and meaningful. Nightjar populations in the UK have fallen sharply. Insecticides have devastated their insect based diet, and habitat loss has compounded the decline. Between 1972 and 1992, the population dropped by 51 percent, and breeding pairs remain scarce in northern regions, though recent studies show hints of recovery. That made this rescue especially important. Doolittle and her team cared for the nightjar, feeding it and monitoring its condition until it was strong enough to return to the wild. “It’s very rewarding getting to release something back into the wild and knowing you’ve given it that second chance,” she said, calling the experience a “once in a lifetime” moment. Other rare bird sightings have been reported in China and elsewhere, offering a glimmer of hope at a time when many species are struggling. For Doolittle, helping this one unusual visitor was a small but powerful reminder of what careful intervention can do.

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Archaeologists Lift Giant Blocks From The Ancient Lighthouse Of Alexandria, Rebuilding Its Story In 3D

Twenty two massive granite blocks that once formed part of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria have been hauled up from the floor of the city’s ancient harbor, offering a rare look at surviving pieces of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Each block weighed dozens of tons and included pillars, frames, and lintels that once marked the entrance to the colossal structure. The lighthouse, built under the rule of Ptolemy after Alexander the Great’s empire fractured, guided ships into Alexandria for centuries. It was so well constructed that it took repeated earthquakes over hundreds of years to bring it down. By the 10th century, the last of those quakes sent its stones crashing into the harbor. For more than a decade, France’s National Center for Scientific Research and Egypt’s Center for the Studies of Alexandria have been mapping and studying the debris field. A major 2014 survey identified about 3,000 blocks and another 5,000 stone fragments scattered across roughly 4 acres of seabed. Each block raised to the surface was photographed from every angle, feeding a detailed photogrammetry database. That digital record allowed researchers to do something remarkable. With the blocks analyzed in 3D, a CNRS team led by Isabelle Hairy began virtually reassembling the lighthouse. Sophisticated modeling software let them test how pieces might have fit together, using clues like rough or smooth tool marks, chipped edges, and weathering patterns to guide the process. When two fragments appeared to match, they could even simulate what kind of earthquake—its force and direction—might have cracked them apart. Earth.com reports that the digital reconstruction has grown precise enough to offer new hypotheses about how the monument looked and how it collapsed. The approach captures the cultural blending that defined Alexandria in the Ptolemaic era. Several blocks feature Egyptian imagery carved with Hellenistic techniques. Other granite monoliths appear to have been repurposed from Old Kingdom sites like Abu Rawash, making them at least 2,000 years older than the lighthouse itself. Descriptions from the medieval period give a sense of its awe. Ibn Jubayir, a Moorish pilgrim traveling to Mecca, struggled to capture the scale. He wrote that the lighthouse “competes with the skies in height,” adding, “description of it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it.” He measured one side at more than fifty arm lengths, and estimated its height at more than one hundred and fifty. Despite the excitement of recovering large pieces, Egyptian authorities limit the removal of stones heavier than 220 pounds. Archaeologists say that after centuries underwater, sudden exposure to oxygen can cause salt crystals to expand inside the stone, leading to irreparable damage. For that reason, once photographed, the largest blocks were returned to the harbor floor. The 3D reconstruction, however, opens new doors. With enough detail now mapped, researchers believe future visitors could one day experience a full scale digital version of the lighthouse, perhaps even a holographic projection rising above Alexandria’s harbor, echoing the original marvel that stood there for more than a millennium. For now, the work continues underwater and on computer screens, bringing one of history’s most legendary structures back to life piece by piece.

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Artist Debuts A Shot-By-Shot, DIY Remake Of Titanic In New York

New York audiences are about to watch Titanic like they’ve never seen it before. Starting Friday, Cristin Tierney Gallery will screen an ambitious shot-by-shot remake of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster. The project began more than a decade ago as a handmade experiment by Chilean artist Claudia Bitrán and eventually grew into a sprawling collaboration involving roughly 1,400 people. The work, Titanic, A Deep Emotion, is making its New York premiere. Bitrán stitched it together using drawing, painting, performance, sculpture, and a healthy amount of lo fi ingenuity, including stop-motion submarines in the opening scene. “I really love to make work that broad audiences outside the art world can relate to, understand, or follow,” she said over the phone. “I adore this film. I love James Cameron’s craft. I think it’s really a perfect film that has aged really well.” For Bitrán, the movie has been a lifelong touchstone. Like many, she first saw Titanic as a preteen and was instantly absorbed. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s doomed romance aboard the ill-fated ship became an enduring cultural force. Bitrán, who has long centered pop culture in her work, knew the story by heart and decided it was the perfect vehicle for a wide ranging, playful deconstruction. “I’ve seen it a million times,” she said. She set firm rules for the remake. She would play Rose. Jack and all other characters would rotate among performers of any age, gender, or background. All special effects had to be handmade, often with recycled materials. Dialogue could unfold in any language. The constraints kept the project flexible as she worked across the U.S., Mexico, and Chile, and they helped her reshape the film’s emotional beats. Using multiple Jacks became one of the project’s most striking decisions. When Jack stops Rose from jumping, Bitrán cast actor Rosalie Lowe to underscore the idea that Rose could save herself. In the “door scene,” Jack is played by Bitrán’s 10 year old cousin, shifting the dynamic to something closer to a mother and child, heightening the loss. Bitrán stepping into Rose’s role also echoed her earlier project reenacting Britney Spears music videos with handmade sets. Taking on another performer’s identity, she said, created a sense of empathy. “Kate Winslet was criticized for her body at that time and I had a similar body type,” she said. “I felt for her and I kind of lived through her, through that criticism, in the same way I lived with Britney through hers.” The handmade universe around her includes painted backdrops, cardboard furniture, recreated artworks, improvised environments, and even an inflatable version of the ship. Sometimes Bitrán would encounter a real location that reminded her of a scene and would stage an impromptu shoot. “It’s kind of a collage,” she said. The result is intentionally rough around the edges, the opposite of Cameron’s sweeping, big budget spectacle. But the ragged charm is part of its pull. It dismantles the grandeur while showing how deeply the story still resonates. After 12 years of production, the project became its own kind of epic. The installation in New York spans three video channels and is accompanied by props, paintings, storyboards, still images, notes, and other material documenting the scale of the undertaking. The film had its European premiere at Kiosk in Belgium last year. Bitrán is also working on a documentary about the decade long process and is seeking financial support to complete it. Her connection to the film, she admitted, is unlikely to fade. “Even though the movie’s done, I think that I’m still going to be this person that lives through that movie. I’ve seen the world this way since I saw it when I was 10. It’s like the thing that will always be there,” she said. Then, almost without realizing it, she echoed the film’s most famous line. “I feel like this is something that I’ll never let go.” Titanic, A Deep Emotion runs at Cristin Tierney Gallery, 49 Walker St., New York, from February 20 to March 28, 2026.

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