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Two Baby Condors Born in California Are "Adorable and Thriving"
In a heartening update, two baby California condors in Pinnacles National Park are thriving and passed their initial health checkup with flying colors. The critically endangered nestlings, named No. 1215 and No. 1238, have "very low" levels of lead in their blood, a common cause of death among condors. The successful progress of these young birds brings hope for the survival and recovery of the California condor population, which has made impressive strides since its near-extinction in the 1980s.
Score (96)
Brenda Song Says “Home Alone” Has Become a Parenting Hack at Her House
Brenda Song has found an unexpected partner in teaching her kids about safety: her fiancé’s childhood alter ego, Kevin McCallister. Song, 37, says she and Macaulay Culkin have been showing their sons, Carson, 3, and Dakota, 4, the classic holiday film Home Alone. They’re not watching for nostalgia. They’re using it to teach “stranger danger,” even though the boys mostly tune in for the fun. The two preschoolers “enjoy the movie’s ‘hijinks’ and its elaborate ‘traps,’” Song told E! News, but they “have no real concept” of the danger at the center of the story. Dakota “gets it more,” she added, but they’re both still young enough to focus on the pratfalls, not the burglars. Song laughed remembering how she tried to turn teachable moments into hugs. After the credits rolled, she looked at her sons and said, “‘See, your mama's here right next to you. Don't you want to give me a hug? I didn't leave.’” She admitted, “I'm so terrible, but I feel like your children have to be a little scared. Fear goes a long way.” She’s consistent with the lessons, too. One of her go-to lines: “‘They're a stranger if you don't know their name.’” And she backs that up at home. “It doesn't matter if they're someone's parents. If you don't know their name, or you've never seen them before at our house, they are a stranger.” Beyond safety around people, she’s been guiding them through their environments, teaching them to spot exits and think about how to get home. “Everywhere we go, I’m like, ‘How do we get home?’” she said. “Every building we go in, like, ‘How did we get here? How do we get out?’” Her husband-to-be isn’t always sold on the intensity. Song laughed that Culkin thinks she’s “absolutely crazy about it.” Still, “Home Alone” remains a family favorite. When Culkin celebrated the film’s 35th anniversary in 2025, he admitted they watch it “often.” Yet the boys haven’t connected that Kevin — the 10-year-old outsmarting Wet Bandits — is their dad. Culkin says he’s happy to keep it that way “as long as possible.” Dakota, though, is starting to catch on. He once asked Culkin about his siblings, so Culkin pulled out a family photo of all seven. “[He] immediately looks at me and goes, ‘That kid looks like Kevin.’” Culkin didn’t miss a beat and changed the subject. He also shared that Dakota now believes he was Kevin. “‘Do you remember when you kicked burglars out?’ And he's like, ‘Yep.’ ‘You slide down the stairs?’ ‘I sure do.’ I was like, ‘You liar! That was me.’” For now, the illusion holds. Kevin McCallister remains a mystery, a teacher, and — at least in one household — a very effective parenting tool.
Score (97)
UK Film and TV Leaders Roll Out New Mental Health Principles After Stark Survey
The UK’s film and TV sector just took a long, overdue look in the mirror, and the reflection wasn’t pretty. After more than a third of workers surveyed described their mental health as “poor” or “very poor,” the Film and TV charity has released a new set of principles meant to change how the industry treats the people who keep it running. The guidance, announced Thursday, is being described as a defining shift in the sector’s duty of care. It’s the product of a collaboration with more than 45 major organisations, from public broadcasters to streamers, studios, production companies and unions. The push comes after the charity’s Looking Glass survey revealed troubling trends: 35 percent of respondents rated their mental health at the lowest levels, 30 percent had experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous year, and nearly two-thirds felt their work harmed their wellbeing. Another 64 percent had considered leaving the industry altogether. To tackle that, the charity and its partners laid out nine principles that outline what a supportive production environment should look like. They call for a culture that prioritises wellbeing, respectful and inclusive relationships across teams, thoughtful handling of emotionally heavy material, and more sustainable workloads. Marcus Ryder, chief executive of the Film and TV charity, said the guidance represents “the biggest industry initiative to address mental health in film and television in a generation.” Speaking to the Guardian, he pointed to years of data showing that “mental health outcomes for those working in film and TV are consistently worse than national averages.” “Since 2019, our research has found significantly higher levels of stress, burnout, loneliness and poor mental wellbeing across the sector,” he said. And it’s not a matter of personal resilience, he added, but “the systemic impact of working conditions, culture across the industry and the capability of the industry as a whole to deal with these issues.” Ryder said the goal is to treat mental health the same way productions already treat physical safety. That may mean identifying stress risks during planning, preparing for emotionally challenging content or difficult filming environments, and establishing clear processes for reporting bullying or inappropriate behaviour. The principles are not regulations, but they draw from existing legal obligations and best practices. How they’re implemented will depend on the organisation. “Some partners may encourage adoption; others may embed them more formally into commissioning frameworks or production requirements,” Ryder said. He noted that while tools already exist – UK health and safety laws, international standards like ISO 45003, and industry groups such as the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority – the sector has lacked a single, unified framework tailored to the realities of production work. “Film and television production environments are unique; they are freelance, fast-moving, and often high-pressure. Generic workplace guidance doesn’t always map neatly on to those realities.” Sara Putt, Bafta chair and Film and TV charity chair, said concerns about unstable freelance jobs, limited access to training, and tough production conditions come up repeatedly in conversations with talent. These pressures, she said, are contributing to both a talent drain and a workforce struggling to cope. Kate Phillips, chief content officer at the BBC, called the launch a “potential watershed moment for the UK creative sector’s duty of care to its production community.” She urged the BBC’s teams and outside suppliers to prioritise the principles “so that people working right across the industry can benefit – and so the industry itself can be stronger, healthier, and more sustainable as a result.” For an industry that often celebrates resilience, the message is shifting: resilience shouldn’t be something workers have to muster on their own.
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Score (96)
A Scuba Dive Proposal in Fiji Just Took This Couple to New Depths of Romance
A proposal at sea level can be romantic, sure. But go about 30 meters down, near a sunken ship off Fiji, and things get a lot more memorable. That’s where Kim Paterson, 32, found herself blinking through her mask in disbelief as her then-boyfriend, William Paterson, 37, pulled out a ring and dropped to one knee on the ocean floor. The couple, avid divers from Auckland, had been exploring the MV Salamanda on April 10, 2023, when William’s unusual plan surfaced in the most literal way. He had quietly tipped off the dive team before they suited up, asking for help finding the perfect spot. Kim knew something was off when William insisted they stand beside the wreck for a photo. “Good practice in diving is to not touch the substrate, which, as experienced divers, we both know,” she told SWNS. “So, I was confused and a little frustrated when he insisted we stand next to each other.” As another diver lined up the shot, William made his move. He produced a ring, sank to one knee, and waited for her reaction as bubbles drifted between them. “I was in complete shock when he brought out a ring,” she said. “I looked at him and back at the ring a few times to try and process what was happening.” He gave her a reassuring smile and nod, confirming that yes, this was really happening, even if they were 100 feet underwater. William had mounted a GoPro and passed it to a fellow diver, determined to catch the moment on camera. Kim later admitted the excitement practically wiped her memory of the dive itself. “I ended up using a lot more air on that dive with the excitement, and I barely remember the shipwreck, so we will probably have to revisit it one day,” she said. When they resurfaced, the dive crew and fellow divers celebrated with them before the couple returned to their resort for champagne. The Patersons first met in 2021, and they made it official in December 2024. They haven’t slowed down their underwater adventures. They even spent part of their honeymoon in the Maldives, spotting whale sharks and manta rays along the way.
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This Rare, 4-Eared Kitten is Shining a Spotlight On Pets With Disabilities
It’s getting harder to tell what’s AI online, so when a four-eared kitten named Dobby popped up on Reddit, people weren’t sure whether to coo or squint. Stephanie Brown, his foster mom, gets it. “Dobby has continued to win hearts right and left, although we did have to clarify that he’s not AI, amusingly,” she told Newsweek. The jokes came quickly. With two extra ears, commenters said, Dobby can “ignore you twice as much.” Brown loved it. “True to the cat community I’ve come to know and love, Dobby has been welcomed and adored,” she said. Brown, a board member of Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue in Hoover, Alabama, first learned about him through a local Facebook post from an owner trying to rehome him. “They had tried for months, and it wasn't a right match,” she told People Magazine. “Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to foster him.” The 7-month-old kitten has a rare genetic mutation that gave him a pronounced underbite, a curled little tail, and of course, a bonus set of ears. Brown is no stranger to kittens with special needs — she previously adopted Phoebe, a cat with cerebellar hypoplasia, or “Wobbly Cat Syndrome.” She says animals like Dobby are “completely beautiful” and deserving of the same affection as any other pet. “I think it's a matter of embracing all of those differences and understanding, just like people, every creature, every animal, is going to have their own unique personality, presentation, conditions, appearance, everything like that,” she said. While his tail and ears are staying exactly as they are, Dobby’s underbite does need medical help. “Dobby’s double ears are beyond perfect, but his teeth (unfortunately) are not,” Brown wrote on GoFundMe. A dental specialist determined he needs his lower canines shortened so they don’t push into his upper palate. The good news: vets don’t expect “complications from his overbite and narrow lower jaw” once the procedure is done. Brown explained on Instagram that they’ll wait until he’s about 10 months old before surgery. Holding him as he purred and made “air biscuits,” she added that the pause gives them time to raise the roughly 3,000 dollars needed. “If you have any kind of out-of-the-box ideas for fundraisers for Dobby, I'm all ears,” she said, laughing. She floated ideas from Dobby merch to “painting with Dobby.” He’s not adoptable yet, she reminded followers. Once he has surgery on April 20 and recovers, he’ll need a home in the Hoover, Alabama area. But the support is already pouring in. As of Feb. 25, his GoFundMe was 60 percent toward its goal. “Thank you so much for supporting Dobby!” Brown wrote in an update. Donors chimed in: “Donated for sweet Dobby!” one said. Another confessed, “I wanna rub all those ears.” And scrolling through Instagram, one user summed up the mood: “With everything going on in the world, it's Dobby who I want to see!”
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Extra Virgin Olive Oil Linked to Sharper Brains, New Study Finds
Olive oil has been a heart-health hero for years, but a Spanish research team now says it may also give the brain a boost. A new study from Universitat Rovira i Virgili found that people who regularly used extra virgin olive oil showed better cognitive function and a richer gut microbiome — two markers the researchers say go hand in hand. “This is the first prospective study in humans to specifically analyze the role of olive oil in the interaction between gut microbiota and cognitive function,” lead author Jiaqi Ni said in a press release. The team followed more than 600 adults between ages 55 and 75 for two years. All were overweight or obese and had metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that raises the risk of heart disease. Researchers tracked their intake of virgin and refined olive oils and monitored shifts in their gut bacteria. Participants who used virgin olive oil saw their gut microbiota become more diverse over time, a change the researchers described as an “important marker of intestinal and metabolic health.” They also performed better on tests measuring memory, attention, and executive function. Those using refined olive oil didn’t show the same gains. The distinction, the researchers say, comes down to processing. Refined olive oil is treated to remove impurities, but that process also strips away natural antioxidants and vitamins. Virgin and extra virgin olive oils retain those compounds. “Not all olive oils have benefits for cognitive function,” Ni noted. Jordi Salas-Salvadó, the study’s principal investigator, said the findings reinforce a key idea. “Extra virgin olive oil not only protects the heart, but can also help preserve the brain during aging.” Still, the team cautioned that the study was observational and focused on older Mediterranean adults with higher health risks, so the results may not apply universally. Lifestyle differences also factored in: people using refined oils were more likely to smoke or have lower education levels, which could influence outcomes. And because participants reported their own diets, accuracy is never guaranteed. The study was published in the journal Microbiome.
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Caught on Camera: Florida Deputies Rush Door to Door Tackling Brush Fire and Warning Families
When a brushfire kicked up in Orange Park on Monday, deputies from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office didn’t wait for the flames to get any closer. They went straight to people’s front doors. Bodycam footage shows deputies arriving as thick black smoke rises behind nearby homes. With the fire department working to contain the blaze, deputies started banging on doors, telling residents they’ve “gotta go,” urging everyone inside to evacuate immediately. One deputy didn’t stop there. The video captures him grabbing a garden hose and soaking a wooden fence to keep the fire from reaching a house just meters away. Clay County Fire Rescue later shared the footage on Facebook with a message of appreciation: “We’re always grateful for our brothers and sisters in green! Teamwork!” The sheriff’s office reported no injuries and no structural damage, thanks in large part to quick action on both sides of the badge. 📸 Clay County Sheriff's Office via Storyful
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From Illiteracy to Author: How This Man Wrote His First Book After Learning to Read
If life came with plot twists, Oliver James just pulled off a bestseller. Five years ago, he couldn’t read a single sentence. This week, he held his first published book in his hands. For most of his 32 years, James lived in the margins of the page. A personal trainer with a reputation for being the “kid who caused trouble,” he was actually fighting something quieter and harder to explain. ADHD and OCD made reading feel impossible. He memorized shapes on a page and hoped no one noticed. Every text message, every grocery sign, every road marker depended on someone else stepping in. He was exhausted from pretending. So one day, he didn’t pretend. He posted a video on TikTok saying, “What’s up? I can’t read.” What happened next proved just how unpredictable the internet can be, in the best way. BookTok found him. And they didn’t just encourage him. They showed up. Thousands of people logged on every night to help him sound out words, learn phonics, and piece together meaning line by line. He pledged to read 100 books a year. He hit the goal. The scale of the issue he was facing is much larger than one person’s story. Roughly 21 percent of American adults are illiterate and more than half read below a sixth grade level, according to the National Literacy Institute’s 2024 to 2025 study. James has gone from being part of that statistic to becoming a public advocate for changing it. His memoir, “Unread,” is now out from Union Square & Co. James writes that growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, reading never had a chance. His home life was stretched thin. School felt unsafe. And his mind, crowded with OCD and ADHD, couldn’t stay still long enough to absorb a sentence. His teachers saw behavior problems. They didn’t see a kid who couldn’t read the instructions. Suspensions followed. Expulsion followed that. Eventually he was placed in special education, where he learned to survive by memorizing everything around him. “I was treated like a problem, so I became a problem,” he writes. He couldn’t read messages, so he pieced together responses from old texts. He failed his driver’s test repeatedly until he memorized all the answers. On the road, he memorized exits because he couldn’t read signs. Everything that should have been simple became a logistical puzzle he had to solve before stepping out the door. At 19, he ended up in jail after unknowingly moving packages for a man who turned out to be an undercover federal agent. He writes that he didn’t understand it was a crime. It was part of a larger sting operation and he “got caught in the crossfire.” In prison, he turned to working out, something he could control. After his release, he rebuilt himself as a personal trainer in California. But he still leaned heavily on his partner, Anne, who translated the world for him. Things shifted after she gave him a copy of “365 Quotes to Live Your Life By.” He wanted to understand its meaning the way she intended. That book was his starting line. “The Diary of a Young Girl,” “The Alchemist,” and “The Four Agreements” followed. But he credits children’s books for changing him the most. He loved “The Giver,” “Holes,” and even “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” He compares reading kids’ books as an adult to learning addition before tackling multiplication. Simple stories helped him understand empathy, emotion, and the benefits of reading long before he graduated to heavier material. The emotional transformation blindsided him. He learned empathy from characters nothing like him. He understood his own depression and ADHD better after reading about them. He cried often. And he did it publicly, with thousands of TikTok tutors cheering him on. His self-esteem grew as he realized those strangers weren’t judging him at all. Despite everything he went through, James refuses to blame a specific teacher or school. He sees his story as a systemic failure spread across many adults, including himself. Now he reads on TikTok Live even when he doesn’t feel like it. He reminds himself that someone out there might be hiding the same shame he once carried. His followers have told him he inspired them to learn English or go back to school. “You can’t be the kid and the adult,” he tells himself, he says. “You already had your chance to be the kid. Now you're the adult.” He wants parents to talk honestly with each other about reading struggles and avoid the judgment he faced. He believes that if a community steps in early, no child has to feel as isolated as he did. His own young son is growing up surrounded by books. James is calling from a library when he says, “Our world revolves around it. We live at libraries.” His son isn’t getting reading lessons. He’s just growing up inside a life where books are part of the air. At the start of this year, James was reading one chapter a day. Now he wants to go to college in person and “redo that experience.” He wants to teach others to read. He even dreams of becoming a professor at Harvard. “I want to put this to work, I want to start learning, I don’t care if I even fail,” he says. “I want to go to fail, to learn to pass.” His next challenge is trying something he never imagined he’d say: he wants to read textbooks.
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St Andrews Elects Its First Female Chancellor in 600 Years
It took six centuries, but one of Britain’s oldest universities has finally handed its top ceremonial post to a woman. Dame Anne Pringle, a veteran diplomat and alumna of the University of St Andrews, has been elected chancellor after a closely watched contest — the first time a woman has held the role since the university was founded in the 15th century. She defeated fellow candidates Dame Barbara Woodward, Lord Mark Sedwill and Lady Alex Walmsley. Pringle succeeds Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, who died last year. “It is the honor of my life to be elected Chancellor of St Andrews University,” she said, adding thanks to her supporters and outlining her vision for the institution. “For more than six centuries St Andrews has championed curiosity and courage, tradition and innovation and scholarship in the service of society. As Chancellor, I will be an unwavering advocate for a university that is outward-looking, principled, and bold in its leadership.” Pringle, born in Glasgow and educated at St Andrews, graduated with an MA in French and German in 1977. She went on to become the UK’s ambassador to Russia from 2008 to 2011 — the first woman to hold that post — and earlier served as ambassador to Czech Republic from 2001 to 2004. Her diplomatic career later expanded into roles across business, culture and academia, including a return to St Andrews as Senior Governor of University Court from 2016 to 2020. She also funds scholarships for undergraduates and researchers, underscoring her belief in broad access to education. More than 7,000 graduates and senior staff registered to vote in the election, which used the alternative vote system. Turnout reached 73.63 percent, with all ballots valid. In the final round, Pringle secured 2,643 votes to Lord Mark Sedwill’s 2,215. Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of St Andrews, welcomed the result. She said she was “personally delighted” for Pringle and praised her steady leadership during earlier service to the university. “She will be a brilliant Chancellor, and I am greatly looking forward to working with her again,” she said, extending thanks to all candidates for their “willingness to serve.” The chancellorship — a role stretching back to the university’s founding — is largely ceremonial but symbolically significant, representing continuity and guiding values for a university that has shaped scholars, leaders and public figures for more than 600 years. For Dame Anne Pringle, the history is an asset, but not a limit. “St Andrews is defined not only by its history but by its people,” she said. As she steps into the role, her focus is on strengthening the university’s global standing, widening opportunity, and helping the institution adapt to what she describes as an era of rapid change, fierce competition and profound societal challenges. After six centuries, St Andrews has its first woman chancellor — and she arrives with both deep roots and a clear agenda for the future.
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Two Days of Mostly Oatmeal Cut Cholesterol in a New Clinical Trial
It turns out your grandmother’s breakfast advice might have been onto something. A new clinical trial from the University of Bonn, published in Nature Communications, suggests that eating mostly oatmeal for just 48 hours can significantly reduce cholesterol — and the effect can linger for weeks. Researchers focused on people with metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by excess body weight, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and abnormal lipid levels. Participants spent two days on a calorie-restricted plan made up almost entirely of oatmeal, about 300 grams per day, divided into three boiled meals with only small amounts of fruit or vegetables allowed. Compared with a control group that also cut calories but didn’t eat oats, the oatmeal group showed a much stronger drop in cholesterol. The change was still visible six weeks later. Researchers also found meaningful shifts in gut bacteria, suggesting that the microbes themselves may help explain the benefits. Marie-Christine Simon, a junior professor in the Institute of Nutritional and Food Science at the University of Bonn, said this once-common dietary therapy had largely been forgotten. “Today, effective medications are available to treat patients with diabetes,” she explained, which is why earlier oat-based treatments fell out of use. The trial revisits that old idea with modern tools. None of the participants had diabetes, but all had metabolic syndrome, which raises the risk of developing the disease. “We wanted to know how a special oat-based diet affects patients,” Simon said. Thirty-two participants completed the short, intensive oat intervention. Each cut their usual calories roughly in half and consumed 300 grams of oatmeal daily. Both the oat and control groups saw some improvement simply from eating less, but the oat group saw far more dramatic changes. “The level of particularly harmful LDL cholesterol fell by 10 percent for them — that is a substantial reduction, although not entirely comparable to the effect of modern medications,” Simon said. Participants also lost an average of two kilograms and saw slight decreases in blood pressure. Lowering LDL is important because when levels rise too high, cholesterol accumulates along artery walls, forming plaques that narrow blood vessels. Plaques can rupture under physical or emotional stress, potentially causing heart attacks or strokes. To understand the mechanism, the team examined each participant’s gut microbiome. “We were able to identify that the consumption of oatmeal increased the number of certain bacteria in the gut,” said lead author Linda Klümpen. These microbes produce metabolic byproducts that help nourish intestinal cells and shape how the body handles food. Some of these bacterial byproducts circulate in the bloodstream. One, ferulic acid, has shown cholesterol-lowering effects in animal studies. “It has already been shown in animal studies that one of them, ferulic acid, has a positive effect on the cholesterol metabolism,” Klümpen said. “This also appears to be the case for some of the other bacterial metabolic products.” Other microbes help break down histidine, an amino acid that the body can convert into a compound linked to insulin resistance when left unchecked. The cholesterol reduction persisted for six weeks after the two-day phase, even without continued restriction. “A short-term oat-based diet at regular intervals could be a well-tolerated way to keep the cholesterol level within the normal range and prevent diabetes,” Simon said. But intensity mattered. A separate six-week test where participants ate 80 grams of oatmeal daily without other dietary limits produced only modest changes. The team now hopes to learn whether repeating the intensive plan every six weeks could create lasting protection. Sixty-eight people participated across two randomized controlled trials. In the two-day study, 17 people completed the oat diet and 15 completed the control diet. In the six-week trial, 17 people finished in each group. Researchers collected blood and stool samples and measured blood pressure, weight, waist circumference and body fat at baseline, immediately after the oat phase and again at two, four and six weeks. Full blinding wasn’t possible — participants knew what they were eating — but the lab teams analyzing samples did not know which group each sample belonged to. Blood was tested for LDL cholesterol and dihydroferulic acid, a phenolic compound thought to be produced by beneficial gut bacteria. Stool samples were analyzed using 16S RNA to identify bacterial species and their metabolic byproducts. The study received funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the German Diabetes Association, the German Research Foundation, the German Cereal Processing, Milling and Starch Industries’ Association, and RASO Naturprodukte. The bottom line? Two days of mostly oatmeal won’t replace medication, but it may offer a surprisingly strong metabolic nudge — and a reminder that sometimes old ideas earn a second look.
Score (97)
Researchers Capture First Wild Footage Of Treetop Ultraviolet 'Sparkle' During Thunderstorms
In the summer of 2024, a research team barreled toward thunderstorms in a Toyota Sienna that had absolutely no business being a storm-chasing vehicle. But after cutting a twelve-inch hole in the roof (“Totally killed the resale value, but that’s fine,” as meteorologist Patrick McFarland put it), the minivan became a rolling lab aimed at solving a century-old mystery: do tiny sparks really flicker at the tops of trees during storms? As it turns out, they do. The team parked beside a sweetgum tree in Pembroke and pointed an ultraviolet camera at a cluster of branches while thunder cracked overhead. Later, when they reviewed the footage, they spotted something scientists had never documented in nature before: faint, colorful glows hopping from one leaf to another. These were coronae, electrical discharges so weak they’re normally invisible. “These things actually happen; we’ve seen them; we know they exist now,” said McFarland of Pennsylvania State University. “To finally have concrete evidence [of] that…is what I think is the most fun.” Scientists have suspected for nearly a century that thunderstorms produce small charges at treetops. Lab experiments showed that when a storm cloud builds up enormous electrical energy, the ground below responds with an opposite charge. That charge tries to meet the one above by reaching as high as it can—which, in a forest, means the tips of leaves. In darkness, researchers could just barely produce a faint blue glow in controlled settings. But no one had captured the phenomenon in the wild. McFarland’s team outfitted the minivan with a weather station, electric-field detector and laser rangefinder. The star of the operation was a roof-mounted periscope, which funneled light into a specialized UV camera capable of spotting emissions invisible to the human eye. “The most fun part was taking a jigsaw and cutting a twelve-inch hole in the roof,” McFarland said. “Totally killed the resale value, but that’s fine.” The payoff came fast. In 90 minutes of storm footage, the researchers detected 41 coronae flickering across the sweetgum leaves. Each lasted around three seconds and often seemed to jump from leaf to leaf, almost like a tiny relay race of static electricity. The team didn’t stop there. They chased four more storms from Florida to Pennsylvania, spotting similar coronae on a loblolly pine and several other species. No matter the tree or the strength of the storm, the electrical glows behaved the same way. Their findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggest coronae may be far more widespread than once thought—possibly lighting up tens or even hundreds of leaf tips during an ordinary thunderstorm. We just can’t see them. They’re too weak for the naked eye. But if we could? McFarland imagines something surprisingly beautiful. It “would probably look like a pretty cool light show, as if thousands of UV-flashing fireflies descended on the treetops,” he said. So the next time a storm rolls in and trees start to hiss and sway, the leaves might be putting on a show — one that science finally found a way to watch, even if it required sacrificing a perfectly good minivan roof.