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How Sport Gave This Afghan Paralympian The Opportunity Of A Lifetime
Abbas Karimi is a refugee Paralympic swimmer and UNHCR supporter. He calls for a global commitment to the millions with disabilities. The most important commitment the world can make is to respect and accept people with disabilities, he says. Karimi: Until our rights are fully respected and protected in an inclusive society, people with disabled will not have the same opportunities to contribute.
Score (98)
A Homeless Encampment Helped This Stranded Motorist When Her Car Ran Out Of Gas
On a busy day in Albuquerque, a simple act of kindness turned a frightening roadside breakdown into a moment Cobb says she will never forget. Juli Cobb, a creative arts teacher in Albuquerque, was driving home when her car ran out of gas and stalled in the middle of the road near a crowded homeless encampment under the freeway. “I was sitting there so vulnerable, and I was anxious,” Cobb said. “But this man ran up to me from under the bridge and asked me if I needed help.” She told him what had happened. He said he would try to help, but first they needed to get her car out of traffic. “He single-handedly tried to push me,” Cobb recalled. “And I couldn’t unlock the steering and it wasn’t moving. Then two other men ran over to help and again [asked], ‘Can we help you?’ and ‘What’s going on?’” One of the men asked carefully if he could reach through the window to check the steering column. Cobb agreed, and he managed to unlock it. As they worked, cars swerved past, trying not to hit them, and at one point the group directed a tractor trailer to steer around the stopped vehicle. Together, the three men shifted her car out of the roadway. The first man, the one who had tried to push the car on his own, offered to bike off to get fuel. Cobb handed him some cash for a can of gas. Shaken and ready to go home, she stayed in the driver’s seat. Then one of the men introduced himself. “He said, ‘This is a dangerous place. There are some people that would take advantage of this situation. Have you called anybody?’” Cobb remembered. “I said, ‘I’m calling my daughter right now.’ And he said, ‘I will stay here with you.’” He kept that promise. Cobb never had to step out of the car. A short while later, the man on the bike returned with gas, poured it into her tank, and the engine turned over. Soon after, Cobb was back on the road and on her way home. The relief was immediate, but what lingered was the generosity of three strangers who, as Cobb noted, had little to spare. “That these men, who didn’t ask for anything and really are on the street and trying to survive, don’t know where their next meal is coming from probably, just ran over to help. So, that was pretty impactful on me.” Cobb’s account appears in My Unsung Hero, a series from the Hidden Brain team that gathers stories of everyday people whose kindness reshapes someone else’s day, or their sense of what community can be. Her story offers a clear picture of what help can look like in a tough moment, a few quick decisions, a willingness to step in, and a promise to stand by until the danger passes. For Cobb, the experience turned a vulnerable moment into an enduring lesson in looking out for one another. Three strangers saw someone stuck, asked if they could help, and did. It was not elaborate or loud. It was steady and human, the kind of kindness that leaves a mark.
Score (98)
An 8-Year-Old Has Become The Youngest to Swim Across Halifax Harbour, Raising Money For United Way
Eight-year-old Ava Henley has become the youngest person to swim across Halifax Harbour in support of The United Way. Ava took part in the annual Nova Scotia Harbour Swim on September 4, completing the challenge in about 32 minutes alongside her father, Andrew, an experienced long-distance swimmer who has done the event five times. “It was crazy, but it was really fun,” Ava said after the swim. She admitted she was nervous at first. “I was really nervous on the boat. I can’t quit now because I’m on the boat, so I did it.” Andrew said training together over the summer helped prepare his daughter. “I was teaching her over the summer that long-distance swimming is more of a mind game more than it is a physical game,” he explained. For him, this year’s event was unforgettable. “The last swim was probably the most memorable for me because this is the first time in my life I had my daughter follow me.” To qualify for the event, participants had to prove they could swim 1,500 metres in under 40 minutes and raise at least $150 in pledges. Ava surpassed both requirements. “I’m so incredibly proud of what she’s done,” Andrew said. The Nova Scotia Harbour Swim for The United Way ran from September 2 to 5 this year, with events in Shelburne, Chester, Halifax, Sydney, St. Peter’s, and Pictou.
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Score (98)
Strangers Surprised This Boy With a New Wheelchair After it was Stolen
What started as heartbreak for a Midvale family turned into an outpouring of generosity after their son’s stolen wheelchair was replaced—and upgraded—within a week. Axton Bird, 11, lives with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC), a rare genetic condition that makes walking long distances difficult. When thieves took his donated electric wheelchair from the family’s parking lot, his parents felt crushed. “When the wheelchair was stolen, we kind of hit rock bottom,” his father, Jayson Bird, said. “All we were seeing was red and anger, thinking, ‘How could someone do this?’ But I had to remind myself and remind my wife and my family that sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and God brought these wonderful people to us.” One of those people was Mike Felice of Disabled Outdoorsmen Utah. After seeing the story on FOX 13 News, Felice jumped into action. “Let’s don’t focus on the negative, let’s focus on the positive and what can we do to resolve this, and let’s get this young man a new chair,” he said. Felice worked with Compassion Mobility and other nonprofits to secure a replacement—this one even better suited for Axton. The new chair allows him to steer with his elbow, giving him more independence. Community support didn’t end there. Kings Camo donated hunting gear, while Huckleberry Hiking provided tandem equipment so Axton can enjoy trails more easily. Supporters also raised $2,500 to help the family with additional costs. For Jayson, watching his son try out his new chair was overwhelming. “Overwhelmed, overjoyed, speechless,” he said. “To watch our son have the independence and mobility that he deserves and have such a really awesome and cool wheelchair that he can grow into and have for many years to come, means the world to us and our family.”
Score (98)
Rescued Dogs from an Abandoned House are Beginning New Lives as Police Sniffer K-9s
Four spaniels rescued from a derelict house in South Yorkshire are being retrained as police sniffer dogs, Greater Manchester Police confirmed. Bruce, Pablo, Lola, and Nellie were among 82 dogs discovered in April living in what officers described as “squalid” conditions at a property in Tickhill, Doncaster. The rescue was carried out by the RSPCA with support from South Yorkshire Police. When officers entered the home, they were overwhelmed by the smell. “Working their way around the property the team were met with faeces, filth and round every corner and room, more dogs,” a South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said. In addition to the spaniels, police also found two cats and a chicken. The dogs were seized and moved into kennels, where five were initially chosen for assessment as potential working animals. One was quickly rehomed after not meeting the requirements, while the other four showed promise for police work. The RSPCA partnered with Greater Manchester Police’s Tactical Dog Unit to begin training them as detection dogs. PC Wes Donnelly said the transformation has been remarkable. “We’re giving them the best life possible. These dogs have gone from being neglected to having a real purpose. Providing their training goes well, they’ll soon be helping us detect drugs, cash and other items that support investigations.” The spaniels are now in specialist training and, if successful, will join the force’s K-9 unit in the months ahead.
Score (96)
Unveiling The Mystery: Scientists Decoded Blue Pigment In This Pollock Masterpiece
Jackson Pollock’s Number 1A (1948) is one of those paintings at New York’s Museum of Modern Art that stops people in their tracks. It’s a sprawling web of paint, with foggy whites, muscular strands of black and blue, and jolts of pink and red. Now, scientists say part of its impact comes from the chemical makeup of one particular color: the blue. Researchers from MoMA and Stanford University have confirmed that Pollock used manganese blue, a synthetic pigment once popular with artists but phased out in the 1990s for environmental reasons. They made the discovery using Raman spectroscopy, a laser-based method that measures how molecules vibrate. Earlier scholars had thought Pollock’s blue was a form of turquoise. Manganese blue was first synthesized in 1907 but didn’t hit the market until the 1930s. It was prized for its purity and brilliance, qualities that come from how electrons in the pigment respond to light. The pigment absorbs green and violet wavelengths, reflecting back an unusually clean, intense blue. This property made it a favorite not only for artists such as Sergei Gerasimov and Lado Gudiashvili in the Soviet Union, but also for industrial uses like tinting cement. The findings, published September 15 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, build on earlier studies of Number 1A that identified cadmium yellow and cadmium red in the work. Together, they give conservators better tools to care for Pollock’s painting. “It offers insights into the development of the artist’s practice and to contextualize the work within the oeuvre and understand trends in the manufacture and use of certain colorants over time,” MoMA conservation scientist Abed Haddad said in an email. “This knowledge can be critical for developing effective strategies for display, since many pigments are sensitive to environmental factors such as intense light, ultraviolet radiation, and fluctuations in humidity.” Pollock made Number 1A at a turning point in his career. He had begun abandoning traditional titles in favor of numbers—“Numbers are neutral,” his wife Lee Krasner later explained—and he worked on unstretched canvas laid flat on the floor rather than on an easel. The painting carries his handprints in its underlayer, followed by brushstrokes and squeezed-out paint, topped with his signature pours and drips. When it was first shown in 1949, the painting went unsold. MoMA acquired it the following year, and it has since become a landmark in Abstract Expressionism. The researchers note that Pollock couldn’t have known the atomic physics behind manganese blue’s appeal. Still, as they wrote, “they nonetheless created the color that he intuitively chose to create the dynamic contrast and depth of Number 1A.”
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New Experiment QROCODILE Sets Record Sensitivity in Light Dark Matter Search
For decades, scientists have been chasing one of the universe’s biggest mysteries: dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up 85 percent of the cosmos but has never been directly detected. Now, a new international experiment is pushing the search into uncharted territory. Researchers from the University of Zurich and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, working with teams at Cornell, MIT, and Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, have unveiled first results from their novel detector, QROCODILE (Quantum Resolution-Optimized Cryogenic Observatory for Dark matter Incident at Low Energy). Unlike traditional dark matter searches, which look for heavier particles, QROCODILE targets “light” dark matter — particles thousands of times smaller than those previously tested. The secret lies in a superconducting detector cooled to near absolute zero. This ultra-sensitive instrument can measure energy deposits as tiny as 0.11 electron-volts, millions of times smaller than the energy scales probed in conventional particle physics. Over a 400-hour run, the detector picked up a handful of unexplained signals. While they cannot yet be confirmed as dark matter — cosmic rays or background radiation could be responsible — the results already set world-leading limits on how such light particles might interact with electrons and nuclei. One of QROCODILE’s key advantages is its potential to capture the direction of incoming signals. Because Earth moves through the galaxy’s dark matter halo, scientists expect particles to arrive from a preferred direction. Proving that directional pattern would be a game-changer in separating real dark matter interactions from random noise. “For the first time, we’ve placed new constraints on the existence of especially light dark matter,” said Prof. Yonit Hochberg of Hebrew University’s Racah Institute of Physics. “This is an important first step toward larger experiments that could ultimately achieve the long-sought direct detection.” The team is already planning the next phase: NILE QROCODILE. This upgraded experiment will move underground to shield the detectors from cosmic rays, while boosting sensitivity with larger detector arrays and even lower energy thresholds. If successful, these efforts could help answer one of the deepest questions in science: what makes up the missing mass of the universe. For now, QROCODILE’s early results suggest the hunt for dark matter is entering a new, more precise era.
Score (98)
A New Bakery Employing Adults With Learning Disabilities Just Opened in the UK
Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith has hailed the opening of a new Oxfordshire bakery that trains and employs adults with learning disabilities, calling it “astonishing and wonderful.” The Life-Changing Bakery, run by local charity Yellow Submarine, was officially opened by Dame Prue at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday night. Located on the outskirts of Witney, the bakery will supply two cafés already operated by the charity — one in Witney town centre and another in Oxford — both staffed by trainees. The bakery provides opportunities for participants to develop catering skills, gain qualifications, and build confidence as they move gradually into employment. “I feel quite emotional about this, because running a charity is hell — it’s really difficult,” Dame Prue said. “So to make a success of it as you have over the years is astonishing and wonderful.” For trainees, the benefits are already clear. “It makes a huge difference because when I was first a trainee I would never talk to strangers,” said Jack Howard, who has just completed his first year with the programme. “But now I’ve got used to it, I’m more confident about doing that kind of stuff.” Yellow Submarine was founded in 2013 with the aim of increasing the proportion of adults with learning disabilities in paid employment, a figure that currently stands at just 5 percent nationwide. Alongside its cafés and bakery, the charity also runs life skills workshops and days out. In 2022, its Oxford café was named High Street Shop of the Year in the Independent Awards. Dame Prue said the project’s impact goes far beyond job training. “It’s not just about learning to get a job, though they do that brilliantly,” she told the audience. “But on the way they learn to make friends, they get confidence, and everybody’s having a good time. You can tell by talking to the trainees that they love it here.” For Yellow Submarine, the new bakery is more than just a workplace — it’s another step toward creating inclusive spaces where skills, confidence, and community can rise together.
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World's Oldest Camera Obscura Continues to Captivate Visitors in Scotland
High on Corbelly Hill in Dumfries, Scotland, sits what looks like a sturdy 19th-century observatory. But inside, it holds a piece of living history: the world’s oldest functioning camera obscura, in operation since 1836. The device, whose name comes from the Latin for “dark chamber,” projects a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding landscape onto a table for viewers. Long before photography as we know it, it was one of the most magical ways to see the world. Its story began when locals sought to save an abandoned windmill from demolition in the 1830s. A resident purchased the mill in 1835 for about $350, and 100 townspeople bought $5 shares each to repurpose it. Working with architects, they decided to create a public observatory. Judith Hewitt, curator at the Dumfries Museum, explained: “There were two main proposals they liked the look of — one by a local architect called Walter Newell, and that was the one that was eventually taken up. He did it in an Egyptian revival style, so it’s a nice, big, chunky building with chunky windows and doors — sort of like the Valley of the Kings.” The winning design included not just telescope floors but also a camera obscura at the top. Installed by Thomas Morton of Kilmarnock, who also built the telescope still on display, the system has been projecting images since the tower opened in 1836. “It’s got some of the original pieces still in it, which makes it the oldest functioning camera obscura in the world,” Hewitt said. “The main parts are still the functioning pieces from the 19th century.” The museum now welcomes thousands of visitors each year, with staff offering live presentations whenever the weather allows. Rainy days are the only exception, as moisture could damage the delicate mechanism. “People’s reactions are absolutely fantastic — they can’t believe it!” Hewitt said. “And people in the 1800s used to call it the ‘Wizard Watchtower of Dumfries,’ because they couldn’t understand what they were seeing.” Nearly two centuries on, the “Wizard Watchtower” continues to amaze, offering a rare chance to step into the past — and see the world through the same lens that left visitors spellbound in the 1800s.
Score (98)
Miracle Match: How a Last-Minute Donor Saved This Cancer Patient
What started as a chance encounter during last-minute Christmas shopping has ended with a young man helping save a stranger’s life. Brendon Craister, 26, was out in Telford last December when he stumbled across a stem cell donor drive at Telford Minster. The event was organized to find a potential match for Marshall Davies, a local man diagnosed with a rare form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2023. “I didn’t end up matching with that blood cancer patient, but two or three months later I was contacted by Anthony Nolan who told me I was a match for another,” Craister said. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” Saying yes was immediate. “I wouldn’t feel right saying no to the opportunity to help someone,” he explained. “If you’ve got a chance to help another person I don’t see why you wouldn’t do everything you could.” Craister said the decision was made even clearer because one of his colleagues was also waiting for a transplant at the time. The initial test was simple — some personal details and a cheek swab, coordinated by the charity Race Against Blood Cancer. Months later, when he was told he was a match, he underwent a peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC). “I was pleasantly surprised by how simple and seamless the entire process was,” he said. While keeping his arm in one position for hours caused some discomfort, he described the procedure as “overall quite manageable.” “It’s amazing to think that such a straightforward process has saved a life,” Craister added. Meanwhile, Davies is still searching for his match. Race Against Blood Cancer says around 2,000 people in the UK are currently waiting for stem cell donors. For Craister, the message is simple: sometimes, helping can be as easy as being in the right place — and saying yes.
Score (96)
This Adventurer Received an Honorary Degree After Running the Length Of Africa
Russ Cook, the endurance athlete known as the Hardest Geezer, has been awarded an honorary Master of Sport degree from the University of Chichester. The 28-year-old from Worthing, West Sussex, gained worldwide attention after running the entire length of Africa, a feat he completed in April last year. The journey took 352 days and covered more than 16,400 km, raising over £1 million for charity. Cook said receiving the honorary degree was “a big honour and not something that I thought would ever come my way.” He added that the lessons from his challenge go far beyond the finish line. “I’ve learnt that I’m more capable than I ever gave myself credit for. All of my successes have been built on failure and learning from it. Don’t be scared of it, it’s all part of the process. When you fail, dust yourself off and try again.” Speaking directly to this year’s graduates, Cook offered advice rooted in his own experience: “My advice to students is don’t be scared to fail and keep attacking life with as much passion as you can.” Cook’s run began at South Africa’s southernmost point on 22 April 2023 and ended in Tunisia, more than 10,000 miles to the north. Along the way, he faced visa complications, illness, geopolitical unrest, and even an armed robbery. Despite the setbacks, he completed the extreme challenge and inspired followers around the world. Since returning, he has launched a travel company designed to help others experience adventure on their own terms. Cook has also tackled endurance runs in New Zealand and Iceland, but says his Africa expedition taught him the most. “It’s not so much about the achievement but about the journey along the way,” he said.