Goodable

This groom was brought to tears as delivered a special message to his new stepdaughter, promising to take her of her as his daughter. "Not only today am I marrying your mom, but I accepted you as my daughter and I promise to always take care of you, wanting to call me dad for a long time," said the groom to his bride's daughter in front of a church full of guests watching the couple get married. He then gave her a ring, promising to be her dad forever.

<p>This groom was brought to tears as delivered a special message to his new stepdaughter, promising to take her of her as his daughter. "Not only today am I marrying your mom, but I accepted you as my daughter and I promise to always take care of you, wanting to call me dad for a long time," said the groom to his bride's daughter in front of a church full of guests watching the couple get married. He then gave her a ring, promising to be her dad forever.<br></p>

It's The Most Heartwarming Wedding Moment and It's Not What You Think

Science Daily

For decades, scientists have studied the brain like a collection of separate tools.

One system handles memory. Another manages attention. Others process language, perception or reasoning. Each network has been mapped and studied individually, leading to major discoveries about how the brain works.

But one big question has remained.

How do all those separate systems combine to produce a single, unified mind?

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame believe they are getting closer to an answer. In a new study published in Nature Communications, scientists found evidence that human intelligence may come not from one specific brain region, but from how the entire brain works together.

“Neuroscience has been very successful at explaining what particular networks do, but much less successful at explaining how a single, coherent mind emerges from their interaction,” said Aron Barbey, professor of psychology at Notre Dame.

The research focuses on something psychologists have noticed for more than a century.

People who perform well in one cognitive skill, such as memory or attention, often perform well in others. This pattern is known as general intelligence. It influences how people learn, solve problems and adapt to challenges throughout life.

Scientists have long known the pattern exists, but they have struggled to explain why.

“The problem of intelligence is not one of functional localization,” Barbey said.

Many studies have tried to pinpoint intelligence to specific regions in the brain, especially areas in the frontal and parietal cortex. But Barbey says the more important question may be how the brain’s networks communicate and coordinate with each other.

To explore that idea, researchers tested what they call the Network Neuroscience Theory.

Instead of viewing intelligence as a single skill or brain region, the theory suggests intelligence emerges from the overall organization of the brain’s networks and how efficiently they share information.

The research team analyzed brain imaging and cognitive performance data from 831 adults in the Human Connectome Project. They then tested their findings against a second group of 145 adults in the INSIGHT Study.

By combining data on both brain structure and brain activity, scientists created a detailed map of how large-scale brain networks interact.

The results supported a different way of thinking about intelligence.

Rather than existing in one place, intelligence appears to arise from cooperation among many brain systems.

“We found evidence for system-wide coordination in the brain that is both robust and adaptable,” said Ramsey Wilcox, the study’s lead author.

“This coordination does not carry out cognition itself, but determines the range of cognitive operations the system can support.”

The researchers identified several key features that appear to shape intelligence.

First, many brain networks must work together. Tasks are distributed across specialized systems, which then combine their information.

Second, communication between distant parts of the brain is essential. Long-range connections act like shortcuts, linking far-apart regions and allowing them to exchange information quickly.

Third, certain regulatory regions act as coordinators, directing which networks activate when solving problems or making decisions.

Finally, intelligence depends on balance. Local groups of neurons need to work efficiently while still staying connected to the wider brain network.

When those elements work together smoothly, thinking becomes more flexible and effective.

Across both groups in the study, differences in intelligence were closely tied to these large-scale organizational patterns rather than to any single brain area.

“General intelligence becomes visible when cognition is coordinated,” Barbey said, “when many processes must work together under system-level constraints.”

The findings could help explain several patterns seen throughout human life.

For example, intelligence often increases during childhood as brain networks become more connected. It may decline with aging as those connections weaken. And widespread brain injuries can disrupt intelligence even when individual regions remain intact.

The research could also influence the future of artificial intelligence.

Today’s AI systems are extremely good at specific tasks, such as recognizing images or generating text. But they often struggle to apply knowledge across different situations.

Barbey says the human brain offers a clue as to why.

“Many AI systems can perform specific tasks very well, but they still struggle to apply what they know across different situations,” he said.

“Human intelligence is defined by this flexibility — and it reflects the unique organization of the human brain.”

The study suggests that building truly adaptable artificial intelligence may require designing systems that mirror the brain’s network-wide coordination, rather than simply expanding specialized tools.

In other words, the secret to intelligence may not lie in any single part of the brain.

It may lie in how the whole system works together.

Scientists Find Intelligence May Come From The Brain Working As One System

Smithsonian Magazine

Before they dominated movie screens and toy aisles, Superman and Captain America lived on thin pages of newsprint that once sold for a dime.

Now those pages have been given a permanent place in American history.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has acquired Action Comics No. 1 and Captain America Comics No. 1, the first appearances of two of the most famous superheroes ever created. The rare comics were donated by Brandon Beck, co-founder of the video game company Riot Games.

For museum curators, the addition represents far more than collectible pop culture.

“I have worked at the museum for almost 30 years and have been able to collect, research and share so many fun and important stories with the public,” said Eric Jentsch, curator of popular culture and sports history. “This acquisition was one of the most gratifying of my career, not only as the comics are important pieces of our cultural history that should be preserved, but also because if you told me as a kid I would be working with these incredible collections I would have been psyched.”

The first of those legendary stories appeared in 1938, when Action Comics No. 1 introduced a new character created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster.

Superman. The caped hero from the doomed planet Krypton quickly became a symbol of justice during the difficult years of the Great Depression. That first issue launched nearly nine decades of stories and helped establish the modern superhero genre.

The character’s influence has only grown since then. A new Superman film directed by James Gunn last summer earned about $624 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2025.

Captain America followed two years later.

Captain America Comics No. 1, created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, debuted in December 1940 with a cover dated March 1941. The issue arrived during a tense period before the United States entered World War II.

Its cover made a statement that readers could not miss.

Captain America, the newly created super soldier Steve Rogers, was shown delivering a powerful punch directly to Adolf Hitler.

The image carried political weight at a time when the United States had not yet entered the war. Through a hero who embodied national determination and democratic ideals, comic books became part of the cultural response to the global conflict.

By acquiring both comics, the Smithsonian is highlighting how entertainment reflects the history and values of the time in which it is created.

“We use objects from popular culture to reflect and learn about the past, and the comics provide incredible insight into the era from which they come,” Jentsch said.

He noted that the stories also reflect the backgrounds of the people who created them.

Superman and Captain America were both invented by first-generation Jewish American creators during a period marked by rising global tensions and rapid technological change.

Paul Levitz, a former president of DC Comics who later wrote Superman stories, said the recognition would have meant a great deal to the artists behind the characters.

“The pivotal creators of these comics—Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby—were all first-generation Jewish Americans, anxious to make their marks in a country that had welcomed their parents,” Levitz said. “As someone who had the pleasure of knowing them all, I can confidently say that this recognition of their work in the most significant comic book acquisition in decades, would have been a great affirmation of the groundbreaking genre that they created.”

Family members of the creators say the moment carries personal meaning as well.

Siegel’s daughter, Laura Siegel Larson, pointed out that the museum already holds another important item from her father.

“The museum already holds my dad’s portable typewriter. Now they have Action Comics No. 1, the holy grail of Superman artifacts,” she said.

Jim Simon, the son of Captain America co-creator Joe Simon, added: “It is wonderful to know that my father Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s work is not only forever immortalized in the hearts of millions but also in the highest of institutions where it will be forever preserved.”

The timing also reflects the enormous cultural reach superheroes now have.

In recent decades, superhero stories have dominated global box offices and streaming platforms, shaping Hollywood economics and inspiring generations of fans.

Yet the origins of those billion-dollar franchises remain remarkably humble.

They began as stapled comic books sold at neighborhood newsstands.

Today, those same issues have become some of the most valuable printed materials in existence. Four years ago, a copy of Captain America Comics No. 1 sold for more than $3 million at auction. Last year, Superman No. 1 fetched more than $9 million, and earlier this year a copy of Action Comics No. 1 reportedly sold privately for $15 million.

For the Smithsonian, the comics are more than collectibles.

They are artifacts that help explain how storytelling, culture and identity evolve over time.

As Jentsch put it, the impact of those early pages is impossible to miss.

“That these books created characters and narratives whose relevance has only grown since their debut almost 90 years ago speaks volumes about their impact and immersion into everyday life.”

Smithsonian Acquires Historic Comic Books Featuring Superman And Captain America

Upworthy

Most nightclubs run on bass drops and flashing lights.

At Broadway Rave, the crowd is belting out “Defying Gravity.”

The traveling dance party has turned into a hit with theatre fans by offering something rare in nightlife: a club where singing show tunes at full volume is not only welcome, it is the whole point.

Broadway Rave bills itself as a “musical theatre dance party celebrating the best of Broadway.” Instead of house music or hip-hop, DJs spin songs from famous musicals like Hamilton, Hairspray, Heathers and The Phantom of the Opera.

The result feels less like a typical rave and more like a giant karaoke session with hundreds of people who already know every lyric.

For many theatre fans, that is exactly the appeal.

Outside of rehearsals or the occasional karaoke night, opportunities to sing Broadway songs with other people are rare. Broadway Rave taps into that enthusiasm by turning a dance floor into a full-scale singalong.

The events take place in clubs, with lights, DJs and a packed dance floor. But instead of traditional club beats, the soundtrack jumps between musical theatre favourites.

One moment the crowd might be dancing to The Greatest Showman. Minutes later, the room could erupt into a group performance of a Hamilton anthem.

The playlist often spans decades of musicals.

One attendee described hearing songs from Hamilton, Heathers, Rent, Dear Evan Hansen, Sweeney Todd, Cats, Six, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Grease, High School Musical, Frozen, Waitress, Legally Blonde, The Book of Mormon and more in a single night.

“It was so much fun,” the attendee wrote after staying at an event from early evening until midnight.

While the name suggests a rave, the experience is closer to a musical theatre party than a traditional electronic dance event. Fans come dressed in show merch, dance in groups and shout out their favourite lyrics together.

For some, the night offers something different from typical clubbing.

Instead of navigating crowded dance floors where everyone moves to a DJ’s beat, Broadway Rave leans into the communal joy that theatre fans already share.

And there is still plenty of dancing. It just looks a little different.

The choreography might feel closer to a stage musical than a nightclub playlist, with crowds jumping and singing along to familiar numbers.

The concept has grown quickly, with events popping up in cities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Fans can check Broadway Rave’s website to find upcoming shows or even request that an event come to their city.

Most events run for about two and a half hours, though age restrictions vary by venue. Some shows are open to guests 18 and older, while others are limited to 21 and up.

That rule can be frustrating for younger theatre fans who might love the experience, especially students active in school drama programs.

Still, the idea has found an eager audience.

For theatre lovers who know every lyric to Wicked or Hamilton, Broadway Rave offers something simple but rare: a place where the stage extends to the entire room.

And where everyone is part of the cast.

New Nightclub Lets You Sing Broadway Hits Out Loud 🎶

Parents often talk about creating “core memories” for their kids.

On social media, that can look like elaborate vacations, over-the-top birthday parties or magical holiday surprises designed to be unforgettable.

But one family therapist says the moments children remember most are often far simpler.

Carol Kim, a licensed marriage and family therapist and mother of three, recently shared a list she calls the “five things kids will remember from their childhood.” Her insight, posted on Instagram under the name Parenting.Resilience, suggests the experiences that stick with children rarely come from expensive outings or big gifts.

Instead, they tend to grow out of everyday moments with their parents.

The idea of “core memories” entered popular culture through the 2015 Pixar film Inside Out, where certain experiences shape the personality of the main character, Riley. While the movie shows those memories forming during key life moments, Kim says parents often misunderstand the concept by trying to manufacture them.

Children, she suggests, are shaped more by emotional connection than by spectacle.

“Notice how creating good memories doesn’t require expensive toys or lavish family trips,” Kim wrote. “Your presence is the most valuable present you can give to your child.”

According to Kim, five types of moments tend to stay with kids long after childhood.

The first is quality time together.

Simple activities such as reading a book, playing a game or having a conversation can leave a lasting impression. These moments show children that their parent’s attention is focused entirely on them.

The second is words of encouragement.

Children often look to their parents for approval and reassurance. Supportive words during both successes and struggles can help build confidence and motivate them to face new challenges.

Next are family traditions.

Traditions, even small ones, create a sense of stability and belonging. Whether it’s a weekly movie night or a holiday ritual, these repeated experiences help children feel connected to something bigger than themselves.

Fourth are acts of kindness.

When children see their parents helping others or practicing compassion, the message tends to stick. Those moments teach them empathy and show how meaningful kindness can be.

Finally, Kim highlights comfort during difficult times.

When parents show up to support a child during moments of stress or sadness, it helps build trust and emotional security. Children learn they are loved and supported, even when things feel hard.

Kim says these experiences may seem simple, but they can be difficult for some parents to provide consistently.

Modern parenting often comes with challenges such as isolation, overstimulation, past trauma or mental health struggles.

“If you find barriers to providing these things, it’s important to reflect on why,” Kim wrote. “There could be several reasons, such as parenting in isolation (we’re not meant to parent alone), feeling overstimulated, dealing with past trauma, or struggling with mental health.”

Recognizing those challenges, she says, is often the first step toward building stronger relationships with children.

In the end, the memories that shape a childhood may not come from the biggest moments.

They often grow quietly from something much simpler: time, kindness and the steady presence of someone who cares.

Psychologist Reveals 5 Core Childhood Memories Kids Will Cherish Forever

Good News Network

For the first time in decades, Kazakhstan is preparing for a sight the country once knew well.

Tigers roaming its wild landscapes again.

The Central Asian nation is launching one of the most ambitious wildlife restoration efforts in the world, aiming to bring the tiger back to a region where it once thrived but later disappeared.

At the heart of the plan is the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve in southern Kazakhstan, where scientists and conservationists are rebuilding the ecosystems needed to support the powerful predator’s return.

That work has already transformed the landscape.

Last year alone, teams planted 37,000 young trees along the Ile River and its delta at Lake Balkhash. Between 2021 and 2024, another 50,000 trees were planted across the reserve.

The effort focuses on restoring tugai forests, a type of riparian woodland that once lined rivers across Central Asia and supported a wide variety of wildlife.

“The results of 2025 are the outcome of many years of painstaking work. We are not simply planting trees, we are laying the foundation for resilient ecosystems capable of sustaining themselves,” said Aibek Baibulov, WWF Central Asia Project Manager for Forest Restoration in Kazakhstan.

“Today, we already see that plantings from previous years have reached heights of up to 2.5 meters, their root systems have reached groundwater, and they are forming natural communities. Restoring tugai forests is the basis for the return of wildlife to the region. Without healthy ecosystems, it is impossible to speak of stable animal populations, including the return of the tiger. We are grateful to all our partners and local residents who are contributing to this work.”

The project is being led by the government of Kazakhstan with support from WWF Central Asia and the United Nations Development Programme.

If it succeeds, it will mark a historic moment for conservation.

It would be the first time tigers have been reintroduced into a country where they are currently extinct.

Genetic research helped make the plan possible. Studies of tiger bones and fur stored in museum collections showed that the tigers that once lived across Iran, Central Asia and the Caspian region were closely related to the modern Siberian, or Amur, tiger.

That discovery meant the Amur tiger could potentially fill the ecological role once held by the extinct Caspian tiger.

To begin the process, a breeding pair of Amur tigers named Bodhana and Kuma were transported from a sanctuary in the Netherlands to a semi-natural facility inside the Ile-Balkhash reserve.

The pair are now adapting to the local climate and landscape. Conservationists hope they will breed, producing cubs that could later be released into the wild.

Those cubs would form the second generation of tigers in the reserve.

But the tiger’s return depends on much more than just the cats themselves.

For years, Kazakhstan has been rebuilding populations of prey animals that tigers rely on.

One of the biggest success stories involves the saiga antelope. Once driven close to collapse, the species has rebounded dramatically from around 48,000 animals in 2005 to more than 1.9 million today.

Conservationists have also reintroduced Bukhara deer to the reserve. The first animals arrived in 2019, and more than 200 deer have been released over the following years to help establish a stable population.

The trees being planted are chosen with those animals in mind.

Along a 2.4-mile stretch of the Lake Balkhash shoreline, restoration teams planted 5,000 willow seedlings, 30,000 long-leaved oleasters, and 2,000 turanga trees, a native poplar species considered culturally important in Kazakhstan.

Early signs suggest the ecosystem is already beginning to recover.

“Already, wild ungulates have been seen foraging on the restored sites, indicating that the ecosystem is beginning to function,” a spokesperson for WWF Central Asia said. “Each planted seedling is therefore a direct contribution to the future of the tiger in Kazakhstan.”

With the habitat and prey slowly returning, the next step is bringing wild tigers back to the region.

Kazakhstan expects three to four Amur tigers to arrive from Russia in the coming months, according to Daniyar Turgambayev, chairman of the country’s Committee for Forestry and Wildlife.

Officials are also preparing for the challenges that come with living alongside a large predator.

“The Russian side will train Kazakh specialists to manage conflicts between humans and predators,” Turgambayev noted.

If everything goes according to plan, the forests, rivers and grasslands of southern Kazakhstan could soon welcome back the creature that vanished generations ago.

Kazakhstan Is Preparing For The Return Of The Tiger For the First Time in Decades

The Guardian

For years, one of Australia’s rarest birds has been forgetting its own music.

Now scientists are helping bring it back.

Researchers working with the critically endangered regent honeyeater have successfully restored the bird’s original song, a breakthrough they hope will help the species recover in the wild.

Once common across south-eastern Australia, regent honeyeaters used to gather in large flocks stretching from Queensland down to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. But habitat loss and declining numbers have pushed the species to the edge.

Today, fewer than 250 are believed to remain in the wild, mostly around the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

As the population shrank, something unexpected happened: the birds’ song began to change.

The complex call that once echoed through forests gradually faded. In its place, researchers began hearing a simplified version with about half the number of syllables.

That matters more than it might seem.

For regent honeyeaters, song is not just background noise. Males use it to attract mates and claim territory. Without the full version, scientists feared the birds could struggle to breed successfully.

So a team of researchers decided to try something unusual: teach the birds their original song again.

The work took place through a long-running captive breeding program at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, which has been raising regent honeyeaters since 1995.

Starting with the 2020–21 breeding season, scientists began experimenting with ways to train young zoo-bred males to sing the full wild version of the call.

At first, the method seemed simple. Researchers played recordings of the traditional song to young birds every day for the first six months of their lives.

It did not work.

In the second year, the team changed tactics. Instead of recordings, they introduced two wild-born male birds to act as teachers.

“We took fledgling birds from all different parents, and we creched them with a wild male who sang correctly,” said Dr Daniel Appleby of the Australian National University, the study’s lead author.

Even then, researchers discovered the classroom mattered.

“We realised that if you have too many birds to one tutor – so a big class size – they don’t learn as effectively,” Appleby said.

So in the third year, they reduced the “class size” to about six juvenile males per adult teacher.

The results improved dramatically.

“The proportion of juveniles that learned the wild song increased from zero to 42% within three years,” the researchers reported.

Ironically, while scientists were working to restore the song in captivity, the original version disappeared entirely from the remaining wild population.

“The full version of the wild song taught to zoo-bred males disappeared from the wild during the study, making the zoo population the only remaining source of traditional song culture,” the study found.

That makes the zoo population even more important for the species’ future.

Ecologist Dr Joy Tripovich, who studies regent honeyeaters with both the Taronga Conservation Society and the University of New South Wales, said hearing the birds sing their restored song was a remarkable moment.

It was “really exciting” to hear the zoo-bred birds perform the traditional call for the first time.

The breeding program has already played a major role in keeping the species alive.

Since 2000, Taronga and its conservation partners have released 556 zoo-bred regent honeyeaters into parts of New South Wales and Victoria.

Some of the most recent releases include males that learned the full wild song during the tutoring program.

Scientists are now studying whether those birds have greater success finding mates and breeding after returning to the wild.

“Our aim for the overall project is to have species become self-sustaining,” Tripovich said.

“We really want them to grow their numbers on their own so that we don’t need to intervene any more.”

Researchers also hope the restored song will reconnect captive birds with the remaining wild population.

The long-term goal, Appleby said, is simple but important: “see wild and captive birds interbreeding”.

“Historically that wasn’t something we ever really observed.” The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Scientists Restore Lost Song Of Endangered Regent Honeyeater To Boost Breeding Success

BBC News

Most people try to avoid freezing water.

Harry Beattie jumps into it every single day.

For nearly 600 days in a row, the 33-year-old from Portsmouth has taken an ice bath, filmed it, and shared it online. What started as a personal challenge has become a daily ritual followed by hundreds of thousands of people on TikTok and Instagram.

For Beattie, the icy routine is tied to something much bigger: his recovery from addiction.

“I spent years using drugs, drinking and gambling to try and change the way I felt because I was unhappy with who I was,” he said.

Beattie began using cocaine in his early 20s. At the same time, he was drinking heavily and struggling with gambling.

From the outside, life looked stable. He ran a double-glazing business, was engaged to be married and was expecting a baby. But privately, he says he was battling what he described as a “horrific cocaine addiction.”

Despite wanting to quit, he says he struggled to face the reality of the situation.

He eventually lost everything, and even a stint in rehabilitation did not work the first time.

“I think maybe six years ago I might not have been ready to accept the help that was being offered,” he said.

“I think I was doing it for the wrong reasons, for the wrong people. I was trying to get clean for my dad, I was trying to get clean for my [partner] at the time – I was trying to get clean for everyone else.”

“And what I really needed to do was do it for me – because I think I'm worth something.”

That shift in mindset came on 21 July 2024, when Beattie stepped into his first ice bath.

He says the experience marked a turning point.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Beattie said the routine quickly became a daily commitment that helped him stay focused on recovery.

“Today I took my 583rd ice bath, consecutively, filming it, editing it, uploading it and inspiring people on the internet to take the plunge and to try to change their lives for themselves,” he said.

“I think what's important now is the discipline to show up and hold myself accountable… there's days I haven't wanted to do it but I've still showed up and that's holding myself accountable.”

Beattie now uses social media to share his cold-water plunges and talk openly about addiction, discipline and mental health.

The posts have attracted a large audience, with many followers saying his story motivates them to make positive changes in their own lives.

But experts stress that ice baths are not a cure for addiction and can carry risks.

Cold water immersion can trigger intense physical reactions in the body. Prof Mike Tipton, from the University of Portsmouth, has studied the effects for more than 30 years.

He says the rush people feel when they plunge into icy water comes from the body releasing stress hormones as it reacts to the sudden cold.

Tipton says researchers have found it difficult to prove the exact health benefits and warns that breathing and circulation can change rapidly in the first minutes of immersion.

Because of that, people with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure or poor circulation are often advised to avoid ice baths unless they receive medical guidance.

Mental health professionals also say cold-water therapy should not replace established addiction treatments such as counselling, medical care, rehabilitation programs or peer-support groups.

Paula Marshall-Smith, a counsellor and psychotherapist based in Petersfield, says recovery looks different for everyone.

“Cold water immersion can have measurable effects on the body and mind,” she said.

“Particularly those recovering from addiction – this may provide a healthier way to experience intensity, regulate mood, and reconnect with their bodies.”

But she cautioned that it is “not without risks – such as hypothermia, cardiac stress and shock responses.”

“Experiential approaches like cold water therapy may form part of a broader recovery toolkit, but they are rarely sufficient on their own.”

Beattie agrees the ice baths are only one part of a larger effort to rebuild his life.

For him, the daily plunge has become something simple but powerful: a way to prove to himself that he can show up, face discomfort and keep moving forward.

Nearly 600 days later, the water is still cold. But Beattie says the routine has given him something he once struggled to find.

A reason to keep going.

600 Ice Baths Later, One Man Says Cold Water Helped Him Turn His Life Around

Most kids hope for a handful of birthday cards.

Amelia Kolpa hoped for 8,000.

She got more than 250,000.

The eight-year-old from Rowley Regis in England has officially broken the UK record for the most birthday cards received, after people from around the world joined a campaign to make her birthday unforgettable.

Amelia is currently receiving palliative care for cancer and has spent much of her young life in and out of hospital since she was two and a half years old. She lives with neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer.

Earlier this year, Amelia set herself a birthday goal. She wanted to break the UK record for the most birthday cards ever received. Her target was 8,000 cards.

The idea quickly spread far beyond her hometown in the Black Country.

Soon, envelopes began arriving from across the United Kingdom and from countries thousands of kilometres away, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. What started as a modest goal turned into a global show of support.

By the time her birthday arrived on Tuesday, the total had climbed to a staggering 250,000 cards.

At one point in February, hundreds of motorcyclists even rode together to help deliver huge batches of the cards directly to Amelia.

For Amelia’s family, the wave of kindness meant far more than breaking a record.

Family member Charmaine Grace said the cards have helped lift Amelia’s spirits during an incredibly difficult time.

"Amelia is the most amazing little girl. She's always smiling, she's one of those cheeky little girls who's always happy and bright."

"She is such a fighter, she's gone through so much. Even all the treatments and trials she's gone through, she's still smiling. She just brings light to anyone."

Amelia had once hoped to take part in a clinical trial for new treatments and was number 60 on the waiting list. For now, she continues to receive palliative care focused on comfort and quality of life.

Alongside the card challenge, Amelia has been working through a personal bucket list.

One of the items was to make Build-A-Bear toys for family members. Inside each stuffed bear, she recorded a voice message so they could always hear her voice.

She has already completed that goal.

Another wish was to have a big birthday party. Thanks to the outpouring of support from people around the world, this year’s celebration arrived with something few birthdays ever include: stacks upon stacks of colourful envelopes carrying messages from strangers who simply wanted to make a little girl smile.

And while the record books will remember the number, Amelia’s family says the real gift has been something much harder to count. Hope.

An Eight-Year-Old Girl is Celebrating a World Record With 250,000 Birthday Cards

Science Alert

A fish no longer than a finger may have just pulled off something scientists once thought only the smartest animals could do.

In new experiments, the cleaner wrasse did not just recognize itself in a mirror. It also appeared to experiment with the mirror, dropping a piece of shrimp in front of it to watch how the reflection behaved.

For a creature that small, that kind of curiosity is raising big questions about how intelligence evolved in animals.

Scientists often measure self-recognition using something called the mirror mark test. In this experiment, researchers place a small mark on an animal’s body where it cannot normally see it. If the animal looks in a mirror and then tries to remove the mark, researchers interpret that as evidence it understands the reflection is itself.

Humans do it all the time without thinking. If you spot smeared eyeliner in the mirror, you immediately know the smudge is on your own face and use the reflection to fix it.

Only a handful of animals have passed the test. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are among the species that have shown clear signs of recognizing themselves.

Cleaner wrasse were first reported to pass the test in 2018. The fish, known scientifically as Labroides dimidiatus, spend their lives eating parasites and dead tissue off larger fish. Because their entire lifestyle revolves around spotting tiny blemishes, researchers suspected they might react strongly to a mark on their own bodies.

But not everyone was convinced.

Some scientists argued the fish were not recognizing themselves. Instead, they might have been mistaking the marks for parasites on another fish in the mirror.

Now researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland have taken another look.

They changed one important detail in the experiment.

In earlier tests, the fish first spent several days getting used to the mirror before scientists added a mark to their bodies. In the new study, researchers reversed that order.

The fish were marked first, before they had ever seen the mirror.

“In earlier cleaner wrasse mirror studies, the procedure was typically the fish see a mirror for several days, they habituate to it and stop reacting socially, and a mark is added,” animal behavioralist Shumpei Sogawa from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan explains.

“In this study, the order was reversed; the fish were marked first, then the mirror was introduced for the first time. The fish were likely aware of something unusual on their body, but they couldn't see it. When the mirror appeared, it immediately provided visual information that matched an existing bodily expectation, hence scraping occurred much faster.”

The results surprised the researchers.

On average, the fish began trying to rub off the mark within about 82 minutes of seeing their reflection. Scientists say the speed of that response suggests the fish may have already sensed something unusual on their bodies before using the mirror to locate it.

Then something even stranger happened.

After a few days of getting used to the mirror, some fish started performing a behavior scientists had never seen before. They picked up a small piece of shrimp from the bottom of the tank, carried it over to the mirror, and dropped it.

The shrimp’s reflection fell in perfect sync with the real piece of food. The fish followed the movement closely and touched the mirror with their mouths.

Researchers believe the fish were exploring how the mirror worked.

By dropping an object that was not part of their own bodies, they could watch how the reflection behaved and test whether it matched reality.

This kind of behavior is known as contingency testing. It has been seen in several animals that did not pass the traditional mirror mark test, including pigs, rhesus monkeys, manta rays and certain birds.

For the scientists involved, the implications go beyond fish behavior.

“The findings from this research will likely influence not only academic issues, such as revising evolutionary theory and constructing concepts of self, but also directly impact matters relevant to our lives, including animal welfare, medical research, and even AI studies,” says biologist Masanori Kohda, who worked on both the original cleaner wrasse study and the new research.

For decades, self-awareness was widely considered a trait unique to humans and perhaps a few close relatives like great apes.

But the cleaner wrasse may be adding another chapter to that story.

“Our results suggest that self-awareness evolved at a minimum with the bony fishes (450 million years ago) and is likely widespread across vertebrates,” the researchers wrote.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Tiny Fish Surprises Scientists By Passing Intelligence Test Meant For Great Apes

In many parts of Africa, electricity is still something people dream about, not something they flip on with a switch.

But a wave of solar innovation is starting to change that.

Across the continent, companies are experimenting with creative ways to deliver clean power to communities that have never been connected to an electrical grid. The approaches range from rent-to-own rooftop solar panels to battery swapping stations powered by the sun.

For some Canadian companies working there, the challenge has required thinking differently about how energy works.

Africa installed about 4.5 gigawatts of new solar capacity last year, a 54 per cent jump and a record for the continent, according to the Global Solar Council. About half came from large solar farms connected to power grids. The rest came from smaller rooftop systems and other privately financed installations.

Those smaller systems are becoming a major driver of solar growth across Africa, especially in places where grid electricity is unreliable or nonexistent.

That matters in a region where the International Energy Agency estimates about 600 million people, or roughly 43 per cent of the population, still have no access to electricity.

For Toronto-based Solar Panda, the solution is a rent-to-own solar system designed for households with limited income.

"Going from where you've never had access to electricity to having it is incredibly life changing," said Brett Bergman, the company’s chief operating officer.

Solar Panda sells rooftop systems that include panels, a battery and compatible appliances like LED lights, radios and televisions. Families pay a small deposit and then make daily payments as low as 50 cents using local mobile money apps.

The systems usually take one to three years to fully pay off.

"And they've got free electricity from then on," Bergman said.

The impact can be immediate. Bergman recalled traveling to Kenya for market research interviews when a customer he had never met hugged him.

"He said, 'Thank you, because I don't have to worry about my children coughing from the kerosene [lamp] fumes when they're doing their homework at night.'"

Since launching in Kenya in 2017, the company has expanded into Zambia, Benin and Senegal. Solar Panda says its systems now provide electricity to about 400,000 homes, reaching roughly two million people.

Another Canadian company is tackling the problem in a completely different way.

Halifax-based Jaza Energy builds solar-powered charging hubs that rent out lithium-ion battery packs to customers. People bring the batteries home to power lights, televisions and phone chargers, then return every few days to swap them for freshly charged ones.

CEO Jeff Schnurr said the idea grew out of work he was doing in rural Tanzania.

"Someone said, 'Trees are great, but where can I charge my phone?'" he recalled.

Schnurr realized that traditional rooftop solar systems could be too complicated or expensive for families earning just $1 to $1.50 per day. The battery-swapping system allowed customers to access electricity without installing equipment at home.

The batteries were designed to be light and durable so people could carry them by bicycle, even during rain.

At first, customers complained the battery packs were too small. The company later realized the issue was cost, not capacity.

"The reality is customers that live day by day have a very high bar for what they spend their money on," Schnurr said.

Today, Jaza Energy operates charging hubs staffed by local women known as “Jaza Stars,” creating jobs alongside electricity access.

The company has expanded from Tanzania into Nigeria and now supplies power to more than a million people.

Even as distributed solar spreads, experts say financing remains a challenge. According to the Global Solar Council, about 82 per cent of clean-energy funding in Africa still goes toward large utility-scale projects rather than smaller household systems.

Nathanael Ojong, an associate professor at York University in Toronto who studies the spread of small-scale solar, said distributed energy is already playing an important role in expanding electricity access.

He described it as a "key role" in bringing power to communities while also creating local jobs.

At the same time, Ojong notes that some solar contracts can be difficult for customers to afford, and in some regions expanding national power grids may still be the better long-term solution.

Still, in many remote areas, distributed solar may be the only realistic option.

Africa’s population is expected to reach about 2.5 billion by 2050, meaning more than one in four people on Earth could live there.

For companies working to bring electricity to the continent, that growth represents both a challenge and a massive opportunity.

"The reality that we see there is that Africa is the... biggest growth opportunity in the world," Bergman said.

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