Scroll For More
Score (97)
‘accidental Astronomy:’ a New Book Explores Everything in Space Found by Accident
In his new book "Accidental Astronomy," Chris Lintott celebrates the joy of unexpected discoveries in space. He highlights how luck and scientific mishaps often lead to groundbreaking findings, challenging the notion that all discoveries are meticulously planned. From stumbling upon an asteroid like Oumuamua to unraveling its mysteries with a diverse team of experts, Lintott showcases the thrill of exploring the cosmos through serendipity.
Score (95)
What Happens to a 1,000-Pound Butter Sculpture? In Pennsylvania, It Powers Homes
After drawing thousands of curious onlookers at the Pennsylvania Farm Show earlier this month, a towering butter sculpture featuring Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and the Liberty Bell is now fueling homes with renewable energy. The 1,000-pound sculpture, titled A Toast to Our Nation’s 250th Anniversary: Inspired by Founders. Grown by Farmers, was dismantled by local 4-H students and sent to Reinford Farms, a dairy farm in Mifflintown that turns food waste into methane power. “Inside this tank, there’s a process that converts the butter, as well as manure and other food waste, into methane,” farm owner Brett Reinford told WPMT. “We have specialized motors that run on methane and a generator that produces power.” It takes just a few hours in the anaerobic digester for the butter to be transformed into methane, which then helps generate electricity for nearby homes. Before meeting its eco-friendly end, the sculpture had been kept in a refrigerated display room set to around 55 degrees Fahrenheit while artists were working, then dropped lower to preserve it during the week-long show in Harrisburg. It took students only four hours to take it apart, but the process of bringing it to life was months in the making. Philadelphia-based sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton were behind this year’s buttery tribute to the nation’s founding. Their work showed the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, complete with founding fathers, the Liberty Bell, and Ross sewing the stars and stripes. It was designed to reflect “how agriculture has been the roots of our nation’s growth and prosperity for 250 years,” said Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding in a statement. “It’s an honor to be part of the tradition every year,” Victor told the Patriot-News at the unveiling. “Especially for this commemorative year.” The butter used in these sculptures isn’t fit for sale or consumption. It’s donated scrap butter that would otherwise go to waste. Once in the artists' hands, it's supported by custom welded metal frames, sketched into detailed designs, and molded into intricate forms. The sculpture was the 35th in the Farm Show’s long-running tradition of transforming dairy products into art. Since 1991, it’s become a highlight of the annual event—drawing visitors from across the state for a glimpse at the creamy creations. Past sculptures have depicted everyone from WWII soldiers to lunch ladies. This year’s display may be gone, but it isn’t wasted. Thanks to a growing effort to recycle food art into renewable energy, Pennsylvania’s butter sculptures are getting a second life—this time as electricity.
Score (97)
‘Shared Among All’: French Man Donates Family Field to Become Orchard and Garden for Entire Town
When Michel Éprinchard inherited a quiet patch of overgrown land in western France, he didn’t see much use for it. The field, full of weeds and distant childhood memories, sat untouched for years—until he had an idea that would bring new life not just to the soil, but to his hometown. He decided to donate the entire parcel to the small town of Clussais-la-Pommeraie, population 560, on one condition: that it be turned into a fruit orchard and community garden open to everyone. “The first condition is to create a garden with specific varieties of fruit trees, and the second condition, undoubtedly the most important, is that the entire community can benefit from it, shared among all,” Éprinchard told Franceinfo. He estimated the project would cost around €11,000 (about $12,000), and warned local officials that accepting the gift would also mean taking on that responsibility. Mayor Étienne Fouché didn’t hesitate. The town accepted, and work began last year. The orchard includes apple, pear, and plum trees, with the first 50 saplings already in the ground. Another 50 will be planted this year, alongside hedges, flower beds, and flowering trees. Community members showed up in force to help with the planting. “Now we will let them grow, we will monitor the diseases, we will take care of the soil, and then people will come to pick their own apples or make jam,” Fouché said. It will be four years before the first real harvest. But that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone. The project has already done what it set out to do: bring people together and return an unused patch of land to a shared, meaningful purpose. This kind of grassroots generosity isn’t new in France, but it’s rare. It echoes the story of Roger Thiberville, who passed away and left €10 million to a town he’d never even visited—Thiberville, in Normandy. The man had no family heirs and, in a poetic gesture, chose to donate his inheritance to a town that happened to share his name. His ashes now rest there, under a plaque in the town cemetery. Elsewhere, similar visions of land reuse are taking shape. One college principal in India turned eight barren acres on campus into a mini forest and orchard, transforming the space into a thriving green zone for students and wildlife. Back in Clussais-la-Pommeraie, the sentiment is simpler but no less powerful. A man gave his land, a town came together, and now they wait—not in a hurry—for the trees to grow.
Get even more good news on the free app!
Score (97)
Capybara Trio Captures Hearts at Kent Wildlife Park with New Names
Three baby capybaras at a Kent wildlife park are winning over visitors—and the internet—after being officially named Colin, Clive and Cuthbert. The trio, born in October at Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury, were dubbed the “furry band of brothers” by keepers in a video posted to Instagram. In the clip, staff joked, “Forget heist movies, these cute 'baby potatoes' are stealing our hearts.” Their names were chosen through a public contest, where fans submitted suggestions and then voted on a shortlist. According to Meg Lawler, the park’s head of mammals, the final picks were a nod to the names of the beloved chocolate caterpillar cakes popular across the UK. Capybaras—the largest rodents in the world—have enjoyed viral fame since 2023, when a TikTok trend featuring a quirky capybara-themed song racked up hundreds of millions of views. That sudden surge in popularity translated into real-world demand, with zoos and wildlife parks reporting increased foot traffic and more visitors asking specifically about the laid-back animals. “Even before the babies were born, everybody wanted to see them,” Lawler said. “Now we’ve got the babies, they’re getting lots and lots of attention.” The park, known for its active social media presence, involved fans in every step of the naming process. “We got people to put some names in. We picked our favourites. We did a poll and that was the one that came top,” Lawler explained. While Colin, Clive and Cuthbert are still adjusting to life under the spotlight, their keepers say they’re handling it just fine. Capybaras are famously easygoing and social—qualities that have helped them earn a reputation as the ultimate “vibe” animals. Last year, capybara keepers in Oxfordshire described them as “chilled” creatures that “vibe through life,” typically starting their days in the afternoon and seeming entirely unbothered by much else. With their rising popularity and the warm reception to the new arrivals, the Kent wildlife park is hopeful there will be more baby capybaras in the future. For now, though, Colin, Clive and Cuthbert are the stars of the show—and they seem perfectly content with the attention.
Score (97)
NASA Tech May Soon Help Spot Ocean Plastic From Space — Thanks to a New ‘Fingerprint’ Database
Tracking the world’s marine litter is a logistical nightmare. Every year, more than 8 million tons of plastic flow into the ocean, much of it from land. Once it enters the water, debris can travel thousands of kilometers, carried by currents and wind, breaking down into smaller pieces that are nearly impossible to trace. But a new tool from space might soon change that. In late 2025, scientists using NASA’s EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) sensor aboard the International Space Station announced they had detected plastic pollution concentrations on land for the first time using space-based spectroscopy. Now, researchers are exploring whether that same tech could one day help track plastic in the ocean, too. It’s a challenge, but not an impossible one. And a new reference library, led by NASA intern Ashley Ohall, is laying the groundwork. The open-source database contains nearly 25,000 unique molecular “fingerprints” from marine debris — including items like tires, rope, bubble wrap, bottle caps, and buoys — covering everything from metals to 19 different types of plastic polymer. These spectral patterns, captured using handheld instruments in labs over many years, provide the essential training data for algorithms that could one day scan for the same materials from space. “My biggest hope is that people see remote sensing as an important and useful tool for marine debris monitoring,” said Ohall, a Florida native and recent graduate of the University of Georgia. “Just because it hasn’t been done yet doesn’t mean it can’t be done.” The problem, however, is that seawater absorbs infrared light — the same wavelengths that are key to spotting plastic using EMIT’s imaging technology. That makes detection at sea harder than it is on land. Still, the early success of EMIT in spotting plastic from orbit — like in landfills or in massive greenhouse structures — is encouraging. David Thompson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a coauthor of the original 2025 EMIT study, said the sensor wasn’t designed for this mission, but it’s already proving remarkably adaptable. Originally launched in 2022 to study mineral dust and its role in climate, EMIT uses imaging spectroscopy to detect hundreds of compounds by the way they reflect sunlight. Similar tech has found water on the Moon and is being sent back to help astronauts choose where to sample lunar soil. The same precision could one day be applied to Earth’s oceans — but only if researchers know what to look for. That’s where the fingerprint library comes in. By standardizing years of fragmented lab data into one searchable database, scientists can begin training remote sensing models to differentiate one piece of trash from another. A waterlogged bottle looks different than a buoy, and both differ from sun-bleached packaging caught in a hurricane. Algorithms will need to recognize all of them. The effort also complements another area of research: using artificial intelligence to sift through satellite images and identify patterns that might indicate floating debris. “Detecting marine debris is the kind of incredible challenge that NASA can help solve,” said Kelsey Bisson, a program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Humans have a visceral connection to the ocean and its health.” While dragging nets through the ocean or surveying beaches has been the norm for monitoring marine litter, those methods can’t cover the scale of the problem. Ocean plastic is spread out, constantly moving, and mostly invisible to the naked eye once it breaks apart. If EMIT and its future successors can be trained to spot the spectral signs of pollution, it could open a new era of global monitoring — helping identify pollution hotspots before the debris hits the water, or tracking it once it’s adrift. The technology isn’t quite there yet, but scientists are steadily closing the gap. “We’re still learning what current sensors can detect and what we’ll need in the next generation,” Ohall said. “But this is a huge step in that direction.”
Score (98)
Heroic Manager Rescues Homeless Woman From Winter Storm, Earns Heartfelt Gratitude
When a brutal winter storm swept through Texas, Faris Hussain didn’t hesitate. On the morning of January 22, a customer ran into the Evans Food Mart in northern Texas, calling for help after spotting a woman lying outside in the cold. Hussain, the store manager, recognized her name immediately. “When I heard her name, it was one of my good customers,” he told CBS affiliate KTVT. “So I instantly was like, ‘Hey man, no no no, there’s no way. We gotta go help her right now.’” The woman, known in the area as Bobbi, had spent the night outside as temperatures plummeted. Surveillance footage captured Hussain rushing out and lifting her off the ground, cradling her frozen body in his arms before carrying her into the store. “The second my hands touched her, it was like frozen solid,” he told ABC affiliate WFAA. “Her body was so stiff.” As he worked to warm her up, Bobbi turned to him and said, “I love you, thank you so much,” Hussain recalled. First responders arrived shortly afterward and transported her to a nearby hospital. The Fort Worth Fire Department confirmed they were dispatched to the store after 9 a.m., though no update was available on Bobbi’s condition. Hussain said he doesn't consider what he did to be extraordinary. “I don't really consider myself a hero or nothing,” he told KTVT. “But we just, we do this on a daily for our community. Doing it once in a while, it’s not going to cut it.” The storm that hit Texas was part of Winter Storm Fern, which moved across much of the United States over the weekend. At least 17 people were killed in the storm’s path, according to the BBC. For Hussain, it wasn’t about headlines or heroics. It was about helping someone he knew—someone who needed it. “We do it on a daily for our daily customers,” he said. “All the time. Every time.”
Score (88)
Scientists Identify Europe’s Oldest Bone Tool—a 480,000-Year-Old Hammer Carved From Elephant Bone
It sat quietly for decades in the collection of London’s Natural History Museum, overlooked and unassuming. But the four-inch fragment of elephant bone, unearthed in southern England in the mid-1990s, has now been reexamined—and redefined—as the oldest known bone tool of its kind ever found in Europe. Researchers say the artifact, pulled from an archaeological site in the village of Boxgrove, was shaped by early humans around 480,000 years ago and used as a “soft hammer” to sharpen stone tools. In a paper published January 21 in Science Advances, the team argues it likely served as a precision instrument to refine handaxes and other cutting tools. “It shows an advanced level of complex thinking and abstract thought,” said Silvia Bello, a researcher at the Natural History Museum and co-author of the study. The bone—possibly from a straight-tusked elephant, though researchers haven’t been able to confirm its origin—was originally set aside when it was first found. But recent analysis with an electron microscope revealed a dense pattern of marks: slicing and scraping damage, as well as tiny flint fragments embedded in the surface. That pattern matches what researchers would expect from repeated use in toolmaking. These kinds of bone instruments, called “soft hammers” or “retouchers,” were essential in early human tool production. Unlike stone or antler hammers, soft hammers allowed for greater control when flaking or sharpening edges. “Soft hammers enabled early humans to produce more finely shaped and efficient tools,” the researchers wrote. The team believes the Boxgrove tool was used for more delicate work—refining the cutting edge of flint handaxes or other butchery tools. That kind of precision would have been especially valuable for processing animal carcasses, a key part of survival in the Lower Paleolithic. Although other bone tools have been found in Europe, most are younger—dating to around 450,000 years ago—and are typically discovered farther south, where elephant and mammoth populations were denser. That makes the Boxgrove specimen particularly significant, not just because of its age but because of its apparent rarity. “No other elephant remains were found [at the site], so it is likely that this bone was brought in from somewhere else,” Bello told IFL Science. Researchers don’t yet know what part of the body the bone came from or how it was acquired. But they suspect it was used shortly after the animal died, while the bone was still relatively fresh. That detail, they say, offers a glimpse into the resourcefulness of early human ancestors—possibly Neanderthals or the species Homo heidelbergensis—who lived in what is now southern England. “These findings indicate our human ancestors were resourceful gatherers of available materials and savvy about how best to use them,” Bello said. The artifact also adds another layer to what we know about human interaction with elephants. In a separate study of 125,000-year-old bones in central Germany, researchers found evidence that Neanderthals learned how to hunt and butcher straight-tusked elephants—large enough to feed a group of 25 people for three months. Even further back, in Africa, archaeologists have uncovered 1.5-million-year-old elephant bone tools in Tanzania, showing that hominins were working with large bones long before they arrived in Europe. Whether crafted by Neanderthals or their predecessors, the Boxgrove hammer stands as a rare early example of abstract thinking and purposeful design—a quiet but powerful reminder of how long humans have been shaping the world around them.
Score (96)
Swedish Pharmacy Launches "Friend Care" Trial to Combat Loneliness Among Employees
A major pharmacy chain in Sweden is testing a small but potentially powerful idea: give employees 15 minutes a day to connect with others, and see if it helps reduce loneliness. Apotek Hjärtat, one of the country’s leading pharmacy chains, has rolled out what it calls a “Friend Care” initiative across its locations. The premise is simple—each staff member gets one hour per month, or 15 minutes a day, to do something that builds or supports friendships. That could mean calling a friend, planning an event, stepping out to meet someone, or even chatting with a colleague on shift. The program comes on the heels of a national report on loneliness, commissioned by Sweden’s government, which revealed that 8 percent of adults in the country don’t have a single close friend. Apotek Hjärtat’s CEO Monica Magnusson told the BBC the idea was sparked by a previous company initiative that trained pharmacists to recognize signs of loneliness in their customers, especially seniors. Staff were encouraged to ask subtle questions to check in on people who might be isolated. But that got Magnusson thinking about the wellbeing of the staff themselves. “We wanted to do more for our own people,” she said. So the company launched “Friend Care,” or vänvård, a wordplay on friskvård, the Swedish term for health and wellness benefits. Many companies in Sweden offer friskvård as a way to support things like gym memberships or massages. Apotek Hjärtat’s twist puts the focus on social connection instead of physical fitness. To sweeten the deal, the company also offers employees the equivalent of 100 US dollars a year to support activities that promote friendship—anything from hosting a dinner to attending a group class. Yasmine Lindberg, an employee at the pharmacy, said the benefit has already helped her. After separating from her partner four years ago, she found herself often alone, especially on the weeks her teenage kids were at their father’s house. “I often come home from work too tired to do anything or see anyone,” she told the BBC. But the 15-minute allowance, she said, gave her the push she needed to start making plans again. Daniel Ek, a Swedish psychologist also interviewed for the BBC piece, explained that social isolation in Sweden often has more to do with cultural norms than a lack of opportunities. “The Swedish mentality is like, you shouldn’t disturb others. We value personal space a lot, and we have a hard time breaking the ice,” he said. That cultural hurdle makes something like “Friend Care” especially meaningful, according to Ek, because it helps people overcome that initial hesitation to reach out. The pilot program is still in its early stages, but Magnusson says early feedback has been positive. It’s part of a broader rethinking of what workplace wellness can look like in a post-pandemic world—especially in countries where social interaction may not always come easily. For Apotek Hjärtat, the bet is that a few minutes of social connection, built into the workday, could make a lasting difference.
Score (80)
Colombia Bans New Oil and Mining Projects in Amazon, Urges Neighbors to Follow Suit
Colombia is drawing a firm line around its share of the Amazon, declaring it off-limits to new oil drilling and large-scale mining in a sweeping move to protect one of the world’s most vital ecosystems. Acting Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres announced in November that the country will no longer approve new extractive projects in the Amazon biome within its borders — halting 43 proposed oil blocks and 286 mining applications. The decision, she said, is meant to preserve forests, rivers, and biodiversity while upholding Colombia’s environmental commitments. “This declaration is an ethical and scientific commitment … It is a life-or-death decision,” Vélez Torres said during a climate summit in Brazil last fall, according to Mongabay. The Amazon rainforest plays a critical role in regulating climate at both regional and global scales. But its resilience is under threat. Deforestation, pollution, and extractive development risk pushing parts of the biome past ecological tipping points. The World Wildlife Foundation has warned that if the forest's health continues to decline, it could create a feedback loop where rising temperatures and reduced rainfall accelerate the loss of more trees, endangering ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. A 2023 report by InfoAmazonia estimated that 55 million hectares of Amazonian forest are at risk if strong protections aren’t put in place. That risk motivated Colombia’s decision — and it’s encouraging other Amazon countries to adopt similar bans. The policy shift marks a major departure for a region historically reliant on resource extraction. While critics have raised concerns about the potential economic impact, the government sees an opportunity to pivot toward renewable energy, sustainable farming, and ecotourism — all of which can create long-term jobs without degrading the environment. Globally, other communities are making similar moves. In the Netherlands, The Hague banned advertisements in 2024 for gas suppliers, gas-powered vehicles, airlines, and other high-emission industries. In Alberta, Canada, authorities are grappling with how to expand renewable energy while protecting farmland and rural ecosystems. These shifts reflect growing recognition that economic development must be balanced with environmental stewardship — and that protecting ecosystems like the Amazon is essential to long-term climate stability. Colombia’s decision may not reverse decades of damage overnight, but it signals a clear direction: prioritizing life, water, and forests over short-term profits. For Vélez Torres and others pushing for similar policies, the Amazon isn’t just a natural resource — it’s a living system, critical to the planet’s future.
Score (97)
Astronomers Use JWST to Create The Most Detailed Dark Matter Map Ever Made
Astronomers have taken a major step toward mapping one of the universe’s most elusive ingredients—by charting what can’t be seen. Using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists have unveiled the most detailed map to date of dark matter in a patch of sky known as the COSMOS field. Dark matter isn’t visible, doesn’t emit light, and hasn’t been directly detected. But its presence is unmistakable. It outweighs normal matter five to one and acts as a kind of invisible scaffolding, shaping galaxies and clustering across the cosmos. Now, a new study published in Nature Astronomy traces its ghostly outlines by measuring tiny distortions in the shapes of distant galaxies. “We can see the influence of gravity on galaxy formation,” said Diana Scognamiglio, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-lead author of the study. “It’s a way to trace, really, the backbone of the universe.” The researchers analyzed images from JWST's deep-sky survey of the COSMOS field, one of the most intensely studied regions of the night sky. Their goal was to identify patterns in how dark matter distorts light from faraway galaxies—a phenomenon called weak gravitational lensing. Though invisible to the naked eye, this lensing slightly warps the path of light as it passes through clumps of dark matter, similar to how a warped piece of glass distorts a view. The effect is so subtle that until about two decades ago, it was considered nearly impossible to detect. “People were saying that there’s absolutely no way you can measure a 1 percent distortion with everything else going on,” said Catherine Heymans, professor of astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh and Scotland’s astronomer royal. Heymans and others proved otherwise, launching the field of weak lensing and building the first dark matter map of the COSMOS field using the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, Scognamiglio and her team have updated that work with JWST’s more sensitive instruments and deeper reach. The new map covers a relatively small portion of the sky—roughly twice the size of the full moon—but with far greater precision. It pinpoints smaller blobs of dark matter that were invisible to Hubble, and it reaches farther back in time, to about 10 or 11 billion years ago, when the universe was rapidly forming stars and galaxies. “It’s super exciting just because of the sheer number of galaxies that they can use,” said Zoltan Haiman, an astrophysicist at Columbia University. By observing how dark matter influenced young galaxy clusters during this era—known as “cosmic noon”—astronomers hope to better understand how galaxies formed and evolved. The next step is to make the map three-dimensional by calculating the distances of each structure. Even in its current form, the map offers a rare glimpse at one of the universe’s most critical but hidden components. “Before we only had dark matter simulations, and I always wanted to be able to see it,” Heymans said. “What I love about weak lensing is: it allows us to see the invisible.” That work is far from over. New telescopes like the European Space Agency’s Euclid (now in orbit) and NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (launching later this year) will use weak lensing to study dark matter and the expansion of the universe. Ground-based observatories like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Dark Energy Survey are also contributing data on cosmic structure. Two decades after the first map, Scognamiglio says this project builds on that legacy—and she hopes the future will go even further. “I like this continuity,” she said. “I hope that, 20 years from now, my student will be able to make an even better map.”
Score (98)
Hull City Winger Surprises Bullied Young Fan With Heartwarming Gift
Six-year-old Ronnie, known online as Tiny Tiger, had a week he wanted to forget. After being bullied, the young Hull City fan told his mum he "wanted to hide from the world." But what happened next at Hull's MKM Stadium turned everything around. Following Hull City's 2-1 win over Swansea City on Saturday, Ronnie received a surprise from Yu Hirakawa, the club’s new loan signing. The Japanese winger handed Ronnie his match shirt—and more importantly, took time to speak to him and offer support. Ronnie’s mum, Michaela, had earlier shared on social media that her son, who has autism and ADHD, had been struggling due to bullying. She never expected it to reach the team. "After the week he’d had, to see him standing there and getting that shirt from him was just really special," Michaela said. Hirakawa is believed to have seen a photo of Ronnie dressed in his honour, and after the game, made a beeline to meet him. Michaela described the moment as more than just a handoff: "Yu didn’t just give him a shirt. He took some time to actually speak with him, put his arm around him, offering some words of comfort." In the video, Ronnie stands quietly as Hirakawa speaks to him. “He looks a little bit like a rabbit in headlights,” Michaela admitted. “But him standing there and not running off and really listening and nodding just shows that it was in tune with Yu and [that he] was really appreciative of that gift.” The gesture resonated deeply with Michaela, who posted the original message to raise awareness about kindness toward neurodiverse people. “I wasn’t expecting anything like the reaction or Yu to even respond,” she said. “One of the quotes that kind of stuck with me is that tigers all have different stripes,” she added. “And it just really sort of hit home that we do, and we need to spread awareness of that.” Ronnie’s love for Hull City hasn’t always been easy to manage. Early matchday experiences were overwhelming, but Michaela said she’s worked closely with the club’s fan services to make things easier. “I realised he wasn’t coping and wasn’t enjoying it,” she said. Now, thanks to those efforts, Ronnie has a more supported and enjoyable experience at games. She ended with a message of thanks: “I just want to say a massive thank you. I know at the minute that the players and the club, the team as a whole, are doing really well. The addition of Yu has just brought such excitement to the club. But also behind the scenes, there’s lots of people working to make sure fans do have that good matchday experience.” Hull City’s gesture was simple but powerful: a reminder that sometimes, a moment of kindness means more than a win.