Euro News

Bordeaux, France just surpassed Paris in a new ranking of the world's most beautiful cities, with Europe dominating nine out of the top 10 spots. The rankings are based on buildings that adhere to the 'golden ratio' for balanced and harmonious structures. Venice takes the lead as the most beautiful city, followed by Rome and Barcelona in second and third place respectively. Despite iconic landmarks, Paris lands at 12th place. In fifth place is the only non-European city to make the top 10: New York City.

9 Out of 10 of the World’s Most Beautiful Cities Are in Europe, Says New Ranking

Mongabay

Freshwater fish scientists had a busy year. A new report says taxonomists described 309 new species of freshwater fish in 2025, almost one new description for each day of the year.

The tally comes from SHOAL, the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group and the California Academy of Sciences. It is the highest annual total since 2017, and the third-highest since 1758, when scientists began keeping records.

The new species were recorded across five continents and from habitats including limestone caves, peat swamps, wetlands and rivers. Most are endemic, and some are already at risk of extinction.

Asia led the count with 165 newly described freshwater fish species. South America followed with 91, then Africa with 30, North America with 20, and Europe with three.

“If there’s one thing this report shows, it’s that our planet’s rivers and wetlands are still full of surprises,” Michael Edmondstone from SHOAL told Mongabay in an email. “We hope this report sparks curiosity about freshwater life.”

Among the new species are two cave-dwelling fish in China, Yang’s plateau loach, Triplophysa yangi, and the Sichuan mountain cave loach, Claea scet. Both are adapted to permanent darkness.

Museum specimens stored in Germany also led scientists to identify two new species from East Africa.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists described four new killifish species from the Nothobranchius group. These fish live in wetlands and complete their life cycle in rain puddles within a few weeks. They hatch, grow and reproduce before the water dries up.

Once the puddles disappear, drought-resistant embryos remain buried in mud until the next rains arrive and the cycle starts again. Their short lives in ephemeral pools leave them exposed to disruptions in rain patterns.

Of the 100 Nothobranchius species listed on the IUCN Red List, nearly three-quarters are already threatened with extinction.

One of the other newly described species is the sicklefin redhorse, Moxostoma ugidatli, from the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. At 60 centimetres, it is possibly the largest fish described in the last century from North America.

Its name comes from a Cherokee expression for “wearing a feather,” a reference to its feather-like, sickle-shaped dorsal fin.

The report says freshwater fish are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates. Their habitats are disappearing because of pollution, overextraction of water, invasive species, changing weather patterns due to climate change, and overharvesting.

One of the newly described species from Kenya, Nothobranchius sylvaticus, is already critically endangered.

“There is a risk that many freshwater fish species will disappear without us knowing about them,” Richard van der Laan from CAS told Mongabay by email.

The report says a formal scientific description is needed before species can be assessed for extinction risk, regulated under wildlife trade agreements such as CITES, and included in management plans.

“Until species are formally identified and named, they remain largely invisible from a conservation perspective,” Edmondstone said. “Recognising them scientifically is the essential first step toward protecting them.”

The report also notes the rainbow killi, Nothobranchius iridescens, was identified in 2013 but only described in 2025 from the Democratic Republic of Congo because there was no road access to collect specimens until recently.

📸 credit: Cisamarc, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Scientists Describe More Than 300 Freshwater Fish Species In 2025

People

Sometimes a small change at the checkout turns into a six-figure win.

A Maryland man from Hyattsville won $100,000 after trying a new $25 scratch-off game, taking advice from another customer instead of sticking with the tickets he usually buys.

The player typically goes for bingo-style scratch-offs, according to Maryland Lottery officials. But during a visit to a 7-Eleven last month, he heard another customer suggest he try the new $1,000,000 Crossword scratch-off.

He bought a ticket, then kept moving through his day without checking it.

The man, who works in construction, went to work as usual and did not scratch the ticket right away. It was only later, during a break, that he finally checked it and saw he had won $100,000.

The prize was not the game’s top award of $1 million, but lottery officials said he was still excited and in shock.

He scanned the ticket on the Maryland Lottery app to confirm the result, then called his wife right away. “He couldn’t believe it,” said his wife, who accompanied him to claim the prize on Tuesday, March 10.

After that phone call, he went back to the rest of his day as planned. That included coaching his rec league soccer team.

The couple said they plan to use the money to pay off their vehicles and put the rest into savings.

Lottery officials said the Hyattsville man’s $100,000 prize is the second big win tied to the newly launched $1,000,000 Crossword scratch-off.

The first top-prize winner was a Severn resident named Ryan, who claimed one of the game’s four $1 million prizes on Feb. 25.

Ryan’s win also started with an interaction with another customer, according to lottery officials. He had let a woman go ahead of him in a Walmart checkout line, and she later gave him two $10 scratch-offs.

One of those tickets won $50. Ryan then used the $50 to buy two Crossword scratch-offs, and one of them turned out to be a $1 million top-prize winner.

Lottery officials said three top prizes of $1 million are still available in the game.

They also said nine second-tier prizes worth $100,000 remain in circulation.

The Hyattsville player’s decision to try something different came after he usually bought bingo-style scratch-offs, Maryland Lottery officials said. This time, a suggestion from a stranger led him to the Crossword game instead.

He did not stop his day after buying the ticket. He went to work, scratched it later during a break, confirmed it through the lottery app, called his wife, and finished the day, including soccer coaching.

His wife joined him when he claimed the prize on March 10.

The couple told lottery officials they plan to pay off their cars and save what is left.

The $100,000 prize is the second notable win mentioned by lottery officials for the new game, after Ryan’s $1 million claim in February.

According to Maryland Lottery officials, three $1 million prizes and nine $100,000 prizes remain in circulation.

A Maryland Man Won $100,000 After a Stranger Urged Him To Try a Different Ticket

For Spencer Laird, a routine follow-up ended with the kind of news that turns a life upside down.

Laird first noticed blood in his stool when he was 25. His doctor thought it was hemorrhoids caused by his work as a mechanic. Eighteen months later, a colonoscopy found colorectal cancer, and surgeons removed 16 inches of his colon.

Two years later, Laird began to think the worst was over. He had gone back to work and was spending time with his young daughter. Then, at a follow-up appointment in December 2024, his wife CarleyAnn Laird spoke up.

"They had already checked out everything and said 'Everything looks good to go.' And she said, 'No, he's been sleeping a lot lately, he's been tired a lot.' She told him that she wanted him to do a full body scan on me," said Laird, who lives in South Carolina.

He said he was surprised by the suggestion because he felt fine. But the scan showed his cancer had returned and spread. There were 13 tumors in his lungs. One was the size of a golf ball. His doctor told him he would likely have only about two years to live, even with treatment.

"So much went through my head," Laird said. "I just thought: I'm 30 years old. I've got a wife. I've got a 5-year-old little girl. There was the shock of it."

Laird was diagnosed with microsatellite stable colorectal cancer. Dr. Michael James Overman, an oncologist and researcher at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who was not involved in Laird's care, said this type of cancer is typically treated with chemotherapy and radiation. He said chemotherapy can control disease for at least six months for about 80 to 90 percent of microsatellite stable colorectal cancer patients.

Laird said he never wanted to undergo chemotherapy. He worried about side effects and his quality of life, especially because his disease was considered terminal. CarleyAnn, a pharmacy technician, started looking for other options.

"I stayed up days and just stared at his scans," CarleyAnn said. "This was strictly me not wanting to lose my husband and having to tell my 5-year-old."

She applied to several clinical trials for her husband, including one at Duke University. There, gastrointestinal oncologist Dr. Nicholas DeVito was studying the effects of immunotherapy on microsatellite stable colorectal cancer.

DeVito said immunotherapy has typically been used for this kind of cancer after multiple forms of chemotherapy have failed. He said a previous clinical trial found that when it was used as a "fourth or fifth line of defense," there were "nice responses in about a quarter of patients." That study also showed the immunotherapy controlled the disease, meaning tumors either shrank or stayed the same size, in 70 percent of patients.

DeVito's trial tests what happens when immunotherapy is used first, without chemotherapy. He said delaying chemotherapy can be risky, so patients whose disease may interfere with organ function are not eligible.

Laird said the possible upside was worth it.

"I don't like to say you have nothing to lose, but that's kind of the only way to put it," Laird said. "When you get a diagnosis like that, why not try something that you don't know anything about?"

Laird became one of 15 patients enrolled in the trial in February last year. DeVito said patients receive an immunotherapy infusion every two weeks and get scans every six to eight weeks to track their disease. If scans show signs of disease progression, they start chemotherapy.

For Laird, the early scans brought a dramatic change. DeVito said the tumors were "melting away." Laird went from 13 tumors to three. The largest is now 0.6 millimeters, much smaller than the golf ball-sized tumor first found by his doctor.

"It's a miracle. It's really a miracle from God," said Laird. "Looking at where it started and where it is now, it's just unbelievable."

Laird had side effects early in treatment, including rashes, headaches, nausea and dizziness. Those eased in late spring 2025. Overman said immunotherapy, like chemotherapy, can have some toxicity. Since then, CarleyAnn said, it has been "smooth sailing," with her husband only occasionally having some stomach troubles.

DeVito said Laird had one of the strongest responses early in the trial. The full results will be published in April.

"In a nutshell, this was a diagnosis that would probably have shortened his life to five years or less, at best," DeVito said. "And now we're thinking 'Well, is he cured? How long does this remission last? Is it permanent? How does this cancer stay away?' We're really drifting into uncharted territory."

DeVito said Laird may be a "first in history," but he hopes to find more patients who respond the same way. He said that could help researchers identify which patient groups should get immunotherapy as a first-line treatment. He also said future research may look at combining immunotherapy with other treatments.

📸 credit: Spencer Laird

Overman said the trial is novel, but added there is still a long way to go before early immunotherapy could be considered a standard of care treatment for microsatellite stable colorectal cancer. He said future research should examine if patients with certain biomarkers respond better to immunotherapy than others. He also said experts may keep refining patient selection in future trials.

Overman said primary tumors tend to be more immune responsive and may react better to immunotherapy than cancer that has metastasized. Even so, he said the treatment may offer an option for patients who do not want chemotherapy.

"This here is proof of concept. You can do it front line, and there's definitely some activity," Overman said. "We don't have a lot of non-chemo approaches. That's the real novel aspect here."

Laird is not cancer-free, but his disease is no longer terminal. He still goes to Duke every two weeks for an infusion. CarleyAnn said family and their church parish have offered support.

"It really just taught me to try to live life," Laird said. "There's no sense sitting around being lazy. If the good Lord wakes you up every day and you got breath in your lungs, just go do something."

This Young Dad Says a Clinical Trial Shrunk His Colon Cancer, Even After It Spread To His Lungs

Sunny Skyz

It was a routine school run until Marlene Davis saw something she could not ignore.

A school bus driver in Morgan County, Georgia, is being praised after she helped alert a sleeping household to a fire at their home early last Friday morning.

Davis was driving her usual morning route when she noticed smoke, then flames, coming from inside a home she was passing.

“I saw the big flame coming from inside the house,” Davis said. “I just had to stop the bus and go to the door.”

With one student already on board, Davis pulled the bus over and ran to the front door. She rang the doorbell again and again, trying to get someone inside to respond.

“I rang the doorbell several times,” she said. “And finally, the man answered.”

The resident had been asleep and did not know the house was surrounded by flames. After Davis alerted him, everyone inside was able to get out safely.

The fire was later contained. Damage appeared to be limited mostly to the area around the home’s air conditioning unit.

Davis said she did not immediately know how serious the situation had been. She later learned the people inside had been sleeping when the fire broke out.

“I just got a text from my boss lady saying it was a house fire, and they were asleep,” she said. “And, you know, we could have saved their lives.”

The homeowner later made a point of thanking Davis in person. Later that day, he got her attention by flashing his lights so he could hand her a card and thank her for what she had done.

For Davis, stopping the bus and going to the door was a simple decision.

“It was the only thing that I could have done, and it was the right thing to do,” she said. “And I couldn’t just leave them.”

Loved ones of the couple have also thanked Davis for acting quickly that morning.

Her response may have made all the difference for the people inside the house.

“It was the only thing that I could have done, and it was the right thing to do,” she said. “And I couldn’t just leave them.”

📸 credit: FOX 5 Atlanta

A Georgia School Bus Driver Alerted a Sleeping Family To  Their House on Fire, And it Helped Them Escape

At a New Jersey crosswalk, Paulette Dorflaufer is hard to miss. The 82-year-old crossing guard has spent 20 years helping children and other community members across the street, often in extravagant fur outerwear that has become part of her daily routine.

“[I have about] 13, 15 fur coats, and I change [my coat] every three days,” Dorflaufer told CBS News Chicago.

Dorflaufer was born in France and is a Holocaust survivor. Her parents and five siblings died at Auschwitz, but she survived after she was taken to the hospital for surgery. In an Instagram video, Dorflaufer explained that a nurse helped her escape, and she eventually made her way to the United States as a child.

Before taking up the crossing guard role, Dorflaufer worked as a dental assistant, a model and in cosmetology.

Her family said the style people see at the crosswalk is exactly who she is.

Rachel Frieman, Dorflaufer’s granddaughter, told the Daily Voice, “She dresses like that no matter where we’re going.”

“She has fur in the winter, but in the summer it’s a heel and a dress, and this fascinator chapeau situation in her hair,” Rachel added.

“People always think she’s celebrating something, but this is her,” she said.

Dorflaufer also shares parts of her wardrobe choices on Instagram, where she explains how and why she picks some of her looks. In one recent clip, she said she chose an all-blue outfit and a matching sparkly headpiece for a specific reason.

“When I woke up, I felt I was in a blue mood,” Dorflaufer said.

Other videos show her putting her crossing guard vest over her fur coats.

Dorflaufer’s work is also closely watched by people around her. Her daughter, Heather Frieman, told the Daily Voice her mother is a staple in their local community.

“If she’s not at her post, I get a text. Everywhere we go, people stop her,” Heather said.

In her personal life, Dorflaufer has raised three children, looked after her grandchildren and is soon to become a great-grandmother.

Rachel said her grandmother’s personality matches the attention she gets.

“She’s so bubbly, loves to talk to anybody,” Rachel told the Daily Voice. “She’s always happy, always positive and always has a smile on her face.”

Dorflaufer’s story stretches well beyond the crosswalk. She survived the Holocaust, came to the United States as a child, worked in several fields and built a family, while keeping up a distinctive personal style that her relatives say carries through every part of her life.

That includes the days she reports for crossing guard duty in New Jersey, where her coats have become part of a role she has now held for two decades.

On social media, she has given people a closer look at that routine, explaining the thinking behind some outfits and showing how she pairs them with the bright safety vest she wears on the job.

For her family, the reaction from the public is familiar. Heather told the Daily Voice that people regularly notice her mother around town, and Rachel said the same flair people talk about in winter fur also shows up in summer outfits, with heels, dresses and headpieces.

📸 credit: Rachel Frieman

This 82-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor is Bringing Glamour to Her Crossing Guard Shift

Fox News

The surgeon was in London. The patient was in Gibraltar. Between them, about 1,500 miles and a robotic system that carried out a prostate cancer operation in what The London Clinic says is the first successful remote robot-assisted telesurgery on a patient by a UK hospital.

Doctors at The London Clinic remotely guided a robotic system to remove a man’s prostate cancer while he stayed in an operating room at St Bernard’s Hospital in Gibraltar. The surgeon, Professor Prokar Dasgupta, controlled the procedure from a robotic console at The London Clinic’s robotic centre at Harley Street.

The system used for the operation was the Toumai robotic surgical system, developed by MicroPort MedBot. It is designed for high-precision minimally invasive procedures. From the console in London, Dasgupta controlled four robotic surgical arms, a high-definition 3D camera and specialised surgical tools.

A secure network infrastructure designed by Presidio connected the two hospitals. Fiber optic networks carried the surgeon’s movements from London to the robot in Gibraltar. The delay between command and movement was about 48 milliseconds, a speed the report says is fast enough to feel almost real time.

That matters in delicate procedures such as prostate cancer surgery. Urological surgeons James Allen and Paul Hughes were part of the local surgical team in Gibraltar and were ready to step in if the connection dropped or complications occurred. The operation went smoothly.

The patient was Paul Buxton, a 62-year-old Gibraltar resident who has lived there for about four decades. Patients who need specialised prostate cancer surgery often travel to larger medical centres such as London or Madrid. According to the report, that can mean long waiting lists, travel costs and weeks away from home.

Buxton received the procedure in his local hospital instead. He had originally planned to travel to London for surgery, but was offered the chance to take part in a telesurgery trial between the two hospitals earlier in February. Reports say he felt fantastic within days and was able to recover close to home.

The operation is part of a much longer development in remote robotic surgery. One of the earliest examples was the Lindbergh Operation, in which surgeons in New York remotely removed a patient’s gallbladder in Strasbourg, France.

The report says technology has improved dramatically since then. It points to recent cross-continent robotic surgeries between Rome and Beijing, and long-distance prostate operations using the same Toumai platform in parts of Africa. In that context, the London Clinic procedure marks a move from experimental demonstrations toward practical medical use.

The hospitals plan to demonstrate the technology again by live-streaming a telesurgery procedure to thousands of surgeons at the upcoming European Association of Urology Congress.

Several technologies made the operation possible. Ultra-low latency networks let surgeons see and react during surgery with very little delay. Modern fiber optic networks and backup 5G connections help keep latency extremely low, according to the report.

Robotic surgical systems translate a surgeon’s hand movements into smaller and steadier movements inside the patient’s body. The report says that precision often improves outcomes in delicate procedures such as prostate cancer removal.

Advanced imaging also plays a part. High-definition 3D cameras give surgeons a clear view of the surgical area. In many cases, the report says, the view from a robotic console is clearer than what surgeons see in traditional open surgery.

The report also says remote robotic surgery still faces major hurdles. Hospitals need extremely reliable networks with almost no downtime. Robotic surgical systems and specialised networks can cost millions of dollars. Regulation also raises legal and licensing questions when surgeons operate across borders.

Each remote procedure also needs a backup plan. Local surgical teams must be ready to step in if the technology fails. For now, the report says hospitals treat telesurgery as an emerging capability rather than routine practice.

It also says the longer-term effect for patients could be significant. Instead of travelling to a major medical centre for complex procedures, patients may be able to stay in a hospital closer to home while a specialist operates remotely. The report says that could help people in rural communities and regions with limited access to specialists.

📸 credit: MicroPort® Medbot®

Remote Robot Surgery Removes Cancer 1,500 Miles Away

Some Oscar nominees were still years away from voting, driving or ordering a drink when the Academy called their names.

The Academy Awards has a long history of recognising very young actors, from first-time child performers to teenagers already building long careers. Justin Henry still holds the record as the youngest acting nominee in Oscars history. He was 8 when he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 52nd Academy Awards for playing Billy in 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer, opposite Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman. It was his acting debut.

Henry later acted on and off, with credits including Sixteen Candles, two episodes of ER in 1997 and a 2010 episode of Brothers & Sisters.

Quvenzhané Wallis made history in the Best Actress category. She was 9 when she was nominated for 2012’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, becoming the youngest-ever female nominee in that category. She had originally been cast when she was 5, and the source says she told casting directors she was 6, which was the minimum age they were considering.

Wallis earned that nomination in the same year Emmanuelle Riva, then 85, became the oldest Best Actress nominee for Amour. Since then, Wallis has appeared in 12 Years a Slave, led the 2014 remake of Annie, appeared in Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade and starred in Swagger from 2021 to 2023.

Mary Badham was 10 when she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for playing Scout in 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird, alongside Gregory Peck. Like Henry, she earned the nomination for her acting debut. Her later screen work included a few films and single-episode appearances on Dr. Kildare and The Twilight Zone. She also attended a 2019 performance of the Broadway adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird and met the cast.

Tatum O’Neal remains the youngest Oscar winner of all time. She won Best Supporting Actress at age 10 for Paper Moon at the 46th Academy Awards. It was her first on-screen credit, and she starred opposite her father, Ryan O’Neal. She later appeared in The Bad News Bears and International Velvet and continued acting for decades.

Anna Paquin also won young. She had no professional acting experience before being cast in Jane Campion’s The Piano, after she and her sister both auditioned. Paquin got the role, and in 1994 she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later played Rogue in the original X-Men trilogy and starred in HBO’s True Blood from 2008 to 2014.

Abigail Breslin became a household name with Little Miss Sunshine. She was 10 when the 2006 film brought her a Best Supporting Actress nomination. The source credits her character’s beauty pageant dance routine to "Super Freak" as part of the role’s impact. Breslin had already made her feature debut in Signs and later appeared in the Zombieland films and Scream Queens.

Haley Joel Osment was 11 when he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Sixth Sense. By then, he was already an experienced child actor, with credits including Forrest Gump and starring roles on Thunder Alley and The Jeff Foxworthy Show. His performance in The Sixth Sense included one of the film’s best-known lines, "I see dead people". He later earned more acclaim for A.I. Artificial Intelligence and has continued acting in film and television.

Linda Blair was 15 when she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Exorcist. The horror film received 10 nominations, including Best Picture, the first for the genre. Blair had only a couple of prior credits when she took on the role of Regan. She has continued acting and later returned to the role in Exorcist II: The Heretic and The Exorcist: Believer.

Keisha Castle-Hughes was 13 when she was nominated for Best Actress for Whale Rider. Her performance made her, at the time, the youngest nominee ever in that category, a record she held until Wallis was nominated in 2013. Whale Rider was her acting debut, and the source says she was also the first Māori actor of Tainui and Ngāpuhi descent to be nominated for an Oscar. She later appeared in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Game of Thrones and FBI: Most Wanted.

Saoirse Ronan was also 13 when she received her first nomination, for Best Supporting Actress in Atonement. She later picked up three Best Actress nominations for Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women. The source says Ronan is the second-youngest actor to earn four nominations, behind Jennifer Lawrence by a few months.

Jodie Foster was 14 when she earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Taxi Driver. The role did not win, but the source says it marked a shift in her career from child actor to more mature roles. Foster later won Best Actress Oscars for The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, and was nominated again for Nell and Nyad.

Hailee Steinfeld was nominated at 14 for Best Supporting Actress for True Grit, after landing the role of Mattie Ross at 13. The film was her feature debut. She later joined the Pitch Perfect franchise, starred in Dickinson, voiced Gwen Stacy in the Spider-Verse films, played Kate Bishop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, released two EPs and led the cast of Sinners.

Among older teen nominees, River Phoenix was 18 when he earned a nomination for Running on Empty, and Leonardo DiCaprio was 19 when he was nominated for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Elliot Page, Jennifer Lawrence and Lucas Hedges were all 20 when they became first-time nominees.

Timothée Chalamet was 22 when he received his first Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name, making him the third-youngest Best Actor nominee. The source says that after later nominations for A Complete Unknown and Marty Supreme, he became the youngest person to earn three Best Actor Oscar nominations since Brando.

📸 credit: Lenardo DiCaprio - Christopher William Adach / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
📸 credit: Jennifer Lawrence - Movieguide® / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
📸 credit: Quvenzhané Wallis - Michael Rowe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Here Are 20 Young Actors Who Earned Oscar Nominations, Including a Record-Holder at Age 8

inspiremore

At Edinburgh Zoo, mating season comes with a splash of paint.

The zoo in Edinburgh, Scotland, says male penguins are known in the wild to search for the perfect pebble to present to a female mate. At the zoo, the males are working with a very different collection.

For the past four years, patients from Royal Hospital for Children & Young People have painted pebbles as part of a partnership with the zoo.

In an Instagram post, the zoo said the penguins had plenty to choose from this year.

“Penguins try to win over their perfect match by presenting the most beautiful pebbles they can find. And this year the colony was spoilt for choice… with more than 1,000 stunning pebbles to pick from,” the post reads. “A huge thank you to @echcharity for helping make this possible. Together we’re helping children stay connected to nature even during the toughest hospital stays.”

The Edinburgh Zoo also shared a video showing the penguins looking through the coloured pebbles and picking the ones they liked most.

The partnership drew warm reactions online.

“This is just brilliant! How wonderful to see a creative health initiative that actively connects the children with a purpose like this! I really hope you play live footage of the penguins receiving the pebbles and making their nests on the children’s ward too, I’m sure it would raise a lot of spirits!” one person wrote.

“My grandson painted a pebble. He’s hoping it gets picked,” another commenter wrote.

“I would cry if a penguin picked MY pebble. It’s a life goal lol,” a follower joked.

Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Kids Paint Pebbles For Penguins, And The Response Is Precious

Talker News

A gene that helps yaks cope with thin air could point to a different way of treating multiple sclerosis.

New research suggests a genetic mutation linked to life at high altitude may help repair damage to myelin, the protective sheath around nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. Scientists say that matters because myelin damage is a feature of conditions including multiple sclerosis, known as MS, and cerebral paralysis.

The study, published in the journal Neuron, identified what researchers described as a naturally existing pathway that promotes regeneration after nerve damage.

Chinese scientists behind the work said the finding could open up new treatment options by using molecules already present in the human body.

Study corresponding author Professor Liang Zhang said: “Evolution is a great gift from nature, providing a rich diversity of genes that help organisms adapt to different environments.

“There is still so much to learn from naturally occurring genetic adaptations.”

Zhang explained that myelin allows nerve signals to travel efficiently. He said low oxygen during brain development can damage that layer, leading to conditions such as cerebral paralysis in new-born babies.

In adults, damage to the myelin sheath is linked to MS, a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys myelin.

Reduced blood flow to the brain, often associated with ageing, can also damage myelin and contribute to conditions such as vascular dementia.

Previous research found that animals living on the Tibetan Plateau carry a mutation in a gene called Retsat. The plateau has an average elevation of 14,700 feet above sea level.

Scientists suspected the mutation helps animals including yaks and Tibetan antelopes maintain healthy brain function despite long-term low oxygen levels.

Zhang and his team investigated if the mutation could protect against myelin sheath damage.

They exposed new-born mice to low-oxygen conditions equivalent to elevations above 13,000 feet for about a week.

Zhang, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said: "Mice carrying the Retsat mutation performed significantly better in learning, memory, and social behaviour tests than those with the standard version of the gene.

"Brain analyses also revealed that the high-altitude gene mice had higher levels of myelin surrounding their nerve fibres."

The team then tested if the Retsat mutation could repair myelin damage like that seen in MS.

They found that in mice carrying the mutation, the myelin sheath regenerated "much faster and more completely" after injury.

The injury sites also contained more mature oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin.

Zhang said: "Further investigation showed that mice with the mutation produced higher levels of ATDR, a metabolite derived from vitamin A, in their brains.

"The Retsat mutation appeared to increase the enzymatic activity that converts vitamin A into its metabolites, which in turn promotes the production and maturation of myelin-producing oligodendrocytes."

The researchers also gave ATDR to mice with an MS-like disease. They found the disease became less severe and the animals showed improved motor function.

Zhang said the finding could lead to new treatments for MS, which currently focus on suppressing immune activity.

He added: “ATDR is something everyone already has in their body.

"Our findings suggest that there may be an alternative approach that uses naturally occurring molecules to treat diseases related to myelin damage."

Can a New Yak Altitude Gene Discovery Lead to a New Multiple Sclerosis Treatments?

A seaside play spot turned dangerous fast when a mother and her young daughter became stuck waist-deep in wet sand as the tide came in at Southend’s Three Shells Lagoon.

CCTV footage captured the incident at about 5:20 pm on Tuesday, March 10, near the lagoon in Southend, Essex. The video shows the young girl playing in the sand before she suddenly sank into the ground.

Her mother then rushed over to help, but also sank and became stuck metres away from her daughter.

The pair began shouting for help as the tide was coming in.

Four men from the nearby Adventure Island theme park, along with a truck driver, went to help. Video shows the group pulling the mother and daughter out with a rope.

Adventure Island said one of its managers spotted the pair in trouble and alerted staff.

In a post on Facebook, a spokesperson for Adventure Island said: "Yesterday at around 5:20pm, one of our managers spotted a mother and her young daughter stranded in the Three Shells Lagoon, waist-deep and stuck in wet sand that had recently been placed there by the council, with the tide coming in.

"He immediately alerted members of our workshop team, who quickly brought ropes to secure around them and carefully pull them to safety.

"Drawing on their training and expertise, the team acted quickly and calmly to rescue them, while another member of the workshop team contacted the Coastguard.

"Thankfully this happened while our team were still on site at the end of the day, allowing staff to spot the situation and step in when it mattered most.

"A huge well done to our team who jumped straight into action and safely rescued them.

"We hope the mother and daughter are both safe and well after the incident. If they see this post, we’d love them to get in touch with us.”

It is believed the sand the pair became stuck in had been placed there by Southend-on-Sea City Council.

Philip Miller MBE, executive chairman of Stockvale Group, also thanked the team involved in the rescue.

He said: "They recognised that two people were in real difficulty and worked together, with real calmness and professionalism, to bring them safely out while the Coastguard were contacted.

After the incident, the lagoon was fenced off and warning signs were put in place over what was described as "deep wet stand".

Southend Council said it was treating the incident seriously and had already sent engineers to the site.

A Southend Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this incident and are taking it very seriously.

“Our engineers have already been on site to install fencing and signage around the lagoon.

“No injuries were reported and we will keep the signage on site advising caution due to deep, wet sand until we are confident that the lagoon is safe.

“We will consider any other urgent measures which may be necessary following the next low-tide inspection.”

The council said no injuries were reported.

The warning signs and fencing remain in place around the lagoon while the council continues to assess the area.

Adventure Island said the rescue happened at the end of the day, while staff were still on site, which allowed them to spot the situation and respond.

The Coastguard was contacted during the rescue, according to the theme park.

Southend Council said it would keep the signage in place "until we are confident that the lagoon is safe."

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