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

Science Alert

Just 10 minutes of intense cycling can kick off a chain reaction in the body that may help fight cancer, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Researchers found that even a short burst of vigorous exercise releases molecules into the blood that appear to slow the growth of colon cancer cells in the lab. The blood chemistry shift triggered by exercise seems to speed up DNA repair and dampen the activity of genes linked to cancer growth.

"What's remarkable is that exercise doesn't just benefit healthy tissues, it sends powerful signals through the bloodstream that can directly influence thousands of genes in cancer cells," said Sam Orange, a clinical exercise physiologist at Newcastle University in the UK.

The study involved 30 overweight or obese volunteers between the ages of 50 and 78, a group at increased risk of developing cancer. After a short warm-up, each participant completed a 10-minute high-intensity cycling session. Blood samples were taken before and after the workout.

Back in the lab, researchers exposed colon cancer cells to the blood serum collected after exercise. The result? The cancer cells responded to the post-exercise blood by reducing growth-related gene activity. Though the study only looked at cells in the lab, not in human patients, the biological effects observed were significant.

"One bout of exercise, lasting just 10 minutes, sends powerful signals to the body," said Orange. "It's a reminder that every step, every session, counts when it comes to doing your best to protect your health."

This study adds to growing evidence that physical activity doesn't just lower cancer risk in general—it may actually play a role in stopping it once it starts. Previous research has shown that regular exercise can cut the risk of death from colon cancer by up to 37%.

What sets this study apart is the focus on immediate, molecular changes. The team was able to track how a single session of exercise changed the blood’s composition, producing a serum that had measurable anti-cancer effects.

That’s more than just interesting science—it could shape future treatments. By better understanding how exercise alters cancer biology, scientists could develop drugs that replicate or amplify those effects, potentially helping people who can’t exercise regularly because of illness or injury.

"In the future, these insights could lead to new therapies that imitate the beneficial effects of exercise on how cells repair damaged DNA and use fuel for energy," said Orange.

Still, researchers are cautious. The results come from a small sample size, and the post-exercise blood serum was only tested on colon cancer cells grown in a dish. More studies are needed to see whether similar effects happen in real patients over the long term.

Even so, the findings offer yet another reason to move. With over 100,000 new cases of colon cancer diagnosed each year in the US alone—and more than 50,000 deaths—any new approach is worth exploring.

Short, intense exercise might not replace chemotherapy, but it could become a useful addition to standard treatment, or even a tool for prevention. For now, the takeaway is simple: even a few minutes of movement a day can have real effects on your body, and possibly, your future health.

New Study Finds Just 10 Minutes Of Intense Exercise May Help Fight Cancer

Sunny Skyz

After nearly three years in foster care, two-year-old Khaza David Koon is home for good.

On December 19, inside a Hamilton County courtroom in Tennessee, Khaza was officially adopted by Anna and Brenden Koon, marking the joyful end of a 974-day journey through the foster care system.

The Koons began fostering nearly five years ago through the Chambliss Center for Children. At the time, they didn’t have children of their own and often referred to themselves as the “fun aunt and uncle,” opening their doors for short-term stays, holidays, and weekend visits. Their goal was simple: to support children while their families worked toward reunification.

That mission remained unchanged until April 2023, when they received a message asking if they would take in a new infant placement. The child was just 18 days old—his name was Khaza.

Like other children they had fostered, the expectation was that Khaza’s stay would be temporary. But as time went on, it became clear his path might not lead back to his biological family. Weeks turned into months, and Khaza became part of the Koons’ daily life—and their hearts.

By the time the state asked if they would consider adopting him, it no longer felt like a question.

On December 19, surrounded by loved ones, Anna and Brenden finalized Khaza’s adoption and officially became a family of three.

Khaza's adoption is not just a milestone for the Koons—it’s a powerful reminder of what it means to open your home and your heart, and how forever families are sometimes found in the most unexpected ways.

After 974 Days in Foster Care, This Tennessee Toddler Finally Found His Forever Home

Space

NASA’s Curiosity rover is still climbing, still exploring—and still capturing jaw-dropping views of Mars. Its latest image, released this week, offers a dramatic look across the rugged slopes of Mount Sharp, where the robot has been steadily working for over a decade.

The new "postcard" is actually a carefully crafted panorama, pieced together from black-and-white images taken on two separate Martian days—Sols 4,722 and 4,723 (in November 2025). One set was captured in the late afternoon, the other in the early morning. The resulting image was then tinted with cool blues and warm yellows to highlight the differences in lighting and bring out new details in the terrain.

“Adding color to these kinds of merged images helps different details stand out in the landscape,” NASA officials said in a statement.

In the photo, Curiosity is perched on a ridge overlooking a region called the boxwork formation—a striking area laced with hardened, mineral-rich veins that trace the paths where water once flowed through cracks in Martian rock. Over time, softer rock eroded away, leaving behind this intricate latticework of natural sculpture.

For scientists, these ridges are more than just beautiful. They’re clues.

“These features preserve evidence of ancient water activity and environmental changes on Mars,” NASA explained, noting their importance for reconstructing the planet’s past—and determining whether it once supported life.

In the foreground of the image, Curiosity’s wheel tracks mark its careful path up the mountain. The rover had just drilled into a rock site called "Nevado Sajama" at the top of the ridge, collecting a sample for analysis. In the distance, the image looks down the slope across boxwork terrain toward the vast floor of Gale Crater, with the crater’s rim faintly visible about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. Another shallow dip behind the rover marks “Valle de la Luna,” where Curiosity had previously drilled another sample.

Mount Sharp itself rises 5 kilometers (3 miles) above the crater floor and has been the rover’s main target since it landed in 2012. The mountain’s layered sedimentary rocks record a slow transition in Martian history—from a wet, potentially habitable planet to the cold, dry desert we see today. Curiosity’s job is to study these layers, examining the minerals and chemistry locked inside.

And it's doing that more efficiently than ever. New software upgrades have allowed Curiosity to multitask, collecting science data while communicating with orbiters overhead. That’s a big win for the aging mission, which still runs on its original nuclear power source more than 13 years after touching down.

The rover’s continued productivity is a testament to both engineering and perseverance. Even after all these years, Curiosity is still uncovering fresh insights—and sending home spectacular views from the Red Planet.

Curiosity Rover Sends Back Striking New Image from High on Mars’ Mount Sharp

Good News Network

They’re already some of the flashiest birds on Earth, but scientists have just uncovered a new layer of spectacle in the birds-of-paradise: under ultraviolet light, many of them glow.

A new study has revealed that 37 of the 45 known species of birds-of-paradise emit biofluorescence, a phenomenon where molecules in the feathers absorb UV light and re-emit it as a yellow-green glow. The discovery adds another dazzling dimension to a bird group already famous for its extreme feather shapes, deep blacks, electric colors, and elaborate mating dances.

Researchers didn’t set out to find glowing birds. The finding came by chance, when a team of ichthyologists—scientists who study fish—were investigating UV fluorescence in marine life. While exploring museum collections at the American Museum of Natural History, they began shining UV lights on other animals out of curiosity. What they found in drawer after drawer stunned them: birds-of-paradise glowing like constellations in a dark sky.

“It could just be that the biofluorescent portions are helping enhance those displays even more,” said lead study author Rene Martin, a fish biologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The fluorescence was seen in various parts of the body—long shoulder plumes, fuzzy crowns, and even inside the birds’ mouths. The researchers also noted a pattern: species known to be monogamous had far less fluorescence than their more flamboyant, polygamous relatives.

The trait may be invisible to us, but not to the birds themselves. Birds have four types of cone cells in their eyes, compared to three in humans, giving them the ability to see into the ultraviolet spectrum. They also have tiny oil droplets in their retinas that act like filters, possibly enhancing their ability to see this kind of glow.

“To me, the interesting part is that it’s so widespread throughout the group,” said Edwin Scholes, founder of the Birds-of-Paradise Project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who was not involved in the study. “It’s not just all tail feathers or all flank feathers or anything specific—it’s pretty much all over the board.”

Why do these feathers glow? Researchers suspect the biofluorescence plays a role in mating displays or social signaling—an extra layer of visual communication during the high-stakes courtship rituals birds-of-paradise are known for. And while humans may only see their dramatic moves and color, the birds themselves might be seeing something even more spectacular.

“It’s like discovering a secret highlight reel hidden in plain sight,” said study co-author Emily Carr, a PhD student at the American Museum of Natural History.

In other words, those already extravagant displays? They might be even more dazzling—if you’re a bird.

Birds-of-Paradise Found to Glow Under UV Light in a Stunning Scientific Discovery

Fox News

Rosie Grant’s favorite recipes don’t come from cookbooks. They come from cemeteries.

The 36-year-old librarian from Los Angeles has spent the past five years collecting and cooking recipes found etched into headstones. Her unusual ritual—preparing dishes that the deceased once loved—has grown into a personal mission to preserve memories, one bite at a time.

So far, she’s recreated 40 such recipes, including no-bake cookies, meatloaf, peanut butter cookies, nut rolls, yeast cake, and Texas sheet cake. Many were submitted by families hoping to keep their loved ones’ legacies alive. Others she’s discovered herself, carved into stone as a final, flavorful goodbye.

“It’s a tool to take forward that you get to do yourself,” Grant said. “An invitation to remember this person and eat the food they enjoyed in their life.”

It all started during an internship at a New York cemetery. While walking the grounds one day, she noticed a recipe for spritz cookies on a woman’s gravestone. Curious, she baked a batch—then returned to the grave and ate them there. That small gesture sparked an idea: what if food could be a way to connect across time?

“In the beginning, when I knew one recipe, I thought this would be a one-off,” she told SWNS. It wasn’t.

Over time, Grant’s project turned into a full-fledged archive of “recipes from beyond the grave.” In one especially moving experience, she was invited to Nome, Alaska, to cook a no-bake cookie recipe alongside the deceased woman’s family. They baked together—mother, daughter, and Grant—then brought the cookies to the cemetery.

“The family [was] so gracious,” she said. “It was the most wonderful experience I’ve ever had.”

Today, she still investigates headstones herself but increasingly relies on submissions from families or curious cemetery-goers who spot a recipe and pass it along. If a headstone doesn’t include a name, she’ll research the grave site, track down an obituary, and reach out to the next of kin before preparing the dish.

Once the family gives their blessing, she cooks the recipe, often checking back in to confirm the accuracy—or to tweak ingredients that may have been lost or adapted over time.

“It’s about the memory of us cooking it together,” she said, imagining one day including a recipe on her own tombstone.

Slabs of granite may seem like an unlikely place to store family recipes, but for Grant, they’ve become a powerful and intimate kind of archive: one that celebrates everyday joy, shared meals, and the flavors that linger long after someone is gone.

The food, she says, is “to die for.”

California Librarian Cooks Recipes Found on Gravestones—and Shares Meals with Them

Smithsonian Magazine

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is celebrating a rare and significant arrival: the birth of two sloth bear cubs, the first born at the zoo in over a decade.

The cubs were born December 7 to 8-year-old Molly in an off-exhibit den on the Zoo’s Asia Trail. Both were born healthy and are being closely cared for by their mother, according to the Zoo’s announcement. It marks the first successful sloth bear birth at the Zoo since 2013.

“These cubs strengthen the genetic diversity and sustainability of the managed population while also supporting global conservation efforts for this vulnerable species through research, education and public engagement,” said Asia Trail curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove.

Sloth bears are listed as vulnerable due to shrinking habitats, poaching, and increased conflict with humans across South Asia, where they are native. Fewer than 50 live in accredited U.S. zoos. Molly’s cubs are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which focuses on conserving species through managed breeding and public education.

Born blind and weighing about one pound each, the cubs will spend the next few months nursing and gradually expanding their diets. They’re expected to open their eyes around one month old and begin exploring the exhibit with their mother in the spring.

Their father remains uncertain. Molly had contact with two male sloth bears—11-year-old Niko and 7-year-old Deemak—so DNA testing will determine paternity. It’s even possible the cubs have different fathers.

Sloth bears are not related to sloths, despite the name. The confusion dates back to 1791, when British zoologist George Shaw noted their long claws and missing front teeth resembled those of sloths. In reality, sloth bears are unique among bear species for their insect-heavy diet, sometimes consuming up to half a million ants and termites in a single day.

For now, the Zoo is keeping the cubs off public view to allow bonding time, but visitors can expect to meet them later this year as they join their mother on the Asia Trail.

National Zoo Celebrates Birth Of First Sloth Bear Cubs In Over A Decade

MIT Technology Review

Concrete already supports the modern world. Soon, it might help power it, too.

Researchers at MIT have developed a new form of concrete that can store and release electricity—bringing the dream of energy-storing walls, sidewalks, and infrastructure closer to reality. The material, called electron-conducting carbon concrete or ec³ (“e-c-cubed”), just got a major upgrade.

Made by mixing standard cement with water, ultra-fine carbon black, and electrolytes, ec³ creates a microscopic conductive network that functions like a battery. And now, the MIT team behind it says they’ve increased its energy storage capacity by tenfold.

The breakthrough means that about five cubic meters of ec³—the rough size of a basement wall—could potentially store enough energy to power a typical home for a day.

That’s a game-changing leap for a technology that’s previously been limited by low voltage and scalability challenges.

“We found that there is a wide range of electrolytes that could be viable candidates for ec³,” said Damian Stefaniuk, a research scientist with MIT’s Electron-Conducting Carbon-Cement-Based Materials Hub. “This even includes seawater, which could make this a good material for use in coastal and marine applications, perhaps as support structures for offshore wind farms.”

By using high-resolution 3D imaging, the team learned how the carbon-based conductive network interacts with different electrolytes. That understanding allowed them to experiment with new electrolyte materials and concentrations, and to refine the mixing process—leading to thicker, more effective electrodes.

While ec³ doesn’t store as much energy as traditional lithium-ion batteries, it brings something else to the table: permanence. Once built into a structure, it can function as an energy-storing component for the lifetime of that building or bridge.

To prove it works, the team built a small concrete arch capable of supporting weight while simultaneously powering an LED light—offering a glimpse of how form and function could combine in future construction.

It’s still early days, but the potential applications are vast: smart roads that store solar energy during the day, buildings that double as backup power sources, and resilient infrastructure for off-grid and coastal communities.

For now, the team is focused on continuing to improve performance and scalability. But the direction is clear: if buildings are going to be part of the climate solution, they might have to do more than just stand there. With ec³, they just might start pulling their electrical weight.

MIT's Carbon Concrete Could Turn Buildings Into Giant Batteries

GoodGoodGood

In a small town just north of Sacramento, a concrete house is rising inch by inch—and it could help reshape California’s future.

Olivehurst is home to Corduroy Castles, a five-home development that’s being billed as a proof of concept for something much bigger: affordable, wildfire-resistant housing built fast, cheap, and at scale using 3D printing technology.

The first house, a 1,000-square-foot unit, was printed in just 24 days. That’s a fraction of the time traditional construction typically takes. It’s the work of Sacramento-based startup 4dify, which hopes to make 3D-printed housing not just viable, but widespread across California.

“We want the machine to do the heavy lifting,” said Nan Lin, owner of 4dify. “We want the humans to do detailed work that the machines can’t do yet.”

The approach is already gaining momentum nationwide. In Texas, an entire 100-home 3D-printed community is underway, and smaller projects have popped up in cities across the country. But Corduroy Castles marks a first for California: a mini-neighborhood designed to demonstrate how this technology could be scaled to address the state's urgent housing and climate challenges.

According to Lin, the printer used in Olivehurst can produce up to 10 houses a year. That could expand quickly, with plans to deploy 10 printers capable of producing 100 homes annually. A much larger development of 75–100 duplexes is already being planned in Southern California, with Corduroy Castles serving as the test case.

The technology offers several key advantages. First, speed. Each home is printed layer by layer from a special concrete mixture that’s strong, durable, and designed to withstand California’s increasingly volatile weather. It’s also cost-efficient. Though the printer itself costs about $1.5 million, the labor required to run it is minimal: just three to five people are needed to complete a home in four to six weeks, compared to a traditional crew of five to ten workers over several months.

Endemic Architecture, the firm supporting the project, says the goal is to bring down homeownership costs without sacrificing thoughtful design.

“Consisting of five houses, this project deploys 3D printing construction methods that reduce the cost of home ownership to well below market rates without sacrificing the architecture,” the firm shared on its website.

The homes are expected to be listed between $350,000 and $375,000 once complete—well below the median home price in California.

Beyond affordability and efficiency, the homes are also built to last. The concrete walls are water-, fire-, mold-, pest-, and even bullet-resistant. Samples were reportedly taken to a gun range and shot at—without penetration.

“They’re bulletproof,” Lin said. “The bullet just stops on the wall.”

That resilience has particular appeal in a state where wildfires have become an annual threat. While these homes will have metal roofs supported by traditional wooden trusses, future designs may include 3D-printed concrete roofs, eliminating flammable materials from the structure entirely.

“It’s redevelopment, which is great,” said Yuba County Supervisor Gary Bradford. “It’s adding density, which is also great, and helping to revitalize an older, lower income part of the county.”

Each of the five homes in Corduroy Castles will have a distinct layout and design, offering a level of personality often missing from cost-conscious housing. The final four will be printed in pairs, accelerating the construction timeline even further.

While the homes aren’t on the market yet, the buzz is already growing. For Lin and the 4dify team, this project is only the beginning.

“Long term, we definitely want to be a leader in the industry,” Lin said. “Short term, we want to dial this in for the next few houses and we want to start scaling this.”

If Corduroy Castles succeeds, it could offer a blueprint for building stronger, cheaper, and faster homes in California—and beyond.

California’s First 3D-Printed “Micro-Community” Aims to Fight the Housing Crisis—And Wildfires

rom eerie close-ups to chaotic street scenes, this year’s Grammy nominees for Best Album Cover prove one thing: the visuals still matter.

For the first time since the 1970s, the Recording Academy has reinstated a standalone award for album cover design, shining a new spotlight on the artists and art directors behind the music’s visual identity. And while vinyl may be optional these days, the connection between image and sound is very much alive.

"When a cover in a campaign hits right," said Neil Krug, the photographer behind Djo’s The Crux, “it's part of the language and the fabric of what makes a great record a great record.”

Krug’s comment echoes a broader shift. The new category—separate from Best Recording Package—focuses exclusively on cover art, regardless of whether the album exists physically. Still, all five of this year’s nominees do have vinyl editions, a testament to the staying power of the 12-inch square in an age of scrolling.

Leading the list is Moisturizer by Wet Leg. The cover, a surreal blend of feminine softness and grotesque energy, features frontwoman Rhian Teasdale squatting with outstretched hands and an unsettling grin. Teasdale co-art-directed the image alongside Iris Luz and Lava La Rue during a creative retreat at an Airbnb, hauling along velvet worms, lizard gloves, and an oversized wig for inspiration.

“I wanted it to be something that was both super girly and feminine, but then at the same time, just totally repulsive,” Teasdale said. “That juxtaposition... it just creates something that’s evocative.”

Other nominees took equally cinematic approaches. The Crux, Djo’s third album, is set in a fictional hotel on a Paramount Studios backlot. The cover is a layered, almost voyeuristic tableau: a couple kissing in a window, a man arguing over a parking ticket, Djo himself dangling from a fire escape in a white suit. The entire scene, built from scratch, references films like Hitchcock’s Rear Window and features a custom neon sign designed by art director William Wesley II.

“Everything is intentional,” Wesley said. “It’s the sum of many people’s contributions.”

Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia takes a simpler route but no less potent. Shot in stark monochrome, the cover shows Tyler in a mask, his eyes locked on the lens. It was the final shot of the day, said Luis (Panch) Perez, the director of photography, who called the expression “unspoken language” built from years of collaboration. Though he was later removed from the nomination list, the image remains one of the year’s most haunting.

Perfume Genius’s Glory embraces ambiguity. A dark, intimate shot of the artist lounging in stilettos amid snaking cords and soft window light, it straddles introversion and performance. Photographer Cody Critcheloe, who co-directed the art with Andrew J.S., said the goal was to reflect a push-pull energy: comfort vs. spectacle. “People have said to both of us that they can’t figure out what the aesthetic of the album cover is,” Critcheloe said. “That’s the best thing to hear.”

And then there’s Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos (“I Should Have Taken More Photos”), which strips things down entirely. Two white plastic chairs sit beside plantain trees—symbols of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and memory itself. Shot by Eric Rojas and art-directed by Bad Bunny, the cover taps into the album’s sense of diaspora and nostalgia. A backyard, a beach, a conversation not had—simple images, loaded with meaning.

The Grammy rules emphasize design, photography, and illustration as key criteria. This year’s list wasn’t without adjustments: Chromakopia’s credited artists were changed ahead of voting, and Wet Leg’s nomination was updated to remove additional band members. But those details reflect the growing pains of a newly revived category—and the collaborative nature of the work itself.

As Krug puts it, album art is something that lives with us.

“When you have the physical vinyls in your home or your apartment, that stuff lives with you,” he said. “Whether you’re having a good day or a bad day, you’re getting married or breaking up... there’s this rediscovery of the art form.”

For the creatives behind the year’s most compelling visuals, the recognition is overdue.

“I love the idea of making things that are strange and subversive and irreverent,” Critcheloe said, “and having an audience that is bigger than it’s supposed to be.”

For the First Time in 50 Years, Grammy Voters Will Crown the Best Album Cover

CNBC

A San Francisco startup is betting big on beer—and not just any beer, but one made from recycled shower and laundry water.

Epic Cleantec, a clean-water tech company founded in 2015, has launched a line of beers brewed using water it recycles from residential buildings. The idea isn’t to become the next craft beer giant. It’s to change how people think about wastewater.

“A lot of it was psychology,” said CEO Aaron Tartakovsky. “It is getting people comfortable with the concept of recycled water. And we found that if you tell people that the water is clean, maybe they trust you, maybe they don’t. But you take those exact same molecules of recycled water, put them into a beautiful beer can, all of a sudden, people love it.”

The company started by installing on-site water recycling systems in apartment and office buildings, using a multi-step process that includes filters, biological treatment, carbon, reverse osmosis, and disinfection. For its beer, Epic collects only greywater—used water from showers and laundry—and treats it to drinking water standards. The cleaned water is then sent to Devil’s Canyon Brewing Co., where it’s turned into two beer styles: Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch.

Tartakovsky insists this isn’t about selling beer. It’s about storytelling.

“Buildings use about 15% of all the fresh water on this planet,” he said. “We need to do things differently, and that means we need to tell the story differently. We need to engage people differently.”

Each gallon of beer typically requires around 10 gallons of water. By recycling greywater, Epic is making a dent in that footprint. Their beers also use drought-resistant hops and energy-efficient ingredients, underscoring a sustainability focus from grain to glass.

The beers are currently available online in 12 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and in some California retail stores.

Jordan Langer, CEO of events company Non Plus Ultra, was an early investor in Epic. At first, he wasn’t sure the beer idea would land.

“I was a little bit skeptical. I’m not a believer in gimmicks,” he said. “But I was wrong. It blew up like crazy. It has given a lot of spotlight onto Epic Cleantec, which has made it really, quite, quite interesting.”

Epic has raised $25 million to date, with backing from J-Ventures, J-Impact, Echo River Capital, and three family offices. The company is also exploring a nonalcoholic beer offering.

Tartakovsky, who once called for an overhaul of our “flush and forget” culture, sees beer as just the beginning.

“We’re not just changing plumbing,” he said. “We’re changing perception.”

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