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Over 80 farms in the US and Canada have created "Peanuts"-themed attractions to honor Charles M. Schulz, the creator of beloved characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The first "Peanuts" strip was released 75 years ago by Schulz when he was just 27 years old, eventually becoming syndicated in over 2,600 newspapers worldwide. Jill Schulz, his daughter, expressed gratitude for farmers dedicating their land to her father's legacy while joking about her own lack of a green thumb.

Why Are Farmers Across US and Canada Carving ‘peanuts’ Comic Characters in Corn Mazes?

GoodGoodGood

As climate change drives hotter summers and more violent storms, humans aren’t the only ones needing to adapt. At a bed and breakfast resort in Taiwan, the owners worried about the ducks living on their property and how they would cope with rising heat and frequent typhoons.

So they turned to artist and architect Cheng Tsung Feng, who designed a set of floating shelters meant just for the ducks.

The project, called Nesting Plan VI Call Duck, is part of Feng’s series exploring how humans can borrow from nature’s nest-building techniques. This version takes the form of pinecone-style huts, crafted with rope-weaving methods and pine wood arranged in overlapping slats for ventilation, drainage, and shade.

Feng studied the behavior of the resort’s call ducks before finalizing his design. Staff placed prototypes in the pond and filmed how the ducks interacted with them, allowing adjustments to details like buoyancy and window height. He noticed the ducks often gathered in four distinct groups, so he built four shelters of different scales and heights to suit them.

“The structures were intended to provide a safe, comfortable, and weather-resistant habitat for the ducks, especially during Taiwan's intensely hot summers and frequent typhoons,” Feng told Dezeen. He added that the birds prefer dry, secluded corners, where they usually gather leaves and straw to make hidden nests.

Circular windows give the ducks a view from inside, while guests at the resort can look through telescopes in their rooms to watch them. Each hut even has automatic lighting that switches on during winter evenings, offering a warm glow for both animals and human spectators.

About 25 ducks now call the shelters home, enjoying a refuge that blends function with a nod to the natural pinecones already scattered around the landscape.

What started as a practical solution has turned into something that feels almost poetic: a piece of architecture that protects wildlife while drawing inspiration directly from it.

How Floating 'Pinecone Huts' are Protecting Ducks From Heat And Typhoons

People

For more than four decades, Donna and Patrick Clement ended their days the same way: with a snack and a quiet chat before bed.

The LaFayette, Georgia couple raised three children and juggled busy lives, but no matter how hectic the day, they carved out time late at night to connect. Sometimes they shared the same treat, but often it was different — Patrick preferred sweets, especially ice cream, while Donna leaned salty. “A lot of the nights, he would've already gone upstairs and I'd come in with our snacks and he'd just light up to see I'd brought him something to eat,” Donna, 66, told PEOPLE.

That nightly ritual came to an end in March when Patrick died at 68. For months, Donna leaned on her family, her faith, and her community, but nights felt especially heavy. “There got to be nights I would ache to talk to somebody, and I try not to bother my kids late at night,” she said.

One evening, she decided to share her snack and her thoughts with TikTok instead. She filmed a short video as if she were talking to Patrick beside her. In July, it went viral.

Now, Donna has nearly half a million followers, many of whom tune in nightly to see her snack, listen to her reflections, and leave messages of encouragement. “I’ve just gained a community,” she said. “I feel like I have half a million new friends.”

Comments pour in from strangers who say her videos bring them comfort. One wrote, “You could talk about how dry the dirt is for an hour and I would listen. You do you! You are FABULOUS and you bring so much joy to so many people.” Another thanked her for making “being in a new city alone a lot better.”

For Donna, the videos have transformed her nights from something she dreaded into something she looks forward to. “I used to just dread nighttime — and of course I think things are always worse when the sun goes down. But now I can’t wait until it gets here. I usually film around 10 o’clock at night, and it just gives me something to look forward to.”

Her followers often suggest new snacks to try, which she takes with good humor. “It’s so fun. People will comment suggestions like, ‘You should try this’ or ‘You should try that.’ So I’ll take their advice, and sometimes it’s the same, sometimes it’s different — but it’s really fun.”

Though Patrick never got to see his wife’s TikTok following grow, Donna believes he’d get a kick out of it. “He just would not believe it, you know? But I think he can see it, and I sure hope he can. Of course, he’s probably just shaking his head, but I’m sure he’s getting a big kick out of it.”

Donna says sharing her story has also helped her understand grief in a new way. “I was fortunate — I had almost 44 years with my husband. He saw his kids grow, he saw his first grandchild. But there are people who share that their husband passed when their kids were babies, or that they’ve lost a child.”

Her late-night ritual may have started as a private act of love, but today it’s helping others feel less alone. “If everyone could know how much they’ve healed me, and how much they mean to me, I wish they could,” Donna said. “I wish everybody could know that.”

Widow Finds Solace and Community on TikTok Through Late-Night Snack Videos

Rescuers in Australia have freed a humpback whale that became tangled in a fishing line and thick rope off the coast of South Golden Beach.

The operation unfolded on September 11 after a member of the public spotted the animal “in a compromised state” and alerted the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA). The group then called in the Sea World Foundation and Marine Rescue Brunswick Heads to assist.

When crews reached the whale, they saw the rope wrapped tightly around its tail. Initial attempts to lasso and pull it free didn’t work, made even harder by strong winds gusting up to 40 knots. The team then deployed a buoy to stabilize the situation and give rescuers closer access to cut through the line.

After about an hour of work, the rope was finally cut loose and the whale swam away. Despite the difficult conditions, rescuers said the animal stayed calm throughout the effort. “Yeah, that final cut, all the gear comes off, it’s always a great feeling, even more so today,” Sea World Foundation skipper Andy Mulville told 9 News.

The foundation described it as their most challenging rescue of the season. Entanglements remain a deadly threat to marine life, with the International Whaling Commission estimating that around 300,000 whales and dolphins die every year from becoming caught in fishing equipment.

This time, the whale was one of the lucky ones.

Animal Experts Rescued an Entangled Whale Amid 45 MPH Winds; Most Challenging Mission Of The Season

Space

NASA’s list of known exoplanets just hit a major milestone: 6,000 confirmed worlds beyond our solar system.

The agency announced the news on September 17, noting that only three years ago the count was at 5,000. With more than 8,000 additional candidates still awaiting confirmation, the pace of discovery appears to be accelerating. “We’re entering the next great chapter of exploration — worlds beyond our imagination,” a narrator says in a NASA video marking the occasion.

The announcement comes near the anniversary of one of astronomy’s biggest breakthroughs. On October 6, 1995, astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz confirmed the first planet orbiting a sun-like star: 51 Pegasi b, a gas giant about 0.64 times the mass of Jupiter and 50 light-years away. Earlier discoveries had been made around pulsars, but 51 Pegasi b was the first “normal” exoplanet detection.

Unlike that landmark moment, there’s no single “6,000th” exoplanet. “Confirmed planets are added to the count on a rolling basis by scientists from around the world, so no single planet is considered the 6,000th entry,” NASA explained. Still, one of the newest additions is KMT-2023-BLG-1896L b, a Neptune-like planet with about 16 times the mass of Earth.

NASA’s telescopes are behind much of the growing list. The Kepler Space Telescope, retired in 2018, identified more than 2,600 planets, while the still-active Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has confirmed nearly 700 so far.

The catalog spans an astonishing variety. Of the 6,007 exoplanets confirmed as of this week, 2,035 are Neptune-like, 1,984 are gas giants, and 1,761 are super-Earths — planets larger than Earth but lighter than Neptune. There are also about 700 rocky worlds and seven classified as “unknown.”

Each one represents an entirely new world, and in some cases, they defy imagination. Astronomers have found planets with molten surfaces, ones racing through space at 1.6 million kilometers per hour, and even a diamond-like planet capable of regenerating its atmosphere.

“Each of the different types of planets we discover gives us information about the conditions under which planets can form and, ultimately, how common planets like Earth might be, and where we should be looking for them,” said Dawn Gelino, who leads NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “If we want to find out if we’re alone in the universe, all of this knowledge is essential.”

For all the discoveries, one remains elusive. As NASA’s video puts it: “There’s one we haven’t found — a planet just like ours.” At least, not yet.

NASA Confirms Discovery Of 6,000 Exoplanets, Heralds New Era Of Exploration

Carrie Edwards could have kept her lottery winnings for herself. Instead, she gave all of it away.

The Virginia woman won $150,000 in the September 8 Powerball drawing after matching four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball number. Normally that pays out $50,000, but because Edwards had paid an extra dollar for the Power Play option, her winnings tripled.

On Tuesday she collected her prize and immediately donated the entire sum in three $50,000 gifts.

The first went to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, in honor of her late husband Steve, who died from the disorder. “This cause is deeply personal,” Edwards said. “During World FTD Awareness Month, I wanted this gift to shine a light on the families who are fighting this disease and on the researchers working toward a cure. God is blessing me so I can bless others through him.”

Her second donation went to Shalom Farms, a nonprofit in Richmond that promotes food justice and sustainable farming. The third supported the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which helps active-duty members, veterans, and their families with financial, educational, and emergency assistance.

“These three organizations represent healing, service, and community,” she said. “Shalom Farms heals through food and soil, AFTD brings hope through research, and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society carries forward the tradition of supporting military families in times of need.”

By parting with her entire prize, Edwards said she wanted her windfall to serve as an example. “I feel blessed that this unexpected lottery win can serve a greater purpose,” she said.

‘God is Blessing Me So I Can Bless Others’: Woman Wins Lottery, Donates Entire Prize to Charities

Colossal Biosciences says it has crossed one of the biggest hurdles yet in its quest to bring back the extinct dodo bird.

The Texas-based company announced on September 17 that its scientists successfully cultured pigeon primordial germ cells, or PGCs, the reproductive precursors needed to recreate extinct bird species. Until now, this kind of breakthrough had only been achieved in chickens and geese.

“Only three bird species have ever had [PGC culture conditions], and now pigeons,” said Ben Lamm, Colossal’s co-founder and CEO. “It’s very, very hard to do, and we did this in 18 months, so this was a very, very big step. This was a huge technology unlock for the dodo.”

Culturing PGCs not only pushes avian science forward, it also lets Colossal put a timeline on its most high-profile project. “We couldn’t tell people [if] dodos are going to take 20 years to bring back or 30 years to bring back until we got to this PGC,” Lamm said. “Now that we’ve got to PGCs, we are confident that in the next five to seven years we can see a dodo.”

The announcement came alongside news of another $120 million in funding, pushing Colossal’s total to $555 million and raising its valuation to over $10 billion. With the new resources, the company is expanding its Avian Genetics Group, investing in genome sequencing, and building out conservation programs beyond the dodo.

On Mauritius, where the dodo lived before it was hunted to extinction in the 17th century, Colossal has formed the Mauritius Dodo Advisory Committee to guide cultural and ecological efforts. “This journey is more than reviving a lost species — it is about honoring our island’s unique heritage,” said Devina Lobine, a research officer with the Mauritius Institute of Biotechnology and chair of the committee.

The dodo project is not Colossal’s only venture. Its dire wolf initiative, launched earlier this year, has already produced three wolves — Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi — now living on a 2,000-acre preserve. The animals have shifted from being hand-fed to forming a natural pack, with Remus showing signs of becoming the alpha. “They’re behaving more and more like wolves, less like animals raised by humans,” Lamm said.

While future generations of dire wolves could be reintroduced into larger preserves, the current pack will remain in managed care. For Colossal’s team, seeing instincts return to animals long extinct is a powerful validation of their work.

Not everyone shares the enthusiasm. De-extinction projects raise questions about animal welfare, ecological risks, and the ethics of reviving species for uncertain futures. But Colossal’s chief science officer, Beth Shapiro, argues that those debates are part of the point. “Colossal is a de-extinction company, but we’re a species preservation company,” she said. “We are interested in developing technologies that we can use to make entire ecosystems more resilient… One of the ways to do that is to restore species that used to be there.”

She points to Yellowstone as a case study: when wolves were reintroduced, entire landscapes shifted. “We don’t know exactly what the dodo’s role was in Mauritius,” Shapiro added, “but putting these pieces back can help ecosystems recover in ways we can’t yet predict.”

For Lamm, education is as central to the mission as science itself. “What we’re doing is complicated — sometimes exciting, sometimes scary,” he said. “The only way to make science cool again, like NASA was for me as a kid, is to have all the hard conversations and bring people along for the ride.”

Teachers have already told Shapiro that students inspired by Colossal’s work are shifting ambitions — some moving from wanting to be influencers to wanting to become genome engineers. “That’s winning,” she said.

With projects spanning dodos, dire wolves, mammoths, and moas, Colossal’s ambitions extend well beyond a single species. For Lamm and Shapiro, the return of the dodo is not just a headline but a signal of what conservation could become. “It’s a massive development, a massive unlock,” Lamm said. “And it’s just the beginning.”

Colossal Biosciences Achieves Breakthrough in Dodo De-Extinction Efforts, Predicts Return Within 7 Years

BBC News

A zoo in Leicestershire has announced the birth of a rare bonobo, an ape regarded as the closest living relative to humans.

Twycross Zoo said the infant was delivered safely on 11 September to first-time mother Yuli. Bonobos share around 98.7 percent of their DNA with humans but are classed as endangered, with fewer than 20,000 remaining in the wild.

Dr Rebecca Biddle, the zoo’s chief conservation officer, described the birth as a “truly extraordinary moment.” She added: “Bonobos are humans’ closest living relatives, yet they remain one of the most endangered and least understood apes on Earth. Every birth is a true milestone and a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when zoos work together.”

Twycross is the only zoo in the UK to care for the species and looks after 10 percent of the entire European bonobo population through a conservation programme. Yuli arrived from Vallée des Singes in France in 2023 as part of that effort.

The programme is designed to build healthy zoo populations while wild bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to face severe threats from poaching and deforestation.

Dr Biddle said the new arrival showed the importance of collaboration. “It is only through the dedication, expertise, and collaboration of conservation zoos that moments like this are possible,” she said.

The zoo hopes the birth will inspire visitors to learn more about bonobos, one of the least studied great apes, and the challenges they face in the wild.

This Endangered Bonobo Baby Was Just Born In an 'Extraordinary Moment' for the Species

A shop in Wiltshire, UK, is using handwritten kindness to brighten lives this week.

Highworth Emporium has launched a project to coincide with both Thinking of You Week and the town’s volunteer week. Customers are invited to pick up a free card in the store, write an uplifting message, and leave it for delivery to people who may be feeling lonely. The goal is to send out 1,000 cards to care homes, hospices, hospitals, and households across Highworth and nearby villages.

“Something as simple as a handwritten card can have such a powerful emotional impact,” said shop owner Aga Marsden. “It reminds people that they are cared for and that they are not forgotten. We hope this project spreads a little extra joy and kindness across our community.”

Local scouts are helping with deliveries, while schools have written hundreds of cards. Southfield Junior School’s head teacher, Kimberley O’Sullivan, said it was an ideal way for children to learn the impact of small acts of kindness. “The children often write me handwritten notes or draw me little pictures and I thought it was such a great way for the children to spread happiness beyond our school,” she said.

Nine-year-old Martha captured the spirit of the project: “Good things come in small packages and a card is like a small package of happiness.”

Loraine Haines, who works at the shop, said the idea had been embraced by locals. “The majority of people are supporting it, which has been really lovely. They all say what a great idea it is,” she said.

At Grove Hill care home, staff and residents were already feeling the effects. Amy Bishop, part of the Emporium team, said, “You can have text messages and emails but it is not the same as having a card in your hand. It’s something so simple but effective and really meaningful.”

One resident, Roger, said he rarely received cards and that opening one made him feel emotional. “Somebody loves me,” he said.

With more than 500 cards already written by local schoolchildren and hundreds more flowing in from the community, Highworth Emporium is well on its way to meeting its target, one handwritten message of kindness at a time.

Why This Small Town Shop is Delivering 1,000 Kindness Cards to Brighten Spirits

Science Daily

Astronomers say faint radio whispers from the early Universe could soon help solve one of the biggest mysteries in physics: the nature of dark matter.

An international research team used advanced computer simulations to model how hydrogen gas behaved during the so-called Dark Ages, the first 100 million years after the Big Bang before stars and galaxies formed. Their results, published September 16 in Nature Astronomy, show that tiny differences in the gas signal could reveal whether dark matter particles are light and “warm” or heavy and “cold.”

Dark matter makes up about 80 percent of all matter in the Universe. It does not emit or absorb light, but its gravity sculpts galaxies and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Pinning down the mass of its unseen particles is central to physics, since lighter, warm particles would have smoothed away small cosmic structures, while heavier, cold particles would have allowed them to form.

The new work, led by Hyunbae Park of the University of Tsukuba and including Naoki Yoshida of the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, simulated primordial gas clouds interacting with dark matter. As the gas cooled and clumped under gravity, its density and temperature changes left a mark in the 21-centimeter radio emission from hydrogen. The researchers found that the average strength of this signal would shift subtly depending on the type of dark matter present.

“The difference is less than a milli-kelvin in brightness temperature,” the team reported. That’s an almost unimaginably faint trace, but one with major implications if detected.

Catching such a signal from Earth is nearly impossible. At the low frequencies involved, around 50 megahertz or less, human-made radio noise and the ionosphere swamp any faint cosmic glow. The far side of the Moon, however, offers a pristine, radio-quiet environment, shielded from terrestrial interference.

That is where several countries, including Japan, see opportunity. Japan’s proposed Tsukuyomi project plans to deploy radio antennas on the lunar surface. Other lunar observatories are under discussion worldwide as part of a new wave of space exploration combining scientific ambition with technological innovation.

Although building a radio telescope on the Moon will be costly and technically demanding, the researchers argue it is now within reach. Their simulations provide a roadmap for what those experiments should look for, helping to maximize the scientific payoff once antennas are in place.

If successful, such missions would do more than detect the Universe’s faintest signals. They could also provide the first direct clues to the mass of dark matter particles, a breakthrough in understanding the invisible majority of the cosmos.

Scientists Are Using Moon-Based Missions to Unlock Dark Matter Secrets in a New Study

The Guardian

A long-hidden Picasso portrait of Dora Maar, painted in Nazi-occupied Paris and unseen for 80 years, has been revealed in France.

The work, Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat (Dora Maar), was completed in July 1943, near the end of the couple’s nine-year relationship. Unlike some of Picasso’s darker depictions of Maar, this canvas shows her in brighter colors, though her face still carries an expression of anguish. At the time, Maar had just learned that the 61-year-old Picasso intended to leave her for Françoise Gilot, then 21.

The painting was sold in August 1944, a few months before the liberation of Paris, and has remained in the same French family’s private collection ever since. Its existence was known only from a black-and-white photograph in an art catalogue. The anonymous seller inherited it from a grandparent.

Christophe Lucien, the auctioneer handling the sale, called it a landmark rediscovery. “It is not only a milestone in the history of art but also in the private life of Picasso,” he said. “It is a refreshing portrait of Dora Maar; exceptional and full of emotion. Discovering it is a big moment in our lives as experts.”

Picasso painted Maar repeatedly, including in Dora Maar au Chat and La Femme qui pleure (Weeping Woman). While those works often cast her as a figure of torment, Maar herself dismissed them: “All of his portraits of me are lies. They’re all Picassos. Not one is Dora Maar.”

Maar, who died in 1997, was a surrealist photographer whose experimental style shaped Picasso’s own work during their time together. Their relationship, marked by passion and violence, became one of the most influential episodes of his career.

The Nazis had branded Picasso’s work “degenerate” and carried out raids on his Paris studio. Yet he continued to paint throughout the occupation, producing works that experts say were a rare burst of light during a dark time.

Measuring 80 by 60 centimeters, the oil painting has been given a conservative estimate of €8 million by the auction house Lucien Paris, though it is expected to sell for significantly more. It will go on public display for three days before the auction on 24 October.

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