Feeling Stressed at the Portland Airport? Beni the Llama Is Here to Spread Joy!

At Portland International Airport, llamas and alpacas from Mountain Peaks Therapy surprise and delight travelers as part of an animal therapy program. People stop in awe to interact with the animals, taking photos and sharing joyful moments. The airport aims to reduce travel anxiety by providing nature experiences like this. Visitors are moved by the magical encounter, finding comfort in the soft fur and gentle nature of these therapy animals.

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Rescued Tiger Gets Root Canal To Save Massive Canine Teeth

Dentists usually work on teeth measured in millimetres. This time, the patient’s tooth roots were nearly eight centimetres long. A rescued tiger named Aqua has undergone a rare root canal procedure at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm after keepers noticed the big cat was struggling to eat. Veterinary specialists stepped in to treat Aqua’s top canine teeth, each measuring about 7 centimetres in length. The two-hour procedure required careful coordination from a team of zoo staff and veterinary experts. Six members of staff helped move the anaesthetised tiger, which weighs about 142 kilograms, onto an operating table while ensuring his jaw remained safely open. The dental work itself was carried out by specialist veterinarian Peter Kertesz. He described the procedure as similar to a root canal performed on humans, though on a far larger scale. “Of course, the size is enormous. While your tooth might have a 10mm root, in this case it's about 80mm,” he said. During the treatment, Kertesz drilled about 7.6 centimetres into the tiger’s teeth to remove decayed pulp before sealing the cavities. He said the operation required close cooperation with the anaesthetist. “I had to have total trust in the anaesthetist” while performing what he described as a “standard procedure.” Zoo curator Chris Wilkinson said specialist dental equipment designed specifically for big cats was used during the surgery. He added the operation was essentially “the equivalent of a human root canal,” and that Aqua has since recovered well. “He’s back on his feet and his usual self again,” Wilkinson said. Aqua’s story stretches far beyond the dental clinic. The tiger was rescued in 2019 after being discovered alongside nine other tigers at the Poland–Belarus border. Authorities found the animals crammed inside a horse box and “covered in faeces,” victims of illegal wildlife trafficking. After the rescue, Aqua spent several years recovering at a rehabilitation centre in Spain before moving to his new home in Somerset in October. Zoo staff say dental problems are unfortunately common among rescued big cats that have endured difficult conditions earlier in life. Thanks to the unusual surgery, however, Aqua’s powerful canines are now expected to remain healthy, helping the tiger eat comfortably again while continuing his recovery in a much safer environment.

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Historic Bridgerton Filming Location Reopens After Major Refurbishment

If the halls of Belton House look familiar, there’s a good reason. The stately home has played the backdrop for beloved period dramas, including the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and the Netflix hit Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Now the historic estate near Grantham has reopened to visitors following a series of conservation projects aimed at preserving the centuries-old property. The Grade I listed house closed at the start of January while staff installed new lighting and heating systems and carried out a deep clean throughout the building. Rooms including the chapel, the red drawing room and the breakfast room were among those carefully refreshed. Jennie Johns, collections and house manager at Belton House, said the closure gave the team time to restore and highlight pieces from the property’s historic collections. Staff have been working hard, she said, “bringing to life pieces in the collection.” The house itself dates back more than three centuries. Built between 1685 and 1687, it was home to the Brownlow family for over 300 years before being transferred to the National Trust in 1984. Today, Belton House is surrounded by 1,300 acres of parkland, roughly 530 hectares, featuring ponds, woodland and open spaces where deer and sheep roam. Some of the recent conservation work involved redisplaying parts of the house’s art and porcelain collections, as well as installing a new carpet in the breakfast room. “We want to be able to share this special place with people but we must also balance that with the need to protect it from damage and exposure,” Johns said. “The team have been hugely busy working on a number of conservation projects during the closure period, too, and we're now excited for visitors to see the results of this hard work.” The reopening also coincides with new exhibitions launching at the estate. One display, called The Garden of Hope, features 98 hand-painted steel butterflies created by schools and community groups across Lincolnshire. The installation focuses on mental health and suicide awareness. With the refurbishment complete, the historic house that once hosted scenes featuring Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice is once again welcoming visitors. For fans of period dramas — and lovers of historic homes — the setting that once appeared on screen is now ready to be explored in real life.

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Curling Sparks Bonanza In America After Olympics And Paralympics Success

Every four years, something unusual happens at curling clubs across the United States. People who had never picked up a broom suddenly want to try. This year’s 2026 Winter Olympics may be producing one of the biggest surges yet. Clubs from Maryland to across the country say interest in curling is climbing as fans watch the sport on television and decide they want to try it themselves. For some fans, the Olympic connection runs deep. Stacy Bishop, media director of the Potomac Curling Club, planned an entire family vacation around watching curling in Italy. After months of anticipation, Bishop packed her bags, grabbed her 6-year-old son and boarded a flight to watch the Olympic competition in person. Their signs were ready. “We made some signs that hopefully people will think are funny if they see them on TV,” Bishop said before leaving. “They say 'the triple's there' and 'peel the guard' — things that curlers would find funny and nobody else. My 6-year-old has a flag that he will be waving that just says 'sweep'.” Curling aired every day during Olympic coverage of the Milan-Cortina Games. According to data shared with NPR by USA Curling, the sport drew the largest viewership of any event during NBC’s Winter Olympic broadcasts. The impact has been immediate. Dean Gemmell, CEO of USA Curling, said clubs around the country have reported hundreds of people showing up for beginner events in recent months. “We do get a good bump every four years, but I think this year seems more significant than in the past,” Gemmell said. “That might be because our teams performed well. All of our teams are on ice for 30 hours of television time, so compared to other sports where athletes might get four minutes, we have a lot.” Early data suggests the Olympic spotlight is already translating into long-term participation. Several curling clubs have reported welcoming more than 100 new players into beginner leagues this season. USA Curling currently counts about 20,000 members nationwide. The fastest-growing group of newcomers is people aged 21 to 40, who now make up roughly 38 percent of the sport’s membership. At the Potomac Curling Club, league curler Elizabeth Tigner says the new wave of players brings fresh energy. “It keeps it fresh and interesting,” Tigner said. “I think that's also good for our club, because one of the best things that you can do to get better at your own game is to teach people.” For smaller clubs, the Olympic spotlight can be more than exciting. It can be essential. At the Chesapeake Curling Club, interest has surged this year as well. Club president Michael Ehrlich said more than 300 people have come through the doors during the current season. “We rent our space from the community center from mid November through mid March, and we try to pack as much curling into those like three three and a half months as we can,” Ehrlich said. “We've just been talking today about maybe extending that, but that's a function of people's willingness to keep curling and our desire to spend money to rent.” The club has scheduled three times as many beginner sessions as it would in a typical year. Longtime curler Martin Wyatt, who has been involved with the Chesapeake club since it opened in 1979, says growing participation helps keep the sport alive. “It's our desire to get more people,” Wyatt said. “The more people we have the more money we have and the longer the season we will be able to afford.” For some newcomers, Olympic coverage provided the final push. Curler Yana Willey said her boyfriend had been hesitant about trying the sport until he started watching the Games. “I did a 'learn to curl' three years ago along with my boyfriend and I've been trying to convince him to come back to the club,” Willey said. “Now that the Olympics are on he told me today he's got a shopping cart full of things for curling. He wants to be a member. He's like, 'I'm all in, like, I'm sold.'” Gemmell says the larger-than-expected bump in interest during the 2026 Games could have lasting effects. For a sport often introduced to new fans through the Olympics, the real goal comes after the cameras leave. Getting people from the couch onto the ice — and keeping them there.

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Washington Man Survives Avalanche Thanks To Wife's Intuition And Technology

A day on the slopes turned into a fight for survival for one Washington skier who spent more than four hours buried beneath avalanche snow — and lived to tell the story. Michael Harris had skied at Stevens Pass many times before. But while skiing through Big Chief Bowl, the mountain suddenly shifted beneath him. The snow gave way. “Because I was on skis I got caught between two slabs,” Harris said. He realized almost immediately that he had triggered an avalanche. As the snow rushed downhill, Harris tried to keep himself above the moving debris. “I used the swimming motion,” he said. The effort helped him avoid slamming into a boulder, but the powerful slide carried him into what he later described as a small “snow hole.” Within seconds, the avalanche buried him. Harris was trapped. Packed snow pinned his arms in place. His Apple Watch was on his wrist and his iPhone sat in his jacket pocket, but he couldn’t reach either device. Then he heard something unexpected. His phone was ringing. “Signed, sealed and delivered right here over my heart,” Harris said, describing the phone in his jacket. “My wife was calling me. I felt it vibrate. I could hear it ring… yet my hand couldn’t get to it.” Buried beneath several feet of snow, unable to signal for help, Harris began thinking about his family. In the darkness beneath the avalanche, he prayed. “I’m a religious guy,” he said. “I said, ‘God, I’m in trouble. I don’t know if anyone is going to know where I’m at, but I can’t get out of this on my own.’” Meanwhile, miles away, his wife Penny was starting to feel uneasy. “You get a feeling something’s just not right,” she said. “I followed my intuition.” She opened the Find My app and checked her husband’s location. Then she checked again. It hadn’t moved. After seeing the phone sitting in the same spot for hours, Penny called ski patrol and began driving toward Stevens Pass herself. When she arrived, rescuers used the phone’s location to narrow the search area and begin digging. As crews worked through the deep snow, Penny prepared herself for what they might find. “I was sitting there, just waiting to find my husband, anticipating the retrieval of a body,” she said. Instead, rescuers uncovered something remarkable. Harris was still alive. Despite spending more than four hours buried, he had an air pocket about the size of a beach ball in front of his face. The small pocket of air allowed him to keep breathing while he waited for help. With the precise location from his phone, ski patrol was able to pinpoint the burial site and dig him out. Harris later regained consciousness in the back of an ambulance. He was suffering from severe hypothermia, had fluid in his lungs, and had broken his leg. Even so, he knows how differently the day could have ended. “I would not have believed this story if I hadn’t lived through it myself,” Harris said. “I’ve been blessed. I have a second chance. I thought I was leading a good life, but I want to lead an even better one.” Harris spent five days recovering in the hospital before returning home to his family. The experience was just as frightening for them. “The first words my mom said were, ‘Your dad is missing,’” his daughter wrote. “My heart sank… I felt like I was going to vomit.” Then came the moment they had been hoping for. Rescuers radioed the words they had been praying to hear — Harris had been found alive. “It is a true miracle that he survived,” she wrote. “I have been thanking God since the incident that he is still here with us.” At the hospital, staff even gave Harris a nickname. “The miracle avalanche man.” But Harris says the person who deserves the most credit is the one who trusted her instincts and refused to ignore them. “She’s the best,” he said of Penny. “She’s my lifesaver.” After surviving something so few people ever do, Harris says his priorities are clearer than ever: faith, family, and making the most of the second chance he has been given.

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Shaquille O'Neal Surprises Teen Survivor With VIP Trip After Inspiring Recovery

There are surprise visitors. And then there’s the moment when Shaquille O'Neal shows up at your front door. That’s what happened to 18-year-old Brandon Simmons in McDonough, Georgia. When Simmons answered the door at his family’s home, the towering basketball legend was standing there alongside members of the Henry County Sheriff's Office. They weren’t there for a photo. They had come with a surprise that left the teen almost speechless. Simmons, who survived a devastating car crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down, was being given an all-expenses-paid trip to Minneapolis. The teenager and his family will spend the weekend as VIP guests of the Minnesota Timberwolves, including courtside seats to see the Timberwolves take on the Toronto Raptors. The surprise was organized by Dream On 3, a nonprofit that creates sports-themed experiences for young people facing serious health challenges. But the moment took an emotional turn no one expected. As friends, deputies and community members gathered around his front porch, Simmons slowly pushed himself up from his seat. Using a walker, he stood. For a teenager who doctors once believed had just a one percent chance of surviving his injuries, the sight was powerful. And it caught O’Neal off guard. “I didn’t know you was walking,” O’Neal told him. “It kind of puts a tear to my eye… but I’ll cry in public. I’m happy for you. You have an army behind you, and we love you, and we support you.” The connection between the two goes back years. Before the accident, Simmons was a young athlete who played on a youth basketball team sponsored by O’Neal called the Georgia Express. Then everything changed. A horrific crash flipped Simmons’ car into a ditch, leaving him with severe injuries and paralysis. He spent more than a month in intensive care before being transferred to the Shepherd Center, where he began a long and difficult rehabilitation for spinal cord injuries. Even in those early days, Simmons made it clear he had no plans to quit. After doctors removed the medical halo brace that stabilized his neck, the first thing he wanted to do was head to the gym and shoot a basketball. That kind of determination has made a lasting impression on the people around him. “Brandon is the definition of toughness,” O’Neal said. “Life threw something at him that most people would never imagine facing, and he keeps fighting with heart.” Last spring, Simmons reached another milestone. Despite months of hospital stays and rehabilitation, he crossed the stage to receive his high school diploma with the Class of 2025. The moment drew tears from many in the crowd who had followed his recovery. Now another big moment is on the horizon. When Simmons arrives in Minneapolis, he’ll watch the Timberwolves from courtside, explore behind the scenes at the arena and meet some of the players who helped motivate him during his recovery, including rising stars Anthony Edwards and Rob Dillingham. For Simmons, it’s the kind of sports experience most fans only imagine. But the trip also represents something bigger. Just months ago, surviving the crash itself seemed nearly impossible. Today, the same teenager who once faced those odds is standing again, working through rehabilitation and preparing for a weekend celebrating the game he loves. And thanks to a community that rallied around him — along with a very tall visitor who showed up at the door — Brandon Simmons’ story is still being written, one determined step at a time.

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New Study Finds 10-Minute Exercise Can Reduce Depression Long-Term

Ten minutes may not sound like much time to change how someone feels. But new research suggests it can be enough to start. A study published in Nature Human Behaviour found that brief, 10-minute online exercises can lead to measurable reductions in depression symptoms. The effects are modest, but researchers say the simplicity and accessibility of the approach could help millions of people who struggle to access traditional care. The project began with a question. In 2024, the research team turned to social media and asked mental health experts, developers and creators around the world: If someone experiencing depression gave you just 10 minutes of their attention, what would you do with it? The response was overwhelming. The team received 66 ideas from scientists, mental health app developers, YouTubers and students. From those submissions, researchers selected 12 approaches they believed showed the most promise. Each one became a short digital activity known as a “single-session intervention.” Every exercise took less than 10 minutes and required no therapist or instructor. Some of the interventions were inspired by established psychotherapy techniques. Others took a more unconventional route. One activity used generative artificial intelligence to guide users through an expressive writing exercise. Another asked participants to watch a Thai Life Insurance advertisement that highlights how helping others in small ways can add meaning to everyday life. To test the ideas, researchers conducted a large randomized controlled trial involving 7,505 adults in the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to complete one of the 12 mental health exercises or a control task where they learned about trout. After finishing the activity, participants answered questions about their well-being. They completed the same survey again one month later. Immediately after the exercises, most participants reported feeling more hopeful and motivated to make positive changes. But when researchers checked back a month later, two interventions stood out. Exercises called Interactive Cognitive Reappraisal and Finding Focus produced measurable reductions in depression symptoms compared with the control group. On average, those improvements were small. Participants who completed the most effective exercises showed about a four percent greater reduction on a standard depression scale compared with those who learned about trout. Still, researchers say even small effects matter when the intervention is brief, free and easy to share widely. Depression affects about 332 million people worldwide each year. While treatments such as psychotherapy and medication can be highly effective, many people face barriers including cost, limited availability and stigma. The study suggests that short digital tools could help bridge that gap. The goal, researchers emphasize, is not to replace therapists or psychiatrists. Instead, these short exercises could provide immediate support for people waiting to see a therapist or those who might otherwise receive no help at all. By distilling key techniques from longer psychological treatments into short, self-guided exercises, researchers hope to make evidence-based mental health tools easier to access. The next step is expanding access to these resources. Some organizations are already moving in that direction. The team behind Koko, which created the most effective intervention in the study, has developed several free five- to ten-minute tools aimed at different mental health challenges. Researchers are also exploring ways to integrate these exercises into social media platforms, schools and therapy waitlists, where they could reach people at critical moments. Artificial intelligence may also play a role. Scientists are investigating whether AI could personalize short interventions, making them more engaging and tailored to individual needs. For people struggling with depression, the idea of regaining control over thoughts and emotions can feel overwhelming. But this research suggests that even a small step can help. Sometimes, ten minutes is enough to begin.

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Three Cousins, One Birthday: Family Welcomes Babies On The Same Day

Some families share holidays. Others share traditions. This one now shares a birthday. In what a hospital spokesperson called “a truly extraordinary coincidence,” three cousins were born at the same hospital on the very same day. Georgie, from Bridgeyate in South Gloucestershire, gave birth to identical twin girls Frankie and Connie at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust on 6 February. Just a short time later in the same hospital, her brother Billy welcomed his son Maddox. Georgie said the moment still feels hard to believe. "It still feels surreal that we all became parents on the very same day. We joked about it happening and then it actually did!" The day quickly turned into an emotional one for the entire family. With both births happening in the same hospital, relatives were able to move between rooms to see the newborn cousins. "It was so special seeing the cousins all together and being able to pop down the hall and see one another on the ward," Georgie said. The timing makes the event especially unusual. Maddox arrived right on his due date, while Frankie and Connie were born slightly early. According to the hospital, identical twins occur in only about one in 250 births. On top of that, just four to five percent of babies are actually born on their due date. The combination made the triple arrival particularly rare. A hospital spokesperson said those odds together “makes for a truly extraordinary coincidence”. For Billy, the moment felt both surprising and joyful when he realized his sister’s family would be growing at the same time as his own. "We couldn't believe it. I feel sorry for their nan and grandad having to spend all the money on birthdays at once," he said. Now, the three newborn cousins already share something that will likely shape family celebrations for years to come. The parents say they are already looking forward to future birthday parties together. Maddox’s mother Kiera joked that the newest boy in the family may have to learn quickly how to keep up. "He's got an older sister and girl cousins. As you can see, he's loving life," she said. And if the early signs are any indication, those three shared candles on a cake might become a family tradition.

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Everyone Is Sweating It Out In Saunas — Here's Why

Step into a sauna these days and you might notice something besides the heat. A crowd. Across North America, saunas have surged in popularity, drawing a new generation eager to experience a practice that dates back centuries. The renewed interest has sparked festivals, mobile sauna businesses and a rapidly growing wellness industry. For many people, the appeal is simple. "It is my mental reset – my control, alt, delete," says Ana Hernandez, who launched a mobile sauna business after the pandemic and organized Seattle's first ever sauna festival. The event, held outside Seattle’s Nordic Museum, attracted three times more people than organizers expected. Visitors wandered through a temporary sauna village, trying out different sauna styles before plunging into ice-cold tubs or showers. "The crowd is very mixed," Hernandez says. "People come for their physical and mental wellness." Scientists say the experience is more than just relaxing. When you enter a sauna, the body responds in ways that resemble moderate exercise. The sudden heat forces the cardiovascular system to adjust. Blood vessels widen, heart rate rises and blood is pushed toward the skin where sweat helps cool the body. "There's very good evidence now that repeated use of heat is healthy for humans," says Christopher Minson, a human physiologist at the University of Oregon who studies thermoregulation and health. "We have this incredible ability to adapt to heat that's really helped shape human evolution much more than our ability to adapt to cold," he says. Much of the strongest research on sauna bathing comes from Finland, where the tradition is woven into everyday life. The country of about five million people has more than three million saunas. One widely cited study published in JAMA Internal Medicine followed more than 2,300 Finnish men for roughly 20 years. Researchers found that people who used a sauna four to seven times per week had a 40 to 60 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death compared with those who went once a week. Subsequent studies have supported those findings, showing improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, arterial stiffness and other markers tied to heart health. "The evidence is robust, it's consistent," says Dr. Setor Kunutsor, a cardiologist at the University of Manitoba who has worked on several of the Finnish studies. "We know temperature has an effect on disease, but we were surprised by the magnitude of the effect," he says. Traditional Finnish saunas typically operate between about 82 and 93 degrees Celsius. The intense heat immediately activates the sympathetic nervous system, triggering the body’s fight-or-flight response. "We see an increase in blood pressure and heart rate" similar to what occurs during light physical activities such as jogging, says Sascha Ketelhut, an exercise scientist at the University of Bern. After that initial stress, the body shifts into recovery mode, producing changes that can improve cardiovascular health. Researchers believe inflammation may also play an important role. Studies have found that frequent sauna users tend to have lower levels of inflammatory markers in the body. Heat exposure also stimulates the release of hormones and activates immune cells in the short term. Scientists are especially interested in heat shock proteins, which help protect cells from damage caused by reactive oxygen species. These harmful molecules can trigger inflammation and contribute to chronic disease. While heart health has the strongest evidence, some research has also linked sauna bathing to lower rates of respiratory illness and certain neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia and Alzheimer’s. Still, researchers say more studies are needed. Kunutsor notes that most large studies have focused on populations already accustomed to sauna bathing. More controlled trials could help determine how these benefits translate to people who are new to the practice. Beyond physical health, sauna enthusiasts often point to another benefit: how it affects mood. For many, the sauna has become a social space where people can unplug, relax and connect with others. Scientists say there may also be a biological explanation. "High heat administered for a time-limited period is an antidepressant and a pretty good one," says Dr. Charles Raison, a professor of psychiatry and human ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Raison’s research explores different forms of heat therapy, including whole-body hyperthermia. In his lab, participants lie inside a special machine that raises their core body temperature to about 38.5 degrees Celsius while their heads are cooled with ice packs. Early findings suggest that the hotter the body gets, within safe limits, the greater the reduction in depressive symptoms over the following days and weeks. "These studies are small, but the signal is pretty clear," he says. A randomized controlled trial published in 2016 found significant reductions in depression symptoms after a single session of whole-body hyperthermia compared with a control group. "The pathways in the brain and body that mediate thermoregulation overlap spectacularly with the pathways that mediate mood, desire, the state of emotions," Raison says. Researchers are also investigating how heat affects an immune molecule called Interleukin-6, or IL-6. A temporary spike in IL-6 after heat exposure appears to correlate with improvements in depressive symptoms. Another intriguing finding involves body temperature itself. A study published in 2024 examining more than 20,000 adults found that people with depression tend to have higher body temperatures. "What that shows is people with depression may have some thermoregulatory challenges such that they're not able to cool down so well," says Ashley Mason of the University of California San Francisco Osher Center for Integrative Health. Paradoxically, exposing the body to intense heat may help improve that cooling system over time. For those curious about trying sauna therapy, researchers say the benefits can extend to other forms of passive heat exposure, including steam rooms and hot tubs, as long as temperatures are high enough. The Finnish research suggests the biggest benefits appear among people who use saunas at least three or four times per week for about 15 minutes per session. Still, experts stress that sauna bathing should complement exercise rather than replace it. "If you're doing that smartly, then you're getting the best benefits of exercise training and potentially increasing some of the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood," Minson says, recommending about 20 to 30 minutes in a sauna after a workout. Beginners should take precautions. Heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion can occur, particularly if someone is already sick or dehydrated. And despite popular belief, sweating does not remove toxins from the body. The idea that you can "sweat out the toxins" after a night of drinking or illness is "simply not true," Minson says. Like exercise, moderation matters. On a heat scale from one to ten, Minson suggests aiming for a six or seven. "You want to feel uncomfortably hot," he says. "You can push that for a little while, but if you go for too long, there's no real added benefit."

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This Brazilian Botanist is Using Taylor Swift To Teach Plant Science

In one Taylor Swift lyric, a simple line about planting a memory garden has grown into an unusual science lesson in Brazil. For botanist and teacher Glaucia Silva, the pop star’s music became an unexpected way to help students see something they often overlook: plants. Silva lives in Natal, a coastal city in northeastern Brazil where she also grew up. As a botanist, she spent years teaching students about plant science, often encountering the same reaction. Many found botany boring. "If you go on twitter and type 'I hate botany' on search, trust me, you will find a lot of students complaining about botany," Silva said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when students were already feeling overwhelmed by traditional lessons, Silva decided to try something different. Instead of starting with textbooks or diagrams, she started with a Taylor Swift music video. "Hey guys, today we are gonna watch a Taylor Swift music video, what do you think?" she recalled asking her students. The response was immediate enthusiasm. When Silva played the video for "Blank Space," students eagerly described what they noticed: Swift’s outfits, the mansion, the car and the dramatic scenes. But one thing was missing. They barely mentioned the trees, garden, apples or flowers that filled the background. Silva used the moment to introduce a concept scientists call “plant imperception.” "This selective attention is called 'plant imperception,' the human inability to notice plants in the environment and recognize them," she explained. The exercise became the foundation for a new teaching method. Silva began using Swift’s videos to highlight different plant groups and ecosystems. In the video for "Cardigan," students studied mosses and ferns. "Out of the Woods" helped introduce gymnosperms, the group that includes pine trees and other cone-bearing plants. The video for "Willow" became a gateway to learning about flowering plants. As the lessons continued, Silva noticed something change. Students began spotting plants more quickly and remembering the concepts long after the class ended. "If plant imperception is not seeing plants, by using Taylor's music videos, it helps students activate their cognitive structure, reprogramming, to start to notice plants everywhere," she said. "Some of them will start to enjoy learning botany. If I see one of my students from 2023 around, they will tell me they still remember what a gymnosperm is." Silva’s idea eventually reached far beyond her classroom. She has presented the teaching method to the international scientific community in Madrid and at several Brazilian institutions, including the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, the Federal University of Goiás and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Her work also reflects a broader academic fascination with Swift’s cultural impact. In recent years, universities around the world have launched courses examining Swift’s songwriting, storytelling and influence on popular culture. In 2024, scholars gathered in Melbourne for a conference dubbed “Swiftposium,” while institutions such as Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley have introduced Swift-themed classes. For Silva, the singer’s work carries another dimension that many fans may not realize. "She definitely loves roses, red roses," Silva said. "At least 78 songs in her whole discography make references to at least one botanical element. In her videography, more than 53 music videos show botanical imagery." Those details make Swift’s music especially useful as a bridge between science and pop culture. By pairing familiar songs with botanical lessons, Silva found a way to shift how students observe the natural world. Plants, she says, are easy to ignore even though they form the foundation of life on Earth. "I hope people can see plants and recognize them as important parts of our planet, through the lens of art and pop culture," Silva said. "Plants are everywhere, in everything. Without them, there is no life." And if Silva ever met the artist who inspired the lesson plan, she says she would have something personal to say. "I would tell her that before being a Swiftie, I did not use to dream, you know? Seeing everything she accomplished, I started to dream more and believe that good things could happen to me."

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Scientists Discover Switch To Revive Exhausted Cancer-Fighting T Cells

Sometimes the immune system’s strongest fighters simply burn out. Now scientists say they may have found a way to give them their strength back. Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and UC San Diego have discovered genetic switches that control how key immune cells decide their fate. By turning off just two genes, the team restored the cancer-fighting ability of exhausted immune cells in laboratory experiments. The findings, published in Nature, could help scientists design stronger immune cells for cancer treatments and long-lasting protection against disease. The immune cells at the centre of the study are known as CD8 “killer” T cells. These cells act as the body’s frontline attackers, hunting down virus-infected cells and cancer cells and destroying them. But the system has a weakness. When infections or tumors persist for long periods, these T cells can slowly lose their effectiveness. Over time they enter a state known as T cell exhaustion, where their ability to attack harmful cells declines. For years, researchers have tried to understand why some T cells remain strong defenders while others fade into this weakened state. The new study offers one of the clearest views yet of how that decision happens at the genetic level. One challenge scientists face is that protective T cells and exhausted ones can look nearly identical under traditional analysis. To solve that problem, the researchers created a detailed genetic atlas that maps the different states CD8 T cells can take. The atlas shows that these cells exist along a spectrum. At one end are highly protective cells that maintain long-term immune memory. At the other are severely impaired cells that struggle to perform their normal functions. “Our long-term goal is to make immune therapies work better by creating clear 'recipes' for designing T cells,” said Susan Kaech, PhD, a professor at the Salk Institute at the time of the study. “To do that, we first needed to identify which molecular ingredients are uniquely active in one T cell state but not others. By building a comprehensive atlas of CD8 T cell states, we were able to pinpoint the key factors that define protective versus dysfunctional programs -- information that is essential for precisely engineering effective immune responses.” To understand what drives these different states, the researchers analyzed nine distinct CD8 T cell conditions using advanced laboratory techniques, genetic tools, mouse models and computational analysis. Their work revealed a set of transcription factors, proteins that regulate gene activity, that act like switches directing T cells toward either resilience or exhaustion. Among them were two transcription factors that had not previously been linked to immune exhaustion: ZSCAN20 and JDP2. When the researchers disabled these two genes, something striking happened. Exhausted T cells regained their ability to attack tumors while still preserving long-term immune memory. “We flipped specific genetic switches in the T cells to see if we could restore their tumor-killing function without damaging their ability to provide long-term immune protection,” said H. Kay Chung, PhD, an assistant professor at UNC Lineberger. Chung began the research while working at the Salk Institute. “We found that it was indeed possible to separate these two outcomes.” The discovery challenges a long-standing assumption that exhaustion is an unavoidable side effect of long-term immune activity. Instead, it suggests that scientists may be able to program immune cells to stay effective for much longer. That possibility could be especially important for cancer treatments that rely on engineered immune cells, such as adoptive cell transfer and CAR T cell therapy. These approaches already modify a patient’s immune cells to target tumors, but exhaustion can limit how long those cells remain active. The new genetic atlas could help researchers design T cells that maintain both long-term memory and strong tumor-fighting abilities. “Once we had this map, we could start giving T cells much clearer instructions -- helping them keep the traits that allow them to fight cancer or infection over the long term, while avoiding the pathways that cause them to burn out,” Kaech said. “By separating these two programs, we can begin to design immune cells that are both durable and effective in cancer and chronic infection.” The breakthrough may be particularly important for solid tumors, where immune exhaustion often weakens the impact of therapy. Looking ahead, the research team plans to combine laboratory experiments with artificial intelligence to study the complex networks of genes that shape immune cell behaviour. “Because genes work together in complex regulatory networks that are difficult to decipher, powerful computational tools are essential to pinpoint which regulators drive specific cell states,” said Wei Wang, PhD, a professor at UC San Diego. “This study shows that we can begin to precisely manipulate immune cell fates and unlock new possibilities for enhancing immune therapies.” By revealing how killer T cells choose between resilience and exhaustion, the study brings scientists closer to a new goal: designing immune responses that stay strong even during prolonged disease.

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