My Drive Is Reviving the Culture of Stone Lifting

A determined farmer from England is on an exciting quest to uncover his country's ancient lifting stones, once used to showcase strength. Calum Stott, inspired by their popularity in Ireland, Scotland and Iceland, believes these historic stones are scattered across England too. His adventure led him to discover a 130kg stone in a Teesdale garden. Now he's eagerly searching for more hidden treasures that tell tales of the past.

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Scientists Celebrate Breakthrough As New Drug Shows Promise For Children With Dravet Syndrome

For families living with Dravet syndrome, daily life can be unpredictable and exhausting. The rare genetic condition often causes severe seizures that resist standard treatments, along with developmental and speech challenges. Now, researchers say a new drug could offer a meaningful breakthrough. Early clinical trials of a medication called Zorevunersen have shown promising results, significantly reducing seizures in children with the condition. The preliminary trial, led by scientists at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital, involved 81 children between the ages of two and 18. Before the study began, participants experienced an average of 17 seizures per month. After receiving a 70-milligram dose of Zorevunersen, seizures dropped by about 50 percent on average. After three doses, researchers reported seizure reductions of roughly 80 percent. Equally important, the drug appeared safe and well tolerated by the children taking part. The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, also showed improvements in quality of life, including better motor skills, communication and the ability to cope with daily activities. For clinicians who work with these patients, the results are encouraging. “I regularly see patients with hard-to-treat genetic epilepsies, who can have multiple seizures a week,” said Helen Cross, director and professor of childhood epilepsy at the UCL Institute of Child Health and honorary consultant in paediatric neurology at Great Ormond Street Hospital. “Many are unable to do anything independently for themselves; they require around the clock care and are at high risk of sudden expected death in epilepsy.” Cross said the next step will be a larger phase 3 clinical trial to study the drug over a longer period. Researchers will examine long-term safety, possible rare side effects and which patients are most likely to benefit. If those trials confirm the early results, she said the treatment could dramatically change lives. “This new treatment could help children with Dravet syndrome lead much healthier and happier lives.” Experts who were not involved in the study also welcomed the findings. Jowinn Chew, a researcher at London South Bank University, described the early results as a “clinically significant step forward” toward treatments that target the underlying cause of the disorder rather than simply managing seizures. Other scientists say the implications could reach far beyond Dravet syndrome. Dr Alfredo Gonzalez-Sulser of the University of Edinburgh said the findings were “incredibly exciting” and could point toward new therapies for other rare epilepsies. “There are now over 800 genetic epilepsies that need therapeutics similar to Zorevunersen,” he said. “This sets a clear path to achieve effective interventions for these severe life-altering diseases for both patients and carers.” Deb Pal, a professor of epilepsy at King’s College London, said the study offers “enormous hope for the families of thousands of children and young people affected by monogenic epilepsies worldwide.” For many families who have spent years searching for effective treatments, that hope alone marks an important step forward.

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This Assistant Coach Helped Remove a Disoriented Pelican From a College Baseball Game

A pelican caused quite a stir when it landed on a baseball field during a game between the University of California Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount University in Santa Barbara, California, on Tuesday, March 3. UC Santa Barbara Baseball captured this video showing assistant coach Dylan Jones removing the large bird, which he wrapped in a towel, from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. According to a game recap, the bird glided low over the field and became momentarily trapped in the netting behind home plate, which delayed the game. The bird eventually flew out of the area and UC Santa Barbara defeated Loyola Marymount 11-1. credit: UC Santa Barbara Baseball via Storyful

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Los Angeles Grants Historic Status To 'Brady Bunch' House

Here’s the story… of a house that just became a piece of history. The suburban home made famous by the classic sitcom The Brady Bunch has officially been designated a historic-cultural monument by the Los Angeles City Council. The vote on Wednesday gives landmark protection to the 1970s-era home on Dilling Avenue in Studio City, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. The designation followed a 13-0 recommendation by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. For television fans, the modest suburban house is instantly recognizable. It served as the exterior home for the Brady family during the show’s original run from 1969 to 1974. Inside scenes from the sitcom were filmed on a sound stage, but the home’s distinctive façade helped set the scene for one of television’s most enduring family comedies. The house also returned to the spotlight years later when it appeared in the 1995 film The Brady Bunch Movie and its sequel. In recent years, the property gained new attention thanks to a renovation project by HGTV. The network purchased the house in 2019 and recreated the show’s interior as part of the series A Very Brady Renovation, carefully rebuilding the inside to match the famous TV set. After the renovation, the roughly 1959-built home was sold to Tina Trahan, a historic-house enthusiast and the wife of former HBO executive Chris Albrecht. She purchased the property for $3.2 million. The home had previously been listed for $5.5 million after HGTV acquired it for $3.5 million. Trahan has said she views the house less as a residence and more as a cultural artifact. “Nobody is going to live in it,” Trahan told The Wall Street Journal. “Anything you might do to make the house livable would take away from what I consider artwork.” Her plans include using the property for charitable causes and fundraising events. Before HGTV stepped in, the home had quietly remained in the same family for nearly half a century. Late last year, fans finally got a rare opportunity to step inside when the property opened for a three-day charity fundraiser called “The Brady Experience.” With the new landmark designation, the house now joins a long list of protected cultural sites across Los Angeles. For television lovers, it means the iconic Brady home — the one that greeted viewers week after week for decades — is officially recognized as part of the city’s history.

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This Wolf Was Just Rescued From a Canal In Northern Italy

Firefighters rescued a stranded wolf from a canal in San Giovanni Lupatoto, Italy, on March 3. Footage posted by the Vigili del Fuoco shows the wolf being rescued from a canal footbridge. According to local media, the wolf was to remain at a local animal recovery center before being released back into the wild. credit: Vigili del Fuoco via Storyful

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Pop Star Zara Larsson Joins Kids’ “Bike Bus” And Turns School Ride Into A Music Video

Most school buses do not come with a soundtrack. But in one neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, the morning ride to school often includes hundreds of kids on bikes, a Bluetooth speaker blasting music and the occasional pop star pedaling along. It all started four years ago when physical education teacher Sam Balto launched what he calls a “Bike Bus” for students in Northeast Portland. Known to many of his students and followers as Coach Balto, he wanted to create a safer, more exciting way for children to get to school. The idea is simple. Students ride bikes together along a set route through the neighborhood, traveling as a group so they are easier to see and safer in traffic. Along the way, they also draw attention to the need for safer cycling routes around schools. What began as a small effort has grown into a weekly event that now sees hundreds of children riding together. Balto leads the pack through the neighborhood at least once a week, music pumping from a speaker as the group pedals toward class. The concept has spread far beyond Portland. Today, there are more than 520 Bike Bus groups around the world. The rides have even started attracting celebrities. Balto and his students have previously welcomed artists like Justin Timberlake and Benson Boone, who joined the group for rides through the neighborhood while students sang along to their favorite songs. Last week, Balto set his sights on another guest. He posted a clip showing students riding through the rain while Zara Larsson’s song “Lush Life” played in the background. “This weekend you start your tour in Portland,” Balto wrote to Larsson. “Zara Larsson, want to ride in the Bike Bus with us? The kids would go absolutely crazy with excitement!!” Larsson quickly replied in the comments. “Oh I’ll be there! Check DM.” Just days later, she showed up. Before performing at the Crystal Ballroom on Saturday, February 28, Larsson joined Balto and his students for a ride along their usual route. Because the ride took place over the weekend, students from about 10 Portland schools were able to participate, Balto told Willamette Week. The moment quickly turned into something that looked closer to a music video than a commute. “Our ride with Zara Larsson felt like a Bike Bus music video,” Balto wrote on social media after the event. “Smiles everywhere, joy nonstop, singing and dancing the whole way.” Larsson appeared just as thrilled to take part. In one video she shared, the singer smiles at the camera while riding an e-bike and singing along to her new single, “Midnight Sun.” Text on the clip reads: “Portland Bike Bus I love youuuuu.” According to Balto, the singer stayed long after the ride ended. She took photos with students, signed autographs and even joined them for a TikTok dance to “Lush Life.” “I still can’t believe she said yes, and we pulled this off in three days,” Balto wrote on social media. “Zara Larsson is the kindest individual I’ve ever met.” Beyond the fun, Balto says celebrity visits have another effect. “Celebrity participation is a big accelerator,” he told Willamette Week. “It puts Bike Bus in front of people who would never see it otherwise because it breaks out of the usual algorithm bubbles.” Each time a well-known guest joins the ride, Balto says he notices a surge in messages from people asking how to start their own Bike Bus routes in other cities. For Larsson, the experience seemed to be just as memorable as the concert she came to town to perform. “Weeee!” she exclaimed in a TikTok video from the ride. In the caption she added: “Thank you so much for having [me]. This was a big moment for me!!!” And for the hundreds of kids pedaling alongside her that morning, the trip to school might have been the most fun commute they would ever have.

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Brazilian Researchers Use Ultrasonic Waves To Transform Cocoa Waste Into Nutrient-Rich Honey

Dark chocolate and honey already make a great pair. Now scientists say the combination might also reduce food waste. Researchers in Brazil have shown that ultrasonic waves can extract beneficial nutrients from leftover cocoa bean husks when the plant material is mixed with honey. The process turns what is normally agricultural waste into a nutritionally enriched honey product. Cocoa beans are prized for making chocolate, but most of the cocoa plant ends up discarded. The husks and surrounding material make up the majority of the harvest’s biomass. Despite being thrown away, those parts still contain many of the same plant nutrients found in cocoa beans. Among them are polyphenols linked to heart health, alkaloids such as theobromine and stimulants like caffeine. If producers could recover those compounds from the waste, they could reduce discarded material while creating new products. That idea led researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo to experiment with a method based on “green chemistry.” Instead of using chemical solvents often found in food processing, the team used honey itself as the extracting medium. Solvents such as hexane are commonly used in food production to draw compounds from ingredients. For example, hexane helps extract polyunsaturated fats from cotton seeds to produce cottonseed oil. In the Brazilian experiment, honey played that role instead. The researchers mixed cocoa husks and shells into honey and inserted an ultrasonic wave emitter into the mixture. The sound waves broke down the plant material and helped release its nutrients into the honey. “Of course, the biggest appeal to the public is the flavor, but our analyses have shown that it has a number of bioactive compounds that make it quite interesting from a nutritional and cosmetic point of view,” Felipe Sanchez Bragagnolo, the study’s first author, told Agência FAPESP. The ultrasonic process may offer another benefit. The researchers believe the sound waves also reduced microbes already present in the honey. That could make the product easier to store and sell without relying on pasteurization or refrigeration. The team tested honey from five species of native Brazilian stingless bees. These honeys tend to contain more liquid and have lower viscosity than the honey produced by the European honeybee used in most commercial production. The researchers ultimately selected honey from the mandaguari bee, known scientifically as Scaptotrigona postica. However, they say cocoa plantations could use honey from whatever native species lives nearby. For producers that already work with cocoa and beekeeping, the technique could offer a new product made from materials that would otherwise be discarded. “We believe that with a device like this, in a cooperative or small business that already works with both cocoa and native bee honey, it’d be possible to increase the portfolio with a value-added product, including for haute cuisine,” said Professor Mauricio Rostagno, a coordinator of the study. By combining ultrasonic technology with natural ingredients, the researchers say cocoa waste could turn into something both useful and flavorful.

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Meet The World’s Clumsiest Parrot Making A Comeback

If you ever needed proof that survival sometimes looks a little awkward, meet the kākāpō. This large, moss-green bird from New Zealand is famous for a few unusual traits. It is the world’s only flightless parrot. It is also the heaviest parrot on Earth. And by most accounts, it may also be the clumsiest. In the book Last Chance To See, British author Douglas Adams once described the bird’s famously ungainly behavior. “Its wings are just about good for waggling a bit if it thinks it’s about to trip over something — but flying is out of the question. Sadly, however, it seems that not only has the kākāpō forgotten how to fly, but it has forgotten that it has forgotten how to fly,” Adams wrote. “Apparently,” he added, “a seriously worried kākāpō will sometimes run up a tree and jump out of it, whereupon it flies like a brick and lands in a graceless heap on the ground.” Endearing clumsiness aside, the species has long been on the brink of extinction. The bird, roughly the size of a house cat, once faced a bleak future. By 1974, conservationists feared the species had vanished entirely. By 1995, only 51 kākāpōs were known to exist in the wild. Today, that number has climbed to 236. The comeback is the result of an intense conservation effort involving scientists and members of the Ngāi Tahu tribe, who view the bird as culturally and spiritually significant. “It’s a taonga species, a treasure to us,” Tāne Davis, Ngāi Tahu’s representative of kākāpō conservation, told Scientific American. Over the past decade, conservation teams have closely monitored the birds, giving them what some describe as routine “doctor’s visits.” At the same time, hand-reared chicks have been released into the wild while invasive predators are removed from sensitive habitats. Ngāi Tahu members also focus on restoring the “mauri,” or life force, of the ecosystems where the birds live. Even with that support, helping kākāpō populations grow requires some unusual matchmaking. Deidre Vercoe, operations manager for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation kākāpō program, says scientists sometimes have to intervene to preserve genetic diversity among the small population. “We do what we can to make sure we don’t lose any further genetic diversity,” Vercoe told the Associated Press. “We manage that carefully through having the best matches possible on each island.” Some of the most prolific males are even relocated if they start dominating the gene pool. In fact, conservationists created a tongue-in-cheek solution for particularly successful suitors: a nearby refuge known as “Bachelor Island.” One famous resident is a male named Blades, who has fathered 22 chicks since 1982. “He was a victim of his own success,” said Andrew Digby, science adviser for the Department of Conservation’s kākāpō team. “He was too popular.” Even without intervention, kākāpō reproduction is unpredictable. Unlike many birds, they do not breed every year. Instead, they tend to reproduce only when a native evergreen called the rimu tree produces an especially large crop of bright red berries. This year, that rare event happened. The abundant harvest has triggered what conservationists describe as a kākāpō baby boom. According to Digby, nearly every female of breeding age has nested this season, laying a remarkable 240 eggs so far. Scientists expect roughly half of those eggs to be fertile, with fewer chicks surviving to adulthood. Still, the early results are promising. As of March 3, researchers have recorded 26 living chicks. Right now, they resemble small, fuzzy puffballs. But Digby says that phase will not last long. Within weeks, he joked, they start looking like “weird little dinosaurs with these huge, oversized feet.” For many New Zealanders, the quirky bird has become something of a national symbol. “We don’t have the Eiffel Tower or the pyramids, but we do have kākāpō and kiwi,” Vercoe said. “It’s a real New Zealand duty to save these birds.” And if the latest baby boom continues, the world’s most awkward parrot might just keep waddling its way back from the edge.

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Firefighters Rescue Balloonists Tangled in 900-Foot-Tall Tower

A hot air balloon crashed and became tangled near the top of a communications tower over 900 feet tall in Longview, Texas, last week. Drone video and photos of the operation showed firefighters scaling the tower to secure and rescue the two balloonists about 900 feet above the ground. In an interview with KLTV, the Longview Fire Department said its firefighters had trained for a hot air balloon incident, but the staggering height at which this balloon was stuck presented a particular challenge. Due to the height of the tower, six different rope systems had to be used, KLTV reported. A total of 35 firefighters responded, including 14 who were deployed at varying points on the tower and 21 who took positions on the ground. Both occupants of the balloon were able to don harnesses and belay safely to the ground. credit: Longview Fire Department via Storyful

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New Technology Uses Hand Photos To Detect Serious Diseases

Sometimes, the body leaves clues in plain sight. Researchers at Kobe University say a new artificial intelligence system can identify a rare hormonal disorder simply by analyzing photos of the back of a person’s hand and a clenched fist. The goal is to help doctors detect acromegaly, an uncommon endocrine disease that often goes unnoticed for years. The condition is caused by excessive growth hormone and usually appears in middle age. Over time, it can lead to enlarged hands and feet, changes in facial features and abnormal growth of bones and organs. Because those changes happen slowly, diagnosis can take a long time. “Because the condition progresses so slowly, and because it is a rare disease, it is not uncommon to take up to a decade for it to be diagnosed,” said Kobe University endocrinologist Hidenori Fukuoka. If untreated, the disorder can lead to serious health problems and reduce life expectancy by about ten years. Many experimental AI tools designed to detect diseases from photographs rely heavily on facial images. But researchers say that approach can raise privacy concerns for patients. The Kobe team decided to take a different path. Graduate student Yuka Ohmachi explained that the researchers focused on the hands, which doctors often examine when evaluating patients with suspected acromegaly. “Trying to address this concern, we decided to focus on the hands, a body part we routinely examine alongside the face in clinical practice for diagnostic purposes, particularly because acromegaly often manifests changes in the hands,” Ohmachi said. To further protect patient privacy, the scientists limited images to the back of the hand and a clenched fist. They deliberately avoided photographing palms because palm-line patterns can be unique enough to reveal someone’s identity. The privacy-focused design helped researchers recruit a large group of participants. In total, 725 patients from 15 medical institutions across Japan contributed more than 11,000 images used to train and test the system. The results surprised even the scientists behind the project. When researchers compared the AI’s performance with experienced endocrinologists who reviewed the same photos, the system showed higher diagnostic accuracy. “Frankly, I was surprised that the diagnostic accuracy reached such a high level using only photographs of the back of the hand and the clenched fist,” Ohmachi said. “What struck me as particularly significant was achieving this level of performance without facial features, which makes this approach a great deal more practical for disease screening.” The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Researchers emphasize that the technology is not meant to replace doctors. Instead, it could act as a screening tool that flags potential cases earlier, helping patients reach specialists sooner. The team also believes the same approach could be expanded to detect other conditions that show physical signs in the hands. Possible future applications include identifying rheumatoid arthritis, anemia and finger clubbing, which can be linked to lung or heart disease. Ohmachi says the technology could open the door to a broader role for artificial intelligence in medicine. “This result could be the entry point for expanding the potential of medical AI,” she said. Lead researcher Fukuoka believes tools like this could eventually become part of routine health checkups. “We believe that, by further developing this technology, it could lead to creating a medical infrastructure during comprehensive health check-ups to connect suspected cases of hand-related disorders to specialists,” he said. He added that it may also help doctors working in rural or underserved areas. “Furthermore, it could support non-specialist physicians in regional healthcare settings, thus contributing to a reduction of healthcare disparities there.” Sometimes, spotting a serious illness begins with something simple. In this case, it may start with a photo of a hand.

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Philadelphia Schools Guarantee Daily Recess, Water And Bathroom Breaks; Ban Silent Lunches

At some schools, the bell signals math, science or history. In Philadelphia, it now signals something else too: the right to take a break. The city’s school district has approved a new wellness policy that guarantees students access to recess and bathroom breaks, while also introducing regular movement breaks throughout the school day. The decision came after an eight-hour school board meeting last week, where officials voted to fully adopt the program following advocacy from a grassroots parent group called Lift Every Voice. Supporters say the changes protect basic needs that had sometimes been restricted in classrooms. Under the new policy, teachers can no longer take away recess or bathroom access as a form of discipline. The rules also guarantee “movement breaks” for elementary school students after every 90 minutes of sitting. Advocates say the policy addresses concerns parents have raised for years. Members of Lift Every Voice told the Philadelphia Inquirer that some families had even begun sending children to school in diapers because bathroom breaks were not always guaranteed during class time. The group, a Black-led parent organization, said that in some cases access to drinking water fountains could also be withheld during lessons. Changing those practices took time. According to reporting from the Inquirer, it took nearly two years for the new rules to move through the process and become official school regulations. When the vote finally passed, supporters celebrated. The parent group marked the moment with music and dancing outside the meeting room. Philadelphia schools superintendent Tony Watlington Jr. acknowledged the policy shift and said the district was glad to take the step. “I wish we had done this much sooner. But I’m pleased that we’re doing it today,” he said. The new rules go beyond breaks and recess. They also prohibit certain forms of collective punishment in schools. One example is “silent lunch,” a disciplinary practice where entire groups of students must eat quietly because of one student’s behavior. The updated policy also prevents schools from removing access to recess or bathroom breaks as punishment. School board members say the goal is to treat students with dignity while creating a healthier learning environment. “When we think about children holding their bodies because bathroom access is protected, or sitting for hours without movement, or rushing through silent lunches, that’s not discipline,” said Board of Education councilmember Kendra Brooks. “It’s actually dehumanizing.” The same school board meeting included another change aimed at improving student attendance. Philadelphia schools will also eliminate half-days, which district data linked to sharply declining attendance. Supporters of the wellness policy say the changes mark a step toward classrooms that better support students’ physical and emotional well-being.

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