The San Diego Zoo is one of the most popular zoos in the country, yet there are plenty of people who, for one reason or another, aren’t able to make it out to the Southern California destination. That’s where the zoo’s Wildlife Explorers channel comes in. The free, 24/7 educational network brings content from the zoo to hundreds of facilities, like senior centers and hospitals. “[It] gets my mind off stuff,” Addison, a young cancer patient who’s been watching the channel while undergoing treatment, told ABC News.
How Sleep May “Clean” the Brain and Lower Disease Risk
PM Images—DigitalVision/Getty Images
When we go to sleep, a cleansing mechanism in the brain wakes up — and it may reduce our long-term disease risk. Researchers out of Finland’s University of Oulu have developed a new method for non-invasively measuring the process our brains use to “clean” themselves, capturing the internal maintenance activities that spring into action when we doze off.
The mechanism is powered by different types of pulsations that displace blood and cerebrospinal fluid, preventing harmful substances from accumulating. In two studies, scientists used a five-minute ultrafast magnetic resonance imaging scan to evaluate these pulsations and found that two types sped up when participants slept, helping clear waste associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s.
They also found that the brain’s order of operations shifted during slumber: Instead of neural activity taking precedence, like it does when we’re awake, processes formed more of an interdependent network. Looking to the future, the team is working on new methods of increasing fluid circulation, which decreases as we age. For now, though, the studies underscore the importance of sleep for long-term health.
“Sleep is not a passive state, but an active period of restoration, one that depends on the coordination of systems often overlooked,” William A. Haseltine, a scientist who was not involved in the studies, wrote in a piece for Psychology Today about the research, adding, “Protecting sleep may be one of the most effective ways to support neurological health and reduce the risk of disease over time.”
Together With Miso Robotics
“One of the Largest Industries Ever”
That’s what NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said about robots. And he’s not alone. Financial expert Ark Invest valued the industry at $24 trillion.
So it’s big that NVIDIA hand-picked Miso Robotics to help perfect the next generation of restaurant-kitchen robots.
Miso’s tech is used by brands like White Castle, Jersey Mike’s, Cinnabon, and Häagen-Dazs. And a new NVIDIA collaboration is now unlocking up to 35% faster robotic performance.
Its fry-cooking robot alone has $4 billion/year revenue potential. Imagine how valuable Miso’s entire AI ecosystem can become.
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Humanity
Chef Started Disaster Relief Nonprofit Out of Old RV — Now It’s Served 35M Gourmet Meals
Courtesy of Mercy Chefs
“My grandmothers cooked, if it was a good day or a bad day, if they were happy or if they were sad, they cooked. They loved on people with food,” Gary LeBlanc tells Nice News. The career restaurateur and hotelier, whose family hails from New Iberia, Louisiana (“real Cajun country,” he calls it), has built a life around feeding people. It’s a passion. It’s “part of my DNA,” the 69-year-old says.
That’s how he found himself signing up to volunteer with food service organizations in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And it’s why what he saw being served to those affected by the disaster upset him so much. Speed was prioritized over safety, as were the meals being cheap and easy to mass-produce. The food “just wasn’t excellent,” LeBlanc explains, and he thought it should have been.
“It’s what people deserve. Nobody should be fed a bad meal,” the grandfather of seven shares, adding, “If it’s important to go feed somebody, it’s important to go feed them in the very best way that you can. It creates dignity. It creates comfort for many people.”
The following year, LeBlanc and his wife, Ann LeBlanc, co-founded Mercy Chefs, a nonprofit serving professionally made, restaurant-quality meals to disaster victims and individuals experiencing food insecurity. Learn more about the org (and get a taste of the gourmet meals it serves).
Environment
10-Year-Old Girl Finds Critically Endangered Axolotl in Welsh River, a UK First
Melanie Hill / SWNS
A member of the internet’s favorite salamander species wound up quite far from its natural habitat, but was lucky enough to be discovered by a curious kiddo who’s now rehabbing the injured creature. Evie Hill, a 10-year-old from Leicester, England, found a critically endangered Mexican axolotl under a bridge in South Wales — the first discovery of its kind in the U.K.
Evie had been playing by the River Ogmore in Bridgend during a family vacation when she made the incredible find on April 10. She rushed to tell her mother, who was initially dubious her daughter had found an actual axolotl, believing it was more likely to be a newt or a snake. In the wild, the exotic amphibians only remain in a single lake in Mexico City, but due to their popularity as aquarium pets they are widespread in homes around the world.
“I knew what it was straight away because I saw its gills,” Evie said. “I have seen them on YouTube on Minecraft videos and other videos showing how to look after them.” It was lucky she had, too, because the amphibian likely wouldn’t have survived if the fifth grader hadn’t spotted it. Read more about the rescue and see the family’s new pet up close.
In Other News
“Easier, cheaper, and quicker”: A new test may diagnose tuberculosis more accurately without requiring phlegm (read more)
Three new California state parks are in the works and several existing ones will be expanded (read more)
An underwater robot uncovered 16th-century artifacts from the deepest shipwreck in French territory (read more)
Only a few inches tall, a Pudu fawn, the world’s smallest deer species, was recently born at the San Diego Zoo (read more)
Kids can earn free pizza for hitting reading milestones through Pizza Hut’s “Summer of Stories” program (read more)
Inspiring Story
An enduring bond thanks to books
For the past 25 years, through different phases of their lives, a group of women has united around a common thread: Becky’s Book Club. The Los Angeles group, whose youngest member is 83 years old, has read 252 books since its inception and shows no signs of slowing down. “The longer it goes on, the more important we become to one another,” said member Nancy deBrier. “We’re the age where we occasionally lose friends; we lose husbands — lots of us have. So, this is very important.”
Photo of the Day
Odd ANDERSEN—AFP/Getty Images
For German postal worker Andrea Bunar, the start of summer is “always special” for a unique reason: It’s the time she ditches her car and takes her job to the water. Bunar, who’s been delivering mail for the village of Lehde for 14 years, navigates a longer, icier road route in the winter. But when the seasons change, she enjoys a quicker, more peaceful meander on her 29-foot-long barge. “This is and has been my dream job all along,” she said. “Being on the water is just so relaxing — it slows down life.”
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