A Daily Antidote to Everything Else
Studies for the year-long human trials of the Synchron Switch implant appear positive.
Source: This implant lets those with severe paralysis send texts and use the internet with just their minds
Only a little creepy, but conceptually very cool and promising.
If the brain is a musical instrument, “the electrophysiology is the music,” says Dr. Alexander Khalessi. New tools to treat epilepsy patients now let doctors “listen to the music a little bit better.”
Source: Lasers, robots, and tiny electrodes are transforming treatment of severe epilepsy
Very cool.
People put down a lot of money on Powerball tickets but one big winner did something unusual with his winnings: He gave his entire $150,000 prize to charity.
Source: Powerball winner donates every penny of $150K prize to charity
Wow!
Firefighter Jason Coin and Lt. Scott Molchan of the Merrillville Fire Department arrived to the scene with cold water suits and an ice rescue sled, Coin said. Both are trained
Source: Merrillville firefighters rescue injured owl stuck in the middle of lake
Nice!
Miles, who is hard of hearing, was valedictorian at Model Secondary School for the Deaf and has gone viral on for performing popular songs on TikTok.
Source: Sign language performer Justina Miles goes viral during Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance
Fun to watch, even if you don’t understand ASL (or care about football 
)
With persistence, belief, and the amount of sheer dumb luck normally needed to win the lottery, a Portland senior tracked down a Japanese family based on the photos left behind in an album her late husband plucked from the shrapnel-strewn beaches of Okinawa in 1945. Strangers, friends of friends, and non-English speakers all pitched in […]
Quite the story!
We take a break from our usual programming to celebrate a slightly different bit of good news:
Five. Years.
Today is the 5th anniversary of Not All News is Bad (*). And I don’t think I missed a day. (Excel tells me that 1,826 days. Whew!)
Thank you for tagging along and sharing NANIB (as my friends and I often refer to it) with your friends and family. The world still needs a constant reminder that all the shouting media appearances to the contrary: not all news is bad!
Onward!
(*) The email version, that is. My informal and random Facebook posts started late in the year prior — hence the “2017” in the masthead.
In their engineering and design class, students are making custom devices to help Sadie, whose leg was amputated after an accident, regain her stride.
Source: A 3-legged dog was struggling. A high school engineering class stepped in.
Great opportunity.
Tailoring medicine dosages to a patient’s DNA can reduce serious side effects by 30 percent, according to an international study led by Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and published in The Lancet. “The one-size-fits-all approach for prescribing medication is outdated,” LUMC said.
Source: Matching medicine dosage to patient’s DNA can cut side effects 30%: LUMC
Fascinating,
A 19-year-old Arkansas man’s random act of kindness has sparked an unexpected friendship between him and the recipient of his generosity.
So cool.