helping

In 1888, George Vanderbilt began building a vast North Carolina estate; 26 years later, his widow sold 86,700 acres for $433,500, helping create the core of Pisgah National Forest in 1916

by
In 1888, George Vanderbilt began building a vast North Carolina estate; 26 years later, his widow sold 86,700 acres for $433,500, helping create the core of Pisgah National Forest in 1916

A major property deal that began more than a century ago with a grieving widow turned a huge private wilderness in North Carolina into one of the most important public conservation achievements in American history. In May 1914, Edith Vanderbilt agreed to sell 86,700 acres of valuable mountain forest from the private Biltmore Estate to … Read more

In 2017, June Thomas started rescuing ‘rez dogs’ from her home in Manitoba; after surveying 200 homes and helping sterilise 65+ animals, she has now opened an on-reserve shelter

by
In 2017, June Thomas started rescuing ‘rez dogs’ from her home in Manitoba; after surveying 200 homes and helping sterilise 65+ animals, she has now opened an on-reserve shelter

In 2017, June Thomas began rescuing stray “rez dogs” from her own home on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation in southern Manitoba, driven by concern for the many unvaccinated, unsterilised animals roaming the reserve. After surveying 200 homes, helping sterilise more than 65 dogs and cats and coordinating several on-reserve clinics, she has now opened … Read more

In 2014, Leonardo DiCaprio’s foundation donated $1 million, helping save African elephants who were being killed for their ivory tusks at a rate of 100 per day

by
In 2014, Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation donated $1 million, helping save African elephants who were being killed for their ivory tusks at a rate of 100 per day

Illegal hunting and the ivory trade have reduced the populations of elephants in Africa drastically over the past century. Millions of these mammals once roamed the iconic jungles, but their long ivory tusks made them targets of big game hunters and poachers who have decimated their numbers by roughly 95% over the past 100 years. … Read more

In 2026, a Florida wildlife centre brought in critically endangered red-ruffed lemurs; the project is now helping restore their disappearing Madagascar rainforest

by
In 2026, a Florida wildlife centre brought in critically endangered red-ruffed lemurs; the project is now helping restore their disappearing Madagascar rainforest

A wildlife centre in North Florida has welcomed two red-ruffed lemurs, turning encounters with the critically endangered animals into a way to support rainforest restoration thousands of miles away in Madagascar. The North Florida Wildlife Center in Lloyd, Jefferson County, is now home to four ruffed lemurs. Two of them, newly arrived red-ruffed lemur males, … Read more

A YouTuber spent 4 years helping strangers find lost relatives; then a DNA test gave him a 22.7% match with a 66-year-old Texas woman who turned out to be his long-lost sister

by
A YouTuber spent 4 years helping strangers find lost relatives; then a DNA test gave him a 22.7% match with a 66-year-old Texas woman who turned out to be his long-lost sister

Blair Clark and his wife Leah and details of DNA testing kit from MyHeritage. Blair Clark and his wife Leah have spent more than four years on their YouTube show, The Leah and Blair Slog, helping people reconnect with relatives they’ve never known, or lost touch with. The couple, who live in the Philippines, have … Read more

Meet Hannah Joseph, the Ohio sophomore who pitched a nonprofit helping seniors use technology and won an AI leadership award

by
Meet Hannah Joseph, the Ohio sophomore who pitched a nonprofit helping seniors use technology and won an AI leadership award

That initiative made her the first teenager ever considered for, and honored with, a Cincinnati AI Leadership Award. Hannah Joseph, a sophomore at Indian Hill High School in Ohio, has won the 2026 AI Next Generation Award after pitching her nonprofit, Seniors Go Digital, at Cincy AI Week, Village Press reported. She stood out among … Read more

A blind Egyptian entrepreneur built an AI app that describes the world through audio, helping visually impaired users experience wildlife, objects and surrounding scenes through their phones

by
A blind Egyptian entrepreneur built an AI app that describes the world through audio, helping visually impaired users experience wildlife, objects and surrounding scenes through their phones

When Karen Morad, a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Cairo, went on a Kenyan safari in June 2026, she experienced something she thought was impossible: “seeing” the animals around her despite being completely blind. That moment was made possible by ScribeMe, an AI-powered app created by her older brother, Mark, also blind, which turns a phone’s camera, … Read more

San Diego’s Leanne Fan, 18, built a device to simulate microgravity and tested red light on injured flatworms; tissue regeneration sped up by 95.2%, helping her win $80,000

by
San Diego's Leanne Fan, 18, built a device to simulate microgravity and tested red light on injured flatworms; tissue regeneration sped up by 95.2%, helping her win $80,000

Fan built her own $200 device instead of using NASA’s $50,000 clinostat. (Society for science photo) Leanne Fan, an 18-year-old student from San Diego, has been named a finalist in the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search for her research into wound healing in space. Her project looks at whether red light therapy can help wounds … Read more

A World War II submarine detector was later used to map magnetic stripes on the seafloor, helping scientists prove that Earth’s tectonic plates move

by
A World War II submarine detector was later used to map magnetic stripes on the seafloor, helping scientists prove that Earth’s tectonic plates move

A device built to track enemy submarines during the Second World War went on to become one of the most important tools in Earth science. The fluxgate magnetometer, first developed to detect small disturbances in the planet’s magnetic field caused by metal hulls beneath the ocean surface, was later adapted by scientists to study the … Read more