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Tuesday, April 21, 2026
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GW Pharmaceuticals Developed Marijuana-Based Drug for Epilepsy

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marijuana leaves

We are witnessing a revolution of recreational marijuana as more U.S. lawmakers propose and pass laws of regulating it. Also, medical marijuana has proved to help a lot of people in pain.

According to London-based GW Pharmaceuticals, a rare form of epilepsy can be treated with a new oil derived from marijuana plants. This type of condition afflicts roughly 30,000 Americans and the maker claims the drug could offer them some hope.

GW Pharmaceuticals has developed Epidiolex, a drug from the pharmaceutical-grade form of cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabidiol is an oil that can be extracted from the marijuana plant.

Epidiolex is a drug that patients would take orally and it contains only minimum amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ingredient that causes the high effect in pot smokers.

The drug is produced from GW greenhouses in England, where the marijuana plants have been altered to produce significantly more CBD than THC. The oil is then purified in a precise manufacturing process.

Justin Gower, chief executive of GW Pharmaceuticals, said that “between the plant itself and the processing steps which are being taken, the product ends up being pure CBD.”

Previous studies have already tested Epidiolex; in March, GW revealed the results of a particular clinical trial that proved it was effective in treating Dravet syndrome, a very rare form of epilepsy; only 6,000 children are diagnosed with it in the U.S.

After posting the findings, the GW shares saw a surge of 120% in a day, reaching $85 per share. A second clinical trial was conducted, showing a similar effectiveness of the drug for another rare epilepsy form, Lennox Gastaut Syndrome.

With this condition, both children and adults are affected. Tested on patients with an average of 74 seizures a month, Epidiolex was particularly effective on the patients who were administered it, compared to those given a placebo.

While 86 patients took Epidiolex on top of their current epilepsy medications, 85 others received placebo. The patients in the Epidiolex group saw a reduction of 44 percent in seizures compared to a 22 percent for the control group.

GW warned that the drug does have side effects and that as many as 74 of the Epidiolex patients had experienced an “adverse event.” Researchers noted that the drug caused sleepiness, diarrhea, vomiting, and decreased appetite.
Image Source: Pixabay

Strange Watermelon Snow Phenomenon Spreads in the Arctic

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pink snow

The watermelon is one of the favorite fruits of the summer season and everyone wants a piece of it. However, there’s a different kind of “watermelon” that can be experienced only by going outside in snowy places.

Known as ‘watermelon snow,’ this phenomenon takes place the summer heat melts the snowy leftovers of winter. The pinkish nuance of the snow is caused by the sun, which leads to algal blooms that thrive in liquid water and freezing temperatures.

It’s a vicious cycle: firstly, the green organisms flourish under the hot sun, creating a sort of natural sunscreen to color the snowy slopes in pink and sometimes bright red. On the other hand, adding color darkens the snow, which leads to a quicker and faster paced meltdown.

According to Stefanie Lutz, a geobiologist working with the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences and the lead study author, there’s a similarity between this phenomenon and what happens when we wear only black T-shirts instead of white ones.

Besides the fact that it feels much hotter than it is, this heat causes extra melting in the snow. Dr. Lutz and colleagues from several institutions, including the University of Leeds, have published a study on the matter in the journal Nature Communications.

As they analyzed the microbes that thrive in the summer snow, the international team noticed that even though these bacterial communities vary widely from place to place, they are an important factor in climate change.

So important, in fact, that the team has requested that watermelon snow be taken into consideration when experts create climate models to predict the downward direction of the environment.

Even though researchers are still trying to determine just how large the pink blooms can get, Dr. Lutz believes that they can spread all over the Arctic during summertime.

“Based on personal observations, a conservative estimate would be 50 percent of the snow surface on a glacier at the end of a melt season,” she wrote in an email. “But this can potentially be even higher.”

There’s a long list of factors that are turning the Arctic in a giant popsicle that’s rapidly melting down and the red snow algae is one of the many that’s still unaccounted for.
Image Source: Science Alert

Would You Like a KFC Battery Pack with Those Fries?

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part of the the meal that offers a KFC battery pack

Fried Chicken tastes better when you have a fully charged smartphone.

Indian fast-food and smartphone lovers will have a pleasant surprise when they will visit Colonel Sanders’ restaurants. A couple of lucky few customers will receive a special edition KFC battery pack as part of the “Watt a Box” campaign.

Smartphones were designed to make the world a better place. They are making the life of the users significantly easier as they offer the same basic functions as a computer. Adding an increased number of free Wi-Fi networks, and you get a computer in your back pocket.

The problem with smartphones is that their battery lasts a short period. The more you use the device, especially for apps that require an Internet connection, the quicker the battery runs. As Murphy’s laws dictate, that usually happens when you need your smartphone the most.

To come to the aid of the battery-hungry customers, KFC has launched a limited campaign that tries to solve this universal problem. Some lucky customers will get the opportunity to charge their smartphones while enjoying a delicious fried chicken meal.

The “Watt a Box” initiative features a 5 in 1 meal box that contains, apart from the usual fries, fried chicken, crispy strips, and sauce, a power bank of 6,100 mAh.

Technically, 6,100 mAh is more than enough for charging two battery depleted phones. However, some customers that have already tried the KFC battery pack argue that the “extra ingredient” can only be used to charge one phone.

The KFC battery pack that comes with some of the 5 in 1 meals sold in Indian KFC restaurants is removable. The cost of such a meal is only 150 rupees (which is about $2.20, AU$3, or £1.50).

The exclusive gadget-friendly 5 in 1 box is unfortunately only available in some Mumbai and Delhi outlets. The campaign is short-lived, and KFC has not stated anything regarding a possible expansion of the program.

KFC managed to make this “element of utility” possible by partnering up with Blink Digital, a Mumbai digital agency. This is not the first time that the two companies partnered up. Last month, they launched a campaign named “Plate of Hope.” The project is meant to feed the underprivileged children in India in collaboration with World Food Program.

Image source: Wikipedia

Rare Eyeless Catfish Discovered In Texas Underwater Cave

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eyeless fish

Even though it was known to live only in Mexico, researchers have found a very rare blind catfish species in a Texan underwater cave.

The fish, discovered back in May in a deep limestone cave at Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio, were recognized as the Mexican blindcat (scientifically known as the Prietella phreatophila).

Dean Hendrickson, an ichthyology curator at the University of Texas at Austin, is the one who identified and confirmed the small pair’s species; the marine creatures were then transported inside the San Antonio Zoo.

So how could this fish species travel from the Mexican parts of the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer to the American state? The discovery backs up a theory which believes the watery caves under the Rio Grande basin in Texas and Coahuila, the Northern Mexican state, are connected.

Even though rumors of white and blind catfishes being spotted in the area have been around since the 1960s, Hendrickson says this is the first time the species’ presence has been confirmed.

“I’ve seen more of these things than anybody, and these specimens look just the ones from Mexico,” he added. Back in 2015 was the first time, Jack Johnson, the resource manager of the Amistad National Park Service, saw the eyeless fish.

Since then, he partnered with a team of biologists to find more of the species. Growing up to 3 inches long, the endangered Mexican blindcat maintains a light pink hue and is slow-swimming. The color is given by the blood flow being visible through the translucent skin.

As it lives exclusively in groundwater and in caves, the blindcat fish does not need eyes, speed in motion, or pigmentation – not like it would do if it were a surface creature. This species is perfectly adapted to inhabit total darkness.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is protecting the blindcat fish as its habitat is threatened. The Edwards Aquifer sustaining the life of this unique fish faces challenges from excessive pumping of groundwater and contamination.

Due to the special conditions they live in, the fish have not been made available for public viewing; the zoo will keep in a special facility that can accommodate aquifer and cave species.
Image Source: Jewish Business News

Need an Exciting New Job? Why Not Mars?

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Are you bored of your current position and in need of an exciting new job? Are you a scientist, teacher, engineer, explorer, surveyor, farmer, technician, or geologist? If the answer to both questions is yes, then you should take a look at the latest opening from NASA. If the answer is no, then you should take a look at the most recent job openings at NASA. Either way, everybody will be given a chance to help build a Martian colony.

Astronaut descending into Martian crater

Some lucky few will get to be the first to explore the Red Planet.

With the European Space Agency, SpaceX, and a handful of other private contractors breathing down its neck, NASA is doing everything in its power to get to the Red Planet before anybody else.

To this extent, they have been investing a lot of resources not only in the development of a spacecraft that will take the first men to the planet but also in the study of the planet’s conditions.

Lately, researchers have been looking into dust storm patterns, atmosphere pressure, temperature variation, and other important factors that could affect the stay of the colonists.

This means that the Space Agency is serious about the 2023 manned mission. NASA is so sure that they will be ready by then, that they started advertising opened positions for colonists.

The new campaign is directed towards any person who wants an exciting new job on an alien planet. The colonists will be the builders of a new civilization, so the task is not easy, but it’s also one of the best jobs in the solar system.

astronaut farming on Mars

Others will get to see if Matt Damon’s potato experiment is accurate.

According to the posters that the Space Agency released, explorers, night shift workers, surveyors, farmers, teachers, technicians, and assemblers are needed for the future Red Planet colony.

The design of the new posters is very retro. The colors remin viewers of the glory days of advertising back in 1950 when the Marlboro Man was considered the peak of marketing techniques.

One of the posters is particularly nostalgia-based. Remember the famous Uncle Sam poster? The one that became a popular culture reference? NASA reinterpreted it and replaced the bearded man in a stars and stripes suit with an astronaut pointing at the viewer telling him or her that “We Need You.”

NASA astronaut

The NASA astronaut is the new Uncle Sam.

The marketing for the job openings is exquisite, but applicants must remember that the exciting new job comes with harsh conditions, a rare atmosphere, and an overall dusty situation.

Images Courtesy of: NASA

Norway Is the First Country To Commit to Zero Deforestation

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alt= deforestation

Sometimes it seems that only the bad news makes headlines, so here’s a piece of good news: On May 26, the Norwegian government pledged to zero deforestation on its territory.

The Scandinavian nation committed to no longer using and acquiring products that encourage the loss of forestry. The laudable decision was included in the recommendation of Action Plan on Nature Diversity by Norway’s Standing Committee on Energy and Environment.

According to the committee, the government should consider supporting biodiversity protection with the funds offered by the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). They also asked for the creation of a separate biodiversity policy.

As a global sovereign wealth fund, GPFG is mainly focused on climate change policies with deforestation. However, the fund has yet to establish a specific policy for biodiversity protection.

The country’s pledge is a win for Rainforest Foundation Norway, which has been lobbying for this kind of commitment for several years.

Nils Hermann Ranum, the leader of the Rainforest Foundation Norway policy and campaign, said that “Over the last few years, a number of companies have committed to cease the procurement of goods that can be linked to the destruction of the rainforest.”

Thus, it is encouraging that the Norwegian state has also decided to follow suit and set up new demands regarding public procurements. After this victory, Ranum hopes that other countries, such as Germany and the UK, will decide to commit to zero deforestation.

It would be the next logical step, seeing that all of them have already entered in September 2014 into a joint declaration at the UN Climate Summit in New York. Zero deforestation is something the European countries had promised to support on a national level.

Similarly, they also committed to coming up with solid policies in terms of sustainable procurement of beef, soy, timber, and palm oil.

According to a previous study, about 40 percent of total tropical deforestation from 2000 to 2011 was due to palm oil, wood, soy and beef products from only seven countries.

In these countries — Argentina, Malaysia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, and Indonesia — the deforestation rates are the worst globally; they also rank at 44 percent as sources of carbon emissions.

Norway’s pledge has made history: It’s the first country to make it, hoping that other countries will see the benefits to our planet and do the same.
Image Source: Flickr

Gogo Drops as American Airlines Invites ViaSat On Board

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alt= woman uses tablet on board of aircraft

American Airlines’ choice to split an order between ViaSat Inc. and Gogo Inc. for in-flight Wi-Fi services had a rough effect on Gogo.

The company’s stocks have tumbled the most in more than three months after the decision, which left unanswered the question of who will provide services for 400 aircraft.

American Airlines Group Inc. chose ViaSat for satellite-based connections on its upcoming Boeing Co. 737 Max fleet of roughly 100 jets; at the same time, Gogo’s new 2Ku service was selected for 134 Airbus Group SE A319s and A320s, according to Casey Norton, a spokesman for the airline.

It is also the company’s right to disrupt Gogo connections from 550 planes, including 150 that will soon be retired and won’t need the upgrades.

American Airlines has yet to decide which provider will be chosen for the remaining 400 planes as they switch from the current ground-based offerings to faster satellite systems.

Offering speedy internet for its customers in the air is quickly becoming the standard for airlines. In this all-connected era we live in, passengers want to remain connected even at flying altitudes, being able to chat through social media, and stream music.

This ability is often impaired by the frustrating malfunctions that come from being constrained to ground-based systems. So the rivalry between internet providers has increased significantly.

“Basically, American is telling Gogo, ‘You are going to have to compete with ViaSat,”’ explained Tim Farrar, founder of Telecom Media Finance Association in Menlo Park, California.

Gogo dropped 15 percent to $9.38 in New York, after a previous fall of 16 percent for the biggest intraday decline since February 16. Meanwhile, ViaSat rose 4.3 percent to $72.90.

“At the end of the day, worst-case scenarios are off the table, the downside is bracketed” to 550 planes at most; having Gogo’s 2Ku installing on 140 planes will also allow the company to compete head-to-head with ViaSat.

As the world’s largest airline, American is in a favored spot of being able to have “multiple suppliers” for broadband Wi-Fi; this practice helps them ensure that all planes are equipped as quickly as possible.

American’s decision to use the 2Ku technology for some planes is important for Gogo, as the company was at risk of losing the airline as a customer. Gogo’s new platform has been slow to roll out while it awaits regulatory certification for the new systems on various aircraft.
Image Source: Lufthansa

New Ground Lights Could Boost Pedestrian Safety in Australia

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alt= walking and texting

In this time and day, it’s no longer a surprise to bump into people on the street, or even to see people calmly walking into light poles. Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to having our eyes glued to our smartphones’ screens even when we’re walking.

But Sydney, Australia, wants to help people affected by this problem that turns most smartphone users into digital zombies.

Authorities in New South Wales are preparing a program to deploy ground lights at street level so people who are too busy checking their feed won’t die while crossing the street.

For this pilot program, ground level traffic lights will be installed, with further implementation possible after residents will offer feedback. The first phase of the project will last for six months, during which ground-level embedded street lights will be placed in five locations from Sydney’s business district.

The initiative will reach a cost of approximately AUS $250,000 (US $180,663). According to Bernard Carlon, the Executive Director at Centre for Road Safety, it’s worth it.

“We need to create a road system that keeps [pedestrians] safe, and this includes situations when they may not be paying attention,” he explained. Seeing that pedestrian casualties are on the rise in Australia – that’s what statistics say – the authorities might be onto something here.

Evidently, excessive smartphone use is only partially responsible for the 61 pedestrians who lost their lives in 2015 in a New South Wales road accident. However, the 49 percent surge (compared to 2014’s casualties) calls for any action that promises to improve the situation.

Street level lights should be in the line of view of pedestrians who can get into dangerous traffic situations because they are looking at their mobile screens. The new lights will provide additional warning, complementing traditional signals and lights.

Australia is not the first to implement extra warning signals for pedestrian safety. After a teenage girl died in a railroad accident earlier this year in the German town of Augsburg, authorities started a similar initiative at two stations within the town.

Should the pilot program prove successful in reducing the number of accidents, the local authorities are considering installing more ground level warning lights. Young people in Germany even have a name for the phone users perpetuating the phenomenon: “smombies.

Image Source: Droid App

Florida Brewery Wants to Save Marine Animals with Edible Beer Rings

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edible beer rings

Saltwater Brewery came up with a way to provide marine animals with food instead of killing them: meet the biodegradable packing design of the edible beer rings.

According to co-founder Chris Gove of the Florida-based microbrewery, the rings are made from wheat and barley waste, some of the natural byproducts of making beer.

Gove believes the company’s pragmatic solution is the answer to repurposing waste in the brewing process. At the same time, the edible rings could contribute to the fight against ocean plastic pollution.

A couple of hours of being in the ocean and the packaging starts to disintegrate; in turn, this prevents fish or other sea animals getting caught up in the rings. However, it takes two to three months for the wheat and barley products to completely disappear in the ocean.

That’s also the time it takes for the rings to compost if left on the beach – although in that scenario, soil, humidity, composition, and temperature also play a role.

Alternatives to traditional plastic rings do exist; PakTech’s recycled plastic can carrier is 100% recyclable, as well as Fishbone’s cardboard holder. However, these don’t decrease the risk of wildlife getting stuck in them or ingesting them.

The Saltwater Brewery edible alternative is the result of a collaboration with the advertising agency We Believers. “Our main challenge was figuring out what material would be sustainable and sturdy enough to hold a six-pack of beer,” explained Marco Vega, co-founder of We Believers.

The company produced the first batch of 500 edible six pack rings with the help of 3D-printed plastic molds. But because plastic molds are not suitable for mass manufacturing, Saltwater is looking into creating metal molds capable of producing out 400,000 ring units each month.

“We estimate the initial mass-produced batch will cost around 25 cents per unit – about 10 cents more than the recyclable plastic six-pack rings Saltwater is [currently] using,” says Vega.

Even though he thinks consumers would be willing to pay more for the eco alternative, he expects costs to quickly drop. This will be the case especially if more craft brewers and major beer companies decide to implement this technology into their own products.
Image Source: Thrillist

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