Tim Bowness may explore morose subjects like murder and divorce on his new album‚ but this collection of “cinematic short stories”‚ featuring an impressive prog line-up‚ is certainly not all doom and gloom…

8 Life-Giving Reminders for Christian Parents

Elaina Christina hosts The Elaina Show on TikTok. The show offers a comedic look at life with a definitive New Jersey twist. Several of her posts have recently included a pint-sized dynamo in the form of her two-year-old niece‚ Giavanna (Gia). Being from New Jersey‚ Elaina never thought much of her own accent. That became a focus when fans commented on little Gia’s adorable New Jersey accent. After noticing the peculiar way her niece said “chawcolate‚” Elaina knew that her fans needed to hear the cuteness. Elaina recorded videos asking Gia to say certain words and phrases to give fans more of what they crave. The results are predictably hilarious. Image from TikTok. Elaina agreed to allow Gia to “do her makeup” during the recording. This‚ of course‚ added a completely new level of hilarity to the video. The first phrase Elaina asked Gia to repeat was‚ “I’m looking in a mirror.” Gia enunciated very clearly‚ “I’m looking in the mirwah.” During each exchange‚ Elaina fights to pronounce the phrases without her accent entaferring. Meanwhile‚ makeup was applied in an orderly manner. Image from TikTok. Phrases included‚ “Hey Nona‚ give me a meatball‚” “Hey‚ I’m walking here‚” “I’m going to the ball‚” and “I am a star.” Gia dutifully pronounced each phrase with her adorable New Jersey accent. The two had a lot of laughs‚ and the makeup session was a success. You can watch the entire video of Gia saying phrases here. Image from TikTok. A New Jersey Accent Is Very Distinctive In a second video‚ Elaina has Gia repeating words. “Caw-fee‚” “Wah-tah‚” “Tawk‚” “Wawk‚” “Cohl‚” and “Drawah” sound absolutely adorable when Gia says them. At the end of the video of words‚ as Elaina is laughing hysterically‚ her sister (Gia’s mom) enters the frame. You’ll have to watch below to see what she added to the video (it’s a perfect ending). Be sure to share this if you laughed at that poor innocent child (you know you did). @imelainachristina she was raised RIGHT. &; for the record it was very hard for me to say these words without my own accent #fyp #newjersey #newyork #italianamerican #babytok #babiesoftiktok ♬ original sound – The Elaina Show You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post 2-Yr-Old Shows Off Her Hilarious New Jersey Accent And It’s Too Adorable appeared first on InspireMore.

'I think everybody knows that is not right and there's no way that nobody else was involved in this criminal activity'

Our partner Rob Brezsny‚ who has a new book out‚ Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle‚ provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology‚ is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote […] The post Your Horoscope for the Week – ‘Free Will Astrology’ From Rob Brezsny appeared first on Good News Network.

With the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent decision on the status of embryos raising concerns about the future of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics in the state‚ it’s safe to say fertility is on a lot of people’s minds at the moment.According to the World Health Organization‚ around 1 in 6 adults around the world experience infertility. As a result‚ fertility has become a huge area of research – and a particularly important one for people hoping to find answers about their own‚ often being met with a lack of robust (or even the presence of misleading) information.So what does the latest science have to say about fertility?The semen microbiome and fertilityWe’ve already met the oral‚ gut‚ and skin microbiomes‚ but it turns out semen has one too‚ and it could play a part in male infertility. Researchers analyzing the semen of men being evaluated for their fertility or receiving a vasectomy consultation found one bacterium of particular interest: Lactobacillus iners.Men with abnormal sperm motility – a potential contributor to infertility – were found to have a higher abundance of these bacteria compared to those with normal sperm motility. This suggests that L. iners could negatively impact male fertility‚ though the authors acknowledge that there’s much more work to be done to fully explore such a link.A potential druggable target to increase female fertilityThere’s a tiny molecule with a big role in the decline of female fertility; nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) has a whole host of purposes throughout the body and decreases with age‚ but it’s of interest to fertility researchers because it promotes proper ovarian function. As it declines‚ so do the number and quality of eggs.What researchers didn’t know was what pushed NAD+ to decline in the first place‚ but they’ve now pinpointed it to an enzyme called CD38. According to the team‚ CD38 could be a druggable target to extend female fertility‚ which can also be linked to overall lifespan and health.Keto diet could improve PCOS-related infertilityThe ketogenic (keto) diet has been touted as having all sorts of health benefits. Scientists are still trying to figure out how many of those claims are true‚ and it’s no different when it comes to fertility.For example‚ a recent study investigating the keto diet and its impact on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – a hormone disorder that’s associated with infertility – reviewed a collection of clinical trials in which a small number of people with the condition went on the keto diet.They found that those who were on the diet for at least 45 days saw an improvement in their reproductive hormone levels. Whilst the authors acknowledge those hormones can influence fertility‚ they also caution that there’s still not a sufficient body of evidence to make any strong conclusions and that it warrants further investigation.Figuring out IVFIVF is one the most well-known fertility techniques available‚ but it’s not a process without flaws; it’s common for embryos to stop growing within days of fertilization. Some researchers think that in many such cases‚ this could come down to DNA duplication gone wrong in the very earliest stages of cell division. However‚ scientists have been working on ways to make IVF more successful‚ and earlier this year‚ a team from the University of California San Diego developed a new‚ non-invasive test that uses the liquid that embryos were grown in to check their quality – though it’s still got a way to go before it could reach fertility clinics. Plummeting fertility rateFertility isn’t just defined as the ability to conceive a child; in demography‚ it refers to the actual production of a child. This is measured in fertility rates‚ which have hit an all-time low in South Korea‚ with the total fertility rate – the average number of children born per woman – dropping to 0.72 by the end of 2023‚ beating the previous year’s record low of 0.778. But it’s not just happening in South Korea – the latest research suggests rates are dropping across the world. Why? The reasons are complex and can depend on the country‚ but globally‚ some of the attributed reasons include improved access to education and the workforce for women‚ access to contraceptives‚ and the rising cost of living and bringing up children.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice‚ diagnosis‚ or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.    

In the 1970s and 80s‚ geologists noticed unusual layers deposited in ancient rocks‚ dating to around 232-4 million years ago.In the Eastern Alps‚ one team investigated a layer of siliclastic sedimentation deposited in carbonate. Meanwhile‚ in the UK‚ geologist and forensic scientist Alastair Ruffell examined a layer of gray rock found inside the famous red stone found in the area. Both findings‚ and many since‚ suggested one thing: around 232 million years ago‚ the Earth left a dry spell and it began to rain. In fact‚ given that the gray sandstone and siliclastic sediment was deposited over a long‚ long time‚ it was evidence that right at the beginning of the age of the dinosaurs when their numbers and diversity exploded‚ there was an unusually wet period lasting 1-2 million years.In fact‚ since the discovery‚ there has been growing evidence that the wet period may have been the "trigger that enabled dinosaurs‚ and possibly the other members of the modern terrestrial fauna‚ to diversify and dominate the land".The period‚ known as the Carnian pluvial event‚ or even the Carnian crisis‚ has since been seen in rocks from around the world. The cause of the unusual amount of rainfall appears to be the result of a massive increase in humidity‚ possibly due to a gigantic volcanic eruption of the Wrangellia Large Igneous Province‚ running from south-central Alaska and along the coast of British Columbia.“The eruptions peaked in the Carnian‚" Jacopo Dal Corso‚ involved in research into the eruption‚ told Everything Dinosaur. "I was studying the geochemical signature of the eruptions a few years ago and identified some massive effects on the atmosphere worldwide.  The eruptions were so huge‚ they pumped vast amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and there were spikes of global warming”. Pangea – the supercontinent on Earth at the time – was already prone to monsoons. They are caused when moisture-heavy air from the seas are blown towards land‚ where it cools and falls as heavy rains. As the seas heated during this period – reaching the temperature of hot soup‚ paleoenvironments researcher Paul Wignall told New Scientist – more moisture would have been above it‚ making for more monsoons and more heavy rainfall on land. The humid‚ wet period was not great for life. One study published in the Journal of the Geological Society paints it as a time when "volcanic eruptions generate acid rain and greenhouse gases‚ which in turn lead to extinctions by shock warming‚ stripping of vegetation and soils on land‚ and ocean anoxia and acidification".Species were wiped out by the event. But after it was over‚ there were clear winners. "In the wake of wide extinctions of plants and key herbivores on land‚ the dinosaurs were seemingly the main beneficiaries in the time of recovery‚ expanding rapidly in diversity‚ ecological impact (relative abundance) and regional distribution‚ from South America initially‚ to all continents‚" the team wrote in their paper. "It may have been one of the most important [rapid events] in the history of life in terms of its role in allowing not only the ‘age of dinosaurs’‚ but also the origins of most key clades that form the modern fauna of terrestrial tetrapods‚ namely the lissamphibians‚ turtles‚ crocodiles‚ lizards and mammals."An earlier version of this article was published in March 2023.