A phase 2 clinical trial in England has demonstrated smashing success in improving the conditions of children with a rare form of treatment-resistant epilepsy called Dravet syndrome. Believed to affect 3,000 children in England, it’s just one out of hundreds of forms of genetic epilepsy that have no pharmacological options. Scientists not involved with the […] The post New Drug Could Change Lives of Kids with Resistant Epilepsy, Patient Trials Concluded appeared first on Good News Network.

This story about green schools was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s climate change newsletter. In Warren County, Kentucky, the school district saved more than $2 million in utility costs since retrofitting five schools with solar panels and introducing other energy efficiencies. In Jamestown, Rhode Island, installing solar panels at two schools is saving the district more than $60,000 per year. After the school district in Boulder Valley, Colorado, retrofitted a middle school, energy costs dropped by approximately $10,000 annually. Those examples are from a new report commissioned by the Building Power Resource Center, a group that supports climate action. While investing in green buildings is good for the environment, the report makes the case that it’s also good financially, freeing up money schools can use for teachers, books and other needs. And the report says that even though the Trump administration cut many of the federal programs incentivizing schools to invest in greener buildings and vehicles, there are still places to turn for help with up-front capital on clean energy projects — namely state programs. Still, because of the shifting politics, the projects face longer odds getting off the ground than a few years ago. Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] “School districts all around the country are looking for ways to save money, and this seems like a pretty good strategy for them to be looking at,” said David R. Eichenthal, the study author and a former Biden administration official who now serves as a visiting research scholar at the City University of New York’s Center for Urban Research. “I used to be a local government finance officer, and there are few phrases that are more music to one’s ears than ‘recurring operating savings.’” For Putnam Valley Central School District, about 50 miles north of Manhattan, those sorts of savings have been accumulating for several decades. Back in 1998, the district converted a middle school from inefficient, electric baseboard heating to geothermal energy, a renewable resource that taps heat from the Earth’s crust. The project was financed through what’s known as an energy performance contract: The district received a bond to cover up-front costs of geothermal construction, which it repaid through the savings generated from swapping the less-efficient energy source for a more-efficient one, said David Spittal, the district’s director of operations and transportation. In 2000, the district built a new high school that was entirely reliant on geothermal, turning to a pot of state money — building aid for school capital improvement projects — to help cover the up-front costs. When Spittal joined in 2017, the district took on another, smaller decarbonization project at the elementary school, again using an energy performance contract. Then last year, voters approved a bond to convert the elementary school entirely to geothermal, and state building aid will pick up some of the costs. In the report, Eichenthal calculated that geothermal at the middle school has saved the district roughly $1.5 million in energy costs. Spittal estimates that the projected savings of all the district’s green energy investments will be significantly higher: roughly $18 million between 2019 and 2039. “If we hadn’t done this, we would have been in trouble,” said Spittal. “We would either have to raise taxes or lose teachers and raise class sizes.” The federal retreat from climate action has complicated plans to fund such projects: New York State building aid reduced Putnam Valley’s up-front costs for the latest geothermal project by two-thirds, but they would have been next to nothing if the district had tapped into clean energy tax credits created by the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, Spittal said. The school district chose not to discuss that option with voters, though, because of the tax credits’ uncertain future; last year, Congress and the Trump administration rolled back several of them (though credits for geothermal remain largely intact.) Still, state programs to help school districts decarbonize continue to exist, in both red and blue states. New York, Maryland and Massachusetts have grant programs for cleaner, green schools. In Texas, the LoanSTAR Revolving Loan Program finances clean energy projects on buildings supported by the state, including school districts; the loans are repaid with cost savings from the projects. Minnesota and Pennsylvania have programs to help schools adopt solar, Ohio has one for energy efficiency, and Colorado provides grants for geothermal energy, among other examples. West Virginia is one of more than two dozen states to green-light power purchase agreements, which typically allow school districts and other tax-exempt organizations to lend their space for solar projects. The Wayne County school district worked with Solar Holler, a solar energy company, to build solar panels on 15 of its schools. The project is expected to save the school district about $200,000 in annual energy costs, said Todd Alexander, the district’s superintendent. While that’s not a huge savings for a district the size of Wayne County, the state’s 12th-largest, it still amounts to the salaries of about two teachers, Alexander said. And the project cost nothing for the district because all the expenses were borne by Solar Holler, including through federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and a private sector arrangement known as a renewable energy certificate. Under the arrangement, companies seeking to meet climate decarbonization goals were matched by the business Ever.green to help pick up some of the costs of the Solar Holler project. “It was kind of a no-brainer,” Alexander said. Wait, you're not a member yet? Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join Cancel anytime Yet even with the clear-cut financial savings, there was political blowback. State Sen. Craig Hart, who represents part of Wayne County, introduced a bill to limit power purchase agreements, arguing that they undercut coal and politicized schools. “I don’t think a school is a good place to make a political statement about your utilities and whatnot,” he said in a committee hearing, according to the news organization Mountain State Spotlight. Lawmakers dropped the bill, but new efforts to limit wind and solar have popped up in the state Legislature this year. In spite of the obstacles, Dan Conant, founder and chief executive officer of Solar Holler, said that spiraling electricity prices are fueling interest in solar. “We’re going to be okay without the [federal] incentives,” he said. “Solar is just flat-out cheaper than what folks are getting from the utility grid.” Eichenthal, the report author, said he hopes that as districts get better about tracking their savings and sharing those stories, green investments will continue to catch on. “There are dollars that are available for school districts that want to do this. There’s a long history of state involvement in this area,” he said. “And there are now a series of solid case studies where we no longer just have to say, ‘Well, we think you’re going to save money.’ We can say, ‘Here are the dollars and cents.’” This article first appeared on The Hechinger Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The post Schools Are Saving Big By Going Green appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

It’s easy to see that Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White have true chemistry. When Pat Sajak retired, and Ryan took over, some worried that it just wouldn’t be the same. But many would probably tell you they were pleasantly surprised. Ryan and Vanna have witty banter, share personal stories, and truly seem like friends both on- and off-screen. During a February 2026 episode, the pair began to talk about ringtones, and Vanna White revealed something extremely sweet. She has specialized ringtones for the people most important to her, including Ryan. @wheeloffortune Shake ‘n bake, baby! #WheelOfFortune #talladeganights #TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby @Sony Pics at Home ♬ Talladega Nights now on Digital – Sony Pictures The Ringtone Vanna White Chose for Ryan Seacrest Really is Perfect Vanna White told Ryan Seacrest all about her ringtones, TV Insider reported. “We were backstage before the show, and Vanna’s phone kept ringing songs, like your ringtones were songs,” Ryan said. Vanna replied to Ryan very matter-of-factly. “I have ringtones for all of my friends and people,” she explained. Vanna said her daughter Gigi’s ringtone is Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. Her son Nikko’s is Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses. Vanna White then asked Ryan Seacrest if he wanted to know the ringtone she chose for him. Ryan playfully asked if she wanted him to call her, but Vanna shared the song before he could. “Yours is You’ve Got a Friend In Me by Randy Newman,” Vanna said. The song is one of the most famous Disney tunes and comes from the Toy Story franchise. Ryan understood the significance of the song choice and became emotional. “Aww. Thank you so much,” Ryan said. “That’s so sweet. I didn’t know that. I would’ve called. That’s so sweet.” Choosing a special ringtone may sound simple, but for Vanna White, it’s an expression of love. This story’s featured image is by Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images.

Julian de Medeiros, a philosophy expert who’s popular on TikTok and Substack, has built a reputation for sharing some of the world’s most important philosophical ideas about life, love, ethics, and intelligence. Recently, he shared wisdom from Bertrand Russell on the character trait that highly intelligent people tend to have: they see the world as it really is, not as they want it to be. Russell, a British philosopher and founding figure of the analytic movement in philosophy, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. His work in logic, epistemology, and mathematics made him one of the most important minds of the 20th century. As they say, it takes one to know one, and if Russell says someone is intelligent, chances are he’s right. @julianphilosophy Wisdom is rare #wisdom #truth #philosophy ♬ original sound – Julian de Medeiros What’s a sign someone is highly intelligent? “Here’s how you know that someone is intelligent, and this goes back to the philosopher Bertrand Russell, who wrote, ‘You see the world as it is, not as you would like it to be, is the beginning of all wisdom,’” de Medeiros shared on TikTok. To put it simply, an intelligent person wants to get things right, while an unintelligent person wants to be right. Smart people look at the facts and form their opinions based on reality. Those who aren’t as bright tend to be more dogmatic, trying to see the world in ways that align with their beliefs. Bertrand Russell. Photo credit: Rijksmuseum/Wikimedia Commons “What [Russell] meant is that an intelligent person tries to be a realist,” de Medeiros continued. “Like, they try to measure, examine, and test their own belief systems against reality. But an unintelligent person tends to be dogmatic. Like they don’t change their mind when confronted with the facts. In fact, you could show them the evidence, and they would simply double down.” What is the “backfire effect”? What de Medeiros is referring to is what’s known as the “backfire effect.” It’s a psychological phenomenon in which, when people are presented with credible facts that challenge their beliefs, they may hold on to those beliefs even more strongly than before. “Once something is added to your collection of beliefs, you protect it from harm,” author David McRaney wrote in You Are Not So Smart. “You do this instinctively and unconsciously when confronted with attitude-inconsistent information. Just as confirmation bias shields you when you actively seek information, the backfire effect defends you when the information seeks you, when it blindsides you.” Politicians debating. Photo credit: Canva It can sting to change your mind, because it can feel like you’ve invalidated a big part of your sense of self. However, it becomes much easier if you begin to change how you see yourself. Instead of identifying with a specific worldview, you can think of yourself as someone who embraces the truth, no matter how difficult that may be. “Bertrand Russell believed that true intelligence was when you were open to the possibility that you might be wrong,” de Medeiros said. “When you sought to test your own belief systems and when you had a rational and inquisitive mindset, that is true intelligence. When the facts change, you change.” The post Philosophy expert reveals the character trait that shows someone is highly intelligent  appeared first on Upworthy.

Making quality dresses takes an enormous amount of skill. It’s not just about sewing and tailoring, but also about design—knowing which fabrics and colors pop and draw the eye. At their best, dresses bring art and beauty to fashion. But for a fine arts student living in Spain, making a dress incorporated all of those skills, along with a touch of nature. Artist Amanda Meyer successfully sewed a beautiful dress from a variety of hand-picked autumn leaves in vibrant shades of orange, red, and yellow. She then soaked the leaves in glycerin to help preserve them. After drying them with an iron, the leaves became sturdier and easier to manipulate. Meyer cut and sewed the leaves together into a gorgeous patchwork mini dress. @artists.pages Meet artist Amanda Meyer who created fabric with autumn leaves, sewing them together to create nature’s dress. Find Amanda on Instagram #artist #artistsoftiktok #sewing #textile #fashion #contemporaryart ♬ original sound – Artists Pages “I wanted to see if it was possible to create a fully organic garment without using the usual materials such as cotton or linen,” Meyer told My Modern Met. “As a young person deeply committed to the environment, my practice focuses on using only recycled and natural resources. I specialize in textile art, creating sculptures and sculpt-like garments.” Natural fibers of a different kind It took Meyer around 100 meters of thread and 40 hours of hand sewing to create her leaf dress. While the dress remains fragile and is intended for exhibition, it is also a wearable and successful clothing experiment. However, it was never meant to last. Screenshot “Many people have asked me if I intend to preserve it,” said Meyer. “The answer is no, I want to see how it passes the test of time. Clothes aren’t meant to last forever.” The environmental problem of modern fashion The mixed-media artist draws attention to the troubling fast-fashion industry. Fast fashion offers convenience and style, but it also contributes to environmental issues. According to Boston University, the United States throws out 34 billion pounds of used textiles each year. The lion’s share of them are made from synthetic fibers, which take much longer to decompose than natural ones like cotton. Fast fashion production also generates more carbon emissions than international flights, according to Business Insider. In the end, it contributes to piles of long-lasting clothing in landfills and increasing levels of air pollution. Meyer’s artwork and similar movements show how the life cycles of items can be repurposed, whether for creative expression or practical use. An old garment can be transformed into crafts, toys, rugs, or even cleaning rags. If leaves can be used to create beautiful art, a discarded T-shirt can become something more, too. The post Madrid art student sews a gorgeous, wearable dress out of hand-picked leaves appeared first on Upworthy.