Are you ready for your summer trip? Not so fast — before you jet off to your destination of choice, consider challenging yourself with this summer vacation quiz from The New York Times, containing questions about popular warm-weather getaways. It's harder than you might think.
Must Reads
It's official: The U.S. Treasury will stop minting pennies next year — here's what to do with yours
Telling stories about everything from asteroid strikes to ancient civilizations, pollen is "nature's time capsule"
Researchers are "overwhelmed" by a recent breakthrough that marks a significant step toward an HIV cure. In a new study, an Australian team revealed it accomplished what was "previously thought impossible," co-first author Paula Cevaal told The Guardian: using mRNA to illuminate HIV hiding in white blood cells, thus creating a pathway for scientists to eradicate it from the body. The virus' ability to remain hidden in these cells, out of reach from drugs and the immune system, has proved to be a "major hurdle to curing HIV," the study authors wrote. Until now, scientists have been unable to engineer a lipid nanoparticle, essentially a tiny fat bubble designed to transport mRNA, that white blood cells carrying silent HIV would accept. So the team set out to develop a new type to do the job — and it worked, successfully delivering mRNA that directs the cells to reveal the virus. "All of us were just sitting gasping like, 'wow,'" Cevall told the outlet. She noted that the delivery system is years away from clinical trials, if it makes it that far, but added: "In terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, we have never seenanything close to as good as what we are seeing, in terms of how well we are able to reveal this virus."
Together With World Tree
How 1 Tree Grew Into a Movement
With the world losing forests faster than it can regrow them, World Tree had a simple idea: a faster-growing tree that gives back more than humans take. Now, more than 7,000 acres later, the company's Eco-Tree Program plants majestic empress splendor trees to revitalize farmland, draw down carbon, and supply beautiful, sustainable hardwood to eager buyers. It also invites individual investors to help fund this vital work and share in the profits from future harvests. Each acre investment can return up to $20,000 and offset your carbon footprint for a decade. That means you can do good for the planet and your portfolio. Be a part of this movement and share in this growth as a 2025 Eco-Tree investor today.
This is a paid advertisement for World Tree's Regulation CF Offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.ecotreeprogram.com.
Tech
College Students Invent Vibrating Vest to Give Blind Pup a "Second Set of Eyes"
Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University
From Braille displays to smart canes and AI apps, visually impaired people can turn to a variety of innovative devices to help them navigate everyday life. The technology available to blind dogs isn't quite as advanced — but some future engineers at Houston's Rice University are out to change that. When Grant Belton and AJ Price approached the school seeking assistance for their dog Kunde, who lost his eyesight due to glaucoma, a student-led team took on the challenge. They designed a wearable vest that provides the pup with real-time spatial awareness without restricting his movements. Stereoscopic cameras placed near Kunde's head detect depth information that's then relayed to motors within the vest, which vibrate to inform him of nearby objects. "Kind of like giving Kunde a second set of eyes, the cameras create a depth map," Issy Tsai, an electrical engineering major working on the tech, said in a news release. "The closer an obstacle is, the stronger the vibration on that side of the vest." Team mentor Heather Bisesti emphasized how impactful the project is — not just for Kunde, but for the undergrads themselves. "It's motivating for students to see how their work can make a direct difference in someone's — or some dog's — life." Watch the team present their invention.
Sports
The US' Premier Professional Women's Softball League Launches Today
Grant Halverson/Getty Images
When it comes to championing female athletes, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League is stepping up to the plate. Financially backed by the MLB, the new professional women's softball league launches today — and hopestoadvance the sport to a "stable summer staple." Former MLB executive Kim Ng was named commissioner, becoming the first woman to hold that position for a U.S. major league. The four inaugural teams will play 24 games each across 10 cities through July 23, leading up to the AUSL Championship in Alabama July 26-28. According to the MLB, the sport's "explosive growth in both participation and exposure" of late has opened the door for the league. Recreational softball participation increased by over 7% last year, and TV viewers are interested too: 2024's Women's College World Series finals set a record for the most-watched WCWS title series, with an average of 2 million viewers. "This is a watershed moment for women's sports and especially for softball," Ng said in a statement. "MLB's investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them."
In Other News
A gas giant planet discovered orbiting a tiny star is perplexing scientists and shifting perspectives (read more)
This 1931 oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi will go up for auction next month (read more)
One of the most well-preserved dinosaur skulls ever excavated is thought to belong to a new sauropod species (read more)
New robotic technology offers a minimally invasive treatment for men with enlarged prostates (read more)
In a rare sighting, a rose-breasted grosbeak was filmed singing at an Oregon wildlife refuge (read more)
Join the Nice Book Club
What if the key to healing our divides and deepening our relationships is curiosity? To explore that question and many more, join us on Monday, June 9 at 5 p.m. ET for a virtual conversation with Scott Shigeoka, author of Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World. The hourlong event, marking the third installment in the Nice Book Club series, is free to join and you don't have to read the book beforehand, but we're pretty confident you'll want to after hearing Shigeoka's insights. If you've ever felt disconnected, overwhelmed by division, or eager to grow your capacity for understanding — this one's for you.
Congratulations to Jorge Mendoza! The 39-year-old custodial supervisor began working at Harvard in 2018, and not long after, enrolled in the university's extension school to complete his college education. After six years as a full-time employee and part-time student, he graduated with a bachelor's degree last week — and now plans to pursue a master's in liberal arts in sustainability. "It is something I want to focus on to grow and develop in my career and to continue to make an impact," Mendoza said.
Photo of the Day
X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICRAR, Curtin Univ./Z. Wang et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/CalTech/IPAC; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
That little purple star circled in white is "behaving like no other seen before," according to NASA astronomers. Considered a long-period radio transient because its radio waves cycle in intensity every 44 minutes, this particular star's X-rays are also regularly varying every 44 minutes — marking the first time an X-ray signal of this kind has been discovered in a long-period radio transient.
Brad's Deals Knows All the Amazon Prime Perks
For many of us, free shipping and access to exclusive shows and movies is enough reason to fork over the $14.99 per month to get Amazon Prime. But if that hasn't enticed you to join Prime, maybe some of these lesser-known incentives rounded up by Brad's Deals will tempt you to sign up.
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