As you gear up for summertravels, you may want to add heat preparation to your to-do list alongside choosing restaurants and excursions. The next few months could be scorching, and that means you’re going to need to take precautions as a tourist to avoid heat-related illnesses. Some packing tips: light-colored, breathable clothes are your best friends, as are sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat, and a portable fan. Get more advice on traveling during high temps.
A celebration of imperfection: The “world’s worst photographer” was recently crowned — see the pics that won her a trip to Iceland
Humanity
How “Gramping” Is Helping Grandparents Connect With Their Grandkids
County of San Diego
Late last month, dozens of kids and their grandparents set up camp in Southern California’s Dos Picos County Park for a weekend of arts and crafts, s’mores, games, and nature. They were partaking in a free annual “gramping” event run by officials in San Diego County, where some 18,000 grandparents are raising their grandchildren. The portmanteau refers, of course, to camping with one’s grandparents — or, depending on who’s using it, camping with one’s grandkids. In the case of the San Diego event, it allowed adults who have guardianship of their grandchildren to spend time with others in the same situation, but gramping in general is a chance for the two generations to connect sans parents. And it’s a win-win for both parties. The travel trend, which picked up steam a few years back, facilitates the kind of bonding that comes from having new experiences together and can help foster a closer relationship, which may in turn offer a wealth of benefits. Read our article to learn more about the perks.
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The Humble Bumblebee Can Solve Complex Problems on the Spot, Study Finds
Mikko Törmänen/University of Oulu
Bumblebees can wing it in the same way as much larger counterparts in the animal kingdom, according to a study published earlier this month. Researchers presented untrained bees with a classic problem-solving experiment: A sugary reward was placed out of reach, but near a means to reach it — in this case, a Styrofoam ball. Chimps, elephants, and birds have successfully solved similar variations of the puzzle. Sure enough, despite having brains the size of a sesame seed, about 80% of the buzzy pollinators spontaneously figured out how to roll the ball into just the right position that allowed them to reach the otherwise unreachable reward (you can watch a video of a bee figuring it out here). “I wasn’t expecting that high success rate,” study author Olli Loukola told NPR, adding that it suggests “very tiny brains can solve super complex problems.” Lars Chittka, a behavioral ecologist who was not involved with the study, told The Guardian the results are further evidence that intelligent behavior is not always correlated with brain size: “Bees are a model of how much intelligence you can squeeze into a small nervous system. … It’s a good reminder of there being a motivation to pay some respect to these other beings.”
Health
First Patient Completes Treatment at Groundbreaking Compact Proton Therapy Facility
Kurt Hickman/Stanford Medicine
On June 4, 7-year-old Stephen De La Torre made medical history — becoming the first person to begin treatment at Stanford Medicine’s groundbreaking ultracompact proton therapy facility in California that could help pave the way for better pediatric cancer care. Following surgery for a rare, malignant brain tumor, Stephen previously had to travel hundreds of miles to Seattle or San Diego to receive proton therapy, so the opening at Stanford in Palo Alto made the treatment much easier on his family, based in Northern California. The highly targeted radiation destroys remaining cancer cells while limiting exposure to nearby healthy tissue and long-term side effects, making it the “gold standard” for pediatric cancer. Proton therapy itself is not new (a similar system was recently delivered to a medical center in Nebraska), but the novel facility at Stanford is the world’s smallest, shrinking the area needed from the size of a football field to a standard 1,200-square-foot medical suite. The hope is that the smaller footprint will help more hospitals offer the same treatment. As for Stephen, he completed his proton treatment last Thursday and is embracing his role as a pioneer. “He’s really excited about it,” his mom, Tricia, said in a press release. “He’s been telling everybody, ‘I’m the first patient!’”
In Other News
Poland plans to generate up to 69% of its energy from renewables by 2040, releasing its clutch on coal (read more)
Good dirt: Scientists found a new antibiotic in soil that may fight superbugs in an unprecedented way (read more)
A massive structure was detected beneath Antarctica, shedding light on the continent’s tectonic history (read more)
More than 200 acres purchased in Wisconsin will enhance the country’s longest national trail — see pics (read more)
Dolly Parton is launching a coffee brand, and the name is inspired by her hit single “9 to 5” (read more)
Inspiring Story
AirPods out, humanity in
While riding the subway back to her New York apartment after a long travel day, Molly Selin removed her earbuds to have a chat with a fellow passenger that turned into an intergenerational friendship — and a viral reminder of the importance of human connection. “I’m glad I took my AirPods out,” she said.
Photo of the Day
A. Schonlau/NPS
Like a scene straight out of Snow White, two juvenile mountain bluebirds were recently photographed enjoying the view at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Many Indigenous North American tribes view the powder blue darlings as harbingers of happiness and good fortune, a sentiment we plan to bring into the week ahead — and we urge you to do the same.
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