Study links lung cancer to eating fruits and veg: What this means

Here’s a study that’s worth taking a look at.  Of course the headline itself is a little misleading.  The scientists break it down thoroughly in their study findings.  They studied people with healthy, plant-based diets and did discover the incidence of lung cancer was higher.

However, what they also discovered is that the reason wasn't the fruits and vegetables themselves, but rather the pesticides and remaining residue that people consumed on the plant matter.

Does that mean one shouldn't eat plants?  Of course not! It means that we need to find better ways to remove pesticides from them before ingestion (because we all know that the industry will not stop using pesticides; that is a losing battle!)

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/healthy-diet-higher-lung-cancer-risk-deciphering-surprising-link-study-pesticides-contraceptives

Archaeologists Found 115,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Where They Shouldn’t Be

This is  an interesting look at an archaeological find.  It shows a couple of things: (a) these appear to be homosaoiens, which tells us that these early humans wandered farther than we previously thought, (b) the reason for their wandering may have been related to the ice age, and (c) we really need to re-think what we think we know about our early ancestors.

And again, this underscores the beauty of science.  We have a notion of what early ancestors did, and where they traveled.  But, we can continue to learn and update those theories, because we gather more evidence,

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a71129594/archaeologists-discover-ancient-human-footprints-change-migration-history/

The thousands of tons of banana pseudostems left rotting after each harvest are now being transformed into tissue paper and packaging materials, while a simple process using sodium hydroxide at 230°F is achieving pulp yields of up to 44 percent in April 2026 trials

Here’s an interesting concept: use banana stems and pulp, that otherwise goes to waste, to create tissue paper and other materials. 

In early tests, it can be done fairly cheaply, so this definitely has some potential. 

 

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/the-thousands-of-tons-of-banana-pseudostems-left-rotting-after-each-harvest-are-now-being-transformed-into-tissue-paper-and-packaging-materials-while-a-simple-process-using-sodium-hydroxide-at-230/31049/

A bit of a role model, and an inventor!

I read this article about the 15 year old inventor who came up with an invention to (cheaply!) use ocean currents to generate electricity. For it, she took home the top prize at a 3M young inventors challenge. 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/04/teen-built-electric-generator-using-ocean/

But that was - decade ago, and this woman has been extremely busy since!

She has had numerous inventions and ideas. She won a shark tank college inventors forum called “croc tank”

https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/croctank-funding-epipaws-fau-sharks-abc.php

And on and on. She’s quite determined, and prolific!

You can read more about her on her website.

https://www.hannahherbst.com/m_home.html

Now this is someone that should serve as a role model for young people. Be inquisitive and always try to find new ways to do things!

For 74,000 years, one ancient killer quietly dictated where early humans could survive across Africa

This is an interesting look at human migration.  Researchers examined where malaria was present through the history of Africa, and are suggesting that because malaria was deadly, it had a direct impact on human migration. 

That’s some critical thinking, and is pretty interesting to consider. 

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-years-ancient-killer-quietly-dictated.html

Disney's Lakeshore Lodge

Disney is on a never-ending quest to put their hand in your wallet in various ways.  One of those ways is through their "Disney Vacation Club" properties (a/k/a Time Shares) that exits around Walt Disney World.

They just keep popping up, and in my humble opinion ruin the aesthetics of the property on which they are built.  And as we saw during the pandemic, Disney has to make them available, regardless of extenuating circumstances, to comply with the contract language.

Anyway, pre-pandemic, Disney announced that they were removing the long-abandoned River Country water park, and were replacing it with another DVC property (between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness). The project was halted during the pandemic, but about a week ago, Disney made an announcement that it was back under construction and it has a preview and opening date planned.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-finally-reveals-new-lakeshore-lodge-concept-art-opening-timeline-details/

Researchers create fireproof building material from sawdust

Oooh. Ammonium magnesium phosphate, crushed watermelon seeds, and sawdust are combined to created a hard material that is fireproof. 

The secret is in the phosphate acting as an enzyme that binds the sawdust and the seeds provide a coating. 

A simple fireproof material that can be used in place of traditional particle board to protect buildings. Neat-o. 

https://www.dezeen.com/2026/04/14/sawdust-struvite-fireproof-material-eth-zurich-empa/