Good Morning! 🌞 Happy Friday the 13th! Whether you’re embracing the mystery or not, let’s make today count.
Did you know? The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia and stems from the superstition surrounding both the number 13 and Fridays.

Innovation

Real-life Invisibility Cloak

In nature, animals like chameleons and octopuses masterfully adapt to their surroundings using camouflage, a skill crucial for survival and stealth. This concept has inspired advancements in military technology, where blending into the environment limits enemy detection. Building on this idea, a team of researchers from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, led by Wang Dongsheng, has developed a groundbreaking material called Self-Adaptive Photochromism (SAP). This innovative material mimics natural camouflage, changing color in response to its environment, and has the potential to make individuals "effectively invisible" when applied to clothing.

Unlike traditional camouflage technologies that rely on expensive and complex electronic systems, SAP offers a simpler and more cost-effective solution. Its color-changing properties stem from its molecular structure, which reacts to light. By incorporating donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASAs) with organic dyes, the material can rearrange its molecules under specific wavelengths of light, resulting in a dynamic color change. In tests, SAP demonstrated its adaptability, shifting from black in low light to matching its surroundings, such as plant clusters or colored boxes, within 30 to 80 seconds. This makes it a practical tool for both personal and structural camouflage.

The researchers have applied SAP to flexible coatings using polycaprolactone (PCL), enabling adaptive camouflage on solid surfaces for applications in military, architecture, and fashion. SAP materials function across a wide temperature range, from -20°C to 70°C (-4°F to 158°F), though improvements are ongoing to expand the color range and speed of transformation. Currently, the material can blend into various colors but does not fully cover the visible spectrum, particularly lacking in purple and blue shades. Published in Science Advances, this breakthrough heralds a future where cost-effective, nature-inspired camouflage could transform industries and redefine stealth technologies.

World News

Oldest Alphabet

Archaeologists in western Syria have uncovered what may be the world’s earliest evidence of an alphabetic script at the site of Tell Umm el-Marra, a key urban center under excavation for 16 years. The breakthrough came from one of the best-preserved tombs of the Early Bronze Age, which contained six skeletons, grave goods, and four small, perforated clay cylinders. Carbon dating reveals the clay cylinders are around 500 years older than the previously known earliest alphabetic script, suggesting a revolutionary shift in the timeline and location of the alphabet’s origins.

The inscriptions on the cylinders appear to represent a form of the Semitic alphabet, predating the proto-Sinaitic inscriptions found in 1905 on the Sinai Peninsula. These new artifacts, dating to the 20th century BCE, indicate that the alphabet may have originated far earlier and in a different region than previously believed. "Alphabets revolutionized writing by making it accessible to a broader population, beyond royalty and elites. They changed how people communicated, thought, and lived," explained Glenn Schwartz, an archaeologist at Johns Hopkins University who led the discovery. Schwartz notes the inscriptions may have served as labels for vessels, providing details about their contents, origin, or ownership, though the exact meaning remains a mystery due to the lack of translation tools.

This discovery challenges the long-held view that the alphabet originated in Egypt around 1900 BCE. Instead, it points to earlier experimentation with communication methods in Bronze Age Syria, reshaping our understanding of how written language developed. Schwartz believes this finding highlights a transformative period in human history when the spread of alphabetic writing laid the foundation for accessible communication and cultural evolution. Published findings on the cylinders promise to spark new debates about the origins of the written word.

Good News

A Special Family

Larry and Kelly Peterson’s love story is a testament to resilience and shared dreams. Meeting at a Spina Bifida camp as children, the Indiana couple reconnected a decade after dating in high school and later married. Unable to have biological children due to Kelly’s disability, they pursued adoption and, through a special needs agency, welcomed baby Hadley, who also has Spina Bifida. This July marked their ninth wedding anniversary and five years since adopting Hadley.

Parenting has brought both challenges and fulfillment. With Kelly’s background as a special education teacher and support from nearby family, the couple has adapted to care for Hadley. They credit organizations like the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network and Special Angels Adoption for helping them navigate the adoption process. Seeing Hadley receive care at Shriners Children’s Chicago, where Kelly was once a patient, has been a full-circle moment for the family.

Now, Larry and Kelly advocate for other adults with Spina Bifida to consider adoption, challenging stereotypes about disability and parenthood. Through their Facebook page, Journey Down a Country Road: Spina Bifida + Adoption = Our Family, they share resources and inspire others to pursue their dreams of family, emphasizing persistence and the importance of finding the right adoption agency.

Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

I’m endless but have no edge,
A quiet watcher above the hedge.
I hold the winds and greet the sun,
Changing moods, yet harming none.

What am I?

Yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
I have supports but I don’t stand,
I’m often found where you rest your hand.
You might find me near a table or alone,
But I’m not something you’ll carry to town.
— a chair! Debbie Ettinger got this bright and early in the morning 🌞 

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected]or reply to the email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.