Good Morning! 🌞 

You’ve made it to the weekend—time to slow down, savor a quiet moment (or a strong cup of coffee), and catch up on what matters.

This edition brings a gentle blend of inspiration, thoughtful reads, and a few light touches to brighten your day. Whether you're relaxing at home or out and about, we’re glad to be part of your Saturday.

Take a breath, settle in, and enjoy.

Environment

Medicine from Corn

Adam Kovalčík, a 19-year-old from Dulovce, Slovakia, took home the top prize at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair—the world’s largest pre-college science competition—for a breakthrough method of producing the antiviral drug galidesivir using corn husks. Self-described as “someone from a small village in a small European country,” Kovalčík managed to reduce the drug’s production cost from $75 to $12 per gram and cut batch time from 9 days to 5. Galidesivir is used to treat several RNA viruses, including Ebola, Marburg, Zika, and SARS-CoV-2.

His process simplifies the traditional 15-step synthesis into just 10 steps by starting with furfuryl alcohol, a compound derived from corn husks. A chain of chemical reactions transforms this starting material into aza-saccharide, a sugar that requires only three more conversions to become galidesivir. “He was able to shortcut this entire process,” said Chris RoDee, a chemist and retired patent examiner who judged the competition. “He basically halved the number of steps because he just went in through a different door.” Judges praised Kovalčík’s presentation as “bullet proof,” awarding him the $100,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award—the fair’s highest honor.

“I cannot describe this feeling,” Kovalčík told Business Insider. “I did not expect such a huge international competition to be won by someone from a small village in a small European country, so it was just pure shock.” He has already filed a preliminary patent for the process and plans to collaborate with researchers at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava to refine the method further. He also intends to use his prize money to launch a company that manufactures eco-friendly perfumes from corn.

Sports

NBA’s Sneaker Repair Clinic

Teaching people to reduce their waste doesn’t always have to rely on guilt or pressure. At SoleSpace Lab in Oakland, the approach is different—hands-on, creative, and geared toward real skills. The project aims to cut down waste from the footwear industry by teaching kids and teens how to repair and customize their shoes through cobbling and upcycling classes.

Billions of shoes are made globally every year. According to GNN, the average American will own about 250 pairs in a lifetime. That’s a huge amount of waste, but SoleSpace Lab founder Jeff Perlstein believes it doesn’t have to be. With a mix of vinyl, glue, paint, and some sewing, he wants people to see the potential in shoes they already own. “Lots of people are concerned about the future of our planet, our impact on it, but feel kind of helpless. So, this is a real opportunity for people to make a difference, to be very hands-on, and also express their creativity at the same time,” explained Perlstein.

The Lab has become known for its unique shoe makeovers—some inspired by the Wu Tang Clan, others using cork wood or decked out in Golden State Valkyries colors. At a recent event outside the Warriors’ Chase Center, former player Adonal Foyle helped hand out refurbished sneakers during a workshop called “Sustainable Sole.” “We pretty much used one sneaker a game,” Foyle told CBS, donating several pairs for the event. Whether it's replacing a sole or giving a sneaker a full makeover, the experience often leaves participants not just with better shoes—but with a better sense of how to rethink waste in a throwaway culture.

Environment

Trees Synchronizing Signals

In a forest in Italy’s Dolomites, researchers observed something unusual during a solar eclipse: trees collectively synchronized their bioelectrical activity—and the process appeared to be led by the oldest among them, starting a full 14 hours before the eclipse began. The findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, provide new evidence of how trees may engage in group cognition and communication, especially through bioelectric signals.

The team, made up of scientists from Italy, the UK, Spain, and Australia, used custom-built sensors to monitor bioelectrical signals—called the “electrome”—across multiple trees during the eclipse. “By applying advanced analytical methods—including complexity measures and quantum field theory—we have uncovered a deeper, previously unrecognized dynamic synchronization not based on matter exchanges among trees,” said Professor Alessandro Chiolerio. The two older trees, each around 70 years old, began responding to the eclipse well in advance, unlike the younger tree, suggesting older trees may have evolved the ability to anticipate cyclical environmental events.

The researchers also found that even tree stumps damaged in a storm showed signs of lower-level bioelectric activity, indicating they may still be alive and connected. “This is a remarkable example of the wood wide web in action, and we think that it’s going to inspire new science in this direction, but also has deep ramification on how we deal with conservation: it reinforces the idea that the old trees cannot simply be replaced by replanting, they need to be protected because they hold ancestral memories that allow for resilience and adaptation,” said co-author Monica Gagliano in a video from Southern Cross University.

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Mind Stretchers

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Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers

I have no start, I have no end, A circle true, a lifelong friend. I whisper vows without a voice, In love or style, I’m quite the choice. What am I? — a ring! James Godfrey got this correct early! 🌞 

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.