P ostman Delivers Touching Letter to Each Home With Some News

by Good News Network - September 6, 2015

They are all like a second family to this letter carrier in Glendale, Arizona. That’s why he delivered a hand-written letter to each of the homes on his route last week, to announce his retirement.

One of those who received the letter used a more modern form of communication, Reddit, to share a photo of the letter, which delighted thousands of readers, who posted comments about their own beloved mail carriers. They also suggested the neighbors should throw a party for the man in blue.

“I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen kids when they are little, and I watch them grow up,” said Michael Raymer, who is hanging up his mail bag on September 30, after 20 years at the US Postal Service.

A Safety App That Lets Friends Digitally Walk you Home at Night

by Terry Turner - September 5, 2015 http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

You’ll never walk home alone again with this app on your smartphone.

T he Companion app connects you with friends to let them keep a virtual eye on you as you walk home from the corner coffee shop or take a taxi across town.

Five students at the University of Michigan developed the app that lets users select friends from a contact list, and then texts to them a link to a map. They can then watch as GPS tracks the user’s movement.

It also uses GPS and the phone’s accelerometer — the device that measures speed and direction — to tell if the user is in trouble. The app can tell if the user is pushed or falls down, if the user suddenly starts running or if the phone is snatched from the user.

If the app detects trouble, it asks the user if they are alright, and if the user doesn’t answer within 15 seconds, it turns the phone into an alarm and allows the user to instantly call the police. At the same time, it alerts your contacts that you need help.

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Student, 17, Wins $100,000 Scholarship

For Cancer Treatment Invention

by Good News Network - December 10, 2011

You can't put a price on the importance of medical innovation, but $100,000 will do nicely for a Monta Vista High School senior.

A ngela Zhang of Cupertino won a $100,000 scholarship for her cancer fighting research in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, one of the top competitions for young scientific minds. Zhang's prize-winning research studied the use of nanotechnology to eradicate cancer stem cells.

Zhang was among the top scientific students in the nation during the finals last weekend at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She was among a mere six individuals and six teams that competed.

Competition judges compared Zhang's created microscopic nanoparticle to a "Swiss Army knife of cancer treatment" that can seek out cancer cells and then destroy them. The nanoparticle system can be triggered to release drugs at the site of a tumor while also allowing for non- invasive imaging.