The band played on, a solar-powered first, and more

A closeup on a student playing a trombone

The Pocahontas County High School Band only has 10 members, but still plays at every football game

(Image credit: richjem / iStock via Getty Images)

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West Virginia high schoolers band together to keep the music going
Students design the world's first off-road solar-powered SUV
New AI tool could be a game changer for surgeons
Innovative prosthesis could help amputees dealing with phantom limb pain
Chicago Marathon runner rescues kitten during the race

By Catherine Garcia, The Week US

published 19 October 2023

West Virginia high schoolers band together to keep the music going

The Pocahontas County High School Band has just 10 members, but a whole lot of heart. This West Virginia school is in a rural area, and when the band director left and the principal couldn't find a replacement, students were given two options: sign up for another class during fifth period or teach themselves. Drummer Hailey Fitzgerald told The Washington Post she was motivated to keep the band going because "we played together for years — we're like a family." Ten kids chose to stay with the band, with some even picking up new instruments so there weren't so many drummers, and Fitzgerald was named director. At the first football game of the year, fans in the stands held up signs for the band, and alumni came out for Homecoming to join in a performance. "To see so many people supporting and cheering us on, that's a huge motivator," clarinetist Jadyn Lane said. "That's when you know all the hard work is worth it." The Washington Post

A team of 22 students at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have developed the Stella Terra, billed as "the world's first off-road solar-powered vehicle." The SUV's sloped roof is outfitted with solar panels that charge the electric battery, which is smaller than traditional electrical vehicle batteries. In early October, the students tested the vehicle in Morocco, due to its "huge variety of landscapes and different surfaces in quite a short distance," Thieme Bosman, the team's events manager, told CNN. They drove 620 miles from Tangier to the Sahara Desert, and found the SUV was more efficient than expected. When it's sunny, the battery has a range of 411 miles on roads and 342 miles off road. The goal is to create a vehicle that can get deliveries and aid to areas "where roads are less developed and energy grids are not as reliable," Bosman said. CNN

Surgeons may soon have a new tool that could help them decide how aggressively to operate on patients with brain tumors. It can be difficult to determine how much healthy tissue should be removed around a tumor, and if not enough is extracted, cancerous cells could be left behind. In a study published last week in the journal Nature, researchers from the Netherlands wrote that they used artificial intelligence to develop a method called Sturgeon, which involves "a computer scanning segments of a tumor's DNA and alighting on certain chemical modifications that can yield a detailed diagnosis of the type and even subtype of the brain tumor," The New York Times explained. Because this uses a faster genetic sequencing technique, doctors could learn more about the tumors while at the operating table, helping guide their surgical decisions. During the first test of 50 frozen tumor samples, 45 were accurately diagnosed within 40 minutes, while five were unclear. A second test involving live brain surgeries had 18 correct diagnoses in less than 90 minutes, with five unclear. The New York Times

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A first-of-its-kind bionic prosthesis has proved "life-changing" for a Swedish engineer named Karin. Twenty years ago, Karin lost her arm below the elbow in a farm equipment accident. She did not use a prosthesis until now, when she was fitted with an arm using "osseointegration," a process where bone tissue and titanium come together "creating a strong mechanical bond and enabling connection with the nervous system" through electrodes in the nerves and muscles, Good News Network reported. This prosthetic was designed by researchers in Australia, Italy and Sweden, and Karin said now that it's attached to her, she no longer has phantom limb pain. She first underwent surgery for the bionic arm in 2018, and her physician, Dr. Ortiz Catalán, said the fact she's been able to use the prosthesis comfortably for several years "is a promising testament to the potential life-changing capabilities of this novel technology for individuals facing limb loss." Good News Network

Sarah Bohan was on mile 21 of the Chicago Marathon last week when she saw out of the corner of her eye a kitten under a pile of leaves. Bohan was on track to setting a personal record, but she was also running on Team PAWS Chicago to benefit the animal welfare organization, and knew she couldn't leave the cat behind. She asked multiple people along the course if they'd take him, and after a mile, she met the kitten's match, Andrea Maldonado. Her family has two cats and a dog already, Maldonado told Insider, but she welcomed the new addition because "the more the merrier." The kitten, now named Casper, received a clean bill of health and has settled right in with the Maldonados. Insider

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.