Never too old for baseball...

At a recent Savannah Bananas game, 81-year-old Robb Herrelson made a brief but memorable appearance during the team’s high-energy “Banana Ball” show. Herrelson, a longtime baseball coach from Missouri, rode a yellow bicycle onto the field as part of the entertainment before stepping up for his first at-bat. After making contact with the ball, he hopped back on the bike and pedaled toward first base, drawing cheers and laughter from the crowd. The moment was short, but it highlighted the playful style the Bananas are known for, mixing baseball with lighthearted spectacle. Herrelson has spent decades around the game and said he admires the team’s belief that baseball should be fun. Even though his at-bat didn’t change the outcome of the game, the appearance gave fans a memorable moment and showed that enthusiasm for the sport can last well into later life.

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A patient at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pennsylvania chose to give back after receiving attentive care from the nursing staff during their stay. Wanting to show appreciation in a meaningful way, the patient made an anonymous donation of $1 million specifically to help nurses pay down their student loan debt. The hospital worked to direct the funds toward nurses who could benefit most, easing a financial burden that many in the profession carry for years. The gift came as a surprise to staff, many of whom were not expecting recognition beyond a simple thank-you.

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Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a new method to turn discarded plastic bottles into a key Parkinson’s disease medication. They focused on PET plastic—the kind commonly used in food and drink packaging—and first broke it down into its basic chemical components. Then, they used specially engineered bacteria to convert those components into L-DOPA, a widely used drug that helps manage Parkinson’s symptoms. This is the first time a biological process has been used to transform plastic waste into a treatment for a neurological condition. The work shows that materials usually seen as pollution can instead serve as a useful resource for making important medicines. Because traditional drug manufacturing often relies on fossil fuels, this approach could offer a more sustainable alternative. While the process is still being refined, the team has already demonstrated that it works beyond a small lab setting. If scaled up, it could both reduce plastic waste and create a more efficient way to produce essential drugs.

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