Local & Community
You Can’t Make This Up: Aging Hearts, Seized Planes and a Shark in a Canal
You Can’t Make This Up: Some of the World’s Strangest Headlines
It’s time for another edition of “You Can’t Make This Up,” where the headlines are so unusual they sound almost fictional.
Tim O’Brien joined the conversation to break down several stories making headlines around the world.
Transplanted Hearts May Adapt to Their New Body
Researchers have found evidence that a transplanted heart may change its biological age to more closely match the person receiving it.
The study, which is a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed, examined heart transplants in mice as well as a small group of human transplant cases. Older hearts transplanted into younger recipients showed signs of biological rejuvenation, while younger hearts placed into older recipients showed signs of accelerated aging.
Researchers believe the findings suggest that the environment surrounding an organ can influence its biological aging. The study does not establish that a heart transplant changes a person's overall biological age.
Plane Seized After Passengers Had Already Boarded
In Istanbul, passengers aboard a Caspian Airlines Boeing 737 were reportedly forced off the aircraft after the plane was seized over a legal dispute involving approximately 3 million euros in debt.
Court enforcement officers boarded the aircraft at Istanbul Airport before departure and served the seizure order. The passengers and crew were then taken back to the terminal.
As O’Brien and the hosts joked, this was more than a delayed flight — the entire aircraft was held.
Earth Doesn't Keep Perfect Time
While we think of every day as exactly 24 hours, Earth's rotation isn't perfectly constant.
Atmospheric activity, oceans, the distribution of water and ice, and processes deep inside the planet can cause the length of a day to fluctuate by milliseconds. Scientists use extremely precise measurements to track those changes.
So while it may feel like time is flying by, Earth isn't actually losing hours from the calendar. The changes are measured in fractions of a second.
A Shark Becomes a Tourist Attraction
And finally, a very large shark reportedly became an unlikely attraction after appearing in a canal in Busan, South Korea.
Officials have attempted to guide the shark back toward open water, while large crowds have reportedly gathered to watch the unusual visitor.
For now, one of the strangest tourist attractions is apparently a shark swimming through a city canal.
Plastic Chemicals Raise Health Concerns
The segment also touched on a new report from the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation, which says about 93% of known chemicals used in plastics may pose health concerns, including potential cancer, reproductive and genetic risks.
The report also says roughly 80% of thousands of chemicals found in plastics have not been fully investigated for exposure risks. Industry representatives have urged caution in interpreting the findings, saying the report does not include certain data sources and regulatory databases.
From transplanted hearts to seized airplanes and canal-dwelling sharks, the headlines once again prove that sometimes you really can't make this stuff up.
By: NBC Palm Springs
September 30, 2026
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