1 . You might have heard the saying “the silence was deafening”, but did you know that you might actually be able to hear silence, which is supposed to be the absence of sound? Now researchers think that we might actually be able to hear silence. These findings now finally deal with the question of whether we can hear silence, which they say is something that has baffled the philosophers for years.

The study’s lead author Rui Zhe Goh, a graduate psychology and philosophy student, said, “We typically think of our sense of hearing as being concerned with sounds. But surprisingly, what our work suggests is that nothing is also something we can hear.” The team used adapted versions of auditory illusions (听觉错觉) to create new versions in which the original sound was replaced by moments of silence. What it did say was that the silence-based illusions and sound-based illusions produced the same effect.

Chaz Firestone, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences, said, “Philosophers have long debated whether silence is something we can literally perceive (感知), but there hasn’t been a scientific study aimed directly at this question. Our approach was to ask whether our brains treat silence the way they treat sounds.” Through a series of experiments using the approach, they found we could get the same illusions with silence as we got with sounds, which proved that we actually heard silence.

Ian Phillips, a co-author of the study, said, “There is at least one thing that we hear that isn’t a sound, and that is the silence that happens when sounds go away. The kinds of illusions and effects seem to be unique to the auditory processing of a sound, and we also get them with silence, suggesting we really do hear absences of sound too.”

There will be more research to be done, not just with sound, but with visual disappearances too. The scientists claim that their work now might provide a new way to study the perception of absence.

2 . When you get in a car, you expect it will have functioning brakes. When you pick up medicine at the drugstore, you expect it won’t be polluted. But it wasn’t always like this. The safety of these products was terrible when they first came to market. It took much research and regulation to figure out how users can enjoy the benefits of these products without getting harmed.     1    

Social media risks are everywhere. The dangers that algorithms designed to maximize attention represent to teens have become impossible to ignore. Other product design elements, often called “dark patterns,” designed to keep people using for longer, also appear to tip young users into social media overuse.     2     They say it’s their users’ fault for engaging with harmful content in the first place, even if those users are children or the content is financial trickery. They also claim to be defending free speech.

    3     Under the Digital Services Act, which came into effect in Europe this year, platforms are required to take action to stop the spread of illegal content and can be fined up to 6 percent of their global incomes if they don’t do so. If this law is enforced, maintaining the safety of their algorithms and networks will be the most financially sound decision for platforms to make.

Despite these efforts, two things are clear. First, online safety problems are leading to real, offline suffering. Second, social media companies can’t, or won’t, solve these safety problems on their own.     4       Even safety issues like cyberbullying that we thought were solved can pop right back up. As our society moves online to an ever-greater degree, the idea that anyone, even teens, can just “stay off social media” becomes less and less realistic.     5    

3 . Compared to robots, human bodies are flexible, capable of fine movements, and can change energy efficiently into movement. Drawing inspiration from human gait, researchers from Japan crafted a two-legged biohybrid robot by combining muscle tissues and artificial materials. This method allows the robot to walk and pivot.

“Research on biohybrid robots, which are a mix of biology and mechanics, is recently attracting attention as a new field of robotics featuring biological function,” says corresponding author Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo, Japan. “Using muscles as actuators allows us to build a compact robot and achieve efficient, silent movements with a soft touch.”

The research team’s two-legged robot, an innovative bipedal design, builds on the legacy of biohybrid robots that take advantage of muscles. Muscle tissues have driven biohybrid robots to crawl and swim straight forward and make turns—but not sharp ones. Yet, being able to pivot and make sharp turns is an essential feature for robots to avoid obstacles.

To build a nimbler robot with fine and delicate movements, the researchers designed a biohybrid robot that copies human gait and operates in water. By alternating the electric stimulation between the left and right leg every 5 seconds, the biohybrid robot successfully “walked” at the speed of 5.4m m/min(0.002 mph). To turn, researchers repeatedly zapped the right leg every 5 seconds while the left leg served as an anchor.

The robot made a 90-degree left turn in 62 seconds. The findings showed that the muscle-driven bipedal robot can walk, stop, and make fine-tuned turning motions.

“Currently, we are manually moving a pair of electrodes to apply an electric field individually to the legs, which takes time,” says Takeuchi. “In the future, by integrating the electrodes into the robot, we expect to increase the speed more efficiently.

The team also plans to give joints and thicker muscle tissues to the bipedal robot to enable more complicated and powerful movements.

5 . Deepfake: synthetic (合成的) media, including images, videos, and audio, is generated by Al technology to show something that does not exist or events that have never occurred.

Examples of deepfakes have been widely spread, including a video of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg giving a speech about his company’s plan, and a video of Elon Musk dancing and talking about the power of dreams, etc.

It’s easy for AI to produce such deepfakes using two different deep-learning algorithms (算法): one that creates the best possible clone based on a real image or video and another that detects whether the copy is fake (伪造的) and, if it is, reports on the differences between it and the original. The first algorithm produces a synthetic image and receives feedback on it from the second algorithm and then adjusts it to make it appear more real; the loop is repeated as many times as it takes until the second algorithm does not detect any false imagery.

Deepfakers often have evil motives, including creating misinformation and generating confusion. They tend to demean, terrify, and annoy, and have targeted not only celebrities but ordinary citizens as well.

Most of the academic research surrounding deepfakes focuses on the detection of huge amount of deepfake videos emerging online. One detection approach is to use algorithms to identify inconsistencies in deepfake videos. For example, an automatic system can examine videos for errors such as irregular blinking patterns of lighting. However, these approaches have been criticized because deepfake detection is characterized by a “moving goal post” where the production of deepfakes is changing and improving while detection tools are always on the way of catching them up.

However, education and medicine are two of the fields that may benefit from deepfake technology. In the classroom, historical speeches could be deepfaked to offer immersive and engaging lessons. In health care, it can improve the accuracy with which tumors (肿瘤) are spotted, making them easier to treat. Its use also permits using synthesized data instead of that from real patients to avoid privacy concerns.

6 . Artificial intelligence is a complex computer science concept. The following are several examples of artificial intelligence.

An artificial intelligence assistant named Olly, is more advanced and developed than Siri and Alexa. It is integrated with deep learning and natural language processing features. This technology is said to be quite helpful for people living alone or going through sadness. It can copy the reactions of a friend or companion.

Pathai is a strong example of artificial intelligence that helps pathologists (病理学家) follow the test reports more conveniently. This can help save hundreds of lives by correctly diagnosing and determining the underlying diseases. This interference of AI in the healthcare department has proven to be fruitful for the patients and time-saving for the pathologists.

You must have heard the word drone, but AI-based drones are one step advanced from your typical drones. These aerial devices are used for many different reasons. The use of drones has proven to be very beneficial in the military and surveillance sector (监管部门) but it has also started to benefit the average consumer, saving time and relieving traffic jams.

GPS is a necessity nowadays. It not only helps to reach far places and areas but also assists in the way. Its artificial intelligence predicts the estimated time of reaching a destination by analyzing traffic situations in real-time. GPS also gathers data from thousands of cars and predicts the best route for every car.

8 . Scientists have found too much leisure time might not be good for people’s sense of subjectively well-being (主观幸福感). While levels of well-being initially rise as free time increases, the trend does not necessarily hold for very high levels of leisure.

“The sweet spot is a moderate amount of free time,” said Dr. Marissa Sharif, a co-author of the study from the University of Pennsylvania. “We found that having too much time was associated with lower subjective well-being due to a lacking sense of productivity and purpose.” The study found that although subjective well-being rose with the amount of free time up to about two hours, it began to drop once it lasted more than five hours.

Meanwhile, data from the National Study of the Changing Workforce, carried out between 1992 and 2008, revealed that beyond a certain point, having more free time was no longer linked to greater subjective well-being, but it did not drop — possibly because few of the participants reported having more than five hours of free time a day. Nevertheless, it is suggested that people who have too little free time should not quit all of their obligations, but instead try to find a couple of leisure hours a day. Meanwhile those with empty days should try spending their time with purpose, connecting with others or doing something productive.

Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Warwick, welcomed the research. “This is a valuable study because it provides all sorts of statistical evidence for a very easily understandable idea; human beings like having spare time for leisure, home chores, hobbies, etc. — in their day but not too much of it,” he said, “It’s a Goldilocks principle — just the right amount.”

9 . Growing up in coconut-rich regions in India and with his father working in the related industry, Anees Ahmed heard of coco peat (椰壳泥) at an early age. After completing graduation in bio-technology from college, Ahmed worked as a researcher on agriculture in various places. He recalls that while studying about coco peat, he discovered that many countries used peat moss (泥炭苔) as an ingredient to keep soil rich. The extraction of this material leads to the release of carbon dioxide, which further contributes to global warming.

According to Dutch researchers, coco peat’s water-holding capacity, disease resistance, and renewable nature make it suitable for gardening and agricultural activities. Ahmed realized that coco peat could be a better alternative to peat moss and then started a company, Global Green Coir, in 2012. When Ahmed entered the market there were only few companies using this material as coco peat was not popular among people, and even coco peat was mostly considered as wastes. “At first people and companies used to give us coco peat for free.” he said.

Now Ahmed’s company gets coco peat from coconut shell to make varied products like pots, bricks, blocks, and grow bags that are exported internationally. However, Ahmed’s journey was not without challenges. He was met with doubts at the beginning. He insisted to demonstrate the potential of the material. His efforts paid off and gained recognition slowly at home and abroad. Ten percent of his business comes from India and the rest is from countries like the US, Europe, the Middle East, and more. Anyway, India is a huge market and most people are adapting to such products gradually.

Ahmed and his family made an initial investment of $5,000 to start the business. Now their sales volume of the last five years has been around $6 million. “With increasing focus on organic farming, coco peat will soon gain more popularity. It is estimated that the cos e pest market is expected to reach 5. 26 billion by 2030 from 3. 89 billion in 2023. ” Ahmed said.

In the evolving landscape of digital technology, history is no longer confined to the     1     (page) of a book or the traditional canvases of timeless artworks. This reality is remarkably demonstrated by the revitalization of Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, one of the     2     (precious) ink-washing paintings in China, through the innovative use of digital technology. This historical masterpiece, a scroll stretching 5.28 meters long, by the renowned Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan, has been transformed into     3     immersive digital version.

The digital recreation, currently on display in Nanning, Guangxi, brings to life the activities of 1,068 moving figures, 73 animals (including cattle, horses, donkeys and mules), and 29 boats sailing on the river, all     4     (vivid) describing the busy life in Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty,     5     is now modern-day Kaifeng. As audience immerse     6     (they) in this digital exhibition, they gain insights into China’s splendid past,     7     (witness) its impressive economic growth. The digital version of Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival     8     (draw) admiration worldwide since its first appearance at the Shanghai Expo in 2010. It has journeyed to Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand, displaying the combination of art and technology and granting the global public an opportunity     9     (appreciate) this iconic illustration of China’s rich history and cultural heritage. It also demonstrates the power of technology     10     preserving and bringing history to life, allowing us to marvel at our past in ways we could have only once imagined.