Daniella Wride was brushing her daughter’s long brown hair when she noticed that with each comb, masses of the hair were coming out. That was January 1, 2017. Within 20 days, seven-year-old Gianessa Wride’s hair was completely gone, and her doctor said the hair would never grow back. Gianessa had become one of the 6. 8 million Americans with alopecia, an auto-immune disease that causes hair loss.

Alopecia isn’t painful, but for kids who suffer from it, the severe pain comes from standing out from the crowd. For the most part, the students in Gianessa’s first-grade class in Salem, Utah, were understanding. But the occasional jokes of “Baldy”(秃子) made her feel like an abandoned child. “I didn’t want her to feel that she wasn’t like the other kids,” her mother said.”I tried covering her baldness, but the artificial hair was uncomfortable. “

Then comes the school’s traditional “Crazy Hair Day” in April, a great just-for-fun celebration where all the kids and their parents can express their wild sides a bit. Daniella and Gianessa decided that rather than hide Gianessa’s baldness under the artificial hair, they would celebrate it. Daniella bought scrapbook-sticker (贴纸) jewels and decorated her head with flowered designs and even a deer. “They just fit her personality,” Daniella smiled. “She’s so lovely. “

On the morning of the competition, Gianessa was nervous. Would her friends think it was funny? However, with her mother’s encouragement, she had nothing to fear. Impressive Gianessa was a hit and a winner of the crazy-hair competition. Gianessa is now glad that she dared to go bare. “I was sad at first when I lost all my hair,” she told people. “But now I love being bald. I can do things to my head that other kids can’t. I’m thinking now it might be fun to decorate my head with some colourful butterflies and flowers. “

A study has shown that severe stress lasting weeks or months can damage cell communications in the brain’s memory areas. Recently, researchers from University of California, Irvine, have provided the first evidence that short-term stress lasting for a few hours has the same effect.

“Stress does exist in our lives and cannot be avoided,” said Dr. Baram, leader of the UC Irvine School. “Our findings can play an important role in the present development of medicine that might prevent these undesirable effects and offer understanding of why some people are forgetful or have difficulty keeping the memories.”

In their study, Baram and her UC Irvine colleagues identified a novel process in which stress caused these effects. They found that, severe stress activated(激活) Corticotropin Releasing Hormones(CRH), which prevented the brain from keeping memory.

Memory takes place at synapses, where there are connections through which brain cells communicate. These synapses lie on dendritic spines(神经元). In rat and mouse studies, Baram’s group saw that the release(释放) of CRH in the brain’s primary memory center led to the rapid breakup of these dendritic spines, which in turn limited the ability of synapses to collect and store memories.

In addition, the researchers reproduced the effects of stress on dendritic spines by keeping low levels of CRH, and watching how the spines ruptured over minutes. “Fortunately, once we removed the CRH, the spines seemed to grow back again, ” Baram said. “And this study can play a role in the creation of treatments to address stress-related memory loss.”

Handwriting, which has developed over ages, is receiving a tech edge from the boom in artificial intelligence(AI). Thanks to the rapid advances in technology, new smart hardware is reshaping how pupils will write and interact with teachers.

Equipped with a built-in mini camera, T-One, an AI-enabled smart pen can click up to 240 images(图像) per second, and store content handwritten on 400 A4-sized pages. Meanwhile, it can immediately digitalize students, handwritten notes, automatically evaluating their answers and potentially reducing the workload of teachers.

When students write with the smart pen on a piece of specially produced paper, which is printed with an invisible dot code pattern, the high-speed camera at the front of the pen can record the movement of the penpoint. And the pressure sensor will store all the information such as writing time and speed, and page number. Information thus collected is sent via Bluetooth to computers or other hand-held devices(设备), which are equipped with Master Learner’s “super teacher” system. The system can automatically review students’ homework on behalf of teachers.

The system is said to be able to evaluate answers. Professor James, founder of Master Learner, said, “Handwriting has always played an irreplaceable role as a medium of interaction between teachers and students. Unlike typing on the keyboard, writing on paper is still the most preferred way in Chinese classrooms and examinations.”

According to him, the smart pen is meant to digitalize the education process, and improve efficiency(效率) while protecting the traditional writing habits. “We are starting to mass-produce the smart pen. In the future, their appearance, weight and feel will be similar to that of conventional pens,” James said hopefully, without mentioning its price.

Just Go for a University

For any student, going to a university is one of the most important stages of their lives. It is a time when a young person will move out of their home to be independent.     11     Are you ready for such an exploration? The following information may be helpful

• Why should you go to university?

Learning is a life-long process. University is the right place where you can learn both academically and socially. At university, you will be taught by leading lecturers in their fields of study.     12     Meanwhile, you will meet people with different backgrounds at university. This offers you the chance to learn to look after yourself, to develop your own values and to accept those who may be different.

•     13    

Once you have decided that you do want to go to university, how can you choose a dream one?     14     Your interest, the major and the course to be taken are all the concerns. Many universities have open days or send tutors out to talk to the students on what they offer. This also gives you a chance to ask questions. Finding out what their predicted exam grades will also help students determine which university may be the most suitable.

• What can you learn at university?

In many universities, each student begins with a general knowledge base in the first year. Students can have more time to explore their interests before committing to a specific subject. Apart from the academic achievements, various societies, where freshmen can meet like-minded friends, offer you chances to develop the extra-curricular interests in many fields.     15