Hot Science

The Benefits Experts have found that there are clear health benefits of drinking tea. Research has led to the discovery that chemicals found in tea can help prevent cell damage. And there is clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day will reduce the chances of heart attacks and certain cancers. Other health benefits include bone strengthening and protection against bad teeth."Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water," said one doctor. Re-hydration There was also some interesting information on the qualities of tea. The research dispels the fear that tea is dehydrating(脱水）。＂Everyone assumes that caffeine-containing drinks such as tea dehydrate," a leading expert explained."But even if you had a really strong cup of tea,you would still have a gain of fluid（液体）。In terms of fluid intake,we recommend 1.5 to 2 litres per day,and that can include tea. Tea is not dehydrating. It's a healthy drink." The Negative Side There was only one bit of bad news about tea.Research suggests that tea can affect the body's ability to absorb iron from food. This means that people at risk of anaemia(贫血）should avoid drinking tea around mealtimes.

Tea Jokes Why was the teacher angry with the Teapot? Because he was "naughtea". What did the teapot wear to bed? A"nightea". Tea Facts Here are some truly amazing tea facts. Tea·comes from the.leaves of a·tree called camellia sinensis.The tree can grow over 10 metres tall. However, it is cut short so that the leaves can be taken easily. Tea is grown in India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Argentina, 'Kenya; Japan, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Malawi, Turkey, Iran, Brazil and Tanzania. India is the world's largest tea producer. Eighty percent of the caffeine in tea can be removed by pouring hot water over the leaves.

I've been writing since before I could write. As a kid, I dictated stories to my parents.About 12 years ago,I was living in New York City and pursuing a master in creative writing. For years I'd been suffering vision disorder,but in New York my symptoms worsened. I became unable to read or write for any considerable length of time. I tried vision therapy(疗法），an overhead projector,a special pair of glasses-all in vain.

Eventually,I discovered a computer program for the visually challenged. As I typed,my words were read aloud by an automated voice. With my screen dimmed to black,I relied entirely on audio feedback to know what I had written.

Facing the blank page is worrying,but facing the black page is worse. The dark screen is a sinkhole that swallows creative hope. Sentences disappear into it like an astronaut into a black hole. I managed to complete my master degree, but it took me years to adapt to my new reality. The greatest barrier seemed to be the automated voice, which was like a robot parrot on my shoulder, and I wanted nothing more than to drive it away. If a pianist were forced to practice on an untuned piano,would it corrupt his ear over time?

Of course,I could have quit writing and stopped making myself suffer.But it honestly never occurred to me-and I'm glad it didn't. Last year, after I told my story on the radio,I was contacted by VocaliD,a Massachusetts-based company that created a voice modeled on my own.

The first time I heard the voice they created, it is so close to my own that the two are nearly indistinguishable. I've only just begun using this new voice. My hope is that this will restore a sense of solitude(孤独） to my writing process,allowing me easier access to that inner space where the imagination can take over, and I can forget myself, and the real work can begin.

The black screen still exists-it always will-but the robot parrot has taken wing.

As a CEO of a startup, you get used to hearing"no".You also face an endless continuation of what feels like shocking crises, like nearly running out of cash, losing a key customer,discovering a widespread product failure, or having to shut down operations because of a global pandemic. But it turns out that these disasters can actually be good for you. In fact,I'm not sure whether you can innovate without them. Here's what all our crises have taught me.

It's good to be uncomfortable. We once had a key customer request-a battery capability that we'd never developed before. The customer made it clear that if we couldn't develop this capability, they'd be less confident in our product. We wrestled with the risks, not least of which was the potential embarrassment if we couldn't meet the customer's needs. We knew we'd face many technical problems if we tried to go into operation. Yet we decided to try to satisfy the customer, even if it wasn't obvious at first how we could get it done. A few weeks later we delivered something beyond what the customer had asked for, and we've since grown this capability into a powerful sales tool and potential revenue stream-not to mention it strengthened our relationship with the customer.

Short-term failure is good. A few years ago, our company began to expand our manufacturing output in response to a customer's need. In the process we discovered something unusual we hadn't seen during smaller-scale production. Our team dived into failure analysis, and we finally put the problem down to a single material within the battery. We'd used this material for years, but now we needed a replacement. Once we made that change,the battery quality and reliability greatly improved.

It's okay to show weakness. One of my hardest days as CEO was the day when I found out I was pregnant.We were in the middle of raising a funding round, and I had been traveling nonstop for a year. Until that day, I had assumed that my role as CEO was to display strength and confidence. With the mounting pressure I was harder on myself than I needed to be, and now I had the added stress of being pregnant.I decided to acknowledge to my team that I was breaking down. They united together and found ways to operate more smoothly and communicate more effectively, supporting me to focus my time on most pressing goals. This gave me not only the space to plan for the company’s future,but also to prepare for my own new normal: leading while becoming a first-time mother.

Worried about the effect reality TV is having on your child? You aren't being overprotective-there's increasing evidence that these programmes can have a big impact on young people.

When our children are young,we tend to give careful thought to how much TV they're watching and whether or not it's good for them. But as they grow up, most parents let their kids make more independent choices about their viewing.

However, if you've got children, you may want to stay attentive. A research indicates that some reality TV shows can be every bit as damaging for teenage girls as too many cartoons are for kids－perhaps even worse.

The truth is that reality TV is anything but reality-but that's not necessarily what our children believe.A study for the Girl Scout Research Institute in the US found that eight out of ten girls aged between 11 and 17 who regularly watch reality shows believe these programmes describe real life.

In fact,much of reality TV is a heavily manipulated(操控）view of what's really happening, and the worst of it strengthens the sort of female stereotypes(刻板印象）women have spent decades trying to remove.

Many of the women on reality TV shows are acting out lives as teenage mothers or drama queens.Strong,hard-working,purposeful young women with ambitions beyond their looks are rare in these programmes.There's a widespread emphasis on the value of women being about how they look and dress,which gives young viewers the message that being a woman is all about style and appearance, not what you do or stand for.

Cultural critic and writer Jennifer Pozner describes reality TV as "the contemporary backlash（抵制）against feminism".Imran Siddiguee,Director of Social Media and Outreach, is concerned that these programmes show the worst stereotypes of womanhood and “normalize" them in what appear to be everyday settings."They offer such a limited view of what it is to be a woman, and all over the world young girls are addicted to it,"he says.

Siddiquee does recognize, however,that many girls themselves value reality TV.Some say it encourages them to think about situations different from their own. They also point out that some shows feature women running their own successful businesses.

＂It's important to acknowledge that there are some useful elements in reality TV,"Siddiquee says."But many girls need to be inspired to think more critically about some aspects of these shows so they're not manipulated by them and so their behaviour doesn't change because of them."

We should encourage our children to be critical thinkers and help them develop their media literacy. Whether reality TV is changing our children's views, or whether they are attracted to programmes that agree with their beliefs, it's vital we recognize that their viewing habits could strengthen these unbalanced ideals.