【推荐1】European wildcats could be reintroduced to England more than 200 years after they became extinct in the country. The project has been announced by UK wildlife charity Wildwood Trust.

European wildcats are one of the UK’s rarest mammals. The only wild population, numbering fewer than 300 individuals, lives in the Scottish Highlands but they are on the verge of extinction, partly because they have bred with local feral cats (wild-living domestic cats).

Supporters hope to save the species in the UK by reintroducing them to England and Wales, where they died out around 200 years ago because of hunting and loss of habitat. To bring back the species, Wildwood Trust is planning to build 10 new breeding facilities on two sites in Kent and Devon. Kittens bred in captivity but away from humans will then be released into the wild. The University of Exeter is researching places where the animals could be reintroduced.

European wildcats are around the same size as a large domestic cat, but at up to eight kilograms they are slightly adult heavier. They have a tabby-like pattern with thick black stripes on their bodies and a bushy tail and like to live in forests but near open grassland. They’re also famously shy and keep their distance from humans. Laura Gardner, director of conservation at Wildwood Trust, told The Times newspaper that people should not be worried by the thought of wildcats returning to the wild. “We’re not talking about wolves,” she said.

Wildwood Trust says that its project can benefit both the wildcats and the habitats where they live. They are one of the few native predators left in the UK, so a healthy population of wildcats could help to control the numbers of animals they prey on, such as rabbits and rodents. By competing for the same food as foxes, they will also help to reduce fox numbers and restore a balance to nature.

【推荐3】Fish out of water don’t last long. But prints of their scales (鳞片), pressed into pools of ink, can preserve their forms for centuries. Since the mid-19th century, Japanese fishers have been using this unusual technique to create shining images known as gyotaku (“gyo” means “fish”; “taku” means “rubbing”).

The prints originally served as visual evidence for fishers hoping to show off an impressive catch. Now, some 150 years later, researchers have found a new and perhaps unexpected second use of the art: recording the historical biodiversity of a region’s fish.

As recently described in the journal Zookeys, the approach could help environmentalists track the threatened and extinct fish populations in Japan’s past, filling in gaps where other data run dry.

Experts agree that the earliest prints date back to the 1800s, when Japanese fishers began printing the sides of ink-dipped fish on pieces of rice paper labeled with the date, location and species of the catch. Dipped in harmless ink, the fish could then be cleaned, sold or eaten as usual.

Over time, fishers began decorating the prints, adding details such as eyes or extra colors on scales. Reproduced directly from the animals themselves, gyotaku prints, by and large, possessed accuracy of the structures of animal bodies and scientists soon recognized their educational value. By the middle of the 20th century, researchers had begun using the artworks in animal anatomy (解剖) classes.

Protection work, then, may seem like a logical next step. For the new study, researchers collected 261 gyotaku prints. Scientific records of fish varieties from centuries past are incomplete, but the prints seem to confirm the richness of fish resources in the past. By comparing hundreds of prints, they find some species are now endangered. Continuing to gather gyotaku could reveal a wealth of scientific information, reports Erin Blakemore for the Washington Post. Some of the prints may even contain bits of DNA, helping researchers track the species listed.

Since the advent of cameras and smartphones, however, gyotaku itself has become something of a rarity. In a statement, researcher Miyazaki advocates for the dying art form’s protection, explaining that it could complement (补充) digital photography as a way to record memorable catches.

【推荐2】Building a country is never easy. It takes hard work from generation to generation. But how about destroying it? A new report from The Guardian said long time of climate change can do that. The report said Tuvalu will be the first country to be completely lost due to climate change.

Tuvalu is a Pacific island nation with nine islands and 12,000 people. It has long been at risk from rising sea levels. Now, 40 percent of the area in its capital is underwater at high tide. By the end of the century, it is believed that all the islands will be underwater, reported Reuters. So many people in Tuvalu have often moved around the country and even to other countries.

To help with the problem, the country plans to build its country in the metaverse. The digital country will recreate the same landscape and keep its cultural and historical records. No matter where they live in the real world, the people in this country will have their identity and “live” in its online communities. The government hopes to manage and serve them in cyberspace.

This news made many people in Tuvalu excited. But Li Zuxi, director of the metaverse lab of Qingbo Intelligent Technology, said it may not be the best solution.

“Though the digital nation belongs to Tuvalu, it’s still built on a metaverse platform,” said Li. “Now, the metaverse is not mature, which may bring some problems.” He gave us an example. If people from other countries enter the space of the digital country but just show their names, how do people know if they do or do not truly belong to that country?

Li added that instead of trying our best to build digital nations, it's better to pay attention to save the real world now.

【推荐3】Born in an unknown village in Huarong county, Hunan province, Yi had few opportunities to play instruments when he was young.

At the age of 6, when most performers have already begun studying the piano at music academies, Yi learned the traditional stringed instrument the erhu from a group of people lodging at his home. It was not until much later that he first saw a piano when he visited his cousin’s house in Huarong.

“My family was too poor to buy a piano for me, so I often used to visit my cousin, even though it took about an hour to travel the 20 kilometers to his home over rocky roads just for the opportunity to sit at the keyboard,” Yi said.

Yi first arrived in Shenzhen 19 years ago and worked in factories, on construction sites and in kitchens. He had not played a piano for nearly 30 years.

The public pianos in Huaqiangbei offered him a fresh start. On a hot summer’s day, while   taking a break from work at a nearby construction site, Yi and his son passed one of the instruments. Encouraged by his son, Yi decided to give it a try.

He rubbed his hands nervously on his clothes, but the moment he placed his fingers on the keys, he felt more comfortable and his confidence returned. Although his masterly performance at the piano keyboard quickly made him an online sensation in China and overseas, Yi is not the only one to benefit from the pianos in Huaqiangbei.

Inspired by the British artist Luke Jerram, who has placed more than 2,000 street pianos in over 70 cities worldwide since 2008 with the words “Play Me, I’m Yours” printed on their sides, the public piano project in Huaqiangbei was launched by the local government in 2018.

Zhang Chen, deputy director of the Huaqiangbei subdistrict office, said: “Huaqiangbei is located in the commercial district in the center of Shenzhen. We have been trying to provide diverse facilities to bring high-quality public cultural services to the area. We are surprised that the public piano project has attracted so many people to play the instruments, and others to watch them perform.”