【推荐2】To most of us, school means classes, teachers, schedules, grades, and tests. But for the children at Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, school is very different.

Firstly, there are no lessons. All the children, aged between 4 and 19, do whatever they want. There are no teachers — only “staff members”. The idea behind this is that you do not need to make children learn, because children want to learn anyway. “You do not need to say to a three-year-old, ‘Go to explore your environment.’ You can’t stop them!” says Daniel Greenberg, a founder of the school. “But if you make children do what you want all day, they will lose all taste for learning.”

At Sudbury Valley School, you will permit children to talk, read, paint, cook, work on computers, study French, play the piano, climb trees or just run around. Two boys spent three years just fishing!

The other way that Sudbury Valley School is different is that the children can decide the rules. Every week, there is a school meeting where both children and staff have one vote each — even the four-year olds. They decide the school rules, how to spend the school budget, and even which staff they want and do not want any more.

When the school first opened in 1968, people said it would never work. But today, the school has 200 students, and 80% of its students go on to college. Even the two boys who went fishing all the time have successful careers today. One of them is a musician and the other is a computer scientist.

【推荐3】A Harvard research team’s first model of a portable exosuit (机械护甲) is made of cloth components worn on the waist and upper legs. A computer that’s built into the shorts can sense when the user shifts between walking and running.

Say the word "exosuit" and super heroes come to mind — somebody like Tony Stark from Marvel Comics, whose fancy suit enables him to become Iron Man. But scientists at Harvard University have been developing an actual exosuit, a wearable machine that can improve an average man’s strength and toughness. This model improves a wearer’s performance while he is walking or running.

The lead researcher Conor Walsh says when you put on his team’s suit, you definitely notice that it’s pulling across your joints, so you feel the drive from the suit. But after a while, you don’t really notice it anymore. The suit helps to extend the hip joint, saving the user’s energy. Though you might not notice it, when you shut the suit off after a few minutes of having it turned on, Walsh says, “You really quickly notice that your legs feel a little bit heavier.”

Walsh says, “This suit could be helpful for a soldier carrying heavy weights over long distances.” Research on the suit was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is part of the United States Department of Defense and develops military technology. “ Other future models might help people with medical problems like Parkinson’s disease to move more easily,” he says. “My lab cooperates with a company on a suit to help stroke survivors that is now commercially available.”

Karl Zelik, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, calls the team’s effort “promising work”. Zelik says it will enhance human abilities during various aspects of daily life. However, he notes that the exosuit field is changing fast. In the future, he says, the best assist devices may not be exosuits at all, but rather technology put inside a person’s body. He predicts that future wearables will also be able to figure out the wearer’s movement intention, and influence it when necessary to improve human performance.

【推荐3】Every year, countless individuals are impacted by cancer. Our goal is to walk away from cancer as we give strength to those fighting this life-threatening disease. Walk Cancer Away invites everyone to participate in their annual family-friendly walking event and join together to share the strong willpower found inside each of us with those around us. With each step we take, with each story shared, and with each donation made we are one step closer to finding a cure. To date, we have raised over $700,000 for Dr. Nancy Kemeny’s Colorectal Research Fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), together with thousands of people supporting this cause over the last 12 years we are committed to.

Walk Cancer Away began as a walk in honour of James N Rentas. Deeply influenced by his loss due to colorectal cancer, the Rentas family came together 12 years ago to help others who are suffering the disease. Dr. Nancy Kemeny at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who was the doctor treating James N Rentas, mirrors that same goal. Her efforts and that of her team at MSKCC are focused on researching to overcome the disease and find a cure.

Together they have made great advancements over the years and have provided years of life for those facing the disease. With the deepest gratitude we are thankful to all those who support and participate in the event each year, because without you this would not be possible.

Although Walk Cancer Away started just 12 years ago, we are forever honoured to be able to join in this event that so many of us find so close to our hearts. We ask you, your family, and your friends to join in this year’s Walk Cancer Away event.