【推荐1】“Birds” and “airports” are two words that, paired together，don’t normally paint the most harmonious picture. So it really raises some eyebrows when China announces plans to build an airport that is for birds.

Described as the world’s first-ever bird airport, the proposed Lingang Bird Sanctuary(保护区）in the northern coastal city of Tianjin is, of course,not an actual airport. Rather，it's a wetland preserve specifically designed to accommodate hundreds-even thousands-of daily takeoffs and landings by birds traveling along the East Asian-Australian Flyway. Over 50 species of migratory (迁徙的）water birds，some endangered, will stop and feed at the protected sanctuary before continuing their long journey along the flyway.

Located on a former landfill site，the 150-acre airport is also open to human travelers.(Half a million visitors are expected annually.) However，instead of duty-free shopping，the main attraction for non-egg-laying creatures at Tianjin’s newest airport will be a green-roofed education and research center, a series of raised “observation platforms” and a network of scenic walking and cycling paths totaling over 4 miles.

“The proposed Bird Airport will be a globally significant sanctuary for endangered migratory bird species, while providing new green lungs for the city of Tianjin.” Adrian McGregor of an Australian landscape architecture firm explained of the design. Frequently blanketed in smog so thick that it has shut down real airports, Tianjin is a city---China’s fourth most populous----that would certainly benefit from a new pair of healthy green lungs•

【推荐3】Birds use vocalizations to attract mates, defend territories, and recognize fellow members of their species. But while we know a lot about how variations in vocalizations play out between populations of songbirds, it's far less clear how this variation affects birds such as penguins in which calls are inherited (遗传). A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances examines differences in the calls of Little Penguins from four colonies in Australia-night-time birds for whom vocalizations are more important than visual signals-and finds that differences in habitat, rather than geographic isolation (隔离) or other factors, seem to be the key driver of variation in the sounds these birds use to communicate.

Diane Colombelli-Negrel and Rachel Smale of Australia's Flinders University recorded calls from four Little Penguin populations across a small area of South Australia, one of which had previously been shown to have slight genetic differences from the other three, and used playback experiments to test penguins ability to distinguish between calls from different colonies.They found that agonistic calls, which are used in pair displays and aggressive situations, varied among the four populations, and that the calls' characteristics appeared to depend on small-scale differences in the habitat where the penguins lived. However, birds did not discriminate between calls originating from different colonies, which suggests that agonistic calls don't seem to play a role in isolating the two different genetic groups.

Penguins living in open habitats produced lower-frequency calls than those living in habitats with thicker vegetation-the opposite of the trend typically observed in songbirds. The authors think that agonistic calls may be subject to different selective pressures because they're used in close encounters with other birds rather than to communicate across distances, and could also be influenced by variation in the noise level of wind and surf.

“I was excited to find that in seabirds, as most of our knowledge in this area comes from studies on songbirds," says Colombelli-Negrel. "This new research suggests that many factors influence call variation in birds, which also depends on the function of the calls. This study highlights that many questions remain and that studies need to investigate more than one factor in conjunction with the function of the calls to fully understand call variation in seabirds.”

“This work tells an interesting story of vocal diversification in Little Penguins, and gives insight into how individual and micro-scale variation effects behavior," according to Stony Brook University's Heather Lynch, an expert on penguin calls who was not involved in the study. "Non-vocal-learning birds are relatively understudied in terms of vocalizations, and it is great to see penguin vocalizations being studied in such a way."

【推荐1】From talking robots and video phones, technology has become so advanced that the previously impossible seems to occur on a daily basis. And yet—we still have no cure for the common cold.

Why can’t we stop the common cold? According to Peter Barlow, a scientist at Edinburgh Napier University, the main challenge lies in the many different types of cold viruses that are produced by the rhinoviruses (鼻病毒). There are at least 160 types. They change so easily that they quickly become resistant to drugs. In other words, a single cure isn’t likely to work on every type of cold.

However, researchers from Stanford University have found a possible answer. They discovered a protein that the viruses need. Without it, they can't spread inside your body.

To identify the gene which produces the specific protein needed by the viruses, researchers used a gene-editing technique to test all genes one by one for thousands of cells. These modified (改变的) cells were then exposed to a range of rhinoviruses which cause the common cold.

All the viruses were unable to copy inside cells without a gene that produces a specific protein, called methyltransferase (甲基转移酶) SETD3.

Then, they tested genetically modified mice, which were completely unable to produce the protein. The mice were able to live healthy, normal lives without the protein.

“Lacking that gene protected the mice completely from the common cold,”   associate professor Jan Carette, from Stanford, told the BBC.

“These mice would always die, but they survived and we saw a very strong protection.”

Carette said the plan is to find a drug which can keep back the protein for a limited time, rather than produce genetically modified humans.

“We have identified a fantastic target that all rhinoviruses require and depend on. Take that away and the virus really has no chance,” said Carette.

【推荐2】Last spring, I started a new exercise class. As someone who dislikes doing jumping jacks, burpees, and push-ups, I found the workouts surprisingly enjoyable, at least for a while. But after several months, I was overly familiar with the class routine, and my excitement had been replaced with boredom.

A 2016 study for the American Psychological Association estimated that 63 percent of us suffer from boredom regularly. And research shows that chronically(长期地) bored people tend to fall into depression, drug abuse and anxiety.

But boredom isn’t a character weakness. It’s a state caused by something called hedonic(享乐的) adaptations, or the tendency to get used to things over time. This explains why activities and even relationships that were initially satisfying can sometimes lose their appeal.

Humans are remarkably good at growing accustomed to changes in our lives, both positive and negative, according to Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. This is a good thing when we are faced with adjusting to setbacks such as losing a loved one or a job. But becoming insensitive to positive events can prove harmful. Think about the last time you got a raise, bought a car, or moved. At first, these experiences can bring immense joy. But over time, they become part of the routine. We are ready for the next new thing to excite us.

While boredom can be a downer when it removes the pleasure from our lives, it can provide a sort of service. “If our emotional reactions didn’t weaken with time, we couldn’t recognize new changes that may signal rewards or threats,” Lyubomirsky says. In other words, we’d ignored cues signaling us to make important decisions about our relationships and safety.

It’s not unlike how our reactions change when we fall in love or experience loss. Being caught in the glow of happiness or the web of sadness can make us distracted or forgetful. We may miss signals that indicate whether we’re about to make a smart move or a disastrous one. The good news is that understanding the connection between hedonic adaptation and boredom can help us.

A study published in 2018 in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin showed that finding unusual ways to get along with familiar people, places, and things can make everyday experiences feel exciting. In other words, sometimes you’ve just got to shake things up!

【推荐3】Did you know people who live in different parts of China have different habits and preferences? For example, people from southern China prefer to eat vegetables, while people from north China like to eat meat. According to a new study in a journal, gene variations (基因变异) might be responsible for these differences. Researchers from China’s BGI collected genetic information from 141, 431 Chinese women, who came from 31 provinces and consisted of 36 ethnic minority groups.

The researchers found that there are six gene frequencies that are different among people from both northern and southern China. They found that natural selection has played an important role in the ways that people living in different regions of China have developed, affecting their food preferences, immunities(免疫力)to illness and physical features.

A variation of the gene FADS2 is more commonly found in northern people. It helps people metabolize (新陈代谢) fatty acids, which suggests a diet that is rich in flesh. This is due to climate differences. Northern China is at a higher latitude. This weather is difficult to grow vegetables in. Therefore, northerners tend to eat more meat.

The study also found differences in the immune systems of both groups. Most people in southern China carry the gene CR1, which protects against malaria. Malaria was once quite common in southern China. In order to survive, the genes of people in the south evolved to fight against this disease. However, people in the south are also more sensitive to certain illnesses, as they lack the genes to stop them.

Genes can also cause physical differences between northerners and southerners. Most northerners have the ABCC11 gene, which causes dry earwax, less body smell and fewer sweats. These physical differences are also more beneficial to living in cold environments. Southerners are less likely to have this gene, as it did not develop in their population.