【推荐2】From red apples and yellow lemons to blueberries and green melons, fruit comes in many different colors.     1    

According to scientists, fruit colors actually come from their different pigments (色素), such as red or yellow carotenoid (类胡萝卜素) and blue or purple anthocyanin (花青素). These pigments appear in different amounts, depending on the fruit’s environment. This causes the fruit to turn a certain color,

    2     They found that red fruit tends to grow in cooler places. Instead of just growing in one place, you can find them growing in many places around the world. Blue and purple fruit mostly grows in warm places.     3     The scientists also found that the closer the fruit is to the equator, the darker its color will be.

    4     Animals eat fruit and drop the seeds in other places later. This helps the fruit spread and grow in different places. However, animals see colors in a different way. Therefore, in order to attract animals, some fruit develops colors that are easy for animals to see. For example, birds can see red more easily than humans can.     5     The lemurs (狐猴) of Madagascar are red-green color blind. Many yellow fruit can be found in their habitats, as they can easily see this color.

【推荐3】The year 2018 will mark the 100h anniversary of the deadliest influenza outbreak in history. It is estimated that the influenza pandemic (瘟疫) of 1918 killed more than 50 million people around the world. Other estimates go much higher. Because of a lack of medical record-keeping, we may never know the exact number.

The influenza was a fast killer. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others died after a few days. “Their lungs filled with liquid and they choked to death.” The 1918 flu pandemic was also different from other outbreaks. It struck many young. healthy people. Viruses usually affect sick or old people.

Although modern medicine effectively controls many diseases, influenza remains difficult to protect against. The World Health Organization estimates that every year influenza kills 250,000 to 500,000 people around the world. Each year, medical scientists develop flu vaccines (疫苗) which offer immunity (免疫) from some influenza viruses. But they can only guess which form of the virus will spread.

Health officials remain concerned about another flu pandemic. New forms of the flu virus appear regularly. One example was the “swine flu” or H1N1 outbreak in 2009. Anthony Faucal, Director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in the United States says that virus caused a true pandemic.

To stop the next pandemic, scientists are now researching how to create a universal influenza vaccine. In October 2017, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the U. S. announced the Universal Influenza Vaccine Initiative. The university said researchers are leading an international effort to develop a universal influenza vaccine that will protect everyone against all forms of the flu anywhere in the world. The university added that researchers will begin tests in early 2018. The Human Vaccines Project, a public-private partnership, is funding the project. However, until a universal influenza vaccine is available, today’s seasonal flu vaccine remains important.