【推荐1】Some women with severe anorexia (厌食症) have returned to a healthy weight and feel less anxious after having electrical devices implanted into their brains, which is based on a small study. But more research is needed.

About one in five people with anorexia die of the illness and there is a lack of effective treatments. Imaging studies suggest that certain brain circuits (回路) may underlie the fear of gaining weight and compulsion (强迫) to self-starve.

Bomin Sun at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China and his colleagues wondered whether they could harm these circuits by electrically affecting a part of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens (伏隔核). This brain region helps us to learn from experience, but in people with anorexia it seems to form abnormal connections with other brain regions.

The team took in 28 women with at least a three-year history of anorexia who hadn’t improved following standard treatment. The women had an average body mass index (BMD) of 13; a BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. The researchers surgically implanted electrodes (电极) into the nucleus accumbens on women’s brains. They connected the electrodes by wires to a battery, to continuously affect the nucleus accumbens.

Over the next two years, the average BMI of the participants increased to 18 and almost half regained a BMI of 18.5 or above. They also reported feeling less anxious.

“This is a very promising result,” says Philip Mosley, a research from Australia. But the study didn’t include a placebo (安慰剂) group for comparison, meaning it isn’t possible to rule out that the participants’ improvement was simply because they expected the treatment to work, says Mosley.

Mosley and his colleagues are about to start a trial of the same treatment in which they will control for the placebo effect. Brain surgery may seem like an extreme treatment, but for people with severe anorexia, it may be better than the alternative, which is often death, says Mosley.

【推荐1】Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, public health and government officials have put social distancing rules in place and advised people to stay at home as much as possible. Many schools around the world started online learning.

Do teenagers have it easy being home all the time? Not necessarily. They can’t connect with teachers and friends in person and do outdoor activities. They are even concerned about the deadly disease. These have caused a rise in anxiety among young people.

In a study of about 1,500 teens last spring, 70% kids said that they were struggling with anxiety and 45% had felt more stressed than usual. Poncin, a professor of clinical child psychiatry (精神病学), said that it’s difficult to show exactly what is causing the increased stress. Some factors focus on our communities and families, while others are individual (个别的). “There are many stress factors that teens are worried about, like their parents losing jobs, family members getting sick, parents not being home, not talking with friends, and more,” Poncin said. “Teens need to learn how to be together and how to talk and be with people.”

Thinking about something over and over also builds stress. To help ease (缓解) their worries, teens can bike, walk the dog or even pick up a new hobby.

In my home state of North Carolina, Roy Goode, head of the local educational agency, is especially concerned about students who don’t have the resources they need to learn at home. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders,” he said. “We need to make sure they all have a chance to succeed so we can overcome any challenge that comes our way.”

【推荐2】Nearly 60% of people report experiencing loneliness at some point in their lives. Loneliness can happen to anyone. It can happen in short bursts throughout someone’s life or become a lasting condition. Lasting loneliness can cause someone to think negatively about themselves and increase their risk for depression and anxiety. Long term, it can disturb someone’s cognition(认知), such as problem solving and concentration. While it’s a journey to get through, you can cope and come out of loneliness.    1    

Acknowledge what you’re feeling

It might seem small, but naming what you’re feeling is one of the most important things you can do when coping with loneliness.    2    You can’t find a solution to something if you don’t know what you’re dealing with. Once you accept that you’re feeling lonely, you can step back and see how it’s impacting your life. Then you can decide what to do next.

Make connections with others

    3    One of the best ways to cope with loneliness would be to be intentional about meeting people and cultivating relationships. How you choose to put yourself out there is entirely up to you. It can be anything —volunteering, joining a class or hanging out with your family.

Use peer(伙伴) support groups

Meeting others is great.    4    There are various online support groups that will allow you to share experiences and build relationships with people who have similar interests.

Consider therapy(治疗)

There’s no exact cause for loneliness.    5    You sometimes need help with loneliness beyond self-help strategies, and that’s okay. Sometimes, the root problem needs to be addressed in therapy. Working with a therapist through cognitive behavioral therapy will help you challenge negative thinking and direct your thoughts, emotions and actions more constructively. Start looking for the best therapist through your healthcare provider, online resources or local groups. Loneliness can feel incredibly isolating, but you’re not alone.

【推荐2】Hearing loss may increase the risk of dementia (痴呆), but using hearing aids lowered the risk so it’s similar to that of those without hearing loss, according to a new paper. Scientists followed more than 437,000 people from UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource that follows local residents long-term. They looked at each person’s risk of dementia, self-reported use of hearing aids and medical records to see if the person developed dementia.

“Our findings provide the best evidence to date to suggest that hearing aids could be a cost-effective treatment to reduce the potential impact of hearing loss on dementia,” corresponding author Zhu Dongshan, professor at Shandong University in China, said. “They also point out the urgent need for the early introduction of hearing aids when someone starts to experience hearing damage.” The paper accounted for other factors, including loneliness and depression, but found untreated hearing loss still had a strong association with dementia.

Tom Dening, a professor of dementia research, who wasn’t involved in the paper, recently began wearing hearing aids. He hopes that these findings will help him care for patients better. “We need to use studies like this to encourage the public not to be ashamed of hearing problems,” he said, “and to seek treatment sooner rather than later. ”

Many adults need hearing aids, but not enough use them. Dr. Karina De Sousa, lead author of a survey looking at over-the-counter hearing aids, said, “There are many potential reasons people choose not to get hearing aids, but one has been the accessibility of the devices.” And this is the issue she wants to deal with. “This small survey found that a self-fitting, over-the-counter hearing aid could be as good an option for some people as those fitted by a hearing specialist,” De Sousa added. “One thing to remember is that if you don’t meet the specified criteria for wearing an over-the-counter hearing aid, I would recommend seeking the help of a hearing professional.”

【推荐3】Floating solar panel systems are beginning to boom in the United States. They’re attractive not just for clean power and lack of a land footprint， but because they also conserve water by preventing evaporation (蒸发).

A study in Nature Sustainability found that thousands of cities-more than 6,000 in 124 countries - could generate an amount equal to all their electric it demand using floating solar, making it a climate solution to be taken seriously. In the process, they could save roughly enough water each year to fill 40 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The concept of floating solar is simple： attach panels onto rafts (筏子) so they float on water instead of blocking off land that could be used for agriculture or buildings. The panels are sealed and act as a cover that brings evaporation down to nearly zero, benefiting regions like California that repeatedly experiences drought. The water also keeps panels cool, allowing them to generate more electricity than their land-mounted counterparts, which lose efficiency when they get too hot.

Limited land may have spurred some countries in Asia like Japan and Malaysia to expand floating solar. But higher costs remain a barrier. Floating solar costs 10-15% more than land solar initially, but owners save money in the long run. Deeper water can increase installation (安装) costs, and the technology can’t operate on fast-moving water, the open ocean, or shorelines with large waves. Engineers are working on other challenges. If the solar panels cover too much of a water body’s surface, dissolved oxygen levels could change and water temperature will drop, harming life in water. Researchers are looking into whether the electromagnetic (电磁) fields generated by cables (电缆) could negatively influence water ecosystems. However, there’s no evidence of that yet.

【推荐3】FOOTLOOSE FUN

The Isle of Wight Walking Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year — and a number of similar events are taking place across the UK as the weather warms up.

BEST FOR ISLANDS

Isle of Wight Walking Festival

This festival celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024, with an event in spring and another in autumn. Book onto the spring session to see the island’s natural world beginning to stir — guided walks take participants in search of red squirrels, passing through bluebell (风铃草) woods, wading the shallows on a seagrass harvesting project and exploring the steep, splendid scenery of West Wight. 11-19 May.

BEST FOR MOUNTAINS

Arran Mountain Festival

Anyone wishing to dip their toe into Scottish mountaineering should head to the Isle of Arran: not only are its hills said to represent the Highlands in mini size, but it also hosts the Arran Mountain Festival, with a programme of walks for multiple abilities. Head up Goatfell — the island’s highest point (874m) — or cross the A’Chir ridge, with vertical drops below. 17-20 May.

BEST FOR EASY WALKS

Suffolk Walking Festival

If the contours (等高线) of Wales, the English Lakes or the Scottish Highlands seem too hard, head to the more kindly slopes of Suffolk for this walking festival. Close to 60 guided walks explore this famously flat county, ranging from wanders beside the North Sea coast at mysterious Orford Ness to strolls amid the more picturesque landscapes of Dedham Vale. 11-26 May.