【推荐3】There are 156 known species of glass frogs living throughout the neotropics. Recent advancements in genetics are giving researchers a revealing look into the lives of these one-inch-long tree dwellers, some of which are the size of a paper clip.

Scientists have discovered, for example, that male glass frogs in some species are stellar parents — a rare trait among vertebrates (脊椎动物). Males of at least 24 species not only protect their eggs from predators but also actively care for them. While the embryos (胚胎) develop, males of some species, such as the sun glass frog sit atop their egg clutch "like a chicken," keeping the eggs hydrated until they hatch into tadpoles (蝌蚪).

New research is also discovering how the glass frog's transparent belly forms. It's suspected that young glass frogs physically rearrange the insides of their cells and tissues to become transparent adults. Fluid between the tissue cells may also contain a substance that allows light to travel through.

Another mechanism that may allow glass frogs to blend into the green leaves on which they doze during the day is called "a biological mirror", a kind of shield or covering of crystals in many of their tissues, which reflects up to 30 percent of the light that normally reaches them. Those crystals amplify the light signal, and the frog's green looks brighter.

Many scientists studying glass frogs arc motivated by the fact that some of their subjects are disappearing—and fast. Agriculture, cattle grazing, and mining projects in the Andes are taking over the frogs' already fractured forest homes.

"As soon as they are discovered, many species are declared endangered," Guayasamin, a biologist in Ecuador, says "yet there could be an advantage in conserving such isolated ponulanons." All could be inspired to work together to set aside frog-rich patches of land as reserves, ensuring that these delicate creatures have a solid chance at survival.

【推荐2】Some bees seem to be able to choose whether to become a worker or a queen — but thousands of competitors for the throne (王位) are killed in each hive (蜂巢).

About one-fifth of all Melipona beecheii bee larvae (幼虫) start to develop as queens, but the colony accepts only one. The rest are attacked by strong-jawed workers.

Biologists suspected that colonies of this species overproduce queens as an evolutionary strategy to take over other hives. But it now seems that it is simply a result of the “selfishness” of individual larvae, to the detriment of the whole colony, says Caliari Oliveira at KU Leuven in Belgium.

Unlike most bee colonies where workers select one larva to become the only queen by feeding it a special diet, the M. beecheii colony is spending a lot of resources to produce new individuals, and then all they do afterwards is waste those resources and kill the queens. “This is a very good example of the tragedy of the commons, when a chase for personal gain harms society,” says Caliari Oliveira.

In the past, researchers suggested that M. beecheii workers were feeding a chemical called geraniol (香叶醇) to the future queens. Oliveira and his colleagues wondered if the bees chose so many queens in order to spread the colony’s DNA into other hives.

To investigate further, they took genetic samples of queens and workers from 25 free -ranging M. beecheii colonies. In the lab, they also gave higher doses of geraniol to more than 600 larvae. To their surprise, they discovered that extra geraniol didn’t affect larval development, so workers weren’t controlling queen production after all. Genetic analysis revealed that the DNA of each hive remained 100 per cent consistent.

The new study “settles a bit of a controversy” about Melipona bees, says Christoph Grueter at the University of Bristol, UK. But it doesn’t offer a new explanation for how the larvae “decide” to become queens. “For me, this is still one of the biggest puzzles in biology.”

【推荐3】Most children love stories. Stories are entertaining and fun, but can they be more than just fun? Findings from a new study led by Rebecca de Leeuw, an assistant professor at the Radboud University, indicate stories in movies can also be meaningful for children.

The researchers contacted children between 4 and 15years old after they watched the Disney film Inside Out. This film takes place mainly in the head of an 11-year-old girl, where her emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, personified as different characters — conflict on how to help her best in her new life after her family moves. The story follows the “hero’s journey” — a classical narrative (叙事的) framework, which involves a hero who goes on an adventure, overcomes challenges, and return s changed. So the research team chose this film. When making this film, the film-makers had in-depth discussions with psychologists to make the emotion animation consistent with scientific knowledge.

The research team asked mostly open-ended questions to encourage the children to share their thoughts, including the key question: “Was there a part of the movie you had to think about?” Children looked at stills of important scenes and were invited to explain in their own words what happened. If they liked, they also rewatched scenes of the film.

While watching, children made sense of the feelings, motives and behavior of characters in the film, using their social intelligence skills. They also further developed these skills when they were challenged in making sense of the story. Children also mentioned they appreciated seeing acts of pity, kindness, love and bravery in the film. Just like adults, they were even touched to tears by these qualities.

One of the children in the study even expressed that Joy inspired her to never quit in her own life. The more insights children gained while watching, the more meaningful the story became for them. Altogether, stories in movies can be a quick way for children to gain life experience and wisdom.

【推荐1】Scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made: 8.3 billion tons. Looked at another way, that's as heavy as 25,000 Empire State Buildings or one billion elephants. And incredibly, almost all of it has been made in the last 65 years.

So what's the problem? Much plastic is in the form of packaging which is used just once and then thrown away. According to a major new study from the University of California, 9% of this is recycled, 12% is completely burnt and 79% goes to landfill. And because most plastic is not easily disposed of, once it's in the ground, it stays there.

It's a situation that has led the paper's lead author, ecologist Dr. Roland Geyer, to say that we are “rapidly heading towards ‘Planet Plastic’”. The team behind this report also estimate that eight million tons of plastic waste are escaping into the sea every year. This has caused concern that plastic is entering the food chain, through fish and other sea life which swallow the smaller fragments.

Of course, the reason why there's so much plastic around is that it's an amazingly useful material. It's durable and adaptable, and is used for everything from yoghurt pots to spaceships. But it's exactly this quality which makes it a problem. The only way to destroy plastic is to heat or burn it -although this has the side effect of harmful emissions.

So what's the alternative, other than using less plastic? Oceanographer Dr. Erik van Sebille from Utrecht University says we're facing a “tsunami” of plastic waste, and that the global waste industry needs to “get its act together”.

Professor Richard Thompson, a marine biologist from Plymouth University, says it's poor design that's at fault. He says that if products are currently designed “with recyclability in mind”, they could be recycled around 20 times over.

【推荐2】Now several cities and states are considering passing laws when it comes to people who walk while texting (发短信). A law passed in Honolulu allows police officers to fine pedestrians(行人) between $15 and $99 for staring at their phones while crossing the street.

“Unluckily, we’re a major city with more pedestrians on the crosswalks, particularly our old people, than almost any other city in the country,” said Honolulu mayor Kirk Caldwell at a meeting. “So, passing a law is necessary and timely.”

The town of Montclair, California, took it one step further and passed a law making it illegal to talk, text or use earbuds (耳塞) on the phone when crossing the street. For the first time, people will be given a warning, and after that, the fine is $ 100. What’s more, farther north in Ontario, under the “Phones Down, Heads Up Act”, pedestrians can be fined if caught crossing the road while holding and using the phones. Fines start at $ 50.

This movement to pass such laws has a reason: Pedestrian deaths are on the rise. According to the National Safety Council, there were 5,987 pedestrian deaths—the highest number since 1990. This problem isn’t new, nor is it limited to deaths. There are a rising number of injuries from texting while crossing a street.

According to research, texing resulted in a higher rate of incidents than failure to look right or left when crossing. By comparison, talking on the phone led to only a slight increase of accidents and listening to music had no influence on safety. The results were published in the journal Injury Prevention.

So, in the opinion of David Canepa, a member of the Board of Supervisors in San Mateo Country, California, the government should tell people where to look when they’re walking down the street. He said, “At the end of the day, people will understand the value of public safety. Making the laws will save lives.”

【推荐3】For emperor penguins, sea ice is essential to survival. The iconic birds, found only in Antaretica, breed, lay their eggs and raise their chicks on fast sea ice. They arrive at their breeding sites in late March. In May and June, they lay their eggs, which hatch after 65 days during the Antarctic winter. The chicks then remain on the ice until their fluff (绒毛) down is replaced by waterproof feathers, finally fledging (长出羽毛) in the summer months of December and January.

Last year, sea ice levels in Antaretica were at an all-time low— a record first set in 2021. The Bellingshausen Sea region, to the west of the Antaretic Peninsula, saw the most extreme reduction of sea ice, with some areas experiencing a 100% loss. Of the five known emperor penguins’ habitats in the Bellingshausen Sea region, all but one experienced what was most likely a total breeding failure due to the loss of sea ice, according to a paper published today in Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Satellite imagery clearly showed the sea ice had broken up before the chicks would have developed enough to survive on their own.

“We have never seen emperor penguins fail to breed at this scale in a single season,” the study’s lead author, Peter Fretwell of the British Antarctic Survey, said in a statement. “The loss of sea ice in this region during the Antarctie summer made it very unlikely that displaced chicks would survive. ”

The study team also believe their findings support a projection that if present warming rates continue, more than 80% of emperor penguins’ habitats will disappear, meaning they have too few individuals to support a population, by 2100.