【推荐1】Medicine is not only a human invention. Many other animals, from insects to birds to nonhuman primates (灵长类), have been known to self-medicate with plants and minerals for infections and other conditions. Behavioral ecologist Helen of the Borneo Nature Foundation has spent decades studying the island’ s orangutans (红毛猩猩) and says she has now found evidence they use plants in a previously unseen medicinal way.

During more than 20,000 hours of formal observation, Helen and her colleagues watched 10 orangutans occasionally chew a particular plant (which is not part of their normal diet) into a juice and then rub it into their fur. They spent up to 45 minutes at a time rubbing the mixture onto their upper arms or legs. The researchers believe this behavior is the first known example of a nonhuman animal using an external pain-killer.

Local people use the same plant—Dracaena cantleyi (龙血树), an unremarkable-looking bush with stalked leaves—to treat aches and pains. Helens, co-authors studied its chemistry. They added chemicals from the plant to human cells that had been grown in a dish and had been artificially stimulated to produce cytokines (细胞因子), an immune system response that causes inflammation (炎症) and discomfort. The plant chemical reduced the production of several types of cytokines. The scientists reported the finding in a study published last November in Scientific Reports.

The results suggest that orangutans use the plant to reduce inflammation and treat pain. Such findings could help identify plants and chemicals that might be useful for human medications.

【推荐2】For years, the U.S. has experienced a shortage of registered nurses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that while the number of nurses will increase by 19 percent by 2022, demand will grow faster than supply, and that there will be over one million unfilled nursing jobs by then.

So what's the solution? Robots.

Japan is ahead of the curve when it comes to this trend. Toyohashi University of Technology has developed Terapio, a robotic medical cart that can make hospital rounds, deliver medications and other items. It follows a specific individual, such as a doctor or nurse, who can use it to record and access patient data. This type of robot will likely to be one of the first to be implemented in hospitals because it has fairly minimal patient contact.

A robot's appearance affects its ability to successfully interact with humans, which is why the RIKEN-TRI Collaboration Center for Human-Interactive Robot Research decided to develop a robotic nurse called Acntroid F. It is so human-like that some patients may not know the difference. This conversational robot companion has cameras in its eyes, which allow it to track patients and use appropriate facial expressions and body language in its interactions. During a month-long hospital trial, researchers asked 70 patients how they felt being around the robot and “only three or four said they didn't like having it around”.

It's important to note that robotic nurses don't decide courses of treatment or make diagnoses. Instead, they perform routine and laborious tasks, freeing nurses up to attend to patients with immediate needs. This is one industry where it seems the interaction of robots will lead to collaboration, not replacement.

【推荐3】For as long as we've known about it, humans have searched for a cure for cancer. Across the world, countless amounts of time and money have been spent on researching a way to stop this terrible disease. But now, it seems like the answer could have been inside our own bodies the whole time

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA)in the U.S., a government agency that's responsible for health care, approved a new form of gene therapy that could mean the end of a certain type of cancer.

The therapy allows scientists to "train" the immune cells of sick patients to fight leukemia—a form of blood cancer that mostly affects young people.

The exciting new treatment works by removing healthy immune cells from the patient, known as T-cells, which are then changed to be able to "hunt down" cancer cells

The cells are then put back into the patient before they begin to get rid of the patient's leukemia over time, similar to how the body fights off other illnesses

"This is truly an exciting new day for cancer patients," Louis J. DeGennaro, president of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said in a news release.

Up until now, a long and painful marrow transplant was the only option for many leukemia patients.

In this procedure, healthy blood cells are taken from a donor and placed into the sick patient, who also has to go through chemotherapy(化疗)to allow their body to adjust to the new cells.

But with a recovery rate of around 83%—according to a news release published by the FDA—it's hoped that the days of painful trips to the hospital, or even death, are over for leukemia sufferers.

"We're entering a new frontier in medical innovation with the ability to reprogram a patient's own cells to attack a deadly cancer," FDA representative Scott Gottlieb said in the release. "New technologies such as gene and cell therapies hold the potential to transform medicine and our ability to treat and even cure many incurable illnesses."

【推荐3】A national study led by a Michigan State University scholar finds that the courses students take have powerful effects on the friendships they form.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Sociology, indicate the patterns of course-taking are different in each high school. In one school, for example, friendships may form among students taking woodworking, Spanish or European history, while in another it may be among students taking agricultural business management, advanced accounting and calculus.

“ People generally think that kids are choosing their friends by joining groups such as the foothall club and that they do the same at every school,” said Kenneth Frank, professor in MSU’s College of Education. “But our argument is that the chances a teenager has to choose friends are guided by the courses the teenager take and the other students who take the courses with him. Moreover, the patterns of chances differ from school to school.” Students are more likely to make friends in small classes.

Friendships are more likely to be created in Latin and woodworking, for example, than in a large physical education class that is required of everyone in a particular grade. The findings mean a lot to school administrators as well.

“ Schools that simply offer classes without thought for mixing up high-and low-achieving students run the risk of driving them apart socially and academically,” said Frank. To prevent this, he suggested schools better stress the value of certain academic subjects, such as math, and also group students together so the low-achievers have high-achievers in their classes potentially as examples throughout high school.

“ This would give the students in the lower group encouragement or make others who could be there as a marker to help them move along.”

【推荐3】Playing sports is a lot of fun, but getting hurt is not.     1    

Wear protective equipment.

The equipment you wear depends on the sport you play. Helmets (头盔) are the most common protective equipment. They protect your head while you’re playing football, baseball, softball, biking, skateboarding, and so on.

Warm up.

    2     Doing some stretching (伸展) can get you prepared to hit the field. By warming up, you get yourself ready to play. Warming up your muscles and practicing a sport help keep you safe, too.

Know the rules of the games.

Traffic lights help prevent crashes between the many cars that drive on the roads together. This works because drivers know the rules and follow them.     3     When players know the rules of the game, fewer injuries happen. For example, you know that in soccer you can’t come from behind, crash into a player’s legs, and steal the ball.

    4    

Some rules don’t have anything to do with scoring points. Some rules are just about protecting other people. For example, a diver would make sure that the pool was clear before diving in. Otherwise, he or she might land on someone else.

    5    

This is a really important one. If you love sports, you may get right back in the game, even after an injury. But playing when you’re hurt is a bad idea. It can lead to an even worse injury.