【推荐1】We sacrifice our power of full presence when we're multitasking, and we do so for a benefit of improved productivity that simply doesn't exist. Multitasking is a myth(虚构的东西).

Research indicates that multitaskers are actually less likely to be productive, yet they feel more emotionally satisfied with their work. We're not actually accomplishing what we think we are — we've been fooling ourselves.

In fact, research also shows that multitasking, i. e. trying to do two cognitive (认知的)things at the same time, simply can't be done—the mind doesn't work that way. Even trying to do a cognitive activity and a more automatic activity at the same time doesn’t really work. That’s why the National Transportation Safety Board reports that texting while driving is the equivalent (等同之物)of driving with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit.

We believe we're effective at multitasking when in reality we’re good at what researchers call “task-switching”. Earl Miller, a professor at MIT, says, “Switching from task to task, you think you're actually paying attention to everything around you at the same time. But you're actually not.” The brain is forced to switch among multiple cognitive tasks as these tasks use the same part of the brain.

In fact, research indicates up to 40 percent of productivity could be lost due to task-switching. It actually takes more time to complete the tasks you re switching between and you make more errors than when you focus on doing one task at a time in order.

A Stanford study confirmed this by showing that those who multitask are indeed worse performers. Studies have shown that it takes four times longer for the brain to recognize new things, further slowing clown task completion and that we have a much lower retention (保留)rate of what we learn while we are multitasking.

【推荐2】Some students get so nervous before a test. They do poorly even if they know the material. Sian Beilock, a professor at the University of Chicago in Illinois, has studied these highly anxious test-takers. The students start worrying about the results. And when we worry, it actually uses up attention and memory resources（资源）.

Professor Beilock and another researcher, Gerardo Ramirez, have developed a possible solution. Just before an exam, highly anxious test-takers spend ten minutes writing about their worries about the test.

The researchers tested the idea on a group of twenty anxious college students. They gave them two short maths tests. After the first one, they asked the students to either sit quietly or write about their feelings about the upcoming second test.

Professor Beilock says those who sat quietly scored（得分） an average of 12% worse on the second test. But the students who had written about their fears improved（提高） their performance by an average of 5%. Next, the researchers used younger students in a biology class. They told them before final exams either to write about their feelings or to think about things unrelated（不相关的） to the test. Professor Beilock says highly anxious students who did the writing got an average grade of B+, compared to a B-for those who did not.

"What we showed is that for students who are highly test-anxious, and who'd done our writing intervention（干预）, all of a sudden there was no relationship between test anxiety and grades. They were performing just as well as their classmates who don't normally get nervous in these tests."

But what if students do not have a chance to write about their fears immediately before an exam? Professor Beilock says students can try it themselves at home or in the library and still improve their performance.

【推荐3】The reality TV wildlife edition has just come to a dramatic end. The world watched as the bears packed on pounds before they went into their den (兽穴) for the winter. Over the next few months, Fat Bear Week winner, 435 Holly, will go into hibernation (冬眠). Why do bears do this?

The mysteries around hibernating bears have attracted curious researchers for ages. What is hibernation, and what causes it? And probably most interestingly — could humans do this someday?

Dr. Kelly Drew, who studies hibernation, is one of the scientists consulting on a project funded by NASA, looking to put humans into hibernation for spaceflight. “For sending people to space, I think our first step is to perfect short-term hibernation-like periods in humans,” she says. “If we can figure this out, we can then try for longer periods.” We still have a long way to go before this science fiction dream becomes a reality, but several scientists around the country have been studying hibernation.

Cory Williams, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says, “A huge variety of mammals (哺乳动物) hibernate. However, hibernation in bears is different from that in small mammals…their body temperature only drops a few degrees and they don’t experience periodic rewarming.” In general, mammals with lower body temperatures during hibernation awaken every few days to raise their body temperature, or eat a bit. Bears do not emerge for any of these activities. Instead, they live off the fat they have collected during the summer and autumn months and even recycle their metabolic (新陈代谢的) waste.

At the moment, the study of hibernation has and continues to contribute greatly to applications in the human world. For example, bears are able to maintain their bone mass during hibernation, and understanding this could help advance the study of treating people with weak bones. Perhaps one day, it will be the key to sending humans far off into space too.

【推荐1】An interesting study posted on Facebook recently shows how men and women develop new interests as they mature(成熟).

While women tend to take exercise seriously from the age of 34, men will wait until their 45th birthdays before working hard to get in shape.

The average woman spends more time talking about sports, politics, career and money as she gets older.

Women’s interest in books reaches its peak(顶峰) at the age of 22, while that of men does so when they are in their 50s.

Men start to change their focus from the workplace to other things after age 30, while women do not do so until eight years later. Both, however, care most about fashion at age 16.

The research used anonymous(匿名的) data donated by thousands of Facebook users, recording the statuses, ‘likes’ and ‘interests’ they had posted on their profiles.

It found the average woman talks about television most at 44, while men peak much younger, at age 31.

Men are also most likely to see a film in a cinema at age 31, while women go out to see films most when they are only 19.

Men are most interested in travel at 29, women at 27, while women talk most about food and drink at 35, and men at 38.

And if you are middle aged, a safe topic for anyone is the weather, which is a key interest for many as they reach 60.

Stephen Wolfram, the British scientist who carried out the research, says, “It’s almost shocking how much this tells us about the changes of people’s typical interests.