【推荐1】Once when I was four, Mom attacked a keyhole with a paper towel, wiping a spider out. “Stop!” I shouted, “She’s somebody’s mother!” I believe people shouldn’t harm other living things and that even the tiniest creatures must be honored.

One summer day, Mom and I planted a grapevine (葡萄树) in the yard. By the end of the summer, the longest branches had spread over the wall.

Then one day, as I was watering, the most magical thing happened. A beautiful midnight blue bug landed on my white T-shirt just below the shoulder. “Hello, pretty one,” I whispered. She didn’t move. Beautiful wings spread into a Y shape. She stuck to my shirt, unwilling to fly away. Ever when she left, I was still excited. That evening, I told Mom what had happened. “It was amazing.” Mom said.

One morning, weeks later, I went to feed my turtles. In the purple light of dawn, the grape leaves appeared brown and lacy (网眼状的). Something was wrong with my vine! I ran in to my Mom. We turned to a gardener nearby for help. He called the culprit (罪魁祸首) the Western grape leaf moth, who feeds on the leaves in her caterpillar (毛毛虫) stage. I was shocked. The moth had laid the eggs. Her babies were destroying my vine! Bacillus thuringiersis, a product widely used by grape growers, was recommended for exterminating the moths.

I had intended to use the liquid, until I read the warning instructions. “Mom, we can’t do this. The poor bugs!” She nodded. The next afternoon, I had an idea. I got a jar and cupped it over the moths, cutting off the leaf they lay on. “I know where I’ll take you.” I whispered.

The next morning. I rode a bus to the desert. I placed the jar near some bushes and opened it “Be safe,” I said. It was my wish for them. Back home, the caterpillars continued their work. I cut off the leaves and placed them in bags. They went to the desert as well. Could the desert handle them? I wondered. Was I doing the right thing? Would I have to continue this for the rest of my life? Sure.

【推荐2】There are well over a hundred firefly species in North America, and the twinkling insects are a special part of many childhood summers.

Research into firefly populations is sill in its early stages, but over the past few years, alarm bell have been ringing about the disappearance of fireflies around the world. A new survey of firefly researchers reveals what are three of the most likely causes, and agriculture is behind at least two of them.

The decline of firefly populations hasn't been finally measured. But the scientists, echoed by anecdotal (轶事的) evidence from those with formerly firefly-studded backyards, have noticed a decline. They mentioned thee major possible reasons for the firefly decline: Habitat destruction, pesticide (杀虫剂) use, and artificial light pollution.

Increasing expansion of agricultural land, especially in places like the Amazon rainforest, is considered the largest stimulus of habitat destruction. Many firefly species live in areas that are being destroyed for purposes of agriculture, especially in tropical (热带的) environments that are completely destroyed for palm oil plantations.

Pesticides, on the other hand, clearly have an agricultural link. Firefly. org notes that no studies have been done specifically to examine the effects of common insecticides on fireflies, but there's evidence that raises concerns. One study indicates that common lawncare insecticides are dangerous to common insects found in lawns, including firefly larvae (幼虫), which do not fly. Another finds that insecticides can be dangerous to some of the invertebrate species, like earthworms, that the firefly larvae eat.

Artificial light pollution is trickier; research indicates that artifial light can mess with the firefly's ability to mate, which they do largely with their blinking lights. It's not clear how much artifial light pollution comes from agriculture, but some studies suggest that farming does create artificial light.

There's lots of work left to be done to figure out exactly what's going on with fireflies. But what does seem clear is that agriculture is at least tied into their decline.

【推荐3】In March 2020, a group of 16 strong elephants became international stars because of their starting long northern journey from Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province.

The group did not harm any people or animals during their long march, but caused chaos on farms. In December, a baby elephant was born.

The wild group was seen on CCTV walking down the streets of the city at night, and they were also filmed constantly by more than a dozen drones (无人机)—which, the Chinese government said, were helping to minimize damage and keep the animals and people out of danger.

The group had a sudden attack on farms for food and water and even showed up at a care home, where they reached out their trunks into some of the rooms, making one elderly man hide under his bed. Meanwhile, reports said the damage caused to crops totaled more than £700,000.

In April 2021, seventeen animals were originally in the group, but the government said two returned home during the walk.

There were many guesses about the reasons for the migration (迁徙) of the elephants. Some people thought the elephants appeared to be especially attracted to com, fruit and other crops. Others supposed that the elephants’ leader might simply be lost in the rich tropical region, which is home to about 300 other Asian elephants. But, in fact, there was no exact scientific explanation.

In order not to do any harm to the species, farmers and others were told to exercise maximum control when they met with them, while the government had ordered people to stay inside and not use firecrackers or other techniques to frighten them away. Less force was being used to keep them out of the city, like parking cars and some equipment to block roads and using food drops to attract them away.

More than 410 emergency response police, lots of vehicles and 14 drones had been used to monitor the group. Locals were evacuated (疏散); short-time traffic control measures were carried out, and two tons of elephant food was put in place. Finally, this group of migrating elephants returned to their wild living areas safely under the protection of everyone.

【推荐1】Trick or treat! With Halloween around the corner, kids are about to collect bags full of candy, including chocolate. Meanwhile, a group of researchers in the Netherlands has been experimenting with a method to make chocolate more of a “treat” than ever.

While chocolate is delicious for many reasons, this study focused on how it cracks when it is bitten. Corentin Coulais, the researcher teaching physics at the University of Amsterdam says, “To better how it feels in the mouth, we gave ‘geometry (几何学)’ to chocolate, which would then change the way it breaks.”

Giving it “geometry” involved using a 3D printer to produce dark chocolate in various ways. Rather than creating a flat, solid piece, the machine printed it into a simple S-shape, or zigzagged super-thin layers back-and-forth several times, or into increasingly complicated spirals (螺旋形). The resulting pieces were fed to 10 eager volunteers. It turned out that the crunchiest (最松脆的)—while remaining easy to bite—was the chocolate shaped into fairly complicated spirals. It was also the top tasting experience.

The researchers also used a machine to crack the various shapes and see which was the crunchiest. Plus, they recorded the sounds of the cracking, because a pleasurable eating experience doesn’t only take place in the mouth, but can be affected by the noises in your head. The general winner remained that spiral.

“It’s too early to say whether chocolate will soon be made differently,” Coulais says.

He is working with a couple of organizations to see how it might be applied in materials other than chocolate—ones that might be used in vehicles, for example, to make them less dangerous when they crash.

Understanding cracking could make life safer—in cars or airplanes or wearing helmets. It could also make those Halloween treats even tastier.

【推荐3】Recently, a satellite designed to study all water across the world has begun sending its first images back to Earth. The satellite is called SWOT, which stands for Surface Water and Ocean Topography.

The American space agency NASA says the satellite is expected to measure the elevation（海拔）of nearly all water on Earth’s surface. It is the largest and most detailed effort yet to map the world’s water.

The satellite uses instruments to glean detailed height and surface measurements of water in oceans, lakes and rivers. Researchers say the information can help them learn more about how the world’s water supply influences climate change.

One major goal of the project is to research how oceans take in atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The natural process reduces temperatures and climate change.

Data will be recorded about 90 percent of Earth’s surface. Such data can support efforts to learn about ocean currents, guess the weather and control freshwater supplies in areas with little rain. The information is also expected to help communities as they seek to improve and manage their water resources and prepare for floods and other disasters.

The images use colors to identify the elevation levels in different bodies of water. In one example of its first work, SWOT measured sea levels off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. A radar（雷达）instrument on the satellite collected data on an ocean area about 120 kilometers across.

NASA said red and orange areas in the images represented sea levels that were higher than the worldwide average. On the other hand, areas shown in blue represented sea levels that were lower than average.

SWOT’s radar instrument can also collect data through clouds and darkness. This will allow scientists to map observations under all-weather conditions and cover large areas at any time of day. The satellite will collect information on bodies of water across the globe—data that will be available to everybody who needs it.

【推荐2】On the weekends, Ciara Smart, a PhD candidate in history at the University of Tasmania, is the member of a caving club that discovered the deepest known cave in Australia.

Smart and seven fellow members of the all-volunteer Southern Tasmanian Caverneers group have officially mapped and measured their country’s deepest known cave, which is 401 vertical meters.

It’s located in Tasmania’s Mount Field National Park, northwest of the island state’s capital, Hobart. In the small but close-knit (志同道合的) caving community, one of the most important rules is that whoever discovers the cave gets to name it! For the Southern Tasmanian Caverneers, there was only one name suitable for a cave whose depth became apparent during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia — Delta Variant.

“There are a lot of different words attached to the pandemic that are quite descriptive. So we were able to go with the whole COVID-19 naming theme for the entire cave,” Smart explained.

The entrance to the cave, which is tight and narrow, is Test Station Queue. Then there's another horrible section called Close Contact, a sprawling (杂乱不堪的) horizontal bit called Superspreader Event and a wide, beautiful part now called Freedom Day.

While the cave has been discovered by pure chance, these days there are many scientific tools that cavers can use to locate their next site and collect information before even going down into other sections. Once they narrowed it down to a spot, they used dye (染料) to mark the location of the cave’s water source — a waterfall deep inside.

For Smart, the major appeal of caving is the wide range of activities it covers. “It’s sort of an addictive hobby because on the one hand, it’s great fun,” she said. “But it’s also science because we’re putting all these sections together. We’re linking them and understanding how the water flows through and how these sections form.”