【推荐1】Anything made of plastic or metal can be 3D printed nowadays — bicycles, toys, tools... even replacement body parts! But the latest trend in 3D printing may be food. Scientists and chefs are putting their heads together to create printed food.

Several 3D printers designed for food are now on the market. Anything that can be made into a soft wet mixture can be squeezed (挤压) from a tube in a 3D printer. Instead of ink, these printers can use fruits, vegetables, proteins, sweets, and more. This makes for lots of combinations that can be healthy, yummy, and even artistic.

Most 3D printers don’t actually cook the food, at least not yet. Engineers at Columbia University’s Creative Machines Lab invented an oven (烤箱) that cooks 3D-printed pizza with laser beams (激光束). A special computer program controls the lasers, heating each part of the pizza to perfection. Unlike regular ovens, lasers can carefully cook each thin piece of 3D-printed food.

In the future, food can be made with a 3D printer to meet our needs. For example, a hospital could design meals to meet patients’ dietary needs. Vitamins, minerals, and even medicines can be mixed right in. A 3D printer can make food appealing. Foods that someone may not like might be more attractive after 3D printing. Maybe that food you dislike wouldn’t seem so bad if it looked like a castle!

The idea of 3D printed food may seem very modern. In fact, NASA (美国国家航空航天局) has been researching the topic for more than ten years. On a long travel, it’s important to have food that is easy to make, tastes good, and has the nutrients astronauts need to stay healthy. Printing food on demand may soon be into the space!

【推荐2】After photographer Monni Must’s daughter Miya died, the sad mother adopted her black dog, Billy Bean. As Billy became increasingly weak, the thought of its dying was just more than Must could handle. So she decided to clone the dog. “I feared everyone was going to forget Miya,” she said, “and my other daughters thought I had completely lost my mind.”

Billy's cells were shipped to ViaGen Pets, a Texas company that provides the cloning service. With more than $50,000, Must picked up a new puppy. “The dog has a real soul and is everything my daughter was—fun, social and kind,” she said. “I feel that I still have that touchable connection and not just a spiritual connection.”

Cloning animals is hardly new. But the recent news that singer Barbra Streisand had cloned her dog grabbed international headlines. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) president Ingrid Newkirk issued a statement saying she would love to talk her out of cloning, noting that millions of wonderful dogs are getting old in animal shelters every year or dying in terrifying ways when abandoned.

Normally, a doctor takes a tissue biopsy(组织活检), a piece of skin and muscle about the size of a pencil eraser, from the dog. The next step is to take an egg cell from a donor dog, remove the egg’s nucleus, and insert DNA from the pet to be cloned. When an embryo(胚胎)develops, it is transplanted in the body of a mother dog.

In the basic cloning procedure, scientists take an entire adult cell and put it into an egg that’s been relieved of its own DNA. The resulting embryo is a clone. However, in many animals, only one in 100 cloned embryos ever leads to a live birth. Some embryos die in the IVF dish or in the mothers bodies. Of those that are born, a few suffer from abnormalities and quickly die. Besides, pet cloning doesn’t mean copying everything of your beloved pets.

【推荐3】China is currently constructing the world’s first commercial underwater data center, which marks a groundbreaking initiative. This project aims to revolutionize the industry by controlling the power of the ocean depths, resulting in significant energy and land savings. With the potential to match the computational abilities of approximately 6 million conventional personal computers, this underwater data center is ready to be a game-changer.

The data center modules of China’s underwater facility are being installed on the seafloor at depths of around 35 meters. Designed to withstand harsh underwater conditions, these modules are expected to operate sustainably for up to 25 years. Each waterproof storage module weighs an impressive 1,300 tons and can process over 4 million high-definition images every 30 seconds.

One of the most significant advantages of the underwater data center is the ability to use the natural cooling qualities of seawater. By adopting this innovative approach, the data center is estimated to save a remarkable 122 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This achievement in energy efficiency emphasizes China’s commitment to sustainability and educing environmental impact.

With the initial arrangement of one storage module in April, 2023 and the recent addition of a second module, the project is well underway. The grand plan aims to have a total of 100 modules fully operational by 2025, marking a significant milestone in sustainable data center development.

By choosing an underwater data center, China is actively addressing the challenges of land conservation. Traditional data centers often occupy vast amounts of land. In contrast, this underwater marvel takes up minimal dry space, preserving land for other essential purposes. Additionally, the use of natural sate cooling reduces the stress on traditional energy sources, leading to a significant reduction in carbon emissions. This environmentally conscious approach corresponds with global sustainability goals ad sets an example for the industry to follow.

【推荐2】Many of us were delighted to learn that a high school senior Kwasi Enin was accepted to all eight Ivy League universities. To our surprise, he wasn't excited as expected, but appeared extra calm. He announced that he would revisit the universities to find the best suitable in music or medicine. He also wanted to compare their financial aid packages.

Kwasi's success story is rare, but his reaction is not. After the admission letters arrive at home, students have 30 days to really think about what kind of school would help them grow as a person, which school would best prepare them for the future, and at which school they would be happiest. And they also have to think about whether they can afford the school they choose.

But how to answer the questions about which school is the best suitable university? Some young people are attracted to large universities with great school spirit and a list of offerings. But besides those advantages, many of these universities focus on graduate work and research, with undergraduates taught mostly by part-time instructors. Others are attracted to smaller boarding schools with discussion-based classes. But some of these schools will have much limitation for students who want a high-energy city life experience.

Many students today seem to think they should pick the university where they will get the diploma that will help them get the most highly paid job. This is a sad misunderstanding of what a college education should provide. A good college education should prepare them to overcome any difficulty and thrive in society. It helps them to form the habit of creative mind and spirit that will continue to develop far beyond their university years. So when you choose college, you should consider if it is filled with useful learning to help create new spaces for different possibilities of growth.