【推荐1】You might associate bees with their cute, fuzzy shape and seemingly aimless interest in flowers. But beneath the yellow-and-black (mostly) stripes lies an incredible mind. To efficiently find and collect food to bring back to the hive, bees have to quickly learn to recognize (and then memorize) the most effective foraging routes.

A new study collected evidence from 23 studies of bees and concluded that levels of pesticides (杀虫剂) currently considered safe to use may still have a big effect on bee colony (蜂群) survival.

They found that pesticides had significant negative effects on learning and memory. That was true both when bees were suddenly exposed to a lot of pesticides, and when they got a little bit over a long time. It was also true regardless of whether the bees were exposed to neonicotinoids (新烟碱类杀虫剂), or other pesticides.

Current pesticide regulations are geared (便适应) toward making sure they aren’t used at levels that kill bees. But these currently legal amounts apparently make the bees dumber, which could have effects for species survival.

The other question these findings implicitly (含蓄地) raise is how these pesticides affect less-studied types of bees. Bees don’t all live collectively. Many wild bees do not live in colonies, and if their learning or memory are affected, there are no other bees to help out.

Ohio State University entomologist Reed Johnson told Popular Science in an email interview, the question is: “Can pesticides ever be used safely around bees?” This study, which in one sense has the strength of 23 studies’ worth of evidence,” suggests that the answer is NO,” he wrote.

The follow-up question goes deep into one of our most fundamental needs-food. Pesticides are an essential part of large-scale industrial agriculture, and some amount of honeybee exposure is inevitable. The question, then-which hasn’t been answered by regulation to date, Johnson says-is how much harm to bees is acceptable.

As ever, more research is needed. But this study is worth paying attention to, University of Ottawa bee conservationist Jeremy Kerr told Popular Science. Its conclusions are based on evidence from over 100 individual experiments included in the 23 studies, he says, lending their findings weight.” The lesson that emerges is that honeybees begin to lose their ability to learn and to remember when they are exposed to neonicotinoids,”he writes.

“With restrictions on neonicotinoids increasing globally, many will be looking on alternative chemicals for crop protection.” It’s important to think about what those chemicals might be doing to the bees.

【推荐2】Antaretica’s ice-white environment is going green and facing other unexpected threats. Scientists say that as temperatures go up in the polar region, invading (入侵) plants and insects, including the flies, cause a major conservation threat.

More and more of these invaders, in the form of larvae (幼虫) or seeds, are surviving in coastal areas around the South Pole, where the temperature has risen by more than 3℃ over the past three decades. Glaciers have retreated, exposing more land which has been occupied by mosses that have been found to be growing more quickly and thickly than ever before-providing potential green homes for invaders.

“The common house flies are a perfect example of the problem the Antarctic now faces from invading species,” said Dominic Hodgson of the British Antarctic Survey. “It comes in on ships, where it exists in kitchens and then at bases on the continent. It now has an increasing chance of surviving in the Antarctic as it warms up, and that is a worry. Insects like the house flies carry bacteria that could have a deadly effect on native lifeforms.”

The Antarctic has several native species of insects. Together with its native mosses, these are now coming under increased threat from three major sources: visiting scientists, increasing numbers of tourists and global warming. However, it is global warming that is the main driver of the greening of Antarctica.

In 2015, more than 38,000 tourists visited Antarctica. “These tourists are often very careful about not leaving waste or having mud. But they could carry seeds or larvae on their boots when they set foot on the Antarctic,” said Hodgson.

More and more invasive insects and plants have been found on the Antarctic and have required removal. “the insects and plants that are native to Antarctica have survived these for thousands of years,” said Hodgson. “We have got to act now if we want to save the environment.”

【推荐2】Psychologists tell us our self-image defines what we believe we can and cannot do. Each of us over the years has built up belief about ourselves: Unconsciously, our pictures of who we are have been formed by past experiences. Our successes and failures, what others have told us and what we think people believe about us all help form impressions of what we think we are. As self-image plays a crucial role in our growth, gaining a proper understanding of it and even making changes to it can hold significant meaning for our development.

Changing our self-image is possible: Some psychologists suggest we begin to change our self-image by mentally picturing ourselves performing well at some tasks. Since we presently react to things based on our present images, it’s suggested that we replace those with better ones. In many experiments, people were asked to sit quietly for a few minutes each day and imagine themselves doing well. For instance, subjects would sit and imagine themselves throwing darts (飞镖) at a bull’s-eye on a target. Over a period of weeks, their dart game improved. This has been done with people who wanted to play chess better, throw a ball more accurately, increase their salesmanship or musical talents, or improve many other skills. In most cases, remarkable improvement is made.

The point of changing self-image is not to develop an image of ourselves that is not real. To try to become something we really aren’t is just as wrong as living the unrealistic, inferior image we may have. The aim is to find the real self and to bring our mental images of ourselves in line with our true potential. However, it is generally accepted among psychologists that most of us fail to do justice to ourselves. We’re usually better than we think we are.

Another important part of changing self-image is to not think about past mistakes. Don’t let failures do harm. Our errors or humiliation over mistakes are necessary steps in learning. It is all right to make mistakes. But when they have taught us what we did wrong, we should forget them and not dwell on (纠结于) them. Sometimes we keep remembering our failures or mistakes and feel guilty or embarrassed about them. We let them take over, and then we develop a fear.

It is important to have realistic expectations of ourselves. Some of our dissatisfaction might come from expecting too much of ourselves. If we demand constant perfection in everything we do, we can be disappointed and our poor self-image will continue. If our goal is to reach perfection, we are doomed (注定要失败的) from the start.

【推荐3】The Southern Ocean is well known for its storms, which can sink ships and cause flooding on distant islands. Now, a new study suggests the biggest waves there already the world's largest—are getting bigger, thanks to faster winds.

For the past 33 years, global satellites have been collecting data on ocean waves—and the winds that drive them. But explaining the data is difficult: different satellites can give different wind speeds.

To reduce those differences, Ian Young and Augustine’s   Ribald , at the University of Melbourne in Australia, compared information from different satellites and corrected their data against an independent data set collected by a global network of buoys (浮标) floating in the ocean. When they were done, a trend stood out: since 1985, ocean wind speeds in most of the world have increased between 1 centimeter and 2 centimeters per second per year, leading to increases in wave height in many places.

In the Southern Ocean, the trend is particularly strong. For example, although wind speeds there have increased by 2 centimeters per second each year, the speed of the top 10% fastest winds has increased by 5 centimeters per second per year. And although average (平均的) wave heights there have increased by just 0.3 centimeters per year, the top 10% highest has grown by an average of 1 centimeter per year a growth of 30 centimeters since 1985, they report today in Science.

Young and Ribald   have done a good job of cross-checking and double-checking from the three different types of satellite instrument, says Ole Johan at the University of Bergen in Norway. But, he adds, it might be “optimistic” to think that the data now contain no errors Confirming the ire I likely require more work, he believes.

【推荐1】Imagine this scene: it’s very windy outside, you’re snuggled up on the sofa under a warm blanket, chatting and talking about pleasant past events with your closest friends.

That comfortable feeling has a name in Danish—“hygge”. And, as Denmark recently won the title of ‘happiest country in the world’, the rest of the world is becoming more and more interested in finding ways to embrace this concept.

“Hygge”—originally from a Norwegian word meaning “wellbeing”—doesn't have an exact equivalent in English. It’s often translated as cosiness, or “cosiness of the soul.” But, as translator ToveMaren Stakkestad explains: “Hygge was never meant to be translated. It was meant to be felt.”

Essentially, Hygge involves creating a warm, cosy atmosphere and enjoying it with your loved ones. Danish winters are long and dark and so achieving “hygge” is particularly relevant during this season. A typical “hygge” activity during winter could be, enjoying delicious homemade food and light-hearted conversation with friends – preferably in the warm glow of candlelight; or maybe sipping a glass of warm wine in the hot tub after a day spent skiing.

However, Hygge isn’t only limited to the cold winter months—it can also describe that warm, fuzzy feeling you get after a walk through a forest with friends on summer’s day or a family barbecue in the park.

“Hygge” is currently taking the world by storm with more and more people becoming obsessed with achieving a state of wellbeing. Articles, books and stocking fillers, full of tips on how to achieve hygge, are hitting the market. Although some believe this has become a marketing and advertising action, the benefits of staying happy cannot be underestimated. So, as the winter nights draw in, instead of hibernating, get into your favourite pajama, bake some cookies and lie down by a roaring fire with a good book. And if you can do this with friends and family, even better—hygge is meant to be shared.

【推荐2】Though not as mainstream as devices like smartphones and fitness trackers, more companies are now experimenting with the concept of connected garments. Among the pioneers is London-based CuteCircuit, whose latest creation is the “Sound Shirt”, which allows deaf people to “feel” live music by transforming the tunes into touch sensations in real time.

The fashionable jacket achieves the incredible function using software that changes the music into data and wirelessly sends it to the 16-micro motors fitted inside the clothing’s fabric. The devices shake in sync（同步）to the intensity(强度）of the music being played, allowing the wearer to feel each instrument individually. The series of touch-like sensations across the wearer’s body enables them to feel the entire works, resulting in a fully amazing musical experience.

To ensure the shirt is comfortable, the designers chose to leave out wires and instead wove conductive textiles(传导纺织品) into the garment’s fabric. Francesca Rosella, co-founder, and chief creative officer of CuteCircuit, explains, “There are no wires inside, so we’re only using smart fabrics—we have a combination of microelectronics and very thin, flexible and conductive fabrics. All these little electronic motors are connected with these conductive fabrics so that the garment is soft and stretchable.”

CuteCircuit, which has been testing the Sound Shirt for three years, expects to make it available to the general public shortly. Priced at $3,673(3,000 pounds), the smart jacket will not be cheap. However, twin sisters Hermon and Heroda Berhane, who lost their hearing at a young age, believe the hi-tech garment is a worthwhile investment, especially for deaf people with a passion for dancing. “It’s almost like feeling the depth of the music,” says Hermon. “It just feels as though we can move along with it.” Heroda agrees, adding, “I think it could definitely change our lives.”