【推荐2】Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Gothenburg have produced new maps of mammals (哺乳动物) to date connecting all living and recently extinct mammal kinds-nearly 6,000 in total.

Earlier similar studies always left out one key group of mammals: species driven to extinction by humans.

Scientists often use these maps to predict how climate change will affect species. And because the new ones show species’ footprints, they help scientists b otter see many species have had their numbers greatly reduced by humans for example, through over hunting and the destroying of their habitats.

“Brown bears may lead us to think of Alaska or Russia today but they used to cover all the way from Mexico to Northern Africa before they were widely hunted by humans.” said Faurby.

We usually think large mammals like elephants and lions line in Africa today, but for most of the last 30 million years, big animals traveled all over the Earth. It was only recently that humans drove many of these large mammals extinct, leaving a world depauperate of large mammals.

“Even some huge species that we think of as prehistoric, lived up to the time the Great Pyramid was being built,” Davis said.

Making a database that included every species of mammal was no easy task. It took the research team at Aarhus University months just to piece together existing datasets and fill in missing holes in the data.

Marking footprints on the map for them was even harder. The scientists used both DNA information and data from some dig sites around the world with a powerful new computer algorithm (算法) to predict where the extinct species fit in with mammals that are alive today.

【推荐3】Male cockatoos (风头鹦鹉) might be the rock stars of the animal kingdom-but unsurprisingly, they mainly just do it for the female.

The Australian bird is the only animal other than humans known how to make tools to compose music, a new study says. While other animals, such as chimpanzees, enjoy drumming on sticks and logs, they don’t make their own musical tools to do it.

Robert Heinsohn, a biologist at Australia National University, first witnessed the behavior in male cockatoos in northern Australia in 1997. Then, he spent the next two decades videotaping the shy animals to find out if their drumming was truly music—defined as regular beat production, repeated components, and, of course, personal style. By analyzing the beats made by the birds, he found that the sounds were highly predictable, just like human music that had a unique style. “The cockatoo was holding what looked like a stick and beating it on the tree branch, and every so often he would pause and let out either a long whistle or a sharp scream,” he said.

Importantly, male cockatoo primarily started drumming when they were around females—about 70 percent of the time, according to his research, published this week in the journal Science.

But Heinsohn did not found the females’ reactions to the males’ music and the male cockatoos didn’t dance, either, while they produced their own unique beats-an activity that usually goes hand in hand with music for many animals in love, such as swans, cranes and birds of paradise.

So Heinsohn thought such behavior may not be learned for courtship (求爱). “It seems that they are open to the pleasure of rhythm, just like humans,” he says. “As soon as one male works out a pleasing drumming rhythm that gets the approval from the females, they would stay together to enjoy it.”

【推荐2】In recent years, scientists have discovered that mushrooms are much more than just a tasty addition to your favorite dish. In fact, they are the “Internet of trees” — a vast network of underground mycorrhizal (菌根的) fungi (真菌) that connects trees and other plants in a similar way to how the Internet connects people.

The mycorrhizal network is made up of hyphae (菌丝),which connect the roots of different plants and trees. These hyphae act like an underground internet, allowing plants to exchange nutrients, water, and even hormones (激素). For example, if one tree is under stress due to drought or disease, it can send out hormones to warn other nearby trees of the danger. The other trees can then prepare themselves for the coming threat.

Human beings can help trees and mushrooms by practicing “mycorestoration” in regenerative projects. With the Global Tree Initiative working towards reforestation and preserving natural habitats, it is important to share how mycorestoration can supply innovative ways to mitigate the impact of human activities.

Fungi are natural decomposers (分解器) that break down complex organic matter, like dead trees, into simpler compounds that can be absorbed by plants. This decomposition process is crucial for the health of our forests, as it contributes to nutrient cycling, soil formation, and carbon sequestration. By introducing native fungi species into areas where deforestation has occurred, we can help regenerate soil and support the growth of new trees. Fungi form symbiotic (共生的) relationships with tree roots, improving their ability to absorb water and nutrients. This increased access to resources accelerates tree growth and improves their resilience to stress, such as drought or disease.

Fostering sustainable communities through mycorestoration can be conducted through global partnerships that promote ecology within Ecovillage Design Education. The Global Ecovillage Network’s presence in five continents and in over 8,000 communities around the planet, helps the regenerative approach to community building and preservation of existing forests. By promoting sustainable land management practices and reducing our reliance on extractive industries, ecovillages can help prevent deforestation and protect the habitats of countless plant and animal species.

【推荐3】Scientists and spiritual teachers alike agree that the simple act of smiling can transform you and the world around you. It can make us appear more attractive to others.     1     So before you read on, slap a nice, genuine smile on that face of yours.

The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness. For starters, smiling activates the release of neuropeptides (神经肽) that work toward fighting off stress. The feel-good neurotransmitters (神经介质) are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well.     2    

You’re actually better-looking when you smile. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that seeing an attractive, smiling face activates the region in your brain that processes sensory rewards.     3     It also explains the 2011 findings by researchers at the Face Research Laboratory. They found that both men and women were more attracted to images of people who made eye contact and smiled than those who did not.

Did you know that your smile is actually contagious (传染性的)? In a Swedish study, subjects were shown pictures of several emotions: joy, anger and surprise. When the picture of someone smiling was presented, the researchers asked the subjects to frown. Instead, they found that the facial expressions went directly to what subjects saw.    5     If they don’t, they’re making a conscious effort not to.

【推荐3】According to archaeological evidence, at least 5, 000 years ago, and long before the rise of the.Roman Empire, the Babylonians began to measure time, introducing calendars mainly to regulate planting and harvesting. They based their calendars on the cycles of the sun and the moon. Before the invention of artificial light, the moon had greater social impact. For those living near the equator in particular, its changes were more noticeable than the passing of the seasons. So the calendars that were developed at lower latitudes were influenced more by the lunar cycle than by the solar year. In more northern areas, however, where seasonal agriculture was practiced, the solar year became more vital.

Centuries before the Roman Empire, the Egyptians had developed a calendar having twelve months of thirty days, with five days added to approximate to the solar year. They divided the day into twelve temporal or seasonal hours. A temporal hour was one twelfth of the time from sunrise to sunset. Similarly, they divided the night into twelve hours from sunset to sunrise. These periods became known as temporal hours because their duration varied according to the changing length of days and nights with the passing of the seasons. In the daytime, summer hours were long, and winter ones short. Temporal hours, which were first adopted by the Greeks and then the Romans, who spread them through Europe, remained in use for more than 2,500 years.

In order to track temporal hours during the day, inventors created sundials(日晷). To keep time during the night, inventors designed another time keeping instrument called the water clock. One of the first water clocks was a basin with a small hole near the bottom through which the water fell in drops. The falling water level showed the passing hour as it dipped below hour lines cut on the inner surface. Although these instruments performed satisfactorily around the Mediterranean, they could not always be depended on in the cloudy and often freezing weather of northern Europe. As a result, generations of inventors put their efforts into designing all-weather, more accurate timekeeping instruments.