【推荐2】Good news, coffee lovers: Your daily cup of Joe might be doing good to your heart, namely by helping to reduce the risk of heart failure, suggest the findings of a new study. In an analysis of data from three large studies on the topic, researchers found that those who reported drinking one or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day had “a related decreased long-term heart failure risk”.

For the report published in Circulation: Heart Failure, researchers used machine learning to examine data from a large study from the Framingham Heart Study, referencing this data against two other studies. “Each study included at least 10 years of follow-up, and altogether the studies provided information on more than 21,000 U. S. adult participants,” researchers said.

When analyzing the Framingham Heart Study, researchers noted that when compared to non-coffee drinkers, coffee drinkers’ risk of heart failure decreased by 5% to 12% for each cup they drank each day. As for decaffeinated coffee, researchers noted that it did, not have the same benefits as caffeinated coffee, with one study suggesting that decaffeinated coffee may have an opposite effect.

Dr. David Kao, senior study author, said in a statement, “The relation between caffeine and heart failure risk reduction was surprising. Coffee and caffeine are often considered by the general population to be ‘bad’ for the heart because people relate them to health problems like palpitations, high blood pressure, etc. The relationship between increasing caffeine consumption and decreasing heart failure risk turns that thought on its head.”

“However, there is not yet enough clear evidence to prove that increasing coffee consumption can decrease the risk of heart disease with the same strength and certainty as stopping smoking, losing weight, or exercising,” Kao noted. The researchers also warned that the findings only focused on black coffee, that is, plain coffee, without added sugar and high-fat dairy products such as cream.

【推荐2】The South Pole has been warming at more than three times the global average over the past 30 years, according to research led by Ohio University professor Ryan Fogt, and Kyle Clem, who is a current postdoctoral research fellow in climate science. According to the study, this warming period was mainly driven by natural tropical climate variability and was likely strengthened by increases in greenhouse gases.

Clem and his team analyzed weather station data at the South Pole, as well as climate models to examine the warming in the Antarctic interior (内陆). They found that between 1989 and 2018, the South Pole had warmed by about 1.8℃ over the past 30 years at a rate of 0.6℃ per decade—three times the global average.

The study also found that the strong warming over the Antarctic interior in the last 30 years was mainly driven by the tropics, especially warm ocean temperatures in the western tropical Pacific Ocean. The warm temperatures changed the winds in the South Atlantic near Antarctica and increased the delivery of warm air to the South Pole. They suggest these atmospheric changes along Antarctica’s coast drove climate anomalies (异常事物) in its interior.

Clem and Fogt argued that these warming trends were unlikely the result of natural climate change alone, stressing the effects of added warming related to human activities on top of the large tropical climate signal on Antarctic climate have worked together to make this one of the strongest warming trends worldwide.

“From the very beginning, Kyle and I worked very well together and were able to accomplish more as a team than we were individually,” Fogt said. “We have published every year together since 2013, with one of our continuing collaborations being the annual State of the Climate reports. Our work on this project together each year finally led to this publication documenting the warming at the South Pole. However, most importantly for my family and me, apart from being a fantastic scientist and collaborator, Kyle is also considered as one of our closest friends.”

【推荐3】Ever since Earth formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago, its climate has gone throuugh a number of incredible changes.

In the Jurassic Period, much of our planet was covered in extremely hot and humid jungle. And in ice age, global temperature experienced a huge drop. While many species were not able to deal with thesese changing climate patterns, others successfully adapted, and some are even still with us today. Now, as humanity pushes the planet closer to another extreme climate event, scientists are eager to find out how the world’s species will react.

The idea was highlighted in a study published on April 6 in the journal PNAS, which showed that between 1970 and 2010, open water species such as lobsters (龙虾) and fish had declined by about half in tropical marine zones across the globe because over the 40-year time period, sea temperatures in those regions had risen by roughly 0.2 C.

The lower nummbers aren’t a sign of all the sea creatures dying off though. In fact, the scientists found some of them outside of their traditional habitats, meaning that if a species can migrate to cooler waters and adapt in a new environment, they will.

However, those movements aren’t always good; species that can’t move, such as coral, which is fixed to the seabed, rely on the fish and other sea creatures to contribute to the natural food chain and stay healthy. Additionally, when a non-native species moves into a new area, it threatens to disrupt the ecosystem that already exists there.

Depending on the species, it can take anywhere from one generation to thousands and thousands of yearars to properly adapt, so the changes that have occurred in just the last 40 years are very troubling for scientists. As Sebastian Ferse, an ecologist at the Leibniz Centre for Troopical Marine Research, Germany, explained: “In geological history, this has occurred in the blink of an eye. To see such changes occurring so rapidly is something quite alarming.” He added, “One of the big questions is ‘Will coral reefs as ecosystems and corals as species be able to move north or south fast enough to adjust to a changing climate?’”

【推荐1】Peppa Pig, a British preschool animated TV series, has undergone an amazing journey in adapting to Chinese culture and China’s market.

2015

In June, the Peppa Pig TV series was introduced to the Chinese market by Entertainment One and first aired on the CCTV Children’s Channel. Shortly after its publication, Peppa Pig attracted billions of views on social media platforms like iQIYI, Youku and Tudou.

2016

The Peppa Pig TV series was broadcast on the CCTV Children’s Channel for a second round. It also gained more viewers on the Golden Eagle Animation Channel, Hunan TV.

2017

The phrase “Peppa Pig Girl” became one of the hottest buzzwords on China’s Internet. It refers to a girl who holds a positive attitude toward life even though she tends to be lazy in her daily life. She might look a bit silly and often have tasty food as a top priority on her mind.

2018

Rumors claimed that Peppa Pig was banned from Douyin, China’s major video sharing platform, saying it “violates (违反) the community regulations and has not passed censorship (审查制度)”. In May, however, representatives from Douyin said the app was not forbidding Peppa Pig.

2019

According to Entertainment One, more than 40 million Peppa Pig books have been sold since its second round broadcast on CCTV. In the year of the Pig, more companies are adding Peppa-themed elements to their products for promotion.

【推荐3】As the world around them is changing, teenagers continue to need guidance and support from both parents. Studies show that teens who have an active relationship with their fathers are less likely (可能的)to involve themselves in dangerous behaviors and more likely ton succeed in school and develop higher self-worth, because their fathers go beyond social expectations to devote attention to them.

Peer (同龄人) pressure has always been a big part of the teens’ experience. Even the best father can’t completely protect their kids from the growing influence of their peer group. However, studies show that teenagers whose fathers focus on their lives are more likely to resist (抵抗) the more bad effects of peer pressure, taking drugs, for example.

Teens may not like to admit it, but they are watching their parents closely and often follow their example. An interesting finding explains just how important parents are, especially Dad. Swiss researchers discovered that if Dad attends church, even though Mom doesn’t, 44 percent of the kids are still more likely to keep going to church as adults. But if Mom goes regularly and Dad never shows up, only 2 percent of the kids continue to attend.

Teenagers face a lot of difficult choices, especially in their later teens. Fathers don’t get to make those choices for them, but they can be influenced. For example, teenagers can learn a lot from their parents’ concern on what to do when they finish high school. Should they go directly to college and, if so, where? Should they consider going to trade schools, joining the army or looking for a job?A father’s guidance brings a long-term perspective that teens often lack to these important decisions.