【推荐2】In general, the riches of the natural world aren’t spread evenly across the globe. Places like the tropical (热带的) Andes in South America are simply packed with unique species, many of which can’t be found in any other places. Until recently, the main explanation for the biological riches concentrated in places like the Amazon Basin was that such places must be engines of biodiversity (生物多样性), with new species evolving at a faster rate than other parts of the world. But now, new research on bird evolution may turn that assumption on its head, instead supporting the idea that areas with fewer species actually tend to produce new species faster.

The researchers say these biodiversity “coldspots” are generally found in environments featuring freezing, dry and unstable conditions. Though the researchers found these locations with few bird species tend to produce new ones at high rates, they fail to accumulate many species because the unstable conditions frequently make the new life forms die out.

The more well­known “hotspots”, by contrast, have accumulated their large numbers of species by being warm, hospitable and relatively stable. Indeed, the researchers found that the countless bird species that call the Amazon home tend to be older in evolutionary terms. “New species do form in places like the Amazon, just not as frequently as in the dry grasslands in the Andes,” says Elizabeth, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tennessee.

The researchers managed to collect 1,940 samples representing 1,287 of the 1,306 bird species from South America. Their analysis showed that the best predictor of whether an area would produce new species at a high rate was how many species lived there, rather than climate or geographic features like mountains. Species­rich areas tended to produce new species more slowly.

“Maybe bad environments generate new species more frequently because there’s less competition and more available opportunities for new species,” says Gustavo Bravo, a lead researcher.

The study’s findings add new urgency to protect ecosystems that may look barren, but may actually be nature’s hothouses for the evolution of new species.

【推荐3】HandEnergy is an ingenious apple-sized device that charges your phone anytime, anywhere. But what really makes this thing special is the fact that it uses your own personal energy to do it.

In a time where power-banks and solar-power devices have become mainstream, a device that lets you charge gadgets on the go doesn't sound very special. But while power-banks have to be charged the old fashioned way, and solar panels need the sun to store energy.

Hand Energy just needs a hand. To get this little guy to produce energy, which it then stores in built-in batteries, all you have to do is hold it in your hand and rotate your wrists.

To use Hand Energy, users start by winding a starter ring. This transmits a signal to activate the rotor, at which point they can start rotating their wrists to keep the rotor spinning. It might sound hard to believe, but the rotor inside Hand Energy spins at an average speed of 5,000 rotations per minute, transmitting mechanical power to create an electric current, and charging the built-in batteries. To charge a device, all you have to do is hook it up to HandEnergy using a USB cable.

Hand Energy was successfully crowd funded on Kickstarter, raising over $71,000 in one month, and will be available for the masses in May 2017, at a price of 99 euros. One thing is for sure – it beats paying thousands of dollars on a solar-powered gadget-charging coat.