【推荐1】Chinese astronauts conducted a science lecture to millions of students on Dec 9. They did so from 400 kilometers above Earth, from the Tiangong space station. The three astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, showed life in space and conducted experiments in microgravity.

“It was the first lecture of the Tiangong Class, China’s first space lecture series,” noted China Daily. “Its goal is to popularize space science.”

In the lecture, Ye carried out experiments about cell growth in a weightless environment. He compared the growth and shape of cells in artificial gravity and zero-gravity to study their changing rules and mechanisms (机制) in space, according to CGTN. This was not the first time that China has tried to cultivate plants in space. As early as 2016, Chinese scientists grew rice on the Tiangong II space lab to study how plants grow without an Earth-like environment.

Another experiment in the space lecture was shown by Wang Yaping. She illustrated how a paper flower “bloomed” on the surface of water in Tiangong space station. She explained that the surface tension (张力) of water is magnified (放大) in space due to zero gravity.

Surface tension plays a key role in product development. Researchers around the world are measuring surface tension to improve the quality of their products, according to Biolin Scientific, a science company.

Detergent formulations (洗涤剂配方) are made better to improve their cleaning abilities with even lower amounts. Paints are especially designed to stick better on the surfaces they are applied to. Surface tension also has impacts in drug development.

【推荐2】At the age of eight, Leon Portz was gradually losing his eyesight due to a born condition when he was given his first computer. By the age of nine, he had figured out how to speed up the machine-generated voice that could read out texts on websites and some electronic devices, allowing him to get the information faster. He now listens to texts much more quickly than before.

But his love of science only truly developed when he moved from his hometown in central Germany to Marburg, a medieval (中世纪的) university town, to attend a school for the blind. As it turned out, that move transported him into a place of inclusive innovation.

Marburg proudly calls itself a city for blind people. As an educational institute for the blind, the Blista in German was founded here during World War I, to provide opportunities for young men blinded in the war. The institute has had countless inventions for blind people since then. It has also shaped the town around it, turning it into a place where “everything is ideal for blind people”.

Marburg is small and hilly, so you can easily find where you are. Different kinds of leisure facilities span the city, such as a horse-riding school for the blind, and blind rowing, football, climbing and skiing clubs.

The Blista and its students have driven many of these inventions. Law and psychology are among the most popular course choices, as the materials can be studied easily with aids such as screen readers. Now teachers and pupils from the institute are trying another field: the natural sciences. “I don’t feel like a pioneer, but I guess I am one,” says Portz.

【推荐3】A BUTTERFLY-SHAPED island in the central Aegean hopes to become Greece's first carbon-free tourist destination. Under a deal with the government, Volkswagen, a carmaker, has donated several new electric vehicles for use by Astypalea's public services; it will sell others at cost price lo its 1,200 residents. In return, the government has offered some money for islanders to buy electric cars and will build a hybrid solar and wind-fueled power plant to replace a group of polluting diesel-fired generators (柴油发电机).

Unlike other nearby islands, Astypalea is not connected to Greece's electricity grid. With only 3,000 rooms for visitors in small hotels or flats, tourism is still low-key. Many residents make a living in the old-fashioned ways: raising goats, keeping bees and fishing. The island was selected for Volkswagen's e-mobility experiment after Nikos Komineas, the go-ahead mayor, contacted the transport ministry for help in finding an electric bus to try out on its rugged roads.

Most islanders sound keen on the project. Mr Komineas expects the number of private cars on Astypalea to fall by a third over the next five years. Its residents, he says, will get around on e-scooters and electric minibuses, which will be free, linked to a mobile-phone app and available all day.

Some observers find the plan a little impractical. A plan for a solar park that would generate half the island's electricity within three years will not get under way before the tourist season ends. A single wind turbine (涡轮机) will be installed only in 2026, assuming the licensing process goes smoothly. That is not normally the case in the Aegean, where islanders worry that tourists will go elsewhere if the view is spoiled by a turbine 200 meters high. And even then, the hybrid power unit is planned to cover only about 80%of summer demand. But it is a start.