【推荐2】Mars exploration is a significant scientific expedition and it’s like the Apollo missions on the Moon 50 years ago. While human-led missions to Mars seem likely in the coming decades, what are our prospects of long-term habitation on Mars? Scientists have found a way to grow cyanbacteria, also known as blue-green algae (水藻), on Mars. It’s a discovery that could lead to human habitation of the Red Planet.

Cyanobacteria are tiny living things found in water. They release oxygen during photosynthesis (the process by which organisms use sunlight to make their own food). The algae can also transform other gases, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen, into nutrients, substances that help living things grow. Scientists think that a huge rise in the numbers of cyanobacteria 2.4 billion years ago is what made Earth’s atmosphere breathable.

Mars’ atmosphere is mostly made up of carbon dioxide and nitrogen and there is little oxygen in Mars’s atmosphere. So researchers are hoping the blue-green algae could be used to allow plants to grow there too, for food and medicines. However, it is impossible to grow blue-green algae on Mars naturally. To solve this problem, a team of scientists from the University of Bremen, in Germany, have developed a special bioreactor (生物反应器) called Atmos. A bioreactor is a machine for growing microbes. Using this, the team, led by Dr Cyprien Verseux, showed how cyanobacteria could be grown using resources found on Mars.

Not only did the algae grow as hoped, but they also helped other organisms, such as bacteria, to grow. The bioreactor is still just a test version. It just starts and there is still a long way to go. However, Verseux hopes that the results can inspire a system that could one day support life on Mars.

【推荐1】Premier Wen Jiabao has called it a prime job to maintain a stable and relatively fast economic development and take more direct, powerful and effective measures to carry out central policies on increasing domestic demands and promoting economic growth.

During an inspection tour in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality from Dec.21 to 22, Wen visited a number of local factories, communities, villages and worksites.

In a visit to the reservoir worksite, Wen was told that Chongqing plans to invest 40 billion yuan ($5.88 billion) in water conservation projects in the coming five years as part of its efforts to increase domestic demands and improve the quality of life. “We must make good use of every coin of the people,” he said.

At a workshop of the Chang’an Group, the premier showed great concerns over the negative impacts of the global financial crisis on the city’s automobile industry.

The company’s car sales have been declining since November. It is expected to further decrease in the first quarter of next year, said the company’s president Xu Liuping.

Wen said that the difficulties in the country’s automobile industry are temporary, because “China has a huge market.”

Wen urged the company to depend on innovation and reform while improving quality and decreasing the cost. “Company leaders must be bold to shoulder responsibilities and the staff should unite as one, to get over the difficulties together,” he said.

On Monday morning, the premier paid a visit to a communal social security center to learn about the life of low-income families. “The more financially challenged we are, the greater attention we should pay to those in need,” he stressed.

At the home of 76-year-old Ren Gouqing, the premier said the government had decided to continue increasing the pension of retirees, as well as the subsidies for low-income families and other families who receive government subsidies.

During his tour in the city, Wen paid an unplanned visit to Chongqing University, where he met thousands of students and encouraged them to be confident in the difficult times.

【推荐2】A recent study published in Pediatrics, the journal for the American Academy of Pediatrics, throws light on a concerning trend—increasing anterior cruciate ligament (韧带) (ACL) injuries among youth, with girls facing a higher risk compared to their boy classmates.

“Usually, you feel a pop in the knee and then see swelling,” says Dr. Randall Schultz, an orthopedic (骨科) surgeon with Texas Orthopedics. Although the pain can vary, seeking medical attention promptly is crucial. “While not always requiring an emergency room visit, consulting a doctor within a day or after the weekend, along with immediate use of ice, is recommended.” he advises.

Sports characterized by abrupt changes in direction—such as soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, and even football—emerge as common offenders for ACL injuries. The risk of ACL injuries goes up for girls once they hit age 12 or 13 and for boys around age 14 or 15. Why? Adolescence. This is a time when kids grow faster and their bodies can’t always keep up, which is especially true in the leg’s tibia (胫骨) and femur bones (股骨). For girls, hormones also make their ligaments looser, while boys’ muscles help them handle their rapidly growing bones.

Apart from immediate challenges, ACL injuries can have lasting consequences. Athletes who sustain an ACL injury are ten times more likely to get knee arthritis (关节炎) early. Surprisingly, only around half of athletes over 18 returned to their previous level of performance after an ACL injury, and the chances of more ACL injuries go up by 15 percent.

Bethany Thoresen, the director of Texas Orthopedics, says ACL injury prevention involves strengthening not only the knees but also the hips and leg muscles as well as building core strength. He also suggests incorporating exercises like Pilates to achieve comprehensive strengthening. Seeking guidance from trainers before injury strikes can help identify and address weaknesses effectively.

A critical aspect of ACL injury prevention is ensuring balanced sports participation. Encouraging kids to engage in a variety of activities and providing adequate rest days can prevent muscle overuse and imbalances, ultimately safeguarding their well-being.

【推荐3】Chinese students are showing their enthusiasm and innovative thinking about mobile applications in coming up with a series of innovative apps to solve social problems and help enrich lives.

Li Xiang, a student at Zhejiang University, developed a mobile app with two schoolmates that can help users develop good habits by building and feeding virtual electronic pets.

A special digital pet is produced in the app Weier, which sounds similar to the English word “well”. A user’s daily behavior is used to help it grow.

“When users complete their daily exercise goals, their electronic pets will also be full of energy, and when they go to bed too late at night, their pets will have black circles under their eyes,” Li said. The digital pet is like a projection of the user in the virtual world. But unlike other digital projections that focused on the similarity with the user’s physical appearance, the app cares more about the user’s character and behavior.

The app is one of more than 1,400 projects developed by students from more than 500 universities in the 2021 Mobile Application Innovation Contest, co-organized by Zhejiang University and the US tech company Apple Inc.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said in a post on Weibo that it was great to see the talent on display at the contest. Students designed winning apps that help deal with important issues like improving access to healthcare and technology.

“Many of these young developers have gone on to become entrepreneurs, developers and teachers in their own right, and they are using the skills they’ve learned to make the world a better place,” Cook said.

“Every student should have the opportunity to create something that can change the world, and we’ve seen firsthand how coding has changed the global economy, creating new industries and supporting millions of jobs,” said Isabel Ge Mahe, vice-president of Apple Greater China.