1 . Humans make decisions using statistical information every day. For example, we weigh the likelihood of various factors when deciding what to bet in card games.

However, humans aren’t alone in using statistical inferences in decision-making. Until now, human cousins like monkeys and also some birds have been identified as the only animals to show evidence of reasoning based on probability and statistics, which requires advanced mental power. These animals have large brains relative to their body size, which is often associated with high intelligence.

Researchers from the University of Barcelona oppugned such statements and suspected that an animal with a small brain relative to its body size could perform statistical reasoning as well.

Giraffes were an ideal choice. But researchers had a concern: When we choose a checkout line at a grocery store, we typically just count the number of people in each line, not weighing the probability. Statistical reasoning is quite distinct from basic counting. Giraffes have already exhibited an ability to perform quantity discrimination, being able to tell a larger number of items from a smaller number, which poses a challenge for the researchers to confirm their suspicion.

So the research team settled on a special approach where they started with a mixture of carrots the animal desires along with zucchinis (密生西葫芦) they dislike and varied the number and proportion (比例) of both items.

The researchers placed different proportions of carrots and zucchinis into two plastic containers to test whether the giraffes could predict a higher likelihood of receiving a carrot. Each test consisted of 20 trials in which a researcher selected a piece of food from each container without showing it to the giraffes. The giraffes then touched the hand they wanted to eat from, using only the information they had from the containers.

In the first test, where one container had 20 carrots and 80 zucchinis and another had go carrots and 20 zucchinis, each giraffe chose the hand that had a higher probability of holding a carrot at least 17 times. In the following two tests, the proportion of carrots and zucchinis was changed. Yet again the giraffes chose correctly.

The combined results indicated that the researchers’ idea held water.

2 . Many people have a too rosy view of the beverage and are surprised when confronted with the facts about it on a nutrition label, according to our recent study.

Right now, people usually think of red wine as a “virtue” rather than a “vice”, thanks to popular belief about its health benefits. But requiring nutrition labels, which are currently voluntary, could change those views.

In our experimental research, which included nearly 800 participants, we found that American consumers aren’t used to seeing nutrition information on wine labels, and most are surprised by what they read since they don’t associate wine with calories, carbohydrates and sugar. People who were prompted to read labels viewed wine as less healthy than they did beforehand, and they were less likely to buy it.

We also found that people are more surprised by the sugar content of sweeter wines, such as Moscato, than by the number of calories. Sweet wines, in particular, may contain more sugar than consumers realize.

Nutrition labels don’t need to be bad news for the wine industry. Wine sales have recently declined among those aged 60 and younger, and greater transparency in labeling could help rekindle young consumers’ interest. Millennial and Gen Z consumers may especially appreciate clearer labels, since they could help them view wine as less mysterious and more accessible. They may also allow them to fit an occasional glass of wine into their personal health goals.

What’s more, there’s been a recent trend toward wine packaging including labels like “organic” and “sustainable”, which may appeal to consumers’ preference for sustainability. These labels have less to do with nutrition than with manufacturers trying to appear eco-friendly—but makers of natural wine would likely benefit most from offering nutrition information.

And there’s still more to learn about how nutrition labels affect behavior. Studies have shown mixed results, but on the whole, labeling appears to make people cut their calorie intake somewhat. Still, the U. S. put nutrition labels on foods in the 1990s, and that hasn’t stopped the obesity rate from rising.

3 . On the beaches, in the deepest reaches of the backcountry — even nearly 100 feet underwater, the noise of navy training jets (喷气式飞机) is unbearable for people and even endangered southern residents — tiger whales, a new scientific research shows.

In a paper published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, scientists reported an underwater microphone fixed in nearly 100 feet of water offshore of the runway at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, clearly picked up the sound of the jets, at levels known to affect tiger whales’ behaviour. “To the tiger whales at that depth, the noise is about as loud as a ship 650 feet away,” said Rob Williams, lead scientist and an author on the paper.

Tiger whales use sound to find food, so underwater noise can affect their ability to get enough to eat. Lauren Kuehne, lead author on the paper, said she was surprised at just how clear the jet noise was even deep underwater, showing the noise easily spreads to depths where Chinook Salmon, the tiger whales’primary prey (猎物) , are often found. “Mentally I was prepared for noise, but not for that; it was clear as a bell. It has given me a whole new appreciation. We don’t use our ears the way animals do. For them, it is life and death,” said Kuehne.

The number and duration of daily overflights, the team stressed, also outnumber those in a majority of studies that have dug into the impacts of noise from military aircraft, worldwide.

Williams said the study demolishes the assumption that the noise of the jets doesn’t travel underwater. “The original understanding is that the noise is going to bounce off the ocean,” Williams said. “Here we show it doesn't. The sound goes underwater. We have shown that it is noisy, and noisy enough to require paying attention to.”

4 . A real-world study by researchers at NTU Singapore has revealed that the application of cool paint coatings in cities can help pedestrians feel up to 1.5 degrees Celsius cooler, making the urban area more comfortable for work and leisure.

Cool paint coatings contain additives that reflect the sun’s heat to reduce surface heat absorption and emission. They have been regarded as a potential solution to cool down the urban area and combat the Urban Heat Island effect, a phenomenon in which urban areas experience warmer temperatures than their outlying surroundings.

Now, NTU researchers have conducted a pioneering real-world study to comprehensively evaluate how well cool paint coatings work in reducing city heat.

To carry out their real-world experiments, the NTU researchers selected four rectangular buildings that created two “street canyons” — narrow streets lined by buildings. One canyon, or “cool canyon” was coated with cool paints on the roofs, walls, and road pavement, while the other canyon remained as it was as a “control” for the experiment. Using environmental sensors, the NTU team monitored the conditions in the two canyons over two months, which included air movement, surface and air temperature, humidity, and radiation, to see how well the cool paint coatings worked in reducing city heat.

The researchers found that during a 24-hour cycle, the cool canyon saw up to a 30%reduction in heat released from the built-up surfaces, resulting in the air temperature in the cool canyon being cooler than the conventional canyon by up to 2°C during the hottest time of the day, at around 4 pm. As a result, pedestrians in the cool canyon can feel up to 1.5°C cooler. The NTU research team also found that air temperature in the cool canyon was lowered because less heat was absorbed by and stored in the building walls, roofs, and roads, which would subsequently have been released to either heat up the surrounding air or the building’s inside.

With global warming, people will increasingly look for ways to stay cool. The study shows how cool paint coatings can be a strategy to reduce the Urban Heat Island effect in future.

5 . David loved his grandson Philip dearly. The boy reminded him of himself at an early age. They had a lot of fun together, exploring the backyard and hiking in the nearby park. However, one weekend, Philip felt ill and had to stay in bed. David made sure to keep his grandson entertained by finding a book they could enjoy together.

Before handing it to Philip, he decided to leaf through it and look back at the story. However, while looking through it, he didn’t expect to see another piece of his youth, this time in the form of a photograph of him and his old friends. There were four in the picture — David, Steve, Dorothy, and Teresa. They were neighbors and often went to the beach together. In the photo, the four of them were playing on the sand.

Suddenly, David wondered about the people in the photograph, curious to know where life had taken them.

Philip noticed that and asked “What happened, Grandpa?” David smiled, excitedly taking the book and the photo to Philip. “Look, Philip. This is an old photo of my friends and me!” he said. “I wish I could meet them again.” Philip suggested looking for them on Facebook. Through Philip’s tablet, they searched for David’s friends. To Philip’s surprise, they weren’t on the social media platform.

David decided to go to his hometown to find Steve, Dorothy, and Teresa. The town had changed a lot and he found that Dorothy’s and Steve’s houses were no longer there. Still hopeful, David decided to visit the last address, which was Teresa’s. A young girl opened the door. “I’m sorry, young lady. I was just looking for Teresa Green, but I might have gotten the address wrong,” he said.

Suddenly, the girl shouted, “Grandma, you have a visitor!”

7 . Anime（二次元） culture has become a very common culture in our daily life. As people's minds become more and more open, most people gradually begin to accept anime culture. Although increasingly more young people like anime culture than before, many still don't know why there are so many people like anime culture in reality. What is its attractive charm?

First and foremost, anime is not immature and cynical（玩物丧志的）. Many people don't understand people who like anime, just because they don't try to understand anime. They only evaluate it through other people's words and their own knowledge. Of course, the comments are not very pleasant. After all, the older generation don't agree with anime.

Moreover, the reason why today's young people like anime so much is not because they are killing time, nor because they are addicted to animation, but because of pressure. Today's society is completely different from that of the 1980s. Back then, having a motorcycle or a big TV at home was already impressive. But now, cars, houses, and savings are everywhere, and young people are easily suffocated（扼制）.

When we see anime protagonists invincible in the drama, willing to sacrifice everything to defeat enemies for their dreams and friends, it's like seeing us unwilling to be outdone in reality. Aren't those bosses in anime just like the things that bring us pressure in reality? When we see anime protagonists hitting them one after another, it's like we're putting all the pressure on ourselves, and we feel exhilarated（畅快淋漓）.

In recent years, the rapidly rise popularity of anime games such as Genshin Impact（原神） and Love of Light and Night（光与夜之恋） has certainly brought a rich side to the life of the current young generation. Luo Xiang once said: "Paper people are virtual, and after a long time in the virtual story, they are unwilling to enter the real story." It is normal to embrace anime cultural , but we still need to have expectations for the future and believe in our youth and dreams.

8 . ARTISTIC FLOWERTEA

Artistic flower teas, also called blooming teas, are a combination of green tea leaves and various types of flowers such as Globe Amaranth, Marigold, Lily, Jasmine, Osmanhtus and Carnation Flower, skillfully tied together into bundles.The specially designed flower teas will bloom into beautiful, artful shapes when brewed (冲泡). By the time enjoying the sweet scent of it you can also view the tea displaying as flowers in the water. They therefore should be brewed in a tall clear glass or glass teapot. Bring this charming and attractive flower tea to your customers by cooperating with Teas and Thes on the wholesale of flower teas.

When the little round tea is swelling in the hot water, you will firstly see jasmine coming out through the crack between green tea’s leave.Several jasmines float in a line, looking like a baby growing in parents’ arms.

True Love Flowering Tea is made up of high quality Silver Needle Green Tea, Jasmine, Marigo ld and Amaranth flowers.When brewed, it looks like two people standing and looking at each other. Sharing this tea is the perfect way to tell someone how much you love him/her.

Look at this Christmas Tree Flower Tea: the Globe Amaranth, Chrysanthemum and Marigold are strung together into a line, just looking like a Christmas tree when blooming. The red Chrysanthemum and Marigold are just like candles, bringing warmness and hope.

When the little round tea is swelling in the hot water, you will firstly see marigold coming out. Several marigold float on the base of silver needle green tea and lily, which makes it look like a baby growing in parents’ arms, symbolizing the happy life of a family.

10 . How often have you wondered what the boy sitting across from you on the bus is really thinking? It seems that you will never really know for sure. After all, the content of our thoughts is unperceivable to anyone else.

Neuroscience (神经科学) research into how we think and what we’re thinking makes it possible to watch directly into the brain to read out the physical make-up of our thoughts, some would say to read our minds.

The technology that is changing what once was impossible in science into just plain science is a specialized use of MRI scanning (扫描) called “functional MRI”, fMRI for short. It makes it possible to see what’s going on inside the brain while people are thinking.

What neuroscientist Marcel Just and his colleagues have done is combine fMRI’s ability to look at the brain in action with computer science's new power to sort through massive amounts of data. The goal is to see if they could identify exactly what happens in the brain when people think specific thoughts.

They did an experiment where they asked subjects to think about ten objects—five of them tools like scissors or rulers, and live of them buildings like castles or towers. They then recorded and analyzed the activity in the subjects’ brains for each. When we think “ruler” or “tower” for example, Just says neurons start firing at varying levels of intensity (强度)   in different areas throughout the brain. “And we found that we could identify which object they were thinking about from their brain activation patterns (激活模式) . We're identifying the thought that’s taking place,” he said.

IMRI scanning has already been used to try to figure out what we want to buy and how to sell it to us. It’s a new field called “neuromarketing”. One of its pioneers, Gemma Calvert, says it’s a growing field. “What we’ve seen is a sort of snowballing effect over the last few years.”