2 . Sharon downsized her parents’ home and then cleared out her father’s stuff after he died. “So much of it hadn’t been used in years. So I decided that we wouldn’t do the same thing to our children.” Sharon spent six months looking over each object in her home. Each day, she sold, donated or threw one away. “It was liberating,” she said. “Now, life is much simpler and the clutter (杂乱) is gone.”

This process has its own reality TV show, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Inspired by a best-selling book by Magnusson, 89, three Swedes travel across the Atlantic to help Americans clean house and face death. “A loved one wishes to inherit (继承) nice things from you,” mentions Magnusson in her book, “not all things from you.” If you’re lucky enough to meet your material needs, then letting go of some of your stuff, or not buying it in the first place, can bring immediate benefits. The clutter is linked to stress and anxiety, even depression. Prioritizing relationships and experience over possessions has been proven to boost our happiness.

What is Swedish death cleaning? It isn’t about clearing out closets. It’s about rethinking your relationship with things. Rather than making do with less, it’s about getting more from the things that make you happy. Death cleaning happens to agree with scientists’ understanding of our relationship with things and why we’re unwilling to part with them. Decades of research has shown that we subconsciously see our possessions as physical extensions of ourselves. For most of us, of course, a degree of attachment is healthy, but it’s not the number of things or the quality that matters. It’s about the symbolic meaning of it. That can bring a lot of happiness.

Things take up space in our minds, well beyond what our storerooms and garages hold. By clarifying what’s important and what’s not, you make room. Your loved ones can receive what they might like before you go, relieving themselves of the burden of cleaning up once you’re gone.

3 . Food polluted with fungi (真菌) can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins (毒素) high and dry, and that’s potentially good news for food safety.

Some fungi produce toxic chemicals called mycotoxins that not only ruin food such as grains but can also make us sick. “It is a silent enemy,” said fungal researcher Ozgur Bayram of Maynooth University in Ireland, as most people don’t notice when foods like corn or wheat are ruined.

For years, researchers have known that some fungi produce these toxins, but didn’t know all the detail. Now, Bayram and his colleagues have identified a group of proteins responsible for turning on the production of mycotoxins. Genetically engineering the fungus to remove even just one of the proteins prevents the toxins from being made, the researchers reported in the September 23 issue of Nucleic Acids Research.

“The newly identified proteins act like a keystarting a car,” Bayram said. “The researchers wanted to figure out how to remove the key and prevent the starting signal from going through, meaning that no toxins would be made in the first place.”

Bayram and his team identified the proteins in a kind of fungus named A. nidulans, revealing that four proteins come together to make the key. The researchers genetically engineered the fungus to delete each protein in turn. When any of the four proteins are missing, the key does not start mycotoxin ignition(点火装置), the team found.

Fungi and fungi-like organisms are estimated to ruin a third of the world’s food crops each year. If that contamination could be prevented, Bayram estimates the saved food would be enough to feed 800 million people in 2024.

The new research is a good start, but it will still be a challenge to try to understand how this can be operationalized for agricultural purposes. “It’s difficult to apply the technique, and getting US regulatory agencies to approve the use of a genetically modified fungus on key food crops might be difficult,” said Felicia Wu a food safety expert.

4 . One early morning, I was cleaning the bathroom shower curtain and its liner (衬布) when it hit me. I had to clean a two-dollar plastic liner because I didn’t have a few extra dollars to buy a new one. I couldn’t believe it! Complaining wasn’t how I would start the day, especially when the sun was shining.

To continue the day optimistically, I left the cleaning for my daily walk at the beach. Along the way through the down town area, something on the sidewalk caught my attention. I walked over and picked it up. It was a small paper bag with no markings, so it wasn’t possible to figure out who it belonged to. I assumed someone must have dropped it, perhaps while loading other bags into his/her car. I turned it over for any identification. No store name, but the brand marking on the front clearly specified it was a shower curtain liner!

Speechless, I turned it over many times in my hands. Believe it or not, it was really an unopened shower curtain liner. I just happened to be the person who walked by and found it on the sidewalk. It took me a few minutes to decide what to do next, not wanting to claim something that wasn’t mine. If I brought it to the police station across the street, the police might just share a good laugh over a two-dollar shower curtain liner. I decided to keep it for myself.

But I was still surprised because the worthless plastic liner that had needed cleaning inspired my complaint and an early morning walk had suddenly transformed itself into a gift on the sidewalk for me. How that moment brightened my day!

At home, my focus was on myself, my anxieties, and my limits in being able to fix the problem. Once outside, I relaxed in the perspective of a much bigger picture. My personal complaint changed to thankfulness for the beauty that extended before my eyes in the form of a brand-new shower curtain liner, which matched perfectly with my bathroom!

7 . “The mountains are calling and I must go” — the famous quote is from John Muir(1838-1914), who is described as “the wilderness poet” and “the citizen of the universe.” He once jokingly referred to himself as a “poet-geologist-botanist and ornithologist (鸟类学家)-naturalist etc. etc.!” He is known as the Father of American National Parks.

Famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns recently said, “As we got to know him… he was among the highest individuals in America; I’m talking about the level of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thomas Jefferson— people who have had a transformational effect on who we are.”

So where is the quote from? Well, John Muir was a productive writer. Whether he was writing poetry or simply letters to his family, John Muir was always putting pen to paper. The quote is from within one of his many letters written to his sister:

8 . Millions of people have conditions that make walking difficult. Millions more regularly perform tough movement as part of their jobs. Wearable robotic devices called exoskeletons that help the legs move could benefit both of these groups. In laboratory settings, such devices have helped people walk faster while using less energy. But various obstacles have kept these devices from being practical for everyday use.

A research team at Stanford University led by Dr. Steven Collins has developed an exoskeleton that can rapidly adapt to the user during normal walking. The team tested how well an exoskeleton based on their model could adapt to a user. They then compared it to one based on lab measurements. Both methods wound up applying similar forces at different speeds and reduced effort similarly across a range of conditions. But the model-based adaptation took only one-quarter as long as the measurement-based adaptation.

Next, the researchers created a portable, ankle-worn exoskeleton that could be used in the real world. The exoskeleton was powered by a battery pack worn at the waist.

The team conducted tests of the device outdoors on public sidewalks. Compared with walking in normal shoes, the exoskeleton increased walking speed by 9% while expending 17% less energy on average. This is equal to the energy savings of removing a 20-pound backpack. When walking on a treadmill (跑步机) at a constant speed, users expended up to 23% less energy, equal to removing a 30-pound backpack.

“This exoskeleton personalize s assistance as people walk normally through the real world,” Collins says. “This opens the door to a much broader use of exoskeletons to assist individuals with physical impairments (损伤) and people who need to carry heavy loads,” adds co-author Dr. Scott Delp.

9 . We’re often told that there’s no age limit when it comes to pursuing our goals, but it’s truly inspiring to see someone achieve them later in life-especially if they are 95 years old. Angela Alvarez is a Cuban-born singer and songwriter who, after putting aside her dream of pursuing a career in entertainment for decades, finally released her first album in 2021.

Once Alvarez graduated from school, she told her father she wanted to become a professional singer. However, he prevented her from doing so. Eventually, she got married and found happiness in raising her four children, though life wasn’t easy.

With time, her grandson, Carlos Jos é Alvarez, grew up to be a music producer. When he found out his grandma had written over 50 songs throughout her life, he asked if she would like to record her songs. Her answer was “yes”. And that was the beginning.

Alvarez’s story even caught the attention of actor Andy García, who produced a documentary about this amazing woman and the recording process of her 15-song album. “She represents a generation, perhaps our greatest generation of Cubans,” said the actor.

The dream reached new heights as she became nominated for a Latin Grammy. Once she took to the stage to accept her award, she gave an inspiring speech, “I want to dedicate this award to my beloved homeland, Cuba; also to those who have not achieved their dream. Although life is difficult, there is always a way out, and with faith and love they can achieve it. I promise, it’s never too late.”