4 . Researchers have created glass by harvesting energy from wind and precipitation (降水).The approach offers an alternative to other smart windows powered by batteries, solar panels, and even standard power outlets. “The creation represents a new kind of renewable energy source”, says Liming Dai, a nanomaterial engineer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, who was not involved in the research.

Smart glass, which changes its characteristics to block out light or heat, has been around for decades. Common examples include glare-fighting rearview (后视) car mirrors and windows that change color for energy savings and privacy. But many are expensive, and people are still looking for eco-friendly ways to power the windows. Batteries and plug-in outlets aren’t apparently “green”, and built-in solar panels can cloud or hide parts of the glass.

In experiments, the glass produced up to 130 milliwatts per square meter, enough to power a pacemaker or a smart phone while it’s asleep, the team reported online last month in ACS Nano. This output might suit many applications, such as being a power source for home or office electronics, says co-developer and scientist Zhong Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Since their first project in 2012, a light-up sidewalk powered by footsteps, he and his colleagues have miniaturized their generators to create everything from self-cleaning keyboards to sensors for security systems.

But Wang and colleagues still have more work to do before this smart glass is ready for commercialization. Now, the glass has no way to store the energy it creates. To solve this problem, Dai says, transparent supercapacitors (超级电容器) could be placed into the glass without decreasing visibility.

For now, the team wants to improve the energy efficiency of their nanogenerators. These tiny power plants can convert about 60% of the mechanical energy (机械能) that they encounter into electricity. “The output power is a constant goal,” Wang says. “Free energy is around us, and anything can happen if you take control of it."

6 . I first began to wonder what was doing on a college campus when my parents drove off, leaving me alone in a parking lot, wanting nothing more than to find my way safely to my dorm room. The fact was that no matter how mature I liked to consider myself, I was feeling just a bit first-gradish. Adding to my distress was the impression that everyone on campus was watching me. My plan was to keep my ears open and my mouth shut and hope no one would notice I was a freshman.

With that thought in mind, I raised my head, squared my shoulders, and set out in the direction of my dorm, glancing at the campus map in my hand. And then I spent the afternoon seeking out each of my classrooms so that I could make perfectly timed entrance before each lecture without having to ask silly questions about its whereabouts.

The next morning, I found my first class and marched in. I chose a seat in the first row and to the side. I was in the front, but out of the professor's direct line of vision. Then I opened my anthology（选集）of American literature and looked at the date at the top of a page. "Welcome to Biology 101," the professor began. Cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck. I got out my schedule and checked the room number. I was in the right room. Just the wrong building!

So now what? Get up and leave in the middle of the lecture? Wouldn't the professor be angry? Wouldn't they all stare at me? Forget it, I settled into my chair.

7 . Linda Tutt High School opened a unique grocery store in the city of Sanger, where instead of paying for products with cash, their community can earn points which they then trade in. How do they gain points? By performing good deeds! All students, staff members and families in the school district have access to the daily goods they need to get through COVID-19——free of charge.

The store is supplied through a partnership with First Refuge Ministries, Albertsons grocery store, and Texas Health Resources. It is open three days a week. They even offer a COVID-friendly curbside(路边) pickup on Tuesday nights! It is meant to provide necessary daily goods for families in need. Families are automatically awarded points based on their family size, but students can help the families earn more by helping out around the school, cleaning, or getting good referrals(推荐) from their teachers. Headmaster Anthony Love called it “the ingenious method” , compared with the traditional approaches used to make students help others.

The store is operated and managed entirely by the students. Not only are they encouraged to show others kindness, but they also have a sense of control during this uncertain time. “Many of them come from low-income families that need just a little extra support with food,” Anthony added.

So the store has the extra profit of giving its student employees valuable experience. “I think this is the most exciting part of it, which they can carry with them as they graduate from high school and move on into the world,” Anthony said.

What a brilliant way to support their community! Between providing daily goods for families, giving kids experience concerned, and making their school a better place through good deeds, traditional businesses could learn a thing or two from this approach!

8 . What should we get for our kids this holiday? As children get older, giving them something they can experience instead of material things makes them happier, according to a new research led by Chaplin.

The research compared the level of happiness children get from material things with that from experiences. The results showed that children aged 3-12 get more happiness from material things than from experiences. However, older children get more happiness from experiences than from their possessions.

“It means experiences are highly preferred by adolescents, not just expensive material things, like some might think,”Chaplin says. She goes on to explain,”Don’t get me wrong. Young children do love experiences. And given this concept, theme parks such as Disneyland are being built everywhere. In fact, young children are excited throughout the experience. However, for experiences to provide lasting happiness, children must be able to recall details of the events.”

Long after they have unwrapped their Legos and stuffed animals, there will still be a physical reminder to give them happiness. However, young children can’t see or touch experiences after they are over, making it harder for them to appreciate experiences after a long time. There’s an easy fix, though, according to Chaplin.

“Take pictures or videos of family walks, playing in the snow, and birthday parties,”she said.“Children are likely to appreciate those experiences more if there is something to remind them of the event. Additionally, they’ll be able to learn the social value of shared experiences.”

Children will remember and appreciate not only the birthday gifts they received, but also the time spent with family and friends as they recall the experience through concrete reminders such as photos and videos.

Since memory is developed over time, it’s likely that children, especially young ones, may not get as much happiness from past experiences as from possessions. But with age, creating new memories and exploring new interests may be far more valuable than getting possessions.

9 . European researchers say they have created a process that can produce oxygen from moon dust. The process could provide a major source of oxygen for humans taking part in moon exploration activities in the future.

Researchers from the European Space Agency, or ESA, carried out the experiments at a laboratory in the Netherlands. They reported their results in a study published in Planetary and Space Science.

The team says ESA’s experimental “plant” was able to successfully produce oxygen from simulated moon dust. The dust is part of a material known as regolith (月壤)，a top layer of dirt and rock pieces that sit on the surface of the moon.

Samples of regolith from the moon have confirmed that the material contains about 45 percent oxygen by weight. However, the oxygen is chemically locked in the form of minerals or glass, so it is not easily available for use. Having real samples of regolith from the moon made it possible for the researchers to create the simulated moon dust material used during testing.

The oxygen extraction (提取)process is carried out using a method called molten salt electrolysis (熔盐电解). This involves first placing the regolith in a metal container. Calcium chloride salt is added to the mixture, which is then heated to 950 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the regolith remains solid. Next, an electrical current                                               is passed through the material. The researchers say it is this step that results in oxygen being extracted from the regolith. The study reported that up to 96 percent of oxygen in the simulated moon dust was extracted during                                               the experiments.

ESA’s long-term   goal is to design an oxygen -producing “pilot plant” to operate full-time on the moon. The first technology demonstration of the system is expected to take place in the middle of 2020s.

The researchers reported that “as a bonus”，the process also results in the production of usable metallic materials.

10 . Research has shown that disrupting one's natural “morning lark” (早起鸟) or “night owl” (夜猫子) tendency can result in immoral behavior at work.

Who doesn't love a flexible work schedule? Being able to make your own hours, come in when you're ready and leave when you're done, step out to attend a child's presentation at school, have a midday appointment, or even squeeze in a quick workout or nap as a guaranteed pick-me-up — flexibility greatly improves one's quality of life.

The benefits don't stop there, however. Research has shown that having flexible work hours actually makes one a better person. How so? It's been found that disrupted sleep patterns —in the form of having to act outside of your normal inclination to be a morning “lark” or a night “owl” — can result in strange, unethical, and out-of-line behavior.

Science journalist Linda Geddes said, “If you don't get enough sleep, research suggests you are more likely to have unethical behavior, such as being mean, bullying your fellow employees or falsifying receipts. But it's not just owls: the larks tend to behave more unethically in the evening, and owls in the morning. So ideally, you want to introduce flexible working."

Employers would be wise to allow their employees to start whenever they feel ready — whether it's at the crack of dawn or at 11 a.m., and to allow breaks or pauses in the day as needed — because that would mean better productivity, performance, and behavior.

This shift is already happening, with the New York Times recently reporting that 27 percent of US employers now offer the flexibility to work outside normal business hours, up from 22 percent in 2014; and 68 percent allow telecommuting as needed (up from 54 percent in 2014). With the national unemployment rate at its lowest in 50 years, employers are having to become more competitive in what they offer workers, and flex-hours seem like a no-brainer, highly beneficial to all.