1 . When teens feel safe, supported by and connected to parents, they are better equipped to pass the empathy (同情) they receive on to others, according to a new study.

The study, led by Jessica Stern from the University of Virginia, followed 174 teens from the ages of 14 to 18 to track their progress annually. At age 14, the teens were interviewed by researchers and encouraged to share descriptions and stories about their families. Researchers paid attention not only to what the teens said, but also how they expressed it. “Can teens talk about their close relationships in a way that’s calm and clear? Can they take a situation that’s maybe difficult and make sense out of it?” Stern said.

After these initial interviews, researchers went back to the participants at ages 16, 17 and 18 and observed their interactions with a close friend. The researchers noted how the participants responded when their friend presented a problem and confided in them, assessing the participants’ extension of empathy.

Teens who had more secure family relationships showed higher empathy toward their friends at ages 16 and 17 than less secure teens. It’s not all bad news, though, because the less secure teens “caught up” in their empathic behavior by age 18, to Stern’s surprise. This is cause for hope, she said, because it may indicate that those empathic skills can develop over time for teens who don’t have great relationships at home. Stern suggested that having strong friendships or a trusted teacher might make an impact on insecure teens’ empathy.

Since the research focused on averages across the study sample, an examination of individual differences between participants is necessary, said Mary Buckingham, a research assistant professor who didn’t take part in the study. “The article does not show the individual differences that might exist within teens,” Buckingham said. “Future research should examine what specific experiences, for what youth, in what contexts, may lead to attachment and empathy links.”

2 . IC’S COOL CAMP

We are working on providing the “best” memorable skating camp for all children. We provide a caring, attentive, and supportive environment for skaters to make new friends and improve their skating skills. Camp is available to skaters from beginner to advanced levels. Skaters will be broken down into groups based on their skill level for certain activities. All camp employees are Safe Sport Certified.

Ages: Must be between the ages of 5 and 14 to attend

PRICING

Thanksgiving Full 3-Day: $195.00 Winter Break Full 4-Day: $260.00 Daily Rate: $70.00

Full Camp Registration includes IC’ s Cool Camp T-Shirt

ADD-ONS

Daily Lunch from Bubbas 33: $8.00 per day

Before / After Care: $15.00 / hr l-hour before care, 2-hour after care

Private Lesson with Jr. Coach: $25.00 for 30 minutes

ACTIVITIES INCLUDED

2.5 hours on the ice

Group on-ice lesson with a figure skating coach Fun off-ice fitness activities

Ice skating practice with friends

Last-day themed performance — parents invited!

WHAT TO BRING TO CAMP

Jacket or sweatshirt Water bottle Gloves

Extra snacks

REFUND (退款) POLICY

No refunds after the camp has started, unless injury with a doctor’s note.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Have more questions on our Skating Camps? Contact our Skating Department! E-mail:Skating@AHCenterice.com

Phone:(813)803-7372

3 . Yesterday, people on the social media site Twitter reacted with surprise and humor to a report that claimed, “Scientists have taught spinach to send emails.” That’s not exactly true, but the “news” is based on some amazing work done by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) scientists in 2016, and it’s still worth learning about.

Scientists at MIT have managed to change ordinary spinach plants into natural sensors which can detect chemicals used in bombs. Using a cheap and small computer system, the spinach can even send a warning email.

The secret to giving spinach these special powers is nanotechnology. For this experiment, the scientists placed two different kinds of nanotech materials into spinach plants: some were tiny sensors; others were tiny tubes called carbon nanotubes. To get the tiny materials into the plants, the scientists put a liquid containing the nano-materials on the bottom of the plants’ leaves. That’s where the plants normally take in CO₂ gas.

Once the tiny sensors and nanotubes were in the spinach leaves, the plants did the rest of the work. As part of their natural process, the spinach plants pull water through their roots and into their leaves. If the water contains certain chemicals that are used in bombs, the sensors in the leaves make the nanotubes give off a slightly different kind of light.

By watching the plants constantly using a camera attached to a cheap computer, the scientists set up a system that can send a warning email if chemicals from explosives are detected in the water.

The researchers say it takes about 10 minutes for the plants to react to the chemicals. The computer the scientists used is about the size of a playing card. They say that in the future, their system could even use a cellphone with its camera changed slightly.

Detecting chemicals used in bombs is just one of the many uses the researchers are exploring. The scientists believe that in the future, such a system could give farmers detailed information about the health of the land and water on their farms.

6 . An economist, Adam Smith, famously wrote that “it is not from the benevolence (慈善)of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest.” Like Smith, many economists today believe that one’s self-interest is what drives competition and growth in market economies. Yet, in an increasingly interconnected society, it is even more crucial to have collaborative skills. Thus we should encourage cooperation to better prepare children for the future.

Firstly, in the present age marked by the transformative potential of technology to facilitate interactions, cooperation is an especially prized soft skill to have. As a research study proves, soft skills such as good communication and empathy consist of qualitative indicators of outstanding employees as compared to technical skills or knowledge. In contrast, excessively (过分地)competitive and individualistic behaviour may fracture social relations in the community of co-workers and since no man is an island, even the most competent employee will not be able to pursue his goals effectively without the help of others who are able to share a common vision and understanding.

Moreover, encouraging cooperation increase a healthy sense of self-esteem in children that better prepares them for the competitive working world. Many modern societies today are consumed by an obsessive drive for success and the pressure to perform has infiltrated both classrooms and offices alike. The consequences of the fierce competitive culture include higher rates of anxiety and depression among university students and office workers, which are all counterproductive. Teamwork can help a maturing individual realise that each has his or her own unique set of abilities to bring to the table and that another person’s strengths do not in any way diminish (降低)the value of his or her talents. Thus, cooperation can affirm the self-worth of children by correcting the violent insight that winning or paper achievement is an exclusive (唯一)measure of success in life.

However, critics may claim that in a cutthroat world, adapting to competition should be of supreme priority in education and parenting. To achieve one’s deepest ambitions, such as to become a medical student, or to create a tech start-up, one has to adopt competition by actively fighting for opportunities and distinguishing oneself from others. Nevertheless, since passion can already stimulate children to work hard to fulfill their ambitions, the need to encourage competition may be at the end of the day. As much as external competition can drive people to pursue excellence, internal motivation is at least equally or arguably even more essential, and collaboration plays an instrumental role in helping one uncover one’s tendency and motivations.

8 . To solve a big environmental problem, chemists in the Czech Republic have been thinking small. Really small. Their new minirobot has one purpose: to help clean up tiny bits of plastic polluting waterways across the globe.

Each new robot is no bigger than the tip of a sharpened pencil. They are magnetic (有磁性的) and shaped like stars. When sunlight hits them, they produce chemical reactions that push them through water in a specific direction. When they find a piece of plastic, they stick to it and start to break it down. When the light goes out, they let go and are free to be used again.

“This work is great,” says Douglas Blackiston at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. He’s a biologist who did not work on the project but knows about such devices. He’s been designing robots out of living cells, including some that might help with pollution cleanup. Speaking of the new one, he mentions that, “These robots can eat plastic. They chew it up. Or they can recover it and be collected with a magnet. Scientists love robots with all these capabilities. ”

Chemist Martin Pumera at the Czech University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague led the project. He studies ways to build microrobots. About a decade ago, he says, scientists began developing tiny bots that could move themselves in water. Then, they had to find them a mission and thought “Let’s make them do something useful.” Since then, Pumera has focused on the problem posed by microplastics, which are everywhere—from the bottom of the ocean to air blowing onto ice atop mountains. They’ve turned up in drinking water, both bottled and tap water, and some studies estimate that trillions of pieces of plastic end up in the world’s waters. The plastic has many sources, from drinking straws and shopping bags to laundry and cleaning wipes. Plastic doesn’t easily degrade or fall apart, and that’s always been one of its appeals.

Pumera says his final goal is to make cheap and environmentally friendly robots that can be used anywhere in the world.