1 . Left to their own devices, most children won’t hesitate to lick a doorknob or wipe a runny nose with their sleeve. But is there any truth to the idea that their affection for getting dirty can be beneficial to their health?

That theory dates back to the 1800s, when European doctors realized that farmers suffered fewer allergies than city residents. However, it didn’t gain widespread attention until 1989, when British epidemiologist David Strachan discovered that youngsters with older siblings were less likely to be infected than other kids with hay fever. Strachan suggested that early childhood infections transmitted by insanitary contact helped foster a strong immune(免疫的)system.

His theory, called the hygiene hypothesis(卫生假说), provides a convenient explanation for why allergies and autoimmune disorders, have increased 300 percent or more in the US since the 1950s. Maybe Western societies have become too clean for their own good, and parents too fearful of a little dirt. As microbiologist Graham Rook notes, getting a bit messy can help cultivate the thousands of microbial species that call the body home and keep it healthy. Providing that boost can be as easy as having pets, tending chickens, or playing in a green space.

It’s also wise to go easy on the antibiotics(抗生素). Although they can be lifesavers for patients with severe bacterial infections, there’s “a real risk of harm” from overuse, says John Lynch, a doctor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “Regaining your native microbiota can be extremely hard, “ he explains. All this is not to say youngsters should be messy. You definitely want them to wash their hands regularly, and cleaning high-touch surfaces is vital to avoid unpleasant infections like norovirus, Rook advised. Just don’t go overboard and kill the bacteria on everything. As it turns out, kids probably do need a few germs to stay healthy.

Music has always been an essential part of my family. As a little girl, I often watched my mom singing with others in the church. As I grew older, she and I would sing while we did the dishes or hung clothes. My brother Dean was also a musical soul. In good time or in bad, there was always music in our house. It shaped us, comforted us, and gave us a way to express feelings that might otherwise have gone unspoken.

After Dean became a father, we learned that his oldest son was on the autism spectrum. My nephew Dj did not handle social situation well, and sometimes even for him to speak aloud outside the family was a struggle. He worked very hard to overcome his fears, so much so that the year he was eight, he decided he wanted to be part of the Christmas music program with the other children in his Sunday school class. The part he had been offered was one that required him to sing a verse all on his own - a solo.

My brother carefully explained to him that this would mean singing in front of the audience; there would be no one singing with him. Dj considered this very carefully. After a couple of days, he decided that he would accept the part. He explained to us that he believed he could do it because it was a very special occasion, and lie would practice until he was as perfect as he could be. He said he knew his daddy would help him to be the best singer possible.

For over a month, he and his father practiced together. Every evening would find them locked away in the music room, my brother on guitar, and my nephew’s small voice coming from somewhere deep down inside his little body. He gained confidence, and when the day of the concert arrived, he was certain all would go well. My brother waited backstage, giving Dj double thumbs-up, and he came out lo sit with the rest of the family to watch and take photos.

When it was finally time for Dj to sing, the music played on, and he froze.

Everyone turned to see who was singing, while I knew it was my brother.

Israeli singer-songwriter Gilad Segev has devoted himself to an ambitious project to present different views of China through music, because of his love for the country. In June 2020, he launched Project 34, through    1    he will release a song for each of the 34 provincial-level regions in China every month.    2    (combine) Chinese music and global folk music, he    3    (post) 17 videos so far on social media platforms, gaining millions of views.

“My    4    (inspire) for the project was the great beauty I discovered in China’s culture, landscapes, and more    5    (important) , the hearts of Chinese people.” says Segev. He calls    6    (he) a “passer-by” — a traveling artist who tells stories from his encounters with people from various cultures, through music.

Over the past decade, the award-winning musician has travelled to most of the 34 provincial-level regions, and plans to go to    7    rest when travel is not restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For each music video, he cooperates actively    8    a Chinese singer or musician, to include characteristics from their own home region. He and his team have listened extensively to various types of Chinese music    9    (figure) out what suitable elements can be used in his works. “I believe when all of our voices    10    (hear) together, true harmony can happen,” Segev says.

4 . In a fascinating paper published last year in Science, a team led by Andreas Nieder of the University of Tubingen in Germany showed that crows —already known to be among the most intelligent of animals —are even more impressive than we knew. In fact, the evidence suggests that they are self-aware and, in an important sense, conscious (有意识的).

Crows had been observed previously to use tools to solve certain problems. Nieder’s experiment showed that the birds were actively evaluating how to solve a particular problem; in effect, they were thinking it over. This ability to consciously assess a problem was associated with the cerebral cortex (大脑皮层) in the brains of humans, which birds don’t have.

Other studies support the idea that the bird brain can, in principle, support the development of higher intelligence. It had been dismissed in the past due to the small size of birds’ brains. But recent research has shown that in birds, the neurons (神经元) are smaller and more lightly-packed, which makes sense to reduce weight and makes it easier lo fly. The total number of brain cell in crows (about 1.5 billion) is about the same as that in some monkey species. But because they are more tightly-packed, the communication between the neurons seems to be better, and the overall intelligence of crows may be closer to that of gorillas (猩猩).

This research has important consequences for our understanding of the evolution of higher intelligence. First, a cerebral cortex is not needed, and there are other means to achieve the same outcome. Second, either the evolution of consciousness is very ancient tracing back to the last common ancestor of mammals and birds about 320 million years ago, or, equally interesting, consciousness arose at least twice later on, independently in mammals and birds. Both options raise the possibility that higher intelligence on the planet may not necessarily be mammal or human-like, but could very well be birdlike.

5 . While some feel that bookstores are fading away, one Chinese bookstore has found new life by marching into rural areas in China to bring colorful cultural life and higher incomes lo local residents.

By absorbing local rural characteristics, the village branches of the Librairie Avantgarde Bookstore (LAB) chain have transformed into important platforms to display local history, culture and folk traditions. Not just bookstores, they are foundations helping to relieve spiritual poverty (贫困) and centers for gathering and displaying rural culture.

To better fit in the lives of local residents, earth village branch has its own characteristics, like the branch in Shaxi, southwest China’s Yunnan province. Many of nearly 20,000 books in the store are associated with the history, geography and folk customs of Yunnan and the Bai people.

“Turning in profits is not our only aim. Our bookstore has become a public gathering space for villagers. Not only young people, but many elderly residents come here. They do not buy books, but pass the time by reading or chatting with each other in our store.” Liu Xia, the bookstore owner explained.

She added that this is a cultural atmosphere that bookstores offer the area. Some residents have grown accustomed to turning to the books of the store to find answers to the troubles they face, such as operating a business or controlling tourists from urban areas. The biggest benefit of opening bookstores in villages is that it helps provide a healthy environment for children’s growth. “My kids often come to the store. They love reading books here. They gain knowledge and curiosity about outside world.” one villager said.

The arrival of the bookstore menus a lot to the village when young residents have been leaving for urban areas in recent years. During the 2020 May Day and National Day holidays, the daily number of tourists traveling to the village reached 5,000, a record high. Visitors were attracted by the bookstore. Surrounding it, several restaurants and holds have opened.

6 . River Beach Community now offers various programs free of charge. Please call (608) 7898640 for details.

Coping Skills

Tuesdays; December 8, December 22 1 p. m. -2 p.m. on www.Zoom.com

Do you need a little help coping with life? Don’t we all? Come and join us for casual conversation and helpful information.We will discuss a variety of topics, including healthy ways to cope with change and life transitions as we age.

Fill Your Cup

Fill Your Cup is a personalized one-hour session held on Mondays or Thursdays. Looking for a way to be social while still being safe? This program is designed to help you recharge your batteries in a way suitable for you. Bring your coffee and we’ll chat! Bring your exercise shoes and we can stretch together! Whatever helps you “fill your cup”, we can figure out a plan together.

Connect 2 Nature

Fridays; December 4, December 18 11 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.on www.Lifesize. com

Join us as we explore a range of topics related to nature and discover how the environment impacts our health and well-being. We will learn from local experts and share in casual conversation about all things environmental.

New Device Tech Help

Thursdays; December 3, December 17 11 a.m.- 12 p.m.

New Site at St. Andrews Street (if open, please call before attending!)

Do you have questions about a new device or just need some help with your device? Bring in your cell phone, tablet, iPad, or any other technology item that you may have and La Crosse Library staff will be ready to help with your questions.

On June 18, Qiyun Mountain Customs Exhibition was displayed in the Water Cube in Beijing. This exhibition is     1    important part of “Search for Taoist Mountains (道教山)”, the 2nd customs exhibition of “Wild China & Beautiful Land”,     2    was sponsored by the China Landscape and Historic Sites Association. Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province, Qingcheng Mountain and Tais-han Mountain are also     3    display.

    4    (support) by the special space of the Water Cube and tourist gathering areas like passageways and the center stage, the brilliant Taoist culture is     5    (vivid) displayed in three dimensions. Tourists are led in    6    (explore) of the Taoist mountains which     7    (witness) the Chinese civilization for five thousand years and they can appreciate the infinite charm of Qiyun Mountain.

Qiyun Mountain Customs Exhibition was co-hosted by Qiyun Mountain Management Committee and Sunriver. The     8    (form) of this exhibition were rich and colorful and the performance methods were fine and     9    (comprehend). The period of Qiyun Mountain Customs Exhibition will continue until October this year. During the exhibition, some other displays     10    (focus) on the theme “Wild China & Beautiful Land” will be displayed in the Water Cube. Audience numbers will be over 10 million.

10 . Using the power of artificial intelligence (AI), scientists have revealed new insights into the creation and destruction of mass extinction. Contrary to conventional knowledge, their study suggests that larger extinctions are not always a form of “creative destruction” that allows new organisms (生物体) to radiate and evolve. Instead, it suggests that mass extinction is rarely associated with new species of radiation.

Dr. Hoyal Cuthill, the lead study author from the University of Essex in the UK and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, said in a statement, “Some of the most challenging things to understand the history of life are the vast timelines involved and the number of species. New machine learning applications can help us understand this information in human-readable form. This means that we can, so to speak, hold the evolution of half a billion years in the palm of our hand and gain new insights from what we see.”

They concluded that mass extinction and later radiation were not connected as previously thought. Within 5 percent of the most significant periods of disruption (中断), AI detected “big five” mass extinctions, seven more mass extinctions, two mass extinction-radiation events, and 15 mass radiations. Most importantly, it discovers that massive radiation and extinction rarely occurred with each other, changing the view that greater extinction leads to a kind of deep cycle-like species radiation of nature. It appears that larger extinctions are certainly not the engine of evolutionary radiation. Take the Cambrian eruption for example and it was about 41 million years ago when a large group of animals first appeared on the record of the first fossil record and the dawn of a high mobile animal equipped with modern physical features.

This new study found that a handful of other notable explosions of biodiversity, including the Cambrian eruption, usually occurred at a time when they were largely isolated (隔离) from extinction. Dr. Nicholas Guttenberg, a study co-author from the Tokyo Institute of Technology explained, “Ecosystems are dynamic and you don't need anything to exist to allow something new to appear.”