1 . Tomatoes are common in daily life. Cathie Martin, a British scientist, has been working on developing purple tomatoes for years. Though the color is unusual, now this special kind of tomatoes, which has gained approval from the US government, has very high levels of antioxidants(抗氧化剂).

Antioxidants, also known as AOS, are found naturally in plants like blueberries and red cabbage. Scientists believe AOS may help prevent heart disease and help fight against diseases like diabetes. But tomatoes naturally only have a small amount of AOS in them. Martin wanted to see if she could create tomatoes with lots of AOS by changing the DNA of a tomato plant.

A plant developed from specially created DNA is known as a GMO. After adding two genes(基因) from a plant called snapdragon, Martin soon found her plants were producing small purple tomatoes with lots of AOS. Martin and other scientists further tested the tomatoes on mice that were likely to get cancer. The mice that were fed the purple tomatoes lived about 30% longer than those fed normal tomatoes. Though that’s good news, experiments on mice don’t always predict what effects on humans will be like. We need to see more experiments about it.

GMOs were first allowed in America in the late 1990s. But GMO products weren’t popular with customers. Many people were scared by the idea that the foods weren’t natural or safe. There’re still questions about the effects of GMO crops on the environment. However, scientists deny these claims.

Even so, many people still have concerns about them. Because of these concerns, most GMO products created over the last 20 years have focused on helping farmers rather than attracting customers.

Anyway, on September 7, 2022, the US approved the purple tomatoes, which is the first time it has approved a GMO plant designed to target human health.

2 . Amazing Benefits of Listening to Music

If you love listening to music, you’re in good company. Recent research shows that listening to music improves our mental and physical health.     1    

Music makes you happier.

When you listen to music, your brain produces a special substance called dopamine (多巴胺). It causes listeners to feel emotions like happiness, excitement and joy. So next time you need an emotional increase, listen to your favorite tunes for 15 minutes.

Music lowers stress and improves health.

    2     This is an important finding since stress causes many illnesses. To stay calm and healthy during a stressful day, turn on the radio.

Music reduces depression.

More than 350 million people suffer from depression around the world. Music can benefit depressive patients, depending on the type of music.     3     But techno and heavy metal brings people down even more. When you feel low, put on some classical or relaxing music to increase positive moods.

    4    

Softening the lighting and music can lead people to eat fewer calories and enjoy their meals better. If you’re looking for ways to reduce your appetite (食欲), try dimming the lights and listening to soft music next time you sit down for a meal.

Music raises IQ and school performance.

Taking music lessons predicts higher school performance and IQ in young children. In one study, children who took singing lessons had learned better than children who took other lessons unrelated to music. If you want to help your children achieve excellence in their studies, you can let them take music lessons.     5    

3 . Technology is widely available to students in classrooms across the United States, a new study shows. Nearly nine in ten U. S. public school students say they use digital learning (数字化学习) tools at least a few days a week. And more than half of those who were questioned said they used digital technology to learn.

In the new survey, digital learning tools means technology. It includes websites, application software programs, and online classes, games, videos and programs. The survey found that classroom technology gets high marks from educators. At least eight in ten teachers and school leaders say they see great value in using classroom technology tools now and in the future.

When it comes to preparing students for future careers (职业), the study found that educators are likely to say technology is more effective than non-digital tools for connecting learning to students’ careers.

Derek Kelley of Virginia agrees. He manages technology for Fairfax County Public Schools, which serves nearly 200,000 students. He said, “The important thing is to help prepare the students for real world experience and knowledge about technology is something students need.”

In the report, more than half of the special education teachers questioned said technology could help their students. Tony Daniel, a special education teacher, agrees with that. He teaches children with learning difficulties at the Springfield Estates Elementary School in Springfield, Virginia.

Nearly all pupils say digital learning tools are fun. Most say the technology helps them learn things on their own and at their own speed.

Almost three-fourths of secondary students say the technology tools help them learn things on their own. Over 50% said they make school more interesting. 42% would like to use it more often at school, and only 8% said they would like to use them less. One thing everyone agrees on is that technology is here to stay in American classrooms.

Where in the classroom do you prefer to sit, and why? Scientists have discovered that seating preference not only shows students’ personalities, but has a great influence on their school performance. Generally speaking, students show different attitudes depending on where they sit. Based on the research, scientists have developed a funnel-like (像漏斗的) model of “learning zones (区域)” to see the relationship between seating and active learning.

In this model, the mouth of the funnel (A) is the best position for learning. Students in this front area prove to be the most active learners. They show a greater desire (渴求) for learning, which leads them to focus better and take a more active part than the rest of the class. Those in the neck of the funnel (B) don’t pay the same close attention, but they ask a lot of questions, partly because of the added confidence they feel from being in a safe zone, with others around them. Less desirable is the area “outside the funnel (C, D)”, which refers to the side and the back rows, where students take a less active part in classroom activities-and find it hard to focus their attention, falling asleep at times.

Studies about learning zones suggest that a change in traditional seating plans can benefit students. In fact, a growing number of teachers have begun less traditional seating plans, such as “U-Type”. There are no side and back areas, so teachers can expect their students to take part in activities more actively and increase student-teacher interaction (互动).

5 . Japan recently lowered its voting age from 20 to 18. This decision was in order to help young people feel more engaged in politics. But it may also signal the change of social views regarding the beginning of adulthood.

Adulthood has traditionally been defined by a combination of age and the achievement of social milestones (里程碑). Most countries have a legally defined age to determine when a person becomes an adult — the age of majority. In Australia, most states consider a person to be an adult in court at 18. The age of 18 is also consistent with other adult privileges, such as the right to purchase alcohol and to marry. However, 17-year-olds can serve in the army and get a driver’s licence. The law defines adulthood on the basis of age and it also recognizes the process of becoming an adult as involving himself gradually in social responsibility. This legal approach to adulthood is mirrored in other countries, where there are differences between the age of majority and social responsibility given to young people.

Socially, determinants of adulthood traditionally focus on a person taking increasing responsibility for their lives in various ways. Completing school, taking full-time employment, getting married and parenthood — these are all observable indicators to determine when a person is viewed as an adult.

Since the 1980s, however, people have achieved some of these observable milestones at later ages. Increased access to education has delayed young people leaving home and developing romantic relationships. Economic changes have also resulted in unstable employment markets and increases in costs of living, prompting many young people to remain at home and dependent on parents.

Due to these social changes, our expectations of young people and their level of social responsibility have also changed. The recognition of a new life stage — emerging (发展初期的) adulthood — has been recommended to account for the changes to social milestones that have traditionally represented adulthood.

7 . Walking into Lang Jiaziyu’s workshop in Beijing, one can see lively dough figurines (面人) and certificates of honor neatly placed on the workbench. However, one can never expect that this third-generation inheritor (继承人) of the national-level intangible heritage of dough figurine making is a young man born after 1995.

Lang developed a preference for the art at a young age, starting to learn the craft from his father when he was about four to five years old. Despite repeatedly practicing the same skills, the boy never felt bored. Instead, he gained quite a great deal of pleasure from the craft. Under the influence of his father, Lang developed a sense of responsibility to carry forward the art when he was young.

Lang had previously considered dough figurines to be an old-fashioned craft, having also felt that the raw materials used for the craft formed a limit on his creativity, stirring up doubts as to why he had chosen making dough figurines as a career from the beginning. However, when Lang visited an art exhibition as a university student, he was impressed by how one artisan there had made bread into various shapes, and then dried them to generate cracks on their outer surfaces to present a unique aesthetic (美学的) form.

“Then, I came to realize that instead of complaining about the raw materials, I should pay more attention to improving my skills so that I could turn the ‘disadvantages’ of the dough into something that I could make full use of to make my works more expressive,” Lang said.

The young man has also turned to new media to promote the art of dough modeling. For Lang, making dough figurines is a process of self-expression, and it gives him great pleasure to just be himself. “This is what I’m good at and attracted to, and I’m delighted to see a trend toward the revitalization (复兴) of traditional Chinese culture nowadays”.