1 . In an era of digital technology, the art of writing by hand has slowly been downgraded to a past entertainment. However, recent research suggests that this physical act is essential to brain health and development, having multiple cognitive (认知的) benefits. It is time we should reevaluate the potential benefits it may have on our mental capacities.

According to numerous studies, writing by hand stimulates more complex and diverse brain connections essential for encoding new information and forming memories. For instance, a recent investigation found that brain connectivity patterns were far more complicated and widespread for participants who wrote by hand compared to those who typed. Thus, it is clear that handwriting has a distinct and significant impact on our brain health.

Handwriting isn’t just good for our brains health—it also has clear, practical benefits. Research has shown that students who take handwritten notes score significantly higher on quizzes, demonstrating improved learning. This extends beyond the classroom too. People who recorded information on paper calendars demonstrated more brain activity and recalled information faster than those who used smartphones. The act of handwriting, therefore, could be a valuable tool for students preparing for exams and adults managing daily tasks.

Despite its clear benefits, handwriting has been on the decline. However, 25states in the US have reintroduced writing back into school curriculums. This is a step in the right direction, as previous research has also indicated that handwriting is essential in children’s brain development. Preliterate (未识字的) children who wrote by hand demonstrated brain activity in a circuit of the brain used in learning to read, further strengthening the link between handwriting and cognitive development.

It is clear that handwriting is a valuable activity that has the potential to enhance our brain health, learning, memory, and problem-solving skills. As we continue to navigate the digital age, it is important not to overlook the value of this seemingly simple activity. So, the next time you reach for your keyboard, remember the benefits of picking up a pen instead.

2 . Having thousands of photographs, songs, and films available at our fingertips would have seemed amazing just a few decades ago.     1     Could the digitalisation of cultural objects put a time limit on our memories?

The materials phones and computers are made of can decay (腐烂) over time, impacting the data that they store.     2     Yet when digital data is destroyed, it can quickly make it impossible to even open a file. Also, as formats and devices become out of date, it may become impossible to read files from previous decades.

    3     Large companies can still lose data. In 2019, social media platform MySpace admitted losing over 12 years’ worth of users’ music uploads. The widespread use of streaming services for music, TV, and film means people no longer own the content that they watch and listen to. They just pay for the right to access it, which is called licensing. If streaming companies decide to remove content, or go out of business, users will lose access.

Licensing rather than purchasing content is an example of how our behavior towards digital content has changed. Another example is that we take far more pictures than people did in the past.     4     And we must also consider what to keep and what to delete.

So, what can we do? Technology writer Jack Schofield said that “data doesn’t exist unless you have at least two copies of it”.     5     Academic Paul Royster suggests that we should all take time to consider what content we personally believe is worth saving. Perhaps the answer is just to avoid digital altogether. Science and Technology writer Chris Baranaiuk calls for a cultural movement towards buying analogue (实体的) copies of cultural content.

4 . The first transplant surgery to combine a mechanical (机械的) heart pump as well as a gene-edited pig kidney has recently been completed at NYU Langone Health.

The subject, 54-year-old Lisa Pisano of New Jersey, had heart failure and end-stage kidney disease. But she couldn’t have a standard heart or kidney transplant because of certain medical conditions and an overall lack of donor organs in the US. According to the Organ Transplantation Network, roughly 27,000 kidneys were transplanted last year, but nearly 89,000 people were on the waiting list for those organs.

Pisano got the heart pump on April 4 and then, on April 12, received a pig kidney, which was gene-edited to help keep the human body from recognizing the animal’s organ as foreign and rejecting it. “The editing process was to disrupt a gene responsible for the production of a sugar found on the surface of animal cells called alpha-gal, which can be recognized by human antibodies (抗体) and attacked,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, who led the surgery.

Montgomery noted that the gene edits used in the pig in this case are much simpler than those used in other transplants. “We’re going to have an opportunity to really address the problem that we’re trying to address, which is the scarcity of organs, and the more complex the gene edits, the less likely it is that you’ll be able to produce those edits into a pig group. You would have to clone every pig for each organ. That is not something that can be easily achieved. So, we feel like less is more in this case.”

“Pisano has a long way to go and we are watching out for rejections,” he said, “but her kidney is functioning beautifully, and her heart is in much better shape. What previously existed in science fiction is now a reality.” Doctors expect that she might be discharged within a month.

7 . After a heavy snowstorm, I ran outside excitedly to build a snowman. No matter how I rolled my snowball, it refused to grow. After resting for a while, I restarted the job. Then I noticed I had an audience-a prim-looking (古板的) couple with obvious disapproval. My face turned red as I tried to answer their unspoken question: Don’t you have anything better to do?

An adult playing by herself seems strange, but’ maybe it shouldn’t. New research suggests that modern adults have ignored their play instinct (本能). Most animals stop playing as adults. However, there are a handful of animals that never stop.

One possibility is’ that adult play is important and beneficial, -a theory supported by a study. Researcher Camilla Cenni from the University of Lethbridge left some puzzle boxes for some monkeys to solve. To get the food inside, they had to drop a rock into the container. The monkeys that previously had dropped rocks for fun were more likely to solve the puzzle. This finding also suggests somewhere in our evolutionary history—a playful human invented stone tools. Even today, the urge to play accounts for some of humans’ greatest inventions. Adult play is also about preparing for the unexpected. And biologists found its most important function is improving relationships and helping individuals get along.

Adult play promotes inclusivity, cooperation and creativity—all qualities that we humans could use. Unfortunately, social norms hold back our urge to let loose. “Generally speaking, we like to do the things that are necessary for our survival,” says Peter Gray, a play researcher at Boston University, Humans took one giant step away from fun when we started planting crops. Plowing (耕) fields is hard and boring. Then we invented factories and lost sight of play.”

With threats like climate change, it’s easy to get into seriousness. But we should understand the value of encouraging adult play. The next time I’m caught playing. I know what to say, “I’m playing for the benefit of all humankind. You’ re welcome.”

8 . Our National Public Radio staff and trusted crities have made some recommendations about must-reads.

Rough Sleepers    Tracy Kidder

This uplifting book is about Dr. Jim O’Connell’s work of bringing health care to unhoused people for more than three decades, first in Boston and now in nearly every American city. His work might be a band-aid on the bigger problem of homelessness, but as he said, “This is what we do while waiting for the world to change.”

The Right Call       Sally Jenkins

Sally Jenkins has had a superb career recording the highest achievements in sports by individuals and by teams. With The Right Call, she captures what makes some athletes and coaches reach their peak. Whatever part of life you want to excel in, this book will have you rethinking what you do and how you might do it differently.

The Secret of Cooking       Bee Wilson

More than a cookbook, this is a guide to how to make cooking work for you — and even become a joy. What if you have picky eaters, a full time job and a kitchen with only half the ingredients the recipe calls for? This book has the answers, explaining everything from how to figure out what flavors go together, to how to get easy when everything goes wrong.

Land of Milk and Honey       C Pam Zhang

Set in a future where a mysterious smog has swallowed Earth, causing widespread crop failures and food shortages, the story follows an unnamed chef who finds herself in a world of cooking delights and unequalled sensory experiences among a landscape of despair (绝望). It’s an exploration of human nature, and the choices we make in the face of difficulties.

9 . Nature’s beauty is all around you. Wild flowers shine in bright blues, yellows, and reds. Trees, with unique shaped branches, and leaves, decorate the horizon. Under your feet, pine needles, leaves, and grass give their natural beauty on the earth’s surface. But how many of you take the time to notice all of nature’s wonders?

Hannah Bullen-Ryner is an artist who not only takes the time to “smell the roses”, but she uses them as a medium to craft stunning portraits of birds. Bullen-Ryner, a photographer by trade, began her artistic hobby shortly after her twin daughters were born. The young mother suffered from depression and anxiety. To seek a solution, she turned to nature.

Bullen-Ryner started spending time alone in the woods, foraging for materials: flowers, branches, leaves, and grass. On an impulse (冲动), she started forming a portrait of a bird with the items she had gathered. When her picture was finished, Bullen-Ryner realized that she felt calmand hopeful. The process had been healing and therapeutic (有疗效的).

Bullen-Ryner tells My Modern Met, “Finding the medium of land art has allowed my art and soul to connect to the earth. As a full-time Mama of nearly three-year-old twin girls, and someone who suffers from anxiety, my art is my quiet time, my peace.”

When Bullen-Ryner creates her artwork on the forest floor, she never uses glues or any other material to bond the foraged items. This means that a single breeze is able to carry away or scatter her portrait.

“People often ask me why I don’t make something more permanent or they say it’s such a shame that it’s temporary,” Bullen-Ryner explains. “But for me,” she continues, “it is the short-lived nature of what I do that has become therapy for my soul. I get to put down all my anxieties, my fears, and all the chaos from my brain and turn it into something beautiful to honor Mother Nature. I take some photos and then walk or cycle away, leaving it all behind and feeling calmer, more connected, and truly lighter.”