3 . Are you interested in robot-science? What do you think robots are capable of? Let’s have a review of world-leading technology gathered at the World Robot Conference (WRC) 2022.

Technology in agriculture

A fruit-picking robot attracted visitors’ attention. With the help of various sensors and an AI system, the robot can collect fruit according to its ripeness, quality and size. The robot first locates the fruit and then uses sensors to decide whether it is ripe, with a robotic arm picking the fruit gently. The fruit is then categorized, ending up in a basket according to its size. It is said that more robotic technology will be used in agriculture in the future, including robots for daily inspection and weeding.

Robots fighting Covid-19

Medical staff conducting nucleic acid tests often find their work toilsome, especially under the summer heat. A nucleic acid test robot developed by Tsinghua University and a Chinese biotech company was presented at the WRC. It looks like a vending machine, but the robot can collect throat swabs (拭子), process samples, as well as produce and upload the results within 45 minutes. The whole process will not require the involvement of humans or laboratories.

Inventions of the youth

Those visiting the exhibit also witnessed the intelligence of a new generation. Wang Zirun, a junior student at the school, designed a three-dimensional parking facility model. Since there are usually too few parking spaces in older residential areas, Wang’s work aims to fit more cars into current parking spots. The facility works like a sky wheel with six parking spots. When cars need to be picked up, the facility rotates steadily, placing the car on the ground.

4 . It takes a lot of hard work and determination to achieve big goals. Many times, people must persevere in spite of obstacles to realize their dreams. Collette Divitto is a talented baker who managed to do just that. She used her bright personality, determination, and talent to become an entrepreneur.

Collette Divitto was born in Boston. Like many others, after graduating from college, she wanted to get a job. She went to many job interviews, but she kept getting rejected. Many employers said she was “not the right fit”. Divitto believed she was being rejected so often in that she was born with Down syndrome, which is a genetic disorder related to a person’s chromosomes. People with Down syndrome often have intellectual or physical disabilities.

Facing many job rejections, Divitto felt discouraged and hurt. She felt she wanted to open her own business and be her own boss. She thought about her hobbies and passions. Divitto knew she loved baking. She would always create delicious recipes to share with her family and friends. One of these recipes was for a chocolate chip cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. Her mom tasted the cookies and urged her to write down the recipe to make them again. Divitto began baking and selling her chocolate cookies locally, calling her business “Collettey’s Cookies”. She took her cookies to a local grocery store named Golden Goose Market. Immediately after tasting the cookies, the market decided to sell Devitto’s cookies. Golden Goose Market became Divitto’s first client. Eventually, a television station shared the story of Divitto’s ccokie business. Her story went viral!

Divitto didn’t just create Collectey’s Cookies to sell delicious baked goods. She has a great ambition to expand her business so that she can hire as many people as possible. Currently, many of her employees have disabilities. Divitto also wants non-disabled business owners to see the strengths and talents of people with disabilities. The majority of disabled people who can work cannot find paying jobs. Even when they do get jobs, they are often paid less than the minimum wage. Divitto wants to change these statistics. She wants to make sure people with disabilities get jobs that pay fairly.

7 . Forty-five minutes was considered an appropriate amount of time to supply 12-year-old me — and 20 other teenagers — with enough information about eating disorders to last us through high school. A documentary shown on a dusty VHS tape that had obviously been in use since the early 2000s, about two girls suffering from anorexia and bulimia, had been my only source for eating disorder awareness for five years. No reflection time followed, no discussion was started, and no questions were asked.

Flash forward five years I still know nothing. It wasn’t until I was 16 that I learned, via TikTok, that my daily diet of 1,000 calories is barely enough for a two-year-old, let alone a developing teenager. Despite being educated in America’s sixth best county in education, I only had a single image of what an eating disorder looked like: a skin-and-bones teenage girl with sunken eyes. Schools are clearly ill-equipped to educate students on eating disorders and how they can prevent them.

Teenagers have failed to learn about the most common eating disorder in the country because it isn’t taught in many school curriculum: binge eating disorder (暴食症). It is more common than anorexia, affecting 2.8 million Americans, including 1.2 percent of all adolescents. Additionally, it’s reported that males make up 40 percent of those with binge eating disorder, which contradicts the existing opinion that only women are affected by eating disorders.

Instead of learning about eating disorders, my junior health class taught me how to count my calories. According to registered dietitian Christy Harrison, “disordered eating patterns began with calorie counting.” Despite this, health classes across the country continue to require students to track their daily calorie intake.

We need a developed and well-informed eating disorder curriculum. After all, the damage of a seemingly harmless 45-minute video may last someone a lifetime.

8 . It is that time of the year, when a handful of world’s leading scholars, social activists and researchers are rewarded with what is often cited as the most prestigious acknowledgement of human effort-the Nobel Prize. Here’s a look at who has won the prize and for what.

Physiology or Medicine

Swedish geneticist Svante Peabo won the first Nobel of the year, for starting the field of ancient DNA studies. He is well-known for extracting, sequencing, and analyzing ancient DNA from Neanderthal bones.

Physics

Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger’s work in quantum (量子) technology landed them the second Nobel Prize announced in 2022. Although Aspect is from France, Clauser from the U.S, and Zeilinger from Austria, the three separately performed “groundbreaking experiments” as one team. “Their results have cleared the way for new technology,” the committee stated.

Chemistry

The Nobel Prize for chemistry went to another trio, Carolyn R. Bertozzi from the U.S., Morten Meldal from Denmark and K. Barry Sharpless from the U.S. “for the development of click chemistry and biorthogonal chemistry,” the committee stated. Dr. Bertozzi is the eighth woman chemist to be awarded the prize, while Dr. Sharpless is the fifth scientist to be awarded two Nobel Prizes.

Economics

The Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to three American economists, Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig “for research on banks and financial crises,” the Nobel Prize committee announced on Monday. By studying the history of American economics, particularly the Great Depression of the 1930s,they improved how we understand the role of banks during times of hardship and the bank’s impact on societal functions.

9 . Four Best Outdoor Winter Activities Around the Midwest

Don’t let winter freeze you out. When the outside ices over, Midwesterners should take advantage of it. Look through our list and find the season’s coolest activities.

Once you walk, the ice talks, or rather, sings. When you step onto a frozen lake (remember, the ice must be at least 4 inches thick), it responds with different sounds. Even in the stillness of winters, the lake reminds you it’s still here—and still alive.

To all Queen Elsa’s fans: Your palaces are waiting for you. Ice artists here have carved walk-through castles with underground passages, slides and frozen fountains looking like natural formations. At night, colorful LEDs light up the ice. Take a seat on an ice throne—the cold never bothers you anyway.

Live out your Beijing 2022 fantasies at the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park. Three-time Olympian Frank Masley designed an 850-foot long track where green hands are accepted. Sleds can reach speeds of up to 30 mph on it. Come and enjoy this unique experience!

In the clear blue sky, a school of fish is streaming in the wind, tailed by a hungry, fierce dragon. Look up, and you’re floating in a fantasy world. Look down, and you realize you’re grounded—on solid ice. Clear Lake’s Color the Wind kite festival began about 20 years ago to brighten up dull winter days.

10 . Just two months before his senior year in high school, Foster Andersen was riding a motorcycle in his hometown of Henrietta, N.Y., when he crashed. The accident left him in a coma. He remained in a hospital for seven months.

In the nearly 40 years that have followed, Andersen has to use a wheelchair. He can write when a pen is intertwined in his fingers, but he needs an assistant to help him with everyday needs. However, a quick survey of his achievements shows not one, but two college degrees and a huge network of people who call him friend. And probably the best example of Andersen’s spirit is his nonprofit group Shared Adventures. Last summer the organization celebrated 21 years of bringing recreational and social activities to people with disabilities.

“It’s founded on the belief that recreation, fun, challenge and opportunity to the outdoors are necessary parts of a healthy life,” Andersen said. “We are the only year-round program that offers such a wide range of activities to people with physical challenges and special needs.”

Cycling is on today’s schedule. A group of about 50 people gather at the campus of California State University for a 25-mile ride along the California coast.

Besides cycling, Shared Adventures offers year-round classes in yoga, gardening and art. It also hosts many social events, such as a winter holiday party.

The most well-known event is called Day on the Beach. Last year, nearly 1,200 volunteers and participants gathered on the Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz to give participants a rare opportunity to surf in the Pacific Ocean.

Wendy Bell, a disabled yoga teacher and Day on the Beach participant, said the event is the best example of the great experience the organization offers. And Shared Adventures helps her in another way. “More than half of the people I meet are through Shared Adventures, so it provides something that can be hard to find elsewhere,” she said.