2 . Personality has been described in all sorts of animal species. Some are shy while others are active. Now a new study suggests experts can reliably measure animal personality simply from the way animals move, and that the method could be used to help scientists and mathematicians from Swansea University and the University of Essex filmed the movements of 15 three-spined stickleback fish (三刺鱼) swimming in a tank which contained two ,three or five plastic plants in fixed positions. Using the high-resolution tracking data from video recordings, the team measured how long and how often the fish turned, and how long they stopped and started moving.

The data showed that each fish’s movements were very different, and that these differences were highly repeatable—so mush so that the researchers could identify a fish just from its movement data.

Dr Ines Furthbauerm, a co-author of the study from Swansea University, said, “These personalities in fish are like signatures—different and unique to an individual. We found the fish’s signatures were the same when we made simple changes to the fish tanks, such as adding additional plants. However, it is possible that these signatures change gradually over an animal’s lifetime, or suddenly if an animal meets something new or unexpected in its environment. Tracking animals’ movements over longer periods and in the wild will give us this sort of insight and help us better understand not only personality but also how flexible an animal’s behavior is.”

Dr Andrew King, lead author from Swansea University, said, “The research is significant because it suggest we might be able to quantify personality differences in wild animals.

4 . In the hunt for new materials, scientists have traditionally relied on studying in the lab by trial and error. But now a new battery material has been discovered by integrating two computing superpowers: AI and supercomputing. It’s a discovery that focuses on the potential for using computers to help scientists discover materials suited to specific needs.

Calculations (计算) reduce original 32 million materials to just 23 promising options, researchers from PNNL report in a paper. The team then synthesized (合成) and tested one of those materials and created a working battery model. While scientists have used AI to predict materials’ qualities before, previous studies typically haven’t seen that process through to producing the new material. The nice thing about this paper is that it goes all the way from start to finish.

The researchers targeted a desired type of battery material: a solid electrolyte (电解质). In typical batteries, the electrolyte is a liquid. But that comes with dangers, like causing fires. Developing batteries with solid electrolytes is a major aim of materials scientists.

Sorting through the original 32 million materials with traditional physics calculations would have taken tens of years, but with machine learning techniques, which can make quick predictions based on patterns learned from known materials, the calculation produced results in just 80 hours.

First, the researchers used AI to sort the materials based on stability, which narrowed the list down to fewer than 600,000 options. Further AI analysis selected materials likely to have the electrical and chemical qualities necessary for batteries. That left the researchers with 23 options. Researchers picked a material with suitable stability and conductivity. Then they set to work synthesizing it, eventually making it into a model battery. And it worked.

“That’s when we got very excited,” says materials scientist Vijay. Going from the synthesis stage to the functional battery took about six months. “That is superfast.” The study is one of many efforts to use AI to discover new materials in the future. He says he hopes others will pick up the tool and use it for a variety of scientific efforts.

5 . A recent citizen science study suggests that eating really wild food could improve gut (消化道) health, blood sugar and BMI.

Richard Mawby, who lived entirely on wild food for three months, lost 20kg in the process. Mawby is one of 26 UK foragers (觅食者) who took part in The Wildbiome Project, which was set up by foraging expert Monica Wilde, who got the idea after surviving on foraged foods for the whole of 2021.

It measured the impact on blood sugar, BMI and gut health — with exhilarating results. Participants of the project who were fat at the beginning lost an average of 5.6kg, and 16% of their body weight. One, foraging teacher Matthew Rooney, said he reduced his blood sugar level from 65 to a normal 40 within 10 days.

Though at least one participant mentioned being more tired than usual while on the diet, generally speaking, the foragers appeared to be healthier, reporting having increased energy and improved mental wellbeing. Gut health also improved. Wilde suggests this is due to the diversity of a wild diet. lt should be pointed out that all participants had food like fruits, seaweed in their freezers. They also added rabbit and fish and organic chicken eggs.

Of course, Wilde doesn’t expect everyone to adopt a 100%-foraged diet. “Even integrating a few wild foods could be beneficial,” she said. Indeed, Wilde points out that wild foods are often more nutritional than farmed ones, which are raised for size rather than nutritional value. “Eating wild also means eating seasonally. Following the advice that nature gives us is bound to be good for us — and the planet.”

Mawby agreed. “The project was a breath of fresh air,” he said. “I felt in harmony with my surroundings, seeing a noticeable improvement. Now, I’m more in tune with my body, and though I’ve reintroduced cacao and spices, really wild diets are still firmly on the menu.”

9 . The idiom”shoot for the stars” has just taken on a literal meaning for cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux from Memphis, Tennessee. On February 22, 29-year-old Hayley was selected to be one of four crew members of the SpaceX Inspiration 4—the world’s first civilian astronaut mission.

Two decades ago, Hayley happened to go to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas with her family. “I got to see where the astronauts received training and I wanted to be an astronaut after that,” she recalls.

However, the young girl’s dream was derailed a year later when she was diagnosed with bone cancer. Fortunately, the expert at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis stopped its spread by replacing the diseased bones with metal rods in the left leg. Learning her dream of becoming an astronaut would probably never be realized, the young girl decided to work with young cancer patients at the hospital where she had been cured.

As it turned out, Hayley’s dream of going to space was far from over. On January 5, she got a surprise call from Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4 Payments, seriously asking her if she’d like to go to space. “Immediately I said, ‘Yes, yes, absolutely!’”Arceneaus said.

When SpaceX announced the world’s firs all-commercial astronaut mission, the 37-year- old billionaire instantly booked the available four seats. To make the journey more meaningful, Isaacman announced he’d donate three seats to members of the general public.

Haylay, the first crew member to be announced, will represent “hope”—a nod to her survival of cancer and frontline work at St. Jude. The second passenger, representing “generosity”, will be chosen randomly from a sweepstake(抽奖)to raise $200 million for the cancer hospital, which treats children at no charge. The last sea, representing “prosperity”, will be given to an entrepreneur who adopts the Shift4 Payments platform for their company.

While Hayley is set to be the first person with a so-called disability to go to space, she won’t be the last.

10 . It's a great idea to reread novels.     1     For a while, I saw little point in rereading. Why reread a favorite when there are other books waiting for you? Most book lovers have long books waiting to be read. It seems a waste of time to reread a novel. The aspect of time is a crucial point for readers — a novel simply is not a poem, short story or movie.

    2     For one, the purpose of reading changes. You are no longer familiarizing yourself with the plot, characters or setting. These points were made clear in the first read. Rather, the second and third reading allows greater focus on the theme, literary references, style and the more subtle (细微的) aspects of the novel. This makes for a more enjoyable read. In many ways, a novel is like an endless treasure chest.    3    .

Another pleasant part of rereading is the lack of need to “understand” a novel. You've already read it and can now determine the extent of your enjoyment. However, there's a possibility of disliking a novel at second glance (再看一眼). There's   nothing wrong with this!     4     It's through rereading that we develop an understanding of our tastes.

I'm not suggesting that rereading is superior to (优于) reading novels for the first time. Yet, it's worth arranging time for two or three novels a year. You shouldn't reread any book. Rather pick a favorite to start with, preferably a story you read over a year ago.     5     It's entirely possible not to enjoy a novel at first but appreciate it at a different stage in your life.