6 . 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.

8 . 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.

9 . As a student researcher at UC Irvine, I need to use various software to collect and analyze data.

When l first started doing research, I found the QuPath software very _________ to use. There were a lot of different tools and a _________ amount of new vocabulary to learn. Luckily, another student who also used the QuPath software walked me _________ a lot of it and although she had her own _________ to work on, she was always ready to _________ any questions.

However, I continued to _________ with the software when she was _________ from the lab and there was no one to ask for help. It took me quite some time and _________ to become all too familiar with the software.

The student who helped me was about to _________, leaving me as the person to whom new student researchers would __________. I would be more than ready for them!

I decided to write a detailed step-by-step guide about how to use QuPath and its different tools so that new students could __________ if they needed advice. A week later, I was asked to help a new student who was learning to use QuPath. He was __________ surprised when I showed him the written instructions. I shared the __________ and also helped him __________ when we were in the lab together.

Once I graduate, I hope that the guide I wrote will __________ to help students for years to come.

10 . 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.”