2 . Ever wondered why your partner is up with the lark (百灵鸟) while you are happily sleeping till noon? It could be thanks to Neanderthal genes, according to a new study.

Scientists comparing ancient DNA with the genetics of modern humans discovered a “striking trend”, said John Capra, an epidemiologist (流行病学家) at the University of California in San Francisco. The researchers found that the Neanderthal genes that remain affect the body clock —increasing tendency to be a morning person.

Neanderthals lived at higher latitudes (纬度) than our ancestors who migrated from Africa — further away from the equator, with the days longer in summer and shorter in winter. “The gene that makes people early risers likely enables more rapid alignment (协调一致) of the circadian clock (生物钟) with changing seasonal light patterns,” Dr Capra said, “when Neanderthals were able to make the most of daylight hours to hunt.”

Scientists have previously explored how the circadian rhythms of insects, plants, and fish have developed depending on latitude. But that hasn’t been well studied in humans. There searchers wanted to see whether there was a genetic reason for differences in circadian rhythms between Neanderthals and modern people, and found 16 variants (变异体) associated with greater “morningness”. They suspected that as Neanderthals and the ancestors of modern humans mated, people today could have followed Neanderthal “circadian variants”.

To test this, scientists analyse the genetics of several hundred thousand people from the UK Biobank and found many of the variants that affect sleep preference. “Most noticeably, they found that these variants increase morningness,” the researchers said. This is consistent with what has been found in other animals that have adapted to living at a high latitude, as Neanderthals did.

Surfing is a thrilling sport that requires a great deal of skill, strength, calm and determination. For teenagers, riding the waves can make their blood racing and is an addictive experience. This is the story of one teenager’s unforgettable adventure while surfing. Alex is a 16-year-old boy who grew up in a small coastal town. He is an enthusiastic surfer and spent most of his free time riding the waves. One sunny morning, he headed out to the beach to catch some waves.

As he arrived at the beach, the sun was shining, and the waves were perfect. He grabbed his surfboard and paddled (用桨划) out into the water. He spent the next few hours surfing, and as the sun began to set, he decided to catch one more wave before heading back to shore.

Alex spotted a huge wave on the horizon and knew he had to ride it. He paddled as fast as he could, feeling the water beneath him push him forward. As he reached the top of the wave, he stood up on his board and felt the wind rush past him. The wave was huge, and Alex felt a rush of excitement as he rode it towards the shore.

But as he approached the shore, he noticed something unusual. The water was moving violently, and he could hear a strange noise coming from beneath him. Suddenly, the wave crashed down on him, and he was thrown from his board. He hit the water hard and was pulled under by the current.

Alex struggled to reach the surface but found himself trapped in a powerful current. The current was pulling him out to sea, and he could feel himself getting further and further away from the shore. Panic set in, and he began to fear for his life.

But Alex was determined not to give up.

The boat noticed him and headed towards him.

6 . Every spring, as the weather warms, trees up and down the East Coast explode in a display of bright green life as leaves fill their branches, and every fall, the same leaves provide one of nature’s great color displays of vivid yellow, orange and red.

Thanks to climate change, the timing of these events has shifted over the last two decades, Harvard scientists say.

Andrew Richardson, an associate professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, and research associate Trevor Keenan worked with colleagues from seven different institutions on a study which found that forests throughout the eastern United States are showing signs of spring growth dramatically earlier, and that the growing season in some areas extends further into the fall.

Richardson said, “Climate change isn’t just about warmer temperatures. It’s also about changes in precipitation (降水) patterns... so in the future, an earlier spring might not help forests take up more carbon dioxide if they end up running out of water in mid-summer.”

The research combined information from three sources. Using satellite data, Keenan tracked when forests across the region began to turn green in the spring, and when leaves began to turn yellow in the fall. Ground observations made every three to seven days at the Harvard Forest in Petersham and a long-term research site in New Hampshire provided information about the state of buds, leaves and branches. When combined with records from instrument towers, the data sets allowed the researchers to paint a richly detailed picture that shows spring starting earlier, and the growing season lasting longer than at any point in the past two decades.

Another important result, Richardson said, was the discovery of a significant source of error in existing computer models on how forest ecosystems work.

“This shows an opportunity to improve the models and how they simulate how forests will work under future climate scenarios forecast.” he said.

The real power of the findings, however, may be in helping to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public, the researchers said.

7 . Sue and Johnsy had their art studio in Greenwich Village.In November,an unknown disease struck this village and Johnsy was seriously sick with it. The doctor took Sue aside and claimed, “She has one chance in ten. And that chance is for her to want to live.”

Sue came into Johnsy’s room, only to find Johnsy’s eyes were open, but they weren’t watching her.Instead,she stared out the window and counted backwards: “Ten, nine, eight, seven... ”

“What are you counting, dear?” asked Sue. “They’re falling faster now,” replied Johnsy. “Three days ago there were almost a hundred. But now there are only five left. When the last one falls, I must go, too. Didn’t the doctor tell you? ”

“Oh, I never heard of such nonsense. Now, try to take some broth(肉汤)，and let yourself relax,” quickly replied Sue. But Johnsy’s mind was made up. “I don’t want any broth. I just want to see the last leaf fall.”

“Try to sleep,” said Sue. Then she went to fetch her neighbour Mr Behrman, a failed painter, to be a model for her drawing. In 40 years he had never produced the masterpiece he longed to paint. Sue told him about Johnsy’s longing to slip away like the leaves. Behrman cried with disbelief, “Such a foolish idea! This is not a place in which Miss Johnsy shall lie sick. Someday I will create a masterpiece, and we shall all go away.”

Behrman and Sue looked out of the window at the vine(藤蔓)and noticed that there was just one remaining leaf. Then they looked at each other for a moment without speaking as if thinking of something artistic. What’s more, a cold rain was falling, mixed with snow.

The next morning, Johnsy woke and asked for the curtains to be opened. One leaf remained on the vine, bravely holding on in the wind and rain. ‘‘It will fall today, for sure. And I will die with it.

That day in the afternoon, the doctor came, not for Johnsy, but for Mr Behrman, who was found lying in bed helplessly with pain, his shoes and clothing wet through and icy cold, and some brushes, paints, a lantern and a ladder on the ground.

The following day, Johnsy commanded that the curtain be raised again.