3 . Some people today might be early risers because of DNA they take after Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, suggests new research.

When early humans migrated from Africa to Eurasia roughly 70,000 years ago, some of them mated with Neanderthals, who had already adapted to the colder, darker climates of the north. The ripple (涟漪) effects of that intermating still exist today: Modern humans of non-African ancestry (血统) have between 1 and 4 percent Neanderthal DNA. Some of that DNA relates to sleep more specifically, the internal body clock known as the circadian rhythm.

For the new study, researchers compared DNA from today’s humans and DNA from Neanderthal fossils (化石). In both groups, they found some of the same genetic variants involved with the circadian rhythm. And they found that modern humans who carry these variants also reported being early risers.

For Neanderthals, being “morning people” might not have been the real benefit of carrying these genes. Instead, scientists suggest, Neanderthals’ DNA gave them faster, more flexible internal body clocks, which allowed them to adjust more easily to annual changes in daylight. This connection makes sense in the context of human history. When early humans moved north out of Africa, they would have experienced variable daylight hours — shorter days in the winter and longer days in the summer-for the first time. The Neanderthals’ circadian rhythm genes likely helped early humans’ offspring (后代) adapt to this new environment.

Notably, the findings do not prove that Neanderthal genes are responsible for the sleep habits of all early risers. Lots of different factors beyond genetics can contribute, including social and environmental influences. The study also only included DNA from a database called the U.K. Biobank—so the findings may not necessarily apply to all modern humans. Next, the research team hopes to study other genetic databases to see if the same link holds true for people of other ancestries. If the findings do apply more broadly, they may one day be useful for improving sleep in the modern world, where circadian rhythms are disturbed by night shifts and glowing smartphones.

4 . “Palace, Mountain, Moon?” has been selected by NASA as the Astronomical Picture of the Day for December 25, 2023.

The photo was taken by Valerio, a young photographer of Turin, Italy. It was shot on the evening of December 15, 2023. While he knew about NASA’s competition, he hadn’t considered participating until receiving much encouragement from his social media followers. Soon after, he received the message, “Your image has been chosen as the astronomical photo of the day.” It was incredible!

In a photo like this, nothing is left to luck. The concept came to him back in 2017. Walking on the hills north of Turin, he found several spots perfect for including both the Basilica of Superga Palace and Mountain Monviso. After numerous visits over several months, he identified four spots where Superga and Monviso line up just right.

After pinpointing these locations, he experimented with shooting them at different times. “I knew I needed something special to perfect the photo. The Sun was a no-go, so I turned to the Moon. Its various phases and position s reach an azimuth angle (方位角) of 230 degrees,” Valerio said. With this in mind, he researched the Moon’s phases, marked potential dates on the calendar, and planned the exact moments when the moon could join the queue.

It was very successful, especially because the Moon was in a waxing phase. This meant that in the photo, not only was its crescent (新月) lit up, but so was the left part, its shadowed side. That part is lit by reflected light, also known as Da Vinci’s glow, named after him because he was the one who theorized about why the Moon’s shadowed side is brightened. During the early days of the waxing Moon phases, the shadowed part is visible because the Sun’s light reflects off the Earth and hits the Moon’s shadowed side, giving it a greyish, silvery color. This allowed the light to outline Monviso on the left as well.

5 . “It’s not unusual for guests to feel emotional when they discover the story behind our food,” says Patrick Navis. “Not to mention when they taste it. One even cried with happiness.” The setting for these tearful scenes? Navis’s restaurant in a Dutch city. Here, the owner and his team create experimental food using herbs, roots, flowers and nuts — some common, others less so.

Most of these ingredients (食材) come from the Ketelbroek Food Forest nearby. To the untrained eye, it’s like an ordinary wood. But there’s one key difference: everything in it is edible. It was set up in 2009 by Dutch botanist and environmentalist Noah Eck as an experiment in slow farming, to see what would happen if the right combination of food plants were left to grow together like a natural forest, without chemicals.

“It’s the first ‘food forest’ of its kind in Europe and we’re one of the few restaurants around the world cooperating in this way,”says Navis.“We have over 400 different species of edible plants we plan our menus around, including some we previously knew little about.” He harvests the ingredients and, with his fellow chefs, works them into beautifully presented tasting menus, served in a dining room hidden in the backstreets of the city,

“To us, fine dining is not about the fame of a restaurant, its location, expensive decoration, fancy cooking and wine list,”says Navis.“It’s about adding value through creativity and using ingredients nobody knows of, which are grown with great attention.” However, he adds, luxury cooking can be about enhancing everyday ingredients, too.

“When looking at cooking in this way, who can argue that caviar (鱼子酱), for example, is more valuable than a carrot grown with specialist knowledge?”

Experimentation is extremely important to Navis. In the next five years, he hopes to open an outdoor restaurant. But for now, the most important thing is to continue focusing on how plants are being grown and the perennial system used in the Food Forest, reducing the need for replanting each season.

6 . It was dinner time, yet I hadn’t finished my work for the day. Cheery people who were enjoying their holiday time buzzed around me. But with my head down and headphones in, I had interacted with very few of them. The day passed more like a fast-forwarded video than something that I actually fully experienced.     1    

This was my first week living the digital nomad lifestyle. I had left my corporate role and found freelance (自由职业的) writing work online to afford me the freedom to travel.     2     With enthusiasm, I expected my attitude would also change. Instead, the first surprising realization of my travel journey had hit: despite changing my formal suits to casuals, I was the exact same person I had been at home.

I had prepared excitedly, surfing online about digital nomadism.     3    While you might expect finances to be the biggest killer of this lifestyle, unrealistic expectations are the death blow that I hear about most often. After six years abroad, realism is now the primary message I share.

    4     Instead of an office room, you’ll work from a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean or a sunny rooftop in the heart of Marrakesh. Instead of waiting at the coffee machine next to complaining colleagues, your daily coffee run will lead you down dusty cobblestone streets into tiny cafes. These dreams exist and are waiting for you once you clear customs.

But that’s not all that’s waiting for new digital nomads.     5     At-home life and life on the road can at times feel shockingly similar, or, if bad work habits take over, even worse. It’s an important expectation to understand before you set out on your digital nomad lifestyle: your surroundings will change, but you take you everywhere that you go. No matter how ultra-light you pack.