1 . The teenage years are a transformative period marked by great physical, psychological, and emotional changes.     1     They refer to the feelings that arise during interactions with others, such as gratitude, shame, sympathy, guilt, and pride.

Understanding and managing social emotions can help develop teenagers’ identities. Teenagers experience a wide range of emotions from social interactions, which significantly influences their self-understanding and social awareness. In the process, they learn to understand, and appropriately respond to both their own emotions and those of others.     2    

In academic settings, social emotional competencies like self-regulation, motivation, and social awareness directly impact a teenager’s ability to learn, participate, and engage in school activities.     3     Teenagers with strong social emotional skills are better equipped to handle stress, resist peer pressure, and avoid risky behaviors, reducing the likelihood of developing mental health issues.

Learning social emotions involves a combination of personal experience, guidance, and formal education.     4     This environment influences teenagers’ earliest understanding of how to communicate and manage their emotions. They feel safe and supportive to express their emotions freely and learn to manage them without fear of judgment. Schools also play a significant role through social emotional learning programs that teach these skills in a structured environment. Community involvement, extracurricular activities, and peer (同伴) interactions offer additional opportunities for teenagers to practice and refine their social emotional skills.

    5     It contributes to a teenager’s ability to manage their own emotions, understand others’ emotions, and face social complexities. This learning is a cornerstone for shaping their identity, influencing their interpersonal relationships, academic success, mental health, and future life outcomes.

2 . Are you an early bird or a night owl? Our activity patterns and sleep cycles could influence our risk of heart disease. New research published in Experimental Physiology found wake/sleep cycles cause metabolic (新陈代谢) differences and change our body’s preference for energy sources.

Researchers from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA classified participants into two groups(early and late) based on their natural tendency to seek activity and sleep at different times. The participants were monitored for a week to assess their activity patterns across the day. They ate a calorie and nutrition-controlled diet and had to fast overnight to minimize dietary impact on the results. To study fuel preference, they were tested while at rest before completing two 15-minute period of exercise: one moderate and one high intensity session on a running machine. Aerobic fitness levels were tested through an incline challenge where the incline was raised 2.5% every two minutes until the participant reached a point of exhaustion.

The researchers found that those who stay up later have a reduced ability to use fat for energy, meaning fats may build up in the body and increase the risk of heart disease. People who are ‘early birds’ rely more on fat as an energy source and are more active during the day with, higher levels of aerobic fitness than ‘night owls’. On the other hand, ‘night owls’ use less fat for energy at rest and during exercise.

Researchers also found that early birds use more fat for energy at both rest and during exercise than night owls. Professor Steven Malin from Rutgers University said, “We found that early birds are more physically active and have higher fitness levels than night owls. Farther research is needed to examine the link between exercise and metabolic adaptation to identify whether exercising earlier in the day has greater health benefits.”

4 . An apology tells someone that we’re sorry for the hurt we caused — even if we didn’t do it on purpose. It’s a way of saying we’re aware of what we did and we’ll try to do better in future.

    1    . Sometimes we hurt people’s feelings without wanting to. Sometimes, we do it on purpose and feel bad later on. So we apologize.

Apologies are one of the tools that we use to get along better with other people. Saying that you’re sorry is more than just words.     2    . Apologizing shows you can understand the other person’s feelings as if they were your own. What’s more, after apologizing, you might feel a little better. The other person probably will, too.     3    , you can feel good because you are trying to make things right again.

Everyone needs to apologize when they do something wrong. For example, if someone is irritated because of something you did, you need to apologize. If you say something that hurts someone, even if you don’t mean it, then you should apologize.     4    .

When someone apologizes to you, you may welcome it and be ready to forgive.     5    . If a person keeps hurting you and apologizing without making an effort to change, you might not want to hang out with that person anymore. However, it’s always good to accept an apology.

5 . When it comes to thriving under pressure, microbes (微生物) have us solidly beat. New research reveals that Carno-bacterium, a genus often associated with spoiled meat, can successfully divide and reproduce across an enormous range of external pressures — from the equivalent of a very thin atmosphere to crushing ocean depths. This adaptability is unknown for any other life-forms on Earth, researchers report in Astrobiology. Such hardiness suggests a single organism could survive in totally different environments throughout the solar system.

Based on previous findings of various Carno-bacterium strains (菌群) growing well at high and low pressures, University of Florida microbiologist Wayne Nicholson and his colleagues systematically examined 14 strains’ responses to a wide span of pressure conditions. The team focused on strains isolated not only from meat (including seafood, chicken, etc.) but also from Siberian permafrost, an Antarctic lake and deep within the North Pacific’s Aleutian Trench.

In the laboratory, Nicholson and his team exposed each strain to pressures ranging from 0.01 to 100 times Earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level―corresponding to the pressures on the surface of Mars and inside the liquid water ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa, respectively. The researchers found that 11 strains grew measurably at every pressure tested. Very few past studies focused on how well microbes tolerate a range of pressures, Nicholson says, but these results are nonetheless surprising given that most other organisms seem to be far more pressure-sensitive. “Humans have trouble breathing on Mount Everest,” he notes, “and that’s about 30 percent of sea-level atmospheric pressure.“

Other bacteria have been shown to do well at comparably high pressures, says Felipe Gómez Gómez, an astrobiologist at the National Institute of Aerospace Technology in Madrid, who was not involved in the study. But these results are novel because they show that the same Carno-bacterium strains can endure so much pressure variation, he says: “What’s really challenging is the whole range.” These microbes’ ability means they could, for instance, theoretically survive at various depths in an alien ocean, Gómez Gómez adds.“ This has far-reaching astro-biological implications.”

6 . Herman Rawi from Malaysia uploads TikTok videos of him tasting all kinds of food. But the video of him eating snow on Jan.28 is the only one that comes with a cautionary warning.

Having to battle hot weathers on the equator for most time of the year, almost all of Malaysians love cold dessert. Perhaps this is why Herman tends to lack self-control when he sees snow. During his recent trip to Yamagata, Japan, he filmed himself eating a ball of snow. “A reason — I had terrible fever, cough, runny nose and body aches for eight days,” he wrote in the video’s description.

Herman claimed, “I used to eat snow during the winter when I studied in the UK years ago. I would often go for the freshest snow at an undisturbed place and never fell sick.”

While you may assume snow that’s freshly fallen and collected in an undisturbed area is free of any harmful substances, don’t be so sure. According to meteorologist Mary Scarzello Fairbanks, snow isn’t all that pure. “It’s formed when water-drops freeze around some dust in the air, forming an ice crystal that continues to collect water vapor and form a snowflake. When the snowflake falls, it will also collect things hanging in the air, including dirt and even bacterial particles. If it’s windy, snow could even mix with dirt kicked up from the soil before settling,” he said.

A 2015 study published in the journal Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts even demonstrated how snow could mix with gasoline exhaust 2. This all means that, theoretically, your snow ice cream could have some pretty disgusting “flavorings”.

Eating snow in an emergency is another matter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns against snow snacking for anyone who is trapped, such as hikers, because it can lower one’s body temperature. In cases where there is a water supply issue, the CDC says it’s safe to take collected snow and boil it to kill some harmful bacteria.

9 . There is a mountain of great ski opportunities not too far from Boston. Road-trip to one of these fantastic ski mountains this winter.

Blue Hills Ski Area

A ski day trip doesn’t get any easier than the Blue Hills Ski Area. It is the only snow sports facility in the metro area. Skiing and snowboarding are spread over its 60 skiable acres, 90% of which are equipped for snowmaking. The vertical drop is 309 feet and there are four lifts serving the 16 trails, most of which are for advanced skiers. There are lessons for kids and adults to help you get there.

Crochet Mountain Resort

It’s famous for signature “Midnight Madness” events and daily night skiing. It has an 875-foot vertical drop and 23 trails across 75 skiable acres. A great mountain for skiers, half its terrain is graded for intermediates with the rest being split between advanced and beginner terrain.

Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort

It’s the only one of ski resorts to be 100% powered by renewable energy sources. Skiers will find a 1,150-foot vertical drop, 45 trails, 3 terrain parks and 9 lifts across 167 skiable acres. The whole family can take lessons, enjoy dining or buy a ticket and go for a ride on the 3,600-foot Mountain Coaster!

Smugglers’ Notch

Smugglers’ Notch has a 2,564-foot vertical drop, 78 trails, 5 terrain parks and 8 lifts spread across 1,000 skiable acres. Known as a full-service family-oriented resort, it offers plenty to do off mountain like ice skating, arts and crafts workshops and an indoor swimming pool!