5 . When antibiotics（抗生素）first became available, farmers used them freely. Now scientists know that the overuse of antibiotics can cultivate drug-resistant bacteria that are dangerous to human health. Among debates over what kinds of restrictions should be put in place, figuring out how antibiotic-resistant bacteria evolve and make their way to humans remains an area of intense interest.

Jo Handelsman is tracing one such pathway that, as she puts it, travels from "farm to table."Handelsman, a microbiologist who is now associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, looked into dairy cows, which are often treated with antibiotics and produce manure（排泄物）that farmers use on their crops. In addition to nutrients, that fertilizer may harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria—a problem because the bacteria can come into contact with plants that are finally shipped to supermarkets and sometimes eaten raw.

To find out how those antibiotic-resistant bacteria come to exist, Handelsman and her colleagues at Yale University added manure from a nearby Connecticut farm to raised beds of soil in 2013. In this case, the manure specifically came from cows that were not treated with antibiotics. The researchers unexpectedly found that there were more soil bacteria carrying antibiotic-resistant genes when they were grown with the manure than when they were grown with synthetic nitrogen-based fertilizer—even though the cows were drug-free.

Previous research has found that manure from pigs treated with antibiotics contains resistant bacteria, but the cow-pie results suggest there are more factors promoting resistance besides antibiotic use. Something about manure itself may encourage naturally resistant bacteria to increase.

The findings should not, however, give the impression that resistance is everywhere, notes Lance Price, a microbiologist at George Washington University（who was not involved in the study）. "We can control this. There's very clear evidence that when we turn off the antibiotic tap, we bring down drug-resistant bacteria," says Lance.

Next on the farm-to-table schedule, Handelsman will test whether radishes grown in soil treated with cow manure are capable of taking up resistant genes from bacteria through their vascular system（循环系统）. "They have veins（血管）just like us," she says. "We don't have any evidence yet that they're taking up the bacteria, but it's a really interesting possibility."

6 . Lily

Studying abroad is an area that is becoming increasingly interesting for researchers, as more students are choosing to do a semester, a year or even a degree in another country. In my research, I set out to establish whether young people attending a course abroad acquire more global awareness than students enrolled on similar courses in their home country, Using a comparative study of 50 Canadian undergraduates, half of whom studied abroad for varying lengths of time, there were shown to be considering gains in global awareness and these were not only noted by the students themselves but also their tutors.

Thomas

My research project asked ten students starting a year of study abroad to keep a daily record of their experiences. Having begun the diary a month before leaving home they continued it for a month after they returned. The primary reason for studying abroad in all cases was to polish their language skill. The students were allowed to write as freely as they wished by were asked to include comments on their language learning experience as well as on the strategies they used to cope with living in a new culture. Analysing the diaries, we found remarkably similar patterns. All the participants demonstrate a gradual recognition and acceptance of difference in other cultures and a new objectivity about their own culture as a result of their experience.

Jasmine

This paper reports on some research carried out last year into why students choose a period of study abroad, their reasons for selecting a specific destination, their behaviour when abroad and the extent to which the experience matches their expectations. Having administered a questionnaire to 1,000 international students studying at a number of universities in Australia, we got 696 responses. An initial analysis of the responses has revealed some interesting data suggesting that the key factor affecting all the areas we were investigating was the individual's personality and study interests. Country of origin and 'gender proved less significant than expected.

Jimmy

This research looked at the career paths of 35 young business people who had spent part of their university course at a foreign educational institution in order to ascertain whether those people had acquired greater cross-cultural perspectives through their experience of study abroad. Concerned about the lack of cultural awareness of their staff, a group of US business corporations proposed the research. The results are less conclusive than expected, but they do suggest that a period of study in a foreign country may help students to develop the cross-cultural awareness that US employers currently seek.

8 . I’m a talker. I am keen on debating, gossiping and teasing when I have people to talk to. Under lockdown, however, I’ve only had my partner, Peter.

We not only lived, worked and travelled together, we mostly socialized together, too. Under the first UK lockdown, our already closeness began to feel uncomfortable. While talking to Peter, I could see his attention drift.

For the first time in our 10 years together, we needed to be alone. I tried to manufacture this by going on walks on my own, but a short walk wasn’t doing the job. I had hiked in remote spaces all over the world but always in a pair or group — for safety reasons. I considered my options and hit upon an idea: the semi-solo hike.

Could we do a circular hike but walk in different directions? This would give us the space and peace of a solo hike — done by a person alone. It felt like a promising way out, and he agreed to give it a try.

We started with a four-mile loop (环路) from Reeth. At the start, we parted ways. At first, I was aware of how close we were, which lessened the appeal. As I gained ground, however, I found myself very much alone. I set my own pace, and I decided to take my time.

I sat on a rock and breathed out. That moment — with the weak sun through the clouds and the breeze blowing — felt extraordinary to me. I was born and raised in London and had never imagined leaving until I met an outdoorsman. Now, my former life as a city girl felt crazy. In remembering what I had gained, I felt the tension leave me. There, in the chilly air, I no longer needed to talk. The semi-solo hike gave us a shared experience with added room to breathe.

I didn’t see Peter on the way but reunited back where we started, both pleased.

The semi-solo hike is admittedly silly in theory, but for me it has been a lifeline. It has given me the gift of time alone and, in a year of constant closeness, the joy of reuniting.