1 . Do you ever find yourself saving the good things in life for some distant moment in the future? Maybe you have a collection of fancy plates that only see the light of day on special occasions, or perhaps you’re waiting for the perfect time to wear that beautiful dress put away in your closet.     1    

In a recent conversation with leading psychologist Dr. Alison McClymont, we explored the idea of giving ourselves permission to enjoy the good things now, rather than waiting for an uncertain future.     2     So saving pleasure for the future may be pointless.

But why do we feel the need to save things for best?     3     It’s typically British to save our crockery or clothes for “special” occasions. This mindset may have originated from times when resources were not enough and has been passed down through generations. However, when we feel abundant, we are more willing to use and appreciate our favorite things regularly.

Welcoming the joy of everyday life can be seen as an act of self-love. We are supposed to surround ourselves with things that bring us happiness, even in ordinary moments.     4     It’s also about finding ways to renew our worth, fighting the negative thoughts that we don’t deserve to enjoy the good things in life.

    5     Take out those fancy plates for a simple weeknight dinner. Wear that beautiful dress to run errands or pick up your kids from school. Celebrate the small moments and make them extraordinary. Because in the end, life is too short to deny ourselves joy. Let’s break free from the mindset of waiting for the perfect moment. Embrace the joy of everyday life and make every day a celebration.

2 . When American anthropologist Colin Turnbull published The Mountain People in 1972, he referred to his subjects — a Ugandan group called the Ik — as “the loveless people.” After two years of observations, he decided that they reflected humanity’s basic instincts (本能): cheat, thievery, and pitilessness. But when Athena Aktipis and her colleagues from the Human Generosity Project took a deeper look, they identified a community that shared everything. “Turnbull had visited Uganda during a disastrous famine (饥荒). All he saw is what happens when people are starving.” says Aktipis. But her team revealed that despite living under pressure, the Ik placed a high value on helping one another when they could.

Aktipis believes that altruism is more common and beneficial than evolutionary social science has long thought. “It was assumed that people are designed to only do things to help themselves or their relatives.” she says. By studying the unique, selfless practices that helped nine communities across the world to continue to exist, the experts from the Project are looking to show that we are indeed capable of widespread cooperation.

The Maasai people in Kenya provide one of the project’s main points. They rely on two-way friendships for resources like food or water when they’re in need, without expecting any repayment. Also, a world away, in New Mexico, while folks often help transport cattle and receive support in return, they will assist without repayment if someone faces difficulties, such as an injury or the death of a loved one.

Aktipis believes theoretical frameworks she’s perfected through studying these groups can apply broadly to any interdependent systems. Her big goal is to design social-service systems that support everyone. Take market-based insurance in the United States as an example: It’s priced based on individual risk factors such as health histories and where people live, which means millions of Americans can’t afford it. But in a system built on neighboring, pooled costs (合并成本) would level the burden during collective hardship like natural disasters and pandemics.

3 . Keeping animals safe on the road

Roadkill is not a rare sight when driving down most highways and sometimes also on roadways in cities.     1    . A recent study has measured, for the first time, the damage that can be caused to animals in urban areas on China’s fast-developing road network.

    2    . Li Zhongqiu and his team from Nanjing University’s School of Life looked at the problem in cities, where roadkill could have an even larger impact.

They chose Nanjing as the study subject, where there are more than 9,700 kilometers of paved roads. A total of nine roads were chosen for the research, including three national highways.     3    . The researchers then monitored the roads every two weeks over a year. The team recorded a total of 293 individual roadkill cases. Birds made up nearly half the total, making them the most susceptible (易受影响的) group to roadkill.     4    . “This may be owing to the large number of stray (流浪的) cats and dogs in urban areas,” Li said. “Abandoned pets are more likely to wander into traffic.” Also, there are a large number of black birds in East China, and they can be attracted by flies or other insects, leading to further accidents.     5    . This may be owing to the fact that some warm-blooded animals have to go out and search for food during these times when food is hard to find. “Roadkill has resulted in the decline (下降) of urban animal populations and must be taken seriously,” Li said. The researchers also call on policymakers to put forward related traffic rules and animal protection rules, such as speed limits and traffic controls.

4 . Two and a half millennia ago, Socrates complained that writing would harm students. Socrates did not have peer-reviewed science to make his case about the usefulness of learning concepts by heart.

Today a different debate is raging about the dangers of another technology-computers and the typing people do on them. As primary-school pupils and PhD hopefuls return for a new school year, many will do so with a greater-than-ever reliance on computers to take notes and write papers. Some parents of younger students are dismayed that their children are not just encouraged but required to take laptops to class.

A line of research shows the benefits of an “innovation” ahead of computers: handwriting. Studies have found that writing on paper can improve everything from recalling a random series of words to imparting a better conceptual grasp of complicated ideas.

Handwriting—which takes longer for nearly all university-level students—forces note-takers to synthesize ideas into their own words. This aids conceptual understanding at the moment of writing. But those taking notes by hand also perform better on tests when students are later able to study from their notes. The effect even persisted when the students who typed were explicitly instructed to rephrase the material in their own words. The instruction was “completely ineffective” at reducing verbatim(逐字逐句地) note-taking, the researchers note: they did not understand the material so much as parrot it.

Many studies have confirmed handwriting’s benefits, and policymakers have taken note. However, several school systems in America have gone so far as to ban most laptops. This is too extreme. Some students have disabilities that make handwriting especially hard. Nearly all will eventually need typing skills. And typing can improve the quality of writing: being able to get ideas down quickly, before they are forgotten, can obviously be beneficial.

Virginia Berninger, professor of psychology at the University of Washington, is a longtime advocate of handwriting. But she is not a purist. Since students spend more time on devices as they age, she argues for occasional “tuning up” of handwriting in later school years.

6 . Olympian weight-lifter Thodoris Iakovidis shocked the public that he cannot continue with the multiple financial difficulties he faces.     1     In the meantime, he exposed the Greek state when he burst into tears on a live interview.

“    2    ” He said after competing in Tokyo Olympic Games. “I’m sorry if anyone thinks I’m running away.” He revealed that he receives 200 euros per month by the Greek Federation for his competing preparation. Iakovidis’parents told media that Thodoris sometimes has to stop his training in order to work and earn money to finance it.

Iakovidis’ statement shocked ordinary Greeks first of all. They launched a campaign on Twitter and Instagram to increase his followers and also attract sponsors.     3     Some sponsors reportedly got in contact with him saying they want to meet him when he returns from Tokyo.

Speaking to Open TV on Sunday, Iakovidis said thanking his new supporters: “The problem is not to fix my thing.     4     Numerous athletes need support. ”

Stressing that he will continue if the conditions change, he added, “But I do not think it’s moral to continue with sponsors for another three years. Many others have to go through the same difficulties as now. I want the state mechanism to help all the athletes.”     5    

7 . Twenty-two years ago, I won a Nobel Prize, together with Tim and Leland Hartwell, for our work on how cells control their division.

The prize changed our lives. Suddenly you become a public figure being asked to do all sorts of things: to give lectures, quite often on topics you know little about; to sit on committees and reviews you are not always well qualified to be on; to visit countries you have barely heard of. It is like having a whole new extra job, with upwards of 500 requests a year.

A recent study suggests that in general the extra commitments that Nobel winners take on result in fewer papers after their awards. There may be some truth to this given the extra demands on one’s time, but of course prestigious awards also allow new projects and research to be undertaken.

What effects did the Nobel Prize have on my subsequent career and work? It has certainly helped me to get scientific leadership positions. Within a year of getting the prize I was offered and accepted the presidency of Rockefeller University in New York. Having the prize also helps to get things done. For example, I have been involved in the merging of two separate cancer research charities to form Cancer Research UK. And it has helped me support causes I care deeply about. I became an ambassador for Ukraine education and science to help raise money for schools in that shattered country. Moreover, having a Nobel does help attract high-quality research colleagues. I have just started three excellent new PhD   students. It is a privilege for me to be able to pursue curiosity-driven research at this late stage of my career.

However, one thing I am glad to say that the Nobel Prize did not influence was peer review from my fellow scientists, assessing the suitability of my own research for publication, and my grant applications for funding. My rejection rates have remained essentially the same before and after the prize. And that, of course, is exactly how it should be.

9 . Right at this moment, cockroaches (蟑螂) are doing more to save the environment than you are. A big overstatement? Not if you’ve ever thrown away leftovers from your plate or bought more food than you could manage to cook in a week. You’re part of the food waste problem. But just like cockroaches, you can also be part of the solution.

For example, some farmers in Asia and Africa collect tomatoes in big bags, which means that many of them get crushed out of shape and spoiled before they can be sold or eaten. Switching the bags for large wooden containers already lowers the amount of food lost. Similar successes can and have been achieved in various regions with weather-protected storage facilities.

Let’s focus on China for a second. It’s one of the few countries with an innovative approach to minimizing the environmental impact of food waste. How does it do it? Cockroaches. Millions of the tiny creatures are kept in farms in the suburban districts of big cities. Every morning, food waste is delivered by the tonnes and fed to the cockroaches. Just like tiny pigs, they’re not picky and devour everything quickly. After they die, they’re processed into protein-rich feed for animals such as cows or sheep, or used for cosmetic products and Chinese medicine. It’s an efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative to dumping leftover food in a landfill. Cockroaches aren’t going to solve the problem with food waste, but they can serve as an inspiration for finding other similar solutions on a wider scale.

To avoid food waste completely, improvements are needed at every step of the food supply chain, from production to retail. These take time and are often out of your hands as a consumer. But a meaningful reduction of food waste is definitely in your hands. You can not only buy less and shop more often, but also cut down on animal products.