1 . Back pain can make it difficult for many people to function in everyday life.     1     If you suffer from back pain, read on for four everyday fixes.

Our bodies need adequate movement throughout the day to avoid the stiffness that contributes to aches and pains. If the weather is good, don't hunt for the nearest parking spot; don't take the elevator when you have the option of one or two flights of stairs. When you need to sit for long periods, set a timer to get up every hour and be active for just a few minutes.     2    

When we overuse our dominant side, we create muscle patterns of weakness and tension that increase pain, especially in our backs. Consider the actions you take repeatedly throughout the day that shift your weight to one side.     3     And use your opposite hand every so often for basic activities, such as opening doors.

Psychological stress is a noted risk factor for back pain, according to research. Most mental stress is caused by focusing on the past or future.     4     A few minutes a day of mindfulness can go a long way toward minimizing the impact of stress. Additionally, mindfulness practices like tai chi have all shown effectiveness in reducing back pain.

    5     That is, you can create a game plan of daily activities to practice for back health. If your back hurts at the end of the day, don't just decide it was a “bad” day. Ask yourself if you practiced the activities to help you avoid the stress and tension. Taking an active, daily-life approach to maintaining a healthy body is the key to keeping back pain at bay.

3 . How tall are you? Do you tower over your friends and family - or are they people you literally have to look up to?     1     But do you know that there’s a possibility that we’re all getting taller?

Of course, our height is out of our control.     2     The idea that being taller gives you more power and authority might be a tall story, but according to David Robson, writing for BBC Future, “on the basis of first impressions alone, taller people may have the edge.” He adds that various studies have found that the greater your height, the higher you score on measures of happiness and enjoyment of life.

    3     Scientists have known for a long time that humans with good diets and reliable access to food tend to grow taller and mature more quickly. Adult height in some countries has rocketed as they transformed into a developed society.

In a recent study scientists have discovered a brain receptor, called MC3R, linked to our growing process.     4     “It tells the body we’re great here and we’ve got lots of food, so grow quickly, have puberty (发育期) soon and make lots of babies. This discovery could lead to drugs to improve muscle mass and treat delayed growth,” UK researchers say.

For those eager to be taller, we need to look at the Dutch, who stand head and shoulders above the rest of us as the tallest people in the world. But, of course tall people have to stoop (俯身) through doorways and struggle to fit in cars and can have joint and cardiovascular problems.     5    

4 . Perhaps you use your headphones to enjoy music and peace and quiet during the day. But you may be neglecting the dangers of hearing loss with headphones.     1     This is 30% higher than just 20 years before, and experts are pinning it on headphones.

In fact, headphones are not a bad thing. They can bring peace, allow for better musical enjoyment, and even protect your ears from higher decibels(分贝).     2    

How long should you wear your headphones every day? The answer is, according to the World Health Organization, one hour per day.     3     But the fact is that the longer you listen, you’re going to lose your hearing sooner. To keep hearing loss from happening to you, you should follow the recommendation in place by the WHO that you keep your time with headphones on limited to one hour per day.

Then, how do you set the safest volume for your headphones? With headphones, it depends on the type you’re using and your environment. To test things out, you should take them off your ears and extend them in your hands out in front of you.     4     If you are using open-back headphones, you should try to have a conversation with someone nearby. When you’re able to carry on the conversation clearly, you’re listening at a proper volume. But do remember that never raise the volume on your listening device over 60% of the maximum!

    5     At others this loss will build up over time. It usually isn’t noticeable in the beginning. It’s not until it’s too late that most people realize that the damage has been done. The only way to know for sure is to consult your doctor.

5 . As time goes on, neuroscientists learn more about the wonders of human brains. The deeper understanding offers ways to enhance your brain to work in your favor. You don’t have to be a brain scientist to do it!     1    

When you hear the word hack, you might be reminded of the snaky computer science term. Computer hackers need to understand the inner workings of a computer to break into its system.     2     They need to know how the brain works to change its neural network. With this knowledge, people have come up with ways to optimize brain performance and stick to healthier habits.

Neurohackers use their knowledge of how the brain works to change though patterns, like daily habits. Doing this requires understanding the way habits form in the brain. Whenever you repeat a task, the brain connects its wires together between brain cells. Over time, these habits become hardwired into the brains.     3     They help carry out simple everyday tasks without much thought or attention. The trouble comes up when your brain wires unhealthy habits, such as negative self-talk.

    4     You need to rewire! And that requires mindfulness — a conscious awareness of your brain’s behaviors and patterns at the very moment when they occur. In this way, you can change those habits in the direction that you want.

Below the conscious mind lives the subconscious, a deeper mental space that hosts what you have previously engraved into your mind.     5     Then, you can “hack” brain patterns, train thoughts toward positive circuits, and slowly develop healthier habits over time.

6 . Wisdom teeth removal is common for many people in their late teens and early 20s. But why don’t they come in during childhood with the rest of our permanent teeth?

The answer comes down to child development. There’s not enough room in a child’s jaw for wisdom teeth.     1     So there’s more room for wisdom teeth to emerge.

However, many modern human jaws don’t grow long enough for wisdom teeth to come in. Ancient humans ate diets full of hard nuts, uncooked vegetables, and other tough foods.     2     But nowadays we have shifted to eating softer foods, meaning humans have shorter jaws than ancient humans do.

There is another reason wisdom teeth grow in later.     3     When ancient people would lose their molars (臼齿) from chewing tough food, wisdom teeth — the third set of molars — would take their place. But because most people don’t lose their molars as young children, wisdom teeth wait until adulthood to arrive.     4    

Nowadays, dentists often remove wisdom teeth because their emergence can cause pain in crowded mouths. Or it can cause problems and tooth damage later on.     5     But as a person gets older and their gums (牙龈) become weaker, their wisdom teeth may stick through. In this case, they tend to cause pain and needs removing.

7 . If you’re a primate (灵长目动物) or a koala, you have something different compared to other animals: fingerprints. Now, a new study explains how our fingerprints help us keep a grip on the surfaces that we come into contact with — and it’s all to do with regulating moisture (水分). Researchers decided to investigate this using advanced laser imaging technology and discovered a finely tuned system controlling how wet or dry our fingertips are. That means our fingers are able to react to the various types of surfaces they’re pushed up against, making the grip as strong as possible with everything from a phone to an umbrella,and preventing “catastrophic slip”where we lose hold of objects.

Close-up (特写镜头) laser imaging of volunteers touching glass showed that when fingertips make contact with hard, impermeable surfaces, extra moisture is released to increase friction and grip. However, the sweat pores are eventually blocked off to avoid contacts that are too slippery.

This sweat-pore-blocking technique is combined with an accelerated evaporation process, controlled by the ridges (隆起) of the fingerprint, that comes into play when excessive moisture needs to be removed-again,with the ultimate aim of keeping a strong contact between finger and object.

Working together, the two biological mechanisms are able to adapt to surfaces whether our fingers are originally wet or dry: They provide the keratin(角质) skin layer with just the right amount of hydration (水合作用). That gives us skills that smooth-handed and smooth-footed animals don’t have.

Besides telling us more about the human body, the research is likely to help product designers who need to design a gadget (小装置) that humans need to interact with, such as a smartphone.

Further down the line, the findings might even benefit the development of grip on prosthetic (假体的) limbs and robotic equipment, as well as devices that are used to explore virtual reality environment (where the sensation of touch might need to be simulated).

10 . Only one in three adolescents are practising appropriate hand hygiene(卫生), a new global study involving University of Queensland researchers has found.

Dr Yaqoot Fatima from UQ’s Institute for Social Science Research said there was a renewed emphasis on adequate hand hygiene with COVID-19. “We used data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey from 92 countries across the six WHO regions to examine the prevalence (普遍)of hand hygiene practices in adolescents worldwide,” Dr Fatima said, “Our results highlight that globally, adolescents practice inadequate hand hygiene. Adolescents who reported unhealthy behaviours such as being more seated, smoking, and experiencing bullying at school were more likely to practise inappropriate hand hygiene than their peers. In comparison, parental support and bonding emerged as a key factor associated with adequate hand hygiene practices in adolescents.”

The researchers examined 354,422 adolescents aged 13–17 years to demonstrate the considerable cross-country variations in hand hygiene practices. Dr Fatima said that although access to soap and water was an issue, around 60 percent of adolescents were not practising appropriate hand hygiene even when they had access to water and soap. While access to handwashing facilities and knowledge of proper hygiene is important for practising adequate hand hygiene, the study showed that the knowledge-behaviour gap is a major reason for insufficient hand hygiene practices.

Bullying prevention at school, systematic combination of health and hygiene education in the school curriculum and peer-led behaviour could be strategies to reduce inappropriate hand hygiene practices in adolescents. The positive role of parental support and bonding suggests that interventions (干预) aiming to improve adolescent hand hygiene should focus on parents and seek their active involvement in designing and delivering those interventions. “With these strategies adopted properly, we are sure to raise public awareness of hand hygiene practices.” Dr Fatima said.