The plants grown by Wageningen University researchers in Mars-like soil back in March have been analyzed and the results are excellent: at least four of the crops do not contain harmful heavy metal levels and are perfectly safe to eat, the University researchers report.

    If you've seen The Martian, you can remember how much Matt Damon got done living off of his poo-powered crop of potatoes. It just goes to show how important it is for a long-term colony to be able to grow their own food locally. We've taken one step closer to that goal in March, when Netherlands' Wageningen University reported that they've managed to grow ten different crops in Mars-like soil.

    However, growing food doesn't do us much good if eating it kills us, and researchers were worried that these crops contained dangerous heavy metals like lead or cadmium(镉) from the martian soil. But future colonists are delighted, as lab analysis of the crops determined that at least four of them are safe to eat.

    Led by ecologist Wieger Wamelink, the team tested radishes, tomatoes, rye, and peas. They looked at cadmium, lead, aluminium(铝), nickel(镍), copper, chrome(铬), iron, arsenic(砷), manganese(锰), and zinc(锌) contents in the plants, and didn't find any in dangerous levels. In fact, some of these vegetables have lower levels of heavy metals than those grown in regular potting soil. The plants were also tested for vitamins, alkaloids(生物碱), and flavonoids(类黄酮), with good results. While there are six more crops to test, Wamelink himself said that the results up to now are “very promising.”

    “Growing food locally is especially important to our mission of permanent settlement, as we have to ensure sustainable food production on Mars. The results of Dr. Wamelink and his team at Wageningen University & Research are significant progress towards that goal,” said Mars One co-founder and CEO Bas Lansdorp in a press release.

    A crowdfunding campaign is underway (and will be until the end of August) to fund the test of the remaining crops, potatoes included. If all the crops test out safe, with concentrations of heavy metal the FDA and the Dutch Food Agency consider as safe, Wamelink's team will host a “Martian dinner” at the Wageningen greenhouse. But I've seen the movie. Stay clear of the potatoes.

    Birthdays often involve surprises.But this year's surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.

    On April 22,one day before his 441st birthday anniversary,experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits（画像）of William Shakespeare is a fake.This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like."It's very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one,"said an expert from Britain's National Portrait Gallery.

    The discovery comes after four months of testing using modern chemistry technology.The experts from the gallery say the image—commonly known as the "Flower portrait"—was actually painted in the 1800s,about two centuries after Shakespeare's death.The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture.These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814.Shakespeare died in 1616,and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.

    “We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840.This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays,”Tarnya Cooper,the gallery's curator（馆长）,told the Associated President.

    The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays.It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners,Desmond Flower,gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

    “There have always been questions about the painting,”said David Howells,curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company.“Now we know the truth,we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”

    Two other images of Shakespeare,are also being studied as part of the investigation and the results will come out later this month.

    TIANJIN, Nov.23 (Xinhua)- Chinese scientists have signed a deal to establish a commercial animal cloning center in the northern port city of Tianjin, making the controversial science closer to mainstream acceptance.

    The plant in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA), a government-sponsored business development park, will clone animals including sniffer and pet dogs, beef cattle and racehorses. Its main building is already under construction and due to be put to use in the near future, said a spokesman on Monday.

    With an investment of 200 million yuan, the center will be jointly built by Sinica, Peking University's Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, and the Republic of Korea's Sooam Biotech Research Foundation.

    It will produce 100,000 cattle embryos a year initially, eventually increasing to 1 million, said Xu Xiaochun, board chairman of Boyalife Group, based in Wuxi. Chinese farmers are struggling to produce enough beef cattle to meet market demand, Xu said. The center, the largest ever worldwide, will also include a gene storage area and a museum, he added.

    Scientists have cloned mice, cattle and other animals since the world's first cloned sheep, Dolly, was born on July 5,1996 iii Britain. Since 2000, Chinese scientists have cloned sheep, cattle and pigs. China's first commercial cloning company was established in September 2014 in Shandong with the birth of three pure-blooded Tibetan mastiff puppies.

    Before this, cloning in China was limited to scientific research. More and more companies have shown interest in investing in the technology for commercial use, especially animal husbandry (饲养).

    You've probably visited the Tian'anmen Gatetower—the landmark building of Beijing, but you may not have heard of Kuai Xiang. Along with him, the following remarkable architects all took the center stage at their times.

    Kuai Xiang(1399—1481)

    Tian'anmen Gatetower is universally considered the brainchild of Kuai Xiang. By following in the footsteps of ancient homebuilders, he successfully presented the Emperor Judy with a grand wooden structure which has stood the test of time for almost 600 years. Visitors are also hooked on its delicate paintings.

    Ieob Ming Pei (1917-present)

    His motto is: Traditions should be sealed in glass boxes at museums. He is always struggling with innovation. Although under grilling from French conservative critics, he still planted a glass pyramid into the courtyard of the Louvre. His other works include John F. Kennedy Library, Beijing Fragrant Hill Hotel and Suzhou Museum.

    Zaha Hadid(1950-2016)

    In 2004, she became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Nobel Prize for architecture. She used tricks to maximize available space. Her fluid-style works pioneer the concept of micro-living. The curves(曲线) of Guangzhou Opera House perfectly match the rise and fall of its surrounding buildings, forming a unique view.

    Meng Fanchao (1959-present)

    Many people dismissed the building of a mega bridge as a pipe dream, but Meng Fanchao turned this into reality by building Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. This longest cross-sea bridge, when viewed afar, looks like a dynamic dragon braving the rolling waves of Lingding Sea.

    A Swiss airplane powered only by energy from the sun left from Abu Dhabi early on March 9. Its creators hope the plane will make the first around-the-world journey without any fuel. The plane is called Solar Impulse 2. It has one seat and is made from carbon fiber. The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are wider than a Boeing 747. The plane's wings stretch 72 meters across. Those wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, which capture the sun's energy. The energy allows the plane to fly day and night.

    Two Swiss scientists built the plane. Bertrand Piccard is also an explorer who made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon. Andre Borschberg is an engineer and trained fighter pilot. The scientists say they are not trying to alter the airplane industry. Instead, they want to show that new energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible. “We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel.” Mr. Piccard said.

    Some parts of the trip will require the pilots to be in the tiny plane for five to six days and nights in a row. So it is good that the pilot's seat is also a toilet.

    The plane's route begins in the United Arab Emirates. The pilots also plan stops in Oman, India, and China. They will cross the Pacific Ocean, stop in the United States, and continue over southern Europe or North Africa. They plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates in late July or early August.

    Internet viewers can go to the Solar Impulse website to see the plane's location and listen to broadcasts from the pilots.

    Every year from March to October, Christian Moullec, also known as "Birdman," takes to the skies aboard his adapted light aircraft. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman's daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the impressive views, but to guide flocks (鸟群) of lesser white-fronted geese (小白额雁) through safe migration paths which the birds can teach future generations.

    His deed began in 1995 when he noticed their declining population in the wilds of Lapland, Sweden. To prevent their numbers from dropping further, Moullec tried to get the threatened species to follow him along migration routes that would protect them from bird hunters.

    However, getting grown geese to follow his lead proved challenging. As young geese imitate and follow whomever they view as their parent, Moullec decided to raise the geese from birth.

    To help raise funds and awareness of his job to protect not just the geese but birds worldwide, Moullec often allows paying tourists to join him on the 30-minute-long flights aboard his aircraft. In addition to the trained birds flying alongside them, visitors, who come from as far as a 15-hour plane flight away, are treated to a variety of crane and geese species as well as breathtaking views of castles and cities.

    He often brings his camera along for the flights, capturing photos not just for their beauty, but for what they describe. Moullec believes the use of agricultural chemicals has done harm to wild European birds, with more than a third disappearing in the last 30 years. "It's a disaster," he said. "My beautiful images with flying birds should be used to tell this story."