Google's new artificial intelligence can defeat both humans and other AIs. Fortunately, the only war zone where it fights and wins is the ancient board game Go（围棋）.

    AlphaGo Zero, developed by Google-owned DeepMind, is the latest AI program. The original AlphaGo defeated Go master Lee Sedol last year, and AlphaGo Master, an updated version, went on to win 60 games against top human players. What's different about AlphaGo Zero is that it became potentially the world's best Go player without any help from humans.

    The program AlphaGo Zero started off knowing only the basic rules and then played millions of games against itself in just a few days. After almost five million games played against itself, AlphaGo Zero could outplay humans and the original AlphaGo. After 40 days, it was capable of beating AlphaGo Master.

The program learned the strategies humans accumulated over thousands of years in a matter weeks and also developed nontraditional strategies and moves that beat the techniques of the human masters, leaving them astonished. "At each stage of the game, it seems to gain a bit here and lose a bit there, but somehow it ends up slightly ahead, as if by magic," said Andrew Jackson of the American Go Association

    DeepMind says it has plans for the technology behind AlphaGo Zero beyond just defeating all over an ancient game board. "In the end, we want to apply these breakthroughs to helping solve all sorts of pressing real world problems like designing new materials," said Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, in a statement.

    That sounds great, but just as a precaution, let's take the advice of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking and keep any super-fast learning AI away from the nuclear launch codes for now.

    The Adventure Guides Program

    New Member Information for the Adventure Guides Program (for children aged 4-12)

    What Is the Adventure Guides Program All about?

    The objectives of the program are:

    Fostering companionship and setting foundation for positive, lifelong relationships between parent and child

    Increased understanding of one another

    Expanded awareness of spirit, mind and body

    Great memories

    Fun!

    Parent and Child Will Be Joining…

    The nationwide affiliated(隶属的) program sponsored by local YMCA's and part of the National Council of YMCA's

    A smaller group of families called a "circle"

    What Is the Time Commitment?

    Program runs from October to May (ending with the Memorial Day Parade)

    One "circle" activity per month (one circle decides on fees and dates)

    Additional all participant activities (scheduled by Wilton Family Y) —additional fees and registration required.

    Outing Dates: To Be Announced

    What Do I Do Now?

    Registration is on-going. Registration forms are available online under "Registration".

    You will be notified by the Wilton Family Y of which "circle" you and your child are in and who your "circle" leader is.

    You will be notified by your "circle" leader as to when your first parent/child "circle" meeting will take place.

    Fees:

    Participant: Full Child or Family member $110. 00 / Program member $200. 00

    Sibling(兄弟姐妹): Full child or Family member $75. 00 / Program member $150. 00

    Adult: Family member FREE / Program member $125. 00

    Wilton Family Y Contact Information:

    Geoff Malyszka Teen Director 762-8384 ext. 224

    E-mail: gmalyszka@wiltonymca. org

    Kim Murphy Early Childhood Ed. Director762-8384 ext. 214

    E-mail: kmurphy@wiltonymca. Org

    Counterfeit(假的) medicines are a widespread problem in developing countries. Like other counterfeits, they look like real products. But counterfeit drugs may contain too little or none of the active ingredients of the real thing.

    People do not get the medicine they need. And in some cases, counterfeits cause death. Twenty children in Bangladesh died last year after being given acetaminophen(对乙酰氨基酚).The medications contained ingredients that looked, smelled and tasted like the real thing. The medicine was produced by a local drug company that used a dangerous substitute to save money.

The problem of counterfeit medicines is especially serious in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The WHO estimates that up to thirty percent of medicines on sale in many of those countries are counterfeit. The problem is less widespread among industrialized countries. The WHO says counterfeits make up less than one percent of the illegal drug market in countries like the United States, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

    But the agency also says as much as fifty percent of the medicine sold on the Internet is counterfeit.

    Much is being done to fight counterfeit drugs. Several companies are developing ways to make counterfeits easier to identify. And there are existing methods, like a machine that can quickly identify chemicals in pills to confirm if the pills are real. Other ideas include things like special tracking codes for drug packages. People could send a text message with the code and get a message back, which proves that what they bought is listed in a database. Some drug makers and other companies put three-dimensional images called holograms(全息图)on their products as a security device.

    Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees nest(巢）and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange unexpected helper—a little bird called a honey guide.

    The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax（蜂蜡） in the beehives (蜂房).

    The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest.

    When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey and the wax，always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.

    Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.

    Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day and the Friday before Cyber Monday in the United States. It is not a federal holiday, but is a public holiday in some states. Many people take a day of their annual leave on the day after Thanksgiving Day. Some people use this to make trips to see family members or friends who live in other areas or to go on vacation. Others use it to start shopping for the Christmas season. Many organizations also close for the Thanksgiving weekend.

    Shopping for Christmas presents is also popular on Black Friday. Many stores have special offers and lower their prices on some goods, such as toys. Public transit systems may run on their normal schedule or may have changes. Some stores extend their opening hours on Black Friday. There can also be congestion on roads to popular shopping destinations.

    Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days in the USA. There are two popular theories as to why the day after Thanksgiving Day is called Black Friday. One theory is that the wheels of vehicles in heavy traffic on the day after Thanksgiving Day left many black markings on the road surface, leading to the term Black Friday. The other theory is that the term Black Friday comes from an old way of recording business accounts. Losses were recorded in red ink and profits in black ink. Many businesses, particularly small businesses, started making profits prior to Christmas. Many hoped to start showing a profit, marked in black ink, on the day after Thanksgiving Day.

Some people today might be early risers because of DNA they take after Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, suggests new research.

When early humans migrated from Africa to Eurasia roughly 70, 000 years ago, some of them mated with Neanderthals, who had already adapted to the colder, darker climates of the north. The ripple(涟漪) effects of that inter mating still exist today：Modern humans of non-African ancestry(血统) have between 1 and 4 percent Neanderthal DNA. Some of that DNA relates to sleep more specifically, the internal body clock known as the circadian rhythm.

For the new study, researchers compared DNA from today's humans and DNA from Neanderthal fossils(化石) .In both groups, they found some of the same genetic variants involved with the circadian rhythm. And they found that modern humans who carry these variants also reported being early risers.

For Neanderthals, being "morning people" might not have been the real benefit of carrying these genes. Instead, scientists suggest, Neanderthals' DNA gave them faster, more flexible internal body clocks, which allowed them to adjust more easily to annual changes in daylight. This connection makes sense in the context of human history. When early humans moved north out of Africa, they would have experienced variable daylight hours—shorter days in the winter and longer days in the summer-for the first time. The Neanderthals' circadian rhythm genes likely helped early humans' offspring(后代) adapt to this new environment.

Notably, the findings do not prove that Neanderthal genes are responsible for the sleep habits of all early risers. Lots of different factors beyond genetics can contribute, including social and environmental influences. The study also only included DNA from a database called the U.K. Biobank-so the findings may not necessarily apply to all modern humans. Next, the research team hopes to study other genetic databases to see if the same link holds true for people of other ancestries. If the findings do apply more broadly, they may one day be useful for improving sleep in the modern world, where circadian rhythms are disturbed by night shifts and glowing smartphones.