Australia's koalas could die out within 30 years unless immediate action is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply.

    The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. The number of koalas was once estimated to be more than 100,000, but now is as few as 43,000.

    The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching.

    The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional value of their main food, eucalyptus (桉树) leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them. Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia's east and south, are very picky about what types of the leaves they eat.

    Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: “The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It's really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don't have any koalas.”She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government's Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala's status as one of the country's favorite animals would not be a factor. “There's a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don't consider that,” Mr Beeton said.

What Will Be Done-With All This Denim?

    All the denim (牛仔布) will be donated to Cotton From Blue to Green, which recycles jeans into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation (纤维隔热材料), which is used to help build houses in places that have been damaged by hurricanes and other natural disasters. Your jeans will help keep clothes out of landfills (垃圾场), and build houses for families to live in! UltraTouch is made of 85% recycled fibers and is an environmentally safe, natural cotton fiber insulation.

It's a Fact

    It takes about 500 pairs of jeans to recycle enough denim to insulate one average-size U.S house.

Here's How You Can Get Involved!

1). Get a parent's permission and select as many denim jeans as you like. (Any denim clothing is OK)

2). The denim must be used.

3). The denim can be any brand.

4). The denim can be any color or size but must have been worn by a human (no doll clothes!).

5). Jeans must be received by June 30, 2017.

    By donating denim, you can give it a “new life” by converting it into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. Click here for more information about the denim drive.

    UltraTouch is composed of 85% recycled fibers and is an environmentally safe, non- itch natural cotton fiber insulation. For more information about UltraTouch, click here.

SM Card Cutter

Change regular SM cards to smaller SIM cards.

    Did you know you can cut a regular size phone SIM card to a smaller size SM card and it will still work?This tool will help you do it.Just stick a SIM card in it,press it down like a stapler(订书机).A perfectly shaped smaller SIM is there.I've used it many times when swapping SIMs from one phone to another.

03/7/17-Mark Frauenfelder

Profi Cheese Slicer

    Uses a thin wire to slice up to medium-hard cheeses in four inch sections.

    I may own every cheese slicer ever made.I prefer a wire type cheese cutter so I can cut slices that work well on a piece of bread and sandwich.

    This cheese slicer is great for both tasks.It even has adjustable tension on the two cutting wires.A point of information: I did break a wire cutting a very hard piece of cheese with black pepper.Good news,the wire is replaceable,and I was able to purchase new wires to fix it.Maybe best to use on softer cheeses.Lessons learned.But, highly recommended for every other use except for those extremely hard cheeses.

03/6/17-Kent Bames

Ash Bucket(桶子）

Bucket with lid keeps your fireplace(壁炉）clear of ashes.

    I purchased this ash bucket recommended by my friend and have found it invaluable.Previously I had an old bucket that got left outside and usually filled up with rain and became a mess to clean.This ash bucket has a raised bottom and thermal insulation(隔热层）to prevent any accidental hot coals in your ash to damage your floor or cause a fire.You can store this bucket indoors since the lid is nice and tight.

03/3/17-Seth Wilson

    “Patience” is a word that you have probably heard a lot! But you may wonder, “What on earth is patience, and why does everyone keep telling me to have it?”

    Patience is waiting for something or someone. It is accepting delay without getting angry or upset.

    ※It is waiting for someone else to speak when you have something to say !

    ※It is waiting to eat before everyone is at table !

    ※It is waiting for your birthday even though you may want a present now !

    ※Patience is trying something again when you want to give up.

    Patience doesn't sound like much fun. And to be truthful, sometimes, it's not. And with so much technology in the world, we don't always have to be patient. For example, we are able to stream our favorite TV shows on our cell phones, go to restaurants where food is served hot and fast, among many other things.

    So, why wait when we can have everything right now? Because just about any successful person has patience. Many good and important things take patience. For example, most great inventors and explorers have a lot of patience!

    ※When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, it took him over 1,000 tries!

※It took the Wright Brothers years to invent the airplane!

    ※It takes between 150 and 300 days to travel from Earth to Mars!

    ※If great inventors did not have patience and self-control, you would not be reading this right now. In fact, you might be living in a cave or tent somewhere. You would have no electricity, no car, no school and almost certainly no Internet!

    The Honors Program (美国大学荣誉课程) in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (HPBMB) is offered to high school seniors with strong academic ability and achievement who seek careers in biological or biomedical science. Students can earn both a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in approximately 6 years.

    Applicants to the Honors Program in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology must be in their last year of high school.

    Undergraduates will have the opportunity to work with top-level research scientists in Biochemistry& Molecular Biology and also in clinical laboratories with scientists that are associated with the department. They will conduct intensive laboratory work in the areas of biochemistry, molecular biology or nutritional biochemistry starting in the summer before their first fall semester starts. By spring of their junior year, students will prepare an undergraduate thesis (本科毕业论文) as preparation for their entry into graduate school (研究生院). At that time they will start taking graduate courses and continue to do research with a graduate faculty member.

    To be considered students must:

     have a combined SAT I score of 1400 (combined Math and Critical Reading scores)

    meet the SAT II score requirement of at least 600 in Math, and one science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics)

    have completed eight semesters of English and mathematics and two semesters each of biology and chemistry by the time they graduate from high school

    complete all components of your Common Application for undergraduate admission by November 1 of your senior year

    complete a supplemental application form for the Honors Program in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

    include a counselor (辅导老师) recommendation, three letters of recommendation from teachers in support of your application to the Honors Program and a personal statement

    Send all Dual Admission Honors Program application materials to:

    Dual Admission Honors Programs

    Office of Admission

    University of Miami

    P.O. Box 248025

    Coral Gables, FL 33124-4616 

    Fax number: (513) 529-7592 (513) 529-1950 

    For more information on the HPBMB, contact:

    Dr. Thomas K. Harris

    Director, Undergraduate and Medical Education

    Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

    Office: Gautier Building, Room 111

    Phone: 305-243-3358

    E-Mail: tkharris@miami.edu 

Good news for all Wes Anderson fans — the US director is back with the film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar which hit Netflix, an online film provider, on Sept 27. It is a film adaptation of UK novelist Roald Dahl's novel under the same name.

The film stars UK actor Benedict Cumberbatch as a wealthy man named Henry Sugar, who develops the ability to see through objects. At the very beginning he uses this power to cheat at cards and win big while gambling (赌博), and later turns his fortune into a global network of orphanages (孤儿院).

Dialogue style

Running for just 40 minutes, the film features Anderson's quick-paced dialogue style. He also asked the actors to recite lines directly to the audience by looking at the camera, creating "the effect of listening to a podcast (播客) while turning the pages of a lovely picture book quickly", commented CNN.

Visual style

Anderson's work is immediately recognizable for his visual style as well. The "Anderson aesthetic (美学)" often uses bright color palettes (调色板) to both add visual appeal and make various ideas known to the audience, reported Yahoo News. In The Grand Budapest Hotel for example, Anderson uses a color palette of deep blues, rich greens and warm pinks to recreate an old-world European feel. In The RoyalTenenhaums the red tracksuits worn by Chaz, one of the main characters, show deep-seated anger resulting from parental trauma (创伤).

Symmetrical style

Another style is his use of symmetry (对称). Many of the shots involve (涉及) a person facing the camera, with the elements around the character set up in a sense of order and balance. Anderson explained to the media that it is out of his nature to "arrange things in a frame", which he compares to how people can't change the individuality of their handwriting. "You might try to write very well, but really, you have something your brain tends to do", he said.

However, his obsessive repetition of these stylistic choices in his films has led some to question his ability to innovate (创新). In response to this, Anderson stated, "It's not something I make any effort to do. I just want to make films that are personal but interesting to an audience."