If you want to visit only the sights that you think are most interesting, you should definitely book one of the many private tours in NYC.

Landmark Private New York Tours

     The best way to make the most of your visit to the top NYC landmarks is to use one of the private tours in NYC.

     NY See It All: From traveling through Manhattan to getting onto a boat to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, this private NYC tour delivers superiors service. Customize（定制） your stops and see why this tour is one of the best private tours in NYC.

     NY Limo Tour: After choosing what you want to see, this private tour in NYC lets you write the route of your day. Whether you want to see historical NYC sights, movie sights, or cultural sights, it will help make your visit memorable.

     Aerial Landmark Tour: This is a fun and exciting way to explore New York City. On this 20-minute helicopter tour, you'll see the very best landmarks in Manhattan and the Bronx. Family-Friendly Private New York Tours

     NYC isn't just a playground of adults; these family-friendly private New York City tours are ideal for people traveling with kids.

Revolutionary Era Walking Tour: When you book this informative NYC walking tour, you and your kids will wander around Manhattan's Financial District and hear all about the American Revolution. With knowledgeable guides, your kids will love the tour too.

     Kids Greenwich Village Tour: This fun NYC walking tour is specifically created for children. You and your kids will visit some famous Greenwich Village sights, while the children, led by friendly guides, play games that relate to math, science, foreign language, and the arts.

    Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.

    “ I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the [bar and wanted to see what was open,” said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.

    The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented(增强的) reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets (平板电脑) that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would____showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.

    "As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs,” said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com.  “ We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things,” he added, “and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device (装置) that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars.”9to5Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.

    “It's just like smartphones 10 years ago,” Weintraub said. “A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural,” he said. “ There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there.”

    A new argument has been put forward as to whether penguins are disturbed by the presence of tourists in Antarctica.

    Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds' heart rates increased dramatically at the sight of a human as far as 30 meters away. But new research using an artificial egg, which is equipped to measure heart rates, disputes this. Scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge say that a slow moving human who does not approach the nest too closely, is not viewed as a threat by penguins.

    The earlier findings have been used to partly explain the 20 per cent drop in populations of certain types of penguins near tourist sites. However, tour operators have continued to insist that their activities do not adversely（不利地）affect wildlife in Antarctica, saying they encourage non-destructive behavior in tourists, and that the decline in penguin numbers is caused by other factors.

    Amanda Nimon of the Scott Polar Research Institute spent three southern hemisphere summers at Cuverville Island in Antarctica studying penguin behavior towards humans. “A nesting penguin will react very differently to a person rapidly and closely approaching the nest,” says Nimon. “First they exhibit large and prolonged heart rate changes and then they often flee the nest leaving it open for predators（掠夺者）to fly in and remove eggs or chicks.” The artificial egg, specially for the project, monitored both the parent who had been 'disturbed' when the egg was placed in the nest and the other parent as they both took it in turns to guard the nest.

    However, Boris Culik, who monitored the Adelie penguins, believes that Nimon's findings do not prove his own research invalid. He points out that species behave differently – and Nimon's work was with Gentoo penguins. Nimon and her colleagues believe that Culik's research was methodologically（方法论上）defective because the monitoring of penguins' responses needed catching the birds and fitting them with heart-rate transmitters（发射器）. Therefore, argues Nimon, it would not be surprising if they became stressed on seeing a human subsequently.

    Throughout the year, a number of Youth Exchanges activities are held by an organization— The International Voluntary Service. These activities give small groups of 45 young people the opportunity to take part in volunteering trips abroad for an average of two weeks. These young people are joined by 45 young people from 34 other nationalities and will be a wonderful intercultural experience in a safe environment.

    Example Youth Exchanges：

    Youth Exchange 1

    Location：Ireland

    Other nationalities: Spain, Italy, Hungary

Theme: Focuses on the topic of community reconstruction and community activities—exploring how local issues facing our communities are connected to global issues. The group will also learn about the ecovillage as an example of a community and take part in teambuilding activities.

    Youth Exchange 2

    Location：France

    Other nationalities: Bulgaria, Italy

    Theme： Organic gardening & continual living. This project will take place in a natural park, where the group will take part in gardening activities and games about continuous development.

    Youth Exchange 3

    Location：Macedonia

    Other nationalities: Serbia, Turkey, Ireland

    Theme：Foster(培养) social inclusion（融入）and motivate personal development of young people through sports and outdoor activities. Promote outdoor activities as a tool to help inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities.

    Youth Exchange 4

    Location：Italy

    Other nationalities： Bulgaria, Greece

    Theme：A social-environmental project that intends to promote social inclusion and continuous development, regarded as a process of civil rights and active citizenship. Over 10 days, the group will take part in activities to raise awareness(意识) about the effect of our behavior on the environment.

    Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain­computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated(展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.

    In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

    "Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles." Tavella says. "Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices."

    The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

    Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. "The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories：communication，and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair."

    He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

    Engineers in Upstate New York have invented a folded paper device that looks like a decorated art project. But don't be fooled. This is actually a paper-based battery. No, it doesn't look like any of those metal batteries running flashlights or smartphones. In these systems, the battery can be printed on a page. The battery's power consists of living bacteria.

    Paper electronics are simple to make and inexpensive, notes study leader Seokheun Choi, an engineer at Binghamton University. They need no electrical outlet to recharge. They just need more bacteria, which can be found everywhere — including dirty water.

"Most batteries use chemicals to generate electricity. Substituting bacteria can be an advantage," Choi says. "They are cheap and self-repairing." What paper-based batteries won't do is generate much power. They do, however create enough to run small devices in faraway or dangerous places — such as a battlefield. They might also find use in medicine. For instance, they might power tiny sensors, such as the types used to measure blood sugar.

This invention is based on an observation made more than a century ago — that microbes (微生物) produce electricity as they digest food. Scientists refer to the bio-batteries based on this principle as microbial fuel cells. A fuel cell generates electricity like a regular battery. But a regular battery stops producing electricity when its inner chemical reactions stop. A fuel cell uses fuel that can be refilled. In this case, bacteria serve as the fuel. By refilling more microbes, as needed, scientists can keep these fuel cells running.

    Lab tests have shown that the new battery can produce a current. Now, Choi and his team are looking at ways to increase the power. They're studying different shapes and materials for the anode and cathode (正负极). They're also looking for the best ways to combine batteries for more power. The beauty of the paper devices is that you can simply fold them to connect them. And they surely will be a trend in the near future.