Starting the day on an egg could keep your blood pressure (血压) under control, research suggests. Scientists have shown that eggs produce proteins with a function similar to that of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs.

    The research, from the University of Alberta in Canada, showed that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes (酶) they produce a protein that acts in the same way as Ace inhibitors, but more work is needed to show the effects outside a lab and in the human body.

    Earlier this month, British researchers declared that, contrary to popular beliefs, it is healthy to go to work on an egg. They concluded that the type of cholesterol (胆固醇) found in eggs has little effect on increasing heart disease risks.

    Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin, from the University of Surrey, said: “The wrong beliefs linking egg eating to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected. The amount of fat in our diet has an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of cholesterol found in eggs. The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat. They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature's most nutritious foods.”

    The British Heart Foundation dropped its three-egg-a-week limit in 2005. However, almost half of Britons believe the limit still applies.

    There is one type of illness in the world that has a severe effect on more people than anything else and is very deadly. If untreated, this illness could affect everything you do. What is this illness? Depression. Serious depression requires professional treatment. Self-induced depression is something each of us can change.

    Everyone's circumstances are different, but the causes of self-induced depression are common: low self-esteem, hurtful thinking and a bad attitude.

    So how can we change the way we think, feel, and have a cheerful attitude?

    First we must look at ourselves, truly and honestly examining our motives for what we wish to accomplish. If you are dissatisfied because you feel you haven't or can't do anything, then one step is needed—to set goals.

    Always start your goals relatively small and easy to attain. Think of them as sand; one grain may be insignificant(微不足道的) but as a group they form the beach. Once you have set and attained small goals for yourself, move on to slightly larger, more challenging goals.It takes not just setting goals but positive thinking. How can we obtain this?

    There are a number of factors that can make us think negatively and one of those is diet.In my opinion, a person who eats a lot of take-out and fast food is feeding their body junk. Start by eating better foods which give the body much NEEDED minerals. If your physical body is happy, it's much easier for your mental body or “thinking ability” to be happy.

    Next, exercise. Half an hour a day is recommended for positive well-being. Then think about good memories you had, or generally think of things that make you smile. Remember, everything you wear costs money but to wear a smile is free. A smile can be the difference between an average day and a great day.

    If you follow these steps, positive change is on the way.

    When Carson Palmer, a professional American football player, hurt his arm a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palmer practiced every day. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his life.

    For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers proved by experiment that when you're imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles(肌肉) which are too weak to tighten the muscles but might help train the body to perform. In other words, mental practice might create a pattern in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.

    Sports psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies comparing imagined and physical practice for actions. On the whole, the research shows that mental training works. A 2012 study, for example, compared 32 amateur golfers who practiced hitting the balls to another 32 who merely held a golf club in their hands and visualized（想象）their swings. Under the same training rules, both groups improved their skills by getting the ball about 4 inches closer to the hole.

    Visualization has advantages over the real thing: You can do it anywhere, even when injured. It is safe-a major plus for high-risk performers such as gymnasts and surgeons. And you can practice for longer periods of time because you're not restricted by physical tiredness, That's not to say it's easy, we've had Olympic-level athletes sitting in our lab, visualizing the movements for two hours," says Tadhg Macintyre, a sports psychologist at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “When we're done, they're absolutely tired.”

    It doesn't work for everyone, though. "If you're a novice, the effect can be harmful,” warns Macintyre. If you're trying to visualize a free throw, and you don't even know the proper movement, then you're probably going to mentally practice the wrong skill.”

    Eighty-five-year old Chinese pharmacologist(药理学家) Tu Youyou became China's first winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine when it was announced that she was one of three scientists awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in developing effective drugs against parastic diseases.

    Tu was honored for developing artemisin（青蒿素）,a drug for malaria that has saved millions of lives across the globe,especially in the developing world,the Nobel Assembly at karolinska Institue disclosed on its website on Monday.Tu,a Chinese trained pharmacologist and a researcher at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing, went to Stockholm, Sweden in December to receive her award, according to Cao Hongxin, the science and technology department head of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

    "She was calm and said she has received lots of congratulatory calls." Cao told China Daily on Monday after he telephoned Tu to congratulate her. "It's an overdue（迟来的）honor for Tu and the world's recognition of traditional Chinese medicine," he said.

    "Tu's breakthrough in winning the Nobel Prize in a natural science is the pride of the whole nation and the whole Chinese scientific community," said Zhou Dejin, spokesman of the Chinese Academy of Science, China's national research body that consists of more than one hundred research insistutes, universities and research branches,

    "The achievement of discovering artemisinin was made in the 1970s, but it only received international recognition in later years, which suggests that we might have more achievements that have reached the Nobel Prize level but have not been recognized." Zhou said.

    Since 2013,Torobo, a robotic are designed to test the limits of artificial intelligence, has had one ambition—to be admitted to the University of Tokyo, one of Asia's top-ranked educational institutions. Although equipped with an extensive database of textbooks and other teaching materials, Torobo has repeatedly failed to obtain the university's required minimum 80% score in the National Center Test, a yearly standardized entrance examination adopted by Japanese universities. This year was no exception.

    In early November, Torobo, along with millions of Japanese high school students, took a mock(模拟的)exam to prepare for the all-important standardized test.

    Torobo's total score of 525 out of 950, which was higher than the national average, was enough for it to get admitted to many other influential Japanese universities.

    However, its standard score of 57.1%, though 14 points higher than in 2015, still fell short of the minimum required for the University of Tokyo.

    A closer analysis of the results showed that Torobo was able to draw from its database to solve knowledge-based questions and ones involving complex mathematical calculations, but it had a hard time thinking independently, failing to comprehend multiple sentences and phrases to arrive at the logical conclusions. This weakness was reflected in its shabby English scores.

    Fortunately, the robot's creators have decided to free Torobo from its four-year sufferings. Noriko Arai, professor of the University of Tokyo who heads the team, says, “From the present results, we are able to evaluate the possibilities and limits of artificial intelligence. From now on, we will grow its abilities in the fields where it is doing well and aim to improve them to levels that can be applied in industry.” So while Torobo will never graduate from the University of Tokyo, it can still look forward to a bright future!

English Conversation

    Leader：Mandi Ashmore english @ iwc­lausanne.org

    We meet on Mondays at 14：30 at the IWC clubhouse. We chat for about an hour and discuss everything. Mandi asks "students" to contact her on Monday to confirm the class as sometimes she needs to cancel for various reasons or occasionally she may choose to hold the class at a different venue (举办地点) or at an earlier time for us to be able to have lunch together.

    French Conversation, Advanced Beginner

    Leader：Marielle Sulmoni frenchconvo@ iwc­lausanne.org

    I'm French (born in Bordeaux) and Swiss by marriage. I hold an advanced beginners' French conversation class on Tuesday afternoons from 14: 30—16: 00. We meet weekly at the clubhouse in a friendly atmosphere. I hope to help you use your knowledge of French, allowing you to speak with no fear of making mistakes, which in time will become fewer and fewer.

    French Language Lab, Beginner

    Leader：Malja Remlinger frenchlab@ iwc­lausanne.org

    The group meets on Thursday afternoons from 15: 00—16: 30 at the clubhouse. The first half of the class is devoted to reading out loud from the book "Easy French Reader", working on proper pronunciation and phrasing. During the second half, we listen to audio recordings from "New French with Ease" and work on oral comprehension.

    French Conversation, Advanced

    Leader：Juliette Brull french@ iwc­lausanne.org

    We meet every Tuesday at the IWC clubhouse from 9: 30—11: 00. Most of our time is devoted to very lively discussions about current events and various topics. We also read a book written by a French author and sometimes we see a French movie.