Like people, plants experience stress. And also, like people, the response to that stress can determine success.

    Bad environmental conditions, such as drought, flood, heat and other stresses, affect yields (产量) more than crop pests and diseases. We are trying to find a way to equip plants with the ability to tolerate environmental stress and maintain high yields, said Stephen Howell, a professor of genetics and cell biology.

    Plant cells produce proteins (蛋白质) and ship them to different parts of the cell. Under normal conditions, these proteins are folded into their normal, healthy structures as they are produced. When a plant is under stress, its cells produce poorly folded or unfolded proteins. Then a built-in system senses this and “sets off an alarm in the cell,” said Howell.

    In response to the alarm, another protein (IRE1) starts working and creates a different process which activates (激活) the stress response genes whose products bring about defensive measures that help the plant survive.

    “As it turns out, responses that are activated under stress conditions actually inhibit the growth of plants,” said Howell. “This allows them to preserve their energy to survive the stress conditions.”

    For plants in the wild, this response is a help for survival, he said. In production of agriculture crops, however, this response reduces yields.

    “You don't want crop plants to stop growing,” Howell said. “You want them to continue to grow and produce even though they are under stress.”

    With the new understanding of this stress response, the next step may be to silence the alarm system, said Howell. “What may be important is to disable some of these stress responses. That may make the plant more productive under stress conditions.”

    If you want to convince the boss you deserve a pay rise or promotion, the solution could be simple — eat the same food as they do. Psychologists have discovered managers are much more likely to instantly trust us if we choose the same dishes as them.

    During experiments, discussions over wages and work conditions were much more successful if both sides chose to snack on the same treats. And shoppers were much more likely to buy a product advertised on TV by someone eating a similar food to them at the time.

    The reason is thought to be so-called similarity attraction theory — where people tend to like others who have similar tastes or habits to themselves. But this is believed to be one of the first studies highlighting the role of food in this relationship. Researchers at Chicago University in the US conducted a series of experiments to examine food's role in earning trust.

    In a test, participants were told to watch TV — where someone pretending to be a member of the public praised a certain product. The volunteers were given Kit Kat bars to nibble (咬), while the TV people ate either a Kit Kat or grapes as they talked.

    The results showed viewers were much more likely to express an interest in buying the product if the TV showed the other person eating a Kit Kat too.

    The researchers added, “Although similarity in food consumption is not a sign of whether two people will get along, we find consumers treat this as such. They feel more trusting of those who consume as they do. It means people can immediately begin to feel friendship and develop a bond, leading to smoother transactions (交易) from the start.”

    Harley Street psychologist Dr. Lucy Atcheson said it was already known that wearing similar clothes could instantly create trust. But this was the first report that food had the same effect. She said, “This is really interesting. It makes sense as people feel they have common ground and can trust the other person. That means negotiations are more likely to be successful.”

    You often can choose a private setting when you browse(浏览) the internet. But be forewarned: It may not afford nearly as much privacy as you expect. That's the finding of a new study.

    Major web browsers, such as Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari, often a private-browsing option. It's sometimes referred to as “incognito.” This option lets you surf the Internet browser and saves a record into its history of each page that you visited. And what sites you visit won't affect the suggestions your browser makes the next time you're filling out an online form.

Many people believe—incorrectly— that the incognito setting protects them more broadly. Most believe it even after reading a web browser's explanation of the incognito mode.

    For instance, a new study had 460 people read web browsers' descriptions of private browsing. Each person read one of 13 descriptions. Then the participants answered questions about how private they thought their browsing would be while using this tool. The volunteers didn't understand the incognito mode. This was true no matter which browser explanation they had read. The researchers reported their findings on April 26 at the 2018 World Wide Web Conference in Lyon, France.

    More than half of the volunteers thought that if they logged into a Google account through a private window, Google wouldn't keep a record of their search history. Not true. And about one in every four participants thought private browsing hid their device's IP address. That's wrong, too.

    Blase Ur was one of the study's authors. He's an expert in computer security and privacy in Illinois at the University of Chicago. Companies could clear up this confusion by giving better explanations of the incognito mode, his team says. For example, the browsers should avoid vague（模糊).The web browser Opera, for instance, promises users that “your secrets are safe.” Nope Firefox encourages users to “browse like no one's watching.” In fact, someone might be. (If you'd like to know more about the research information, please click here.)

    While visiting the North pole in winter may not be at the top of your bucket list, the ever-changing ICEHOTEL, which opened its doors to visitors on December 14 this year, may change your mind.200 km north of the Arctic Circle in the Swedish village of Jukkasjārvi, the hotel, which is carved entirely from ice, is rebuilt annually.

    The 35 rooms, built to accommodate visitors on all kinds of budgets, vary from expensive suites to basic rooms that are furnished with just an icy bed and a reindeer skin. Among the highlights this year is the “Spruce Woods” suite. Sculpted by Christopher Pascoe and Jennie O'Keefe of Canada, it describes a camping scene complete with a classic microbus, a forest, and even an artificial campfire.

    There is also the artfully-carved “Living Ocean” suite to remind visitors of the importance of saving our oceans. The room is full of carved sea life that includes coral and a shark “swimming” right over the ice bed. “The suite is inspired by global warming and the overfishing that affects our oceans.” says artist Jonathan Paul Green. “I also think the idea of using frozen water from a river in northern Sweden to create an ocean with shells, fish, and corals is exciting.”

    The nearby “Haven” suite is a “magical gate of ice” guarded by two large animals. “We are inspired by the meeting between people and want to create an experience that invites curiosity and creativity, "says artist Jonas Johansson." It feels like a dream to get to work with ice that allows our love for light, shine, and reflection to wander freely from thought to creation.”

    Regardless of whether visitors select the carved suites or the basic ice rooms, the temperature is always set to a bone-chilling －5℃! That is why guests are advised to snuggle(蜷缩)up inside sleeping bags and wear gloves and winter hats all night. Not surprisingly, most end up spending just a single night at this unique hotel before moving on to the conventional and warmer hotels nearby.

    San Francisco is a great city. Below are some ideas for educational activities and programs in San Francisco for this summer.

    The San Francisco School: Summer Programs

    There are summer camps for the children from pre-kindergarten through middle school at the San Francisco School. With programs such as "Fearless Writing" "A Green World" and "Re-Making Clothing", San Francisco becomes a great place for children to learn and have fun in the summer. Registration starts in the spring. Call 415-749-4550 to know more.

    San Francisco Art Institute: Community Education

    From children to elders, all people are welcome to sign up for all sorts of art classes all year round, such as "Adult Continuing Education", "Pre-college Programs" and "A Young Artist". Check online for schedules, class types, age groups and more or call 415-749-4500.

    San Francisco University High School: Summer Program

    This is a three-summer commitment and a great program preparing kids for college. It provides language and art classes in the morning and social studies such as sports and history in the afternoon. There are also fun activities such as a field day, a party night, a talent show, etc. 30 to 35 tenth-grade children are chosen each summer, so you have to fill out a form. Call 415-749-4558 to know more.

    Rudolf Steiner College: Summer Programs

    Rudolf Steiner has summer programs for those who want to take courses such as teaching grade courses 1 to 8. Registration is at the beginning of April. Call 415-749-4560 for more about it.

    These activities and programs are usually popular, and if you are interested, get up and join us!

    One spring day, once the flowers have begun to open, a bee will hover (盘旋) and zip through your yard and dive-bomb your picnic table. While you're thinking about avoiding an attack, that bee is focused on something else entirely: me.

    A honeybee has about six weeks to live. Today, like most days, her task is to fly as many as three miles from home, stick her long, straw-like tongue into a hundred or so flowers. When the bee has had her fill, shell fly home. There the bee will deposit what she has got into the mouth of one of her co-workers, who will relay it to another, and so on for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is ready to be placed into the comb. Then she and her 50 000 or so mates will hover in the dark all night every night, flapping their wings to create hot, breezy conditions to remove the water from the mixture. Several sunrises later, they will seal me off in a golden cell of beeswax. In her lifetime, our bee may visit 4, 000 flowers, and yet will produce only one-twelfth of a tea spoon of me.

    The average American consumes nearly a pound and a half of me every year, in tea, on toast, and beyond. If I do say so myself, I am a timeless treasure. Literally—I never go bad.

    Alas, my good health is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the growth of industrial agriculture and the use of pest control chemicals, as well as changes in weather patterns, all of which reduce the number of flowers bees have to visit I'd appreciate your letting your own garden grow just a little wild My future depends on all of us fostering spring and summers wild flowers, thus helping the bees, who give so much—to you, to me—without ever asking for anything in return.