Humans were designed to stand upright(直立). And yet in this modern world, too many of us spend our days with our heads lowered for a simple reason: we're staring at the tiny screen of a smart phone.

    People spend an average of 2 to 4 hours each day with their neck bent while shooting off emails or texts. That's 700 to 1,400 hours a year. The success of social media has led to a rapid development of bad smart phone posture.

    The average adult head weighs 10 to 12 pounds when it's in the upright position. However, because of the gravity, bending your head at a mere 15 degree puts 27 pounds of pressure on your spine(脊椎)；a 30 degree neck bend could equal(等于) 40 pounds of pressure; a 45 degree bend adds the force of 49 pounds, according to the research from Dr. Kenneth Hansraj from New York. These stresses may lead to many problems.

    It's no secret that correct posture is better for your back. According to the researchers, good posture is described as ears aligned(成一条直线) with the shoulders. In proper alignment, spinal stress disappeared. It is the best position for the spine. Standing tall doesn't just make you look better; it improves your health, too. Other studies have found good posture has even been connected to ways of behaving. People who have poorer posture often have poorer physical and emotional health.

    The researchers describe bad posture（姿势）as “the head in a forward position and the shoulders dropping forward in a rounded position”. Bad posture has been connected to many medical problems, including headaches and other problems, depression and heart disease. This is why Hansraj said it's important to be mindful of your smart phone posture. While it is nearly impossible to avoid the technologies that cause these problems, people should make an effort to look at their phones with a correct posture.

    Youth football team members rescued more than two weeks after sudden flooding trapped them in a cave in Thailand are now being well looked after at a hospital in the northern city of Chiang Rai. In addition to treating the boys for potential body fluid loss, inadequate nutrition and lack of oxygen, their doctors also plan to closely monitor them for symptoms of diseases that may have been infected by animals living in the cave.

    "The next step is to make sure those kids and their families are safe, because living in a cave provides a different environment, which might contain animals that could transmit…disease," said the local hospital. The boys and their family members have been told to watch for symptoms such as headache, nausea(反胃), muscle pain or difficulty breathing, the reports added.

    Yet based on the location where the boys were trapped—more than four kilometers from the cave complex's main entrance, past some fully submerged passages—and the fact they have been swimming out wearing full scuba face masks, it seems unlikely that they were living with bats in the cave or breathed in bat-associated bacteria during their rescue, several infectious disease experts said. "It's hard to imagine bats got that deep into the cave because of all those narrow passageways, but it is possible," says Ian Lipkin, an animal expert and professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. "It's unlikely that there would be many animals in there," notes Jonathan Epstein, a doctor at EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that studies diseases and how to prevent them. Bats typically like to rest in areas they can easily enter and exit, not in places that fully flood, he adds.

    Bats in Thailand have been linked with a wide range of viruses that are similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—Lipkin says. But it seems more likely the boys would have been exposed to infection-causing bacteria when they swam through the dirty water with cuts and scrapes. "If you are trying to prioritize issues with respect to health care for these kids, number one would be psychological damage and second will be bacterial infections from the cuts and scrapes they may have encountered." Lipkin says.

    It's always adventurous and romantic to visit an island country. Take a look at some breathtakingly beautiful island countries in the world, which everyone should visit at least once in his lifetime

    Maldives

    It's believed that Maldives is one of the most popular honeymoon(蜜月) places as well as one of the most beautiful island countries. Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Maldives is made up of a series of ancient coral reefs that grow up along the sides of ancient volcanoes, with fascinating beaches

    Fiji

    Fiji has plenty of surprises for any adventurous traveler. It is famous for the world's best surf scenes, attracting many surfing lovers to ride the great waves. Well, if surfing is not for you and you love sitting on the beach and relaxing, hiking or seeing breathtaking waterfalls, Fiji is also a suitable island country to visit

    Malta

    Malta, a beautiful southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea, has a rich history and culture. There are amazing sky-high cliffs to climb>, wonderful temples to visit and lots of amazing places to go diving. There are plenty of interesting things to explore here and everyone can find something to enjoy. The historic part of Malta is shown in its architecture, great walled cities, and many underground tunnels.

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    From the first use of the rocket to carry satellites into space to the setting up of space stations, human beings have been putting great effort into space research. And so far, we have achieved many successes. But there are still numerous tasks in front of us and we should not stop trying to progress.

    The international space station （ISS） is an important step we should take in space exploration. It is not only helpful but also essential. It provides a proper space environment for many experiments that we have wanted to do for a long time. It is also a base for the observations of the earth and the universe. It could also be an important base for later travel to the moon and Mars. In a word, if we want to explore space more, the first thing we should do is to set up a space station.

    As the space station costs a lot of money, it is hard for one country alone to establish one. The USA seem to be the only country that has the ability to build a space station alone, and it has tried to do so, but not very successful. So it aggregated many other countries to work on it together. Though it is still extremely expensive, it is much cheaper than doing it alone. It is really a job that needs everyone's effort and will benefit everyone.

    Led by the U. S. and Russia, the ISS is a joint project between six space agencies involving 16countries. Called the greatest achievement in human cooperation, the ISS has come to the end of a ten﹣year's hard work in construction. China has applied for participation in （taking part in） the project many times. Unfortunately all the applications were rejected, which drove China onto the path of independent development. As the Long March Ⅱ﹣F/T1 carrier rocket blasted off （leave the ground） and successfully carried the Tiangong﹣1into space on September 29, 2011, China takes a big step toward its Space Station Era.

    Some West media suggested that the successful launch of Tiangong﹣1 would disturb the balance of global space power, raising concerns about "China threat". China's space project is not designed for military purpose but for developing space technology to explore space resources and make use of them for mankind's well﹣being.

The problem of food borne metal contamination (污染) has taken on new urgency, thanks in part to a 2021 US Congressional Report detailing high levels of metals found in baby food pulled off grocery shelves. More recently, high levels of lead (铅) were discovered in children's fruit puree pouches. Now, two new studies provide information on the correlation between exposure to heavy metals in food and the risk of cancers and other serious health risks.

Food crops can absorb heavy metals from contaminated soil, air, and water. As a result, traces of dangerous heavy metals — lead, arsenic (砷) and cadmium (镉) — are found in common foods from rice and cereals to nuts and vegetables. Felicia Wu, Michigan State University food scientist, is leading several investigations to gain a better understanding of the health risks of heavy metal exposure.

In the studies, Wu and her colleague, gathered data on the dietary intake of each metal from various sources such as food and water samples and existing studies and reports. There searchers analysand the data to determine the strength of the association between dietary exposure and bad health effects. Both cancer and non-cancer health effects were considered.

Lead is a poisonous metal commonly found in old paint, water pipes, and contaminated soil. Food sources of lead include root vegetables like beets. In the study, lead showed moderate (中度的) to high risk scores for causing lung, kidney, bladder, stomach, and brain cancers. It also showed moderate to high scores for non-cancer risks.

Their initial estimates suggest that every year, more than 6, 000 additional cases of bladder and lung cancers and over 7, 000 cases of skin cancers can be attributed (归因于) to the consumption of inorganic arsenic in the United States. The researchers also found that certain food products can be associated with higher cancer risk than others. These include rice, wheat, and leafy green vegetables.