How much weight a baby gains during its first month could determine its IQ, as a new research suggests. The study found that children who gain more weight, and whose heads grow quickly during the first month of life, tend to have a higher IQ when they start school.

    Researchers at the University of Adelaide, in Australia^ studied 13,800 children who were born at full-term. They found that those who put on 40% of their birth weight in the first four weeks had an IQ 1.5 points higher than those who only put on 15% of their birth weight. Those who experienced the biggest growth in head circumference (头围) also had the highest IQs by the age of six.

“Head circumference is an indicator of brain volume, so a greater increase in head circumference in a newly-born baby suggests more rapid brain growth,” says the led author of the study, Dr. Lisa Smithers.

    She added, “Overall, newly-born children who grew faster in the first four weeks had higher IQ scores later in life. Those children who gained the most weight scored especially high on verbal (言语) IQ at age 6. This may be because the neural (神经的) structures for verbal IQ develop earlier in life, which means the rapid weight gain during the first month could be having a direct cognitive benefit for the children.”

    Previous studies have shown the association between early postnatal (产后的) diet and IQ, but this is the first study of its kind to focus on the IQ benefits of rapid weight gain in the first month of life. Dr. Smithers says the study further highlights the need for successful feeding of newly-born babies. “We know that many mothers have difficulty establishing breastfeeding in the first week of their babies' life,” Dr. Smithers said.

    “The findings of our study suggest that if babies are having feeding problems, there needs to be early intervention (干预) in the management of that feeding.”

    Colorado officials will stick to a plan to kill some mountain lions and bears to support the state's dropping mule deer (长耳鹿) population.

    Wednesday's vote permits organizations to kill up to 25 black bears and 15 mountain lions per year in the central and western parts of the state. The project will run for three years, to be followed by a six-year study of how deer populations respond to fewer predators(捕食者).

    The population of Colorado's mule deer has suffered a puzzling, years-long drop to about 450,000, which state officials said was about 110,000 fewer than there should be. A 2014 state study tied it to seven causes, including predators, whose number has greatly increased in recent years.

    Some experts, however, said the state should focus first on the human-led destruction(破坏) of mule deer habitat(栖息地). “The drop of the mule deer population is obviously not a simple problem with simple causes,” Brian Kurzel, director of the National Wildlife Federation, said. “By far, the greatest problem—the one that I think deserves the most attention in any science-based study—is habitat quantity and quality.”

    Kurzel pointed out that the U.S Bureau of Land Management recently agreed to create 15,000 new oil and gas wells somewhere in western Cororado, which was often called “the mule-deer factory”. There, the number of mule deer has fallen to about 30,000 from more than 100,000 in the early 1980s. Though state officials have known oil and gas development affects the population of mule deer, they didn't go against the plan.

    Other causes like building highways, population growth and human activities are also curbing the mule deer population, according to the study.

    State Parks and Wildlife officials don't necessarily disagree. They started a $4.5 million program as a way to gather research for later decisions.

    Chinese people are, quite rightly, proud of their food. However, when foreigners like Britons and Americans think of Chinese food, their impression of it is different to what you might think.

    Growing up in the UK, the Chinese food I was used to eating was food I now recognize as being from Guangdong. For example, a typical dish I would order would be pork in sweet and sour sauce, probably with some rice and spring rolls on the side. This is the type of food we generally eat because most Chinese immigrants(移民) to the UK have come from Guangdong. You can tell, because when most British people try to copy the sound of Chinese, they actually copy the sound of Guangdong people—hearing the real Putonghua is sometimes a shock to British people who have grown up thinking it sounds completely different!

    British attitudes to Chinese food may be changing, though. Chinese-American chef Ken Hom has been on British TV for 30 years, and he told BBC Food: "Chinese food at the beginning of the 80s (in the UK) was sweet and sour pork, mainly. Most Brits had the unchangeable view of Chinese food… Now you are seeing more local Chinese food from Sichuan, Hunan and other areas of China. It is no longer just Guangdong food." Similarly, to most Americans, Chinese food doesn't go too far past orange chicken and fortune cookies, but more Chinese local dishes are becoming successful, especially in big cities like New York.

    Attitudes have not quite changed completely, though. Many foreigners who live in China will be familiar with this question from a relative back at home: "Have they given you dog yet?" Yes, perhaps because people still know too little about Chinese culture, many people believe that Chinese people love to eat dog meat. And of course, some people do eat dogs, which to Americans is like "eating a member of one's family" according to Vision Times. Also, Chinese people eat many other things people in the West do not—chicken claws, duck heads and some animals' organs.

    But what do foreigners think when they come to China and taste real Chinese food? You'll be glad to know that in my experience, the impressions have been very good.

The Climb to the Top

    My life as a kid was a sweet life. I lived in a beautiful house with the beautiful surroundings in Puerto Rico. There was one particular thing I loved and it was a huge tree that was in my backyard. As a child, I used to climb the tree every day. Every time I went, I climbed higher and higher, reaching new branches, obstacles, and pathways on my way up. One day, I reached the top and I could see my island. I felt I was on top of the world, and nothing could stop me. Then, there was the day that seemed like the end of my life. This specific day changed my life forever.

It was a nice summer day. After breakfast, my family headed to the park to see my baseball game. In the evening we went to a carnival (嘉年华) in my town. My grandma was selling blankets under a tent. Suddenly, the mood of the day changed when my parents took me to my grandma's tent. Still to this day, I remember the exact words my dad said to me, "Son, how would you like to move to the United States?" I couldn't believe what he said. I then ran away from him as the tears rolled down my cheeks. My perfect life was being taken away from me.

    Two weeks later, we arrived at New York in late July, and my aunt and uncle drove us to Springfield，Massachusetts where we lived for seven years. Once we got there, I met my mom's family for the first time. September came and school started. I was afraid to go to a new school and make new friends. Most kids ignored me and some tried to talk to me, but I couldn't understand them or say anything. My first year in the United States was not fun or easy but I worked hard and got through it.

    Now that I'm grown, I look back on the journey that I've been through: living in a new place with no friends, new language, and new schools. Despite all those problems, I still remembered that special tree. That tree taught me to never give up and reach higher. I have beaten every difficulty that I have met in life and I just kept moving forward. My perfect life was never taken away from me; it has just started.

    A crew of six teenage girls completed a nine-day sailing trip in the US recently, after braving seasickness and strong winds.

    For the past three years, the Sea Cadet teenagers who set sail were all male. Roger Noakes, who captained the boat, said this was the first time he'd taken out an all-female crew.

    The girls asked for an all-girls trip in August this year. The crew set sail along with three adults, Noakes and two Sea Cadet representatives. The original plan was for the girls to sail 24 hours a day in rotating shifts(轮流换班)along the coast and then return. Things turned out differently, however. “The first night was rough because the wind was really hard. The waves were going up and down,” said Abby Fairchild, 16. “Everybody got seasick.” Noakes gave the girls the option of just sailing in the bay and not going into open water. “But they decided they were going.”

    The teenagers then sailed a long way overnight and slept in shifts. “We've learned everything from steering(掌舵)the boat itself to putting up the sails to cooking while we have rough seas, ” said 15-year-old Olivia Wilcox.

    The teenagers stopped on land in Massachusetts. They didn't make it to their original destination in Maine, where they were supposed to have a celebratory dinner, due to the weather and winds. They said they weren't disappointed, however, as they'd learned a lot. “They learned about boating, and above all, they built confidence and character,” said Noakes.

    Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe's biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. "Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots," said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.

    The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate (确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. "Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there's your food," said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.

    The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs £ 1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the £3 to £6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.

    An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. "The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction," said Martinson.

    Another significant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a passcode provided to the customer via a notification. "It's much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot," said Martinson.