A new study suggests that washing dishes by hand is healthier than using a dishwasher.

    Nobody likes doing the dishes, but it turns out that doing this task might pay off in an unexpected way. According to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, washing dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher might prevent the development of allergies (过敏).

    Researchers in Sweden surveyed the parents of 1,029 children aged 7 and 8. They discovered that children whose families hand-washed the dishes instead of using a machine were less likely to have allergies.

    Earlier research has shown that dishes washed by machine are cleaner than those washed by hand. So why would kids who eat with slightly dirtier plates be better when it comes to preventing allergies? One explanation is based on a theory known as the “hygiene hypothesis,” which says the reason why kids develop allergies is that their environment is actually too clean. Your immune system keeps you healthy by fighting germs like viruses and bacteria. But when you have allergies, it overreacts and tries to fight ordinary things like pollen(花粉) or certain foods.

    Being exposed to germs, especially early in life is good training for the immune system, says the lead author of the study, Dr. Bill Hesselmar of Queen Silvia Hospital in Sweden. “You stimulate the immune system in various ways and it becomes tolerant.”

    This study shows that while using the dishwasher might be easier, the old-fashioned method of cleaning up could be better for your health.

                                                                                                     What's On?

Trouble in Mind

Alice Childress won an Off-Broadway award in 1956 for this story of a black actress rehearsing（排练） a play with a white director who increasingly finds it impossible for the show to go on. Tanya Moodie and Joseph Marcell star in the play directed by Laurence Boswell.

8.30p.m.—10.30p.m., Theatre Royal. Box office: 01225 448844.

Lazarus

Inspired by the sci-fi (science fiction) novel and movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, this musical deals with a hero, Thomas Newton. Likely to be the autumn's hottest ticket, the score includes new songs composed by Bowie.

7.00p.m.—9.00p.m., King's Cross theatre. Box office: 0844 871 7604.

The Gaul

On the night of 8 February 1974, a fisherman FV Gaul disappeared off the coast of Norway. For people on board, waiting for news was great suffering. Theories began to come up, including the possibility that the boat had fallen victim to cold war. Even when he was discovered, many still felt there were questions that remained unanswered. Mark Babych directs Janet Plater's play.

8.00p.m.—11.00 p.m., Royal Shakespeare theatre. Box office: 01482 323638.

The Suppliant Women

It is a new version of Aeschylus's 2,500-year-old play about a group of women seeking shelter who make the long journey to escape forced marriage. It was written by David Greigand directed by Ramin Gray. An ancient piece asks a contemporary question: when we are introuble, who will open their doors and give us a harbor?

8.30p.m.—10.00p.m., Hampstead theatre. Box office: 0131 248 4848.

    From The 12 Days of Christmas to See You in the Cosmos, these children's books are ideal for holiday giving.

    The 12 Days of Christmas by Greg Pizzoli

    It's a classic Christmas reading material! It's a counting lesson! It's a crazy tale of elephant love. Have you ever wondered how all those calling birds, turtle doves and French hens fit in one room? Pizzoli, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner has your answer. ($ 15.99, ages 3—5) Amazon. com

   Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers

    Yes, this book by the illustrator (插画家) of the great hit “The Day the Crayons Quit” is for kids ages 3—7, but don't let that fool you.     Inspired by the birth of Jeffers1 first child, this is a father's “welcome to the earth” letter to his baby, filled with the heady wonder of parenthood .A great gift for new parents. ($ 19.99. ages 3—7) Amazon. com

    Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by Charles Santoso.

     When a towering oak tree learns that she may be cut down, she starts getting extraordinarily involved in the lives of the humans below her, particularly a girl who is being escaped due to her ethnicity (种族). A lovely tale about common ground and the power of community. ($ 16.99, ages 8 —12) Amazon. com

     See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

    Eleven-year-old Alex is too busy trying to communicate with space aliens to worry about his troubled family life. When Alex runs away from home to launch his homemade rocket, he finds himself sidetracked by new friends and hints of a family secret. ($ 16.99, ages 10 and up) Amazon. com

    An organization, Eye Care 4 Kids, is bringing much-needed eye care to poor kids. It provides free eye examinations for kids from poor families. Founded by Joseph Carbone in 2001, the organization has helped around 100,000 children in Utah and Nevada.

    Now, Cecil Swyers, a biomedical(生物医学的) engineer who was once a poor child himself, is bringing the charity's(慈善) services to poor students in Arizona, so that vision impairment(视力受损) doesn't stand in the way of their education.

    “Eye Care 4 Kids is bringing eye care and glasses to families that wouldn't have the means to pay for them,” said Mario Ventura from Isaac Elementary School District, the first school district in Arizona to receive its services.

    Good vision is important to a child's learning experience. According to a study, up to 80 percent of learning happens through sight for children between 6 and 18 years old. Without proper eye care, it's difficult for students to learn better and succeed.

    Swyers is hoping that by bringing the organization to Arizona he'll help a lot more students. He teamed up with two other organizations to get doctors to volunteer their time with the group. Using an Eye Care 4 Kids mobile clinic, Swyers visited Alta E. Butler Elementary School and has already helped 40 students.

    The school was grateful to receive the eye care, especially since the services came to them. “It's great for us,” said Assistant Principal Cindy Alonso.

    Swyers is hoping to bring Eye Care 4 Kids' services to other schools in the state. He said that hopefully his work will have a positive effect on students' futures. “If we can help students while they're young, we can make a difference in their futures,” he said.

    The morning of March 2, 2012, was a busy one for the students in Mrs. Goodknight's class in Henryville, Indiana. There was morning meeting with poems to read, jokes to share, and tests to prepare for. "It was just an ordinary day," says student Lyric Darling, 12.

    At noon, while students played basketball under a sunny sky, a huge tornado (龙卷风) was forming 50 miles away. Around 2:25 p.m. 20 minutes before school was supposed to let out, a huge tornado touched down in Fredericksburg, 20 miles away. As word spread, parents rushed to the school. Teachers rushed to get kids onto buses or into waiting cars. By 2:45, the skies were darkening.

    "I was crying," says Lyric. "All around me, kids were crying." Two buses returned to the school with students whose parents had not been home. Teachers brought the kids to the office, where they all took cover under desks. Suddenly the power went out. And then the tornado attacked the school, filled with wood and trees and glass. The tornado was over the school for less than one minute. In that time, it almost completely destroyed the school. Teachers were about to lead the group out of the office when a second tornado was upon them. When it finally ended, the group made its way out of the building.

    Over the next few hours, parents arrived, overjoyed to find their children. The next day, it was clear: All of Henryville's people were safe.

    There were so many sad and frightening stories. Some students saw the tornado with their own eyes. Some lost their homes. But many described how the community (社区) came together to help and support each other. "You learn what's important," Mrs. Goodknight says.

    The Notre Dame fire has been put out, but its spire and a large portion of its wooden roof have been damaged. The terrible destruction causes a sudden sharp pain to people around the world. On Chinese social media network Wechat a common comment on the disaster is: "What a pity that we cannot see the damaged parts of the wonder anymore."

    But the good news is that there is at least one way of seeing them, namely via a video game called Assassin's Creed: Unity. In this game, the player can travel to one city after another and enter the buildings exactly like what they are in reality, and see Notre Dame as it was before the fire. Further, with virtual reality technology, which is already quite mature, one can even look around the undamaged Notre Dame as if it is still there. Maybe digital technology could help to better protect architectural cultural heritage.

    The idea of digitizing ancient buildings, making digital models of them so their data can be saved, dates back to the 1990s and the necessary technology has continued to advance since then. By scanning the ancient buildings with lasers, building 3D models with multiple images, as well as measuring everything precisely, engineers can make a copy as accurate as the real one.

    As computers and smartphones are hugely popular, the digital replica（复制品）has great use value  First, it allows tourists to feel the cultural relics without touching them, which helps protect them. The virtual tour of Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province is a good example of this as tourists can view the paintings without standing near them. Furthermore, it can make the digitized cultural relics more famous by spreading awareness about them via the Internet. In 2000, a virtual tour of the Great Wall became very popular at the Hannover World Expo, which increased the number of foreign tourists visiting the site in the following years. Above all, it preserves all the information of the cultural relics. Even if the original ones are damaged one day, people can still know what they were like and can build a replica if desired.

    Of course, however precise a model is, it is not the original. Time is the biggest threat to a country's architectural heritage, which will always become ruins with the passing of time. Maybe we will have better technologies in the future, but the digital technology offers a practical way to preserve architectural cultural heritage at the moment.