Here's an idea whose time has come: A flu shot that doesn't require an actual shot.

    For the first time, researchers have tested a flu vaccine patch (疫苗贴) in a human clinical trial and found that it delivered as much protection as a traditional injection with a needle. Doctors and public health experts have high hopes that it will increase the number of people who get immunized (免疫的) against the flu.

    Seasonal flu is responsible for up to half a million deaths around the world each year according to the World Health Organization. A team led by Georgia Tech engineer Mark Prausnitz has come up with an alternative method that uses “microneedles”. These tiny needles are so small that 100 of them, arranged in order on a patch, can fit under your thumb (拇指).Yet they're big enough to hold vaccine for three types of flu.

    None of the study volunteers had serious side effects. The groups that got patches had mild skin reactions that were not seen in the regular needle group, while the volunteers in the regular needle group were more likely to experience pain. Overall, 70 percent of the volunteers who got vaccine patches said they'd rather use them again than get a traditional flu shot. The study authors declared it a success on all fronts.

    The biggest beneficiaries could be people in low- and middle-income countries, where flu vaccines are hard to come by. Reducing pain is nice, but other benefits—the patch costs less，is easier to transport, doesn't require refrigeration, can be self - administered and doesn't cause waste of needles—are even better.

    “Microneedle Patches have the potential to become ideal candidates for vaccination programs,” wrote Katja Hoschler and Maria Zambon of Public Health England.

                                                                     The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place

    Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.

    Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤)instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.

    On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don't have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

    The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

    Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them.

    I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles”(风格) of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

    Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑) in Japan because most streets there don't have names; In Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

    In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

    People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it's about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don't know.

    It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don't know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

    I fondly remember road trips as a child, sitting in the sunny backseat of my mom's car, daydreaming about other worlds and fantastic adventures. As I've grown older, my daydreams have become increasingly occupied less with fantasy but more with the reality of my past and future. Nearly everyone daydreams about their future and reflects nostalgically (念旧地) or negatively on moments of the past. These moments can provide inspiration, but if you spend too much time daydreaming in this fashion, you may be reducing your success in the present.

    If you've ever planned a vacation, you're familiar with the impatient days tapping at your desk, dreaming of the lazy, relaxing days to come. Unfortunately, sometimes you end up comparing the real vacation to your imagined one, and it doesn't live up to the standard. Reflecting nostalgically on the past can also prevent present enjoyment. It is equally fun to reflect on past achievements or fun events, but it's possible to be so consumed with happy memories that you miss opportunities to create more.

    We've all made mistakes that we're ashamed of; reflecting on them is an important step in correcting those mistakes and becoming a better person. But dwelling（细想）too long on your past can also be negative. If you dwell too long on a past mistake, you can begin to equate（使等同）yourself with your past and feel farther away from the person you want to be. Train your brain to think quickly about the past and future, and take only the information and inspiration that you need in order to be the best person you can without resting on your glory moments or your mistakes.

    If your identity is not dependent on the past or future, every experience is new and every day is a blank page for you to write. A fun mental exercise is to always tell yourself that you're experiencing things for the first time. So take advantage of each moment you're given.

Some people today might be early risers because of DNA they take after Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, suggests new research.

When early humans migrated from Africa to Eurasia roughly 70,000 years ago, some of them mated with Neanderthals, who had already adapted to the colder, darker climates of the north. The ripple (涟漪) effects of that intermating still exist today: Modern humans of non- African ancestry (血统) have between 1 and 4 percent Neanderthal DNA. Some of that DNA relates to sleep more specifically, the internal body clock known as the circadian rhythm.

For the new study, researchers compared DNA from today's humans and DNA from Neanderthal fossils (化石). In both groups, they found some of the same genetic variants involved with the circadian rhythm. And they found that modern humans who carry these variants also reported being early risers.

For Neanderthals, being "morning people" might not have been the real benefit of carrying these genes. Instead, scientists suggest, Neanderthals' DNA gave them faster, more flexible internal body clocks, which allowed them to adjust more easily to annual changes in daylight. This connection makes sense in the context of human history. When early humans moved north out of Africa, they would have experienced variable daylight hours--shorter days in the winter and longer days in the summer-for the first time. The Neanderthals' circadian rhythm genes likely helped early humans' offspring (后代) adapt to this new environment.

Notably, the findings do not prove that Neanderthal genes are responsible for the sleep habits of all early risers. Lots of different factors beyond genetics can contribute, including social and environmental influences. The study also only included DNA from a database called the U.K. Biobank-so the findings may not necessarily apply to all modern humans. Next, the research team hopes to study other genetic databases to see if the same link holds true for people of other ancestries. If the findings do apply more broadly, they may one day be useful for improving sleep in the modern world, where circadian rhythms are disturbed by night shifts and glowing smartphones.