A person's chances of falling ill from a new strain (菌株) of flu are at least partly determined by the first strain they ever met with, a study suggests.

    Research in Science Journal looked at the 18 strains of influenza A ( 甲型流感) and the hemagglutinin protein (红血球凝集素蛋白) on its surface. They say there are only two types of this protein and people are protected from the one their body meets first, but at risk from the other one. A UK expert said that could explain different patterns in flu pandemics (流行病).The researchers, from University of Arizona in Tucson and the University of California, Los Angeles, suggest their findings could explain why some flu outbreaks cause more deaths and serious illnesses in younger people. The first time a person's immune system meets a flu virus, it makes antibodies targeting hemagglutinin protein that sticks out of the surface of the virus — like a lollipop (棒棒糖).

    Even though there are 18 types of influenza A, there are only two versions of hemagglutinin. The researchers, led by Dr Michael Worobey, classed them as "blue" and "orange" lollipops. They said people born before the late 1960s were exposed to "blue lollipop" flu viruses — H1 or H2 — as children. In later life they rarely fell ill from another "blue lollipop" flu — H5N1 bird flu, but they died from "orange" H7N9. Those born in the late 1960s and exposed to "orange lollipop" flu — H3 — have the opposite pattern.

    His team looked at cases of H5N1 and H7N9 — two kinds of bird flu which have affected hundreds of people, but have not developed into pandemics. The researchers found a 75% protection rate against severe disease and 80% protection rate against death if patients had been exposed to a virus with the same protein version when they were children.

    Dr Worobey said the finding could explain the unusual effect of the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic, which was more deadly among young adults. "Those young adults were killed by an H1 virus and from blood analysed many decades later there is a pretty strong indication that those individuals had been exposed to a mismatched H3 as children and were therefore not protected against H1. The fact that we are seeing exactly the  same pattern with current H5N1 and H7N9 cases suggests that the same fundamental processes may govern both the historic 1918 pandemic and today's contenders (斗争者) for the next big flu pandemic."

    Jonathan Ball, professor of University of Nottingham, said, "This is a really neat piece of work and provides a reason why human populations have been sensitive to different strains of bird influenza over the past 100 years or so. The findings are based on analysis of patient records and they certainly need further proof in the laboratory, but nonetheless the results are pretty amazing and inspiring."

Hong Kong Science Museum

    You might really like the Science Museum if you are interested in science. The Museum wants to teach kids science. It gives them a place to have fun with the equipment there. However, adults can learn some science too.

    The Museum has 6,500 square metres. There are over 500 exhibits, and nearly 70 percent of them are suitable for visitors of all ages. Since its opening in April 1991, the Hong Kong Science Museum has proven itself to be a good place for learning science. Through having better exhibits and fun science programs in an enjoyable environment, the Museum wants to popularize science to the public and the support science education in schools. Visitors at the Science Museum can visit the exhibition in their own way and enjoy the fun of discovery learning.

    If you want to have a visit, you'd better read the information carefully.

New movies set holiday eve record

    Chinese moviegoers set a box office (票房) record for the eve of the week—long National Day holiday. By 9:30 p.m. September 30, new movies had brought in 630 million yuan.

    The major movies contributing to the box office record were My People, My Country, The Captain and The Climbers.

    My People, My Country ranked first by bringing in around 270 million yuan. It was made up of seven short stories which were set in historic moments to look back at New China's 70 years of existence. The movie was co-directed by Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao and Wen Muye.

    Another well-received film, The Captain, earned 194 million yuan to occupy second place. Starring actor Zhang Hanyu, the film is based on heroic Sichuan Airlines pilot Liu Chuanjian, who completed one of the most miraculous (奇迹的) emergency landings in China's civil aviation (民航) history.

    Also adapted from real events, The Climbers earned 157 million yuan. With an excellent cast including Zhang Ziyi and Wu Jing, the film is about Chinese mountaineers' climbing to the top of Mount Qomolangma.

    Wu Jing said the film filled a gap in the market, with sports-themed titles quite rare in the world's second-largest movie market.

    Besides the three movies, eight other films will be on during the holiday ending on Oct 7.

    A traditional Chinese cough syrup (糖浆), called Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa (念慈庵川贝枇杷膏), is flying off the shelves in New York stores this flu season, following a US news report.

    According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last week, Mr. Alex Schweder, a professor of design at Pratt Institute suffering a cough for about 10 days, felt better 15 minutes after he drank a bottle of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa. It had been recommended by his girlfriend, who first learnt about the cough syrup 30 years ago when she was living in Hong Kong.

    Mr. Schweder was shocked by the magical effects of the cough syrup, and recommended it to many people. This, together with other factors, soon made the Chinese medicine popular in New York City.

    A 300ml bottle is now sold at US$13.29 on Walmart's website. This is more than double the former price in some pharmacies (药店) in Manhattan's Chinatown, selling at about US$6 per bottle. "The number of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa we sold over the past few days was much more than usual," said Winnie, a sales staff member of Buy-rite pharmacy in Chinatown. "More and more Westerners are accepting this medicine because it is effective," she said.

    According to the Kingworld Medicines Group's official website, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is made of "valuable Chinese herbs and honey, and has surprising effects in treating coughs." However, experts warn that taking the cough syrup can carry health risks, including when it is used with other medicines, used too much or taken instead of prescription medication (处方药).

    Dr. Keith Brenner, a specialist in pulmonary medicine at Columbia University Medical Centre New York Presbyterian Hospital, said, "I think people who use these things may not even tell the doctor about them, and it's a problem."

    I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone ; in the other a toy. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe little friend and I'll never forget the words she said, even though it was imagined.

    She said, "Suzie's in the corner because she's not been very good. She didn't listen to a word I said or do the things she should." In the corner I saw her baby doll well dressed. It was obvious that she'd been put there to sit alone and think.

    My daughter continued her "conversation", as I sat down on the floor. She said, "I'm all fed up and I just don't know what to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach... And she doesn't know how to fold towels. I don't have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don't have the time to sit and play - don't you know what I mean?"

    And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, after listening to her innocent words which cut me like a knife. I hadn't been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear. I'd been caught up in responsibilities that increased throughout the years.

    But now my attitude has changed because in my heart I realize that I've seen the world in a different light through my little darling's eyes. So let the cobwebs(蜘蛛网) cut the corners and the dust bunny rabbit rule the floor. I'm not going to worry about keeping up with them anymore.

    I'm going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother, for we have only one childhood and we will never get another.

In life, there are many opposite things, which cannot be united by many people. But there is always a chance to unite two different things in one work. The following passage will tell you more about the possibility of combining painting and poetry.

Perhaps, it is not a new idea that a great work can be created by combining paintings and poems. In this case, we can unite both things in two ways. The first way is to make the poem as the main inspiration for the painting. It is also possible to write a poem after looking at a painting.

What about the next idea to combine painting and poetry? Well, we can combine both of them on a canvas(画布). You can paint an oil painting on it and then write down the poem on that canvas. I do not know whether this kind of idea has been used for years. But this is quite a great new idea for me. It will make more people love painting and poetry at the same time. You will not need to read the poem on plain white paper any more.

A poem is a good way to represent a story or a thought. It is usually not too long and not easy to understand literally(字面上地). It is a series of words arranged in stanzas(诗节) and lines with rhymes, which are quite changeable. Therefore, combining it with another type of art (such as painting) will be very good. You can get the message of the poem through the colours on the canvas. All you need to do is use your creativity to make a painting with the right colours and with great words on it.