Nobody likes doing the dishes, but it turns out that doing this daily 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.

    Researchers in Sweden surveyed the parents of 1,029 children ages 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 off slightly dirtier plates be better off when we talk about preventing allergies? One explanation is based on a theory known as the "hygiene hypothesis (卫生假说)," which says the reason why kids develop allergies is that their surroundings are actually too clean.

    Your immune (免疫) system keeps you healthy by fighting germs (病菌) like bacteria and viruses. But when you have allergies, it overreacts and tries to fight ordinary things like pollen (花粉) or certain foods.

    Being exposed to germs, particularly 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 excite 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.

Senses That Work Together

    When we think about how our senses work, we usually imagine them operating separately: you sniff a flower, and the smell is delivered uninterrupted from nose to brain. However, it's more complex than that. Most evidence for cross-modal perception (知觉) comes from studies into sound and vision (视觉). But research that shows other senses crossing over is coming out all the time, and it seems that even sound and smell sometimes form an unlikely pairing.

    When New York researchers, Daniel Wesson and Donald Wilson, tried to find out the truth about a “mysterious” area of the brain called the olfactory tubercle (嗅结节)，they had to deal with this fact. Originally, they only intended to measure how olfactory tubercle cells in mice responded to smell. But during testing, Wesson noticed that every time he put his coffee cup down with a clunk (哐啷声)，the mouse cells jumped in activity. In fact, the olfactory tubercle is well-placed to receive both smell and sound information from the outside world. Later they found that among separate cells, most responded to a smell but a significant number were also active when a sound was made. Some cells even behaved differently when smell and sound were presented together, by increasing or decreasing their activity.

    Of course, mice aren't people, so research team has been carrying out further experiments. They pulled together a group of people and gave them various drinks to smell. Participants were asked to sniff the drinks, and then match them to appropriate musical instruments and produce the notes at different levels. The results were interesting: piano was regularly paired with fruity fragrances; strong smells sounded like the instruments that are made of metal.

    Further research found that listening to different sounds can change your perceptions. Studying taste this time, the team ordered some special toffee (太妃糖)and put together “soundscapes” corresponding to bitterness and sweetness. Participants tasted similar pieces of toffee while listening to each soundscape, and found the toffee more bitter or sweeter, depending on which soundtrack they were listening to.

    Studies like this are helping scientists correctly describe our understanding of the senses, and how the brain combines them with its advantage. The consequences are worth considering. Could we see musicians work together with chefs to produce sound-improved food and drink? Will you be ordering a coffee with a soundtrack to bring out your favorite smell? Come to think of it, that could be one thing you hope coffee shop chains don't get round to.

    According to new research from the University of Cambridge in England, sheep are able to recognize human faces from photographs.

    The farm animals, who are social and have large brains, were previously known to be able to recognize one another, as well as familiar humans. However, their ability to recognize human faces from photos alone is novel.

    The recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Royal Society showed that the woolly creatures could be trained to recognize still images of human faces, including those of former President Barack Obama and actress Emma Watson.

    Initially, the sheep were trained to approach certain images by being given food rewards. Later, they were able to recognize the image for which they had been rewarded. The sheep could even recognize images of faces shown at an angle, though their ability to do so declined by about 15 percent - the same rate at which a human's ability to perform the same task declines.

    “Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that they are intelligent, individual animals who are able to recognize their handlers,” said Professor Jenny Morton, who led the Cambridge study. “We've shown with our study that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, comparable with those of humans and monkeys.”

    Recognizing faces is one of the most important social skills for human being, and some disorders of the brain, including Huntington's disease, affect this ability.

    “Sheep are long-lived and have brains that are similar in size and complexity to those of some monkeys. That means they can be useful models to help us understand disorders of the brain, such as Huntington's disease, which develops over a long time and affects cognitive abilities. Our study gives us another way to monitor how these abilities change.” Morton said.

    A good relationship between students and teachers makes the classroom a very inviting place. When you like your teachers, it's easier to pay attention to their explanations and improve your marks. When you consider your teachers as friends, you'll certainly have more respect for them. When your teachers consider you to be a friend, they'll feel more open in class and that will probably influence the classroom in a positive way. Now here are some tips to develop a friendly relationship with your teachers:

    Ask questions. If you have any questions about that subject, ask them. Show them that you're interested in their subjects. That will make them notice you. But never ask questions that you already know the answers to. If your teachers realize that you are not asking real questions, they might think that you're not actually trying to learn, but only trying to make an impression.

    Talk about non-school subjects. When you see one of your teachers in the hall, greet him/her and ask if he/she is going to that concert or if he/she has seen that movie. That way you'll show that you consider him/her as a reined. Some teachers don't like to have friendly relationships with students, but most of them are happy to chat with their students. After a while, they may start to talk with you about non-school subjects in the classroom.

    The rest is totally up to you; it is very easy to develop a friendly relationship with any of your teachers. If you want to be friends with your teachers, just treat them as friends, but don't forget that no matter how good friends you are, they will still be your teachers and deserve your respect.

    When we see cute babies, or adorable baby animals, many of us feel a strong urge to squeeze or pinch them or even bite them. Scientists call this strange response "cute aggression".

    Stavropoulos's team gathered 54 people to look at 32 pictures of four sets. One set contained photos of cute baby animals. Another set contained pictures of less-cute, fully grown animals. The other two sets were photos of human babies which were digitally edited. One set was changed to emphasize features we find cute, such as big eyes and full cheeks. The other was edited to reduce those features.

    The scientists found that the participants had much more feelings of cute aggression towards images of baby animals than those of adult animals. Surprisingly, this difference was not seen from the two sets of human baby pictures in comparison.

    To assess cute aggression, the participants were asked questions about the degree of wanting to aggress the subjects of the photos, and of wanting to care for them. Scientists suspect these responses are associated with not only the brain's emotional systems, but also its reward systems, which adjust motivation, pleasure and feelings of "wanting".

    Cute aggression may give humans the highly adaptive ability to control emotional response. To limit the motivation of positive feelings, the brain gives commands of the aggression. In other words, the brain throws in a bit of aggression to keep the good feelings from becoming uncontrolled. "If you find yourself fascinated by how cute a baby is, —so much so that you simply can't control it—that baby is going to starve." It stops us from investing too much energy into cute things. So, there is no need to feel bad for the desire to pinch them at the sight of cute babies. It's not because we're mean people. The "unfriendly" movement of our fingers is just our brain's way of making sure nothing gets too cute to handle.

How to make Quick Decisions For Your Life

We make decisions every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When it comes to making decisions, choosing the right one can at times be stressful, especially if the decision must be made quickly. Indecision often weighs us down, but there are some useful tips for making quick decisions more easily.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Sometimes the key to making a quick decision comes down to planning ahead of time for just such an occasion. We all know we're going to come to an important decision-making point sooner or later, so having a plan already in hand can put our mind at ease when that time comes.

Overcome fear. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} While it may seem difficult to overcome the fear of making the wrong choice, many experts agree that we shouldn't be afraid to make the wrong decision, even if it seems important. The vast majority of wrong decisions can be corrected, while delaying decisions can often lead to more problems.

Write down all the advantages and disadvantages of your decision. Even if you don't have all the information, writing down all the pros and cons (优缺点) is a good starting point for figuring out what to do. In cases where there simply isn't enough time to write things down, make a mental list in your mind. Thinking of the pros and cons can help you organize your thoughts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

Determine criteria. Remember that every decision you make should come with a certain list of criteria. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But once you know the requirements you're looking for, making a decision will become easier. Look for the choice that satisfies the list you've made, and once that choice is found, you should move ahead with it.

A. Have a plan.

B. The list may be short or quite long.

C. Communicate your decision with others.

D. And this can always lead to a clear answer.

E. So cut out any options that you know you will not choose.

F. Often, one thing that keeps us from making decisions is fear.

G. Some can be very important while others are not serious in the long run.