There is a lot to learn about the creations of Beatrix Potter—not only is she the author of one of the world's most famous children 's books, The Tale of Peter Rabbit ,but also a pioneering conservationist(自然资源保护论者) with the spirit of a scientist.

    “Potter grew up as the daughter of a wealthy Victorian family, but along with her brother who filled an entire floor of their large house in London with all sorts of animals, which contributed a lot to her works,” said Anne Lundin, a retired professor for the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies.

    “As an adult, she was a frustrated botanical scientist. That field was not open to her because she was female,” Lundin said. Potter was urged to turn the charming stories she wrote in letters to children into books. She wrote 23 books in all--a body of work that has inspired plays, ballets, films and an astonishing amount of merchandise.

    “The Tule of Peter Rabbit is probably the most famous children's book in the world, which was published in 1902 and has really stood the test of time. It's been translated into 36 languages. The parents and grandparents will share it with the next generation,” said Lundin.

    Potter also made a mark on the world through her land conservation.“In many ways, she was like Peter Rabbit, risking into a world of adventure. She withdrew from London as soon as she started making some money on her books to the Lake District and became an extremely important farmer and conservationist. She preserved and passed on 15 farms and over 4,000 acres, which were given back to the country as gifts in the 20th century,” said Lundin.

    Even though she was born 150 years ago, she was amazingly modern--her embracing of the natural world, commented Jennifer Blatchley Smith, an artistic director of the show Peter Rabbit Tales to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.

    Aging brings wrinkles, sagging bodies and frustrating forgetfulness. But getting older is not all bad for many people. Mounting evidence suggests aging may be a key to happiness. There is conflicting research on the subject, however, and experts say it may all boil down to this: Attitude is everything.

    Older adults tend to be more optimistic and have a more positive outlook on life than their younger and stressed opposites. The big question is why seniors are happier. A recent study suggests one reason: Older adults remember the past through happy memories. Aging can bring more cheer as people become more comfortable with themselves and their roles in society. The older adults said they were enjoying more time with their family, spending more time on hobbies and having greater financial security and did not have to work.

    But others are doubtful about the link between happiness and growing older.

    "The notion that those in old age are happiest is misleading," said Richard Easterlin, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California. "It is based on comparing people of different ages who are the same in terms of income, health, family life." Easterlin added, "When you take account of the fact that older people have lower income than younger, are less healthy, and more likely to be living alone, then you will find it hard to accept that they are happier.

    In fact, scientists have found that as people age, their health declines and social networks disappear as their friends die, which can make the elderly less happy.

    Even if one does give in to age's dark side, health and happiness don't always go hand-in-hand. It's all about attitude. Research by the University of Chicago's Yang suggests that attitude about life and happiness, is partly shaped by the era in which a person was born. It turns out that individuals who adapt the best to changes also have the highest expected levels of happiness.

 Despite the conflicting findings about aging and happiness, the good news is that there doesn't appear to be a limit to how much happiness one can achieve in one's life. “Most people desire happiness,” Easterlin said. “To my knowledge, no one has identified a limit to attainable happiness.”

    School days are supposed to be the best days of your life and part of that experience usually involves some unforgettable physical activities. I asked some people to give me their memories of what happened to them on the sports field and beyond, and this is what they told me.

    Cup winners

    When I was about ten, the football team from our year unexplainably made it to the cup final of the local schools' league. I say unexplainably because I only remember us losing nearly every match we played. Anyway, in the final I set up the winning goal, a brilliant cross to my mate David who headed the ball in just before the final whistle. I still have a photograph of the team holding the cup.

    Forest hike

    I remember having to lead a group of eight boys on a school expedition for the best part of two days when I was a teenager. Even though we got lost at one point, I managed to keep them all together and get them from one end of a large forest to the other and back by sheer(纯粹的)force of will. I was chosen to be the leader, I think, because I was the only one who knew how to read a map!

    When we arrived back at the campsite, we found out that all the other groups had cheated and hitched(搭便车)most of the way instead… I felt a bit stupid, but also rather proud of myself at the same time for having done it properly.

    Learning to swim, learning to drown

    I learned to swim comparatively late, I suppose. I was maybe nine years old but my brother had a painful experience which nearly put him off for life. We lived in the USA for a while and had access to a university pool where the coaches had trained the American Olympic team. In those days, though, their idea of teaching kids how to swim was to tie a can to their ankles with a bit of string, throw them in the deep end and shout "Swim!". I am surprised my brother survived at all. He could only have been about six at the time.

    The pursuit of longevity has long been on people's minds, prompting an abundance of research on the effects of food and diet on the human lifespan. According to recent research from the UC Irvine Institute, drinking coffee and wine could help you live longer.

    The 90+ Study evaluated more than 1,600 people over the age of 90 for their lifestyle habits and other qualities that might have contributed to their longevity.

    Participants were visited every six months, when they were given various tests. Researchers also collected information about the participants' diets, lifestyles, and medical histories.

    They found out that two of the habits that helped preserve lives the most are drinking alcohol and coffee. "I have no explanation for it," admitted Dr Claudia Kawas, "but I do firmly believe that moderate (适度的) drinking improves longevity." So should we all be drinking more coffee and wine? While that would be great news, the research may not be as definitive as it seems.

    "Most studies about alcohol consumption, including The 90+ Study, are observational, so we can only say that something about drinking is associated with health and longevity," registered dietitian Jennifer Markowitz told The Daily Meal.

    "I'd be curious to see if the coffee and alcohol drinkers shared other important habits or lifestyle factors that might also play into their longevity."

    In other words, it might not be the wine and coffee that's helping people live longer, but the two substances do have some considerable health benefits. "Wine and coffee are packed with antioxidants(抗氧化剂) which are known to protect our bodies from damage caused by free radicals," explained registered dietitian Keri Gans to The Daily Meal. "Research on antioxidants has shown several heath benefits, including the possibility they may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve cognitive function, decrease the risk of dementia, and lower the risk of heart disease."

    Moderate drinking can be beneficial according to other studies—so long as it's moderate.

Researchers at MT created a high-tech pill that starts to vibrate(震动) once it makes contact with liquid in the user's stomach and make him or her feel full. The pill was reportedly thought up by Shriya Srinivasan, currently an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University.

VIBES, short for Vibrating Ingestible BioElectronic Stimulator，was only recently made public in a study published in the Science Journal, but it is already being announced by the media as the future of weight loss. Although it has yet to be tested on humans, trials on pigs have achieved very hopeful results. After about 30 minutes of VIBES activity, pigs consumed on average almost 40 percent less food in the next half hour than they did without the smart pill. Apparently, the revolutionary device works by activating stretch receptors in the stomach, modeling the presence of food. This in turn signals the hypothalamus(下丘脑) to increase the levels of hormones that make us feel full. The vibrating stimulator, which is about the size of a vitamin pill, is powered by an encased battery and activated either by the gastric fluid(胃液) breaking down a coat around the pill, or by an incorporated timer. After producing the desired effect, the pill exits the body with other solid waste.

The good news is that it is expected to have a cost in the cents to one dollar range, and researchers say that it may eventually be possible to implant the stimulator and thus remove the need for people to constantly swallow it.

"Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of a low-cost, non-operative intervention to reduce food intake and calorie consumption. The device functions effectively in the stomach and leading to fullness," said Giovanni Traverso, co-author of the study. "The device has the potential to revolutionize options for weight loss treatment. However, future studies will need to explore the physiological effects of the device before it's available for patients."

Researchers are now exploring ways to scale up the producing of VIBES capsules which could enable clinical trials in humans.

There is increasing evidence suggesting that ultra-processed food addiction is indeed a significant issue. These foods, which are carefully manufactured in industrial factories rather than in the familiar setting of grandma's kitchen, are filled with altered ingredients that are artfully combined to enhance fat, sugar, and salt levels. Moreover, they contain a lots of flavor and sensory enhancers, which render them irresistibly appealing. Examples of ultra-processed foods range from packaged snacks to fast food and mass-produced desserts. In fact, they account for nearly 60 percent of the calories consumed in the United States.

Studies have revealed that up to 20 percent of adults and 15 percent of kids and adolescents might exhibit signs of addiction to these foods, a phenomenon that has been recognized for decades as rat studies in the 1980s demonstrated that the brain's reward system is powerfully activated when rats consume certain foods, a reaction similar to that when they self-administer cocaine.

In recent years, as the obesity rate in America has soared to 42 percent, especially among Black and Hispanic populations, scientists have been devoting increased attention to the impact of ultra-processed food addiction. These foods not only activate the brain's reward system but also may involve the gut-microbiology. Symptoms of craving and withdrawal are clearly evident with ultra-processed foods. People will go to great lengths to obtain these foods, and when they are refused, they may experience a series of discomforts such as headaches, fatigue, and irritability(易怒的). A study in 2022 found that ultra-processed foods meet the same addiction criteria as tobacco products.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to numerous health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, and an increased risk of death. Thin people can also be addicted, perhaps burning off the extra calories through exercise or having a genetic predisposition(易患病体质) not to gain weight easily. Food companies argue against denying these foods, but experts advocate for clear nutritional labels and restrictions on marketing to children. Treating food addictions remains an open question, but there is hope that people will become more aware of the dangers, just as they did with smoking.