Venom (毒液) from a local scorpion (蝎子) in Cuba is being used by Cuban scientists as an effective weapon to fight cancer. The venom, with stopping pain, anti-inflammatory (炎症) and anti-cancer properties, is the active ingredient in the medicine “Vidatox 30 CH,” which can be used to treat liver, brain, lung and other cancers. The treatment has been successfully used for more than four years in humans after being first tested in biological models. Labiofam, a Cuban laboratory, has breeding (繁殖) centers for both the Red Scorpion and Blue Scorpion. Each month, some 30,000 scorpions in Las Minas town, 270 km east of Havana are made to give the venom. After two years, the scorpions are released back into their natural habitat.

    Denyer Sanchez, a biologist from Labiofam, explained that the conditions are adjusted for reproduction, proved by the high number of breeding female scorpions. He said when the offspring (后代) becomes able to live in the environment, we release them because they do not have the necessary size yet to remove their venom, said Sanchez. Sanchez also said that there is still much to research on the exploitation process of scorpions, such as female death rate or the ability to survive of the released scorpions.

    Cuban research on the scorpion's venom began at the end of 1980s in Guantanamo province, the island's eastern tip, where a group of biologists and doctors became interested in the stories told by the peasants about the venom's benefits. However, the first discovery was made by Cuban biologist Misael Bordier. In 2001, Bordier visited Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM) and presented the research progress in a professional journal. Bordier died in 2005, one year before Cuba's Industrial Property Office gave Labiofam the rights to exploit the patent related to the venom.

    Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you're doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you're holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation (感觉) of warmth encourages emotional (情感的) warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist (心理学家) John A. Bargh.

    Psychologists have known that one person's perception (感知) of another's “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable (能干的). Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies' sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness.

    Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.

    To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study's hypotheses (假设), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.

    “We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly (抽象的),” says Bargh.

    Your next ca might drive itself. After years of trials on city streets, driverless vehicles are now nearing the live phase. Last moth, a driverless bus began carrying passengers through Lyon, France, Most in the automobile industry think self-driving vehicles will be on the road by 2020 or before.

    Driverless cars will at first be huddled with human-driven cars. But the first places where they will become dominant（统治的）are dense urban areas — precisely the spots most damaged by the automobile age. Many advanced cities are already reducing the role of human-driven cargo. Driverless cars will quicken that process and will bring us enormous benefits.

    Driverless cars will reduce accidents by around 90 percent. That's big—the annual death toll on the world's roads is about 1.2 million a year. Pollution and carbon emissions will drop, because urban driverless cars will be electric. The old, otherwise they would stay at home most of the time and the disabled and teenagers will suddenly gain mobility.

    On the other hand, driverless cars will bring catastrophe. The best thing about the automobile age was that it employed tens of millions of people to make, market, insure and drive vehicles. Over the next 20 years, the mostly low-skilled men who now drive trucks, taxis and buses will see their jobs reduced. Carmakers are especially scared. The few cars of the future might be made by tech companies such as Apple, Baidu and Google. Imaging the impact on Germany, where the automotive sector is the largest industry.

    Dramatic change is coming, and driverless cars could arrive by 2020. But governments have barely begun thinking about it. Only 6 percent of the biggest US cities have factored them into their long-term planning.

    A decade ago anyone hardly saw the Smartphone coming. It has bought an epidemic of mass addiction. Let's hope we do a better job of handling the driverless car.

    An Indian movie about two sisters has become a huge hit in China. The Hindi language film, called Dangal, has earned almost $ 170 million in China since its release there on May 5.

    Much has been written about why Dangal has enjoyed such big success in China. Some people say one reason is that the film's star and producer, Aamir Khan. He is famous in India's Bollywood film industry. Two of his earlier films were also big hits in China.

    Khan's popularity was clear after he got more than 600,000 followers on the Chinese social media service Sina Weibo within two months of joining. But he is not the only reason that the film strongly connects with audience across China. Media has pointed out how it shows similarities between parental systems in China and India.

    Dangal is based on the true story of a man who enjoyed the sport of wrestling (摔跤). He competed as a wrestler, but never could achieve his lifelong dream: winning a gold medal. As a father, he wanted his son to win the medal. But his wife only gives birth to daughters. So he finally decides to train them to be world-class wrestlers.

    The movie is more serious than most Bollywood productions, which tell happy love stories and include colorful music and dance performances.

    Edward Chan is a professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He says the strict way of parenting in the film is something people in China can easily relate to. “I think the father role described by the movie in India is quite similar to the culture, especially the traditional culture in China.”

    The Chinese government-supported Global Times newspaper pointed that movie critics (评论家) in China did not like Dangal. Most of them agree with the fact that the father in the film was forceful in pushing his daughters to become wrestlers. But the film Dangal is really aimed to educate children to work for their dreams.

    One of the most expensive parts of flying is the cost of gas, not to mention the environmental effect it brings. An Israeli startup called Eviation Aircraft hopes to solve the problems. They displayed the world's first all-electric passenger airplane this week at the Paris Air Show.

    The lightweight plane­playfully called Alice­will be able to fly about 600 miles between charges. So it will focus on transportation between cities. It seats nine passengers and two crew members. A typical flight should cost a customer about $200.

    "The fact that we' re building an electric plane from scratch instead of just refitting an existing plane with a battery means that we can design our aircraft to be more effective and efficient than present planes," said Eviation co-founder Omer Bar Yohay. He predicts that per seat, per mile, the cost would be equal to that of a taxi or train.

    The demand for electrically powered aircraft is projected to reach hundreds of planes per year within the next decade. The change from gas to electric in power is expected to save millions of dollars in fuel costs, not to mention the environmental benefits including significant reduction of air pollution and noise levels.

    When it comes to the new possibilities, Yosef Abramowitz, an energy industry expert, said, "In modern life, it is important to fight climate change and now we have a path to do so in flying." Abramowitz, a tireless advocate for solar power, added, "The batteries will hopefully be charged with solar energy too."

    To help further save fuel costs, the designers have also invented a "taxibot" that drags planes from the passenger gate to the runway, so the planes needn't run their engines.

    After appearing at the Paris Air Show, the Alice will travel to the U.S. for further tests. It is expected that the first commercial flights will take off in 2022.

    "I think for the first time in a very, very long time, we can look at flight again and talk about the next revolution," Bar Yohay said.

Based on his own research at Washington University in St. Louis and other scientific studies, psychology lecturer Bon o offers the following tips for getting and staying happier in your life.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Looking forward to an enjoyable experience can make it all that much sweeter. Wait a couple of days before seeing a new movie that just came out, plan your big vacation for later in the summer, and try to take time to enjoy each bit e of dessert. On the opposite, get negative tasks out of the way as quickly as possible —any delay will only make them seem worse.

People who focus more on process than outcome tend to remain motivated in the face of setbacks. They're better at sticking with major challenges and prefer them over the easy route. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Because it celebrates rewards that come from the work itself. Focusing only on the outcome can lead to premature burnout if things don't go well.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Find an activity that allows you to get together with friends on a regular, ongoing basis. A weekly happy hour, poker night, or TV show ensures consistency and motivation in your social interactions. People with high-quality relationships are not only happier, but also healthier. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

The next time you are attracted to use your phone to look through social media, look through your list of contacts instead. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The happiness you get from a real connection with another person will be far greater than any comments or likes you get on social media.

A. Anticipation itself is pleasurable.

B. Decrease unnecessary socializing.

C. Find someone to call or Face Time.

D. This "growth mindset" helps people stay energized.

E. Facebook and Instagram often overstate how much better off others are.

F. Nothing is more important for our psychological health than high-quality friendships.

G. They recover from illnesses more quickly, live longer, and enjoy more enriched lives.