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    Keeping a busy social life among lots of friends may keep people thinner than spending hours doing some exercises, according to scientists. They say that socializing and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories to produce heat.

    Living in an exciting social environment was found to reduce fat in mice's belly by half over four weeks, even if they ate more.US researchers say that social excitement aids weight loss by turning white fat into brown fat. White fat stores calories and makes us fatter, while brown fat burns energy to produce heat. Turning white fat into brown fat is extremely difficult, normally requiring long-term stay in cold conditions or exciting part of the body's nervous system.

    However, scientists from Ohio State University now think that having a busy social life is an even more effective way of changing white fat into brown fat. The team came up with their theory by studying the effects of various living environments on mice. Those, who lived alongside a greater number of mice, had more space and toys to excite themselves and they lost far more weight over the course of the study than their “couch potato” fellows.

    Study's author, Dr Mattew During whose team's findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism, said,“I'm still amazed at the degree of fat loss that occurs.” Explaining how new technology had threatened face-to-face socializing, he added,“It's not just a sedentary (久坐的)lifestyle and high calorie foods, but an increasing lack of social activities.” Co-author Dr Lei Cao said,“Loneliness is a potential factor for cancer and death; it's equal to cigarette smoking to a certain extent. Social activities are very vital.”

    Are your eyes irritated, dry, watery, blurry, seeing double or sensitive to light, and do your back and neck ache? If so, you are likely one of many people today who suffer from digital eyestrain, also called computer-vision syndrome.

    Eyestrain is often related to the amount of exposure to screens, the distance from eyes to screens and the use of multiple screens simultaneously. However, studies have also shown that the blue light produced by digital devices today reaches further into the eyes than other kinds of light. This light actually assists attention during the day but can result in interrupted sleep patterns at night.

    Scientists have also said that eyestrain is not a necessary evil, even in a modern world that revolves around technology. Changing some simple details about your relative position to screens, such as staying about 60 centimeters away, will help. Also, avoid overhead and other direct sources of light, and use shaded lamps and window blinds while looking at digital devices instead.

    Beyond the way that relates to digital screens, there are also ways to change how you view screens that are helpful in combating eyestrain. To begin with, your computer screen should be high-resolution(高清的), at least 50 centimeters wide diagonally and may require a screen filter to decrease reflections. Also, be aware that "computer glasses", which cut down glare and blue light, are available and those contact lenses can increase the risk of eyestrain.

    Besides, to reduce your risk for computer-vision syndrome and neck, back and shoulder pain, take frequent breaks during your computer workday. Many workers take only two 15-minute breaks from their computer throughout their day. According to a recent study, discomfort and eyestrain are significantly reduced when computer workers take four additional five-minute "mini-breaks" throughout their workday. And these additional breaks don't reduce the workers' productivity.

    Finally, many of us fall into bad habits while using digital screens that only worsen the effects of eyestrain. While viewing digital screens, many people blink one third less often than they usually do. Place a reminder on your computer to "blink" so that your eyes don't dry out. Also, rest your eyes' focusing muscles by using the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

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Coral reefs (珊瑚礁) as underwater walls can help reduce the effects of hurricanes on coastal communities. This seems unbelievable. It is reported that scientists have discovered that coral reefs are even more effective than man-made sea walls under the water. However, coral reefs are especially easy to be influenced by climate change. Overfishing and pollution have also proved very dangerous to them. Since 1950, half of the world's coral reefs have already been lost. To protect our communities and keep sea ecosystems alive, we need to protect coral reefs right away.

Let's take a closer look at how coral reefs protect us from floods, and how scientists are 1restoring (修复) reefs.

The roles that coral reefs play as underwater walls have long been recorded by scientists. During a Category 3 hurricane in 2015 in Australia, the coral reefs effectively protected the eastern shoreline from flooding. In contrast, the western coasts without coral reefs suffered serious damage. The researchers observed that the shape of coral reefs can break the approaching waves. More recently, researchers at the University of Miami have reached the same conclusion. They used a special lab simulator (模拟装置) to recreate ocean conditions during a Category 5 hurricane. They found that coral reefs could reduce the impact of waves by up to 95 percent!

Because of higher ocean acidity (酸性) and temperature, coral reefs are disappearing and dying out. At the same time, climate change puts weakened coral reefs under more stress. The University of Miami researchers are testing to plant new coral reefs while others are actively looking for effective methods to reduce the acidity of sea water. The governments have also paid more attention to these actions and provided enough money for reef restoration. With these efforts, we may address climate threats to coral reefs and they can carry on protecting our communities.