More people are dying from hepatitis(肝炎) than AIDS and tuberculosis, warns World Health Organization. The World Health Organization(WHO) has urged for action to wipe out hepatitis as ongoing illness worsens.

    In its first global report on the infection, it said the number of people dying from treatable forms of the disease, often caused by alcohol and drug abuse, is rising. Viral hepatitis is believed to have killed 1.34 million people in 2015, and amount similar to that of tuberculosis.

    But while those are both falling, hepatitis deaths are on the rise—increasing by 22 per cent since the turn of the century.

    However, most of the 325 million people infected are completely unaware they have the virus and some lack life-saving medicines. As a result, millions of people are at risk of a slow progression to chronic liver disease, cancer and even death, the WHO warned, Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, said: “Viral hepatitis is now a major public health challenge that requires an urgent response.”

    The two most common forms, which are responsible for 96 per cent of deaths from the disease, are hepatitis B(HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV)

    HBV can be passed on through unprotected sex and bodily fluids(液体). It requires life-long treatment with a drug commonly used to battle HIV. New infections of this type of the disease are falling, thanks to a vaccine given to 84 per cent of newborns across the world. However, just nine per cent of sufferers know they are infected, meaning many go under the radar and miss out on treatment.

    HCV, usually spread through blood-to-blood contact with an infected person, can be cured relatively swiftly, but many patients across the world are unable to afford the medication. Around 1.75 million people were newly infected with HCV in 2015, bringing the global total to 71 million, figures suggests. But four fifths of those infected with this type of the disease are unaware they are suffering, the WHO warned.

    Experts looking at the cases have identified unsafe healthcare procedure and injection drug use as the top causes. Gottfried Hirnschall, director of WHO's Department of HIV and the Global Hepatitis Programme, said the WHO was working with governments, drugmakers and diagnostics companies to improve access.

    He added: More countries are making hepatitis services available for people in need—a diagnostic test cost less than $1 (78p) and the cure for hepatitis C can be below $ 200 (￡156). But the data clearly highlight the urgency with which we must address the remaining gaps in testing and treatment.

    Charles Gore, president of the World Hepatitis Alliance, said: “For the first time in the history of viral hepatitis, we have an understanding of the true impact of the disease.”

    I was once told, “You are wasting your time on a career that will give you no money or comfort”.

    I explored my interests for years and finally decided to be a journalist. However, I'm still influenced by others' arguments: print publications are being replaced by web versions where content is updated nearly every time you refresh the browser. But I hold onto my decision. Why? For the simple, yet powerful reason that it makes me happy in a way that no amount of money ever could.

    Rarely have I found others who think like this, and I find it very disappointing when I hear students trying to design their lives on the basis of factors (因素) other than keeping to their passions and interests.

    Factor number one is parents. They certainly have a right to be a part in their children's lives, but sometimes their words create more stress than encouragement. Instead of trying to make their children happy, as their original purpose may have been, parents can end up limiting their children's dreams and desires until nothing remains but the hard seeds of a cruel reality.

    The second factor is money. I had a conversation with my college friend one afternoon, which explains this point.

    “What happened?” I asked him after he said he had changed his major. “I thought you wanted to be a photographer.”

    “I do,” he said, “But there is no money in it. Don't worry,” he added, probably feeling my worry. “I'm happy where I am.” I was ready to believe that, but as we kept on talking, he continuously interrupted me to point out the beauty of this view and that view, saying he wished he had taken his camera with him.

    Naturally, we cannot predict where we will end up with our choices. Our ideas and plans could change as we progress. However, at this stage in our lives when so many voices are telling us who we should be, we need to value our individual dreams, not to abandon them, because they may be the only things left that tell us who we are.

    Scientists have found an unexpected use for virtual reality headsets (耳机). The devices (装置), widely used by computer gamers, show pictures that can be used to test the navigational (导航的) skills of people, who were thought to be at risk of dementia (痴呆). Those who do worse in the tests will be the ones more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life, scientists now believe.

    The discovery that the loss of navigational skills was associated with Alzheimer's was made several years ago by Dennis Chan and his colleagues based at several centers in the UK. These studies used computers to test navigational tasks. But now scientists plan to take their tests to a new level with the use of the virtual reality headsets in which wearers are placed in man-made environments through which they must navigate.

    Around 300 people, aged between 40 and 60, will be arranged to participate in the study. Some will have a gene that puts them at risk of the condition or will come from a family with a history of Alzheimer's. Not all will certainly be affected by the disease, however. Chan's project aims to find out who will. Wearing the headsets, participants will be asked to navigate their way through a series of different environments and then remember the details.

    Researchers recently pointed out the significance of a tiny area of the brain known as the entorhinal cortex (an important memory center in the brain). It acts as a center in a widespread brain network that controls navigation. This now appears to be the first part of the brain that seems to be easily harmed by Alzheimer's.

    The goal of the work is to help people as they develop the disease. "So far, drug trials for Alzheimer's have been applied when people have already got dementia, by which time considerable damage to the brain has already occurred," Chan told the Obsenver. "If we can develop drugs and use them earlier, for example, before the disease has spread beyong the entorhinal cortex, then this would have the potential to prevent the dementia."

    The Honors Program (美国大学荣誉课程) in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (HPBMB) is offered to high school seniors with strong academic ability and achievement who seek careers in biological or biomedical science. Students can earn both a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in approximately 6 years.

    Applicants to the Honors Program in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology must be in their last year of high school.

    Undergraduates will have the opportunity to work with top-level research scientists in Biochemistry& Molecular Biology and also in clinical laboratories with scientists that are associated with the department. They will conduct intensive laboratory work in the areas of biochemistry, molecular biology or nutritional biochemistry starting in the summer before their first fall semester starts. By spring of their junior year, students will prepare an undergraduate thesis (本科毕业论文) as preparation for their entry into graduate school (研究生院). At that time they will start taking graduate courses and continue to do research with a graduate faculty member.

    To be considered students must:

     have a combined SAT I score of 1400 (combined Math and Critical Reading scores)

    meet the SAT II score requirement of at least 600 in Math, and one science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics)

    have completed eight semesters of English and mathematics and two semesters each of biology and chemistry by the time they graduate from high school

    complete all components of your Common Application for undergraduate admission by November 1 of your senior year

    complete a supplemental application form for the Honors Program in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

    include a counselor (辅导老师) recommendation, three letters of recommendation from teachers in support of your application to the Honors Program and a personal statement

    Send all Dual Admission Honors Program application materials to:

    Dual Admission Honors Programs

    Office of Admission

    University of Miami

    P.O. Box 248025

    Coral Gables, FL 33124-4616 

    Fax number: (513) 529-7592 (513) 529-1950 

    For more information on the HPBMB, contact:

    Dr. Thomas K. Harris

    Director, Undergraduate and Medical Education

    Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

    Office: Gautier Building, Room 111

    Phone: 305-243-3358

    E-Mail: tkharris@miami.edu 

I was ever bullied badly when I was in high school. One kid in particular would try to make me feel worse in every way he knew. For example, he would throw stuff at me constantly, hit me on the head, punch me, call me ugly and stupid, make fun of me and, of course tell me he would beat me up if I ever fought back. It was like his daily mission. And it was my daily mission to just get through the day. What could I say? It made my world very small because that was my main focus—just surviving. Everything else fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that included any form of social life. So not only was my world tiny, but it was very lonely.

    Looking back to that time, which was about 11 years ago, my biggest mistake was not bringing anyone into that world of mine. I was too proud and embarrassed to get help. I would rather not face the fact that I needed help because in my mind, that would mean that the bully had won. It would also mean that I was weak.

Let me just say this—-bullying someone is a weak choice. The only reason why they come after you is that they don't think you will do anything about it. Does that make anyone strong? Absolutely not. Be stronger. Reach out to a parent, a teacher or a friend for help. Simply admit that you are struggling and need help.

    You can put it like this: Somebody who is weak and trying to build himself or herself up has chosen to do that by putting me down. The only reason why they are doing it is that I am nice and I haven't done anything about it yet. Well, I am through putting up with this. I have basic human rights that they are trying to take away to feel better and that is just not OK. How do I handle this the right way? I don't want the pain cycle to continue and I don't want to become someone I don't want to be.

I will close by saying this—-I am not just surviving. I am just enjoying my life. I graduated from college with honors, by the way. You don't have to wait to live. Do something today.

Owls and Larks

    Larks are most likely to be healthy, wealthy and wise, according to the old saying.

    But those who are early to bed and early to rise do not always have the upper hand, researchers say. They have found that night owls are generally brighter and wealthier than those able to get up early in the morning.

    Experts from the University of Madrid carried out tests on around 1,000 teenagers and found that those who preferred to stay up late proved the kind of intelligence associated with honored jobs and higher incomes. "Larks" or "morning people", however, often acquired better exam results, possibly because lessons are held at the wrong time of day for night owls. The researchers examined the habits and body clocks of the youngsters to determine whether they liked to stay up late and sleep later in the morning, or preferred to go to bed early and were at their peak in the morning. School performance and inductive(归纳的)intelligence, or problem solving, were measured and academic grades in the major subjects were also taken into account. The results showed that evening types scored higher than morning types on inductive reasoning, which has been shown to be a good estimate of general intelligence and a strong indicator of academic(学术的) performance. They also had a greater capacity(能力) to think conceptually(概念地) as well as analytically. Such abilities have been linked to innovative(创新的) thinking, more admired occupations and better incomes.

    Famous night owls include President Trump, Obama, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Keith Richards and Elvis Presley. George W. Bush, who is regularly in bed by 10 p.m., Thomas Edison, Napoleon, Condoleezza Rice, who wakes at 4:30 a.m., and Ernest Hemingway are among those known as larks. Jim Horne, professor of psychophysiology at Loughborough University, said, "Evening types tend to be the more active and creative types, the poets, artists and inventors, while the morning types are the deducers(推导者), as are often seen with civil servants and accountants." A previous study of US Air Force recruits found that evening types were much better at thinking to solve problems than larks.