By trying to tickle(挠痒痒) rats and recording how their nerve cells respond, Shimpei Ishiyama and his adviser are discovering a mystery that has puzzled thinkers since Aristotle expected that humans, given their thin skin and unique ability to laugh, were the only ticklish animals.

    It turns out that Aristotle was wrong. In their study published on Thursday, Ishiyama and his adviser Michael Brecht found that rats squeaked and jumped with pleasure when tickled on their backs and bellies. These signs of joy changed according to their moods. And for the first time, they discovered a special group of nerve cells. These nerve cells made this feeling so powerful that it causes an individual being tickled to lose control.

    To make sure that he had indeed found a place in the brain where tickling was processed, Ishiyama then stimulated that area with electrical currents. The rats began to jump like rabbits and sing like birds.

    “It's truly ground-breaking,” said Jeffrey Burgdorf, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University who reviewed the paper. “It takes the study of emotion to a new level.”

    Burgdorf has played a central role in our understanding of animal tickling. He was part of a team that first noticed, in the late 1990s, that rats made special noises when they were experiencing social pleasure. Others had already noted that rats repeatedly made short and high sounds during meals. But the lab where Burgdorf worked noticed that they emitted similar sounds while playing. And so one day, the senior scientist in the lab said, “Let's go and tickle some rats.” They quickly found that those cries of pleasure doubled.

    “The authors have been very adventurous,” said Daniel O'Connor, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University who studies touch. To him, that finding was very surprising.

    “Why does the world literally feel different when you are stressed out?” he said. “This is the first step towards answering that question. It gives us a way to approach it with experimental rigor(严谨).”

    Siri, whose voice do you have?

    The question has interested millions of Apple iPhone and iPad fans, who use the devices' Siri function for help with everything from finding restaurants and directions to organize their day.

    On Friday, CNN reported it had discovered the original voice. The person had never before been identified publicly.

    The network named Susan Bennett, a voice-over actress（配音演员）from Atlanta in the US, as the voice behind Siri, which was first introduced on Apple's iPhone 4s in 2011.

    "I'm the voice actor who provided the voice of Siri," Bennett told CNN in an interview.

    Bennett told the network she worked four hours a day for the entire month of July 2005 recording in her home. She said she was paid by the hour but would not reveal the amount.

    "A colleague emailed me and said, 'Hey, we've been playing around with this new Apple phone. Isn't this you?'" Bennett told CNN.

    Her voice may also be familiar to airline passengers who have passed through a Delta Airlines terminal.

    Bennett also provided the radio and TV voice of First National Bank's "Tillie the All-Time Teller", the first ATM machine, she told CNN.

    "I began my career as a machine many years ago," Bennett told the network. "I'm sure that you hear my voice at some point every day."

    Actor Warwick Davis realized he was shorter than other people when he was eight years old.  He suddenly noticed all his schoolmates were twice his size. It was then that the effect of having dwarfism hit him for the first time.

    Now aged 48, Davis says, "I have very fond memories of school but I realized I had to become a little bit louder and funnier so I wouldn't get left out of conversations. I became quite the performer, so being short was my training in acting."

    It worked. Director George Lucas cast young Warwick as the Ewok Wicket in Return of the Jedi. The actor has gone on to star in many TV shows and films, including playing Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter films.

    Warwick's dwarfism means he is 1.07 meters tall, while the average UK adult male height is 1.78 meters. Most types of dwarfism are caused by a genetic disorder that stops some of the body's building blocks working properly.

    Davis has a positive attitude to being "different". He says, "If I had my life all over again, I would choose the same job and be the same height. I have enjoyed every minute. At school I played rugby and football and tried long jump and high jump. I wasn't very good at them but I always had a go. I defeated everyone at chin-ups (引体向上) because I had a low body weight combined with a strong upper body from climbing up to the top cupboards to reach the biscuit boxes at home."

    Warwick is supporting Jeans for Genes Day, a charity raising public concern for millions of children born with genetic disorders in the U.K. He says, "Even if you can only give a tiny amount of money, it will make such a difference to the children."

    Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son. Suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. "The door to his room is always shut." Joanna noted.

    Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. "She used to sit in my arms on the sofa and talk with me," said Mark. "Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which."

    Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what's on their minds. "In fact, parents are first on the list." said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. "This completely changes during the teen years." Riera explained. "They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last."

    Parents who know what's going on in their teenagers' lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental (思想的) break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.

    Imagine you are opening your own company and want to hire a manager. You have two candidates and they are both capable and experienced, so who would you rather hire: Julia Watson or Shobha Bhattacharva? Chances are that you would prefer Watson, right? But why?

    "Easy names are evaluated as more familiar, less risky and less dangerous," Eryn Newman, a scientist at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, told Scientific American. As a result, people with easier names are often assumed to be more trustworthy. This is what Newman and her teammates have found in their recent study.

    In the experiment, they picked 18 different foreign names, including difficult-to-pronounce ones like Yevgeni Dherzhinsky and easy names like Bodo Wallmeyer. They then attached each name with a statement such as "turtles are deaf" and "giraffes are the only mammals that cannot jump" and asked volunteers whether they thought the claims were true.

    The results showed that claims connected to easier names were more often ranked as believable than those attributed to difficult names, regardless of what the truth really was. In fact, previous studies have already found that our judgments about products can be affected by their names. For example, we tend to think of a food additive (添加剂) with an easier name as safer and a stock with an easier name as more lucrative (利润丰厚的)，according to Medical Daily.

    But researchers pointed out that this effect can change depending on where someone comes from. For example, a native British man may find "Yevgeni Dherzhinsky" hard to pronounce while Russian people could say it without effort. Newman hopes that this finding can make us better see our biases (偏见). It's not just unfair to people that we make judgments based on gut feelings (直觉) rather than facts, and it can sometimes have serious consequences.

    For example, we may choose to believe certain eyewitnesses in court simply because their names sound more trustworthy even if they are actually lying. Or, we may let go of qualified job candidates due to their "difficult" names.

    Now, if you could make that decision again, would you still prefer Julia Watson to Shobha Bhattacharva?

Fine Arts Students Deliver Magical Performances

As the winter holidays approach, Brookhaven School students presented an array of extraordinary performances showcasing immense talent within our fine arts community. From the band concert to the choral concerts, each event highlighted the dedication and exceptional gifts of our students. 

The December 12 Eagles Band Concert filled Woodruff Auditorium with melodies that captured the festive spirit. On December 14, the Foundations Christmas Choral Concert featured spirited performances by our 7th graders. The finale of seasonal fine arts showcases occurred on December 18 in Brady Theater with the Senior Chior Concert, spotlighting high school singers. 

A highly anticipated tradition, the school-wide Holiday Assembly on December 19, hosted by esteemed (受人尊敬的) Fine Arts Department Chair Mr. Kaminer, embodied (包含) the true essence of the holiday season. Angelic songs filled Young Gym, followed by joyous laughter and cheers as the "best costume" winners received their awards. Even the youngest War Eagles, the children in the Brookhaven Early Learning Center, attended the celebrations. Following the event, students merrily left school for the holiday break. 

Looking toward 2024, anticipation builds for the Brookhaven theater spring productions. "Something Rotten! promises high-energy comedic performances by theater students, while "Tuck Everlasting" assures a moving portrayal by talented Foundations students. Furthermore, the Brookhaven Dance Company will hold their showcase April 11-12 in Woodruff Auditorium. Tickets will soon be available for purchase.