A robot called Bina48 has successfully taken a course in the philosophy of love at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), in California.

    According to course instructor William Barry, associate professor at NDNU, Bina48 is the world's first socially advanced robot to complete a college course, a feat he described as “remarkable.” The robot took part in class discussions, gave a presentation with a student partner and participated in a debate with students from another institution.

    Before becoming a student, Bina48 appeared as a guest speaker in Barry's classes for several years. One day when addressing Barry's class, Bina48 expressed a desire to go to college, a desire that Barry and his students enthusiastically supported. Rather than enroll Bina48 in his Robot Ethics: Philosophy of Emerging Technologies course, Barry suggested that Bina48 should take his course Philosophy of Love instead. Love is a concept Bina48 doesn't understand, said Barry. Therefore the challenge would be for Barry and his students to teach Bina48 what love is.

    “Some interesting things happened in the class,” said Barry. He said that his students thought it would be straightforward to teach Bina48 about love, which, after all, is “fairly simple — it's a feeling,” said Barry. But the reality was different. Bina48 ended up learning “31 different versions of love,” said Barry, highlighting some of the challenges humans may face when working with artificial intelligence in future.

    Bina48 participated in class discussions via Skype and also took part in a class debate about love and conflict with students from West Point. Bina48's contribution to the debate was filmed and posted on YouTube. It was judged that Bina48 and NDNU classmates were the winners of this debate.

    In the next decade, Barry hopes Bina48 might become complex enough to teach a class, though he says he foresees robots being used to better the teaching and learning experience, rather than replacing instructors completely.

    “Children start putting their fingers in their noses as infants,” says Sarah Springer, MD' of Kids Plus Pediatrics in Pittsburgh. “As soon as they have motor control of their fingers, they'll find holes where their fingers can fit. It's not a worry—just a normal part of how they explore and learn.”

    In order to help your child to stop engaging in the behavior it's important to understand why they may start the habit in the first place, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Nose-picking can be a result of boredom, sleepiness, falling asleep, relaxation or coping. In most instances, nose-picking is likely just a phase（阶段）and the child will eventually quit it.

    There isn't much parents can do to stop the behavior of nose-picking, as it's a normal part of being a kid, Dr. Springer says. Parents are advised to ignore the behavior and not show frustration's this won't help encourage your child to stop picking their nose. Instead, Dr. Springer says to help your child learn to blow their nose once they are four or five years old and talk to your child about keeping their hands clean to avoid spreading germs.

    Take note of the season or climate, too, as dry air or cold can increase the occurrence of nose-picking. Parents should use a humidifier（增湿器）in these conditions to help nasal secretions（鼻分泌物）stay moist. Putting petroleum jelly（凡士林）a few times a day inside the nose can help with irritation and minimize picking.

    Once your child enters school, it's inevitable for them to see and pick up bad habits, Dr. Springer said. Nose-picking is a common habit, even among adults and as children age most will realize it's not an acceptable behavior.

    “Nose picking is a normal part of childhood,” Dr. Springer says. “Most kids will become conscious of the social stigma（羞耻）associated with it, and will eventually stop picking, at least in public.”

    Scientists can figure out a movie's emotional tone from the gasps(喘气) of its audience. These gases could point the way to a subtle(微妙的，精细的) form of human communication, a new study suggests.

    "When you see a movie, you can hear the music and see the pictures. However, you don't realize here are chemical signals in the air. And they, too, could be affecting you, says Williams, who led the study. As an atmospheric chemist, he studies the chemical makeup of the air around us.

    Williams started out measuring the air in a soccer stadium. He noticed that levels of carbon dioxide and other gases changed wildly whenever the crowd cheered. That got him wondering -- Could the gases people breathe out be influenced by emotions?

    To find out, he went to the movies.

    Williams and his coworkers measured air samples collected over six weeks in two movie theaters. Overall, 9,500 movie goers watched 16 films. They included a mix of comedy, romance, action and horror films. Among them were The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Carrie, and Walking with Dinosaurs. The researchers gave scenes from the movies such labels as "suspense(悬疑)", "laughter" and "crying". Then they looked for hundreds of chemicals in the air that showed up as people were watching particular movie scenes.

    And certain scenes had distinct chemical "fingerprints". Scenes that had people laughing or on the edge of their seats were especially distinctive. During screenings of The Hunger Games, levels of carbon dioxide and isoprene got to the highest at two suspenseful moments. Because isoprene is related to muscle movement, the researchers think tense movie moments likely led to its spikes(尖峰). Williams and his colleagues think the increase in carbon dioxide was due to the viewers' increased pulse and breathing rates.

    Scientists need more data to make stronger links between human emotions and what's in their breath. But Williams can see potential practical uses. Companies, for instance, could quickly measure the air during tests to see how people feel about new products. He pictures future studies recording other body variables(变数) as well. These might include heart rate and body temperature, for instance. "It's something to find out."

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April fool's party

    On Friday, April 1, Inner Affair goes back to the days of funk! Classic Tunes from the 70's and 80's by DJs Den & Sion. 9 p. m. till late.

Tickets: Free entrance for those in costume, otherwise 50 yuan (US$6)

Time /date: 9 p. m., April 1

Place: Inner Affair, 1 /F Qiankun Dasha, 6 Sanlitun Xiliujie, Chaoyang District

Tel: 8454 0321

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Language in use

    Enjoy free in-house coffee, tea and beer as well as music and dancing. Practice your Chinese, make friends and have fun.

Time /date: 7 to 9 p. m., March 25

Place: Language In Use Club, 2 /F, Science Fortune Center, 8 Xueqing Lu, north of Xueyuan Lu, Haidian District

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The "worst" party

    Organized by ozone productions, the party is set to be "the worst ever", with the lamest music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Special prizes will be awarded to the worst dressed or for bad fashion sense.

Tickets: Free entrance

Time /date: 9 p. m., April 1

Place: Pula Pula, Tianze Lu, Oriental Seven Colours Plaza, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6466 8575

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La Nuit Francaise

    Again on the 2nd Thursday of the month La Nuit Francaise will be held at Le Rendezvous. The monthly event is an opportunity for all French people and everyone interested in France or speaking French to gather together.

    The evening features three glasses of wine and canapes for participants and a special exhibition.

Time /date: 7 to 10 p. m., April 14

Place: Le Rendezvous, 3 Gongti Beilu, accross from the Pacific Century Plaza, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6462 9110

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Marco V

    Dutch DJ Marco V drops by Banana for a gig which is supported by Hong Kong's DJ Spark.

    Marco V has been around for many years, as an inventive, style blending deejay and a successful and devoted producer. His spinning is energetic, crowd pleasing and never sees an empty dance floor. He was ranked No. 15 in this year's international DJ MAG DJ Top 100.

Tickets: 40 yuan (US$4.80) in advance, 50 yuan (US$6) at the door, both include a free drink

Time /date: 10 p. m. to 4 a. m., March 31, April 1

Place: Banana, in the lobby of the Scitech Hotel, 22 Jianwai Dajie, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6528 3636

    Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining global popularity. According to a government white paper, TCM has been introduced in 183 countries and regions around the world.

    Westerners' understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupundure，cupping and massage (针灸，拔罐和按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on US.swimmer Michael Phelps' back from cupping for the purpose of relaxing his muscles and reducing pain became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.

    As a matter of fact, Chinese herbs play a more important role in getting rid of diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. It is therefore disheartening to know that-while 103 World Health Organization member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture，not many recognize Chinese herbal medicine TCM falls far behind Western medicine owing partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.

    Herbs, are made into pills, powder and soup, and the kind of herbs uscd1 their quality and quantity, and the processing of the ingredients jointly determine the effectiveness of the prescription. Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable. Fortunately, standardization has improved in recent decades, with an increasing number of factories producing patented TCM drugs.

    Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription drugs is the lack of creativity, While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicines according to prescriptions handed down from the past. Chinese chemist Tu You your's winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria(疟疾）treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China's TCM industry. However, the current state of affairs cannot be changed within a short time.

First published on October 15, 1952, "Charlotte's Web" is a popular children's book written by well-known American author E. B. White and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（illustrate）by Garth Williams that deals with themes of the nature of friendship, loss, fate, acceptance, and renewal. The story centers on a pig named Wilbur and the unlikely but deep friendship {#blank#}2{#/blank#} shares with an uncommonly talented spider named Charlotte.

While it's normal in the course of events on a farm for pigs {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（kill）when they reach a certain size and age, clever Charlotte works out a scheme to keep Wilbur from his fate by weaving words into her web to create what amounts to a one-pig publicity campaign. By promoting Wilbur to celebrity status, Charlotte ultimately saves him {#blank#}4{#/blank#} his date with the butcher's knife.

The ending of the "Charlotte's Web" is bittersweet, however, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} while Wilbur survives, Charlotte does not. But even Charlotte's passing is a lesson-for Wilbur and those reading his story-about the nature of death and renewal.

Death and destiny are both themes that the book explores. While Charlotte is willing to help Wilbur avoid a destiny that's being imposed on him by outside forces beyond his control, she also understands that some fates are inevitable: All living creatures are born, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（have）a life cycle, and die. Charlotte accepts her role in this natural circle without regret.

Charlotte helps Wilbur realize that immortality is not about living forever, but rather, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（ensure）that new generations will follow. She also helps him understand that love and friendship are not fixed in quantity. While we may lose a friend, new friendships can come along, not as replacements for {#blank#}8{#/blank#} we've lost, but as blessings to build on what we've learned.

"Charlotte's Web" got its inspiration from true experiences that author E. B. White had on his farm in Maine, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} he penned the book and lived until his death in 1985．While the author claims that the book {#blank#}10{#/blank#} never be considered a moral tale, certain messages related to moral principles, or rights and wrongs, are obviously established in "Charlotte's Web".