Watching a 3D movie can more than double the concentration powers and the cognitive（认知的）process of children,new re-search claims.

    A study by visual technology firm Read and led by child psychologist Dr Richard Woolfson and associate lecturer at Goldsmiths Patrick Fagan suggests that children aged between 7 and 14 experienced twice the cognitive processing speed and performed better in tests after watching 20 minutes of a 3D film.

    This suggests that children's attention spans have shortened in the last decade due to unlimited access to entertainment,including on-demand TV,gaming and social media.

    A 2015 study claimed that watching 3D content had a similar effect to brain-training exercises.

    Consumer psychologist Mr Fagan said that the increased stimulation found in watching something in 3D "exercised" the brain and improved performance in the short term.

    3D films can play the role of brain-training "games and help to make children 'smarter' in the short term," he said. "The response speed after watching 3D was almost three times as quick as that gained from watching 2D; in other words,3D helps children process aspects of their environment more quickly.This is likely because 3D is a mentally exciting experience which 'gets the brain's juices flowing'."

    Schools across the world are trying to come up with solutions to keep students active. Some are replacing traditional classroom chairs with exercise balls or standing desks. At Ward Elementary School in Winston, North Carolina students have adopted a new program that requires riding fixed bikes while reading.

    'Read and Ride' is the creation of school counselor Scott Ertl, who came up with the idea while he was exercising and reading at the gym. Believing it would be a fun way to convince students to become more active, he placed one in the corner of his classroom and encouraged them to use it during independent reading classes.

    It was so popular that Ertl decided to add more bikes and offer the Read and Ride program to the entire school. Today Ward Elementary has a dedicated exercise room filled with bikes that can be used by students while completing their daily reading assignments.

    Besides making reading more fun, the program also helps students exercise at a comfortable pace without the pressure that comes with regular sports-related activities. It is also a perfect way to release energy during days when the weather is not helpful to outdoor activities.

    Most importantly, however, are the program's academic benefits. A year after Read and Ride was introduced at Ward Elementary School, students actively involved in the program demonstrated an astonishing 83% reading proficiency. Those that had not taken advantage of the exercise bikes tested at a much lower, 41%.

    Though the substantial improvement in academic achievement cannot all be attributed to programs like Read and Ride, experts believe they are a significant contributor. That's because studies have shown that physical activity stimulates（刺激） brain cells and helps prepare it for learning. As word of the difference made by this easy to execute exercise program spreads, don't be surprised to find schools across the country adopt “Read and Ride” for their students.

    The following are the best restaurants to dine out with your parents in San Francisco.

    Maybeck's

    Marina

    3213 Scott St.

    Telephone(415) 400-8500

    What do you get when you mix amazing foods with a pleasant atmosphere? The perfect place for family dinner. Maybeck's homemade pastas will transport you to the Italian countryside but the fried chicken brings you right back down to earth. It's a great meal in a peaceful setting that everyone will be sure to remember.

    Liholiho Yacht Club

    Nob Hill

    871 Sutter St.

    Technology is always trying to meet our needs and demands. There's a new frontier in 3D printing that's beginning to come into focus: food. Recent development has made possible machines that print, cook and serve foods on a mass scale. And the industry isn't stopping there.

    Food production

    With a 3D printer, a cook can print complicated chocolate sculptures and beautiful pieces for decoration on a wedding cake. Not everybody can do that — it takes years of experience, but a printer makes it easy. A restaurant in Spain uses a Foodini to "recreate forms and pieces" of food that are "exactly the same," freeing cooks to complete other tasks. In another restaurant, all of the dishes and desserts it serves are 3D-printed, rather than farm to table.

    Sustainability (可持续性)

    The global population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050, and some analysts estimate that food production will need to be raised by 50 percent to maintain current levels. Sustainability is becoming a necessity. 3D food printing could probably contribute to the solution. Some experts believe printers could use hydrocolloids (水解胶体) from plentiful renewables like algae (藻类) and grass to replace the familiar ingredients (烹饪原料). 3D printing can reduce fuel use and emissions. Grocery stores of the future might stock "food" that lasts years on end, freeing up shelf space and reducing transportation and storage requirements.

    Nutrition

    Future 3D food printers could make processed food healthier. Hod Lipson, a professor at Columbia University, said, "Food printing could allow consumers to print food with customized nutritional content, like vitamins. So instead of eating a piece of yesterday's bread from the supermarket, you'd eat something baked just for you on demand."

    Challenges

    Despite recent advancements in 3D food printing, the industry has many challenges to overcome. Currently, most ingredients must be changed to a paste (糊状物) before a printer can use them, and the printing process is quite time-consuming, because ingredients interact with each other in very complex ways. On top of that, most of the 3D food printers now are restricted to dry ingredients, because meat and milk products may easily go bad. Some experts are skeptical about 3D food printers, believing they are better suited for fast food restaurant than homes and high-end restaurants.

    Navarathri, which is celebrated throughout India, falls in September or October. On the first three days, people pray (祈祷) to the goddess Durga, the protector who destroys all evil. The next three days they pray to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Then, also for three days, they look to Saraswathi, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. The tenth and final day of the festival is for the goddess Durga. On this day many years ago, Durga killed the evil buffalo-headed monster, Mahishasura.

    My daughter and I took out the models of the gods and goddesses that we had stored away last year. Soon the room was littered with all kinds of dolls. We usually buy at least one new doll every year. On the tenth day, the dolls are carefully put away. If a doll is too damaged to be shown, it is never thrown away. Instead, it is put deep into the seas.

    In our hallway six long wooden steps are set up. First, we spread a thick white cloth over the steps. Now it's time to put the dolls on the steps carefully. Every year, the gollu is different. Sometimes — as the collection grows — there is no space to fit all of the dolls on the steps. Smaller dolls can also be placed on the floor.

    Every night there are prayers, music, dancing, and a large meal for many people. In northern India, the children sing songs while doing the dandiya raas, a traditional dance. Every dancer also has two wooden sticks — called dandiya — that he or she uses to make a sound in time to the lovely music. Dancing the dandiya raas helps people think of the true meaning of Navarathri — togetherness, laughter, and fun!

    At least 12 other murders since 1997 have been linked to an addiction to violent video games. This year, the parents of a 14-year-old murder victim in the UK blamed the killer's addiction to the game Manhunt, causing a government review of legislation (立法) to protect children.

    But is there any scientific evidence that mere games can make children and young adults more aggressive, or possibly have the desire to murder? There is no doubt children are being exposed to more games violence than ever: around a quarter of all games released in the US contain some violence. And the violence is becoming more obvious as increases in computing power make the games look ever more realistic.

    Psychologists think there may be many reasons why violent games are more harmful to children than violent movies. Firstly, players are actively involved in violence, and may begin to use weapons as second nature. Secondly, violent games provide repetitive aggressive experiences that are rewarded by more killing.

    Many studies have shown that people who play violent games regularly are more likely to show high levels of aggression. For instance, in 2000, Craig Anderson of Iowa State University in Ames and his colleague Karen Dill found that people who played violent games were more likely to admit to aggressive behaviour, including attacks or robberies.

    Earlier this year, Krahe and her colleague Ingrid Miller reported a study of 13 to 14-year-old children. More than half had played games recommended only for over-18s. The more violent the games they played, the more they considered physical aggression to be acceptable. Other authors in the same edition report that children who play violent games more likely to argue with teachers and fight with others.

    Experimental studies have also pointed out a possible link. In one, Anderson and Dill asked a group of students to play a violent game, Wolfenstein 3D, while another group played the non-violent Myst. Those who played the violent game were faster to react to aggressive words flashed on screen and appeared more aggressive.

    The issue is controversial, however. Jeffrey Goldstein, a psychologist at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and a consultant to some video games publishers, agrees that there is good evidence that children, who are exposed to violent media, including video games, are more aggressive. But he warns it might not be a simple case of cause and effect: aggressive kids might be most attracted to violent games.