On a Saturday morning earlier this September, the world got its first look at the Strati. This electric vehicle is unlike any other currently on the road. It rolls on four wheels, but its body and chassis(底盘) weren't built in a factory. Instead, Strati's designers used a technology called 3-D printing. It created those parts of the car in one piece, from the ground up.

    “Compared to a typical vehicle on the road, the Strati definitely looks different,” says Greg Schroeder, a senior research engineer at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He did not work on the new car. His organization studies trends and changes in th e auto industry.

    It took 44 hours to print the new car at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Over the next few days, the car's designers installed additional parts. These included the car's engine, brakes and tires. Then, early on September 13, Jay Rogers climbed into the car, started its engine and drove the vehicle onto the street. Rogers helped found Local Motors. It's the Arizona-based company behind the Strati. Two weeks later, his team printed a second Strati, and just as fast, at a fair in New York City.

    Justin Fishkin, a local Motors official, sees the Strati as a window into the future. Today, car buyers are limited in their choice of a vehicle. They can order only what car companies have already designed. But in the future, he says, you may be able to design your own car online and then get it printed to order.

    Manufacturing experts say 3-D printing has begun to revolutionize how they make things. The technology has been around for decades. But these machines used to be so expensive that only large companies could afford them. In the last few years, though, that has changed. Many of the machines are now inexpensive enough for small companies—or even individuals —to own. Some local libraries make them available to the public. High Schools are beginning to use them in classrooms. Wide access to these printers means people can now design and print a wide variety of new things.

    The car's printer is a one-of-a-kind device.

    The technology behind the 3-D printer used in Chicago is an example of additive manufacturing. This proce ss builds solid objects, slice by slice, from the bottom up. (“Strati” means layers, in Italian.) A mechanical arm moves a nozzle from one side to another, back and forth. As it moves, the nozzle deposits a liquid—often melted plastic or metal (but it could be food, concrete or even cells) —that quickly hardens or bonds to become solid or semi-solid. This creates a single, thin layer. Once a layer is complete, the printer starts depositing the next one.

    “There's a lot of interest in 3-D printing in the auto industry,” says Schroeder. Right now, the technology is particularly useful for building models of cars or car parts.

    To compete with current auto manufacturers, the 3-D printer would have to increase in a hurry, Schroeder says. By contrast, he notes, a Ford F-150 pickup truck rolls off an assembly line at a rate of roughly one per minute. To print as many Stratis would require many more printers. Schroeder says he doesn't see 3-D printing soon taking over for such high-volume manufacturing. But, he adds, “Who knows what will h appen in the long term?”

    Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee designed the 3-D printer used in Chicago. Lonnie Love, a research scientist at the lab, led the effort.

    Additive manufacturing often is slow and expensive. It also may produce materials that are unreliable, Love says. So for two years, his team searched for ways to make 3-D printing better. They built new machines and tested them over and over.

    All of that work paid off: their new machine is fast and uses less expensive material than earlier printers. In addition, it prints a plastic embedded with fibers of carbon to produce a stronger material. This helps ensure the material won't crack or break under pressure.

    Life can be so wonderful, full of adventure and joy. It can also be full of challenges, setbacks and heartbreaks. Whatever our circumstances, we generally still have dreams, hopes and desires —that little something more we want for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet knowing we can have more can also create a problem, because when we go to change the way we do things, up come the old patterns and pitfalls that stopped us from seeking what we wanted in the first place.

    This tension between what we feel we can have and "what were seemingly able to have is the niggling suffering, the anxiety we feel. This is where we usually think it's easier to just give up. But we're never meant to let go of the part of us that knows we can have more. The intelligence behind that knowing is us—the real us. It's the part that believes in life and its possibilities. If you drop that, you begin to feel a little "dead" inside because you're dropping "you".

    So, if we have this capability but somehow life seems to keep us stuck, how do we break these patterns?

    Decide on a new course and make one decision at a time. This is good advice for a new adventure or just getting through today's challenges.

    While, deep down, we know we can do it, our mind—or the minds of those close to us—usually says we can't.

    That isn't a reason to stop, it's just the mind, that little man or woman on your shoulder, trying to talk you out of something again. It has done it many times before. It's all about starting simple and doing it now.

    Decide and act before over-thinking. When you do this you may feel a little, or large, release from the jail of your mind and you'll be on your way.

    If you're a yoga lover, you've probably noticed the ways yoga works — you're sleeping better, getting fewer colds or just feeling more relaxed and at ease. But if you've ever tried telling a beginner how it works, you might find explanations like "It increases the flow of prana" or "It brings energy up your spine" fall on skeptical ears.

    As it happens, Western science is starting to provide some concrete clues about how yoga works to improve health, heal aches and pains, and prevent sicknesses. Once you understand them, you'll have even more motivation to step onto your mat.

    I myself have experienced yoga's healing power in a very real way. Weeks before a trip to India in 2002 to investigate yoga therapy, I developed numbness and tingling (刺痛) in my right hand. After first considering scary things like a brain tumor and multiple sclerosis, I figured out that the cause of the symptoms was thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve blockage in my neck and chest.

    Despite the uncomfortable symptoms, I realized how useful my condition could be during my trip. While visiting various yoga therapy centers, I would submit myself for evaluation and treatment by the various experts, try their suggestions and see what worked for me.

    Thanks to the techniques I learned in India, advice from teachers in the United States, and my own exploration, my chest is more flexible than it was, my posture has improved, and for more than a year, I've been free of symptoms.

    My experience inspired me to dig into the scientific studies that I'd collected in India as well as the West to identify and explain how yoga can both prevent disease and help you recover from it.

    When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe "more is better." But what they do not realize is that overtreatment—too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures—may bring harm. Sometimes a test leads you down a path to more and more testing, some of which may be invasive, or to treatment for things that should be left alone.

    Terrence Power, for example, complained that after his wife learned she had Wegener's disease, an uncommon disorder of the immune system, they found it difficult to refuse testing recommended by her doctor. The doctor insisted on office visits every three weeks, even when she was feeling well. He frequently ordered blood tests and X－rays, and repeatedly referred her to specialists for even minor complaints. Even when tests came back negative, more were ordered, and she was hospitalized as prevention when she developed a cold. She had as many as 25 doctor visits during one six－month period. The couple was spending about $30,000 a year for her care.

    After several years of physical suffering and near financial ruin from the medical costs, the couple began questioning the treatment after discussing with other patients in online support groups. "It's a really hard thing to determine when they've crossed the line," Mr. Power said. "You think she's getting the best care in the world, but after a while you start to wonder: What is the purpose?" Mr. Power then spoke with his own primary care doctor, who advised him to find a new specialist to oversee Mrs. Power's care. Under the new doctor's care, the regular testing stopped and Mrs. Power's condition stabilized. Now she sees the doctor only four or five times a year.

    The weather affects many aspects of people's daily life. Knowing and understanding what the weather is doing is useful.

    However, the weather is also one of the most unpredictable elements in the world. Although many people watch the morning news and gather the information about the weather, this is often wrong. Whole days can be ruined by believing that the weather will be one thing, when it turns out to be another. However, owning wireless weather stations allows the owners to monitor the weather for themselves.

    Not only will these weather stations allow the owners to see what the weather is doing, but it is personalized(个性化)to them and their area. Wireless weather, stations are specifically prepared for the immediate neighborhood. Plans will be able to be made, and important decisions will no longer be ruined by bad weather.

    Although these weather stations are typically seen in homes, they can also be used very easily on farms and fishing boats. Both farmers and fishermen rely on the weather for their business and using up-to-date weather information is quite indispensable. By using the wireless weather stations, it can determine for them when to harvest crops and head back to the shore. Because of the size of the weather station, they can be moved very easily and used wherever necessary for people.

    The wireless weather stations are great for all homes, especially for areas that suffer from extreme weather conditions. The up-to-date, instant weather reports will allow a person to monitor what the weather is doing and if the bad weather is heading in their direction. Extreme weather tends to come very quickly; therefore, any information that is received is helpful.

    The weather stations are very simple to set up and are run by solar panels(太阳能板), ensuring they will work even if there is a power-cut. They are far smaller than those in previous years and give a couple of very simple read-outs for the owner. They are easy to use and fascinating to understand.

    Can you imagine a world without music？Studies show that public schools across the country are cutting back on music classes to save money. Worse, some schools have never had music classes to begin with. But without them, students' academic growth and emotional health could suffer. In fact, music classes are necessary for all students in schools.

    Recent studies by Brown University have shown that students who received music education classes were better in math and reading skills than those without music classes. Another study by The College Board found that students taking music and art classes got higher points. Students' academic success seems to depend on their taking part in music education.

    Music programs in public schools also help to add to a student's sense of pride and self-confidence. Teens today have too many learning tasks. Besides, they have family problems, self-confidence problems, relationship troubles, and choices about drugs and alcohol. All of these can stop academic success, but music education can help. A study by The Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse found that students who took part in school music programs were less likely to turn to drugs. Music programs encourage students to work together to produce an excellent performance.

    Music crosses language, class, cultural and political boundaries (界限). Music allows students from different countries to connect. For example, at a school talent show, a new Japanese student played a piano duet (二重奏) with an American classmate. Although they could not communicate verbally (口头上), they were able to read the music in order to play the duet. Two students from different cultures worked as a team with self-confidence and common purpose through music.

    The gift of music is priceless. We need to be sure to have necessary music classes for all students. The world is losing its music, and putting music into schools is the first step to get it back.