Why do some people live to be older than others? You know the standard explanations: keeping a moderate diet, engaging in regular exercise, etc. But what effect does your personality have on your longevity?Do some kinds of personalities lead to longer lives?A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at this question by examining the personality characteristics of 246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100.

    The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing,more active and less neurotic (神经质的) than other people.Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span.These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory: those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times.

    Interestingly, however, other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer.Those who were more self-disciplined,for instance,were no more likely to live to be very old.Also,being open to new ideas had no relationship to long life,which might explain all those bad-tempered old people who are fixed in their ways.

    Whether you can successfully change your personality as an adult is the subject of a longstanding psychological debate.But the new paper suggests that if you want long life,you should strive to be as outgoing as possible.

    Unfortunately, another recent study shows that your mother's personality may also help determine your longevity.That study looked at nearly 28,000 Norwegian mothers and found that those moms who were more anxious, depressed and angry were more likely to feed their kids unhealthy diets.Patterns of childhood eating can be hard to break when we're adults,which may mean that kids of depressed moms end up dying younger.

    Personality isn't destiny(命运),and everyone knows that individuals can learn to change.But both studies show that long life isn't just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health.

    The Indian government may use 3D paintings as virtual (虚拟的) speed-breakers on major highways and roads, in an attempt to check speeding and careless driving, and eventually make its deadly roads a little safer. “We are trying out 3D paintings used as virtual speed breakers to avoid unnecessary requirements of speed breakers (减速带),” India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted.

    The visual illusions (幻象) are supposed to encourage drivers to slow down automatically. Earlier this month, India bad ordered the removal of all speed breakers from highways, which are considered to be a danger to safety for high-speed vehicles.

    India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world According to the World Health Organization, over 200,00 people are killed by road accidents due to poor application of road safety laws. This is considerably higher than its official figures of 141,526 for 2014.

    The use of visual illusions as speed breakers was first pioneered in the American city of Philadelphia in 2008, as part of a campaign against speeding motorist. The technique has also been tried out in China to create floating 3D crossings.

    India, cities such as Ahmadabad and Chennai have already experimented with 3D zebra crossings in the last one year. In Ahmadabad for instance, two artists, mother and daughter have painted 3D crosswalks in the first few months of this year. The artists say their motto is “to increase the attention of drivers”, and that the concept has been successfully tested in zones where accidents easily occur on a highway.

    However, critics argue that once divers know that these speed briers are visual illusions, they may ignore them. Others also point out that India's decision does not consider the safety of a large walkers. In the end, the new policy may be just one step towards improving road safety.

    Children moving from primary to secondary school are ill-equipped to deal with the impact of social media, as it is playing an increasingly important role in their lives and exposing them to significant emotional risk, according to a recent report by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England.

    The report shows that many children in year 7 -- the first year of secondary school, when almost all students will have a phone and be active on social media -- feel under pressure to be constantly connected.

    They worry about their online image, particularly when they start to follow celebrities on Instagram and other platforms. They are also concerned about “sharenting” -- when parents post pictures of them on social media without their permission – and worry that their parents won't listen if they ask them to take pictures down.

    The report, which was created with data from focus group interviews with 8 to 12-year-olds, says that although most social media sites have an official age limit of 13, an estimated 75 percent of 10 to 12-year-olds have a social media account.

    Some children are almost addicted to “likes”, the report says. Aaron, an 11-year-old in year 7, told researchers, “If I got 150 likes, I'd be like, that's pretty cool, it means they like you.” Some children described feeling inferior(差的) to those they follow on social media. Aimee, also 11, said, “You might compare yourself because you're not very pretty compared to them.”

    Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield is calling on parents and teachers to do more to prepare children for the emotional impact of social media as they get older. She wants to see the introduction of compulsory digital literacy and online resilience (适应力) lessons for students in year 6 and 7.

    “It is also clear that social media companies are still not doing enough to stop under-13s using their platforms in the first place,” Longfield said.

    “Just because a child has learned the safety messages at primary school does not mean they are prepared for all the challenges that social media will present,” Longfield said.

    “It means a bigger role for schools in making sure children are prepared for the emotional demands of social media. And it means social media companies need to take more responsibility,” Longfield said.

    Elephants might be the most well-known and well-loved animal in African wildlife. But conservation (保护) of the African elephant still faces special difficulties. While the elephant population is half of what it was 40 years ago, some areas of Africa have more elephants than populated areas can support. That's why AWF scientists are studying elephant behavior, protecting habitats and finding ways for humans to live peacefully with elephants in Africa.

    Years ago, overhunting and the ivory trade were the biggest threats to elephants' survival. Luckily, ivory bans (禁令), hunting rules and protected areas protect elephants from these dangers today.

    The 21st century brings a different challenge to elephant conservation—land-use. Elephants walk across borders and outside parks and other protected areas. So they often destroy crops, causing conflicts (冲突) between local farmers and these big animals.

    Successful conservation strategies (策略) must allow elephants to walk freely in their natural habitats while reducing conflicts between elephants and local people.

    AWF researchers are searching for a way to give both elephants and people the space they need. The AWF is collecting information on elephant habitats and behavior. The information they gather will help to develop the widest possible space for elephants.

    The AWF is helping elephants by protecting their habitats. And they also work with local famers to improve their life in order to encourage them to protect rather than destroy elephants.

    Charlie is a teacher and his wife, Maria is an artist. The night before last, just before the longest day of the year, Charlie was sitting in a deckchair enjoying the warm summer air when Maria touched his shoulder and he could tell immediately she was a little worried about something. He asked her what the matter was and she replied that there was a strange thing on the jacket that was hanging in the bedroom. They had both lived in the West Indies (西印度群岛) and had seen a lot of strange creatures in their house before. But now they were living in England and so Charlie just laughed and said he would have a look at the "thing".

    He walked to the bedroom. He saw a jacket hanging in the bedroom and went up to it to have a closer look at the "thing". The moment he touched it, the thing sprang into life. Now Charlie experiences fear like the rest of us but when this creature opened its wings, he jumped out of his skin and ran screaming from the room like a small child doing about 100 miles an hour.

    For a moment the next-door neighbours thought that Charlie was murdering his wife because of the noise they could hear. In fact, it was a bat that frightened Charlie.

    Eventually Charlie managed to trap the bat in a box and took it to the garden to let the bat fly. Maria, who had been playing the guitar while Charlie was upstairs, asked Charlie if he had found out what the thing was. "Oh, nothing to worry about", he said casually hoping that the terror could not be seen in his eyes, "it was just a bat."

    At the age of seven, while his friends were spending their allowances on candy and toys, Jose Adolfo Quisocola, Peru, came up with the creative idea of an eco­bank which allows kids of all ages to become economically independent and financially wise while helping the environment.

    Established in 2012, The Bartselana Student Bank is the world's first cooperative bank for kids. Whoever wants to join has to bring in at least 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of solid waste (paper or plastic) and establish a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank "partners" are required to deposit at least one additional kilogram (2* 2 pounds) of recydables on a monthly basis and obey other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops. The waste accumulated is sold to local recycling companies, who, thanks to some clever negotiation by Jose, pay a higher­than­market rate for everything brought in by Bartselana Student Bank members. The funds received are placed in the individual's account where they collect until his/her savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw his/her money, or choose to leave it and continue to grow for a bigger target.

    "At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy or that a child could not undertake this type of project," Jose recalls. "They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily, I had the support of the school principal and an assistant in my classroom."

    The youngster's persistence paid off. Today, the eco­bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, has ten educational centers and begins accepting applications from kids all across Peru. On November 20, 2018, the young boy was awarded the famous Children's Climate Prize (CCP). "Jose's eco­bank is a brilliant way of linking economy and climate impact, both in thought and practice. The potential impact is amazing", a judge said.

    Hopefully, Jose's success will inspire more kids and adults to come up with new ideas that create value while helping the environment. As the boy says, "Together we can change the world, we just need an opportunity."