Against the assumption that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

    This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

    This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

    Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

    “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

    When Luke went to university he thought he would be on a new journey in life and getting his own place. In the UK, it's common to fly the nest at a fairly young age. Many choose a flat-share; others make plans to get on the property ladder.

    But the current economic situation forced Luke back to his mum's house at the age of 27. And he's not alone: a quarter of young adults in the UK now live with their parents. The Office for National Statistics said more than 3.3 million adults between the ages of 20 and 34 were living with their parents in 2013.

    Lack of jobs and the high cost of renting accommodation made Luke change his plans. He's upset. "There's something very difficult about being an adult living in an environment where you're still a child," he says. "It limits me socially; sometimes I feel it limits me professionally."

    Indeed, many young people have no choice but to stay at "the hotel of Mum and Dad".

    Krissy had to return home after a year away and now lives in rather terrible conditions, sharing the family's three-bedroom house with her sisters. She says they end up getting on each other's nerves when it's time to use the bathroom in the morning.

    Of course, living with your parents is not unusual in some countries. Economic conditions, culture, or family traditions mean many young people stay at home until they get married. Even then, it can be too expensive to rent or buy a house and the married couples continue to live at one of their parents' homes.

    But some parents seem to enjoy having their kids back at home. Janice's daughters are part of what's being called "the boomerang generation". She says, "I get to share their lives with them, and I've got to know them all as adults. We have the sort of conversations that good friends do."

    So for some it's a win-win situation — spending time with your families, and saving money.

    Have you ever noticed how Americans fill up their entire glass with ice and then pour their beverage(饮品) in, but Europeans take their drinks at room temperature? In the U. S., we've created fridges that give you cold ice at the press of a button, but in Britain they typically serve their tap water warm.

    This tradition—if that's what you want to call it-dates back to the 19th century. During that time, it was already commonplace for most American homes to have an ice box. Ice would be harvested in northern America or Canada and shipped across the Atlantic and sold at a high price in British department stores. Can you imagine heading to Macy's to treat yourself to a block of ice?

    Putting ice in your drink started to become somewhat of a fashion(时尚) trend for the wealthy in Britain. Some would put a few cubes in their champagne and sip on their chilled drinks at high-class parties. But, like with any fashion trend, it eventually faded, mainly because the ice was just too expensive. And even once ice boxes began appearing in homes in Britain as well, Brits never took a liking to ice in their drinks.

    So, next time you travel overseas, don't feel offended(冒犯) when your server gives you an eye roll when you ask for ice water.

    You discover a shampoo that leaves your hair looking beautiful. But gradually, as you use it more, it's magical effects seem to disappear. "It's just your hair getting used to it, "your mom says. And so you put the shampoo away and look for your next wonder product.

    It sort of makes sense -why would something that left you looking nice at first suddenly start losing its effect after some time? Are there some other factors(因素)at play? Can your hair really get used to a certain shampoo?

    Marie Claire spoke to hair experts and it turns out that it's not true. Your hair cannot get so used to a product that it just stops working.

    So what is the deal? Cynthia Alvarez, a famous hair stylist, explained that there are a number of factors leading to your hair puzzle, but basically, it's not the shampoo. "A shampoo does not stop working because your hair get used to it, she said." If your shampoo stops giving you the results you want, the condition and needs of your hair have most likely changed, or the season may have changed -it's more humid(in $), the sun is stronger, or the air is drier. Your state of health may also be different from a recent illness.

    In other words, you need to give up blaming the shampoo. So what can you do to make your hair look beautiful for a little longer? Alvarez suggests changing your ways of hair care when factors, such as the weather, change. Experts also suggest keeping an eye on the amount of shampoo and conditioner(H%i )you're using because over conditioning can be bad for your hair.

    If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage at Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.

    Born and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall painting at Dunhuang, in Northwest China's Gansu Province. The 1,651-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2,000 buddha figures and 45,000 square meters of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is China's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduation from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.

    In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, but found Fan firmly in their way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed,” she said.

    Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimize damage, we can't completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last.”

    Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up in Shanghai with their aunt.  “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I'm full of guilt,” she said. Fan, 79, retired two years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.

    After years of trying, our neighbors convinced my parents that ice fishing would be a fun winter getaway from our dairy farm. Before that, their idea of entertainment involved driving around the countryside to see how the neighbors' crops were doing.

My parents eventually built a fish house and set it up on Wood Lake. We excitedly headed for the lake on many January and February weekends. By the time we arrived at our favorite fishing spot across the lake each day, somebody had usually made a clear path across the ice. The fish houses were together at the best fishing spots, forming some kind of a neighborhood.

    Our house was large enough so all four of us could fish at the same time. Each corner had a square cut out of the floor. We sat in comfort. You'd think ice fishing would be cold, but we had a small woodstove (木炉) inside, and we put snow around the bottom of the house to keep the wind from blowing underneath.

    Besides the thrill of watching your bobber (钓鱼浮标) dip below the water, lunch was always the highlight of the day. Mom would fry pork or hamburgers in a pan. The smell of cooking meat was the envy of every other fish house in the neighborhood.

    Our days passed with a mix of quiet time and family chatter. We talked about the farm or school. And of course, we shared fishing advice. Part of the fun of ice fishing was learning to understand and trust the sounds of the frozen lake. Healthy ice "talks" as it freezes and shifts. You could often hear the sound of a crack traveling through the ice.

    People who have never tried ice fishing may not think it sounds very exciting, but it was for us. Fishing trips were an adventure. We didn't always catch fish, but we always brought home great memories of a day with family and friends.