What if our babies could somehow tell us what they're thinking about, what they want, and what makes them unhappy? Robyn Holt, researcher for Baby Talk New Zealand, says they can. Holt heard about baby sign language through an advertisement and decided to go along to a workshop (研讨会).

    “Sign language is something that's always interested me, and I thought, it could be really cool to try this with a baby because we are always guessing all the time what they actually want.”

    Holt started using baby sign language with her baby son Benjamin, now 12, and within two weeks he started to sign the sign for milk. She has since used it with her two younger sons Dominic, 8, and Matthew, 3.

    Baby sign language is nothing new: the practice (which is based on adult sign language) has been out in America for more than 30 years. But it is enjoying a rebirth in New Zealand.

    The idea behind baby sign language is that babies do have the ability to communicate their needs if they are given the right tools to do so. Although many mothers develop an intuition (直觉) about whether their baby's crying is from hunger, tiredness, or pain, baby sign language creates a direct form of communication that unlocks the mystery.

    When babies are between 6-months and 12 to 13-months, parents can begin to teach them sign language: use the sign for milk while feeding, and also talk about milk, so that the child begins to make the link (关联) in their brain. Then they can begin to add other signs, i.e. food, sick or pain.

    “I know of one parent. Her child was signing the sign for hurt by his mouth, and she realised his first teeth were growing. It makes life so much easier,” said Holt.

A Teenage Inventor

    The world could be one step closer to quick and inexpensive Ebola detection thanks to a teenager from Connecticut.

    Olivia Hallisey, a junior at Greenwich High School, was awarded $50,000 in the Google Science Fair for her new method that detects Ebola, a virus that causes bleeding from different parts of the body and usually causes death. Olivia's method is to ask patients to put their saliva (唾液) onto a testing card. The card changes color if the person is catching Ebloa. Present Ebloa tests take up to 12 hours and cost $1,000. Olivia's method, however, can be done just in 30 minutes for about $25. Besides, the sample (样本) doesn't have to be put in a refrigerator thanks to the silk material Olivia uses to produce the testing cards.

    Olivia was inspired to deal with this global problem after watching the news that more than 10,000 people died from Ebola in West Africa. She was particularly worried about the fact that, while the acts of involvement can improve survival rates, present detection methods are costly, time-consuming and require complex tools. Olivia got help from her science research teacher. She drew out directions from past research, and figured out detection systems that have proven to work with other diseases, including Lyme disease and yellow fever.

    "What affects one country affects everyone," Olivia told CNBC. "We have to work together to find answers to the huge challenges which cause harm to the global health." The Connecticut's teen, who hopes to become a doctor one day, was named the Google Science Fair winner in the competition of 20 competitors from across the globe. The fair is open to young people between the ages of 13 and 18 in most countries.

    Olivia hopes her success will inspire other girls interested in science and computers. "I would just encourage girls to try it in the beginning, and remind them that they don't have to feel naturally drawn or feel like they have a special talent for maths or science," she told CNBC, "but just really look at something they are interested in and then think how to improve something or make it more enjoyable or relate it to their interests."

    It's time for those who are about to graduate to look for jobs since graduation season is drawing near. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.

    A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos (文身), nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can't judge a book by its cover, yet people do "cover" themselves in order to convey (传递) certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.

    Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.

    As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can't expect all our customers are.

    There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.

    Children exposed to "safe" levels of air pollution in the womb(子宫) develop brain damage that damages their concentration, a study has shown.

    The research is the first too link common pollutants such as nitrogen(氮) dioxide and soot(油烟) to changes in the brains of unborn babies that mean they may struggle to focus at school in later life. The findings suggest that even comparatively clean city air could lead to worse academic performance and an increased risk of mental health problems such as addition or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(缺陷多动障碍).

    In recent years scientists have found that children who grow up surrounded by air pollution are more likely to have a broad range of "neuro(神经)­developmental" difficulties, including autism and various kinds of cognitive(认知) damage. However, only a handful of studies have looked at the ways in which the poisonous gases and microscopic particles(微粒) that mothers and young children take in affect the brain during critical stages of its growth.

    A group led by Monica Guxens, of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, found that exposure to air pollution before birth appeared to have slowed the development of several brain regions that play an important role in people's capacity for self­denial and sustained effort. This lack of inhibition could in turn cause "cognitive delays" when the children get older, the scientists argue in Biological Psychiatry.

    "We need this function in our daily life," Dr. Guxens said. "It controls our impulses(冲动) and our selective attention. Children need it to learn and for making decisions in later life. We're interested to see what will happen: is there going to be an impact on their academic work, are there going to be clinical implications? It might be that this will lead to problems later."

    The results were drawn from MRI scans of 873 children between the ages of six and ten in Rotterdam. Even though 99.5 percent of their mothers had lived with nanoparticle pollution levels well below EU legal limits while they were pregnant the pollution still appeared to have taken its toll(伤亡人数).

    Children who had been exposed to more pollution in the womb did worse on a test of their ability to block out irrelevant stimuli(刺激). They also had thinner outer layers in the precuneus(楔前叶) and the rostral middle frontal regions of their brains, both of which are involved in cognitive inhibition, which refers to the mind's ability to tune out stimuli that are irrelevant to the task at hand or to the mind's current state.

    Experiments on animals show that so­called fine particles are able to pass through the placenta and affect the brain of the fetus(胎儿). Dr Guxens said there were probably no such thing as a safe concentration of air pollution.

For those individuals who aspire to embark upon a professional journey within the realms of pedagogy, empirical inquiry, or the arts, a period of apprenticeship at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) presents itself as an exemplary opportunity.

Eligibility Criteria for Application:

Candidates who have successfully concluded their full-time academic tenure at a university level; or those who are currently immersed in a postgraduate curriculum in pursuit of a master's qualification.

For those engaged in specialized technical roles, it is imperative that they have reached the culminating phase of their educational trajectory within a technical learning institution.

Qualifications and Skills Required:

Applicants must be of at least two decades in age.

A proficient mastery, either in the English or French language, is a prerequisite.

An exceptional familiarity with software applications pertinent to office management is mandatory.

The capacity to collaborate effectively within a team and to acclimate to a cosmopolitan work setting is essential.

Robust interpersonal and communicative abilities are a must.

Preparations for the Application Process:

Visa Acquisition: It is incumbent upon you to secure the requisite visas for your intended duration of stay.

Travel Arrangements: You are expected to organize and finance your own transportation to and from the internship site.

Medical Insurance: Evidence of a comprehensive health insurance policy, valid within the host country for the entire internship period, is required. UNESCO will extend a limited insurance coverage, capped at USD 30,000, for the duration of the internship.

Health Certification: Submission of a medical certificate affirming your fitness for work is obligatory.

Motivational Correspondence: Prior to the completion of the application form, you should prepare a well-articulated motivation letter. This document will be reviewed by UNESCO executives and retained in our records for a period of six months. Please note that we do not provide feedback to every applicant. In the event of selection, you will be contacted directly by a manager. Should you not receive any communication within the six-month timeframe, it implies that your application has not been successful.

Climbing, I once thought, was a very manly activity, but as I found my way into this activity, I came to see that something quite different happens on the rock.

Like wild swimming, rock climbing involves you into the landscape. On the rock, I am fully focused. Eyes pay close attention, ears are alert, and hands move across the surface. Unlike walking, where I could happily wander about absent-mindedly, in climbing, attentive observation is essential.

As an arts student studying English literature, I discovered a new type of reading from outdoor climbing. Going out on to the crags (悬崖), I saw how you could learn to read the rocks and develop a vocabulary of physical movements. Good climbers knew how to adjust their bodies on to the stone. Watching them, I wanted to possess that skillful "language".

My progress happened when I worked for the Caingorms National Park Authority.Guiding my explorations into this strange new landscape was Nan Shepherd, a lady too. Unlike the goal-directed mindset of many mountaineers, she is not concerned with peaks or personal achievement. Shepherd sees the mountain as a total environment and she celebrates the Caingorms as a place alive with plants, rocks, animals and elements. Through her generous spirit and my own curiosity, I saw that rock climbing need not be a process of testing oneself against anything. Rather, the intensity of focus could develop a person into another way of being.

Spending so much time in high and st ony places has transformed my view on the world and our place in it. I have come into physical contact with processes that go way beyond the everyday. Working with gravity, geology (地质学), rhythms of weather and deep time, I gain an actual relationship with the earth. This bond lies at the heart of my passion for rock climbing. I return to the rocks, because this is where I feel in contact with our land.