Japan is aging faster than any other nation. By the end of this decade, there will be three retirees for every child under 15 and before long, one in six people will be over 80. Its population will soon be falling by nearly a million people every year and some people predict that, some time in the next century, the last Japanese person will die. Other countries are encouraging immigration to deal with their demographic woes. But not Japan, which is using different ways to reduce pressure put on health care and social services.

    The Toto-made toilet, common in Japanese hotels, can push up to help the elderly. Now Toto is working with Daiwa House, Japan's largest house builder, to equip toilets for retirees. These have medical sensors that measure blood sugar levels, the blood pressure and body fat of the user. The data is emailed to the local GP through a built-in internet device (装置). So make sure you eat your greens and stay regular, or the doctor will be in touch.

    The over-75s account for more than a quarter of the deaths in car accidents on Japanese roads. Toyota is working with Professor Kawashima, who developed brain training games for Nintendo, to create intelligent cars that monitor brain activity in the elderly. Other technologies could also work to keep elderly drivers cautious.

    Japan has twice as many pets as it has children. But real animals are difficult to look after as their owners age. Paro is a furry white baby seal robot which responds to petting by moving its tail and opening and closing its eyes. It shows emotions such as surprise, happiness and anger, and has sold well in nursing homes where it is reported to stimulate (刺激) responses among those with dementia (痴呆).

    Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research has developed Riba, a nursing care robot that can lift the elderly out of bed.

    Students in a college French class have helped fill the empty bookshelves of a very poor Haitian(海地的) school by writing 90 books. Although many children in Haiti speak Creole(克里奥尔语) at home, French is taught in classrooms and used by the government , and students are asked to know the language in order to get further education. Therefore, the class hoped to provide resources to help the young students learn French well.

    The project, called Little French Books, was headed up by Jennifer Shotwell, a French professor at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. Shotwell had visited Haiti with a group of students in 2013 to support a Haitian student and give books to a new library. Following the trip, Shotwell brought the experience back to her classroom.

    "My students have a chance to use the French language in a special way by writing children's books," Shotwell said. "Though some learners don't think they can produce much with a new language, my students are learning to express themselves and create entertaining stories that we finally share with disadvantaged children who are also learning French."

    Shotwell had sent French books to Haitian schools, but they were printed on cheap paper that could be easily broken. So she started a Kickstarter, which collected more than $1,000 to make books with durable covers.

    The books, which included stories about princesses, dinosaurs and exciting experiences, were given to the St.Gabriel's school in Lascahobas.

    "Each time a child gets into a new book, he will no doubt get new knowledge and new understanding. The Little French Books means a lot to our students, said Gardy Myrtil, a teacher at the school.

    According to a British study presented to an international conference on smoking, within a few short years, more girls in Europe will be smokers than boys, for reasons experts still fail to understand.

    Anti-smoking activists (积极分子) at the second "Tobacco or Health" conference on the Canary Islands pointed out that while adults were giving up smoking in ever growing numbers, more and more young people were taking up the habit, especially girls.

    One 15-year-old in four is a regular smoker, according to a study made in 27 countries in Europe, the United States, Canada and Israel by Edinburgh University together with the World Health Organization.

    In Western Europe, girls were more likely than boys to smoke. In Germany and England, one third of the girls were smokers compared to one in four boys. In Eastern Europe, the girls "still fall behind" those in the Western Europe but were "catching up" quickly, said the study.

    The study dealt with the behaviour of 15-year-olds in seven European countries over a four-year period.

    The percentages of young women smoking went from 17 percent to 36 percent in Austria, from 17 percent to 28 percent in Norway, and from 21 percent to 28 percent in Hungary.

    Of the seven countries and regions studied (Austria, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales), more girls than boys smoked in 1998, with the exception of Hungary.

    Imagine a small group of people with a shared passion for the same craft. They all have different skills and approaches, but they come together to share skills, share stories, and share in the joy of making something.

    Modern maker culture is filling headlines and lab spaces all over the world. The way makers communicate with each other has changed over time. In the past, skills mainly came from personal sit-downs with members of the group. But sometimes a teacher wasn't available, or the one available didn't know how to do the skill others wanted to learn.

    Today a teacher doesn't even have to be in the same country or occupy the same decade as the students. Thanks to the work of people who take the time to break down and share the details of their craft, an interested individual can learn anything. Guides may range from videos to diagrams and text. Regardless of the media, maker resources are meant to be shared.

    One of the features of the maker movement is the crossover between different interests. Perhaps a passion for cars and for leather craft can result in a truly custom interior (定制的内饰). Perhaps a love of knitting (编织)and robotics will result in a tiny ——but very mobile ——robotic furry cat.

    And once you have started your creation, finding a community to share with is no longer limited to the people nearby. Modern makers have been sharing videos of their progress online for years, contributing greatly to the rapid spread of the maker movement. As different as the participants might be, they share enthusiasm, support, and a willingness to try.

    Imagine making a ping-pong table together with your makers' team. One group builds the basic frame. Another group takes on the responsibility of painting. You knit the net. There is joy in just giving it a try. It will remind you of childhood creations. Whether you are an experienced programmer or just picking up a hammer for the first time, it is never a bad time to come up with an idea, try something, and share the results.

    What's your feeling when you step into senior high school? It is a completely new experience, but you shouldn't worry. We've got some tips to help you.

    You're not alone

    Remember that everybody else in your grade is in the same boat. You may not notice it, but they're just as nervous as you are.

    Moving up to senior high school is a chance, not a problem. Things are different, and all you need to do is to be polite and learn the new rules.

    The teachers will help you

    If you don't know what to do or are worried about something, then ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to because they have experience in helping new students. Pay attention to what your teachers say.

    Everything changes

    There are lots of differences between junior high school and senior high school. You will you're your lessons with different teachers in different schools. You will have homework for different subjects on different days, so make sure you get organized.

    Other points

    If you've got an elder brother or sister at senior high school, then ask them for advice. Be yourself! It sounds simple, but things will become much better if you just act naturally.

    Going to bed early makes a difference. You'll also find it easier to get up in the morning!

Accines (疫苗) may soon make their first film appearance. Led by expert Maria A. Croyle, researchers have developed a thin sheet that preserves vaccines for long periods without refrigeration. This means the carefully cooled small bottles now used to ship vaccines could potentially be replaced by lightweight films that can be mailed in an envelope and stored on a shelf.

Croyle's laboratory began developing the technology in 2007. Inspired by amber's ability to preserve the DNA of insects, the researchers set out to create their own version of the substance by mixing "a lot of sugar and a little bit of salt, much like hard candy," Croyle explains. The vaccine-containing film is administered by mouth—sweet news for many who dislike needles.

The film is tailored to suit each specific vaccine candidate and provide a protective coating. "We've learned over time that the key to really stabilizing whatever the film holds is to have it intermixed with all the components," Croyle says, adding that the process is quick and uses affordable, standard equipment. "We really wanted to come up with something that would be transferable to developing countries."

Immunization(免疫) programs depend heavily on keeping vaccines cold(2℃-8℃) as they are transported, sometimes over thousands of kilometers to far-away locations. Delivery can be difficult and costly, and transport disruptions can cause the vaccines to be ineffective.

But this new product can store live viruses, bacteria and antibodies for several months at 20℃. In a paper published in Science Advances, the scientists show that the live viruses in one vaccine were preserved in the film even after 36 months. They also find that a flu vaccine suspended in their film compares favourably with a traditional flu shot(流感预防针). "The study demonstrates early proof of concept for an exciting platform for vaccine product development," says Lisa Rohan, a pharmacologist, who was not involved in the study. She also notes that each vaccine type would need a custom formulation(配方) for future stages of development.

Finding partners to mass-produce for clinical trials is the researchers' most pressing problem, Croyle says. They are also exploring packaging methods to keep their films stable up to 40℃.

Size is a major advantage—a letter-sized sheet of the film can carry more than 500 doses(剂) of vaccine, about 1⁄900 the weight of the same amount of traditional doses. By making it easier and cheaper to ship and preserve vaccines efficiently, Croyle says, the technology could vastly improve immunization rates the world over, particularly in middle- to low- income countries.