Your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. you can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.

      Open the curtains and turn up the lights. Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self-conscious(难为情) when they're in poorly lit places – and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn't have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.

      Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us less hungry. So when it's time to repaint, go blue.

Don't forget the clock – or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories(卡路里) per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at 30 minutes. And while you're at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turning on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.

Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plants can easily makes us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake(摄入) jumps by 14 percent. And we'll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.

    You have to shake hands when you're coming or going in Germany, but in Britain you usually only shake hands when you meet someone for the first time.

    You have to give your present in public in the Middle East to show it's not a bribe(贿赂), but it's good manners to give your present in private in Asia.

    You mustn't give cutlery（刀具） in Latin America because it suggests that you want to cut off the relationship. You mustn't give a clock in China because the Chinese word for clock is similar to the word for funeral(葬礼).

    “Come any time” means “I want you to visit me” in India. If you don't suggest a time and arrange a visit immediately, an Indian will think you are refusing the invitation.

    Offices are usually closed on Friday in Moslem countries.

    It's bad manners to discuss business at social occasion in India.

    In an English pub, you have to take your turn to buy a “round” drink for everyone in your group.

    By analyzing the fossilized teeth of some of our most ancient ancestors, a team of scientists led by the universities of Bristol (UK) and Lyon (France) have discovered that the first humans significantly breastfed their infants (婴儿) for longer periods than their contemporary relatives.

    The results, published in the journal Science Advances, provide a first insight into the practice of weaning (断奶)that remain otherwise unseen in the fossil record.

    The team sampled minute amounts from nearly 40 fossilized teeth of our South African fossil relatives, early Homo, Paranthropus robustus and Australopithecus africanus. They measured the proportions of their stable calcium isotopes (同位素）in the tooth enamel(牙釉质), which are a function of the mother milk intake by infants. They show that early Homo offspring(后代) was breastfed in significant proportions until the age of around three to four years, which likely played a role in the apparition of traits that are specific to human lineage(血统), such as the brain development.

    In contrast, infants of Paranthropus robustus, that became extinct around one million years ago and were a more robust species in terms of dental anatomy, as well as infants of Australopithecus africanus, stopped drinking sizeable proportions of mother milk in the course of the first months of life.

    These differences in nursing behaviors likely come with major changes in the social structures of groups as well as the time between the birth of one child and the birth of the next.

    One of the study's lead authors, Dr Theo Tacail said: "The practice of weaning -- the duration of breastfeeding, age at non-milk food introduction and the age at cessation of suckling -- differs among the modern members of the hominid family which includes humans and modern great apes: orangutan, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos.

    The development of such behavioral differences likely played major roles in the evolution of the members of human lineage, being associated for instance with size and structure of social groups, brain development.

    However, getting insights into these behavioral changes from fossils that are millions of years old is a challenge and, so far, little evidence allow discussing nursing practices in these fossil species.

    The findings stress the need for further exploration of calcium stables isotopes compositions in the fossil record in order to understand the co-evolution of weaning practices with other traits such as brain size or social behaviors."

http://www.dentaldailynews.com/first-human-ancestors-breastfed-for-longer-than-contemporary-relatives/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190829115427.htm

    Technology makes listening to holiday music easier than ever. There are endless sources to help you find your favorite Christmas tunes and many other songs. People have explored how to listen to holiday music with high-tech devices (设备).

    Apple Music

    This is the first year you can use Apple Music to listen to holiday songs. Apple  Music has more than 30 million songs and is available (可获得的) in over 100 countries.

    Tell voice assistant Siri to "play holiday music" to open the music program on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. Have an Android phone? Apple Music app is available in the Google Play store, but not with a voice assistant. For the first three months, you can use it for free. After that, users have to pay a subscription (订购) fee.

    Google Play Music

    Google Play Music is also in the holiday spirit. Go to the Google Play Music Holiday page and search for "holiday music."

    Google Play Music is available for free if you don't mind the advertisements. If you do, buy a paid subscription to avoid them. Google Play Music offers more than 30 million songs from 58 countries.

    Tune In Radio

    Listen to radio stations with Tune In Radio. This is an online service and offers stations from all seven continents in the world, including Antarctica. Tune In Radio is available on your computer and is free to online users. In the United States, Britain and Canada, a paid subscription gives you more stations without advertisements.

    If you want to know more, please click here.

Liu Yexi has taken Douyin by storm. As of Nov 17, the virtual idol, who performed on the social media platform on Oct 31, had only released two short videos but attracted over 5 million followers. 

Different from other virtual idols, Liu is defined as a "virtual beauty vlogger". In her first video, Liu is doing makeup with an eye brush while dressed in a traditional Chinese costume. 

When she turns around, the onlookers are terrified, except one boy. Then Liu slightly brushes the boy's eyes, allowing him to see the fantasy world in her own eyes. The internet users marveled(使...惊叹) at its storyline, science-fiction elements and special visual effects with cyberpunk style. Liang Zikang, the CEO of the production team, told China Newsweek that the team spent two months making the video. 

Liu's instant popularity online further reflects that the virtual idol industry in China has been booming. There are over 32,400 virtual idols that have opened accounts on video-sharing platform Bilibili in the past year, seeing a year-on-year rise of 40 percent, Chen Rui, the CEO of Bilibili, said in a speech. 

"Compared with real idols and stars, the virtual ones seem to be more approachable for fans," Shine News noted. Additionally, these virtual web celebrities(名人) won't have scandals(丑闻). 

As more young people are fascinated by these virtual figures, their commercial(商业的) value has been on the rise. Generally, they earn money by online concerts, livestreaming and related products. For example, Luo Tianyi, a well-known virtual singer, cooperated with livestreamer Li Jiaqi to promote goods in 2020. 

Therefore, some people are wondering whether they will replace real humans. "These socalled virtual idols have real human teams to back them up and control them. They are not really virtual." Ding Daoshi, an independent analyst in the internet sector, told the Global Times. The real virtual idol will come when artificial intelligence achieves a new level of selflearning and self-training and then interacts with others, he added.

Traveling to Europe can be so expensive. If you have a tight travel budget, we have other options for your next European vacation. We found some places as cheap as Thailand while looking as pretty as Spain, Greece or Italy.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria is often characterized as being a country of stunning landscapes and friendly people with a rich history of culture. And it has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters. In Bulgaria you can find accommodation for under fifteen dollars per night and a meal at a local restaurant will cost you no more than five dollars. From Sofia the capital, why not take a train to Istanbul for about fifteen dollars? What an adventure!

Romania

Romania is a country that not a lot of people know about, but it might be one you want to try on your next trip. Bucharest has a rich, historic architecture and a great nightlife for younger travelers. Besides the capital, there are many other beautiful places to explore in Romania, like you can go to Transylvania and see Dracula's castle. Good accommodation and a lot of restaurants are available here at a low cost. What a deal!

Albania

A perfect alternative to Spain or Italy, Albania has a lot of history and culture, but without all the crowds of tourists that you'll find in those places. It has some of the best beaches in Europe, so you can take advantage of that as well. The food is cheap and the average cost of accommodation in Albania is also low, with around thirty dollars per night for a mid-range budget.