How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feelings

    Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical(经验的，实证的) basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation.

    Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room's ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.

    In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant's ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.

    Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.

    Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim(暗淡的) light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.

    So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. "We have a very limited number of studies, so we're almost looking at the problem through a straw(吸管)," architect David Allison says. "How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That's what we're all struggling with."

    In the early morning, I head for the back door and find 10 inches of snow covering our home. Oh no, Bryan will have to clear the roof again, I think. But Rio rolls onto his back, playing in the white snow and kicking his back legs, delighted. His days in an animal shelter in New Mexico are long forgotten—he's wholeheartedly enjoyed life as a Colorado dog.

    Rio needs a walk. I've planned to attend an emergent webinar, but my husband is busy clearing. Rio pushes my leg with his snout(口鼻部), wondering why we are still inside. We're late for our morning hike. I pull on my boots reluctantly. I don't have time for this!

    Rio and I walk a block through our neighborhood to the beginning of a road. Rio jumps happily into the snow, which is up to his neck. But I walk slowly with heavy steps, worrying about my to-do list, and I don't notice the world around me until Rio starts barking.

    A squirrel (松鼠) chitters at him from a high branch of a pine tree. We haven't seen a squirrel in at least a week because of all the snow storms, so this is a treat for us.

    Once again, my animal teacher is reminding me to enjoy the present moment, and I'm grateful. I take a deep breath and look around. Suddenly there is an explosion(爆炸) of snow. a nearby tree has released its heavy burden, snapping(迅速恢复) back upright. Silver snowflakes(雪花) dust the air around me as a group of birds flees the area, talking to one another as they fly overhead.

I watch and listen in wonder for what seems like a full minute. There will be 1440 munites on this day, but this is the one I'll remember most. Then I look back to the earth and there is my sweet dog, waiting patiently for a treat. He knows I'll want to celebrate this moment we've just shared. “I love you, Rio!” I say as I give him a cookie. He has trained me well!

    When we walk home, I smile broadly, spirit washed clean, ready for whatever the day may bring.

    Native to America, the cane toad (癞蛤蟆) was introduced to Northern Queensland 70 years ago to control sugarcane beetles (甘蔗害虫). The toads failed in that duty but spread across Queensland and into neighboring northern areas.

    Now it calmly invades(侵略) the stats of Western Australia and New South Wales ( NSW). NSW wildlife experts fear the amphibians － which have poisonous backs that kill hungry predators (食肉动物) 一will have a terrible effect on native animals.

    Those fears may be about to be realized. Australia's leading government research body, the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organization (CSIRO), forecasts that a rise in average temperatures will make NSW an ideal living place for the cane toads.

    Tony Robinson, head of CSIRO's Wildlife, Pests, and Diseases Program, said climate change is increasing the amount of suitable living place for the cane toads.

    “With climate change, the cane toads might go down as far as Sydney and some areas of Western Australia,” Robinson said.

Recent estimates put the pace of the toads' westward march at nearly 17 miles (27 kilometers) a year and slightly slower from north to south.

    “More southerly (南部的) cities, such as Melbourne and Adelaide, would likely remain too cold and dry to ever suit the toads,” Robinson noted, “but Perth could expect cane toads in five years' time.”

    Sydney could see their arrival in the next 20 years.

    Robinson said there is no method that will keep the toads under control.

    The cane toads already cover at least half of Queensland and most of the northern country. The toads are believed to number in the billions.

    A Venezuelan virus was tried in the 1990s but had to be given up after it was found to also kill native frog species. Scientists and governmental bodies believe a national approach is needed.

    The main threat the toads cause to species such as dingoes, and crocodiles is the poison contained in glands (腺) on each of their shoulders. The poison sprays out when the toads are threatened or handled roughly. The poison is made up of 14 different chemicals.

    Cane toads also compete, and usually win, the hunt for food and living space.

    "”If the government and other states combine resources, I believe we can achieve a very practical biological-control research program,” Bums said.

    It's already challenging enough for environmentalists to keep beaches clear of washed up trash(垃圾) and plastic debris(残骸), but the most difficult problem lies in cleaning up all of the millions of tiny microplastics that are impossible to pick up and separate from the sand.

    Fortunately, a group of engineering students succeeded in developing a massive new vacuum cleaner that can collect microplastics without removing any of the sand from the beach. The 12 Canadian students from the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec built their Hoola One plastic vacuum cleaner as a class project.

    "We did some research and we realized there was no machine around the world to do this kind of job," Hoola One co-founder Sam Duval told Hawaii Public Radio. "So we told each other, 'We will invent it,' and we did it."

    As a means of testing their machine's efficiency, they recently used it on the sands of Hawaii's Kamilo Beach, which is also notorious for being one of the dirtiest beaches in the world. Though their first prototype(原型)experienced a number of technical issues, the students managed to fix the problems and tidy up the beach.

    Using a handheld tube, the machine sucks(吸入)up plastic and sand and dumps them all into a massive tank of water. Since rocks and sand are heavier than plastic, they sink to the bottom of the tank so they can be dumped back onto the beach. The plastic, on the other hand, floats to the top of the tank.

    According to Hawaii Public Radio, the team left the Hoola One vacuum on the island as a donation to the state department- They are now researching the ecological effects of the vacuum on the beach while they search for funding and sponsorships(赞助)to produce more Hoola One vacuums.

Vitamin D was recognized a century ago as the cure for rickets, a childhood disease that causes weak bones. Then, in the early 2000s, a pile of studies suggested that low vitamin D levels could be a factor in cancer, cardiovascular（心血管） disease, Parkinson's disease and so on. This simple vitamin seemed to be a cure for whatever troubled us. However, all these observational studies have a fundamental weakness: they can identify a co-occurrence between vitamin D and a disease, but they can't prove there is a cause-and-effect relation.

To look at whether taking vitamin D had curative effects, Manson and her team started the world's largest and most far-reaching randomized vitamin D trial. The study followed nearly 26,000 healthy adults, randomized to receive either 2,000 international units （IU） of vitamin D or a placebo（安慰剂）, for an average of 5.3 years. The volunteers were almost evenly split between men and women, and 20 percent of the participants were black.

The results came as a shock. Not only did vitamin D not reduce rates of cancer or heart disease, but the trial also found that vitamin D did not prevent or improve cognitive function, or reduce the risk of bone fractures（骨折）. The finding about fractures "was a real surprise to many people," Manson says.

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine established an expert committee to conduct a thorough analysis of all existing studies on vitamin D and health. The committee concluded that the bone-strengthening benefits of vitamin D remain steady when blood levels reach 12 to 16 nanograms per millililter. They also found that there were no benefits to having levels above 20ng/ml. According to measurements of vitamin D levels in the general U. S. population, most had levels of 20 ng/ml or more in 2011. Levels have actually risen since then, meaning that most people don't need to take extra vitamin D.

The ups and downs of vitamin D offer a lesson in humility. The relation between the vitamin and disease is far more complicated than it first seemed and a reminder that scientific understanding is always developing over time.

Known as the fastest Chinese man, Su Bingtian made history. Now, Su's feat was on a par with the 12 fastest human sprinters of all time and he is really a flying man of China, of Asia.

On August 1st of 2021, Su set a new record of 9. 83 seconds in the Tokyo Olympics Men's 100 m semifinals (半决赛). He was the first Chinese runner to enter the final in the event and brought an unforgettable moment for the world in the summer of that year.

For a long time, it was believed that Asian people couldn't get great achievements in such kinds of competitions. For decades, it has been impossible for Asian athletes to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m race. But as Su progressed steadily (稳定地) in international competitions, this idea came under fire. After May 30th, 2015, the day Su became the first Chinese man to break the 10-second barrier for the 100 m, running exactly 9.99, he has become a legend who kept breaking Chinese records or even Asian records since then.

He became well known and many people wanted to be as famous as him, but the way to success was never easy for Su. Once he was badly hurt in a training course. Su had to stop running. after the accident. He even planned to give up running in 2017. But the spirit to do something for our country brought Su back to the running team. He realized that finishing the semifinal in less than 10 seconds would win the chance to enter the final competition. It was difficult to get the goal.

Su trained much harder than before to improve the speed. To encourage himself, he set a personal goal-9. 89 seconds. He even made the number as his personal password (密码) for his phone and computer. Finally he succeeded! His spirit encourages many people to try to achieve their dreams.