In colonies (群体) that range in size from a few hundred to tens of millions, they organize their lives with a clear division of labor. Even more amazing is how they achievethis level of organization. Where we use sound and sight to communicate, ants dependprimarily on pheromone (外激素), chemicals sent out by individuals and smelled or tastedby fellow members of their colony. When an ant finds food, it produces a pheromone that will lead others straight to where the food is. When an individual ant comes under attack or is dying, it sends out an alarm pheromone to warn the colony to prepare for a conflict as a defense unit.

         In fact, when it comes to the art of war, ants have no equal. They are completely fearless and will readily take on a creature much larger than themselves, attacking in large groups and overcoming their target. Such is their devotion to the common good of the colony that not only soldier ants but also worker ants will sacrifice their lives to help defeat an enemy.

         Behaving in this selfless and devoted manner, these little creatures have survived on Earth, for more than 140 million years, far longer than dinosaurs. Because they think as one, they have a collective (集体的) intelligence greater than you would expect from itsindividual parts.

    Sagrada Familia

    Opening hours: 09:00—18:00(October—March); 09:00—20:00(April—September)

    Admission: $11, or $10 with the Barcelona Card.

    The temple has been under construction since 1882 and they've still got another 30 to 80 years to go before it is finished. The project's vast scale and its special design have made it one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions for many years.

    La Pedrera

    Opening hours: November—February: 09:00—18:30; March—October: 09:00—20:00

    Admission: $9.Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    This building used to be called Casa Mila but nowadays it's more commonly known as La Pedrera.It is a unique modernist building in Barcelona and was made of bricks.It was built between 1906 and 1912 and in 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site with other Gaudi buildings in Barcelona.

    Barcelona FC Museum

    Opening hours: April 6th—October 4th:(Monday to Saturday) 10:00—20:00; the rest of the year: 10:00—18:30

    Admission: $8.50 for entry to the museum and $17 for a guided tour.

    When you buy your ticket you have two options.You can buy a ticket for the museum to see the football stadium or you can buy a dual (双的) ticket for $15 where you get to see the museum and the scenes at the club.

    Miro Museum

    Opening hours: Check the website for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

    Admission: $8.Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    This museum has a wide range of Miro's works dating back as far as 1914.This artwork collection not only includes his paintings but also a good selection of sculptures.

    When Chris moved in across the hall from Norma Cook four years ago in a Los Angeles-area apartment complex, the 31-year-old actor waved to his 85-year-old neighbor for a few weeks before finally knocking on her door and introducing himself. “The day I entered her apartment and spoke with her face to face was the day my life was changed forever,” Chris said.

    He learned that Cook had no family living in California and that she suffered from a long list of illnesses, including leukemia (白血病). The pair quickly became close friends, as Chris took her to doctor's appointments, cooked with her and they ran errands (差事) together. He shared their adventures on social media. But recently, Cook's health declined and she was in and out of the hospital several times. She once spent weeks in the hospital fighting pneumonia and breathing issues.  Eventually Cook was told by one of her doctors that she could no longer live at home unless she had 24-hour care. Because Cook had no money saved to pay her health care costs, Chris started a Go Fund Me account to help cover her bills.

    But caretakers are expensive and Cook quickly ran out of the $34,445 they raised. Knowing her days at home were limited, Chris invited Cook to move in with him to save money.“ She loves it! I do most of my work at home so I am here most of the time to care for her. It only made sense to both of us.” Chris wrote. “She is my adopted grandmother after all and I am her grandson she never had.”

    “Cook still has weekly hospice health care visits and regular visits from caregivers, so any funds raised cover those expenses,” he wrote. Though doctors say Cook's days are very limited, the pair are enjoying spending time together drinking champagne and snuggling with her cat, Hermes, who also made a move.

    “She does not want to change,” Chris told Today. “My apartment was the only place she would have moved. She has strong opinions about where she wants to carry out the rest of her days, and she wants to stay here.” Chris says he feels like the relationship was fate. “Moving her in....it feels as though it was meant to be all along, ” he said. “It's really fulfilling to be there for her.”

    Birdbrain has long been a term when laughing at somebody. The common opinion is that birds' brains are simple. But that opinion has increasingly been called into question because crows and parrots, among other birds, have shown behaviors as smart as that of chimpanzees.

    The conflict of simple brain and complex behavior has led some neuroscientists (神经学家) to create a new map of the birdbrain.

    Today, in the journal Nature Neuroscience Reviews, an international group of bird experts is showing their opinion. Nearly everything written in anatomy (解剖学) textbooks about the brains of birds is wrong, they say. The bird brain is as complex, and creative as any mammal brain, they argue, and it's time to use a more exact term that shows a new understanding of the anatomies of bird and mammal brains.

    "Names have a powerful influence on the experiments we do and the way we think," said Dr. Erich, a neuroscientist at Duke University and a leader of the Bird Brain Terms Association. "Old term has prevented scientific progress."

    The association of 29 scientists from six countries met for seven years to develop new, more exact names for structures in both bird and mammal brains. For example, the bird's seat of intelligence or its higher brain is now named the pallium (大脑皮层).

    "The change of terms is a great advance," said Dr. Jon Kaas, a leading expert in neuroanatomy at Vanderbih University. "It's hard to get scientists to agree about anything."

    Scientists have come to agree that birds are indeed smart, but those who study bird intelligence differ on how birds got that way. Experts are split into two warring camps. One holds that birds' brains make the same kinds of internal (内在的) connections as do mammal brains and that intelligence in both groups arises from these connections. The other holds that bird intelligence developed through increasing an old part of the mammal brain and using it in new ways and it questions how developed that intelligence is.

    When I was a boy, our extended, immigrant family would sometimes gather at my aunt's tiny house over the summer. Relatives from all over the country would come in to visit. The adults would crowd together in the living room to talk and catch up on each other's lives. And the kids would be sent out into the front yard to play when dinner was slowly cooked for all of us.

    Those were the days before video games, smart phones, and motorized toys, so we often ended up playing an old game. I remember one of those moments especially. As I was the youngest and smallest of all the kids there, I got caught first and couldn't catch anyone else. My brothers and cousins were all too fast for me, and I grew more and more frustrated. I finally fell my face first into the dirt. I got up with tears forming in my eyes. Then I saw one of my female cousins Susan standing there. She started to run but was going much slower than before. I easily caught up and seized her. Then she turned to me, smiled, and said, I'm it! You'd better run! Iran off laughing with glee while she turned and started to chase others.

    Now I see how her act of kindness that day saved me from sadness and returned me to joy. It didn't matter that we hardly ever saw each other. I know we are family and she loves me.

    In her wonderful book: Box of Butterflies, Roma Downey writes, "We are all one, we all belong to each other, and we are one big beautiful family." Perhaps it is time that we all started to treat each other that way. Perhaps it is time that we shared our love, our kindness, our laughter, and our joy with everyone without fear. Perhaps it is time to finally and forever bring this world together in one big family reunion.

A Japanese start-up called Ashirase is stepping into the global market with a new navigation (导航) assistance product intended to help people with low vision.

Its new product will feature flexible vibrating (震动) bases around each foot and are put into each shoe, and a small pack that can be removed for charging (充电). Once fitted, the vibrating parts are set along the sensitive nerves on the foot and can send coded walking instructions to the user.

Its present form navigates a route that comes from a smartphone app. It can help clear up distractions by freeing up the attention that is normally needed to either listen to voice directions or check the phone. Visual-damaged users can use their hearing to listen to traffic sounds and signals, like warning beeps at crossings or sidewalks, and use their hands to carry walking sticks or other belongings.

The device is paired with an app through a Bluetooth connection. The app uses information from Google Maps or similar vendors to draw up a walking route to the destination. Based on the destination and how the user is walking, it will send signals to the device that will cause a vibration on the foot.

The device will vibrate at a regular frequency at the front of the foot to let the users know they're on the right track and should keep going straight. It will speed up the vibrations once the user is approaching a turn and needs to stop, and it will vibrate in either the left or right shoe to signal the direction the user needs to turn.

Ashirase's new tech is waterproof and washable. It can be charged at the end of the week to power through seven days of walking, accounting for three active hours each day. And it can be fitted in two types of shoes: sneakers and leather lace-up shoes.