Vitamin B could help reduce the effects of the dangerous type of air pollution, according to a new study published on Monday. In the first study of its kind, a team of international researchers looked into the damage caused by one of the pollutants that have the severest impact on health—PM2.5.

    They found that Vitamin B supplement could effectively reduce the impact of the tiny particles     （颗粒）on the human body, although they stressed that the research was in its early stages. According to the WHO, 92% of the world's people are living in places where the PM2.5 level goes beyond the recommended level. So it's urgent to find a solution to the problem.

    According to this study, published in the PNAS, 10 volunteers were initially exposed to clean air and given a placebo (安慰剂）to check their baseline responses. The group then kept on taking placebos tor tour weeks before being exposed to heavily polluted air from downtown Toronto, where an estimated 1,000 cars passed every hour. The bad air was delivered to the volunteers through an "oxygen type" face mask. The experiment was then repeated, with each volunteer taking a Vitamin B supplement daily, made up of 2.5mg of folic acid, 50mg of Vitamin B6, and l mg of Vitamin B12.

    Vitamin B6 can be found in liver, chicken, nuts and other things, and Vitamin B12 in fish, meat, eggs, milk and some cereals. The researchers found that four weeks of Vitamin B supplements — the damage of PM2.5 effects by 28-76%. The results emphasized how prevention at an individual level could be used to fight against the damage of PM2.5, the researchers said.

    Computer technology is still developing rapidly. The computer of the future will continue to increase in value and performance while decreasing in cost. It will become smaller, but faster and more powerful.

    It is possible to make some guesses about what the future of the computer will look like, based upon the types of technologies that are being developed now. A lot of progress has already been made in some of these new technologies, but some are still in their earliest stages and may not be ready for use for years. Two of the most interesting areas of computing that are currently being developed are quantum computing (量子计算) and nanotechnology (纳米技术).

    Quantum computing is one possibility for the future of the computer that could make computers run far faster than even the quickest computers do today. Quantum computers could be able to do what modern supercomputers are unable to do by using transistors that are able to take on many states at the same time.

    Nanotechnology could also change the face of computing, by creating computers that could be very powerful, though they are tiny in size. These computers could be incorporated (并入) into everyday objects, including electrical appliances (电器), clothes and even the human body. We will be able to use computers in new and unimaginable ways. They will become a part of our lives rather than simply being a box that is used only for specific purposes, such as work.

    Quantum computing and nanotechnology will be able to play new roles, which will make us live greener lives, as well as enjoy better health and happier lives.

    Long long ago there were a lot of donkeys. The donkeys worked hard every day. They had no time to play or to relax, but they never felt appreciated（得到赏识的）for the work they did.

    One day two donkeys got bored. They wanted to live a comfortable life, so the donkeys went to see a wise old man. They told him their problem. The wise old man agreed they worked too hard, and he wanted to help the donkeys. “I have an idea,” he said.

    “What is your idea?” asked the donkeys.

    “I will paint you and no one will know you are donkeys,” said the man.

    The man went off to find some paint and he returned in just a matter of minutes. He had two pots of paints. One pot was filled with white paint, and the other black paint.

    The old man first painted them white, and then painted stripes（斑纹）over the white paint. When he finished, the donkeys did not look like donkeys at all. “You no longer look like donkeys,” the old man said. “Everyone will be fooled（欺骗）. I will call you something else, zebras（斑马）.”

    The zebras went to a field to eat grass. Now they did not have to work.

    Soon, other donkeys saw the zebras. They asked the zebras where they came from. When the zebras told the donkeys their secret, the donkeys all rushed to see the old man.

    “Please make us into zebras, too,” they pleaded. So the wise old man painted more donkeys. As he did, more and more donkeys came.

    The old man could not paint fast enough. Soon the donkeys became impatient （不耐烦的）. They began to kick about, and they knocked over the paint pots.

    There was no more paint. The painted donkeys ran off to become zebras. The unpainted donkeys, because of their impatience, had to return to work.

    There is some unwelcome news for students preparing for exams and officers putting in long hours—you don't need that "refreshment（提神） break" as much as you may think.

    Scientists believed it was not easy for people to continue their work if they felt the need to have a snack or a rest to make them feel better. They argued that the only way to regain willpower is by supplying more energy to our bodies with rest, food or entertainment.

    But psychologists have challenged this theory, saying weak willpower is in your head. They found that a person's mindset(理念) and belief about willpower determine how long and how well they'll be able to work on a tough mental exercise. "If you think of willpower as something that's limited, you're more likely to be tired when you perform a difficult task," said Professor Veronika Job. "But if you think of willpower as something that is not easily depleted, you can go on and on."

    The researchers led by Mr. Job designed an experiment to test the students' beliefs about willpower. After a tiring task those who believed or were led to believe that willpower was a limited resource performed worse on standard concentration tests than those who thought of willpower as something they had more control over.

    Mr. Job said, "Students who may already have trouble studying are being told that their powers of concentration are limited, and they need to take frequent breaks. But a belief in willpower as a non-limited resource makes people stronger in their ability to work through challenges."

    The findings could help people who are battling with temptation(诱惑): people following strict diets and doing exercise regularly to lose weight, people trying to overcome addictions, employees facing a tight deadline. Willpower isn't driven by a biologically based process as much as we used to think.

    An extremely enthusiastic truth seeker who runs the YouTube channel Bright Insight claims（声称）to have found the mysterious city of Atlantis and insists that its true location has been hiding in plain sight for thousands of years.

    In a video, YouTube blogger Jimmy Bright argues that the Richat Structure, a geologic dome（穹状物）in northwest Sahara also referred to as the Eye of the Sahara, is the most likely location of Atlantis.

    He mentioned measurements from the famous Dialogues of Plato, which gave birth to the mystery. The Greek philosopher（哲学家）claimed that Atlantis was a long-gone kingdom, which stretched into Europe as far as Italy and into Africa as far as Egypt thousands of years ago. The giant island was said to be wiped off the face of the planet by a natural disaster “in a single day and night of misfortune”.

    At first sight, this has nothing to do with the land-based Richat Structure, but Jimmy claims that the so-called Younger Dryas theory could be a possible explanation. According to it, a massive change in global temperatures caused unexpected climate change and sea level to rise.

    In what can be viewed as another proof to the Sahara theory, the diameter（直径）of the Richat Structure's outer circle is 23.5 km according to Google Map's measurements, which matches those mentioned by Plato — 127 stadia, which is roughly 23.5 km in today's terms.

    Another thing that helps solve the mystery is a theory that the Eye of the Sahara closely matches the description from Plato's dialogues. The ancient philosopher wrote that the main city of Atlantis consisted of circles of water and land, which, Jimmy said, looks very similar to the circular form of the Richat Structure.

    Although the majority of researchers believe that Plato's story was nothing but a moral story used to describe a failed idea of seeking power and searching for fortune, it has raised quite a few theories, Since the Middle Ages, explorers have been pointing fingers at different places around the world, including the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, with the most amazing theories linking the location of Atlantis to the Antarctic and the North Sea.

    One day, I was in class, feeling fine, when all of a sudden my heart started racing. I broke out in a sweat, feeling hot and cold all over. My chest hurt, I was dizzy, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Everything went blurry around the edges. Sure I was about to faint, I jerked up from my desk and ran from the room, terrified. I didn't care what the teacher thought, or that the eyes of the entire class were on me. I just had to get out of there.

    I ran to the nearest water fountain and drank some water. For several minutes, I just stood there holding on to the fountain. What was happening? Was I having a heart attack? Slowly, the lightheadedness went away. My heart stopped racing, and every other symptom faded too. I still had no idea what had happened but I was so glad it was over.

    Still I was really worried. I'd never felt that bad in my life. What was wrong with me? What if it came back?

    And then, an hour later, it did the pounding heart, the dizziness, the feeling that I was dying. Once again, I couldn't breathe. And this time, there was also pain throughout my entire upper body. I burst into tears and ran for the hallway again, actually afraid for my life. My teacher ran after me asking what was wrong. Panicking, I managed to choke out, "I need an ambulance: Please." I was sure I was dying.

    To my surprise, though, my teacher didn't grab her phone for help. Instead, she put her hand on my arm and told me to slow down. "Breathe, "she said." you're going to be okay. You just need to calm down. "

    I felt like I was going crazy. Here I was totally losing it, and she was acting like nothing was wrong! She kept on trying to calm me down, but I wasn't ready to listen. I was sure she didn't understand how I felt. How could she? How could anyone? Finally, my teacher explained that she was pretty sure I was having a panic attack. (They are also called anxiety attacks.) She knew, she said, because the same thing had happened to her when she was my age. She told me how she'd felt, and it was almost exactly how I was feeling now. She also explained that panic attacks are caused by anxiety (basically, excessive worry and fear that is part of your everyday life).

    I was shocked. I had no idea that there was even a name for what I was feeling let alone that it happened to other people, too! When I realized that she really did understand, I felt so relieved.

    My teacher talked to my parents, and they found me a counselor to help me deal with my anxiety. I'd been going through a tough time that year. My best friend had moved to a new school, and I wasn't sure how to fit in with the girls in my class. I'd never told anyone, though--I just kept it to myself. My counselor helped me understand that not dealing with my feelings can lead to panic attacks, and that I need to talk to someone when my life is stressful.

    Now when I start feeling overwhelmed or sad, I talk to my parents or friends and my counselor about whatever is bothering me, and they all help me sort things out. This way, I' m dealing with my anxiety and stress before it gets out of control.

    My counselor has also taught me some relaxation techniques and strategies that help me calm my body down at the first sign of a panic attack. I've learned to take deep breaths and relax my muscles. Or I'll focus on something else, or just tell myself I'm going to be okay. If one thing doesn't work, I'll try another one.

    It turns out that about one in every ten people has some kind of an anxiety disorder! Knowing that it's common and that life is stressful for a lot of girls of my age has helped me realize that I don't have to be ashamed or embarrassed about it.

    By sharing my story, I want other girls of my age to know that you're not as alone as you feel, and that talking about it really does help.