Humans have been keeping animals as pets for tens of thousands of years, but Dr Jean-Loup Rault, an animal scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, believes new companions are coming: robot pets.

    “Technology is moving very fast,” Rault told ABC News, “The Tamagotchi in the early 1990s was really the first robotic pet, and now Sony and other big companies have improved them a lot.”

    This may not sit well with pet lovers. After all, who would choose a plastic toy over a lovely puppy? But Rault argues that the robotic kind has a lot going for it: “You don't have to feed it, you don't have to walk it, it won't make a mess in your house, and you can go on a holiday without feeling guilty.” The technology also benefits those who are allergic to pets, short on space, or fearful of real animals.

    It's not clear whether robot pets can replace real ones. But studies do suggest that we can bond with these smart machines. People give their cars names and kids give their toy animals life stories. It's the same with robots. When Sony stopped its repair service for its robot dog Aibo in March 2014, owners in Japan held funerals.

    As an animal welfare researcher, Rault is concerned about how robotic pets could affect our attitudes towards live animals. “If we become used to a robotic companion that doesn't need food, water or exercises, perhaps it will change how humans care about other living beings,” he said.

    So are dogs and cats a thing of the past, as Rault predicts? For those who grew up with living and breathing pets, the mechanical kind might not do. But for our next generation who are in constant touch with smart technology, a future in which lovely pets needn't have a heartbeat might not be a far-fetched dream.

    Standing desks have become common across Silicon Valley, offering health benefits to those willing to work on their feet. However, due to their high price, they have failed to catch on until now. Recently, Ikea has brought out Bekant convertible（可变换的） standing desk that can become a normal desk at the touch of a button. The $500 adjustable desk can transform from a standard desk to a standing one, and Ikea hopes it could make the standing desk mainstream.

    Experts say that changing from a seated to a standing desk can improve productivity. Similar desks have become a common sight at tech firms such as Google, where some employees have even installed treadmill (跑步机) and bicycle desks.

    The desk is not the first “convertible” on the market. As early as 2013, Stir Kinect brought out an adjustable desk. The $3,890 Stir Kinect desk has a motor to raise and lower itself, changing it into a standing desk or a traditional desk. The desk can even be programmed to move up and down slightly, making it appear to take a gentle breath to remind the user to change their positions. To move between sitting and standing positions, owners simply double tap on the screen. The desk can learn the user's preferences over time and suggest the best seating position.

    The Stir Kinect desk was created by a team of ex-Apple and Disney engineers. It has a built-in touch screen to control and track movement, and can tell users exactly how many calories they burn by standing during their working day. It also has devices containing power points and USB ports for charging phones, to keep cables hidden.

    “Ikea's height-adjustable desk is great for opening up the lower end of the market, '' said JP Labrosse, founder and CEO of Stir.

    On a cold morning in 2015, five-year-old Lucas stood on the bank of Blue Star River, hugging a dead salmon（鲑鱼）against his thick yellow coat. He looked up at his father, Steve, who nodded encouragingly. "Go ahead," he said. "Put it in." The young boy dragged his feet forward and held the fish as far as he could into the shallow water. "It's floating!" Lucas yelled, delighted. For a moment, it's almost as if the handsome salmon could come back to life.

    Lucas' salmon was just one of 100 or so dead bodies that will land in Blue Star River in a half-hour activity this morning, delivered by dozens of volunteers. None of the salmon will rise from the dead, but Andy, president of the Fish Rescue Society, who has promoted this gathering, is carrying out the resurrection （复活）project of salmon.

    Andy led the group's campaign to recover this urban waterway's salmon population. "The Fish Rescue Society started exploring the possibility of recovering the salmon in the river in the mid-1990s, and they also focused on river recovery in cities worldwide."

    Andy and his group are devoted to giving the river a full make-over. This monumental repair job, supported by approximately $95,000 of funding from the Pacific Salmon Foundation over the past 15 years, has involved recovering the river-habitat of salmon and preventing it from wearing away. Work on the river's final section was completed in October 2016.

Smart Cameras to Help You Take Better Photos

    Google Clips

    One of the latest to launch is Google Clips. It is designed to be put somewhere in a room to take pictures by itself. It can also be attached to an object or a person's clothing.

    Google says machine learning helps the camera choose the best times and situations for taking pictures and videos. Interested buyers can join a waiting list to be informed when it is on the market.

    GoPro Hero

    GoPro also uses machine learning to power its QuikStories characteristic. This tool takes existing photos and videos and automatically creates a finished video piece, complete with music and effects.

    Snap Spectacles

    Messaging app Snapchat sells a pair of sunglasses with a built-in camera that can record short videos with the push of a button. Snap Inc. says the product, called Spectacles, is designed to "catch the moment, without taking you out of it."

    The glasses can record short video clips that can be shared with Snapchat users. Snap Inc. has started selling its Spectacles sunglasses online in the United States.

    Apple iPhone X

    Apple's new iPhone X is being launched with its new Face ID system that it says will unlock the phone just by having the user look at it. This replaces the Touch ID on previous ones that used a fingerprint to unlock the phone.

    Apple says the system works by projecting more than 30,000 dots on the face to create a kind of map. Apple says its facial recognition is even secure enough to allow payments through its Apple Pay service.

    In most people's opinion, the tiger is not an animal that we would ordinarily think of as being chicken. However, one tiger, which lives in an English zoo, turned out to be more cowardly (胆小的) than his keepers could ever have imagined.

    Tanvir, a two-year-old Bengal tiger, got stuck at the top of a new 5m-high activity tower in the zoo, after climbing it for the first time.

    The wooden tower had been designed to provide mental exercise for Tanvir by testing his ability of dealing with troublesome situations, but after climbing it in just a few seconds, he lost his courage when it came to coming back down. Tanvir went on to spend nearly two days at the top of the tower trying to collect the courage to attempt to get down.

    A spokesperson for the zoo said that several days before Tanvir had taken half an hour to get down a lower tower only 1.5m high, and the taller tower had clearly been too much challenging for him.

    "Every time he got to the edge, he looked out, put a paw over, and thought, 'no, I cannot make it!" 'laughed Samantha Cordrey, Tanvir's keeper. In the end Tanvir's hunger defeated his fear, and after almost 48 hours he made his way down. Burying himself in a big meal just like a hungry pig, Tanvir seemed to forget such a shameful experience for a while.

    It appears that his experience would not be the worst in Tanvir's life if he continued to act like a chicken. It is not known whether he will take courage to go back up his exercise tower again.

    The whole episode (插曲) only serves to show the difficulties faced by zoo staff in creating environments that will improve animals' living ability in enclosed space.

    A 27-year-old inventor, Joco Paulo Lammoglia, has come up with a new device ( 设 备 ) named the AIRE mask, which is capable of transforming the wind energy provided by the wearer's breath into electrical energy. This means breathing has become a source of renewable energy. The inspiration for the invention came from his watching children blowing on pinwheels (纸风车).

    The device is worn like a mask equipped with tiny wind turbines (涡轮) and it can work its magic even while people are sleeping, running or hanging around, since energy is created from one's breath. The principle of this AIRE mask is simple. The invention uses the wind flow created by breathing and changes it into energy that can charge mobile phones and iPods. Simply put this mask connected to your mobile phone on your face. The rest takes place naturally through your breath that provides power to run turbines which produce electricity.

    Lammoglia explained how useful he hopes the AIRE will become. He said, "I hope to bring the concept into production and reduce the carbon footprint. It can be used indoors or outdoors, while you're sleeping, walking, running or even reading books." Apart from saving energy and contributing to environmental protection, it also encourages the practice of physical exercise. This is an entirely all time renewable energy source. Its energy is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    Lammoglia explained why he thought the AIRE was so useful, saying, "Though many of our modern devices offer benefits, they tend to consume a high amount of electrical energy. This may cause problems for the environment, especially if the energy used by these devices is produced by non-renewable sources.

    The AIRE mask will be future's cheaper source of charging mobile phones. It would save energy and allow people to never have to worry about their phone dying unless they stop breathing.