The Government's sugar tax on soft drinks has brought in half as much money as Ministers first predicted it would generate, the first official data on the policy has shown.
First announced in April, 2016, the tax which applies to soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, was introduced to help reduce childhood obesity（肥胖）. It is believed that today's children and teenagers are consuming three times the recommended level of sugar, putting them at a higher risk of the disease.
Initially the sugar tax was expected to make £520m a year for the Treasury. However, data of the first six months showed it would make less than half this amount. At present it is expected to generate £240m for the year ending in April 2019, which will go to school sports.
It comes after more than half of soft drinks sold in shops have had their sugar levels cut by manufacturers（制造商）so they can avoid paying the tax. Drinks now contain 45 million fewer kilos of sugar as a result of manufacturers' efforts to avoid the charge, according to Treasury figures. Since April drinks companies have been forced to pay between 18p and 24p for every litre of sugary drink they produce or import, depending on the sugar content.
However, some high sugar brands, like Classic Coca Cola, have accepted the sugar tax and are refusing to change for fear of upsetting consumers. Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and most alcoholic drinks are free of the tax, as are small companies manufacturing fewer than 1m litres per year.
Today's figures, according to one government official, show the positive influence the sugar tax is having by raising millions of pounds for sports facilities（设施）and healthier eating in schools. Helping the next generation to have a healthy and active childhood is of great importance, and the industry is playing its part.
Nearly a week after Stephen Hawking passed away, people even in remote parts of the globe showed up in memory of this great British scientist. Mr. Hawking, best known for his study of black holes, is respected for not allowing a physical disability to limit his mental brilliance. Yet in a sign of the state of humanity, he is also being held up as a hero for humble and intense curiosity, not just for the truth about the physical universe but for universal truths.
In 2017, a Texas-based data company called Global Language Monitor found "truth" to be the "word of the year" among English-speakers. A debate over the nature of truth "is currently quite fashionable," the company's analysis found. Besides, two runner-up words were "narrative" and "post-truth." And in a January report about "truth decay (衰败)",the RAND Corporation, a research organization, found the loss of trust in key institutions has left "people searching for new sources of credible and objective information."
In countries with a free press, journalists have gathered to fact-check comments by politicians. Harvard University now offers a free one-hour online course to help people "better distinguish good information from bad" in hopes that they will not "share the bad." Tech giants such as Facebook are being forced to fix truth filters (过滤器) on their online platforms. A report this month for the European Commission says that the online sites "are becoming increasingly important as both enablers and gatekeepers of information." They should reveal how their algorithms (计算程序) select news items, the report stated.
Many nations have come to see honest information as strategic wealth. "Truth matters", says Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State. "Relying on Twitter feeds and news reports will prove totally insufficient when policymakers have to make some of the most difficult decisions they face."
Giants of scientific discovery such as Hawking have long been role models for seeking truth beyond their profession. "In recent years I realized that Hawking has become a symbol for mankind," says physicist Bobby Acharya. "People looked to him for reason and truth." The tribute rolling in for the man is actually a widespread desire for light over darkness, for truth over all the "black holes" of misinformation campaigns.
Scientists are racing to study the volcano in Tonga that erupted just before sundown on January 15, 2022.
"Everything so far about this eruption is really strange," said Janine Krippner, a scientist with Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program. "The sound of the explosion, the tsunami (海啸)waves that followed the eruption and the huge energy of this explosion, which equals to five to six million tons of TNT, are unlike any seen in recent decades. "
The sound of the latest eruption could be heard on distant shores around the world. According to Geoff Kilgour, a scientist from New Zealand, water likely has had a hand in it. "Perhaps the recent explosion had just the right mix of magma(岩浆) and water. Either more or less would have led to a quieter explosion," he said.
The tsunami waves that followed the eruption were even stranger. Tsunami waves usually start from the center of the eruption. Yet this time, waves appeared in other places, such as the Caribbean, far earlier than would be expected of a classic tsunami. In addition, as tsunami waves travel further, they usually become weaker. While the waves that hit the islands in Tonga were damaging, they weren't high enough to account for the surprisingly larger waves across the ocean.
Although many of the volcanoes in deep oceans usually aren't deadly, the recent event reminds us that how dangerous they can be and that how little we know about them.
However, monitoring underwater volcanoes is a complex task. GPS-which is frequently used to track changes in the surface as magma moves underground doesn't work on the seafloor. And obtaining real-time data from seismometers(地震检波器) on the ocean floor is expensive and technologically difficult.
The situation in Tonga has also shown how well the Tonga Geological Services (TGS) has dealt with the latest eruption. "They don't have a huge amount of money. They don't have a huge amount of staff," Janine Krippner added. "But they're asked to do a huge amount and they have done a really nice job to reduce the possible damages."
Chinese astronauts conducted a science lecture to millions of students on Dec. 9,2021 from the Tiangong space station. The three astronauts, Hai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, showed life in space and conducted experiments in microgravity.
It was the first lecture of the Tiangong Class, China's first extraterrestrial（地球外的）lecture series. Its goal is to popularize space science.
"The laboratory of the space station has many conditions that the Earth laboratory does not have, such as the environment of weightlessness and radiation," said Wen Xin, a professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He said that important jobs for astronauts in the space station include cell observation and maintaining plant life.
In the lecture, Ye demonstrated experiments related to cell growth in a weightless environment. He compared the growth and shape of cells in artificial gravity and zero-gravity to study their changing principles in space.
Another experiment in the space lecture was shown by Wang Yaping. She illustrated how a paper flower "bloomed" on the surface of water in Tiangong space station. She explained that the surface tension of water is magnified（放大）in space due to zero gravity.
One of the examples of surface tension on Earth is that some insects can "walk" on water. They use surface tension to "stand" instead of falling through water.
Surface tension plays a key role in product development. Researchers around the world are measuring surface tension to improve the quality of their products, according to Biolin Scientific, a science company. Paints are tailored to stick better on the surfaces they are applied to. Surface tension also has impacts in drug development.
Although the astronauts are thousands of miles away, their research does influence our life. Shi Yi, a teacher at the Beijing No. 101 Middle School, told China Daily that the space lecture was "an eye-opening experience that would arouse students' interest in science".
Artificial intelligence (AI) has grown into a hot spot industry in recent years，and it has witnessed an increasing number of start-up projects and expanding financing. However, the prospering trend in the field may hit a wall in 2019.
According to a white paper regarding the AI industry released last July by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology? China is home to 4,040 AI companies at present. However, 70 percent of the firms have failed to receive venture capital (风险投资).
In this regard, it's fair enough to say that this year might bring about a cold winter for the industry, at least for those selling "fake" AI technologies.
"It's becoming hard for AI technologies to be applied in the market and 90 percent of the start-ups in this industry may fail if proper fields of application are not found," said Ai Yu, Managing Director of China Everbright Limited, a Hong Kong-based financial services company.
Experts said that AI will see a larger application in people's work and life this year，and core sectors such as AI chips will become more and more professional, making it difficult for entry into this industry.
Large numbers of AI start-ups have been popping up in China, and some of them are leading the world in facial recognition，autopilot and natural language interaction, said Liu Jiong, chairman of the board of Lanting Capital, a cross-border, medical focused strategic consulting and investment firm.
However, there still are many AI firms that haven't found proper methods to make, money, which is an issue that the Chinese AI industry must face in the future.
"Given the current money shortage in the capital market, a large number of companies will be gradually knocked out because of their relatively weak technical strength," said Liu Wanqing, venture partner of DayWin Asset Management. According to him, those backed by powerful technologies are expected to embrace sound development.
Insiders noted that more and more companies were calling themselves AI firms with the inflow of large amount of money into the AI industry, but it still couldn't hide the fact that many of them were knocked off. Blindness and aimless investment would only hold back the healthy development of the industry, and the only way for sustained development is to smash the "bubbles" first.
Swiss designer Didier Rudolf Quarroz's love of Chinese tea culture has inspired him to design innovative new items to brew the tea. Quarroz developed an interest in Chinese tea after working at a Shanghai-based design company, where he was by chance engaged in a tea project.
His research helped him develop a deep understanding of the differences between Chinese and Western tea products. And this made him think about designing items for foreigners to brew Chinese tea. "I hope to design easy-to-use and modem tea-making tools to help foreigners try Chinese traditional tea and give them an interesting experience in brewing tea." Quarroz says.
In 2017, he moved to Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province and a major tea-production base, to explore the possibilities of applying Western concepts in designing objects for Chinese tea. "I want to focus on the tea industry, and Hangzhou is a great fit because of the long history and profound culture of tea here," Quarroz says.
Quarroz began to concentrate on the design of a tea infuser (注射器）to make brewing easier for foreigners. It's a glass container with a silicone (桂胶)lid. All users need to do is to put the leaves inside, place it in a cup and add hot water. The infuser can be taken out from the cup easily without users' fingers being hurt by the hot water," Quarroz says.
Hangzhou has a booming tea industry, which has offered the Swiss designer many opportunities to cooperate with local plantations and companies. "Driven by the love of Chinese tea, I cooperate with local companies and help them to develop new kinds of tea products. Also, we sometimes organize workshops to introduce different teas to the public," Quarroz says.
Hangzhou also enables smooth business operations, he adds. "In general, it is easy to start a business in Hangzhou. And the government and agencies are increasing efforts to help and support young entrepreneurs, including us from foreign countries," he adds. Quarroz says he plans to design 10 innovative tea-related products by combining Chinese tea culture with international elements.
A new species of pygmy seahorse（豆丁海马）has been discovered off the coast of South Africa in Sodwana Bay, attracting scientists with its tiny size—only 2.7 centimeters.
An international research team studied the tiny pygmy seahorse in 2019, after it was spotted by chance by diving instructor Savannah Nalu Olivier who was exploring algae（海藻）on the seafloor of the bay, But it wasn't easy to see it at all, according to a press release from the University of Leeds in Australia. That's because these sea creatures are camouflaged by their stony golden-brown look.
This is the first time that a pygmy seahorse has ever been discovered in the Indian Ocean In fact, the closest known pygmy seahorse species live 8, 000 kilometers away in a region of the Pacific Ocean called Coral Triangle. Until now, all but one of the seven pygmy seahorse species have been found in the triangle, making this discovery particularly puzzling.
The study was led by Graham Short from the California Academy of Sciences. It discovers a number of detailed features that differentiate this species from other seahorses. While larger seahorses have gills（鳃）on each side of their head, the Sodwana Bay pygmy seahorse has only one gills slit on its back. "That would be like having a nose on the back of your neck, "Short said in an interview. The tiny seahorse also has a set of sharp spines（刺毛）on its back while other pygmy seahorses have flat-tipped spines. The researchers haven't figured out what they are used for yet.
The tiny pygmy seahorse reminds us that when we open our eyes, the natural world be-comes an endless mystery. Unknown species and even entire ecosystems are awaiting to be discovered in places we never thought possible.
The national outpouring of grief(悲痛) at the death of two legendary academicians (传奇院士) over the weekend, as if people had lost beloved members of their own families, offers much food for thought.
At 1:02 pm on May 22nd, 2021, liver surgeon Wu Mengchao, 99, died in Shanghai. He is known as the founder of hepatobiliary surgery (肝胆外科) in the country and was the teacher of roughly 80 percent of the nation's experts and doctors specializing in liver surgery today. Wu operated on thousands of patients, and saved at least 16, 000 lives. Five minutes later in Changsha, Hunan Province, agricultural scientist Yuan Longping died at the age of 91. He was known as the father of hybrid rice who helped lift the nation out of hunger. With their dedication to science and commitment to the people, the two devoted their lives to saving lives and improving people's livelihoods. Together with generations of their students, they not only made a big difference to the lives of the Chinese people, but also many living in other developing and least-developed countries.
Wu insisted that medical science is humanity while Yuan's lifelong dream was always to enable the Chinese people to fill their own bowls with rice. What makes Wu and Yuan great is not only their achievements, but also their shared attachment to the people. The public's spontaneous (自发的) outpouring of grief at their deaths, which has been rare in the country for decades, shows how much their down-to-earth dedication to improving people's lives touched hearts throughout the country.
Yuan and Wu are just two representatives of the large numbers of scientific workers that have devoted their lives to their research, giving the country's people-centered development principle more practical meaning. The country needs more scientists to inherit and carry forward their spirit. Even those in other walks of life can draw inspiration from the two academicians' commitment to their dreams, care for the people, and unconcern about material enjoyment, so as to make the best of what life grants for themselves and others.
A 63-year-old Chinese carpenter's traditional skills have become an unexpected Internet hit as he creates woodwork with a single piece of wood, without glue, screws or nails. Wang De wen, known as "Grandpa Amu" on YouTube, has been praised as the modern day Lu Ban, a well-known Chinese structural engineer during the Zhou Dynasty, thanks to his rich carpentry(木工手艺) knowledge.
Grandpa Amu's most popular video, which shows him making a delicate wooden arch bridge, has gone viral on YouTube, gaining more than 40 million views. "If you do something, you have to love it, and you have to be interested in it; however, being interested doesn't mean there's only happiness and no pain. " Grandpa Amu shared when talking about his excellent carpentry skills.
His most popular works include a folding stool, a model of the China pavilion from the 2010 Shanghai Expo, and an apple-shaped interlocking puzzle, known as a Lu Ban lock. Grandpa Amu follows an ancient Chinese mortise and tenon(榫卯) technique, which means no nails or glue are involved in the entire process of building the arch bridge.
The master carpenter has also made several wooden toys for his grandson using the same technique. His young grandson's favorites include a walking Peppa Pig and a bubble blowing machine. Attracting over 1. 17 million fans on YouTube, Grandpa Amu's videos so far have gained more than 200 million views.
His wonderful woodworking skills, using the same mortise and tenon joints found in the Forbidden City, were developed from the age of thirteen as a way of supporting his family in East China's Shandong Province. "The grandson is so happy, as there have been so many fine and unique toys made by grandpa from an early age," commented one netizen; while another said "It's amazing. I hope these traditional crafts can be passed on!"
In November 2020, US climber Emily Harrington, 34, took on El Capitan—a 3000 foot(914 meters) rock formation(岩层) in Yosemite National Park, US. She accomplished her feat within a day and became the first woman to free-climb the Golden Gate route.
It used to take weeks for rock climbers to reach the top of El Capitan, even with the help of a partner and climbing aids. In recent years, only three people—all men—had free-climbed the Golden Gate route on El Capitan in 24 hours, according to CNN.
Although rock climbing has long been dominated by men, the number of female climbers has been rising in recent years. Even in the pandemic, many of them have made great achievements and pushed human limits.
"I spent a lot of years feeling like I didn't belong, like maybe I hadn't earned my place to be a Yosemite climber," she told the San Francisco Chronicle. "But throughout this experience I learned that there is no belonging or not belonging, no formula to achievement up there. "
The rising number of female climbing enthusiasts should come as no surprise. According to the website Climbing. com. "Climbing is one of the few sports where it's possible to level the playing field. Women's flexibility helps offset anything we may lack in strength, bridging the gap between the sexes. "
Legendary Austrian climber Angela Eiter is another strong female figure in the climbing world. In 2020 Eiter made news as she climbed the unknown face she calls Madame Ching in her home country.
According to the New York Post, the route was free of traces. That means Eiter has to search for the holds and predict how the moves were going to play out by herself. Worse still, the rock there is really fragile and some holds had to be fixed with glue. But after intensive indoor training to visualize(构思) the route and build up her strength, Eiter, who stands 154 cm high and weighs 46 kg, made it.
"I am not the strongest woman and I am very small, and I am happy that I can show other women that they can also do it," she told the New York Post.
As Climbing. com noted, this battle with oneself embodies(体现) the spirit behind the sport. "Maybe that's why more women feel more empowered to find their own way, break free of the mold(模式) and climb what we want to climb. Women have decided to follow their hearts. "
