Medical advances on the rise

Medical advances are on the rise around the world. Here are five to watch.

People in fact, get very enthusiastic about 3D printers and many believe it won’t be long before kids are using them to print out their personally signed toys. But medical researchers have already turned to 3D printing to create human body parts. Last year, Cornell scientists printed out an artificial(人造的) outer ear that looks and works like the real thing. But it isn’t suitable to put into human body.

   Another surprising breakthrough is in gene therapy, in which a person’s genes are re-engineered to fight diseases and put back into his or her body. This therapy is still considered experimental, but it’s been effective recently in treating patients with some cancers. And researchers think that one day it can become a new way to treat early stages of the disease, without requiring surgery, chemotherapy(化疗) or radiation.

   Gut reaction(本能反应) research is another breakthrough that it showing a lot of promise and has to do with our guts(肠), specifically with all the bacteria staying. Researchers have suggested there may be a direct physiological connection between the mix of bacteria in our digestive tract(消化道) and how our brain functions, and that the mix can also be a factor（因素） in whether a person is thin or fat.

   In regard to cancer research, there have been definite breakthroughs. Cancer immunotherapy (免疫疗法)is using drugs that encourage the body’s immune system to battle cancer cells directly. Researchers discovered that have been able to cover themselves in a protective shield. New drugs are being tested that have been able to empower the immune system to break through that protection and allow the body to fight cancer cells on its own.

   There are also already plenty of devices and apps out there that track you steps, you sleep, and your calorie consumption. But the next wave of wearable health tech will focus on gathering personal data more meaningful to a doctor and send the data directly to his or her office.

   Also, devices that monitor our personal behaviour will be getting more and more advanced. For example, a device being developed by TellSpec will supposedly be able to analyze the chemical composition of food in real time and let you know on your smart phone just what you’re eating.

It’s growing increasingly common to see pets at work, especially at smaller companies settings in New York City. LinkedIn has 178 results for “dog friendly” jobs in NY, which probably means they either have one kind of “office dog” or multiple employees may bring their dogs in. Big names like Google, Mashable, and Amazon have pet-friendly plans that welcome these companions into the office on a daily basis. Smaller companies are following suit by allowing dogs into the workplace seeing this action as a non-financial award. It helps create an atmosphere of work friendliness and a recognition of job devotion of the incoming workforce.

    The benefits are surely obvious: pets help reduce stress and may increase communication and socialization and there is no shortage of research to this effect. Approximately 60% of Americans own a pet. It’s not surprising therefore that there is a cultural shift toward permitting free access for pets in spaces. There has been a lot of research on the impact that pets have on children, the elderly, the sick, and prisoners. For example, pets may help the emotional development of children by putting them in a situation where they learn how to care for others. Pets have been shown to help elderly Americans remain social and mobile, and may reduce depression in this population. 

    In another study, it was found that the presence of a companion dog in a group work setting encouraged participants to be more cooperative, communicative, and friendly toward each other than in groups where there was no companion dog. This supports the proposal that pets may help break down barriers (障碍) to social interaction by providing a pathway to conversation.

While the evidence indicates some positivity, it’s not completely true. In a survey on the stress levels, productivity, and organization perception among people who brought their dogs to work at a company in North Carolina, about half of those bringing their dogs to work reported the dog was important to their productivity, while the remaining half gave a neutral (中立的) response. The majority of dog owners who did not bring their dogs to work and non-pet owners reported a neutral response as well. In both groups, however, approximately 20% reported that the dog’s presence was helpful and 20% reported it was a barrier to productivity. In other words, most people who had exposure to a pet at the office reported no noticeable effects.

Title: The rising trend of pets at   (1)  

Hypnosis(催眠) is the ability to control your own mind and get rid of any negative emotions or habits that keep getting in your way. Hypnosis has a long history of helping human beings to be the very best they can be. It can be used to control anything controlled by the unconscious (无意识) mind—pain, blood pressure, fear, confidence levels, moods and it is also regarded as the key to unlocking your creativity, focusing your energy and understanding yourself.

    I know what you're thinking—what on earth does stress management have to do with hypnosis? Well, quite a lot,actually! You see, when you know self-hypnosis, you can put yourself into a deeply calm meditative (沉思) state. Stress is fed on stress, so when you break the cycle—even with only ten minutes of deep trance(催眠状态)—you'll feel full of energy and ready to take on the day. Regularly doing this means you'll be able to see tasks so much more clearly and be able to organize yourself without the fog that stress traps you in.

    Time stands still at those magical moments because you're absorbed in something creative. Whether it's writing, playing a musical instrument, or even working on a business idea, being creative is a deep and pleasurable trance state(昏睡状态). With self-hypnosis, you can learn how to tap into it regularly and just see how bursts of creativity improve your life.

    Ever feel like your kids or your partner doesn't get the best out of you? We can all feel tired, moody, or stressed sometimes and then cry to those we love most. But with hypnosis, you won't get emotionally hijacked(控制). And with the new understanding of psychology hypnosis gives you, you'll be able to communicate much better with that tough colleague(同事) or neighbor.

    Dealing with the workplace bully (欺凌弱小者). Standing your ground with your mother-in-law,handling a fear,being confident in face of that "friend" who always seems to get his own way… When you learn how to use self-hypnosis, you can emotionally prepare for the encounter (遭遇), taking over these stressful situations. Life is so much easier when you feel like you can face anything!

    You know that feeling when you're reading a book or watching a film and you're so concentrated on it, yu're barely aware time is passing? When you know hypnosis, you can quickly go into that trance state. Just think of what you could achieve if you spend an hour a day completely "in the zone". There's a reason why so many top athletes use hypnosis for sporting success.

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Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it. Calls to the flower shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.

But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I had run into.

One month before my graduation my father died, I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance and I didn’t care if I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia—lovely, strong, and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery(神秘).

My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was year the gardenia stopped coming.

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As you have probably noticed, some students are more successful than others when taking exams, often because they have better test-taking skills. These are abilities that really have nothing to do with their understanding of the subjects. They are strategic skills that make taking tests easier, and lead to better results.

Here are some tips that will make it easier for you to take a test successfully.

Do not insist on completing each question before going to the next. If you spend a lot of time on one question that you don’t understand, you will both lose time and make yourself nervous. If you lose time, you may not get to later questions that you could have answered easily.

Furthermore, if you become nervous, you might lose your concentration. Go through the test a second time with any time you have left at the end to work out the answers to the more difficult questions. You’ll feel more confident by now and you may find that the questions you’ve already answered will help you answer the more difficult ones. Few people are aware that sometimes questions are answered later in a test in a different context. Do keep in mind that to take advantage of this you need to have finished the test and still have some time remaining to return to the questions you have problems with.

If you have a strong feeling about your first answer to a question, don’t go back and change it later. Usually (but not always) a strong first impulse means you know the answer, and don’t have to think about it again. Going back will make you unsure and often lead to an error. This is very common, so be careful!

Exercise is often suggested for sleeping difficulties, and it does have a beneficial effect. However, experts say the influence is not immediate, and can take up some time to take effect.

   Dr. Kelly Baron said: "If you have insomnia（失眠），you won't exercise yourself into sleep right away. It's a long-term job. You have to keep at it and not get discouraged."

   Dr. Baron decided to carry out her own research after hearing her patients with insomnia complain that the exercise didn't help them right away. She said: "They'd say, ' I exercised so hard yesterday and didn't sleep at all'. It's thought that exercise improves sleep, but I thought it probably wasn't that simple for people with insomnia.

   Most previous studies have been carried out on healthy sleepers. Dr. Baron's research is the first one. She looked at the data from older women with insomnia over a 16-week period. She said: "People have to realize that even if they don't want to exercise, that's the time they need to dig in their heels (决不妥协) and get themselves out there. The key message was persistence(坚持). Write a note on your mirror saying ' Just Do It!', and you can see wonders in four months. Most importantly, it will help in the long run." Dr. Baron also warned that insomnia could also make people less willing to exercise.

   Rather than medicine treatments, exercise may be a healthier way to improve sleep because it couldaddressthe potential（潜在的) problems. This study shows exercise and sleep affect each other in both directions: regular long-term exercise is good for sleep, but poor sleep can also lead to less exercise. So in the end, sleep still works better as far as health is concerned.

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   There are a great many good exercises. They are helpful and healthful. Many of them may be taken indoors during rainy weather. Indoor exercises, however, are never as helpful as those taken out of doors in pure, fresh air. It is because in fresh air more oxygen is taken into our body systems and more wastes are given off. The air in the house does not remain fresh very long. But out of doors it is usually fresh and pure.

    But what shall we play? There are a number of games such as football, baseball, races…Any game with plenty of movement is good. The best are those which are played out of doors.

    Do not neglect your body. It is as much important as your mind. Our country now needs men with strong minds, good judgment and healthy bodies. （共208字）

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Time management is important in our daily life. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all you need to do. Here are some tips that might be of some help to you.

●Set up a plan. Go for a week at a time, and decide the most important ones. Include things you want to accomplish. Focus mostly on the things that are important to you.

●Control your stress. No matter what kind of pressure mounts on you, try to keep cool. Stressing out can lead to an early breakdown, which is definitely counter-productive when you have a list of things to do. Itˈs easier to take a 10-minute break and cool off than to work all week with stress.

●Shut your door. When working under a schedule, perform your important tasks with your door shut to get them done. This will ensure a better quality time to get what needs to be done, done.

●Focus on one thing at a time. Forget trying to multi-task! You will lose concentration, and it will take you longer to accomplish what you set out to do.

●Just say "no." If you are constantly interrupted, and you really donˈt have the time to help out, just say "no." Youˈre only one person, and you canˈt save the world by yourself!

●Stop wasting time on the phone. While talking on the phone, keep your conversations short, and to the point and youˈll waste much less time.

●Be realistic. You can only do what you can do. Donˈt set out to accomplish the impossible. Do your best, but keep realistic expectations of yourself.

●Relax. The most important thing is remember to take time to relax, and regroup. You need a break every now and then to keep working efficiently. Even if itˈs a 10-minute walk, get away from your list and get refreshed.

   As families today get busier and busier, itˈs important to your own mental health to keep things on track. Donˈt delay; get your life in order now.