Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age. The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity(长寿) may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.

“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.

“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.” What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.

“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink.

They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease.

The team has yet to find why ageing（衰老）takes a greater loss on the male heart, said Goldspink.

The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.

“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen.”

After graduating from college in 1932, I decided to try for a job as a sports announcer (播音员) on the radio. I took the bus to Chicago and knocked on the door of every radio station. But I was refused every time. In one studio, a nice lady told me that big radio stations didn’t want to accept inexperienced (没经验的) persons. “Go to the countryside and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said.

I returned home, Dixon in Illinois. My father said Smith Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department. Since I had played high school football in Dixon, I applied. The job sounded just right for me, but I still failed in the interview. As I left his office, I felt sad. I asked aloud, “How can a man become a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”

I was waiting for the lift when I heard Smith Ward calling, “What did you say about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he made me stand before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary (想象的) game. As a result, I did a wonderful job and was told to broadcast Saturday’s game!

On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words again: Everything happens for the best if you carry on. One day something good will happen.

Since the 1970s，scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain Computer Interface(BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently，two researchers，Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne，Switzerland，demonstrated (展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a personˈs thoughts.

In the laboratory，Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”

The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

Prof. Millan，the team leader，says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication，and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”

He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients，so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.