Diners in Japan may soon be able to cut their salt intake without needing to sacrifice(牺牲)flavor. Researchers recently announced they developed electric chopsticks that increase saltiness of foods.

Co-developed by Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita and drink producer Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, the chopsticks improve tastes using electrical stimulation and a mini-computer attached to a wrist.“The device uses a weak electrical current to send sodium ions (钠离子) from food, through the chopsticks, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness,” said Miyashita.“As a result, the salty taste increases by 1.5 times.”

The taste-improving chopsticks may have particular relevance to the traditional diet in Japan, which tends to be high in salt. The average Japanese adult eats about 10 grams of salt each day. That is almost two times the amount suggested by the World Health Organization. High sodium intake is linked to increased cases of high blood pressure, strokes and other conditions. “To prevent these diseases, we need to reduce the amount of salt we take,” said Kirin researcher Ai Sato. Sato added that if Japanese people try to reduce salt intake in the usual ways, they will need to cut many of their favorite foods from their diet. Otherwise, they would have to eat flavorless food.

“I want to overturn the idea that low salt means no flavor,” Miyashita declared.“The chopsticks make it possible to keep enjoying the foods we love, and in a healthier way.”He was confident that the chopsticks can help people make better decisions about their diet and hoped to have them ready to sell as early as next year.

Miyashita and his research team have explored different ways that technology can interact with human senses. He has also developed a television screen that a person can lick (舔) to taste different food flavors. Meanwhile, research is also underway to develop other eating tools with special functions like electric spoons and forks using technology.

Researchers in Australia and the US are starting a multi-million dollar project to bring the Tasmanian tiger, nicknamed thylacine(袋狼), back from extinction. The last known one died in 1939.

The team say it can be recreated using stem cells(干细胞)and gene-editing(基因编辑)technology, and the first thylacine could be reintroduced to the wild in 10 years’ time. They plan to take stem cells from a living species with similar DNA, and then use gene-editing technology to ”bring back“ the extinct species - or an extremely close one of it.

It would be a great achievement for the researchers attempting it, and require a number of scientific breakthroughs.

The population of Tasmanian tigers dropped when humans arrived in Australia tens of thousands of years ago, and again when dingoes - a species of wild dog - appeared.Eventually, the species only lived free on the island of Tasmania, and was finally hunted to extinction.

If scientists were to succeed, it would mark the first “de-extinction“ event in history, but many outside experts doubt it, and believe that the project is more about media attention for the scientists and less about doing serious science.

The idea of bringing back the extinct has been around for more than 20 years. In 1999, the Australian Museum started to pursue a project to clone the Tasmanian tiger, and various attempts have been made ever since to get or rebuild DNA from samples. The US firm made headlines last year with its plans to use similar gene editing technology to bring the woolly mammoth back to life - a technological achievement yet to be made.

It’s logical for humans to feel anxious about artificial intelligence. After all, the news is constantly listing job after job where the technology seems to outperform us. But humans aren’t yet headed for all-out replacement. And if you do suffer from so-called AI anxiety, there are ways to alleviate your fears and even change them into a motivating force for good. Here’s how some psychologists and other experts suggest handling our AI fears.

First off, context is key, says Sanae Okamoto, a psychologist and behavioral scientist in the Netherlands. She suggests keeping in mind that the present moment is far from the first time people have feared the rise of an unfamiliar technology. “Computer anxiety”  dates back decades, Okamoto notes. Before that, there was worry over industrial automation. Past technological advances have led to big social and economic shifts. Some fears became reality, and some jobs did disappear, but many of the worst science fiction predictions did not come true.

Facing fears of AI by actually trying out the tools, seeing where and how they can be useful, reading up on how they work and understanding their limitations can turn the tech from a monster into a potential helper, says Jerri Lynn Hogg, a media psychologist. A deeper understanding can empower someone to advocate for meaningful job protections or policies that hold back potential problems.

Mary Alvord, a practicing psychologist, also stresses the importance of addressing the problem directly. “We talk about what actions you can take instead of sticking your head in the sand,” she says. Maybe that means gaining new skills to prepare for a career change or learning about ongoing efforts to control AI. Or maybe it means building a union with colleagues at work, which is important to help people feel more secure and hopeful about the future.        

Perhaps the better response is to use our AI anxiety to push us forward. Mastering a craft—be it drawing, writing, programming or translating — and using that skill to create something new is “the most rewarding thing that we can possibly do.” says Sean Kelly, a Harvard University philosophy professor. So why not let AI motivate more creation instead of replacing it? If the technology produces something interesting, we can build on it. And if it doesn’t, then why worry about it at all?