The huge stone human statues of Easter Island have fascinated the world for centuries, but now a new research has solved one of the biggest mysteries (谜团) why the statues are located where they are.

Easter Island has more than 600 statues, built by different families hundreds of years ago. It is thought the statues represent their ancestors. However, it was previously a mystery why many of them were around the coast. While scientists have suggested the sites may have a connection with the island’s resources (资源), the latest research is the first attempt to look into such views.

Researchers focused on the east of the island, where various resources are located, and looked at the distribution (分布) of 93 statues built before European sailors arrived in the 18th century. After finding no connection with the rock used for the construction, they considered whether the statues were found near other important resources.

Things became interesting when they checked where the islanders got their drinking water. The island has no long-standing streams or lakes. However, fresh water brought by storm could pass through the ground and go deeper into the underground water system. “It is sort of amazing at low tide (潮水) when the water goes down, suddenly there are streams running off at different sites right at the coast that is just pure fresh water,” said Lipo. “We noticed, actually, when we were doing an investigation on the island, that we saw horses drinking from the ocean.”

The results of the new research—published in the journal Plos One—found that closeness to freshwater sites is the best explanation for the location of the statues, including why they appear inland as well as on the coast. “Historical records show the islanders also made wells to get drinking water,” said Lipo, adding that historic wells explained some inland statue locations that were apparently without natural water resources.

The results, said Lipo, made sense, as drinking water is important for the islanders and it is not practical to have to walk miles to get it.

Do you get nervous thinking about a coming math test? If yes, you are far from alone. Math anxiety has become a common condition among students around the world. Students in countries with higher levels of math anxiety tend to achieve lower math grades, according to a study published by the National Academy of Sciences on Feb 15.

Math anxiety — a negative emotional reaction to the core subject — causes fear, physical suffering and behavior problems among young pupils, according to a University of Cambridge study. Some people also experience physical symptoms such as sweaty palms or a racing heart. They may then try to avoid every situation involving numbers, meaning they are held back from pursuing careers related to this subject, such as technology or engineering, according to The Guardian.

Relief comes from the fact that those with math anxiety aren’t destined (注定的) to be bad at math. “If a child has math anxiety, don’t assume that they’re not good at math. They may have had a really bad experience with math and there are ways to improve math achievement,” Daniel Ansari, the senior author of the study told The London Free Press.

Also, there are ways to manage your stress related to math. If you’re feeling stressed before a math exam, it may help to spend a few minutes exploring those feelings before the exam begins. “It’s about making sure you’re interpreting your feelings correctly,” Sian Beilock, a cognitive (认知的) scientist told the BBC. “Just because you have a fast heartbeat and sweaty palms, that does not necessarily mean you will fail.”

Math doesn’t come easy, no matter how clever you are. Leonardo da Vinci, the famous Italian artist, was a huge fan of mathematics. But his notebooks show that Da Vinci couldn’t do fractions (分数). He could never grasp, for instance, that dividing a number by one-quarter is the same as multiplying by four, resulting in a higher number than the original.

A new study conducted by University College London (UCL) in partnership with composer Eric Whitacre and Music Productions explores how singing in a virtual choir delivers significant psychological (心理) benefits.

The research was led by Dr Daisy Fancourt, who designed an online questionnaire(问卷) to gather data from participants in Whitacre's Virtual Choir 5.0. The results were compared with those from diverse live choirs and a data set was produced with responses from 2,316 singers.

Both groups reported experiencing improved self-esteem and greater individual confidence. The results also suggested that the virtual choir experience can help fight feelings of loneliness and promote a sense of connection to others. In addition to this, virtual singers reported that singing helped them to take time away from stresses and gave them the space to reconsider problems in their lives, although this result was greater for singers in a live choir.

“We have so much research showing that singing in live choirs is generally good for our health and well-being.” comments Fancourt. “But what we didn't know before is whether singing in virtual choirs also has health and well-being benefits. This new research is exciting as it suggests that for people who are unable to sing in live choirs, either due to living in a community without a choir or due to illness, singing in virtual choirs can provide similar emotional and social benefits.”