By the year 2050, a fifth of the world’s cities will experience unprecedented climate conditions and environments that currently don’t exist in any major cities, according to new research. A team of scientists at the Crowther Lab in Switzerland produced the report, which described the climate for 520 major cities 30 years in the future.

The results showed that 77 percent of the world’s cities will experience a surprising change in climate conditions by 2050, and 22 percent of the 520 cities will see conditions that are not currently experienced by any existing major cities.

In China in 2050, the climate of Xi’an, in Shanxi province, will be similar to that of current day Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in southern Africa, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month likely to increase by 4.59℃. Chongqing in southwest China will resemble the climate of Swaziland capital Mbabane, as the warmest temperature is predicted to rise by 5.1℃.

Scientists predict summers in Europe will get warmer by an average of 3.5℃ and European winters will see temperature rises of 4.7℃. London’s climate will be more similar lo Barcelona, and Madrid’s to Marrakech.

The Crowther Lab hopes the analysis will motivate decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent or address some of the climate effects due to the threat of climate change. The report also found that cities in tropical regions will experience smaller changes in average temperature but will be controlled by shifts in rainfall regimes. This may lead to a noticeable increase in unexpected events, and severe droughts.

“Across all scientific fields, the greatest challenge in climate science is no longer the precise measurement of climate change impacts, but inspiring people to picture is actual effects in order to motivate action,” said Tom Crowther, senior scientist und founder of the Crowther Lab.

Dogs in the classroom lower stress of primary school students, new research has found. The study by UK researchers found spending some time with a dog twice a week was better for reducing stress on students than many other classroom relaxation activities. And the benefits of these “dog dates” were similar for children in both normal and special schools.

Stress is known to negatively influence a child’s learning, behaviour, health and mood. This has led schools to try a number of ways to reduce stress, including yoga, mindfulness, physical activities and even having animals in classrooms.

The researchers from the University of Lincoln measured students’ stress levels by tracking the level of the stress in their saliva (唾液). They studied 105 students aged 8 to 9 in four normal schools as well as 44 children of a similar age in seven special schools in the UK. The children were divided into three groups: a group that spent time with a dog; a group that spent time doing relaxation activities; and a “control” group that did neither of these things. Students in the dog group spent 20 minutes with a trained dog twice a week for four weeks. The relaxation group spent the same amount of time doing exercises.

The researchers found that the children in the dog group had “extremely lower” stress levels, while those in the relaxation and control groups recorded an increase over the school term. The study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, also found stress was lowest in the children in the dog group immediately after their contact with the puppies. “Dog-assisted activities can lead to lower stress levels in schoolchildren with and without special educational needs,” University of Lincoln researcher Kerstin Meints said, “but more research is needed to discover what was the ideal amount of time and contact with dogs for the best effect.”

Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob gathered on June 3, 2003 at Macy’s department store involving 100 people gathering on Macy’s Department Store. Following this, about 200 people flooded the lobby of the Hyatt hotel, applauding in one voice for fifteen seconds, and next participants pretending to be tourists on a trip invaded a shoe shop in Soho. A later mob saw hundreds of people in Central Park making bird noises.

Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to tease hipsters (追逐时尚的人), and highlight the cultural atmosphere of agreement and of being part of “the next big thing”. Many web logs, chat rooms and Web groups are devoted to the craze. Though flash mobs were originally regarded as useless, the concept has already developed for the benefit of political and social events. Flash mobbing takes advantage of the efficiency of communicating information on Websites and by email, and protesters can similarly use the “on and off” concept to be involved in political events. Such flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock or frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. They also have enormous economic potential, such as using flash mobs to advertise a product.

The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. For example, in 2009, hundreds of Michael Jackson’s fans took part in a flash mob to remember him, gathering outside the railway station in Liverpool, singing and dancing Michael’s famous song, beat it together. In another example, some people took part in a flash mob to warn people against negative words. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.