Researchers have found that men and women consumed 15% more calories when looking at their phones while eating. They also eat more fatty food. The groundbreaking（开创性的）study suggests that staring at a phone screen may distract（使分心）dinners from how much food they are actually eating. "It may prevent the correct understanding of the brain over the amount of food ingested（摄取）," said researchers who filmed 62 volunteers eating alone.

The men and women, aged 18 to 28, were invited to help themselves to a choice of food—ranging from healthy options to soft drinks and chocolate—until they were satisfied. In three trials, the volunteers were recorded eating no distractions, using a smart phone or reading a magazine.

On average the volunteers ate 535 calories without the distraction of a smart phone but 591 when using a mobile. Those in the sample who were classed as overweight ate 616 calories while using their phones. When using their mobiles, the volunteers also consumed 10 percent more. They also eat more when reading a magazine.

"Smart phone use during a meal increased calorie and fat intake," said Marcia Gilberto, a lead author of study carried out at the federal University of Lavras in Brazil and University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. He added: "Tablets and smart phones have become the main "distracters" during meals, even early in childhood, so it is important to pay attention to how this may impact food choices."

Many women write to me perplexed(困惑的)about why they can’t form close friendships. They try new approaches, put themselves in all the right places, see therapists, and read relevant self-help books. They consider themselves interesting, loyal, kind and friend-worthy people. But for reasons unknown to them, they have a tough time forming intimate relationships. Many admit to not having even one close friend.

A recent study published in the Journal of personality and Social Psychology offers some clues as to how both nature (personality) and nurture (experience) impact our friendships. Researchers at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto, Mississauga studied more than 7,000 American adults between the ages of 20 and 75 over a period of ten years, looking at the number of times these adults moved during childhood. Their study, like prior ones, showed a link between residential mobility and adult well-being: The more times participants moved as children, the poorer the quality of their adult social relationships.

But digging deeper, the researchers found that personality—specifically being introverted (内向的) or extroverted (外向的)—could either intensify of buffer (缓冲) the effect of moving to a new town or neighborhood during childhood. The negative impact of more moves during childhood was far greater for introverts compared to extroverts.

“Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long-term close relationships,” stated Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, the first author of the study, in a press release from the American Psychological Association, “This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily. Less outgoing people have a harder time making new friends.”

Families often have to relocate—across town, across the country, or across the globe. Yet, in many cases, their kids and young adolescents haven’t yet built up a bank of friendships. So the conventional wisdom is to try to minimize moves for the sake of your child, whenever possible , and to move at the end of the academic year.

As is commonly known, Antarctica is an icy continent with extreme environment. However, a new study provides evidence that the area had a rainforest in the past.

The researchers collected a piece of Earth sediment from under the seafloor off the coast of Antarctica. In the sediment, they discovered forest material that was estimated to be about 90 million years old. At that period, dinosaurs were the ruler animals of the land.

Johann Klages, a German geologist, was the lead writer of a study on the findings, published in the journal Nature. He said the sediment was collected from a depth of about 30 meters below the ocean floor. Klages said an examination showed that the material didn’t form in the ocean.

The researchers estimate that the area — about 900 kilometers from the South Pole — had average yearly temperatures of about 12°C to 13°C. The soil included fine dirt particles and hard clay, as well as substances linked to at least 65 different kinds of plants, the study found. Although no animal remains were found, Klages said there were likely dinosaurs, flying reptiles and many insects in the environment.

The research represents new evidence of the major climate changes Earth experienced in the past — and is currently undergoing today. The soil in the sediment dates back to the planet’s warmest period of the past 140 million years, with sea level about 170 meters higher than today. The researchers said that the rainforest environment in Antarctica was especially surprising because each year, the area experiences a four-month polar night when there is no sunlight to fuel plant life. Klages said no ice sheets were present during the time, but seasonal snowfall was likely.