Technology companies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to develop farm products that use microbes (微生物) and seaweed to grow crops. The move comes at a time when fertilizer prices are very high and increasing attention is being paid to how food is produced around the world.

Microbes, including fungi (真菌) and viruses, have been available for years as treatments to protect plants from insects and disease, with mixed outcomes, but developers are increasingly using them as natural ways to support crops while keeping up crop production levels.

The new microbial fertilizers are sometimes called biostimulants. Such products could help farmers use less nitrogen, a fertilizer that can pollute waterways and create a gas that has environmental effects.

One product from the startup Pivot Bio has microbes that take in sugar from the roots of corn, wheat, or sorghum plants, producing an enzyme that changes nitrogen to a crop nutrient. The company says that farmers have already used it on more than 400,000 hectares and it also raised $430 million last year from investors. The $3 billion biostimulants industry is to grow by 12 to 15 percent each year over the next five years.

Microbial fertilizers are largely unregulated, with few studies on how effective they are at developing crops. Besides, not everyone is convinced that biostimulants work. For example, University of Minnesota soil scientist Daniel Kaiser has tested Pivot’s PROVEN product over the past two seasons. He used it on six areas with reduced nitrogen fertilizer treatments, but only one area showed an improved yield.

Currently, only a small number of American states require companies to supply data on the effectiveness of microbial fertilizers. And the US Environmental Protection Agency has only issued draft guidance for public review.

Apathy

Apathy is a state of lacking interest, enthusiasm or concern. 【小题1】They may also exhibit unfeelingness. Christians have condemned apathy as a lack of love and devotion to God and His works.

【小题2】 Also meaning "absence of passion" in Greek, the term "apatheia" was used by the Stoics (禁欲主义者) to show a desirable state of indifference towards events and things which lie outside one's control.

The modern concept of apathy became well known after World War I, when it was called “shell shock. " Soldiers, living in the trenches among the bombing and gun fires, saw the battlefields filled with dead and wounded companions.【小题3】In 1950, US novelist Passos wrote "Apathy is one of the characteristic responses of any living being when it is subjected to something too tense or too complicated to deal with. " US philosopher Robert M. Hutchins summarizes the concerns about political indifference. He claims that the death of democracy is not likely to be a sudden murder from ambush (埋伏)．【小题4】

There may be other things contributing to a person's political apathy. Activist Dave Meslin argues that apathy is often the result of social systems actively blocking engagement and involvement. He describes various barriers that prevent people from knowing how or why they might get involved in something,【小题5】These include: political media that make it difficult for potentially interested individuals to find relevant information, and media descriptions of heroes as "chosen" by outside forces rather than self-motivated. He suggests that we redefine social apathy not as a population that is stupid or lazy, but as a result of poorly designed systems that fail to invite others to participate.

When was the last time you thought about breathing? Most people usually do not. When we are healthy, breathing happens naturally and easily. Without much effect on our part, the human respiratory system（呼吸系统）works hard. Experts say we take about 20,000 breaths every day.

One such expert is James Hoyt, a doctor at the University of Colorado’s Health Pulmonology Clinic. He notes our “respiratory muscles are working every minute of the day, every day of our lives.” A muscle called the diaphragm（横膈膜）separates the chest and abdominal cavities（腹腔）. As we breathe in, the diaphragm tightens. The chest cavity opens, and the lungs expand. When we breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, pushing air out.

When you breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fully fills your lungs, and the lower belly（腹部）rises. On its website, Harvard Medical School notes that deep breathing may slow the heartbeat, lower blood pressure and lower stress. Deep breaths help your body fully exchange incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide. However, many people do the opposite of deep breathing. They take short breaths and have shallow breathing. Shallow breathing makes you feel short of breath and worried, or anxious.

The American Lung Association notes that shallow breathing, over time, leaves old, stale air in the lungs. This leaves less room for the diaphragm to bring in fresh oxygen. And that means lower oxygen levels and less oxygen for exercise and activity.

Several health websites explain an easy deep breathing exercise. Find a place to sit or lie down Place one hand just below your ribs（肋骨）. Take a slow, deep breath-or inhale-through your nose. Feel your hand go up. Your stomach should rise and expand. Now breathe out slowly through your mouth. Make sure to breathe out-or exhale-all the way. Feel your hand and stomach go down.