Historical accounts often described the now-extinct California grizzly bears as huge beasts ready to attack humans and livestock at any time. But according to a new paper, scientists say the truth might have been less dramatic: The bears ate a mostly vegetarian diet and were smaller than previously described. California grizzly bears once roamed in the Golden State. But European settlers often hunted, poisoned and trapped the creatures. Over time, because of these human activities, the California grizzly population declined. The last reliable sighting of a California grizzly bear occurred 100 years ago in 1924, and the animals disappeared completely sometime after that.

Researchers wanted to get a better understanding of the factors that accelerated the bears’ extinction. They also hoped to gain more insight into the creatures’ behavior, size and diet. To do so, they turned to documents and California grizzly specimens in natural history collections. They measured the animals’ skulls and teeth and analyzed their bones and pelts. The researchers found that California grizzly bears were much smaller than the 2,000 pounds often reported at the time. Historical accounts might not necessarily have been wrong, but they might have only included the largest bears. In addition, analyses of the animals’ bones and skins suggest the bears were primarily eating plants, which stands in contrast to their fear some hyper carnivorous (超级食肉的) reputation. “The bears likely increased meat consumption due to landscape changes coupled with the arrival of livestock,” says study co-author Alexis Mychajliw. However, researchers found the animals still ate a majority vegetarian diet and killed far less livestock than historical accounts suggested.

By digging beyond the bears’ reputation, the researchers gained a more accurate understanding of the California grizzly’s biology and natural history. And since scientists and land managers often rely on historical accounts when reintroducing animals to their former habitats, the study serves as a reminder that those old newspapers and journals do not tell the whole story.

We all know how colors alter how we feel when looking at pictures, but shapes are just as powerful in affecting us psychologically. They not only provide the framework for the physical world, 【小题1】. By understanding the science of shapes, you can effectively utilize (利用) them in your photography.

Because of its structure, the triangle is often used to represent perseverance and achievement. Its wide base indicates the struggle or the journey, 【小题2】. That’s why when you search for images of “success”, it’s not surprising to see hundreds of photos of people on top of hills or mountains that are, of course, shaped like triangles.

【小题3】. Apart from the rule of thirds, many photographers (as well as artists) like to use what’s called the golden triangle rule in their composition. It involves arranging elements (原理) in a triangle to create a harmonious and symmetrical (对称的) image.

Squares and, similarly, rectangles are the most common shapes you see in man-made objects. 【小题4】. People like them because they’re simple, balanced, solid, and secure.

The square’s positive attributes aren’t just limited to physical entities; it also works well in adding emotional and aesthetic (审美的) layers to images. 【小题5】. When put together, it also creates a pattern that feels orderly and industrial.

In some species, when the conditions get tough, the body hits the brakes, lowering body temperature, slowing the speed of consuming energy to a snail’s pace and entering a state known as torpor. Humans do not enter torpor, but the condition might offer benefits across situations as seemingly unrelated as intensive care unit (ICU) stays and long-distance space travel.

Using ultrasound (超声) waves targeted at a deep region of the brain, researchers at Washington University created a torpor-like state in mice. Mice can naturally enter this state, so the scientists also tested the technique in rats, animals which don’t enter torpor by nature. The findings, published on May 25th in Nature Metabolism, could potentially inform research on targeting different brain areas with ultrasound to regulate other bodily activities.

Without having to physically invade the targets’ heads, the approach is an important step in advancing torpor toward human use, says Michael Ambler, a researcher and, lecturer studying torpor at the University of Bristol in England. Some earlier efforts relied on injecting a gene into the targeted-brain-region-to-assist-in-producing a torpor-like state with light or drugs. Such invasive approaches are unlikely to gain approval for human use, Ambler says, making the new study “an extremely interesting piece of work.”

If this noninvasive approach were to become possible in humans, one potential use would be to buy heart attack patients time in transport to the hospital. In the ICU, torpor could also be applied before drugs and monitoring are involved in patient care. This study even presents a very first step toward the potential to support human’s long lonely journeys in space.

Yet before that possibility takes flight in the future, research on a familiar species must come first. Ambler says the next step should be testing in larger, nonhuman animals, probably pigs. “They are most like humans—hairless and similar to humans in terms of body temperature,” he says. “It’s a step-by-step process, from mice to rats to pigs to monkeys and then, hopefully, eventually to humans”—and then, perhaps, beyond the bounds of planet Earth.