From composer, musician, and philanthropist (慈善家) Peter Buffett comes a warm, wise, and inspirational book that asks, “Which will you choose: the path of least resistance or the path of potentially greatest satisfaction?”

You may think that with a last name like this, Buffett has enjoyed a life of endless privilege. But the son of billionaire investor Warrant Buffet says that the only real inheritance handed down from his parents is a philosophy: Build your own path in life. It is a principle that has allowed him to follow his own passions, establish his own identity, and achieve his own successes.

In Life Is What You Make It, Buffett expounds on the strong set of values given to him by his trusting and broadminded mother, his hardworking and talented father, and the many life teachers he has met along the way.

Today’s society, Buffett assumes, has begun to replace a work ethic (准则), which enjoys what you do, with a wealth ethic, which honors the reward instead of the process. We confuse privilege with material wealth, character with external (外在的) recognition. Yet, by focusing more on substance and less on reward, we can open doors of opportunity and work hard toward a greater sense of achievement. In clear and brief terms, Buffett tells us a great truth: Life is random, neither fair nor unfair.

From there it becomes easy to recognize the equal dignity and value of every human life — our circumstances may vary but our essence does not. We see that our journey in life rarely follows a straight line but is often met with false starts, crises, and mistakes. How we push through and insist on those challenging moments is where we begin to create the life of our dreams — from discovering our vocations (使命感) to giving back to others.

Personal and instructive, Life Is What You Make It is about challenging your circumstances, taking control of your fate, and living your life to the fullest.

Recently, four professors of neuroscience were awarded the Brain Prize for their lifechanging contributions to the research on migraines(偏头痛), a disease previously not understood well.

Professor Michael Moskowitz from Harvard Medical School, Peter Goadsby from King’s College London, Lars Edvinsson from Lund University in Sweden, and Jes Olesen from Rigshospitalet, Denmark, were celebrated as the recipients of the Brain Prize, the world’s most distinguished award highlighting achievements in brain research. The Crown Prince of Denmark presented the four professors with a grand prize of roughly 1. 5 million dollars on October 25 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Migraines remain one of the most serious and common neurological illnesses millions around the world suffer. Studies show that women are three times more likely to experience frequent and intense migraines than men, and symptoms can last up to 24 hours. Typically, these intense head-throbbing pains are also accompanied by vomiting(呕吐), dizziness and sensitivity to sound, light, and touch.

After over forty years of research, the four professors pinpointed the major cause-chemicals released within the brain. Previously, the main causes of migraines were thought to be stress, pressure or anxiety. In 1979, Professor Michael Moskowitz discovered that headaches occur when thin nerves are found in our head and face to interact with a highly-sensitive membrane(膜) surrounding our brain, releasing chemicals called neuropeptidee. These chemicals can then cause the blood vessels in our head to expand and also send pain signals to the brain. Later, research by Professor Goadsby and Edvinsson revealed that the specific neuropeptide which plays the central role in causing the intense headache is calcitonin gene-related peptide(CGRP). Then, Professor Olesen’s work further confirmed that CGRP is indeed responsible for the pain, rather than a chemical produced in the brain as a result of the migraines.

The work by these scientists paves the way for developing more effective medicine. While past treatments can only temporarily stop the pain, scientists say that the newly developed drugs not only prevent migraines but also don’t cause the harmful side effects patients had to endure.

Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl(爬), while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.

Psychologists Dr. Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were typically boys’ toys: a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two and three years old, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more suitable for boys or girls and the children’s choice.

Dr. Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to preferring moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”