Putting food into the microwave for a couple of minutes may seem utterly harmless. However, a new study has found Europe's stock of these quick-cooking ovens emit(排放) as much carbon as nearly 7million cars and the problem is growing. With costs falling and kitchen appliances becoming common, owners are throwing many microwave after an average of eight years. This is pushing sales of new microwave which are expected to reach 135 million every year in the EU by the end of the decade.

A study by the University of Manchester worked out the emissions of carbon dioxide-the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change-at every stage of microwaves, from manufacture(生产) to waste disposal(处理). "It is electricity consumption by microwaves that has the biggest impact on the environment," say the authors, who also calculate that the emissions from using 19 microwaves over a year are the same as those from a car. According to the same study, efforts to reduce consumption should focus on improving consumer awareness and behaviour to use appliances more efficiently. For example, electricity consumption by microwaves can be reduced by adjusting the time of cooking to the type of food.

However, David Rea professor of carbon management argues that, although microwaves use a great deal of energy, their emissions are minor compared to those from cars. In the UK alone, the car emissions are far more than all those from microwaves in the EU. Backing this up, recent data show that passenger cars in the UK emitted 69m tonnes of CO2 in 2015.This is 10 times the amount this new microwave oven study estimates for annual em1sS1ons for all the microwave ovens in the whole of the EU. Further, the energy used by microwaves 1s lower than any other form of cooking. Among common kitchen appliances used for cooking, microwaves are the most energy efficient. followed by a stove and finally a standard oven. Thus, rising microwave sales could be seen as a positive thing.

A healthy dose of sunshine may be the secret to staying young, British scientists have disclosed.

Vitamin D is produced naturally by the skin in response to sunlight and may help to slow the ageing process and protect against heart disease, according to the study.

Researchers from King's College London studied 2,160 women aged between 18 and 79, looking at their telomeres - a biological marker of ageing found in DNA．As people get older, their telomeres get shorter and they are easy to have illnesses.

But the study found women with high levels of vitamin D had comparatively longer telomeres - a sign of being biologically younger and healthier.

The study suggests vitamin D may help to slow down the ageing process of DNA, and therefore the ageing process as a whole.

Lead researcher Dr Brent Richards said: "These results are exciting because they prove for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D．

“This could help to explain how vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.”

He said further studies are required to confirm the findings.

Professor Tim Spector, head of KCL's twin research unit, and a co-author of the report, added: "Although it might sound absurd(荒谬的), it's possible that the same sunshine which may increase our risk of skin cancer may also have a healthy effect on the general ageing process."

Vitamin D made by the action of sunlight on the skin accounts for 90 per cent of the body's supply, but lower levels can also be obtained through food such as fish, eggs and breakfast cereals.

Other studies have suggested the vitamin plays a key role in protecting against cancer and heart disease.

When faced with change, most people go down one of two roads: They either respond or react. 【小题1】 Reacting, on the other hand, literally means to meet one action with another. It’s instant. Responding creates more space between an event and what you do about it. In that space, you give immediate emotions room to breathe and you gain a better understanding of what is happening. Consequently, you rarely regret responding. 【小题2】

There is plenty you can do internally to cultivate responsiveness. For instance, “affect labeling”, or naming your emotions, helps create space between you and a difficult situation. Meditation (冥想) is also beneficial. 【小题3】 You can do all the affect labeling and meditation in the world. Yet if you regularly inhabit reactive environments, it’s hard not to become more reactive.

【小题4】 When I spend too much time on social media, I’m more likely to roar at my children, feel restless, and my competence in thinking deeply worsens significantly. Yet I’m becoming increasingly concerned that it’s not just me, but our entire culture that is making us more reactive at a time when we need our humanity more than ever.

【小题5】 But distinctly naming the problem is an important first step. We can also reduce reactivity by intentionally creating more responsive environments. We can read print books instead of digital versions. We can go to the gym or take walks without phones. If we desire to navigate our challenging times, we must find ways to preserve the space between stimulus (刺激) and response, which is to say we must find ways to preserve our humanity.