Although computer technology is often necessary today, using a pen or pencil activates more areas of your brain than a keyboard does. You can potentially remember more by handwriting, according to a new study.

The potential benefits of handwriting for memory have been debated for some time. The new study set out to answer one question: How does handwriting compare to using a keyboard when it comes to remembering new information?

In all,24 participants took part. Researchers asked each of them to write with a pen and then each was also asked to type on a keyboard. While performing these tasks, each volunteer wore a cap that held electrodes next to their head. It looked somewhat like a hair net fitted with 256 sensors. Those sensors recorded the participants' brainwaves. The electrodes noted which parts of the brain turned on during each task. And they showed that writing turned on memory areas in the brain while typing didn't.

Audrey van der Meer, the new study's leader, says this suggests that when we write by hand, we remember better. “This is because writing involves complex movements that activate more areas of the brain. The increased brain activity gives the brain more ‘hooks’ to hang your memories on,” she explains. Van der Meer also points out that writing by hand is related to visual notetaking. “Rather than typing blindly, the visual notetaker has to think about what is important to write down. Then, key words can be interlinked by boxes, arrows and small drawings,” she adds.

This study does not recommend banning digital devices. In fact, its authors point out, computers and other devices with keyboards have become necessary in modern society. Keyboarding can especially benefit those with certain special needs (such as if they have trouble using their hands) and typing beats writing when it comes to speed, they add.

Most dog owners are convinced that their four-legged friends know exactly what they mean when they use certain words like sit，stay or treat.However，researchers have always wondered whether dogs really understand human speech or if they rely on other information to get the meaning.For example，does the word“fetch”form a picture of a stick or ball in the dog’s mind，or does the dog bring back the object based on the owner’s voice or gesture? A new study by scientists at Atlanta’s Emory University seems to indicate that“man’s best friend”does indeed know what the owner is saying.

The researchers began by asking the owners of twelve dogs of various kinds to train their pets to identify two toys of different materials，such as a toy animal and a ball.Once the dogs had mastered the task，they took turns inside a special scanner.The owners then tested their dog’s language skill by first calling out the names of the toys they had been trained to recognize and then saying meaningless words such as“bobbu”and“bodmick”while holding up random objects the dogs hadn’t seen before.

The scans suggested that the parts of the dogs’ brains responsible for processing of sounds showed different brain patterns when they heard words they were familiar with，compared with the ones they had never heard before.While that was not enough to prove that the dogs were picturing their toys when they heard the word，it did indicate some sort of recognition.The researchers believe this is an important step forward in understanding how dogs process language.

Even more interesting was that the dog’s brains showed a higher level of neural(神经)activity at the sound of unknown words.This is the exact opposite of what happens in human brains，which get more active at the sound of familiar words.The researchers say the dogs may become cheerful at the sound of new words to try to understand them in the hope of delighting their masters.“Dogs want to please their owners，and perhaps also receive praise or food，”says Empty neuroscientist Gregory Burns，senior author of the study.

However，though your pet may understand human speech，the scientists recommend using visual signals and smell for training.“When people want to teach their dog a trick，they often use spoken command because that’s what humans prefer，”Prichard says.“From the dog’s view，however，a visual command might be more effective，helping the dog learn the trick faster.”

Crayfish (龙虾) appear anxious after moulting (换壳)

When a crayfish moults, it becomes temporarily weak. 【小题1】 “They worry, they have a fright state that makes them avoid potentially dangerous areas. It’s kind of like anxiety,” says Pascal Fossat at the University of Bordeaux in France.

Fossat and his colleagues collected crayfish near Bordeaux and stored them in individual tanks that were similar to their natural habitat. When the crayfish began to moult, the researchers placed them in an area that had two dark sections and two lit sections, and recorded their behaviour.

Over the following two days, the crayfish showed a strong preference for hiding in the dark regions. 【小题2】 For comparison, when the crayfish weren’t moulting, they typically spent about 30 percent of their time in the light. “They’re very weak when they remove the old exoskeleton (壳), and the new one is totally soft until they eat the old one to get back the minerals that make the new exoskeleton stronger,” says Fossat.

The team also took crayfish that weren’t moulting and injected them with an ecdysteroid — a class of hormone that controls moulting. They found that the crayfish exhibited the same aiixiety-like behaviour.

To explore whether it was possible to change this behaviour, Fossat and his colleagues took the animals they had treated with the ecdysteroid and injected them with anti-anxiety drugs developed for use in humans. 【小题3】 “They didn’t have the fright from before,” says Fossat.

Fossat suspects crayfish may be capable of other emotions — although it is a difficult subject to investigate because crayfish are biologically so different from humans.

Robert Elwood at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK says he animals may be acting on basic physiological mechanisms that humans have interpreted as feelings. But he says that new research is helping us understand the range of emotions invertebrates (无脊椎动物) may experience.

“We’ve spent a lot of time worried about animal welfare, asking whether they are in stress or pain,” he says. “【小题4】”