We usually see ancient plants or insects in amber(琥珀). But recently, a group of researchers found something unusual in amber — a feathered tail!

The tail includes bones, soft tissue and even feathers. It is 37 mm long, which is about the length of a matchstick. It looks like a plant at first sight. But researchers later identified(确定) it as part of the tail of a dinosaur that couldn’t fly almost 100 million years ago.

Xing Lida of Beijing’s China University of Geosciences discovered the amber in a market in Myanmar in 2015. “It is an amazing fossil(化石) and the finest details of feathers can be seen in 3-D.” he said.

The researchers note in their paper that this finding is particularly special because, although dinosaur feathers have been found in amber before, we don’t know which dinosaurs they came from. But this time researchers know more.

The tail is likely to belong to a tiny dinosaur called coelurosaur. Famous coelurosaurs include the T-rex(霸王龙) and Velociraptor(迅猛龙) — the latter of which would finally evolve into birds.

So with the “once in a lifetime” finding, can we hope for the possibility of a real Jurassic Park (侏罗纪公园)? In the movie series, scientists bring dinosaurs back to life by getting their DNA from blood found in amber.

But Canadian scientist Ryan Mckellar said that although soft tissue and blood of the tail were found in the amber, no genetic material was kept. “The Jurassic Park answer is still a ‘no’ — this is in the science fiction.” he said.

Shipping containers are gaining popularity as a replacement for traditional houses. People can get these 20- or 40-foot steel containers with only several hundred US dollars every piece, and it’s not surprising that some industry professionals and even city planners consider them the future of home building. Here are details of some amazing homes made out of shipping containers.

London Container City (I and II)

London Container City first appeared in the heart of the docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios. Shortly after that, a fourth floor of studios and living apartments were built on top of these. The first container city was so successful that another—Container City II—was added to it.

Los Angeles Redondo Beach house

With its modern lines and attractive spaces, the award—winning Redondo Beach House is an excellent beachside showpiece built from eight recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are very strong and can hardly be destroyed.

Amsterdam Keetwonen

Amsterdam’s large Keetwonen complex provides houses for 1,000 students and it is the largest container city in the world. The housing project is a great success and the units are quiet and comfortable. Each student enjoys a bathroom, kitchen and separate sleeping and studying quarters. The complex even has central heating and high-speed internet as well as areas for parking bikes.

Mexico M2ATK Container House

M2ATK designed this simple house with three containers for an artist. There are great paintings on the walls. It’s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen and bathroom. On the bottom floor are “public spaces” such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor is the bedroom, and the top floor is a studio space in which to work, read and “let fly the imagination”.

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Are you always feeling stressed? Do you want to get energetic in a short time? Let’s see what Western researchers discovered recently.

A study from University of Michigan, suggests spending at least 20 minutes walking or sitting in a place where you’re close to nature obviously can lower stress levels.

On one hand, a study from University of Alabama at Birmingham found that after people visited their local city parks, they felt happier. “In general, we found park visitors reported their moods improved a lot after the park visit,” said the researcher Hon Yuen. “We did not find a clear relationship between exercise and improved moods. Instead, we found time spent in the park is very helpful to improved moods.”

On the other hand, another study by King’s College London researchers found being outdoors, seeing trees, hearing birdsong, looking at the sky, and being close to nature were associated with higher levels of the mental health. Sometimes, these good results influenced people in a positive way for up to seven hours afterwards.

Exercising in parks can easily restore (恢复) visitors’ moods and energy levels, and communication with nature brought advantages to the mental health in the form of resting and enjoying themselves as well as building their self-confidence.

Neighborhood open spaces, especially green spaces, provide chances for social communications that may help people to further understand themselves and develop social relationships.

With so many advantages, why not put down your work and take a walk in nature?

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