Chinese scientists have created a breakthrough fibre that can be woven into warm, lightweight clothing using aerogel, a thermal insulation (热绝缘) material mainly used in the aerospace industry.

Aerogel, notable for their performance and durability, could have various applications. As the world's lightest solid material, it has long been valued for its thermal insulation properties. Traditional aerogel, made by replacing the liquid in aerogel with air, is extraordinarily light, resembling a solid cloud of smoke. Its high porosity (多孔性) gives it exceptional heat resistance, but this also makes it fragile and challenging to process, limiting its use in civilian applications.

But now, researchers at Zhejiang University have overcome aerogel's fragility and designed an encapsulated aerogel fibre ( EAF) with similar thermal insulation mechanisms-after being inspired by the structure of polar bear hair.

The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation as well as Nasa have used EAF in Mars rovers, which endure extreme temperatures ranging from thousands of degrees during the Martian landing to -130 degrees Celsius (-202 degrees Fahrenheit) on the planet's surface.

In an experiment, a volunteer wore textiles (纺织品) made of EAF, down, wool, and cotton in a-20 degree Celsius environment. The surface temperatures of these materials were 3.5 degrees, 3.8 degrees, 7.2 degrees, and 10.8 degrees respectively, indicating the superior insulation of EAF. They showed the practicality of EAF by weaving a jumper and comparing its thermal insulation to common textile materials.

As well as being strong and stretchable, EAF can also be washed and dyed, improving its use in practical applications. Traditional silica aerogel will absorb water and collapse on itself. As a result, it quickly loses its thermal insulation qualities in wet or humid environments. However, EAF maintains its performance even after machine washing.

Professor Zhang Xuetong of the Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlighted the potential of the aerogel fibres in advanced thermal textiles. As well as its potential for civilian use, EAF fibre also holds promise for industries that are already familiar with aerogels. "EAF textiles feature excellent thermal insulation and multifunction and have great potential in areas such as military uniforms and spacesuits in extremely cold environments," professor Zhang noted in a paper. However, he also noted the gap between existing technology and capacity for mass production. Challenges exist regarding how to develop fast spinning technology and resolve the continuous fabrication that is necessary for mass production.

There's no doubt that our character has a profound effect on our future. What we must remember, however, is not merely how powerful character is in influencing our fate, but how powerful we are in shaping our own character and, therefore, our own fate. Character may determine our fate, but character is not determined by fate.

It's a common mistake to think of character as something that is fully formed and fixed very early in life. It calls to mind old proverbs like "A leopard (猎豹) can't change its spots" and" You can't teach an old dog new tricks. "

This perspective that our character is etched in stone is supported by a great deal of modern psychology emphasizing self-acceptance. As Popeye says," I am what I am." The hidden message is: don't expect me to be more, better, or different.

Ultimately, these views of humanity totally undervalue the lifelong potential for growth that comes with the power of reflection and choice.

How depressing it would be to believe that we can't choose to be better, more honest, more respectful, more responsible, and more caring. None of us should give up the personal seeking to improve our character. Not because we're bad, we don't have to be sick to get better, but because we're not as good as we could be.

There are so many things in life we can't control, whether we're beautiful or smart, whether we had good parents or bad, whether we grew up with affirmation or negation. It's inspiring to remember that nothing but moral will power is needed to make us better.

No, it isn't easy. But if we make a great effort to become more aware of the habits of heart and mind that drive our behavior, we can begin to place new emphasis on our higher values so that we become what we want our children to think we are.

What kind of people can become scientists? When a group of researchers posed that question to ninth-and 10th-graders, almost every student gave such responses as "People who work hard" or "Anyone who seems interested in the field of science."

Many of these same students struggled to imagine themselves as scientists, citing concerns such as "I'm not good at science" and "Even if I work hard, I will not do well." It's easy for them to see a scientist's work as arising from an inborn talent.

But for high school students, learning more about some struggles of scientists can help students feel more motivated to learn science. Researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University and the University of Washington designed an intervention to change students' beliefs that scientific achievement depends on ability rather than effort by exposing students to stories of how accomplished scientists struggled and overcame challenges in their scientific efforts.

During the study, the students read one of three types of stories about Albert Einstein, Marie Curie and Michael Faraday. Intellectual(智力的)struggle stories: stories about how scientists "struggled intellectually," such as making mistakes while addressing a scientific problem and learning from them. Life struggle stories: stories about how scientists struggled in their personal lives, such as not giving up in the face of poverty or lack of family support. Achievement stories: stories about how scientists made great discoveries, without any discussion of coexisting challenges.

Researchers found that students who heard either type of "struggle stories" improved their science performance after-intervention, compared to students in the control group. The effect was especially pronounced for lower performing students, for whom exposure to struggling stories led to significantly better science-class performance than low-performing students who read achievement stories. In addition, students who read struggle stories reported feeling more personally connected to the scientists. By recognizing a scientist's struggles and introducing the growth mindset he or she applied to accomplish great works, the students were able to empathize(共情)with the scientists during their own struggles.