Chinese astronauts conducted a science lecture to millions of students on Dec. 9,2021 from the Tiangong space station. The three astronauts, Hai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, showed life in space and conducted experiments in microgravity.

It was the first lecture of the Tiangong Class, China's first extraterrestrial（地球外的）lecture series. Its goal is to popularize space science.

"The laboratory of the space station has many conditions that the Earth laboratory does not have, such as the environment of weightlessness and radiation," said Wen Xin, a professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He said that important jobs for astronauts in the space station include cell observation and maintaining plant life.

In the lecture, Ye demonstrated experiments related to cell growth in a weightless environment. He compared the growth and shape of cells in artificial gravity and zero-gravity to study their changing principles in space.

Another experiment in the space lecture was shown by Wang Yaping. She illustrated how a paper flower "bloomed" on the surface of water in Tiangong space station. She explained that the surface tension of water is magnified（放大）in space due to zero gravity.

One of the examples of surface tension on Earth is that some insects can "walk" on water. They use surface tension to "stand" instead of falling through water.

Surface tension plays a key role in product development. Researchers around the world are measuring surface tension to improve the quality of their products, according to Biolin Scientific, a science company. Paints are tailored to stick better on the surfaces they are applied to. Surface tension also has impacts in drug development.

Although the astronauts are thousands of miles away, their research does influence our life. Shi Yi, a teacher at the Beijing No. 101 Middle School, told China Daily that the space lecture was "an eye-opening experience that would arouse students' interest in science".

The first model of Apple's iPhone was launched in June 2007. Since then, many different smartphones have been introduced. The devices now influence our daily lives in many ways. One thing that has changed is that many people now use their phones to easily take pictures without the need for a camera. Not surprisingly, this change has caused major business problems for camera manufacturers.

Of course, the camera built into the first iPhone 15 years ago did not include a high-quality camera able to compete with separate camera models. But over the years, smartphone makers have invested heavily in research and development to change that. Today, many smartphones have high-quality cameras designed to produce better pictures. And most phone devices also offer powerful tools to improve the quality of the pictures we take.

Japan's Camera & Tmaging Products Association (CIPA) said the digital camera market continually expanded starting in 1999. It experienced its first decrease in 2009—and continued to fall thereafter. The biggest change appeared from 2010 to 2020, when worldwide camera shipments fell about 93 percent, CIPA reported. The decreases were mainly caused by drops in shipments of digital cameras that have built-in lenses.

However, camera makers have had more success selling digital cameras with interchangeable lenses. This is because these cameras are generally targeted at professional photographers who demand higher quality. Such cameras can produce "high image quality that distinguishes them from smartphones," CIPA said.

But this does not mean that professional photographers never use smartphones to capture pictures. Brynn Anderson is based with the AP in Atlanta, Georgia. She said: "Sometimes being a photographer with a larger camera can be intimidating to the person being photographed. Using a phone makes it easier for me to get comfortable moments that might not happen otherwise. " Rodrigo Abd, an AP photographer in Buenos Aires, Argentina says using the iPhone makes it easier for him "to always be attentive" to everyday events when not covering a news story. Oded Balilty is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. "It is definitely an alternative tool," he said of the iPhone. But he added: "It's the photographer not the device, that determines the quality of a photo."

Brittany Starks is a single mother of two working multiple jobs in Tennessee. Her life has not been easy. In the past few years she has been homeless, suffered from severe depression, had to care for a sick child, and was almost killed in a car accident.

It was the accident, she says, that aroused in her a desire to spread kindness in all the ways she could. She became focused on taking every opportunity she had to help those in need. On August 4, Starks offered free hair-braiding (发辫) services to her community. "I thought I was only going to get five to seven kids but I had 35," Starks said.

Her inbox was quickly flooded with requests for appointments and Starks found herself working every night for two weeks straight into the early hours of the morning. "I wanted to do something for the parents like me whose money is going to be feeding their children and making sure they have a roof over their head," Starks said. "I wasn't expecting a big reaction. I thought I maybe get five kids or so, but I didn't realize how huge the need was for this." And the requests keep rolling in with many parents willing to come from out of state.

So many requests that she has had to call in extra support. She's also launched a GoFundMe to help pay for the hairstyling supplies she was initially paving for herself. "I didn't want to make a GoFundMe but I had so many people asking me to make one so that they can donate," she said.

Starks says once the back to school rush is over, she plans to keep up the effort once a month for children all over Nashville. "Doing this makes me happy," she said. "The smile on the children's faces are priceless. It brings me so much joy to know I made a difference in their life."