Would you buy a car that can release calming smells into the air when you are stuck in heavy traffic? Would you buy a robot that smells like a human being?

Many people have seen the 3-D computer-made environments of virtual reality（虚拟现实）. Now these virtual worlds will not just look and sound real. Researchers have created VR environments that even smell like the real ones. With the new technology, users open a virtual door and step into a new environment, like a rainforest. After they enter this virtual world, special equipment releases forest-like smells into the air to make the experience feel more real.

Suzanne Fisher-Murray said, “It is a really wonderful experience that you have because you’re exploring this environment and you have smells with it.”

In the United States, Smell-O-Vision was designed to provide smells during the showing of a movie. The Smell-O-Vision system was once popular in the 1960s. Now, Emanuela Maggioni says it is close to becoming popular again. “It connects emotions and memories with the sense of smell,” Maggioni said. “It is unbelievable what we can do with the technology.”

The uses of smell technology are not just limited to films and the performing arts. Researchers showed a computer program where users could imagine themselves driving a car. The system included a special smell-spraying machine. Dmitrijs Dmitrenko said, “We want to deliver the smell of lavender(薰衣草) every time the person drives over the speed limit. We choose lavender because it’s a very calming smell.”

Scientists are experimenting with smells instead of sounds or image-based alerts on telecommunications equipment. And businessmen have already used smells to influence people’s behavior. “Not only in stores, but also in other places you can create and stimulate(刺激) immediate purchase,” Maggioni said. “So you’re in a library and when you smell coffee you will unconsciously have the need to drink a coffee.”

   Scientists are debating how to limit their newly-discovered power to change genetic structure. Scientists have already changed the genes of farm animals and agricultural plants to make them more productive or stronger. But now they can also change genes in wild animals and plants. These genes would continue into later generations. For example，it may be possible for scientists' to remove from existence the kind of mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. They might also be able to permanently remove species of plants and animals that are destructive to other species.

In a report published last week，the U.S. National Academies of Sciences，Engineering and Medicine said it supports continuing research on this kind of gene control. But it warned that it is not possible to know what will happen when these changed plants and animals are released into the wild.

Sixteen biologists，ethicists（伦理学家）and policymakers are on a National Academy of Sciences（NAS）committee that is examining the issue. They say that there is value to the new technology. But，they say，there is not enough evidence to support the release of changed organisms（生物）from the laboratory into nature.

Many people would support stopping mosquitoes and rats from carrying diseases. But scientists say we must understand the possible scientific，ethical，legal and social results of such action before we decide whether to take it. Gene modification is spread through reproduction（繁殖）.Changed genes will continue to spread as long as an animal or plant continues to reproduce. They cannot be limited to a farm or kept within a country's borders. Scientists are wondering what may happen if a changed organism mates with another species. They are not yet sure how the changed genes would affect the other species. It is possible that those genes could harm those creatures or even lead to their disappearance from our planet.

   Every pet owner loves his pet. There is no argument here.

But when we asked our readers whether they would clone their beloved animals，the responses（反应）were split almost down the middle. Of the 228 readers who answered it，108 would clone their beloved animals，111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion.

Clearly，from readers’responses，this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and eventual sadness of owning a pet. It also shows people’s widely different expectations over the developing scientific procedure.

Most of the respondents who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original；many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side，however，held little hope that cloning could truly recreate a pet；many simply didn’t wish to go against the natural law of life and death.

Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More than a few respondents owned“the dog/cat in the world”.They thought of their pets as their“best friend”，“a member of the family”，“the light of their life”.They told moving stories of pets’ heroism，intelligence and selfless devotion.

Few wonder the loss is so disturbing（令人不安的）and the cloning so attractive.“People become very close to their animals，and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies，”says Gary A. Kowalski，author of Goodbye Friend：Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me，cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away... It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with it. It’s hard to accept.”

But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seemed to be at the heart of this problem.

   Technology has enabled people to connect fast and across vast distances. 【小题1】 Therefore, it is important to find ways to communicate better, while we are still keeping pace with the demands of the modern day.

Cut back on texting. Texting is a good way of keeping in touch and communicating with another person if calling him is not possible. Unless you can’t help it, give up the habit of texting — while walking, eating or driving — because texting is not real communication. 【小题2】 Calling is a great way of enhancing conversations because it’s more direct, with a greater chance of successful communication.

【小题3】 We are more willing to spend time on Facebook than actually leave our desks and have a conversation with the person working right next to us. A good way of improving real-life communication is to log off or keep yourself away from social media.

Meet people face-to-face. The next time you want to open Facebook to chat with a friend, call him up and meet him instead. 【小题4】 Take time to meet the person who matters to you and you will get a kind of communication and relationship that staring at a screen just can’t provide.

Technology is a tool. It is worth remembering that technology is only a tool we have. 【小题5】Use social networks to find people, to reconnect with friends, to support a cause and to contribute to the bigger picture in a more real manner.

   Shopping centers，stadiums and universities may soon have a new tool to help fight crime.

A California company called Knightscope says its robots can predict and prevent crime. Knightscope says the goal is to reduce crime by half in areas the robots guard.

William Santana Li is the chief executive officer of Knightscope. He says，"These robot security guards will change the world. Our planet has more than seven billion people on it. It's going to quickly get to nine billion people. The security equipment that we have globally is just not going to develop that fast. The company's Autonomous Data Machines can become the eyes and ears of law enforcement（执法）."

"You want them to be machines plus humans. Let. the machines do the heavy and sometimes dangerous work and let the humans do the strategic decision-making work，so it's always working all together."

The machines do not carry weapons but they have day and night video cameras which are able to turn 360 degrees and can also sense chemical and biological weapons.

Some people may become concerned about their privacy, especially in connection with the video recordings. Some people may worry that such recordings will appear on the Internet. Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the UCLA School of Law, says the machines have to be used in the right way and it will be interesting to see how state laws deal with this kind of video.

William Santana Li says there is a long waiting list for the robots in the US. Workers in the company are working overtime to meet the demands of the market. At least 25 other countries are also interested in these robot security guards.