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回顧星期天LBS - 自然科學相關時事趣聞 All about 2021 Science

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Topic: Ants have the ability to sniff out cancer in humans, study reveals

Ants have the ability to sniff out cancerous cells in humans, a new study has discovered, suggesting they could be used for cancer diagnosis in future.

一項新研究發現,螞蟻能嗅出人體內的癌細胞,這表明螞蟻可用於未來對癌症的診斷。

Researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) discovered that ant species Formica fusca has a well developed sense of smell.

法國國家科學研究中心(CNRS)的研究人員發現,「黑山蟻」(學名:Formica fusca )這種螞蟻品種,嗅覺非常發達。

It was able to differentiate cancerous cells from healthy cells in humans, thanks to their sense of smell, limited trials revealed. But more clinical tests must be carried out before they could be used in clinical settings like hospitals, the team said.

有限的實驗顯示,這種螞蟻的嗅覺超強,能夠將人體的癌細胞與健康細胞區分開來。但是該研究團隊表示,還需要進行更多臨床測試,才能將黑山蟻用於醫院等臨床環境中。

They suggest that in future, ants could turn out to be better at dogs when it comes to locating cancerous cells in humans.

他們員指出,未來在識別人體癌細胞方面,螞蟻可能會比狗做得更出色。

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Topic: 科學家使用細胞再生技術讓老鼠回春 Scientists Reverse Aging In Mice Using Cell Rejuvenation Technique

Researchers in the US treated healthy mice with a form of gene therapy that refreshed older cells, making the animals more youthful according to biological markers that are used to measure the effects of ageing.

美國研究人員對健康老鼠實施一種更新老化細胞的基因療法,他們透過用來衡量老化效應的生物標記法,測出這些老鼠變年輕了。

Repeating the trick in humans is far from straightforward, but the findings will fuel interest in radical new therapies that aim to slow or reverse the ageing process as a means of tackling age-related diseases such as cancer, brittle bones and Alzheimer’s.

儘管難以用同樣的方法讓人類返老還童,但這一發現將點燃人們對以延緩或逆轉衰老為目標的激進新療法的興趣,這種療法可以用來治療諸如癌症、骨質疏鬆和阿茲海默症等與年齡相關的疾病。

The scientists drew on previous work by the Japanese Nobel laureate Prof Shinya Yamanaka, who showed that a mixture of four molecules – known as Yamanaka factors – can rewind adult cells into youthful stem cells that are capable of forming almost any tissue in the body.

科學家這一療法借鑑日本諾貝爾獎得主山中伸彌教授先前的研究成果。山中伸彌向世人展示,被稱為「山中因子」的4種分子組合在一起,可以讓成人細胞逆生長為年輕的幹細胞,而幹細胞可以分化成人體的任何組織。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1506995 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1508339

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Topic: World’s oldest DNA sequenced from million-year-old mammoths

Teeth from mammoths buried in the Siberian permafrost for more than a million years have yielded the world’s oldest DNA ever sequenced, according to a study published on Wednesday, shining the genetic searchlight into the deep past.

據週三公布的研究,埋在西伯利亞永凍土層超過100萬年的猛獁象牙齒,提供全球最古老的去氧核醣核酸(DNA)定序,讓基因研究的探照燈指向遙遠的過去。

Researchers said the three specimens, one roughly 800,000 years old and two over a million years old, provide important insights into the giant Ice Age mammals, including the ancient heritage of the woolly mammoth.

研究人員表示,這3個樣本,一個約有80萬年歷史,另2個來自超過100萬年前,為現代人瞭解冰河時代猛獁象,包括「真長毛象」(woolly mammoth)的古老傳承,提供重要觀察角度。

The genomes far exceed the oldest previously sequenced DNA - a horse dating between 780,000 to 560,000 years ago.

此前,最古老的DNA定序來自78萬年前到56萬年前的一匹馬,而這些猛獁象基因組的年代更久遠得多。

The mammoths were originally discovered in the 1970s in Siberia and held at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

這幾頭猛獁象起初於1970年代在西伯利亞地區被發現,由莫斯科的俄羅斯科學院保管。

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Topic: Comet from edge of solar system killed the dinosaurs: study 研究:來自太陽系邊緣的彗星讓恐龍滅絕

Sixty-six million years ago, a huge celestial object struck off the coast of what is now Mexico, triggering a catastrophic "impact winter" that eventually wiped out three-quarters of life on Earth, including the dinosaurs.

6600萬年前,一個巨大星體撞上現在的墨西哥外海,引發釀成巨災的「衝擊性寒冬」,最後導致恐龍在內的地球上4分之3物種滅絕。

A pair of astronomers at Harvard say they have now resolved long standing mysteries surrounding the nature and origin of the "Chicxulub impactor."

哈佛大學2位天文學家表示,他們已經解開長久以來關於「希克蘇魯伯衝擊體」(Chicxulub impactor)的本質和來源之謎。

Their analysis suggests it was a comet that originated in a region of icy debris on the edge of the solar system, that Jupiter was responsible for it crashing into our planet, and that we can expect similar impacts every 250 million to 750 million years.

他們的分析顯示,這是源自太陽系邊緣冰冷碎片區域的一顆彗星,且木星也要為此彗星撞上地球負責。類似規模的彗星撞地球頻率為每2億5000萬年到7億5000萬年。

The duo’s paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports this week, pushes back against an older theory that claims the object was a fragment of an asteroid that came from our solar system’s Main Belt.

2人的論文本週在《科學報告》期刊發表,推翻了之前認為這個物體是來自太陽系「主小行星帶」小行星碎片的理論。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1435663 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1437161

Topic: Spanking may affect brain development in children

Spanking may affect a child’s brain development in similar ways to more severe forms of violence, according to a new study led by Harvard researchers.

哈佛大學研究人員領導的一項新研究表明,打屁股對兒童大腦發育的影響,可能與更嚴重的暴力虐待造成的後果類似。

The research, published recently in the journal Child Development, builds on existing studies that show heightened activity in certain regions of the brains of children who experience abuse in response to threat cues.

這篇最近發表在《兒童發育》期刊上的研究,以現有的一些研究為基礎,這些研究發現,遭受虐待的兒童在回應威脅提示時,大腦的特定區域活動會增強。

The group found that children who had been spanked had a greater neural response in multiple regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These areas of the brain respond to cues in the environment that tend to be consequential, such as a threat, and may affect decision-making and processing of situations.

研究團隊發現,打屁股會增強兒童大腦前額葉皮層(PFC)多個區域的神經反應。大腦的這些區域會根據環境中的威脅等重要線索做出反應,並可能影響兒童的決策,以及對局勢的分析能力。

According to the study’s authors, corporal punishment has been linked to the development of mental health issues, anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and substance use disorders.

研究作者指出,體罰一直和心理健康問題、焦慮、憂鬱、行為問題及藥物濫用有關。

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Topic: Coffee before exercise increases fat-burning/運動前喝咖啡增加燃脂

If you’re looking to maximize the amount of fat burned in your next workout, think about having a coffee half an hour before you get started – as a new study suggests it can make a significant difference to fat burning, especially later on in the day.

如果你希望在下次運動健身時最大程度地燃燒脂肪,不妨考慮在開始之前半小時喝咖啡—因為有新研究表明,它可以使脂肪燃燒量明顯變化,尤其是在下午。

Researchers found that 3 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight can boost the rate of fat burning during aerobic exercise, based on results gathered from 15 male volunteers.

研究人員發現,根據從15名男性志願者收集到的結果,按每公斤體重3毫克的量來攝取咖啡因,就可以提高有氧運動期間的脂肪燃燒率。

The coffee dose was shown to increase maximal fat oxidation rate(MFO, a measure of how efficiently the body burns off fat)by an average of 10.7 percent in the morning and 29 percent in the afternoon.

研究表明,這個咖啡攝取量可以增加最大脂肪氧化率(MFO,衡量人體燃燒脂肪效率的指標),上午平均增加10.7%,下午增加29%。

This is a study with a fairly small sample of participants, so it’s important not to jump to too broad a conclusion, but the results are clear enough to suggest that there is some kind of association there.

由於該研究的參與者樣本數很少,因此重要的是不要過於廣泛下結論,但結果足夠清楚,表明存在某種關聯。

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Topic: Study Shows Baldness Can Be a Business Advantage 研究:光頭可成職場優勢

Men with shaved heads are perceived to be more masculine, dominant and, in some cases, to have greater leadership potential than those with longer locks or with thinning hair, according to a recent study out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

賓州大學華頓商學院最近的一項研究顯示,剃光頭的男人讓人覺得更有男人味和支配地位,在某些情況下,他們比頭髮較長或者頭髮稀疏的男人看起來更具領導潛力。

Some executives say the style makes them appear younger—or at least, makes their age less evident—and gives them more confidence than a comb-over or monk-like pate.

一些主管認為,光頭的髮型讓他們看起來更年輕,至少沒那麼顯老,而且相較於將頭髮梳向一邊或像修道士一樣的腦袋瓜,這種髮型能讓他們感到更自信。

The study found that men with thinning hair were viewed as the least attractive and powerful of the bunch, a finding that tracks with other studies showing that people perceive men with typical male-pattern baldness as older and less attractive. For those men, the solution could be as cheap and simple as a shave.

該研究發現,頭髮稀疏的男人被認為最沒有魅力、最沒有力量的一群人。這一結果也與其他研究相符,這些研究表明,人們認為典型的雄性禿頭讓男人看上去更老,更缺乏魅力。對於這些男人來說,既便宜又簡單的解決辦法就是剃個頭。