- Half of the world on track to be overweight by 2035
- ‘Keto-like’ diet may be associated with a higher risk of heart disease, according to new research
- The Asian blouse that tells a tale of many cultures
- The little-known history of Champagne
- Mutations in ‘supergene’ cause worker ants to sprout queenlike wings, get lazy
- Astronomers spotted shock waves shaking the web of the universe for the first time
Half of the world on track to be overweight by 2035
2035年全球將有一半的人口超重
Health
More than half the world's population will be classed as obese or overweight by 2035 if action is not taken, the World Obesity Federation warns. More than four billion people will be affected, with rates rising fastest among children, its report says. Low or middle-income countries in Africa and Asia are expected to see the greatest rises. The report predicts the cost of obesity will amount to more than $4tn (£3.3tn) annually by 2035. The president of the federation, Prof Louise Baur, described the report's findings as a clear warning to countries to act now or risk repercussions in the future. The report in particular highlights the rising rates of obesity among children and teenagers, with rates expected to double from 2020 levels among both boys and girls.
--from BBC News
世界肥胖聯盟（World Obesity Federation）警告說，若不盡快採取行動，2035年世界一半以上的人口將被歸類為肥胖或超重。報告稱將有超過40億人受影響，尤其以兒童患病率將急速攀升。預計非洲和亞洲的中、低收入國家的增幅最大。該報告預測，至2035年，每年肥胖的成本將超過4兆美元（3.3兆英鎊）。該聯盟主席 Louise Baur 教授稱該報告的調查結果是一項未來的明確警告，藉此呼籲各國立即採取行動，否則在未來將承擔其風險。該報告特別強調了兒童與青少年肥胖率的攀升，預計男孩和女孩的肥胖率將從2020年開始比例翻倍增長。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC News
‘Keto-like’ diet may be associated with a higher risk of heart disease, according to new research
新研究指出，「類生酮飲食法」可能會增加患心臟病的風險
Health
A low-carb, high-fat “keto-like” diet may be linked to higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and double the risk of cardiovascular events such as blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes, according to new research. “Our study found that regular consumption of a self-reported diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat was associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol – or “bad” cholesterol – and a higher risk of heart disease,” lead study author Dr. Iulia Iatan with the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic, St. Paul’s Hospital and University of British Columbia’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation in Vancouver, Canada, said in a news release. In the study, researchers defined a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet as 45% of total daily calories coming from fat and 25% coming from carbohydrates. The study was presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.
--from CNN Health
一項新的研究表明，低碳、高脂的「類生酮飲食法」（「keto-like」 diet）與產生較高的「壞」膽固醇（低密度脂蛋白，Low-density lipoprotein, LDL）有關，甚至有可能加倍提高動脈堵塞、心臟病發作和中風等心血管問題風險。主要研究作者Lulia Latan博士與健康心臟預防診所、聖保祿醫院（St. Paul’s Hospital）和加拿大溫哥華的英屬哥倫比亞大學心肺創新研究中心（Centre for Heart Lung Innovation）合作，在新聞發布會上指出：「我們的研究發現自行報稱採取高脂低碳水飲食者常與LDL指數上升及罹患心臟病的風險增加有關。」在這項研究中，研究人員將低碳、高脂 （LCHF，Low-Carb，High-Fat）飲食定義為每日所攝取的總熱量45%來自脂類，25%來自碳水化合物。該研究於週日在美國心臟病學會年度科學會議和世界心臟病學大會上發表。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN Health
The Asian blouse that tells a tale of many cultures
蘊含著多種文化故事的亞洲女衫
Culture
There's one garment in Southeast Asia that embodies fashion, heritage and national pride. And now the kebaya is being nominated to join UNESCO's Intangible Heritage List for 2023…The kebaya is a garment that women…made in the islands of Indonesia, and one that is also found in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand. Each region has made the kebaya their own, and each stitch tells a tale of their own history. It is so beloved by these five countries that they have joined together to nominate the kebaya for the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List in March 2023.
--from BBC Travel
東南亞有一種服裝同時體現了時尚、傳統和民族自豪感。Kebaya近年被提名加入聯合國教科文組織 2023 年的非物質文化遺產名錄…Kebaya 是一種女性服裝…過去印尼群島的女性皆會做這種衣服，而此種服裝亦出現在汶萊、馬來西亞、新加坡和泰國南部。 每個地區都有自己的 kebaya，而每一針都講述了該地區的歷史。上述這五國出於對這種服裝的喜愛，於 2023 年 3 月聯合提名 kebaya，期望它能被列入聯合國教科文組織非物質文化遺產名錄。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC Travel
The little-known history of Champagne
香檳鮮為人知的歷史
Culture
Some of the biggest innovations of Champagne came down to the ingenuity of several women. In the 19th Century, the Napoleonic Code restricted women from owning businesses in France without permission from a husband or father. However, widows were exempt from the rule, creating a loophole for Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin, Louise Pommery and Lily Bollinger – among others – to turn vineyards into empires and ultimately transform the Champagne industry, permanently changing how it's made and marketed.
--from BBC World’s Table
香檳產業中一些最具影響力的創新歸功於幾位女性的聰明才智。19世紀時，拿破崙法典（Napoleonic Code）規定婦女在未經丈夫或父親許可，不能在法國經營企業。 然而，寡婦不受該規定的限制，而這也為 Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin、Louise Pommery 和 Lily Bollinger 等人創造了一個漏洞。這些女子將葡萄園變成商業帝國並最終改變了整個香檳產業，永遠改變了香檳的製造與營銷模式。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC World’s Table
Mutations in ‘supergene’ cause worker ants to sprout queenlike wings, get lazy
「超基因」突變致使工蟻長出類似蟻后的翅膀，並變得懶散
Sciences
Among the predatory ants known as clonal raiders, worker ants called scouts track down the nests of other ant species, then recruit more workers to help steal that species’ young to be meals for their own colony (first video, below). But in at least one colony, those other workers have sprouted wings like queen ants and don’t budge from the comforts of their nest (second video, below). That’s because a genetic mutation has turned them into parasitic slackers that do little more than lay eggs and consume the food gathered by others, researchers reported last week in Current Biology. These newly discovered parasites may be an example of how mutations in “supergenes,” or clusters of genes that get inherited together, can kick evolution into warp speed.
--from Science news, article with video
在被視為無性繁殖（克隆）襲擊者的掠食性螞蟻中，被稱為偵察兵的工蟻會追踪其他螞蟻種群的巢穴，然後招募更多工蟻來協助偷走該種群的幼蟲做為自己蟻群的食物。但在至少一個蟻群中，那些其他的工蟻長出了類似蟻后的翅膀，並且在舒適的巢穴中紋風不動。研究人員上週在《當代生物學》雜誌報告：這是因為基因突變使它們變成了寄生懶蟲，它們只會產卵和吃別的螞蟻收集的食物。這些新發現的寄生蟲可能是「超基因」或遺傳聚集的基因叢中繼承突變的例子，這顯示了突變如何促使演化速度發生急速扭曲變化的結果。
--摘錄翻譯自Science news，原文含影片
Astronomers spotted shock waves shaking the web of the universe for the first time
天文學家首次發現衝擊波震動了宇宙網
Sciences
For the first time, astronomers have caught a glimpse of shock waves rippling along strands of the cosmic web — the enormous tangle of galaxies, gas and dark matter that fills the observable universe. Combining hundreds of thousands of radio telescope images revealed the faint glow cast as shock waves send charged particles flying through the magnetic fields that run along the cosmic web. Spotting these shock waves could give astronomers a better look at these large-scale magnetic fields, whose properties and origins are largely mysterious, researchers report in the Feb. 17 Science Advances. Finally, astronomers “can confirm what so far has only been predicted by simulations — that these shock waves exist,” says astrophysicist Marcus Brüggen of the University of Hamburg in Germany, who was not involved in the new study.
--from Science News
天文學家首度瞥見衝擊波沿著宇宙網的股線蕩漾—大量糾纏在一起的星系、氣體和暗物質，充滿清晰可見的宇宙。數十萬張電波望遠鏡攝像結合而成的圖片，揭示了當衝擊波使帶電粒子飛過沿著宇宙網運行的磁場時所投射出的微弱光芒。研究人員在2月17日的《科學進展》雜誌上報告說，發現這些性質和起源極為神秘的衝擊波，有助天文學家了解這些大規模磁場。未參與這項新研究的德國漢堡大學的天體物理學家Marcus Brüggen說：「天文學家終於能證實迄今為止僅能透過模擬預測之事—這些衝擊波的存在」。
--摘錄翻譯自Science News