- Walnuts for heart health: Effect on the gut may be key
- Colorectal cancer is rising among younger adults and scientists are racing to uncover why
- Super Mario Bros: The ultimate video game icon
- Eight ways indoor plants can improve your home
- Glass beads on moon’s surface may hold billions of tonnes of water, scientists say
- Mutation behind night blindness in humans helps whale sharks see in the dark
Walnuts for heart health: Effect on the gut may be key
核桃有益心臟健康：對腸道的影響可能是關鍵
Health
While scientists know that certain foods improve heart health, there are many questions remaining, such as how this happens, and what other foods exist that may lower cardiovascular risk. Researchers from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA, wanted to learn more about how walnuts may benefit the heart, and whether that starts in the gut. They conducted their study by analyzing the genetic expression of microbes in participants who either did or did not consume a diet with walnuts. The study results were presented at Discover BMB, which is the annual meeting of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
--from Medical News Today
雖然科學家知道某些食物可以改善心臟健康，但仍存在著許多疑問，例如這是如何發揮作用的，以及還有什麼食物可以降低心血管疾病風險。來自拉伯克市（Lubbock）德克薩斯理工大學和賓州亨丁頓市（Huntingdon）朱尼亞塔學院的研究人員想要了解更多關於核桃如何有益於心臟，以及其作用是否始於腸道。 他們通過分析食用或未食用核桃的受試者的微生物基因表現來進行研究。研究結果發表在美國生物化學和分子生物學學會年會 Discover BMB 上。
--摘錄翻譯自Medical News Today
Colorectal cancer is rising among younger adults and scientists are racing to uncover why
結直腸癌在年輕人中呈上升趨勢，科學家們正競相尋找原因
Health
The share of colorectal cancer diagnoses among adults younger than 55 in the US has been rising since the 1990s, and no one knows why. Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are calling for more work to be done to understand, prevent and treat colorectal cancer at younger ages. In a paper published last week in the journal Science, the researchers, Dr. Marios Giannakis and Dr. Kimmie Ng, outlined a way for scientists to accelerate their investigations into the puzzling rise of colorectal cancer among younger ages, calling for more specialized research centers to focus on younger patients with the disease and for diverse populations to be included in studies on early-onset colorectal cancer. Among younger adults, ages 20 to 49, colorectal cancer is estimated to become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States by 2030.
--from CNN Health
自90年代起，美國55歲以下的成年人患有直腸癌的比例不斷攀升，但沒有人知道發生原因。丹娜—法伯癌症研究所（Dana-Farber Cancer Institute）的研究人員呼籲展開更多研究，以了解、預防和治療年輕的直腸癌患者。在上週發表在《科學》期刊上的一篇論文中，研究人員 Marios Giannakis 博士和 Kimmie Ng 博士概述了科學家推測直腸癌在年輕人中以令人費解的趨勢上升的原因，呼籲更多專業的研究中心關注年輕的患者，並將不同的族群納入早發性直腸癌的研究中。據估計，至2030年，在20至49歲的年輕人中，直腸癌將成為美國癌症相關死亡的主要原因。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN Health
Super Mario Bros: The ultimate video game icon
超級瑪利歐兄弟: 遊戲世界的終極代表
Culture
Over the decades, Mario has appeared in more than 200 games, among them Nintendo's original Mario Bros (which marks its 40th anniversary in March 2023), alongside his sibling Luigi, and the Mario Kart series (1992 onwards). His adventures have inspired multi-generational merch (toys, trading cards, designer kimonos), spin-offs including new animated feature The Super Mario Bros Movie, and theme park attractions. More than any other video-gaming character, Mario has steadily powered up from an arcade sprite to a household name and pop culture icon.
--from BBC Culture
幾十年來，瑪利歐和他的兄弟路易吉已經出現在超過200款的遊戲中。這包括任天堂初版的瑪利歐兄弟（2023年3月是該遊戲發行的40週年），以及瑪利歐賽車系列（始於1992年）。藉著他的冒險故事，開發了許多周邊商品（玩具、收藏卡、品牌服裝等），而許多商品都出了好幾代了。除了周邊商品，他的故事也衍生了多個創意，包括動畫電影《超級瑪利歐兄弟電影》以及瑪利歐主題樂園。相較於其他遊戲角色，瑪利歐已經默默地從大型電玩角色晉升為家喻戶曉的名人和流行文化代表。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC Culture
Eight ways indoor plants can improve your home
應用盆栽提升室內空間的八種方式
Culture
In homes across the world, particularly in Millennial and Gen-Z households, a trend for houseplants is flourishing. Gone are the days when a solitary yukka plant or kentia palm occupied a corner of a living room. Now a profusion of plants and a much bigger variety of species fill homes to luxuriant and exotic effect – from the classic monstera deliciosa, commonly known as the Swiss cheese plant, to the sinister-sounding but decorative Neoregelia "Hannibal Lecter" with its dramatic, aubergine-on-green tiger-print pattern and prickly leaves. Houseplants are assuming as much importance as pieces of furniture in a room, and today's plant propagators are not only increasingly horticulturally savvy but also know how best to pot plants and maintain them to ensure they thrive.
--from BBC The Collection
在世界各地人們的家中，尤其是在千禧世代和 Z 世代的家裡，在室內栽種盆栽的趨勢正在流行著。在客廳角落單獨擺放一盆絲蘭（yukka plant）或荷威棕櫚（kentia palm）已經過時了。如今，人們的家中充滿了琳瑯滿目的植物，使室內空間鬱鬱蔥蔥、枝葉繁茂，彌漫著異國風情。從通稱為瑞士奶酪植物的龜背芋（monstera deliciosa），到名字聽起來陰險但卻很適合裝飾用的彩葉鳳梨（Neoregelia）都是現在常見的室內植物。彩葉鳳梨的外觀是茄子色與綠色虎紋相間，且葉子帶刺，頗具戲劇性，別稱為「Hannibal Lecter*」。室內盆栽已變得與室內家具一樣重要，而如今的植物改良繁殖者不僅越來越精通園藝，還知道如何以最適合的方式照顧植物以確保它們茁壯成長。
* Hannibal Lecter是由湯瑪斯·哈里斯所創作的懸疑小說系列中的虛構的人物，是一名食人醫師。此處是彩葉鳳梨的英文別名。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC The Collection
Glass beads on moon’s surface may hold billions of tonnes of water, scientists say
科學家稱月球表面的玻璃珠可能含有數十億噸水
Sciences
Tiny glass beads strewn across the moon’s surface contain potentially billions of tons of water that could be extracted and used by astronauts on future lunar missions, researchers say. The discovery is thought to be one of the most important breakthroughs yet for space agencies that have set their sights on building bases on the moon, as it means there could be a highly accessible source of not only water but also hydrogen and oxygen. “This is one of the most exciting discoveries we’ve made,” said Mahesh Anand, a professor of planetary science and exploration at the Open University. “With this finding, the potential for exploring the moon in a sustainable manner is higher than it’s ever been.”
--from The Guardian
研究人員表示，散佈在月球表面的微小玻璃珠可能含有數十億噸水，可供太空人在未來的月球任務中提取和使用。對於以在月球上建造基地為目標的航太機構而言，此發現被認為是迄今最重要的突破之一，因為這意味著不僅是水源，連氫氣和氧氣都可以大量獲取。Open University的行星科學與探測教授 Mahesh Anand說：「這是我們所取得最振奮人心的發現之一，有了此一發現，以永續的方式探索月球的可能性比過往更高。」
--摘錄翻譯自The Guardian
Mutation behind night blindness in humans helps whale sharks see in the dark
人類夜盲症潛在的突變有助鯨鯊於黑暗中的視界
Sciences
Whale sharks are the biggest fish on the planet, they also have one of the longest vertical ranges of any sea creature, filter feeding from the surface of the ocean to nearly 2000 meters down into the inky abyss. Swimming between bright surface waters and the pitch black deep sea should strain the shark’s eyes, making their lifestyle impossible. But researchers have uncovered the genetic wiring that prevents this from happening. The study, published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pinpoints a genetic mutation that makes a visual pigment in the whale shark’s retina more sensitive to temperature changes. As a result, the pigments—which sense blue light in dark environments—are activated in the chilly deep sea and deactivated when the sharks return to the balmy surface to feed, allowing them to prioritize different parts of their vision at different depths. Ironically, the genetic alteration is surprisingly similar to one that degrades pigments in human retinas, causing night blindness.
--from Science news
鯨鯊是地球上最大的魚，也是有最大垂直活動範圍的海洋生物之一，從海洋表面下到近 2000米的漆黑深海濾食。在明亮的表層水域和漆黑的深海間游動會對鯊魚眼睛造成負擔，使他們的生活方式難以維持。但研究人員已發現阻止此狀況發生的基因脈絡。上週發表在《美國國家科學院院刊》的研究指出一種讓鯨鯊視網膜中的視覺色素對溫度變化更敏感的基因突變。結果顯示：在黑暗環境中感知藍光的該色素，在寒冷的深海中啟動，而在鯊魚返回溫暖的海面覓食時停用，使牠們在不同深度可擇優使用不同視覺功能。這種基因改變與導致夜盲症的人類視網膜色素降解意外地有著驚人的相似。
--摘錄翻譯自Science news