- Rosetta Stone: Deciphering Mysterious Egyptian Hieroglyphs
- Magic Mushrooms and Ecstasy Touted as Effective PTSD Treatments Alongside Psychotherapy --article with video
- No tune, no words, no dancing: why white noise is the music industry’s newest hit --article with video
- ‘Wonderful nets’ of blood vessels protect dolphin and whale brains during dives
- Safe ice roads could decline by 90% by end of century
- ‘Something in me sparked’: the Iranian women using art to protest
- 10月11日12:00-16:00在高醫郵局前【有獎問答】Quiz with Prize in front of KMU Post Office on Oct. 11th
Rosetta Stone: Deciphering Mysterious Egyptian Hieroglyphs
羅塞塔石碑：解譯神秘的埃及象形文字
Culture
Scientists assume that Rosetta Stone (the spoils of the British victory over France in the Egyptian Campaign (1798-1801)) was created around 196 BC in the Ptolemaic era. The rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty had been threatened by power struggles since the death of pharaoh Ptolemy IV. When a revolt broke out in 204 BC, loyalty to the pharaoh was required and an Egyptian synod of priests formulated the so-called "Decree of Memphis" in 196 BC. It was written in such a way that three groups of the population could read it: For the priests as words of God in hieroglyphics; for the officials in Egyptian in Demotic letter writing; and for the Greek rulers over Egypt in ancient Greek capital letters.
--from Deutsche Welle, article with video
科學家們推測羅塞塔石碑（英國在埃及戰役(1798-1801)戰勝法國的戰利品）是在公元前 196 年左右的托勒密王朝時代創建的。自法老托勒密四世去世後，托勒密王朝的統治就受到了權力鬥爭的威脅。公元前204年爆發戰亂，人民被要求必須效忠法老，「孟菲斯法令」也在公元前196年在祭司會議中應運而生。它是以三個族群可以閱讀的方式書寫的：為神職人員提供上帝之言的象形文字；為埃及官員可讀的世俗體；給希臘在埃及的統治者閱讀的古希臘大寫字母。
-摘錄翻譯自Deutsche Welle，原文含影片
Magic Mushrooms and Ecstasy Touted as Effective PTSD Treatments Alongside Psychotherapy --article with video
神奇蘑菇和搖頭丸合併心理治療被吹捧為有效的創傷後壓力症候群治療法
Health
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is outlined by the NHS as an anxiety disorder caused by very “stressful, frightening or distressing events”. Taking magic mushrooms and ecstasy alongside undergoing psychotherapy could be an effective treatment for PTSD, according to a new study. The lead author of the study said: “We are beginning to see new approaches to PTSD treatment, which combines psychotherapy and medication. Both the psychotherapy and the drug treatment have an effect independently, but they often work together synergistically.” A researcher who did not take part in the study commented: “This review article has come at a time where President Biden’s administration has said they anticipate regulators approving MDMA within the next two years for designated breakthrough therapies for PTSD, surely to be followed by the European regulatory agencies. And MDMA may revolutionize the treatment of PTSD providing therapeutic benefits beyond all current and existing pharmacotherapies.”
–from The Independent (article with video)
國民保健署(NHS)將創傷後壓力症候群(PTSD)定義為一種由非常「緊張、可怕或痛苦的事件」引起的焦慮症。一項新的研究表明，在接受心理治療的同時服用神奇蘑菇和搖頭丸(主要成份MDMA)可能是PTSD的有效方法。此研究的第一作者說：「我們開始看到了新的結合心理治療和藥物治療PTSD治療方法。兩者都有獨立的效果，但它們相輔相成。」一位未參與研究的學者評論說：「這篇評論文章發表之際，拜登政府表示，他們預計主管機構將在未來兩年內批准MDMA作為治療PTSD的指定突破性療法，歐洲監管機構肯定會效仿。而且MDMA可能會顛覆PTSD 治療，提供超越所有當前和現有藥物療法的治療優點。」
-摘錄翻譯自The Independent（原文含影片）
No tune, no words, no dancing: why white noise is the music industry’s newest hit --article with video
沒有曲調、沒有歌詞、沒有舞蹈：為什麼白噪音在音樂界正夯
Health
Noise fans say that studying, sleeping and meditation are all enhanced by listening to these sounds -- background noise, pink noise and brown noise, at modest levels. A neuropsychologist said: “Music can be a powerful way to control the brain’s complex attention system. When we are deeply engrossed in a task, there is a secondary attention system that continually scans our environment for any new, interesting or unpredictable sounds, e.g. a nearby conversation or someone coughing.” “Ambient music is particularly good for this – regular repetitive sounds with enough variation to keep our vigilance system engaged but not alerted, and broad frequency ranges that mask other distracting sounds while leaving space for our all-important inner voice.” And record companies and tech firms have taken notice that some of the recordings have earned their creators millions of pounds.
--from The Guardian (article with video)
噪音愛好者說，適度聆聽白噪音、粉紅噪音、棕色噪音等聲音，有助提升學習、睡眠和冥想。神經心理學家說：「音樂可以成為控制大腦複雜注意力系統的有效方法。當我們全神貫注於一項任務時，會有一套注意力輔助系統不斷掃瞄環境，尋找任何新的、有趣的或不可預測的聲音，例如周遭對話或某人咳嗽。」「環境音樂特別好的地方是—有規律的重複音、足夠的變化，讓我們保持警覺，卻又不至引起警戒，而寬廣的頻率範圍在保留空間給極為重要的內心聲音的同時，覆蓋過其他令人分心的聲音。」唱片公司和科技公司也已經注意到一些錄音作品為他們的創作者帶來數百萬英鎊收益。
-摘錄翻譯自The Guardian （原文含影片）
‘Wonderful nets’ of blood vessels protect dolphin and whale brains during dives
「奇妙的血管網」在潛水期間保護海豚和鯨魚的大腦
Sciences
The cetaceans have especially dense, complex networks of blood vessels mainly associated with the brain and spine, but scientists didn’t know why. A new analysis suggests that the networks protect cetaceans’ brains from the pulses of blood pressure that the animals endure while diving deep in the ocean. Called retia mirabilia, which means “wonderful nets,” the blood vessel networks are present in some other animals besides cetaceans, including giraffes and horses. But the networks aren’t found in other aquatic vertebrates that move differently from whales, such as seals. So scientists had suspected that the cetaceans’ retia mirabilia play a role in controlling blood pressure surges.
--from Science News
鯨目哺乳動物具有特別密集、複雜的血管網，主要與大腦和脊柱相關，但科學家們不知道為什麼。一項新的分析顯示，這些血管網可以保護鯨目哺乳動物的大腦，免受動物在深海潛水時所承受的血壓脈衝影響。此血管網被稱為retia mirabilia，意即「神奇的網」，除了鯨類動物，包括長頸鹿和馬在內的一些其他動物中也有此類血管網。但是在行為與鯨魚不同的其他水生脊椎動物（例如海豹）中，則未發現這些網絡。因此科學家們懷疑鯨目哺乳動物的神奇血管網在控制血壓驟升方面發揮了作用。
-摘錄翻譯自Science News
Safe ice roads could decline by 90% by end of century
到本世紀末，安全的冰路可能會減少90%
Sciences
Ice-skating, fishing and driving heavy trucks on frozen lakes could soon be activities of the past due to climate change, scientists have found. There are more than 58.5 million lakes on Earth covered by ice, either on a seasonal or year-round basis. But while we’re well aware that the poles are melting at an alarming rate - with the Arctic warming three times faster than the rest of the planet - less is known about the toll global heating is taking on the world’s frozen lakes. In the Far North, roads over frozen lakes are used as critical transport routes for getting food, fuel, medical supplies and machinery to remote communities in winter - avoiding the need for expensive air travel. But the trucks need the ice to be at least one metre thick. Without human intervention, the researchers estimate that the duration of safe ice for winter roads is projected to decline by up to 99 per cent within a 3°C warmer world.
--from Euronew
科學家發現，由於氣候變遷，在結冰的湖面滑冰、釣魚和行駛大型卡車可能很快會成為過去。地球上有超過5850萬個湖泊季節性地或全年被冰覆蓋。即使我們很清楚兩極正在以驚人的速度融化－北極暖化速度是地球其它地區的三倍－但對全球暖化之於世界冰凍湖泊的破壞理解甚少。在遠北地區，冰凍湖泊上的道路在冬季被用為偏遠社區運送食物、燃料、醫療用品和機械的關鍵路徑，以迴避高昂的航空載運。但是卡車行駛需要至少一米厚冰層。若無人為干預，研究人員估計，全球暖化3°C之下，冬季道路安全結冰的持續時間將減少達99%。
-摘錄翻譯自Euronews
‘Something in me sparked’: the Iranian women using art to protest
觸及內心-伊朗女性發起藝術抗爭
Culture
The Azadi (“Freedom”) tower is one of Tehran’s most recognisable 20th-century landmarks. Built under the reign of the last Shah of Iran, it was finished in 1971 and named Shahyad Tower (Shah Memorial Tower). Following the 1979 revolution, associations with royalty were swiftly removed. Now, it’s being associated with freedom from the very regime which renamed it. The Iranian graphic designer Jalz has drawn on the tower for one of his designs in support of the recent protest movement. “This is the sole image of Iran’s freedom,” argues Jalz. Combining an image of the tower with Matisse’s dancers and the “women, life, freedom” protest slogan which is so central to the movement, he wanted to complete the sense of freedom for the female body.
--from The Guardian
阿扎迪塔(又名自由塔)是德黑蘭20世紀知名地標之一。其建於伊朗末代國王統治時期，1971年竣工，命名為國王紀念塔，1979年革命後，與王權有關的命名被抹去。如今，它與重新為它命名的當局政權的自由有關係。伊朗平面設計師Jalz將其設計繪製在以阿札迪塔為底的圖稿上，用以支持近日的抗爭活動。Jalz表示：「這是伊朗自由的唯一象徵。」，他將阿札迪塔與馬諦斯主義的舞者結合，搭配抗爭活動的靈魂標語「女性、生活、自由」，展現女性身體不被束縛的自主權。
-摘錄翻譯自The Guardian