- Uterus transplants are already a reality. What does it mean for transgender women getting pregnant?
- Artificial Sweetener Linked to Blood Clots, Heart Attacks
- Nalanda: The university that changed the world
- Five comfort foods that define Ukraine - In response to Russia's full-scale invasion over the past year, Ukrainians have not only fought for their country but also to keep their culinary traditions alive.
- The fastest claw in the sea belongs to young snapping shrimp
- Fact check: Does the UN really think we should cool the Earth by reflecting the sun?
Uterus transplants are already a reality. What does it mean for transgender women getting pregnant?
子宮移植已經成現實。對跨性別女性來說，懷孕意味著什麼？
Health
Could transgender women, or others born without a womb, experience pregnancy? The question may seem like science fiction, but this could be a reality sooner than we think. In early 2022, it was reported that a New Delhi-based surgeon would soon attempt a uterine transplant in a transgender woman. The operation has never been performed successfully yet in people assigned male at birth, and the announcement prompted a series of reactions on the implications of such procedures. Uterus transplantation still remains a fairly experimental procedure, but across the world, these transplants have already enabled some women suffering from uterine factor infertility – long seen as an irreversible condition – to successfully give birth.
--from Euronews
跨性別女性或其他先天無子宮的女性有機會能懷孕嗎？這個提問看起來像科幻小說情節，但這或許會比我們想像還來得更快成為現實。據報導，2022年初，新德里的一名外科醫生嘗試將一名跨性別女性進行子宮移植手術。該手術尚未在生理性別為男性的人群中實施成功，該公告引發了一系列對此類手術影響的反響。子宮移植手術仍是一個具有相當實驗性質的程序，但在全球，這些移植手術已經讓一些有子宮因素不孕症（為一長期以來被視為不可逆轉的疾病）的女性成功分娩。
--摘錄翻譯自Euronews
Artificial Sweetener Linked to Blood Clots, Heart Attacks
與血栓、心髒病有關的人造甜味劑
Health
A commonly used artificial sweetener called erythritol is strongly linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a new study. The sweetener, which is made from fermented corn, is commonly used in products that are designed to be low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, or for people on keto diets. Some table sugar replacement products also use it, such as the product Truvia. Sugar substitutes are commonly recommended for people with diabetes or obesity to control blood sugar levels or to lose weight. But there is little safety research on long-term use, said the authors of the study, which was by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and published this week in the journal Nature Medicine. They found that people with the highest levels of erythritol in their bloodstreams had twice the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death within 3 years.
--from WebMD
根據一項新研究表明，一種名為赤藻糖醇（erythritol）的常用人造甜味劑與心臟病及中風發作有著緊密的關聯。這種由發酵玉米製成的甜味劑常用於低熱量、低碳水化合物的產品，或用於生酮飲食族群。一般建議糖尿病或肥胖患者使用代糖來控制血糖水平或減輕體重，但該研究的作者表示，關於長期使用代糖的安全性的研究很少。該研究由Cleveland診所的研究人員發表於本週的《自然醫學》期刊上，他們發現，血液中含有較高赤藻糖醇的族群在3年內患上心臟病、中風或死亡的風險將增加1倍。
--摘錄翻譯自WebMD
Nalanda: The university that changed the world
那爛陀：改變世界的大學
Culture
Founded in 427 CE, Nalanda is considered the world's first residential university, a sort of medieval Ivy League institution home to nine million books that attracted 10,000 students from across Eastern and Central Asia. They gathered here to learn medicine, logic, mathematics and – above all – Buddhist principles from some of the era's most revered scholars. As the Dalai Lama once stated: "The source of all the [Buddhist] knowledge we have, has come from Nalanda."
--from BBC Travel
那爛陀大學（Nalanda University）成立於公元427年，被認為是世界上第一所寄宿型大學，算是中世紀版的常春藤盟校。它擁有900萬冊藏書，並吸引了10,000名來自東亞和中亞的學生。這些學生們聚集在此向當時最受尊敬的一些學者學習醫學、邏輯學、數學等學科。而在這些學科當中最重要的是佛法的學習。正如達賴喇嘛所說：「我們所認知的所有『佛教』知識的源頭，都來自那爛陀。」
--摘錄翻譯自BBC Travel
Five comfort foods that define Ukraine - In response to Russia's full-scale invasion over the past year, Ukrainians have not only fought for their country but also to keep their culinary traditions alive.
定義烏克蘭的五種療癒美食—為了應對俄羅斯過去一年的全面入侵，烏克蘭人不僅為自己的國家而戰，還為保留他們的烹飪傳統
Culture
While Ukraine and its people have been forever changed by Russia's full-scale invasion over the past year, one thing that has remained constant is Ukrainians' drive to not only fight for their country but also for their culture and identity. One way they are preserving their heritage is through their cuisine. As chef Ievgen Klopotenko from 100 Rokiv Tomu Vpered restaurant in Kyiv said, "I'm not on the front line, I'm on the food line. That's why I have to fight here."
--from BBC World’s Table
雖然烏克蘭及其人民在過去一年中因俄羅斯的全面入侵而永遠改變了，但有件事是保持不變的，那就是烏克蘭人不僅為自己的國家而戰，還為自己的文化和身份而戰。 而他們保存文化資產的一種方式即是通過他們的美食。正如基輔地區一家名為100 Rokiv Tomu Vpered的餐廳的廚師Ievgen Klopotenko 所說：「我不在戰爭前線，但我在食品線上。這是我在這裡戰鬥的理由。」
--摘錄翻譯自BBC World’s Table
The fastest claw in the sea belongs to young snapping shrimp
海中最敏捷的螯當屬年幼槍蝦
Sciences
Juvenile snapping shrimp produce the highest known underwater accelerations of any reusable body part, researchers report February 28 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. To deter predators or competitors, snapping shrimp create shock waves with their powerful claws. The shrimp store energy in the flexing exoskeleton of their claw as it opens, latching it in place much like a bow-and-arrow mechanism, says Jacob Harrison, a biologist at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The wee shrimp could create the collapsing bubbles just like adults. Despite being a tenth the adults’ size or smaller, the juveniles’ claws accelerated 20 times as fast when firing. This acceleration — about 600 kilometers per second per second — is on “the same order of magnitude as a 9-millimeter bullet leaving a gun,” Harrison says.
--from Science News (article with video)
研究人員在2月28日的《實驗生物學雜誌》上報告說，在任何可重複使用的身體部位中，幼年槍蝦產出的已知水中加速度最高。為了威懾捕食者或競爭者，槍蝦用牠們強大的螯製造衝擊波。亞特蘭大喬治亞理工學院的生物學家Jacob Harrison說，蝦張開螯時，將能量儲存於彎曲的外骨骼中，將其閂在像弓箭連動構造中。小蝦可以像成蝦一樣產生破裂的氣泡。儘管只有成蝦的十分之一或更小，但幼蝦的螯射擊時的速度是其速度的20倍。哈里森說：「這種加速度（大約每秒600公里）如同9毫米子彈飛離槍支一般。」
--摘錄翻譯自Science News（原文含影片）
Fact check: Does the UN really think we should cool the Earth by reflecting the sun?
事實查核：聯合國真的認為我們應該經由反射陽光來冷卻地球嗎？
Sciences
'Sun blocking' technologies - also known as 'solar radiation modification' - could theoretically cool down the earth by reflecting sunlight back into space. One idea involves pumping sun-blocking particles into the upper atmosphere. This process of 'stratospheric aerosol injection' would involve planes spraying an aerosol like sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. This mist of particles would reflect the sun back upwards, shading the earth. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but some researchers want to cool the earth by reflecting sunlight back into space. The outlandish idea is currently trending, after several news outlets reported that the United Nations are keen to ‘explore’ it. Advocates claim it could reduce the devastating impacts of climate change, and even refreeze the poles. The UN Environmental Program's recent report into Solar Radiation Modification concludes that it is not currently a realistic or wise plan.
--from Euronews
「遮陽」技術（也稱為「太陽輻射調整」）理論上可以透過將陽光反射回太空以使地球降溫。構想是將遮陽粒子泵入大氣圈上層。此「平流層氣懸膠注射」過程利用飛機向平流層噴灑二氧化硫等氣懸膠。該粒子霧會將陽光向上反射，遮蔽地球。這聽起來像是科幻小說中的情節，但一些研究人員希望通過將陽光反射回太空來冷卻地球。在幾家新聞媒體報導聯合國熱衷於「探索」此法後，這個奇妙構想正盛行。提倡者稱它可以減少氣候變遷的破壞性影響，甚至重新凍結兩極。聯合國環境規劃署最近對太陽輻射調整的報告結論顯示「目前不是一個實際或明智的規畫」。
--摘錄翻譯自Euronews