- German scientists make a 'major discovery' that could slow down the ageing process
- Australia to ban recreational vaping in major public health move
- Everything you need to know about King Charles III’s coronation
- These Are the Countries That Could Drop King Charles III as Sovereign Next
- A 2,200-year-old poop time capsule reveals secrets of the Andean condor
- April’s best science images selected by Nature’s photo team
German scientists make a 'major discovery' that could slow down the ageing process
德國科學家取得「重大發現」可延緩衰老過程
Health
A new study from Germany has potentially found the answers to time-old questions: what drives ageing and what can we do to reverse it? Despite centuries of research and progress in medicine, there are still many mysteries that remain unresolved, chief among them being an understanding of what causes ageing and how can we slow it down or reverse it. But a new study by a team of scientists in Germany, published in the scientific journal Nature, may finally have found the answers to these questions. Researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany have not only discovered that gene transcription - the process in which a cell makes an RNA copy of a strand of DNA - becomes faster with age but less precise and more error-prone; they also found that certain processes could help us reverse this decline.
--from Euronews
一項來自於德國的新研究可能找到了關於老化問題的解答：是什麼驅動老化以及我們能做些什麼去逆轉？儘管醫學研究已經進行了數百世紀，但仍有許多未解之謎，其中主要的問題是了解老化的原因以及我們如何減緩或逆轉老化。但是，德國一組科學家團隊在《自然》科學期刊發表了一新研究，可能終於找到了這些問題的解答。來自德國科隆大學的研究人員不僅發現，隨著年齡的增長，基因轉錄（細胞複製DNA鏈的RNA過程）變得更快，但更不精確，更容易出錯；他們還發現，某些過程可以幫助我們逆轉這種衰退。
--摘錄翻譯自Euronews
Australia to ban recreational vaping in major public health move
澳洲將在重大公共衛生舉措中禁止娛樂性電子煙
Health
Recreational vaping will be banned in Australia, as part of a major crackdown amid what experts say is an "epidemic". Minimum quality standards will also be introduced, and the sale of vapes restricted to pharmacies. Nicotine vapes already require a prescription in Australia, but the industry is poorly regulated and a black market is thriving. Health Minister Mark Butler says the products are creating a new generation of nicotine addicts in Australia. They are widely seen as a product to help smokers quit. But in Australia, vapes have exploded in popularity as a recreational product, particularly among young people in cities. But health experts advise that vapes are not risk-free - they can often contain chemicals - and the long-term implications of using them are not yet clear.
--from BBC Health
澳洲將禁止娛樂性電子煙，這將是專家稱之為「流行病」的嚴厲打擊行動的一部分。同時，澳洲還將推出最低品質標準的電子菸，並將限制只能由藥局販售。雖然在澳洲，持有尼古丁電子菸必須要有處方證明，但該地下產業得益於政府監管不足，而在黑市中氾濫。澳洲健康部長Mark Butler表示，該產品正在澳大利亞創造了一批新的尼古丁成癮者。它們被廣泛認為是幫助抽菸者戒菸的產品。但在澳大利亞，電子煙作為娛樂產品，在城市年輕人中特別受歡迎。但是，醫療專家指出，電子煙並非零風險，它們通常含有化學物質，長期使用還不清楚會帶來什麼樣的影響。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC Health
Everything you need to know about King Charles III’s coronation
解析英王查爾斯三世的加冕禮
Culture
With the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at her rural Balmoral home in September, Charles III instantly became King. In the days that followed, he was formally proclaimed Britain’s new monarch and now, after months of painstaking preparation, his coronation is upon us. Heir to the throne for 70 years, Charles will be officially crowned in a magnificent and deeply religious ceremony on May 6. Thousands will gather at Westminster Abbey and the surrounding streets of central London to take in a glorious display of British pageantry.
--from CNN
隨著英國女王伊莉莎白二世於去年九月在Balmoral鄉村的宅邸中辭世，查爾斯三世隨即成為國王。女王辭世不久後，查爾斯三世即被正式宣佈為英國的新任君主。在歷經數個月的艱辛籌備後，如今，他的加冕典禮即將舉行。作為王儲待位70 年的查爾斯，將於 5 月 6 日在一場宏偉而頗具宗教意味的儀式上正式被加冕。數千人將聚集在西敏寺和倫敦市中心周圍的街道上，觀賞華麗輝煌的英倫盛典。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
These Are the Countries That Could Drop King Charles III as Sovereign Next
這些國家可能將不再認英王查爾斯三世為元首
Culture
King Charles III’s May 6 coronation will be a moment of celebration for the British royal family. But for many of the 14 Commonwealth realm countries still tied to the British monarchy, it could be a time where calls to drop the monarchy resurface, given the death of the popular Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen “kept a lot of these attachments to the Commonwealth and the monarchy alive for so many generations after independence,” says Matthew Smith, director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London. “Now that… we have King Charles III, it’s a very different relationship.”
--from TIME
對於英國王室而言，查爾斯三世5 月 6 日的加冕典禮是件值得慶祝的喜事。但對於仍在英國君主政體管轄下的14 個大英國協王國(Commonwealth Realm)中的許多成員國來說，呼籲放棄君主制的聲浪可能將在近期重新浮上檯面。而這是有鑑於廣受歡迎的英國女王伊莉莎白二世辭世一事。「對好幾代的人們來說，即使國家獨立，英女王仍是他們對大英國協和君主制依戀的象徵。」倫敦大學學院(University College London) 英國的奴隸制度長遠影響研究中心主任Matthew Smith指出，「然而如今……我們有了新的國王查爾斯三世，可這種感情仍無法和他們對英女王的情感相提並論。」
--摘錄翻譯自TIME
A 2,200-year-old poop time capsule reveals secrets of the Andean condor
一個有2200年歷史的糞便時間膠囊揭示了安第斯禿鷹的秘密
Sciences
Much like tree rings, many layers of guano record the birds' responses to ecosystem changes. For over 2,000 years, Andean condors have been nesting — and pooping — in the same cliffside grotto high in the Andes. The researchers carved a 25-centimeter-deep slice out of the guano pile. DNA and ratios of specific chemicals in the poop hinted at what the condors ate over time. Other chemicals such as sulfur and potassium as well as preserved algae revealed changing environmental conditions. Chemical dating of the samples divulged that the oldest layers in the deposit were at least 2,200 years old. That the condors were using this nest location for so long was “extremely surprising,” says paleoecologist Matthew Duda of Queen’s University in Canada.
--from Science News
就像樹木的年輪一樣，多層的鳥糞記錄了鳥類對生態系統變化的反應。2000多年來，安第斯禿鷹一直在安第斯山脈高處同一個懸崖邊的石窟中築巢和排便。研究人員從鳥糞堆中採集25公分深的切片。糞便中的DNA和特定化學物質比例顯示了隨著時間推移「禿鷹吃什麼」。硫和鉀等其它化學物質以及保存下來的藻類，揭示了不斷改變的環境狀況。樣品的化學定年顯示，堆積最古老的糞層至少有2,200年的歷史。加拿大皇后大學的古生態學家Duda說：「禿鷹持續於此處築巢如此之久，令人非常驚訝。」
--摘錄翻譯自Science News
April’s best science images selected by Nature’s photo team
《自然》攝影團隊精選四月最佳科學圖像
Sciences
*Ringed world－This zoomed-in image of Uranus, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), offers a stunning view of the planet’s rings.
*Deep-sea denizen－Underwater footage of a snailfish (Pseudoliparis sp.) has set a new record for the deepest fish ever caught on camera.
*Chasing shadows－The Japanese weather satellite Himawari-9 captured this overhead view of the Moon’s shadow moving across Earth during a rare hybrid eclipse on 20 April.
*Full throttle－This eye-popping photograph captured the moment that the Terran 1 rocket, made by US company Relativity Space, blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
--from Nature news (article with videos)
「環狀世界」由詹姆斯‧韋伯太空望遠鏡 （JWST）拍攝的天王星放大影像展現了行星環的壯麗景觀。
「深海居民」水底影片中的蝸牛魚（或稱擬獅子魚Pseudoliparis sp.）締造了相機在最深水域拍攝到魚的新紀錄。
「追影」是日本氣象衛星Himawari-9於4月 20日在罕見的混合日蝕期間所捕捉到月球陰影行經地球上方的俯視圖。
「全力加速」這張令人瞠目結舌的照片捕捉到了美國公司Relativity Space製造的Terran 1號火箭從佛羅里達州Cape Canaveral發射升空的瞬間。
（請點原文看更多精彩影像）
--摘錄翻譯自Nature news（原文含影片）