- Social isolation linked to lower brain volume that may affect cognitive health
- Scientists find vital missing ingredient for healthy vegan diet – algae
- World’s most powerful passport: Germany, Italy and Spain move up into second place
- Vase bought for £2.50 expected to sell for £9k
- How Benjamin Franklin fought money counterfeiters
- What is AI?
Social isolation linked to lower brain volume that may affect cognitive health
社交孤立可能與影響認知的腦容量降低有關
Health
A new study appear in Neurology finds an association between social isolation and a reduction in brain volume among older people. Brain volume loss is considered a sign of neurodegeneration due to cell death and atrophy. Among the study’s participants, MRI scans showed that the white and gray brain matter of those with the least social contact occupied 67.3% of the available intracranial volume. Those with the highest amount of social contact occupied 67.8%. The scans also revealed that the most socially isolated people had a higher amount of white matter lesions that indicate brain damage. The correspondence between social isolation and dementia does not indicate that one causes the other. However, it may offer a clue as to what causes dementia.
--from Medical News Today
一項發表於神經學(Neurology)期刊的新研究發現年長者的社交孤立與腦容量降低相關聯。腦容量減損被認為是細胞死亡與萎縮導致神經系統退化症的徵兆。在研究參與者的核磁共振造影（MRI）掃描顯示社交接觸最少的人，大腦白質和灰質佔顱內可用體積的67.3%；社交接觸最高者的佔了67.8%。掃描還顯示與社會最疏離的人有更多白質病變，這顯示大腦受損。社交孤立與失智症間的相對關係並不表示其中一個導致另一個，不過，這可以為失智症成因提供線索。
--摘錄翻譯自Medical News Today
Scientists find vital missing ingredient for healthy vegan diet – algae
科學家發現健康純素飲食中缺少的重要成分-藻類
Health
Vitamin B12 is an essential micronutrient. Lack of it triggers muscle weakness, numbness, nausea, weight loss, fatigue and increased heart rate while continued deficiency will eventually leave people susceptible to ailments that include pernicious anaemia, heart disease and diabetes. The crucial point is that B12 is made by bacteria such as those that grow in the digestive systems of cows and sheep, it cannot be obtained directly from plants. However, if you adopt a vegetarian diet, or more noticeably a vegan diet, your B12 intake can be drastically reduced, and that is now having noticeable consequences for the nation’s health. Vitamins for vegans made from algae could soon prove to be the most effective solution to replacing an important nutrient missing from plant-based diets, thanks to recent research by scientists at Cambridge University.
--from The Guardian
維生素B12是一種必需的微量營養素。缺乏它會引發肌肉無力、麻木、噁心、體重減輕、疲勞和心率加快，而持續缺乏它最終會使人容易罹患惡性貧血、心臟病和糖尿病等疾病。關鍵點是B12乃由細菌產生的，例如牛和羊消化系統中生長的細菌，而無法直接從植物中獲得。然而，如果您採用蔬食飲食，或更明顯地是純素飲食者，您的B12攝入量可能會大幅減少，這對國民健康現在有顯著的影響。劍橋大學科學家最近的研究顯示，由藻類製成的素食維生素可能很快會被證明是取代植物性飲食中所缺乏之重要營養素的最佳解決方案。
--摘錄翻譯自The Guardian
World’s most powerful passport: Germany, Italy and Spain move up into second place
全球最強大護照:德國、義大利及西班牙竄升至第二名
Culture
Japan has been knocked off the top spot for the world’s most powerful passport for the first time in five years. Singapore has taken first place on the latest Henley Passport Index 2023 rankings. Singaporeans enjoy visa-free access to 192 travel destinations out of 227 worldwide. With Japan falling to third place, three European countries tie in second place: Germany, Italy and Spain with visa-free access to 190 destinations. At the start of 2023, Japan held the top spot with visa-free access to 193 countries. That has now dropped to 189 countries, leaving Singapore in first place. The country has gained visa-free access to an additional 25 over the past 10 years, pushing it five places up the ranking. The top 10 is rounded out by: 2. Germany, Italy and Spain 、3. Japan, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden、4. Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands and the UK、5. Belgium, Czechia, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland、6. Australia, Hungary and Poland、7. Canada and Greece、8. Lithuania and the USA、9. Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia、10. Estonia and Iceland
--from euronews
日本五年來首度被擠下世界最強大護照排名冠軍位置。最新的2023亨利護照指數公布新加坡成為全球最強大護照，可於全球227個之中的192個國家及地區享有免簽證資格。日本排名下降至第三，而三個歐洲國家-德國、義大利及西班牙並列第二可免簽前往190個國家及地區。於2023年初日本可免簽前往全球193個國家及地區位居全球榜首，但現在已經減少至189個，使新加坡成為冠軍。在過去十年之中，新加坡增加了25個免簽證國家，使其排名上升五名。前十大排名為，第二名德國、義大利和西班牙、第三名日本、奧地利、芬蘭、法國、盧森堡、韓國、瑞典、第四名丹麥、愛爾蘭、荷蘭和英國、第五名比利時、捷克、馬爾他、紐西蘭、挪威、葡萄牙和瑞士、第六名澳大利亞、匈牙利和波蘭、第七名加拿大和希臘、第八名立陶宛和美國、第九名拉脫維亞、斯洛伐克和斯洛維尼亞、第十名愛沙尼亞和冰島。
--摘錄翻譯自euronews
Vase bought for £2.50 expected to sell for £9k
2.5英鎊買入的花瓶將再以9000英鎊售出
Culture
A tiny vase bought for £2.50 from a charity shop in Surrey is expected to sell for up to £9,000 at auction. A couple purchased the 10cm (4in) tall ornament after they spotted a small engraving etched on the bottom. Specialists at Canterbury Auction Galleries in Kent have since identified it as the work of Namikawa Yasuyuki, one of Japan’s most famous artists from the Meiji Period. Gallery co-director Cliona Kilroy said the item was “highly sought after”. The cloisonné vase will be auctioned online on July 29 - 30 with an estimated value of £7,000 to £9,000.
--from BBC
一個於薩里郡慈善商店中以2.5英鎊購入的小花瓶，預計將以高達9000英鎊售價至拍賣會上拍賣。一對夫婦發現底部有個小雕飾後，購買了這個10公分(４英吋)高的裝飾品。肯特郡坎特伯里拍賣藝廊的專家們確認這是日本明治時期最知名的藝術家之一Namikawa Yasuyuki的作品，藝廊聯合總監Cliona Kilroy表示，這物件相當多人搶著要。這個景泰藍花瓶將於7月29日至30日在網路上進行拍賣，預估售價將為7000英鎊至9000英鎊。
--摘錄翻譯自BBC
How Benjamin Franklin fought money counterfeiters
班傑明•富蘭克林如何打擊偽鈔製造者
Sciences
Though perhaps better known for its newspapers and almanacs, Benjamin Franklin’s printing business also churned out paper money to support the colonial economy. Now, scientists are confirming some of the ways that Franklin and his associates thwarted counterfeiters to help early American paper currency succeed, including by adding a reflective mineral to bills. Franklin’s bills “served as an archetype for printed money” to come, says Khachatur Manukyan, a physical chemist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. “It was very sophisticated for that time.” When the researchers realized that Notre Dame housed paper money bills dating to the early colonial days of North America, the team decided to take a closer look. They examined about 600 paper notes.
--from Science News
班傑明•富蘭克林的印刷廠雖以其報紙和年鑑最為聞名，但該廠也曾大量印製紙鈔來支持當時的殖民地經濟。現在，科學家們正在驗證富蘭克林和他的同事們是如何與偽鈔製造者對抗，進而協助早期的美國紙鈔成為成功貨幣的方法。而其中一個成功的方式即是在鈔票中添加反光礦物質。 印第安納州聖母大學的物理化學家Khachatur Manukyan 表示，富蘭克林所製造的鈔票「成為了現代紙鈔的原型」。「以當時而言，富蘭克林所印製的紙鈔是非常精緻的。」 當研究人員發現聖母大學內存放著北美早期殖民時期的紙鈔時，他們決定一探究竟、仔細研究。他們查驗了大約600張紙鈔。
--摘錄翻譯自Science News
What is AI?
什麼是人工智慧？
Sciences
Imagine going back in time to the 1970s, and trying to explain to somebody what it means "to google", what a "URL" is, or why it's good to have "fibre-optic broadband". You'd probably struggle. For every major technological revolution, there is a concomitant wave of new language that we all have to learn… until it becomes so familiar that we forget that we never knew it. That's no different for the next major technological wave – artificial intelligence. Yet understanding this language of AI will be essential as we all – from governments to individual citizens – try to grapple with the risks, and benefits that this emerging technology might pose. To help you stay up to speed, BBC.com has compiled an A-Z of words you need to know to understand how AI is shaping our world.
--from BBC Future
想像你回到1970年代，試圖向某人解釋「谷歌一下(動詞)」是什麼、「URL」的意思，又或者為什麼擁有「光纖寬頻」是件好事。你解釋起來應該會很困難。每一次的重大科技革命，都伴隨著新興詞彙的浪潮，而我們每個人都必須學習……直到這些詞彙變得如此熟悉，以至於我們忘了我們之前並不知道那些詞。下一個重大科技浪潮--人工智慧也沒有不同。然而，若我們所有人（從政府到人民）想要能夠深入瞭解這種新興科技可能帶來的風險和益處，那麼學習與理解人工智慧的詞彙就至關重要。為協助您即時掌握最新消息，BBC.com 整理了您需要了解的人工智慧單詞 A-Z，以利於瞭解人工智慧正如何改造我們的世界。
--摘錄翻譯自 BBC Future