- Smoking’s Effects on the Immune System Can Last Years, Study Finds
- Rare Case of Human Plague Identified in Oregon, Likely Spread by Pet Cat, Health Officials Say
- On the Verge of Extinction, One of the World’s Most Misunderstood Creatures Receives a Lifeline
- ‘Amusing Insight’ Revealed in Marx’s ‘Das Kapital’ Gift to Darwin
- Scientists under Arrest: the Researchers Taking Action over Climate Change
- Mind-reading Devices are Revealing the Brain’s Secrets
Smoking’s Effects on the Immune System Can Last Years, Study Finds
研究發現吸菸對免疫系統的影響可持續數年
Health
For decades, health care providers have told smokers that the habit can lead to serious problems like lung cancer, heart attack or stroke, but a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature offers another reason to quit. The research shows how smoking decreases the body’s ability to fight off infection immediately and over time, and may also put someone at risk of chronic diseases involving inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Smoking, body mass index and a latent infection caused by the herpes virus had the most impact, with smoking creating the biggest change. It had nearly the same impact on immune response as important factors such as age or sex. It also seems to explain why even smokers who may have quit may still develop conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.
--from CNN
幾十年來，醫療保健提供者一直告訴吸菸者，這種習慣可能會導致肺癌、心臟病或中風等嚴重問題，但週三發表在《自然》期刊上的一項研究提供了另一個戒菸的理由。 研究表明，吸菸會降低身體立即和長期抵抗感染的能力，也可能使人面臨慢性發炎疾病的風險，例如類風濕性關節炎和狼瘡。 吸煙、身體質量指數和皰疹病毒的潛伏感染影響最大，其中吸菸造成的變化最大。 它對免疫反應的影響幾乎與年齡或性別等重要因素相同。 這似乎也解釋了為什麼即使已經戒菸的吸菸者仍然可能患有慢性阻塞性肺(COPD)等疾病。
-- 摘錄翻譯自 CNN
Rare Case of Human Plague Identified in Oregon, Likely Spread by Pet Cat, Health Officials Say
衛生官員說，俄勒岡州發現罕見的人類鼠疫病例，可能是由寵物貓所傳播
Health
A person in Deschutes County, Oregon, has been diagnosed with a case of bubonic plague, making them the state’s first confirmed case of this rare bacterial infection since 2015. “As long as the person and their immediate contacts are treated — which did occur in this case — the chance it will spread any further is very, very low. So I think that people should not be worried, but if people want to reduce their risks, then they should avoid contact with rodents and fleas and sick animals,” he said. People can take basic precautions to keep themselves and their pets healthy, Moorjani said, by maintaining good hygiene in and around the home to prevent contact with fleas and rodents. They should also leash their pets outdoors and use good flea control, he added. When taking part in outdoor activities, people should take precautions against flea bites and avoid handling animal carcasses, according to the World Health Organization.
--from CNN
俄勒岡州Deschutes的一名患者被診斷出患有腺鼠疫，這是該州自 2015 年以來首例這種罕見細菌感染的確診病例。 「只要患者及其直接接觸者得到治療（本例中確實發生了這種情況），病毒進一步傳播的可能性就非常非常低。所以我認為人們不應該擔心，但如果人們想降低風險，那麼他們應該避免接觸囓齒動物、跳蚤和患病動物」他說。 Moorjani說，人們可以採取基本的預防措施來維護自己和寵物的健康，保持家裡和周圍的衛生，防止接觸跳蚤和囓齒動物。他補充說，他們應該當寵物在戶外時把它拴好，並採取有效的跳蚤控制措施。 世界衛生組織表示，人們在參與戶外活動時應採取預防措施，防止跳蚤叮咬，並避免處理動物屍體。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
On the Verge of Extinction, One of the World’s Most Misunderstood Creatures Receives a Lifeline
在瀕臨滅絕的邊緣，世界上最被誤解的生物之一得到了一根救命稻草
Culture
Vultures stalk death, and death stalks vultures. Think about the scavenger bird and images of disease and decay soon follow. The birds have a bad reputation – unjustifiably so, say conservationists, who argue vultures are one of nature’s great recyclers, and one of the most misunderstood creatures. Wolter says the project, VulPro, has started to engage with human populations near vulture colonies, roosting sites and popular foraging areas, to educate communities on the benefits of the animal to local ecology, and dispel popular misbeliefs. She adds that since the education program began, it has already rescued live vultures that had been captured for sale for traditional medicine. The VulPro CEO says that together with Shamari Private Game Reserve, she hopes the “huge task of housing and protecting the largest collection of African vultures in the world will secure their future.”
-- from CNN
禿鷹追著死亡，死亡也追著禿鷹。 只要想到食腐鳥，疾病和腐爛的圖像很快就會隨之而來。自然資源保護主義者說，禿鷹的名聲不好，這是沒有道理的，他們認為禿鷹是大自然中最偉大的回收者之一，也是最容易被誤解的生物之一。 Wolter表示，這個名為VulPro 的計畫已開始與禿鷹聚居地、棲息地和常見覓食區附近的居民接觸，向社區宣傳禿鷹對當地生態的好處，並消除普遍存在的誤解。她補充說，自從這教育計畫開始以來，它已經拯救了被捕獲當成傳統藥物出售的活禿鷹。 VulPro 的執行長表示，她希望與 Shamari 私人野生動物保護區一起，「為世界上數量最多的非洲禿鷹提供住房和保護的艱鉅任務，將確保它們的未來。」
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
‘Amusing Insight’ Revealed in Marx’s ‘Das Kapital’ Gift to Darwin
馬克思送給達爾文《資本論》「有趣見解」的揭示
Culture
Karl Marx once gifted a signed copy of “Das Kapital” to scientist Charles Darwin, but the book remained largely unread, providing an “amusing insight” into the dynamics between these two intellectuals, according to experts. In “Das Kapital,” economist and philosopher Marx explored how the capitalist system works and, he argued, its tendencies toward self-destruction. Now more than 150 years after sending the book to Darwin, it is set to go on display at the famed biologist’s house after the “unsolicited gift” was restored by experts. Marx sent the book to Darwin in June 1873, with the inscription “on the part of his sincere admirer, Karl Marx.” However, the gift “appears not to have been very well received,” said English Heritage, the charity responsible for maintaining Darwin’s residence, Down House, in a statement Thursday. “With most of its pages remaining uncut, it seems Darwin gave up any attempt to read it,” reads the statement, which adds that Darwin took almost three months to send a dry note of thanks to Marx.
--from CNN
馬克思曾將一本簽名版《資本論》贈送給科學家達爾文，但這本書基本上沒人閱讀過，據專家稱，這本書為這兩位知識分子之間的關係提供了「有趣的見解」。 在《資本論》中，經濟學家和哲學家馬克思探討了資本主義體制的運作方式，以及他認為資本主義制度自我毀滅的傾向。 在這本書被送到達爾文150多年後，專家修復了這份「不請自來的禮物」，這本書將在這位著名生物學家的家中展出。 1873年6月，馬克思將這本書寄給了達爾文，上面的題詞是「來自他真誠的崇拜者卡爾馬克思」。然而，負責維護達爾文住所 Down House的慈善機構英國遺產協會在週四的一份聲明中表示，這份禮物「似乎不太受到歡迎」。 聲明中寫道：「由於書本內大部分有連接的頁面都沒有被割開，達爾文似乎放棄了閱讀它的所有嘗試。」聲明還補充說，達爾文花了近3個月的時間才給馬克思發出了一封乾巴巴的感謝信。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
Scientists under Arrest: the Researchers Taking Action over Climate Change
科學家被逮捕：研究人員針對氣候變遷採取行動
Sciences
In the past, many scientists worried that they would lose credibility by taking political stances. But Cologna didn’t find that to be true in her study, which also surveyed 884 members of the public in the United States and Germany. She and her co-authors reported that 70% of Germans and 74% of Americans approve of scientists advocating for climate-related policies.The survey of researchers also uncovered hints that people who engage in advocacy do not lose the respect of their colleagues. It found that 73% of German climate scientists and 59% of US climate scientists agree that people in their field should “actively advocate for specific climate-related policies”.A similar finding emerged from a 2020 survey about political engagement of 2,208 members of the US Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Less than 6% of respondents thought that scientists should ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ be politically active. Fernando Tormos-Aponte, a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania who led the team that conducted the study, says that a cohort of scientists became politicized by policies widely seen as anti-scientific during the administration of former US president Donald Trump. These scientists continued their activism even when Trump left office. “The thing that persists is climate. There’s a sense of urgency around that, that’s almost unparallel to any other issue.”Greta Dargie, a geographer at the University of Leeds, UK, is one of many climate researchers who have ramped up their activism in the past few years. Last year she was arrested, for the first time in her life, for deliberately blocking traffic in London at an event organized by the British environmental activist group Just Stop Oil. Then, in the same week, she was arrested again, for the same offence.
--from Nature
過去，許多科學家擔心他們會因為採取政治立場會失去信譽。但Cologna在她的研究中發現事實並非如此，該研究也調查了美國和德國的884人。 她和她的合著者報告說，70%的德國人和74%的美國人贊成科學家倡導氣候相關政策。研究人員的調查也發現，從事倡議活動的人不會失去同僚的尊重。調查發現，73%的德國氣候科學家和59%的美國氣候科學家同意，他們領域的人們應該「積極倡導具體的氣候相關政策」。 2020年針對美國US Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) 2,208 名成員的政治參與度進行的一項調查也得出了類似的結論。不到 6%的受訪者認為科學家應該「很少」或「從不」參與政治活動。領導這項研究的賓州匹茲堡大學社會學家Fernando Tormos-Aponte表示，在美國前總統川普執政期間，一群科學家因被廣泛視為反科學的政策而變得政治化。即使川普卸任後，這些科學家仍在繼續他們的活動。「持續存在的是氣候。人們對此有一種緊迫感，這幾乎是其他任何問題都無法比擬的。」 英國University of Leeds的地理學家Greta Dargie是過去幾年加大行動力度的眾多氣候研究人員之一。去年，她因在英國環保組織「停止石油」組織的活動中故意阻塞倫敦交通而被捕，這是她生平第一次被捕。 然後，在同一週內，她又因同樣的罪名再次被捕。
--摘錄翻譯自Nature
Mind-reading Devices are Revealing the Brain’s Secrets
讀心裝置正在揭示大腦的秘密
Sciences
Moving a prosthetic arm. Controlling a speaking avatar. Typing at speed. These are all things that people with paralysis have learnt to do using brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) — implanted devices that are powered by thought alone. Although the main impetus behind the work is to help restore functions to people with paralysis, the technology also gives researchers a unique way to explore how the human brain is organized, and with greater resolution than most other methods. “BCIs in humans have given us a chance to record single-neuron activity for a lot of brain areas that nobody’s ever really been able to do in this way,” says Frank Willett, a neuroscientist at Stanford University in California who is working on a BCI for speech. The devices also allow measurements over much longer time spans than classical tools do, says Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, San Francisco. “BCIs are really pushing the limits, being able to record over not just days, weeks, but months, years at a time,” he says. “So you can study things like learning, you can study things like plasticity, you can learn tasks that require much, much more time to understand.”
-- from Nature
移動義肢。控制一個會說話的設備。快速打字。這些都是癱瘓患者學會使用腦機介面（BCI）—一種僅由思想驅動的植入裝置—來完成的事情。 儘管這項工作背後的主要推動力是為了幫助癱瘓患者恢復功能，但該技術也為研究人員提供了一種獨特的方式來探索人類大腦的組織方式，並且比大多數其他方法具有更高的分辨率。 人類腦機介面讓我們有機會記錄許多大腦區域的單神經元活動，而這是以前沒有人真正能夠用這種方式做到的。」加州史丹佛大學神經科學家 Frank Willett說，他正在研究腦機介面的語音功能。 加州大學舊金山分校的神經外科醫生Edward Chang 表示，與傳統工具相比，這些設備還允許在更長的時間範圍內進行測量。「BCI 確實突破了極限，不僅能夠一次記錄數天、數週，而且能夠記錄數月、數年的時間」他說。「所以你可以研究學習之類的東西，你可以研究可塑性之類的東西，你可以學習需要更多時間才能理解的任務。」
--摘錄翻譯自Nature