60second-science(60秒科学)2014.6月 听力原文

Cool Kids Get Schooled With Age Kids deemed cool in early adolescence have a poor chance to keep that status by their early twenties, because their behavior gets old. Erika Beras reports.Here‟s something you might have figured out at your high school r eunion or by Facebook-stalking your old classmates: being one of the cool kids does not necessarily mean being cool for life. And now, a study in the journal Child Development confirms that suspicion. [Joseph P. Allen et al, What Ever Happened To The …Cool‟ Kids? Long-Term Sequelae Of Early Adolescent Pseudomature Behavior]Researchers followed ethnically and racially diverse suburban and urban kids from early adolescence to early adulthood. The kids who were deemed cool at a young age were high-status individuals with romantic relationships who broke rules and laws.But they were no longer viewed that way by peers by the time they were in their early 20‟s. The pseudo-mature behavior that seemed so admirable at a young age lost cache as the other kids gained actual maturity.Meanwhile, as the young James Deans and Miley Cyruses aged they had to engage in ever-riskier behavior to keep thinking of themselves as cool.By their early twenties, they were more likely to have drug and alcohol problems, relationship issues and criminal involvement. Turns out being a cool kid has a really short shelf life.—Erika Beras(The above text is a transcript of this podcast)White Bread May Actually Build Strong Bodies 1 WayThe guts of white bread eaters appear to contain more lactobacillus, a type of bacteria that wards off digestive disorders. Karen Hopkin reportsJun 20, 2014 |By Karen Hopkin[Audio of vintage Wonder Bread commercial]You can beat on Wonder Bread all you want. [Audio of columnist James Norton: “You can make a completely credible pillow out of this stuff.”]But it just keeps bouncing back—because despite its nutritional bad reputation, white bread appears to boost the growth of good gut bacteria. That‟s according to a pap er in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. [Adriana Cuervo et al, Pilot Study of Diet and Microbiota: Interactive Associations of Fibers and Polyphenols with Human Intestinal Bacteria]In recent years, white bread has been shunned as a glutenous slab that lacks the health benefits of whole wheat. But this new study suggests there‟s more to the story.The researchers were looking at the effects of foods on the types of microbes that live in our intestines. They gathered data on the diets of 38 healthy adults and then analyzed the bacteria present in the subjects‟ stool samples. Hey, it‟s for science.Turns out that volunteers who ate white bread had more lactobacillus, a type of bacteria that wards off digestive disorders. Seems the starch and fibers in this sandwich staple are good for these germs.But before you make your lunch, another recent study showed that eating white bread is associated with obesity. So you should take all these findings with a pinch of salt. But not too much salt—especially if you have high blood pressure.—Karen Hopkin [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Plant Spores Hitch Long-Distance Feather RidesTiny spores from mosses, algae and lichens can stick in bird feathers, travel from the Arctic to the bottom of South America and grow into whole new specimens. Erika Beras reportsJun 18, 2014 |By Erika BerasYou could be in the Arctic and spot some moss. And then you could be at the tip of South America and spot the same kind of moss—and never find it in between. So how did this particular plant get so well-traveled? Turns out it flew.We‟ve long known that birds spread seeds. But new research says migrating birds also spread microscopic spores.The birds harbor tiny parts of plants and lichens in their feathers, setting up similar colonies thousands of miles apart. That‟s according to a study in the journal PeerJ. [Lily R. Lewis et al, First evidence of bryophyte diaspores in the plumage of transequatorial migrant birds]Scientists inspected feathers from birds in the Arctic that were about to leave for South America. Fragments from mosses, algae, lichens and liverworts were trapped in the feathers. All of which can grow into new whole organisms.The researchers think that long-distance fliers such as the American golden-plover and the white-rumped sandpiper picked up the spores while lining their nests. Then when the birds arrive in new places they molt, leaving behind the feathers and their precious cargo—to start growing again at the other end of the world.—Erika Beras [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Jellyfish Galaxies Get Guts Ripped OutRecently discovered galaxies shaped like jellyfish leave a long trail of hot gas and dust, victims of even hotter gas from their surrounding cluster of galaxiesJun 17, 2014 |By Ken Croswell and Steve MirskyA recently discovered breed of galaxies really caught astronomers‟ attention. Because they look like jellyfish.Astronomers found the first jellyfish galaxy a decade ago. Such a galaxy has a disk of stars, like our Milky Way—plus long blue tendrils. A jellyfish galaxy was once a spiral like the Milky Way, spawning new stars from its gas and dust. But unlike the Milky Way, a jellyfish belongs to a cluster of galaxies.A recent analysis of Hubble telescope images led to the conclusion that extremely hot gas from the cluster is behind the formation of jellyfish. That study is in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. [H. Ebeling, L. N. Stephenson, and A. C. Edge, Jellyfish: Evidence of extreme ram-pressure stripping in massive galaxy clusters]As the galaxy plows through space, this hot gas rips out the galaxy's own gas and dust, forming the long streamers behind the galaxy. This torn-out gas still gives birth to new stars. The brightest of these newborn stars shine blue. So the former disc-shaped galaxy metamorphosizes into a celestial jellyfish sporting long blue tendrils.The galaxy will eventually literally run out of gas, and thus lose the ability to create any more new stars. Jellyfish in the sea can be deadly. But in space, the mortally wounded victim is the jellyfish galaxy itself.—written by Ken Croswell, voiced by Steve Mirsky [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]2-Face Moon Tells How It Got That WayA new analysis says that the asymmetry between the two faces of the moon is due to crust thickness differences that resulted from variable cooling rates after the molten formation of our companion. Karen Hopkin reportsJun 13, 2014 |By Karen HopkinThe dark side of the moon. It‟s remote and mysterious. And not just because we can‟t see it from Earth. When viewed from space, th e moon‟s back side looks totally different from its front. Now, researchers think they have a solution to the mystery, which they share in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. [Arpita Roy, Jason T. Wright, and Steinn Sigurðsson, Earthshine on a Young Moon: Explaining the Lunar Farside Highlands]You may have wondered about the "man in the moon," that facelike image made by the large flat plains on the lunar surface that faces us. But scientists wonder why the far side doesn‟t have comparable features.According to the new analysis, this asymmetry has to do with how the moon was made. Not long after the Earth formed, a Mars-sized hunk of intergalactic debris smacked into our baby planet, flinging off material that then became the moon. The crash left both bodies boiling hot. But the smaller moon cooled down more quickly than the molten Earth… especially the part that faced the other way.The minerals on the moon‟s cooler side started to p recipitate sooner. That head start gave the far side a thicker crust, which is more resistant to the weathering seen on the familiar side: weathering that gives a face character. Even on the moon.—Karen Hopkin [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Classroom Decorations Can Distract Young StudentsFive-year-olds in highly decorated classrooms were less able to hold their focus, spent more time off-task and had smaller learning gains than kids in bare rooms. Erika Beras reportsJun 11, 2014 |By Erika BerasRemember your kindergarten classroom? The maps on the wall, the charts of the seasons on bulletin boards, the alphabet over the blackboard? I know I spent hours staring at the brightly colored decorations—and not listening to what my teacher was saying. Maybe you did, too. And it looks like we‟re not alone.The more decorations in a classroom, the more distracted students may be. So finds a study in the journal Psychological Science. [Anna K. Fisher, Karrie E. Godwin and Howard Seltman, Visual Environment, Attention Allocation, and Learning in Young Children: When Too Much of a Good Thing May Be Bad]Researchers observed five-year-olds in highly decorated classrooms and in classrooms that were relatively bare. And the kids were less able to hold their focus, spent more time off-task and had smaller learning gains in the busy rooms than in the bare rooms.At that young age, attention regulation skills aren‟t fully formed. And yet it‟s at that stage of development that children find themselves surrounded by decorations irrelevant to what t hey‟re learning at any given time.The researchers are not prescribing a change from busy to bare rooms. They say there is more research to be done. But this study, along with previous work, suggests that the visual environment can affect how young childr en learn their reading, writing and …rithmetic.—Erika Beras[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Kid Scientist Finds Sweet Pest ControlEleven-year-old Simon Kaschock-Marenda's science fair project led to a publication about the insecticidal effects of the sweetener Truvia. Karen Hopkin reportsJun 10, 2014 |By Karen HopkinYou can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. But if you want to kill them, you might try Truvia. Because a new study shows that the active ingredient in this popular sweetener can act as an insecticide.The study began as a sixth-grade science-fair project. Eleven-year-old Simon Kaschock-Marenda noticed that his parents had stopped using sugar. So he decided to see how different sweeteners affect the health of fruit flies. He and his dad, a card-carrying biologist, offered the flies food spiked with a variety of no-cal sweeteners. Six days into the experiment all the Truvia-fed flies were dead, while those stuck with Sweet-n-low, Splenda or Equal lived five to seven weeks.Why Truvia makes flies drop like flies is still a mystery. Back in the lab, the researchers confirmed that the bugs weren‟t starving: they all continued to eat. Mos t actually seemed to prefer Truvia to real sugar when offered a choice, findings published in the journal PLoS One. [Kaitlin M. Baudier et al, Erythritol, a Non-Nutritive Sugar Alcohol Sweetener and the Main Component of Truvia®, Is a Palatable Ingested Insecticide]Next, the researchers will see if the sweetener kills other bugs, like cockroaches or ants. Until then, try tossing a little Truvia in your coffee, and on the counter.—Karen Hopkin [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Light Colors Become Fashion Rage for Northern Europe's InsectsAs northern Europe warms, the light-colored butterflies and dragonflies typically found in the Mediterranean are moving north, and outcompeting their darker-colored rivals. Erika Beras reportsJun 9, 2014 |By Erika BerasFor insects in Europe, climate change has led to habitat change. In the past couple of decades, for example, Mediterranean butterfly and dragonfly species have been found flying around places previously off limits to them—new new northern climes such as Germany.Now a study in Nature Communications finds a colorful reason for the northern expansion. As northern Europe warms, the light-colored butterflies and dragonflies typically found in the Mediterranean find themselves able to survive in the newly warmer north, and to even outcompete their darker-colored rivals. [Dirk Zeuss et al, Global warming favours light-coloured insects in Europe]Lighter colors reflect sunlight while dark colors absorb it and heat up. Hence chocolate ice cream melts in the sun faster than vanilla. Lighter-colored insects thus function well in warmer climates. They don‟t overheat as easily and can stay active longer, giving them a leg up—well, six legs up—in our warming world.The researchers say this migrat ion of insects shows that climate change isn‟t something that‟s coming—it‟s already happening. And it could drastically affect which insects up end up where. Which will in turn affect us.—Erika Beras[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.][Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.]London Fish Chip Away atHistorical UnknownsIsotope composition within fish tails found in London archaeological digs shows that the city began importing cod from northern Scandinavia some 800 years ago. Cynthia Graber reportsJun 6, 2014 |By Cynthia GraberLondoners love their fish. And according to a new study, in the early 13th Century they suddenly started importing it from as far away as the Arctic near Norway. The research is in the journal Antiquity. [David C. Orton et al, Fish for the city: meta-analysis of archaeological cod remains and the growth of London's northern trade]About the year 1000, sea fishing increased significantly in northern Europe. To see how that increase influenced urban growth, researchers looked at 95 excavation sites in London. Which included about 3,000 bones from cod fish.Cod are decapitated before being dried for transport. So finding heads meant the fish were local. And the researchers found that as fish heads appear to decrease in the early 1200s, fish tails dramatically increased—a sign of importation.Examination of the chemical isotopes in the tails matched those for fish in waters far to the north, probably off Norway close to the Arctic, more evidence of import.The scientists do not know if the rapid switch from local to imported cod happened because local fish were n‟t as plentiful as the population increased, or if the market became flooded with dried imports from the north. But these fish tails tell a story of London becoming a growing economic center, and part of a globalizing fish trade.—Cynthia Graber [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Meteor Storm Went from Sizzle to FizzleThe May Camelopardalids meteor outburst turned out to be a dud, because meteor storm prediction is not a sure thing, unlike, for example, calculating the next eclipseJun 4, 2014 |By Ken Croswell and Steve MirskyWhat if they held a meteor storm and no meteors came? That's what many people are asking after the well-hyped May Camelopardalids meteor outburst turned out to be a dud.Most meteors arise from mere dust grains and pebbles in space. When Earth passes through a stream of this debris shed by a comet, the particles burn up in our atmosphere, and we see a meteor shower.Some astronomers had predicted that on the night of May 23, particles from a comet called LINEAR would bring many meteors to the night sky. North America had the best seats for the event.And so a lot of people watched and waited. But no one saw much.Meteor showers are common, and the best produce about a hundred meteors per hour. But meteor storms, which can send out thousands of meteors per hour, are rare and notoriously unreliable.Not only can predicted storms go bust, but great storms can erupt without warning. In November 1966, the normally weak Leonids surprised everyone and roared back to life, producing more than 100,000 shooting stars in a single hour.You can still count on astronomers to tell you exactly when the next eclipse will be. But if they ever promise you a meteor storm, you should take it with a grain of, well, meteor dust.—written by Ken Croswell, voiced by Steve Mirsky [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]。