Goole新Doodle致敬美国科学家内蒂史蒂文斯

AS IT IS 2016-07-08 Google Honors American Scientist Nettie Stevens Goole新Doodle致敬美国科学家内蒂史蒂文斯

This is What’s Trending Today…

The Internet search engine Google celebrated¹ a woman scientist on Thursday.

Her name might not be world-famous. But on July 7, on what would have been her 155th birthday, she was a trending topic on social media.

Nettie Stevens studied genetic² material. The American geneticist and biologist made an important scientific discovery in 1905. She found that the X and Y chromosomes⁴ decide the sex of a living organism.

Most human cells have 46 chromosomes. Each one is an extremely small line of chemicals with genes⁵.

On Thursday, Stevens’ likeness⁶ appeared on Google’s American homepage in the form of a Google Doodle. The picture led to a discussion about Nettie Stevens on social media.?

Throughout history, scientists and many other people had debated how the sex of a human being - and other animals - is decided⁷. In the 1800s, for example, many Europeans believed that the food a mother ate during pregnancy⁸ helped determine the sex of her baby.

But Stevens’ research proved that X and Y chromosomes are the deciding factor.

Her scientific research was groundbreaking. Yet she was not always given credit for the discovery. Another scientist, Edmund Beecher Wilson, found similar results at around the same time. He was most often credited with the discovery.

But on Thursday, it was all about Nettie Stevens. Her name was a trending topic on Twitter.

One Twitter user wrote, “I've never heard of Nettie Stevens before today. Thank you Google Doodle for giving her appropriate attention and respect.”

Words in This Story

chromosome³ – n. the part of a cell that contains the genes which control how an animal or plant grows and what it becomes

groundbreaking – adj. introducing new ideas or methods

appropriate – adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation?

topic – n. a subject or issue

factor – n. one of the things that causes a result

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

4 chromosomes   

n.染色体( chromosome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chromosomes also determine the sex of animals. 染色体也决定动物的性别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Each of four chromosomes divide longitudinally. 四种染色体的每一种都沿着纵向分裂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

6 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。