SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Digest

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Digest
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Paul Thompson, Jeri Watson, Caty Weaver¹ and Avi Arditti.

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty².

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long. This week: the Nobel Prize winners for science…melting ice in Antarctica…and more about an award-winning supercomputer.

VOICE ONE:

But first, news about a vaccine³ to protect against the disease influenza⁴…

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VOICE ONE:

The United States will have limited supplies of vaccine to prevent influenza this winter. As a result, American officials are urging healthy adults to delay getting the vaccine or not get one at all this flu season.

The officials say the limited supplies should go first to people most at risk from influenza. High-risk groups include children age six to twenty-three months and anyone sixty-five years of age and older. They also include pregnant women and people with long-term medical conditions. Officials say health workers and persons caring for babies also need flu vaccine injections.

VOICE TWO:

There will be no flu vaccine this year from a company that provides half the supply used in the United States. The company, Chiron, makes its vaccine in Liverpool, England. Last week, British officials suspended its production permit for three months. American health officials say the British action was unexpected.

Chiron had announced in September that some of its flu vaccine failed company inspections⁵ for purity. But Chiron also said it expected to be able to release its supplies by early October. Now the company says it will not be able to release any of its product this flu season.

VOICE ONE:

Chicken eggs are used in the process to make flu vaccine. Chiron is one of two companies that supply the vaccine used in flu shots in the United States. There have been limited supplies before, but nothing like this. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a long-term solution is needed. Doctor Julie Gerberding says this would end the situation of an undependable supply from year to year.

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VOICE TWO:

Health experts in the United States are criticizing the Food and Drug Administration after the worldwide withdrawal⁶ of a popular medicine. The criticism comes five years after the F.D.A. approved the drug Vioxx for treating pain. The maker⁷ of Vioxx, Merck and Company, announced last month that it has stopped selling the drug. Merck said a long-term study suggested that people who used Vioxx had an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The drug company paid for the study itself. Two thousand six hundred people were observed for eighteen months. Merck organized the study to find out if Vioxx was helpful in preventing cancer growths in the colon⁸. But, the study discovered something else. It found that heart attacks were almost two times as common among Vioxx users than among those who did not take the drug.

VOICE ONE:

The Food and Drug Administration approved Vioxx in nineteen-ninety-nine. The following year, Merck gave the federal agency results of a study on the drug's safety. It found that patients taking Vioxx had an increased risk of health problems, such as heart attacks and strokes. Two years ago, the F. D. A. ordered Merck to include warnings with the drug.

Vioxx is among a group of drugs called Cox-Two non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. They grew in popularity among pain sufferers because they are supposed to cause fewer stomach problems than other medicines. Worldwide sales of Vioxx were worth two thousand five-hundred million dollars last year.

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VOICE TWO:

 
Graphic⁹ Image
New studies show that glaciers¹⁰ on two sides of Antarctica are getting thinner and moving faster. The changes might mean that seawater levels could continually rise for hundreds of years. Three teams of investigators¹¹ carried out separate studies of the Antarctic glaciers. The teams used satellites and airplanes to observe the thick ice covering the continent.

One area studied is along the Antarctic Peninsula, just south of the Atlantic Ocean. The other area faces the Pacific Ocean. It involves the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Amundsen Sea. In each place, floating ice formations called ice shelves were connected to the coastline. Or, they were connected to the sea bottom. The ice shelves were in front of the glaciers.

VOICE ONE:

The studies examined what happened after these ice shelves broke up. Scientists report that the shelves seemingly released large pieces of inland ice. The freed ice is now flowing faster toward the coast. There it will melt and raise the sea level.

The scientists say warming conditions on Antarctica caused some of the changes. Yet not all areas of the continent are getting warmer. Some areas are cooling. Still, the studies show that enough coastal¹² air and waters have warmed to produce the changed conditions.

Some of the scientists say the sea level will rise about six-tenths of a meter by two thousand one hundred. That is within estimates made by a worldwide committee studying the warming of Earth's atmosphere. But, that amount already threatens the future of areas below sea level.

VOICE TWO:

Theodore Scambos of the University of Colorado says he believes Antarctica reacts fast to climate warming. Temperatures there have risen as much as two-point-five degrees Celsius¹³ in the past sixty years. That is said to be one of the fastest rates in the world. Mister Scambos was among the research scientists from American universities who studied the Antarctic glaciers. They say more warming could cause additional ice to fall into the sea. Scientists from the American space agency took part in the studies. So did researchers from the Institute of Antarctica in Argentina and the Center of Scientific Studies in Chile.

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VOICE ONE:

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced winners of the Nobel Prizes for science last week. This year, three Americans will share the Nobel Prize for Physics. David Gross, David Politzer and Frank Wilczak are being recognized for their studies of quarks, the smallest building blocks of nature.

 
Israeli scientists Aaron Ciechanove, left, and Avram Hershko
Three scientists will share the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. They are Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko, both of Israel, and American Irwin Rose. The Royal Swedish Academy says the three men provided important findings about the normal process of protein destruction in cells.

VOICE TWO:

 
Richard Axel
The Nobel Prize for Physiology¹⁴ or Medicine will be given to two Americans. Richard Axel and Linda Buck¹⁵ studied the sense of smell. They were recognized for their discovery of a large family of genes¹⁶ and receptors in the nose that are linked to the genes.

The two Americans found that three percent of all human genes are responsible for the sense of smell. Their work helped explained how animals recognize and remember about ten thousand different smells.

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VOICE ONE:

Supercomputers are extremely powerful. They are mostly for scientific and engineering work. If you ever decide to build a supercomputer, you can get some ideas from how it was done at the Virginia Polytechnic¹⁷ Institute and State University. Virginia Tech students, teachers, and others linked together one thousand one hundred personal computers. They used the Macintosh G-five made by Apple Computer.

This year, they rebuilt the machine with a new server computer from Apple, the Xserve G-five. This is expected to make the supercomputer even stronger. It was already the most powerful computer at any university, and the third most powerful in the world.

In all, almost two hundred people worked to build the supercomputer last year at the school in Blacksburg, Virginia. Team members worked seven days a week and up to twenty hours a day.

VOICE TWO:

The team designed and built the supercomputer in three months. They named it System X. It cost a little more than five million dollars to build. Other top supercomputers had cost at least ten times more.

The team members tested the computer each time they finished part of it. On September twenty-third, two thousand-three, they turned on the complete system for the first time. They learned that their new computer could solve ten million million mathematical problems every second.

Physicists¹⁸ at Virginia Tech are using System X to design new electronic systems controlled by single atoms. Chemists and biologists use System X in studies of molecules¹⁹.

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VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Paul Thompson, Jeri Watson, Caty Weaver and Avi Arditti. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about Science in Special English on VOA.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

5 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

9 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

10 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

13 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

14 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

15 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

16 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

17 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

18 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

19 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。