SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, October 26, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to Science in the News in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

 
Damage from the powerful earthquake that shook Japan on Oct. 23.
And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week: a computer program that discovers an earthquake before it happens ... a mystery noise from deep in the Earth ... and we answer a question from a listener in Pakistan.

VOICE ONE:

But first, a new report on ways to improve human health in developing countries.

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VOICE ONE:

Scientists are calling for an international effort to share the products of genomics research. The scientists say such an effort could help to save the lives of millions of people in developing countries each year.

The University of Toronto Joint² Centre for Bioethics proposed the effort in a report to the United Nations. The report is called Genomics and Global Health. It was presented earlier this month at the Fourth World Conference of Science Journalists in Montreal, Canada.

VOICE TWO:

The science of genomics investigates genes³ and the way they operate. Genomics has led to new medicines and tools for fighting disease.

The University of Toronto group says such tools are able to identify disease at the molecular⁴ level in blood or tissues. It says this will help increase a patient's chance of survival and prevent diseases from spreading. The group says poor countries often waste limited resources on wrong treatments.

VOICE ONE:

Peter Singer is Director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics. He says millions of people in developing countries die from diseases that could be prevented or treated easily through products of biotechnology.

Doctor Singer says the report urges industrial nations to share their wealth of information with developing countries. He says the report also shows a way for developing countries to reach targets set at a United Nations conference four years ago. The targets are known as the U-N's Millennium⁵ Development Goals. Delegates at the conference agreed to reach these goals by two-thousand-fifteen.

VOICE TWO:

The report explains how genomics could improve human health in developing countries. For example, scientists could make a genetic⁶ map of the organisms responsible for the disease malaria⁷ in humans. This information can be used to develop new drugs and vaccines⁸ to strengthen the human body's defenses against disease.

The report says the products of genomics once were so costly⁹ that only wealthy nations could pay for them. It says developing countries are now able to pay for some of these products. And, it says, a few are now so low-cost and simple they can start replacing older, more costly health care technologies in poorer countries.

The report calls for creation of a program to support genomics for the public good of all people. The program would ask governments, businesses and other organizations to support genomics and learning worldwide.

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VOICE ONE:

A team of scientists has developed a computer program that can tell where and when earthquakes will happen. The program successfully warned of fifteen of the sixteen largest earthquakes in the American state of California in the past ten years.

John Rundle of the University of California at Davis led the scientific team. Mister Rundle says the scientists are extremely happy with results of the project. He says the results are evidence of the project's ability to tell when and where earthquakes will happen in the future.

VOICE TWO:

The method involves the use of a special computer program called QuakeSim. The program examined information about large earthquakes in the past. The information tells where and when the earthquakes took place. It also includes their strength as measured by the Richter scale. The computer program used information about earthquakes in California as long ago as nineteen thirty-two.

The program also examined information about small, recent earthquakes and information gathered from satellites in Earth orbit. The satellites measured small changes in the surface of the planet.

The computer program then consideed all of the information to help the scientists tell where and when earthquakes were most likely to happen.

VOICE ONE:

The scientific team published its findings in Proceedings¹⁰ of the National Academy of Sciences in February, two thousand-two. Their report warned that fifteen earthquakes would take place. There were eleven earthquakes after the report was published. Four others happened before it was released to the public.

The effort to estimate when earthquakes will happen was a project developed by scientists at the University of Colorado and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The American space agency and the United States Department of Energy paid for the study.

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VOICE TWO:

Scientists in the United States believe they have identified the cause of a mysterious noise made by the Earth. They say the noise seems to be coming from some ocean areas. They say it starts during periods of severe winter storm activity.

For years, scientists have known the Earth can ring like a bell after an earthquake. They believed that the shaking would end when there are no earthquakes. Yet studies have shown it continues long after the effects of an earthquake.

VOICE ONE:

Scientists in Japan first described the noise six years ago. They said it is a deep, low sound that is present in the ground. The sound is too low for human ears to hear. Scientists say the sound is not very powerful. They say it only has as much power as a few one hundred watt¹¹ electric light bulbs.

Recently, research scientists from the University of California at Berkeley attempted to find the cause of the noise. Barbara Romanowicz and graduate student Junkee Rhie reported their findings in the publication Nature.

The researchers studied information collected by seismographic equipment in California and Japan. Seismographs measure the movements of the ground and within the Earth. The researchers considered information gathered on sixty days during the year when there was little or no earthquake activity.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers say the noise appeared to come from the northern Pacific Ocean during winter months in Japan and California. During summer months in these areas, the noise seemed to move to oceans of the Southern Hemisphere, just north of Antarctica. The researchers noted¹² that these are times and places where winter weather causes strong winds and large waves.

Professor Romanowicz says this suggests that the force of the water hitting the ocean floor may be causing the noise.

Toshiro Tanimoto is a geophysicist with the University of California at Santa Barbara. Professor Tanimoto praised the new study for finding a believable explanation. He says he proposed a similar explanation in the past. He also said the noise shows that the Earth, its oceans and atmosphere all are part of a common system.

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VOICE ONE:

Several weeks ago, we began asking listeners to send us any science questions they might have. Electronic mail messages came quickly. One came from Pakistan. Nadeem wants to know about the Big Bang theory. Our first stop for information was the American apace agency, NASA.

NASA calls the Big Bang Theory the leading theory for describing the beginning of the universe. The theory says the universe was created almost fourteen-thousand-million years ago from a huge explosion.

Big Bang scientists think all the parts of the universe started from a single object. It would have been small, but of great mass. Scientists believe this object exploded. They think the universe is still expanding today from that event.

VOICE TWO:

There are two major pieces of evidence that scientists say support the Big Bang theory. First, stars and other objects in space appear to be moving away from each other. The other major evidence is the existence of background microwave radiation. Scientists think the Big Bang explosion created this energy.

The Big Bang theory is widely accepted by scientists. However, most of them would agree that it is unlikely anyone will ever be able to prove the theory.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Brian Kim, Paul Thompson, George Grow and Caty Weaver¹³. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for Science in the News in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 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

4 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

5 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

6 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。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

11 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 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。