SCIENCE IN THE NEWS – The Year in Science 2004: Tsunami / S

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS – The Year in Science 2004: Tsunami¹ / SARS / Bird Flu / H.I.V. and AIDS / The Little People of Flores / D...
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Tuesday, December 28, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

This is Science in the News, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

 
SARS has become a major international health concern. 
And I'm Bob Doughty². This week, we look back at the major science stories of two-thousand-four. We look at safety questions about some popular medicines and struggles against SARS, bird flu and other diseases.

VOICE ONE:

We also tell about the bones of small human-like creatures found in Indonesia. But first, a look at the powerful tsunami Sunday that killed tens of thousands of people.

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VOICE ONE:

People in many countries are recovering from the effects of a powerful earthquake Sunday in the Indian Ocean. The underwater earthquake created huge waves that struck coastal³ areas from Indonesia to Somalia. The earthquake caused a series of huge, destructive ocean waves, also called a tsunami.

In the Japanese language, the word tsunami means "harbor wave." Earthquakes are a major cause of tsunamis⁴. But landslides⁵ on the ocean floor also can cause huge ocean waves. Other causes are exploding volcanoes and even explosions.

Experts say a tsunami can travel as fast as seven hundred twenty five kilometers an hour. And, the waves can be more than thirty meters high as they move toward land.

VOICE TWO:

Tsunamis can form near the center of an earthquake and travel out in all directions. This means they can affect countries thousands of kilometers from each other.

Tsunamis are most common in the Pacific Ocean. Japan has had the most tsunamis. In the past hundreds of years, one hundred thousand people have been killed by tsunamis in Japan. Six years ago, more than two thousand people died when a tsunami struck Papua New Guinea.

American scientists say the earthquake in the Indian Ocean Sunday reached nine-point-zero on the Richter system of earthquake measurement. They say it also was the fifth strongest earthquake measured since nineteen-hundred.

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VOICE ONE:

Another major story of two-thousand-four was the progress being made against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome⁶. SARS is a kind of lung infection. It may cause higher than normal body temperature. Patients have difficulty breathing. Their body wastes become soft and watery⁷.

SARS is caused by a coronavirus. Some members of the coronavirus family can cause the common cold.

The first case of SARS was reported in southern China two years ago. Since then, the disease has infected eight-thousand people in almost thirty countries. It killed more than seven hundred seventy of them.

VOICE TWO:

Research scientists in several countries are attempting to develop medicines to prevent SARS. This month, Chinese researchers reported success in the first human test of a preventative vaccine⁸ for the disease.

The test involved thirty-six healthy people. Half received a small amount of experimental SARS inactivated⁹ vaccine. The others received a stronger version of the medicine. The researchers said all thirty-six people produced antibodies for fighting the disease. Those taking the vaccine suffered minor¹⁰ side effects, such as a higher than normal temperature.

Chinese media say at least ten different kinds of SARS vaccines¹¹ are being developed. In the United States, tests of an experimental vaccine have begun at the National Institutes of Health, near Washington, D.C.

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VOICE ONE:

Another medical story this year involved a virus experts say is more deadly than SARS. It is bird flu. This year, the bird flu virus killed at least thirty-two people in Thailand and Vietnam. The World Health Organization says that almost all the victims got the bird flu from infected chickens. Millions of chickens and other birds have been destroyed across Asia to prevent the disease from spreading.

Health experts fear the bird flu virus will change into a kind that can move from person to person and spread throughout the world. Recently, a W.H.O. official warned that the virus could infect up to thirty percent of the human population. Shigeru Omi also said bird flu could kill between two million and seven million people. He noted¹² that some experts believe that up to fifty million people could die.

VOICE TWO:

This month, the World Health Organization held a meeting to discuss efforts to develop a vaccine to prevent infection by the bird flu virus. Health officials from around the world met in Switzerland. They said experts are concerned about the recent appearance of the virus and infection rates. They warned of a possible pandemic. A pandemic is when a disease spreads around the world.

Scientists are developing two vaccines based on the current bird flu virus in Asia. Testing both of these within a year will cost about thirteen million dollars each.

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VOICE ONE:

Another major story is one of the biggest health threats of all. The United Nations reports that about thirty-nine million people around the world are living with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. That is up from almost thirty seven million two years ago.

This year, about three million people died of causes linked to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Five million became infected. These numbers are the highest yet.

Southern Africa remains¹³ the most severely¹⁴ affected¹⁵ area. More than sixty percent of all people with H.I.V. live there. The islands of the Caribbean Sea have the next highest rate.

VOICE TWO:

Almost half of all people infected with H.I.V. are women and girls. And, the virus is spreading faster among women than men in most areas. U-N officials say East Asia has the sharpest increase in the number of women infected with H.I.V. in the past two years.

AIDS experts say women are at greater risk because it is physically¹⁶ easier for the female body to become infected during sex. They also say many women cannot demand that their partners use protection. And marriage is no protection if the husband has had sex with someone who is infected. These reasons often combine with sexual violence, a lack of money or education for women.

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VOICE ONE:

Another story this year was the discovery of ancient bones in Indonesia. The bones were found last year in a cave on the island of Flores.

A team of Australian and Indonesian scientists reported the discovery in October. The scientists say the bones represent a new kind of human-like creature. They say the creatures stood just less than one meter tall and lived as recently as twelve thousand years ago.

Some experts said the discovery could change the known history of human beings on earth.

VOICE TWO:

Recently, an Indonesian scientist, Teuku Jacob, borrowed most of the bones for study. He says the bones came from human beings with small bodies, not a new creature.

Indonesians had been searching in the Flores area in the nineteen seventies, but stopped their work because of a lack of money. Now, Australian scientists who found the bones fear the Indonesians will keep them and limit who can study them in the future.

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VOICE ONE:

Another story this year was the withdrawal¹⁷ of the pain medicine Vioxx. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved Vioxx five years ago. But in September, Merck and Company stopped selling it following a long-term study. The study suggested that people who used Vioxx had an increased chance of heart attacks and strokes.

One recent study found that Vioxx users were nearly three times more likely to suffer a heart attack than people taking a similar drug called Celebrex. America's National Cancer Institute stopped another study this month because Celebrex was found to increase the risk of heart attack. And, a separate study raised safety questions about the pain medicine naproxen, sold as Aleve.

The United States Food and Drug Administration says it is too early to say what action might be taken on Celebrex and Alleve. The agency can legally remove, or recall, a harmful product from the marketplace. Or a company can withdraw its product.

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VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

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 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。

4 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

5 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

6 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

7 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

8 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。

9 inactivated   

v.使不活泼，阻止活动( inactivate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Molluscicides are quickly inactivated by sunlight and adsorption to mud organic matter. 灭螺剂因阳光作用、泥土及有机物质的吸收会很快失效。 来自辞典例句
• Viruses were inactivated by BPL and the toxicity measured again. BPL对病毒进行灭活，测定残存毒力。 来自互联网

10 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

11 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。

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

17 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。