sss1

20120308They're called hydrogels: Jell-O like materials made of networks of long-chain molecules in water.And they're as flexible as living tissue.But hydrogels could not recover from a cut—until now. Bioengineers at UC San Diego have made hydrogels that are self-healing in acidic conditions.When you cut open a piece of hydrogel, the polymers that normally entwine to hold the gel together cannot grasp each other again,leaving the wound unhealed.But in the new gels, additional molecular chains dangle from the primary structure. When two pieces of the cut hydrogel are pressed together in an acidic solution,the side chains of each piece tangle up to weld the parts together.The work is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.These hydrogels could seal up industrial acid leakages and contribute to self-healing plastics.In the acidic environment of the stomach, they could bandage holes or deliver drugs to ulcers.The researchers are trying to make gels that mend at a range of pH levels.They may look like desserts, but self-healing hydrogels could be a medical main course.—Sophie BushwickHydrogel:水凝胶Jell-O:果冻Cut open 剖，切开Polymer 聚合物Entwine 缠绕，盘绕Gel 凝胶，冻胶Dangle 摇晃地悬挂着dangle from 在(扣栓处、系牢处等)摇晃地悬挂，从…吊着: Tangle up 缠在一起Weld 焊接，使结合Proceeding n. 进行；程序；诉讼；事项v. 开始；继续做；行进（proceed的ing形式）Seal up 密封住Leakage 泄露，渗漏物Bandage 绷带，用绷带包扎Ulcer 溃疡Mend 修理，修补It sounds like the premise for a bad police drama, maybe NYPD Chimp. But scientists have found that high-ranking chimpanzees can act like cops:intervening to settle public disputes.The study appears in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.In any community, conflicts inevitably arise. That's why we humans have law enforcement agencies, the military and impartial arbitrators like Jerry Springer. But how does our closest kin in the animal kingdom handle social unrest(n. 不安；动荡的局面)不安的状态这就是为什么我们人类有执法机构、军方和公正仲裁员像杰瑞·施普林格。

A team of anthropologists spent nearly 600 hours observing the social interactions of chimps at a Swiss zoo. And they saw the alpha male or his beta sidekick break up 69 different scuffles by running into the fray or getting up in the face of the warring parties, which were sometimes males but often females.This kind of peacekeeping is not peculiar to Swiss apes. Chimps in an English zoo, and even in the wild, exhibit similar policing. And in some cases it's a female that's the top cop.Such social intercession may have evolved to help stabilize the community, which ultimately benefits all its members. Including Chimpsky and Hutch.—Karen HopkinIntervene vi. 干涉；调停；插入premise n. 前提；上述各项；房屋连地基vt. 引出，预先提出；作为…的前提vi. 作出前提Dispute n. 辩论；争吵vt. 辩论；怀疑；阻止；抗拒vi. 争论Enforcement n. 执行，实施；强制Impartial adj. 公平的，公正的；不偏不倚的Arbitrator n. 公断人，仲裁人Jerry SpringerAlpha n. 希腊语的第一个字母beta n. 贝它（希腊字母表的第二个字母）Sidekick n. 伙伴，老朋友；插袋Scuffle n. 混战；扭打vi. 扭打；乱斗；拖着脚走路Fray n. 争论；打架；磨损处vt. 使磨损；变得令人紧张、急躁vi. 被磨损Peacekeeping adj. 维护和平的；执行停火协定的Peculiar n. 特权；特有财产adj. 特殊的；独特的；奇怪的；罕见的Intercession n. 调解；说情；仲裁Chimpsky and HutchKin n. 亲戚；家族；同族adj. 同类的；有亲属关系的；性质类似的Fruit and veggies don't just improve your diet—they could enhance your looks. A new study, done with primarily Caucasian subjects, finds that eating produce heightens red and yellow skin tones, which increases attractiveness. The work is in Public Library of Science ONE.The organic pigment s called carotenoid s provide a yellow-red color to fruit and vegetables, and when consumed, to human skin.Researchers had 35 students fill out questionnaires about how much produce they ate daily, and a spectrophotometer measured their skin color. They collected the same data three weeks later, and again after six weeks. And the more fruit and vegetables participants ate, the more vividly colored was their skin.Based on the measured color changes, the researchers created face images that other students rated for health and attractiveness. And the redder and yellower skin color from even slightly increased produce consumption was rated higher than the hue associated with a produce-poorer diet. The researchers say they need to determine if the effect also holds true for non-white people—but they expect it will. Simply put, eating healthy looks good.—Sophie BushwickCaucasian [kɔ:'keiziən] n. 白种人；高加索人adj. 白种人的；高加索的veggies详细»n. 蔬菜；素菜类；素食主义者（veggy的复数形式primarily ['praɪm(ə)rɪlɪ; praɪ'mer-] 详细»adv. 首先；主要地，根本上attractiveness [ə'træktivnis] 详细»n. 吸引力；迷惑力pigment ['pɪgm(ə)nt] 详细»n. [物][生化] 色素；颜料vt. 给…着色vi. 呈现颜色carotenoid [kə'rɔtənɔid] 详细»n. 类胡萝卜素produce [prə'djuːs] 详细»n. 农产品，产品vt. 生产；引起；创作vi. 生产，创作spectrophotometer [,spektrə(ʊ)fəʊ'tɒmɪtə] 详细»n. [光] 分光光度计rated ['reitid] 详细»v. 认为（rate的过去分词）；估价adj. 额定的hue [hjuː] 详细»n. 色彩；色度；叫声Skin tone 肤色The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. today was nearly $3.78 per gallon. But why do we calculate fuel expenditure in dollars per gallon? Wouldn't a more realistic figure be cost per mile?The Web site used a collection of federal agency figures to determine that the average price of a gallon of gasoline in March of 1981, another high-price period, was the equivalent to $3.55 in 2012 money.But if you were driving in 1981, your car probably got lousy mileage. In 1981 the CAFE standard, that is the corporate average fuel economy requirement set by the government, was just 22 miles per gallon for passenger cars. If you actually got that mileage, you paid the 2012 equivalent of, on average, 16.1 cents to go a mile.Today, CAFE standards are up to 30.2 miles per gallon. If you actually get that mileage, with gas at $3.78, you are paying 12-and-a-half cents to go a mile. The price per gallon isn't necessarily the price of gas.—Steve Mirskyexpenditure [ɪk'spendɪtʃə; ek-] 详细»n. 支出，花费；经费，消费额realistic [rɪə'lɪstɪk] 详细»adj. 现实的；现实主义的；逼真的；实在论的lousy ['laʊzɪ] 详细»adj. 讨厌的；多虱的；污秽的；极坏的mileage ['maɪlɪdʒ] 详细»n. 英里数As voters vacillate among the contenders for the Republican nomination, it may matter less what the candidates say than how they sound when they say it. Because a new study shows that voters are more likely to prefer the candidate with the deeper voice.Previous studies have suggested that voters might go for the baritone over the tenor. But those experiments used recordings of former U.S. presidents, which meant that volunteer listeners might have recognized the speakers and voted along party lines.In this study, researchers played subjects a pair of anonymous voices and asked which they would elect: “I urge you to vote for me this November”or “I urge you to vote for me this November.”Okay, the recordings they used were no doubt less comical. But voters went with the overnight DJ hands down, results that appear in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. [Casey A. Klofstad, Rindy C. Anderson and Susan Peters, "Sounds like a winner: voice pitch influences perception of leadership capacity in both men and women"]So why do we tend to elect Orson Welles over Pee Wee Herman? Deep voices may strike some primal chord, giving the impression of strength and competence. So candidates take heed: it’s great to wave the stars and stripes, but what’s really key is your set of pipe s.vacillate ['væsɪleɪt] 详细»vi. 犹豫；踌躇；摇摆contender [kən'tɛndɚ] 详细»n. 竞争者；争夺者contender [kən'tɛndɚ] 详细»n. 竞争者；争夺者baritone ['bærɪtəʊn] 详细»n. 男中音；男中音歌手adj. 男中音的tenor ['tenə] 详细»n. (生活等的)一般趋向；进程；(文章等的)大意，要旨；思路adj. 【音乐】；男高音的；次中音部的party line.1. 电话合用线2. [美国英语](宅地、土地的)分界线3. 政党(尤指共产党)的政治路线，政党的政策anonymous [ə'nɒnɪməs] 详细»adj. 匿名的，无名的；无个性特征的comical ['kɒmɪk(ə)l] 详细»adj. 滑稽的，好笑的primal ['praɪm(ə)l] 详细»n. 被压抑童年情绪的释放adj. 原始的；主要的；最初的vt. 释放（被压抑的童年情绪）chord [kɔːd] 详细»n. 弦；和弦competence ['kɒmpɪt(ə)ns] 详细»n. 能力，胜任；权限；作证能力；足以过舒适生活的收入heed [hi:d] 详细»vi. 注意，留心n. 注意到；留心到vt. 注意，留心pipe [paɪp] 详细»n. 管；烟斗；笛vt. 用管道输送；尖声唱；用管乐器演奏vi. 吹笛；尖叫2012-03-16 13:47:42Every year, about 10 million tons of paper winds up in American landfills and incinerators, which is not only wasteful but adds CO2 to the atmosphere. Recycling helps, but even that material has to be repulped and paper-ized before you can use it to print out that recipe you’ll never make. But what if you could wipe the page clean and use it again?Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation to the rescue. A new study shows that laser light can erase the toner from a piece of printed paper. The approach appears in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.Taking a page from the art-restoration handbook, scientists sampled a variety of light sources to see if any could be used to strip the ink from laser-printed documents without damaging or discoloring the paper. UV and infrared were too harsh. But a bright green laser applied in 4 nanosecond pulses vaporizes the print, leaving paper that looks as good as new.Such unprinters will probably run about 30,000 bucks, so they probably won’t catchon for home use. But people in the recycling world might find that the green laser fits the bill—for making paper that’s really green.—Karen Hopkinlandfills详细»填埋网络释义┈垃圾填埋垃圾填埋场incinerators详细»焚化炉repulp详细»n. 重新制浆emission [ɪ'mɪʃ(ə)n] 详细»n. （光、热等的）发射，散发；喷射；发行rescue ['reskjuː] 详细»n. 营救；援救；解救vt. 营救；援救toner ['təʊnə] 详细»n. 调色剂，增色剂；色粉restoration [restə'reɪʃ(ə)n] 详细»n. 恢复；复位；王政复辟；归还strip [strɪp] 详细»n. 带；条状；脱衣舞vt. 剥夺；剥去；脱去衣服vi. 脱去衣服nanosecond ['nænə(ʊ)sekənd] 详细»n. 纳秒；十亿分之一秒vaporize ['veɪpəraɪz] 详细»vi. 蒸发vt. 使…蒸发201203172012-03-17 13:48:45You know the scene—it’s a Friday night, and your date just canceled. You’re bummed, maybe a little hurt. You think now might be a good time for a beer, maybe a bourbon. And you have good company: fruit flies. Turns out that sexually deprived male fruit flies hit the bottle more frequently than sexually satisfied ones.Researchers placed one group of males repeatedly in a container with females who’d already mated. Those females were no longer receptive to sex. So the males learned to stop trying.The scientists placed another group with virgin females, who were receptive. Then they offered the two groups of males a choice of food. One choice was supplemented with ethanol. And the sexually frustrated flies dove for the drink in significantly greater numbers.This behavior was also predicted by a particular neuropeptide in the flies’ brains. The sexually deprived flies had a low level of the molecule. The scientists found they could moderate the flies’ alcohol-seeking behavior just by upping this molecule. The research was published in the journal Science. [G. Shohat-Ophir et al., "Sexual Deprivation Increases Ethanol Intake in Drosophila"]The finding could help explain how addiction may be determined both by the brain and by social conditions—especially when those are tough to swallow.—Cynthia Graberbum [bʌm] 详细»n. 流浪汉；屁股；狂欢作乐；能力差的人；嗡嗡声；执达员（等于bumbailiff）vi. 流浪；靠乞讨过活；发嗡嗡声vt. 乞讨；闲荡adj. 无价值的；劣质的；很不愉快的Bourbon ['bɜːb(ə)n; 'bʊə-] 详细»n. （法国的）波旁皇族；波本波旁波本威士忌repeatedly [rɪ'pitɪdli] 详细»adv. 反复地；再三地；屡次地receptive [rɪ'septɪv] 详细»adj. 善于接受的；能容纳的virgin ['vɜːdʒɪn] 详细»n. 处女adj. 处女的；纯洁的；未经利用的，处于原始状态的supplemented详细»v. 增补，补充（supplement的过去分词）ethanol ['eθənɒl] 详细»n. [有化] 乙醇，[有化] 酒精dove [dʌv] 详细»n. 鸽子；鸽派人士v. 潜水（dive的过去式）neuropeptide [,njuərə'peptaid] 详细»n. [生化] 神经肽moderate ['mɒd(ə)rət] 详细»adj. 稳健的，温和的；适度的，中等的；有节制的vt. 节制减轻vi. 变缓和，变弱drosophila [drɒ'sɒfɪlə] 详细»n. 果蝇；果蝇属addiction [ə'dɪkʃ(ə)n] 详细»n. 上瘾，沉溺；癖嗜20120320Scientists discover new species all the time—on the order of 15,000 a year. One of the latest additions to the tree of life is a new type of leopard frog. Which might sound unremarkable, except for where it was found: New York City.But how does a frog go unnoticed in the Big Apple? Well even experts have a hard time telling this new species from its northern and southern cousins on looks alone. But the new guy has a different croak, which raised ecologists' suspicions. So they tracked down four leopard frog populations with the unique call—including one within view of the Statue of Liberty—and took DNA samples.As they suspected, the odd croakers weren't southern or northern leopard frogs, or even a mix. They had a genetic ancestry of their own—earning them new species status. Those results appear in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. [Catherine E. Newman et al, A new species of leopard frog (Anura: Ranidae) from the urban northeastern US]The frogs are tough New Yorkers—the center of their range appears to be Yankee Stadium. But the researchers say that the urban amphibians face threats like pesticides and infectious diseases. Not to mention real-life games of Frogger.—Christopher Intagliataleopard frog详细»【动物】豹蛙(Rana pipiens，产于北美洲的绿色青蛙)croak [krəʊk] 详细»n. 呱呱叫声；低沉沙哑的说话声vt. 用嘶哑的声音说；死亡vi. 呱呱地叫；发牢骚；死croaker ['krəʊkə] 详细»n. 嘎声的人；喊冤者，鸣冤者ancestry ['ænsestrɪ] 详细»n. 祖先；血统phylogenetics [,failədʒi'netiks] 详细»n. [进化] 系统发生学；种系遗传学amphibians详细»n. 两栖动物；[古生] 两栖类pesticide ['pestɪsaɪd] 详细»n. 杀虫剂20120321Is the attempt to make environmentally friendly roadways doomed to wind up in the toilet? Actually, it may be the other way around. To earn a green certification, the Meador-Kansas-Ellis Trail in Bellingham, Washington, included 400 recycled commodes in the concrete.Green roads is a new rating system, developed at the University of Washington, which judges the sustainability of roads and road construction projects. Under the system, projects must incorporate11 specific features, such as dealing with waste from the construction process, as well as some optional practices, which in the case of the Meador Kansas Ellis Trail included recycling.The toilet interment helped the project win the first official Green roads nod, earning a silver certification. About 30 percent of the pavement consists of recycled concrete and, yes, crushed-up toilets, ni cknamed ―poticrete.‖But this project’s sustainability relies on more than old throne s. The Trail’s porous concrete prevents excessive run-off; it’s illuminated with low-energy lighting; and its mere presence encourages bicycle and foot traffic. These green features mean that sustainable roadways can be more than a pipe dream.—Sophie Bushwickcommode [kə'məʊd] 详细»n. 洗脸台；便桶；衣柜sustainability [sə,stenə'bɪlɪti] 详细»n. 持续性；永续性；能维持性incorporate [ɪn'kɔːpəreɪt] 详细»vt. 包含，吸收；体现；把……合并adj. 合并的；一体化的；组成公司的vi. 合并；混合；组成公司interment [ɪn'tɜːm(ə)nt] 详细»n. 葬礼；埋葬pavement ['peɪvm(ə)nt] 详细»n. 人行道throne [θrəʊn] 详细»n. 王座；君主；王权vt. 使登王位vi. 登上王座mere [mɪə] 详细»n. 小湖；池塘adj. 仅仅的；只不过的20120322When you hear Western music, you generally get the emotional tone. A major key is happy. (Music plays.) A minor one? That’s sad. (Music plays.)And spoken voices reflect this tonality. Here’s someone sounding positive: ―I don’t know who made this cake but it is fantastic!‖ And down on his luck: ―The papers finalizing the divorce came today.‖The researchers wanted to know: are these sounds international? So they turned to classical music from southern India. Here’s one that represents joy. (Raga plays.) Another displays grief and sadness. (Raga plays.) As for the spoken word, I bet you can tell the positive speaker (woman speaks) from the negative one (woman speaks).The researchers analyzed music and 20 native Tamil and American English speakers for a variety of sound and tone parameters. The authors say that certain emotional tones seem to be cross-cultura l, and that music mimics voice. The research was published in the journal Public Library of Science One. [Daniel Liu Bowling et al, Expression of Emotion in Eastern and Western Music Mirrors V ocalization] /article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0031942So we may often be able to understand the moods of a culture in music and even in speech – without understanding a word.—Cynthia Grabertonality [tə(ʊ)'nælɪtɪ] 详细»n. 音调；色调finalize ['fainəlaiz] 详细»vt. 完成；使结束vi. 把最后定下来；定案grief [griːf] 详细»n. 悲痛；忧伤；不幸tamil ['tæmil, 'tʌ-] 详细»n. 泰米尔人；泰米尔语adj. 泰米尔人的；坦米尔语的parameters详细»n. 参数；参量（parameter的复数）cross-cultural [,krɔ:s'kʌltʃərəl] 详细»adj. 跨文化的；交叉文化的。