科技新闻知多少| 2018年9月
Science News You Might Have Missed
Hi, I’m Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here’s a short piece from the August 2018 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches From The Frontiers Of Science, Technology And Medicine.
dispatch
dispatch作动词表示“派遣，发送”，此处用作名词，表示“〔由身在外地的记者发给报纸的〕报道，电讯”，英文解释为“a report sent to a newspaper from one of its writers who is in another town or country”
The article is called Quick Hits, and it’s a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe, compiled by editorial intern Maya Miller.
rundown
rundown意思是a concluding summary (as in presenting a case before a law court)，“纲要，概述”，“向某人扼要介绍某事” 可以说 “give sb a quick rundown on sth”
「延伸」政府工作报告中经常出现的一个词“棚户区”，指的是城市建成区范围内、平房密度大、使用年限久、房屋质量差、人均建筑面积小、基础设施配套不齐全、交通不便利、治安和消防隐患大、环境卫生脏、乱、差的区域，一般报告中就译为rundown urban areas. 详见（「Part 18」2018政府工作报告中英文对照个人注释版）
MEXICO
Cavers and scientists in the Mexican state of Oaxaca discovered that the world's ninth-largest known cave is deeper than previously thought. With a depth of 5,118 feet, it houses dozens of species not found anywhere else.
house
大家非常熟悉的house此处用作动词，表示“给...提供场地，为...提供住房，让...居住”，还有“收藏，存放”的意思。如：
The plastic case that houses the batteries
存放电池的塑料盒
BRAZIL
Archaeologists discovered a tooth from an opossum-sized creature that once inhabited what is now Brazil. The oldest known mammal found in the region to date, it lived sometime between 87 million and 70 million years ago, when Tyrannosaurus rex still roamed.
opossum
opossum [ə'pɑsəm] 负鼠，生活在美洲和澳大利亚的有袋动物。
mammal
mammal意思是“哺乳动物”，英文解释为“a type of animal that drinks milk from its mother’s body when it is young. Humans, dogs, and whales are mammals.”
Tyrannosaurus Rex
霸王龙，即雷克斯暴龙（Tyrannosaurus Rex），生存于白垩纪末期的马斯特里赫特阶(MAA)距今约6850万年到6500万年的白垩纪最末期，是白垩纪-第三纪灭绝事件前最后的非鸟类的恐龙种类之一。（百度百科）
SCOTLAND
Microsoft has begun installing computer servers on the seafloor near Scotland's northern islands as an alternative to data farms on land. The idea is that the water will create a cool environment for the servers.
6月5日，微软官方宣布，包含864台服务器的北部岛屿数据中心在英国苏格兰奥克尼群岛附近的海底负载试运行。
ZIMBABWE
The oldest African baobab tree (roughly 2,500 years of age) died within the past decade, researchers found. Nine of the 13 oldest baobabs—all in Africa—have perished since 2005, possibly as a result of unprecedented climate change.
据报道，过去十几年间，非洲13棵一千至两千五百年寿命的最古老猴面包树中，已有9棵死亡。
baobab tree
baobab tree 猴面包树
CHINA
The Chinese government announced it will take on a new role in monitoring scientific misconduct. Such cases, previously handled by institutions, will be maintained in a national database and could disqualify scientists from applying for certain research opportunities and jobs.
scientific misconduct
scientific misconduct 意思是“学术不端”，is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in the publication of professional scientific research.
近日，中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅印发了《关于进一步加强科研诚信建设的若干意见》，对进一步推进科研诚信制度化建设等方面做出部署。意见指出，对从事学术论文买卖、代写代投以及伪造、虚构、篡改研究数据等违法违规活动的中介服务机构，市场监督管理、公安等部门应主动开展调查，严肃惩处。
INDIA
Solar power is on the rise in India. In the first quarter of 2018, newly installed panels produced 3,269 megawatts. Solar power now accounts for 6.3 percent of India's total power output.
megawatt
megawatt：兆瓦，百万瓦特，A megawatt is a unit of power. One megawatt is a million watts.
印度在2018年第一季度安装了3269兆瓦的太阳能光伏，比之前的任何其他季度都多，同比增长34％
来源：Scientific American