60s Science---From everyday collection to environmental protection, think Green!

阿泰UID: 209473

个人觉得听个8成的话基本上就没问题了

synamicUID: 2402380

thx

阿泰UID: 209473

February 23, 2009 Earths Common as Dirt
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... on-as-dirt-09-02-23
“We’re on the verge of finding out how frequently habitable planets occur in the universe.” That was astronomer Alan Boss at the AAAS meeting on February 14th. “And I think we’re going to find out that that number is very close to one.” Meaning that each solar-type star is probably orbited by, on average, one Earth-type planet. So how many habitable planets might be out there?

“10 to the 11th in our galaxy and then there are something like 10 to the 11th galaxies. We’re up to about 10 to the 22 Earths, plus or minus a few.

“You don’t have to just believe that this speculation is going to be correct or not. NASA will be launching the Kepler space mission, and Kepler’s entire purpose is to count how many Earths there are around a population of stars in the constellation Cygnus.” Kepler launches on March 5th.

“Then about three or four years from now, there’ll be a press conference at NASA headquarters, and Bill Borucki, the Kepler PI will stand up and tell us just how frequently Earths occur. And once we know that we’ll know how to take the next steps in the search for living planets, and some of that work will involve not only telling if the planets are habitable, but actually searching for signatures in their atmospheres if they could be inhabited, as well.”

maggie-hsuUID: 2560853

不错 我也跟着每天听了 楼主加油更新

adagio2007UID: 2451319

8成~~~OTL我最多只有5成,而且有时还听出了单词却不知道什么意思!!!!!!郁闷啊!!!!

adagio2007UID: 2451319

对人名,地名完全听不懂!!!!!!还有就是一些连读巨快的 EG:10 to the 11th in our galaxy and then there are something like 10 to the 11th galaxies. We’re up to about 10 to the 22 Earths, plus or minus a few. 完全不知所云
:dizzy:

阿泰UID: 209473

February 24, 2009 Pen Mightier Than Passion
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... an-passion-09-02-24
Angry or upset? Try picking up a pen. According to psychologist Matthew Lieberman, most people don't think of writing as a way to calm down. "When you look at the brain, it looks a whole lot like emotion regulation is going on when people put feelings into words." Lieberman spoke on February 14th at the AAAS annual meeting.

Lieberman scanned subjects' brains as they looked at pictures of people with either positive or negative facial expressions. They were sometimes asked to label the emotion—which lit up the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with self-control. "Only when people are putting the feeling state into words do we see activity in this right prefrontal region. And what we've also seen is the more that region is activated, the less activity you see in a variety of limbic regions that are typically associated with affective or emotional processing."

But be warned, labeling your feelings dampens all emotional responses. Even the happy ones. How do I love thee? Well, maybe I shouldn't count the ways.

阿泰UID: 209473

February 25, 2009 Money Can Buy Happiness Sometimes
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... -sometimes-09-02-25
They say that money can’t buy happiness. Ryan Howell believes that it can—sometimes. Howell is a researcher at San Francisco State University. He thought that maybe money matters if it’s spent on things that bolster our psychological well-being—activities that people truly enjoy and that enhance their lives in nonmaterial ways.

Howell recently presented his research at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Tampa. He recruited 154 participants between 19 and 50. Half wrote a paragraph about a recent experience they purchased, such as eating out or going to the theater. The other half wrote a paragraph about a thing they bought. Both also wrote about their feelings about what they got for their money. Turned out those who bought experiences reported significantly higher levels of feeling happy, and like it was money well-spent.

Howell says these feelings of well-being might come from feeling active and connected to friends and community. He also says we don’t get bored of happy memories, while we might get tired of a purchase. So the study challenges the old adage about money—because maybe money can buy happiness. If it’s not spent on just things.

阿泰UID: 209473

February 26, 2009 Obama on Energy and Basic Research
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... c-research-09-02-26
We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we've fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea.

Well I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders—and I know you don't either. It is time for America to lead again.

Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation's supply of renewable energy in the next three years. We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history—an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, and science, and technology.

We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.

But to truly transform our economy, to protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. That’s what we need. And to support, to support that innovation, we will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal and more efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.

阿泰UID: 209473

February 27, 2009 Sword Swallowers Awareness Day
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... reness-day-09-02-27
February 28th is International Sword Swallowers Awareness Day, according to practitioner Dan Meyer, who recently demonstrated the technique at the AAAS meeting in Chicago.

“When I put the sword in my mouth, I will repress the gag reflex in the back of the throat. Then I have to go behind my Adam’s apple, my prominentia laryngea, behind the voice box, the larynx, down about through the crichopharyngeal sphincter, up in the upper part of the mouth here. Then down into the esophagus, repress the peristalysis reflex, which is 22 pairs of muscles that swallows your food. From there relax the esophageal muscles, relax the lower esophageal sphincter, and slip the blade down into my stomach, repress the wretch reflex in my stomach.”

Sword swallowers have made important contributions to medicine—besides giving doctors work. “In 1868 Dr. Adolph Kussmaul at the University of Freiberg, Germany, developed the rigid endoscope, by using a sword swallower as his guinea pig. And he took him around on demonstrations. And sword swallowers have been used throughout the years as guinea pigs for the medical and science communities. That’s what we’re celebrating on February 28th, on Sword Swallowers Day.”

阿泰UID: 209473

March 2, 2009 Prions Involved in Some Alzheimer's
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... alzheimers-09-03-02
It’s like the molecular version of the Joker and the Riddler teaming up against Batman. Scientists at Yale University have discovered that amyloid beta, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease, can damage brain cells by binding to prion proteins, which are themselves infamous because, in their abnormal form, they cause things like mad cow disease.

Amyloid beta is best known as the protein that forms the giant plaques that riddle the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Those plaques contain billions of copies of amyloid beta all stuck together in one gloppy mess. But the protein also exists in a more soluble form, either in single units or in small groups of 50 or 100. These smaller clusters don’t cause the same large-scale mayhem as plaques, but they do damage neurons, impairing their ability to learn. And the Yale researchers wanted to find out how.

They discovered that amyloid beta binds to the prion proteins normally found on neurons. What’s more, the prions ramp up amyloid beta’s neurotoxic effects. Take away the prions and amyloid-beta clusters are harmless, findings published in the journal Nature. So drugs that prevent this amyloid–prion coupling could be a potent weapon against Alzheimer’s.

这篇很难很难

阿泰UID: 209473

March 3, 2009 We Like a Winning Face
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... nning-face-09-03-03
We like to think we’re pretty sophisticated when it comes to voting for politicians. Oh, sure, we’ve all heard that the taller guy usually wins. But we’re being smart—we consider their policies and positions.

Or maybe not. Researchers at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland say our decisions are often based on appearance—and that we’re no different from children. The finding appears in the February 27 issue of the journal Science.

Scientists took photos of the winner and the runner up from a 2002 election in France. They showed the two photos to people in Switzerland who hadn’t heard of either candidate. They asked—who do you think would be the most competent?

Well, most study participants chose the actual winner. Then it was time for the kids. More than 600 children played a game involving a computer-simulated boat trip. They were asked which person they’d prefer to captain the ship. And most of the kids also chose the actual election winner.

Study authors say they don’t know which specific facial cues kids and grown-ups are using to make their decisions. Voting is one of democracies most important civic duties. But for a lot of voters, it looks like it’s about liking looks.


这篇很简单很简单

阿泰UID: 209473

March 4, 2009 Like Father, Like Daughter
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/epi ... e-daughter-09-03-04
Over the past 50 years more and more women have entered the work force. And they’re increasingly taking on jobs that have traditionally gone to men.

Now new research shows that the women’s fathers may be having an influence on what those jobs are.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Maryland examined three large surveys conducted from 1973 to 2002.  More than forty thousand women had taken part. They included women born from1909 to 1977 – three generations over three quarters of a century.

This broad examination of women’s roles clearly showed a rise in what had been male-dominated fields. But the surveys also contained information on what jobs the fathers held. And it turned out as time progressed, there was a distinct change. Women born in the 1970s were three times more likely to follow in their dads’ footsteps.

Researchers can’t say exactly what this means about father-daughter relationships. Maybe dads are investing more time in educating their daughters. Maybe they’re talking more about their own jobs.  But dads and daughters appear to be taking career paths that bridge both the generation and gender gaps.

阿秦UID: 2619567

这个居然很久没写了啊

一木菩提UID: 2390164

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