-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
This is Scientific American 60 second science, I am Christopher Intagliata, got a minute?
The most common types of ingested birth control contain estrogen. But the hormone1 doesn’t just prevent human babies. It may be lowering numbers of frog babies, too. Because estrogens can travel unaltered through a woman’s system, and back into the environment—where they interfere2 with the courtship of frogs.
Researchers bathed male frogs in tanks containing various concentrations of estrogen—comparable to levels previously3 measured in nature. And they found that males exposed to estrogen made significantly fewer ‘advertisement’ calls: mating calls that say “hey ladies, I’m over here.” Instead, the frogs made more so-called ‘rasping’ calls: a sign the boys weren’t as turned on as they used to be.
As it turns out, neither were the ladies. Because when researchers played back estrogen-influenced calls to females, the lady frogs weren’t as hot to hop4, compared to when they heard the crooning of control frogs. Those findings appear in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
The authors say less seductive mating calls could mean fewer tadpoles5. Which means our sex lives could be partly to blame for making global populations of amphibians6 croak7.
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata!
点击收听单词发音
1 hormone | |
n.荷尔蒙,激素,内分泌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 hop | |
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 tadpoles | |
n.蝌蚪( tadpole的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 amphibians | |
两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 ); 水陆两用车; 水旱两生植物; 水陆两用飞行器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 croak | |
vi.嘎嘎叫,发牢骚 | |
参考例句: |
|
|