SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - October 29, 2002: Distant Object in Solar System / Physicist¹ Dismissed Over
Claims / Biological Pacemaker

VOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Bob Doughty² with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments

in science. Today, we tell about a new object discovered far away in the solar system. We tell about a physicist
who was dismissed for scientific wrongdoing. And we tell about the development of a biological device to help
the heart beat normally.

((THEME))
VOICE ONE:

American astronomers⁴ have discovered a new object in our solar system, further
away from Earth than the planet Pluto⁵. It is the largest object discovered in the solar
system since the discovery of Pluto in nineteen-thirty. It is also the farthest object in
the solar system to be seen by a telescope. Scientists call the object “Quaoar”
(KWAH-o-ar). It is about half the size of Pluto, too small to be considered a planet.

Scientists estimate that Quaoar takes about two-hundred-eighty-eight years to orbit
the sun. Astronomers call the area beyond Pluto the Kuiper (KY-per) Belt. It is a
distant and dark area that contains objects that are made mostly of frozen gases.

VOICE TWO:

Two astronomers from the California Institute of Technology made the discovery in June. They used a telescope
at Mount Palomar Observatory⁶ near Pasadena. However, Chadwick Trujillo (tru-HE-oh) and Michael Brown did
not announce their discovery immediately. Instead, they gathered more information about the object. They used
the Hubble Space Telescope to discover the size of the object. They also found what the new object was made of.

Mister Brown and Mister Trujillo found that Quaoar is made of ice and rock. It contains substances like carbon
dioxide, methane⁷ and even water. However, it is so far from the sun that even gases like carbon dioxide are
frozen solid.

The astronomers chose the name Quaoar from the Native American tradition of the Tongva people. They once
lived near Los Angeles and not too far from the observatory where Mister Trujillo and Mister Brown discovered
the object. Quaoar means the “great force of creation”
in the Tongva language.

VOICE ONE:

The discovery of Quaoar has again raised questions about Pluto. Astronomers are no longer sure that Pluto
should be considered a planet. Quaoar appears to be very similar in size and material. Pluto and Quaoar might
represent a separate kind of object from the Kuiper Belt. Astronomers are considering changing what they call
Pluto. Instead of a planet, it may be called a Kuiper Belt object in the future.

Yet there are differences between Pluto and the new object. Pluto is two-thousand-three-hundred kilometers
across. Quaoar is only about one-thousand-two-hundred kilometers across. Pluto has a moon, called Charon,
which is about the size of Quaoar itself. However, some scientists consider these differences unimportant.

VOICE TWO:


The discovery of Quaoar may be part of a historic change in the way astronomers think about the solar system. A
similar change happened in eighteen-oh-one. That year, the astronomer³ Guiseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Italy,
discovered what he thought was a planet.

Mister Piazzi found an object moving in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. He suggested the name Ceres.
Within a few years, other astronomers discovered more small objects at about the same distance from the sun as
Ceres. Today, we call these small objects, made of rock and metal, asteroids⁸. Quaoar also may be one of many
new discoveries.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Trujillo and Mister Brown believe there may be twenty more objects like Quaoar in the solar system. Most
astronomers believe there are many more objects to be discovered in the distant Kuiper Belt. Perhaps Pluto is
only the first of many similar objects orbiting in the darkness far beyond the sun. Astronomers would then have
to change the current model of the solar system.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

Investigators⁹ have found that claims made by scientists at a top American research laboratory were not based on
fact. The investigators dismissed results from a number of studies published between nineteen-ninety-eight and
two-thousand-one.

Some of the claims once were said to be major developments in the study of physics. They included a claim that
the scientists had created the smallest device to carry electrical current ever made.

VOICE ONE:

Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey¹⁰, ordered the investigation¹¹ in May after other scientists raised questions
about the claims. Bell Labs appointed a committee to investigate twenty-four accusations¹² of scientific
wrongdoing.

The committee identified at least sixteen examples of scientific wrongdoing. It placed the
blame on one Bell Labs physicist, Jan Hendrik Schon (YAHN HEN-drick SHERN).
Mister Schon told the committee that he had no written records of the laboratory
experiments. He also said much of the information in his computer had been destroyed.

VOICE TWO:

The investigators found that Mister Schon used information from earlier work to support
his findings. They said he did this without the knowledge of the other scientists involved
in the experiments. The investigators noted¹³ that Mister Schon and his group produced an
average of one scientific paper every eight days. For most scientists, a few papers a year is considered productive.

After the committee’s report was released, Bell Labs immediately dismissed Jan Hendrik Schon from his
position. He was once thought to be a future Nobel Prize winner. After his dismissal, Mister Schon admitted he
had made mistakes in his scientific work. He said he regretted those mistakes. He also said he believes the results
reported in the studies are real.

The incident has damaged the work of the other Bell Labs scientists who failed to report any problem. It also is
bad news for Lucent Technologies, the company that operates Bell Labs. The company has been struggling with
a series of financial problems during the past two years.Other scientists have criticized the magazines that
published the results. Critics say the publications moved too quickly to report on the studies.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

A healthy human heart normally has a small group of special cells called pacemaker cells. Pacemaker cells


produce an electrical current that causes the heart to beat. However, old age or disease can cause these cells to
fail. Doctors use electronic pacemaker devices to fix the problem. In the United States, the small devices are
placed in about two-hundred-fifty-thousand patients each year.

Now, scientists in the United States have used genetic¹⁵ engineering to create a kind of biological pacemaker in
guinea pigs. Their findings suggest that genetically¹⁶ engineered heart cells could one day be developed for
humans. Such cells could possibly replace the electronic pacemakers currently used in many patients with heart
disease.

VOICE TWO:

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, led the new study. They found they could use the
chemical potassium to trick normal heart cells in guinea pigs to act like pacemaker cells. Most heart muscle cells
do not have the right level of potassium to produce electricity on their own.

Nature magazine reported that the scientists used a virus to carry a gene¹⁴ that changed the balance of potassium.
They injected the virus into the heart cells of guinea pigs. A few days later, some of the heart muscle cells in the
animals began to act like pacemaker cells.

VOICE ONE:

Eduardo Marban (mar-BAN) was a member of the Johns Hopkins team. He said the research may lead to new
treatments for people who need electronic pacemakers. He said it may be possible in the future to recreate
pacemaker cells in humans. Or scientists may be able to develop other pacemakers that are part electronic and
part biological.

Doctor Marban said a biological pacemaker should be able to react to the body’s changing needs. He noted that
an electronic pacemaker, in its simplest form, does not.

The scientists said that more work needs to be done before a biological pacemaker can be tested in humans.

((THEME))

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Mario Ritter and George Grow. It was produced by
Cynthia Kirk. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of
America.

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1 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

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 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

4 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。

6 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

7 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

8 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 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。

14 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

15 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

16 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物