《科学》杂志编辑关注当今125个重大不解之迷

Science Editors Take a Closer Look at 125 Great Unsolved Mysteries

of Our Time

《科学》杂志编辑关注当今125个重大不解之迷

 

Science Magazine is celebrating its 125th birthday with a special issue that takes stock of some of the fundamental and still unsolved mysteries of our time. The magazine's editors compiled 125 questions that point out the gaps in our scientific understanding of the universe we live in.

 

Inventor Thomas Edison founded Science Magazine in 1880. Today, as the weekly publication of the American Association for the Advancement¹ of Science, it boasts the largest circulation of any scientific journal in the world.

 

News editor Colin Norman says instead of looking back at papers published over the last 125 years, the magazine decided² to tap the expertise³ of more than 100 reviewing editors to help it compile a list of 125 questions that focus on the limits of our knowledge -- questions such as, 'What is the universe made of?'

 

Mr. Norman: We now know that the fraction of the universe that you can actually see - the stars and galaxies⁴, is just a very very tiny fraction of what's there. There is a lot of dark matter that we know is there that is holding the galaxies together. Some of this is just regular matter, but a lot of it (is) particles that we don't know what they are yet.

 

Editor Colin Norman says other questions are much more specific, 'Can we produce an HIV vaccine⁵ that is effective? A big problem that has tremendous social consequences.

 

Editors found that questions are not so simple and one leads to the next. Take, for example, the human genome, the hereditary⁶ DNA⁷ sequence first mapped 5 years ago. Scientists were puzzled when they discovered humans have just 25,000 genes⁸, much less than the 100,000 they had expected.

 

Mr. Norman: Having answered the question 'How many genes do we have?' We now have to answer the question, 'How can we be so complicated with so few genes?' And it has to do with how the genes are expressed, the way the genome is controlled, and so there are a whole series of really interesting questions that are opened up by that discovery that we really have very few genes.

 

Even though the magazine came up with a symbolic⁹ number of questions on the occasion of its 125th year, Colin Norman admits they are only a small fraction of the puzzles that scientists are actually struggling to solve. Mr. Norman invites listeners to take a look at the list online at sciencemag.org and let him know if there's an unsolved scientific mystery the editors might have missed.

 

I’m Rosanne Skirble.

 

注释：

boast [bEust] v. 以有……而自豪

expertise [7ekspE5ti:z] n. 专家的意见

galaxy¹⁰ [5^AlEksi] n. 星系

tremendous [tri5mendEs] adj. 极大的

genome [5dVi:nEum] n. 基因组

hereditary [hi5reditEri] adj. 遗传的

1 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

4 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

7 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

8 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。