【每日阅读训练第四期——速度越障10系列】【10-15】科技

peill

不知道大家对上半年科学界的一个大发现“上帝粒子”还有没有印象呢？本期科技速度第一篇就带来了关于上帝粒子的新消息。
速度第二篇是一个脑科学的研究新发现，跟Rapper有关哦，喜欢Rapping的同学可以深入他们的大脑一探究竟了。
速度第三篇和越障都跟动物科学有关。越障是非常好的GMAT练习，其中有各种生物化学相互作用的描述。
这个月JJ有很多动物学相关内容，希望能帮助大家熟悉相关题材的叙述方式哦。


Speed1

"Higgs" boson may not open door to exotic realms

By Robert EvansPosted 2012/11/15 at 4:10 pm EST

GENEVA, Nov. 15, 2012 (Reuters) — A new elementary particle whose discovery was announced with fanfare to a waiting world in July may be just a little less exciting than scientists had hoped.

Reporting on a conference in Kyoto where the latest data from their Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was presented, scientists at the CERN European research center said on Thursday it seemed very likely that the particle was indeed the long-sought Higgs boson, which gives mass to matter.

But rather than an exotic beast opening the door to new realms of cosmology as some had hoped, the data increasingly suggests it is a "Standard Model Higgs" fitting into the current scientific concept of the universe, they asserted.

"It is still too early to tell, but the new particle looks like, sings like, and dances more and more like a Higgs boson," said Pauline Gagnon, a physicist on the LHC Atlas experiment, one of three which analyse the data.
Oliver Buchmueller, of the rival but parallel CMS experiment, told Reuters "the evidence for it being the Higgs gets stronger and stronger as we go along."

But there was still no sign of it being more unusual than originally predicted.

The prime task of the $10 billion LHC was to find the Higgs, without which the primeval chaos of flying particle debris after the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago, could not have formed into stars, planets and galaxies.
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Speed2

Existence of the particle was postulated in 1964 by British physicist Peter Higgs, who saw it filling a gap in the Standard Model, a blueprint of how the universe works at the fundamental level fully developed from the 1970s.
Scientists sought to track it from the 1980s and finally succeeded in spotting something like it two years after the LHC went into operation in 2010.

But they insisted they still had to establish its existence with what they call 5-sigma - or absolutely total - certainty.
They had also hoped their search would find at least some evidence for more out-of-the-box concepts such as super-symmetry, dark matter and dark energy - beyond the Standard Model and part of what they call fall "New Physics."

Super-symmetry could theoretically account for the dark matter believed to make up nearly 25 percent of the known universe - of which no more than five percent is visible. But no sign of that has come so far, the reports from Kyoto say.

However, the CERN scientists have not given up hope that something more exotic might emerge. For the Higgs-like particle to presage super-symmetry, it would have to come in at least five different varieties.
"The challenge is to measure all the properties of the new particle in detail. It will take time to establish a comprehensive understanding of its true underlying nature," said Buchmueller, who is working on super-symmetry.
Scientists are now looking to the years after 2014 when the power of the circular collider is doubled, and even beyond to the construction of a yet only conceptual huge linear collider, possibly in Japan.
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Speed3

Brain scans of rappers shed light on creativity
Functional magnetic resonance imaging shows what happens in the brain during improvisation.
Daniel Cressey

Rappers making up rhymes on the fly while in a brain scanner have provided an insight into the creative process.
Freestyle rapping — in which a performer improvises a song by stringing together unrehearsed lyrics — is a highly prized skill in hip hop. But instead of watching a performance in a club, Siyuan Liu and Allen Braun, neuroscientists at the US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders in Bethesda, Maryland, and their colleagues had 12 rappers freestyle in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine.

The artists also recited a set of memorized lyrics chosen by the researchers. By comparing the brain scans from rappers taken during freestyling to those taken during the rote recitation, they were able to see which areas of the brain are used during improvisation. The study is published today in Scientific Reports
The results parallel previous imaging studies in which Braun and Charles Limb, a doctor and musician at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, looked at fMRI scans from jazz musicians2. Both sets of artists showed lower activity in part of their frontal lobes called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during improvisation, and increased activity in another area, called the medial prefrontal cortex. The areas that were found to be ‘deactivated’ are associated with regulating other brain functions.

“We think what we see is a relaxation of ‘executive functions’ to allow more natural de-focused attention and uncensored processes to occur that might be the hallmark of creativity,” says Braun.

He adds that this suggestion is “a little bit controversial in the literature”, because some studies have found activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in creative behaviour. He suggests that the discrepancy might have to do with the tasks chosen to represent creativity. In studies that found activation, the activities — such as those that require recall — may actually be less creative.

“We try to stick with more natural creative processing, and when we do that we see this decrease in the dorsal lateral regions,” says Braun.
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Speed4

Pump down the volume

Rex Jung, a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, has also studied the link between brain structures and creativity, finding an inverse relationship between the volume of some frontal lobe structures and creativity3. “Some of our results imply this downregulation of the frontal lobes in service of creative cognition. [The latest paper] really appears to pull it all together,” he says. “I’m excited about the findings.”

Jung says that this downregulation is likely to apply in other, non-musical areas of creativity — including science.
The findings also suggest an explanation for why new music might seem to the artist to be created of its own accord. With less involvement by the lateral prefrontal regions of the brain, the performance could seem to its creator to have “occurred outside of conscious awareness”, the authors write.

Michael Eagle, a study co-author who raps under the name Open Mike Eagle, agrees: “That’s kind of the nature of that type of improvisation. Even as people who do it, we’re not 100% sure of where we’re getting improvisation from.”

Liu says that the researchers are now working on problems they were unable to explore with freestylers — such as what happens after the initial burst of creative inspiration.

"We think that the creative process may be divided into two phases," he says. "The first is the spontaneous improvisatory phase. In this phase you can generate novel ideas. We think there is a second phase, some kind of creative processing [in] revision."

The researchers would also like to look at how creativity differs between experts and amateurs of a similar artistic ilk to freestylers: poets and storytellers.
[277]

Speed5

Probing the Mystery of the Venus Fly Trap's Botanical Bite


ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2012) — Plants lack muscles, yet in only a tenth of a second, the meat-eating Venus fly trap hydrodynamically snaps its leaves shut to trap an insect meal. This astonishingly rapid display of botanical movement has long fascinated biologists. Commercially, understanding the mechanism of the Venus fly trap's leaf snapping may one day help improve products such as release-on-command coatings and adhesives, electronic circuits, optical lenses, and drug delivery.

Now a team of French physicists from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France, is working to understand this movement. They will present their findings at 65th meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), Nov. 18 -- 20, 2012, in San Diego, Calif.

The work extends findings by Dr. Yoël Forterre and researchers from Harvard University who discovered several years ago that the curvature of the Venus fly-trap's leaf changes while closing due to a snap-buckling instability in the leaf structure related to the shell-like geometry of the leaves. Mathieu Colombani, Ph.D. student in Forterre's laboratory is now conducting experiments to elucidate the physical mechanisms behind this movement. "The extremely high pressure inside the Venus fly trap cells prompted us to suspect that changes with a cell's pressure regime could be a key component driving this rapid leaf movement," he notes.

The Colombai team uses a microfluidic pressure probe to target and measure individual cells. This is a tricky experiment because it requires the living plant to be immobilized with dental silicone paste while the probe is inserted using a micromanipulator guided by binoculars. They take pressure measurements before and after leaf closure. They also measure cell wall elasticity by injecting or removing a known amount of liquid and recording the cellular responses, as well as take other measurements. "By measuring osmotic pressure and elasticity of leaf cells we hope to come closer to explaining the snapping mechanism,'' Colombani explains.
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Obstacle

Breakthrough Nanoparticle Halts Multiple Sclerosis in Mice, Offers Hope for Other Immune-Related Diseases


ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2012) — In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

The new nanotechnology also can be applied to a variety of immune-mediated diseases including Type 1 diabetes, food allergies and airway allergies such as asthma.

In MS, the immune system attacks the myelin membrane that insulates nerves cells in the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. When the insulation is destroyed, electrical signals can't be effectively conducted, resulting in symptoms that range from mild limb numbness to paralysis or blindness. About 80 percent of MS patients are diagnosed with the relapsing remitting form of the disease.

The Northwestern nanotechnology does not suppress the entire immune system as do current therapies for MS, which make patients more susceptible to everyday infections and higher rates of cancer. Rather, when the nanoparticles are attached to myelin antigens and injected into the mice, the immune system is reset to normal. The immune system stops recognizing myelin as an alien invader and halts its attack on it.

"This is a highly significant breakthrough in translational immunotherapy," said Stephen Miller, a corresponding author of the study and the Judy Gugenheim Research Professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "The beauty of this new technology is it can be used in many immune-related diseases. We simply change the antigen that's delivered."

"The holy grail is to develop a therapy that is specific to the pathological immune response, in this case the body attacking myelin," Miller added. "Our approach resets the immune system so it no longer attacks myelin but leaves the function of the normal immune system intact."

The nanoparticle, made from an easily produced and already FDA-approved substance, was developed by Lonnie Shea, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

"This is a major breakthrough in nanotechnology, showing you can use it to regulate the immune system," said Shea, also a corresponding author. The paper will be published Nov. 18 in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Miller and Shea are also members of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. In addition, Shea is a member of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine and the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute.

Clinical Trial for Ms Tests Same Approach -- With Key Difference

The study's method is the same approach now being tested in multiple sclerosis patients in a phase I/II clinical trial -- with one key difference. The trial uses a patient's own white blood cells -- a costly and labor intensive procedure -- to deliver the antigen. The purpose of the new study was to see if nanoparticles could be as effective as the white blood cells as delivery vehicles. They were.

The Big Nanoparticle Advantage for Immunotherapy

Nanoparticles have many advantages; they can be readily produced in a laboratory and standardized for manufacturing. They would make the potential therapy cheaper and more accessible to a general population. In addition, these nanoparticles are made of a polymer called Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG), which consists of lactic acid and glycolic acid, both natural metabolites in the human body. PLG is most commonly used for biodegradable sutures.

The fact that PLG is already FDA approved for other applications should facilitate translating the research to patients, Shea noted. Miller and Shea tested nanoparticles of various sizes and discovered that 500 nanometers was most effective at modulating the immune response.

"We administered these particles to animals who have a disease very similar to relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and stopped it in its tracks," Miller said. "We prevented any future relapses for up to 100 days, which is the equivalent of several years in the life of an MS patient."

Shea and Miller also are currently testing the nanoparticles to treat Type one diabetes and airway diseases such as asthma.

Nanoparticles Fool Immune System

In the study, researchers attached myelin antigens to the nanoparticles and injected them intravenously into the mice. The particles entered the spleen, which filters the blood and helps the body dispose of aging and dying blood cells. There, the particles were engulfed by macrophages, a type of immune cell, which then displayed the antigens on their cell surface. The immune system viewed the nanoparticles as ordinary dying blood cells and nothing to be concerned about. This created immune tolerance to the antigen by directly inhibiting the activity of myelin responsive T cells and by increasing the numbers of regulatory T cells which further calmed the autoimmune response.

"The key here is that this antigen/particle-based approach to induction of tolerance is selective and targeted. Unlike generalized immunosuppression, which is the current therapy used for autoimmune diseases, this new process does not shut down the whole immune system," said Christine Kelley, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering director of the division of Discovery Science and Technology at the National Institutes of Health, which supported the research. "This collaborative effort between expertise in immunology and bioengineering is a terrific example of the tremendous advances that can be made with scientifically convergent approaches to biomedical problems."

"We are proud to share our expertise in therapeutics development with Dr. Stephen Miller's stellar team of academic scientists," said Scott Johnson, CEO, president and founder of the Myelin Repair Foundation. "The idea to couple antigens to nanoparticles was conceived in discussions between Dr. Miller's laboratory, the Myelin Repair Foundation's drug discovery advisory board and Dr. Michael Pleiss, a member of the Myelin Repair Foundation's internal research team, and we combined our efforts to focus on patient-oriented, clinically relevant research with broad implications for all autoimmune diseases. Our unique research model is designed to foster and extract the innovation from the academic science that we fund and transition these technologies to commercialization. The overarching goal is to ensure this important therapeutic pathway has its best chance to reach patients, with MS and all autoimmune diseases."
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CCcarol

占一个~

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1‘09 1’26 1‘52 1’22 1‘47 每次看这些文章的时候 都觉得 科学家怎么有这么多需要研究~~~

越障：5’06 找的很棒！~ 辛苦Peill啦~
Breakthrough Nanoparticle Halts Multiple Sclerosis in Mice 这个东西能帮助提高免疫系统~
(作者是正态度~ 用了很多例子来证明其积极作用)
优势作用 应用广泛- 同样研究方法得出结果的不同( 优势) - 阐述如何应用于免疫系统 具体细节~

attractg

板凳！！！！


速度：
1’31’’(327)
“Higgs bosom” may not open for exotic realms. The new particle dances, sings more and more like Higgs bosom. The ** team spent 10 billion to find the Higgs, which can be dated at 13.7 million years ago after the Big Bang in the universe, could not have formed into stars, planets…

2’50’’(270) The existence of the particle was postulate in 1964 by British Scientists, who find the particle can fill a gap for the development of the universe…Scientists said they track its existence in the universe ,and found something like in two years ago. But they insisted they still have to establish with the 5-sigma. Scientists want to find more exotic things …

2’53’’(334) The brain scanner shed light on creativity. Instead of going to a club and watching, scientists use 12 rappers **** machine to study the issue. The machine can detect in which part of the brain is active during improvisation.

2’44’’(277) RJ, a neurologist from ** University also study the brain structure and creativity. He is excited about the finding. He said people less involved by the frontal lobe area, the more like something “occurred outside conscious awareness.”… The research can shows how creativity differs from experts and amateur of the similar art form :a poet and a storyteller.

3’43’’(322) Study the mystery of Venus Fly Trap… Venus Fly traps an insect meal. The rapid botanic movement has been long fascinated the biologists. Scientists*** from France are work on the issue to understand the movement. They said the high pressure inside the leaf may contribute to the movement….

越障:
7’24’’(1018)
Main Idea : Breakthrough in Nanoparticles halt Multiple Sclerosis in mice , offer helps for other diseases in immune system
Author’s attitude: Positive(+)
Structure:
>>Breakthrough in Nanoparticles
The breakthrough in nanotechnology turns out to be a perfect vehicle to deliver the antigen… The new technology can also be applied into a variety of immune-mediate diseases.
>> The big nanoparticle advantage in immunotherapy
Nanoparticles have many advantages.
(1) Nanoparticles can be readily produced in labortary;
(2) Nanoparticles can make potential therapy cheaper and access to general population;
(3) Nanoparticles include PLG.. nature metabolities in body..
>> Nanoparticles fool the immune system
The particles enter the spleen and helps body dispose of dying and aging cells… The immune system regards the particles as ordinary dying cells and nothing to concern about…

The CEO of the Myelin system foundation said the overarching goal is to let this important therapy have best chances to reach patients….

ElenW

Speed
time1-1:50 哎 看到科技文 头痛!
  The research which was reported on Thursday seemed very likely that the particle was indeed the long-sought Higgs boson.
time2-2:05 不要鄙视我 我没有看懂....
  The CERN Scientists are working hardly on looking for a methord to measure all the properties of the Higgs .
time3-2:14
  The researchers were able to see arearsof the brain --which is published today in Scientific Reports --medial prefrontal cortex-are usedduring improvisation for Rappers.
占个位占个位 回来接着做~~~~我讨厌科技文!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zhouzhoucome

1‘39
1’52
2‘56
1’46
2‘26

zhouzhoucome

7’48

2012Michelle

地下室占一个位子，辛苦鱼妹妹了哦~

哇，欠作业要命。。

xiaojindiao

1'24
1'28
2'09
1'49
2'09
6'34

谢谢peill的辛劳付出！

bullheart

1'39
1'44
2'30
1'54
2'29
6'32
今天的速度提高了，但是我有两篇看不懂啊~而且科技文里的生词好多啊。。。我废了好大劲，抑制了自己强烈的使用有道词典划词取义的功能的欲望。。。
哎，阅读，想说爱你真的很难
楼主辛苦，谢谢啦

徒手破鲜橙

53' cant understand....cant follow the story . I need more practices....I just could tell the scientists had a discovery and now it seems it does not open a door but insteadly, it is Higgs boson? anyway, it is not like a geilivable discovery as scientists hope..
1‘01 recall the study history and state the challenge is to measure all the properties of the new particle in detail. It will take time to establish a comprehensive understanding of its true underlying nature.but scientists still hold a hope