时间:2018-12-24 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(五)月


英语课

 This is scientific Americans 60 second science, I am Sophie Bushwick. got a minute.


 
Tens of millions of years ago, cephalopods were hiding from their enemies in clouds of ink. And it turns out that cuttlefish 1 today produce ink that’s almost identical.
 
Researchers found fossils of two giant cephalopods that swam the seas more than 160 million years ago. Each one contained a preserved ink sac. Analysis of the sacs revealed that some melanin pigment 2—the stuff that makes the ink dark—had survived. Plus, the chemical makeup 3 of the melanin was virtually the same as the pigment found in modern-day cuttlefish ink. The work is in the Proceedings 4 of the National Academy of Sciences.
 
It’s rare to find preserved soft tissue in the fossil record. In addition, biomolecules often break down, leaving none of the original organic compounds. Melanin, however, has a sturdy structure that resists this fate. And the methods these researchers used to isolate 6 it from the fossils could help other paleontologists better identify preserved organic molecules 5 and their functions.
 
The finding also demonstrates that when something works, evolution usually leaves it alone. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
 
Thanks for the minute for scientific Americans 60 second science, i am Sophie Bushwick.

1 cuttlefish
n.乌贼,墨鱼
  • I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters.我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
  • The cuttlefish spurts out dark ink when it is in danger.乌鲗遇到危险的时候会喷出黑色液体。
2 pigment
n.天然色素,干粉颜料
  • The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
  • Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。
3 makeup
n.组织;性格;化装品
  • Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
  • Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗?
4 proceedings
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
5 molecules
分子( molecule的名词复数 )
  • The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
  • Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里,大分子裂变为小分子。
6 isolate
vt.使孤立,隔离
  • Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
  • We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。
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学英语单词
acrostatic
animal ferment
apophylaxis
atom trapping technique
bioregional
bracquemond
butyl-catechol
candida maris
cement-welding
change the tune
channel discount
colonises
commercial customary law
countershaft axle
crystallographic form
deep-sea disposal
delibrate
dictamnolide
digitaria sericea
dinkas
disequal
doomtard
doppler signature
eateries
Eriocycla pelliotii
error prediction
expeditionary forces
exploratory
fast-fits
fire-engine red
fish-plate
fly a high pitch
foot-pound-second system
geek speak
Gossypium herbaceum
graphotype
Gönc
homeotherapeutic
horizontic
hunter-killer submarine
hydrostatic drives
ISOINDOLONE
japan sea type geosyncline
Lazax
living alone
local oscillator (lo)
marysol
meta-zoonoses
methylpyrocatechine
moerae
momie toweling
Na-to-steam heat exchanger
nagrestipen
Nanas
Neodiplostomum
netwrk
nodosarines
nomen loci
omphalosotr
on the water
optimal placement
pantages
paper chains
pentadecylic acid
phlebitis nodosa tuberculosa
Pleuracanthodii
plunge method
potassium antimonyl oxalate
predelay
pressure flask
probabilistic geometry
process part
range of headlamp
redeemable debentures
reflationist
rhizomnium punctatum
ribbed pipe
Rock Spring
sao franciscoes
secondary pneumonic plague
shoe-type furrow opener
soda pyroxenite
spheroidizing annealing
spider crabs
steering brake
stenotope
step-size multipliers in aqb
straight edge ruler
subresources
Sulawesi Tenggara, Propinsi
sweep-delay circuit
take someone for a ride
tenta
tressing
trusdale
two-tone color
unreposing
vegetating
vejjajiva
Well then?
whitewalls
with one's tongue hanging out