英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

2022/07/11 05:30

◎陳成良

Researchers in Italy who were first to identify the presence of monkeypox in semen are broadening their testing, saying early results suggest sperm can be a vehicle for infection.

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  義大利研究人員表示，初步擴大篩檢結果顯示，精子確實可能是猴痘傳播媒介。（路透）

最早在人體精液中發現猴痘病毒的義大利研究人員，現正擴大篩檢，並指出初步結果顯示，精子可能是感染媒介。

A team at Rome’s Spallanzani Hospital, which specializes in infectious diseases, revealed in a study published on June 2 that the virus DNA was detected in semen of three out of four men diagnosed with monkeypox.

專研傳染病的羅馬斯帕蘭札尼醫院一個團隊，在6月2日發表的研究報告中揭露，確診猴痘的4名男病患中，有3人的精液檢測出病毒的去氧核糖核酸（DNA）。

They have since expanded their work, according to director Francesco Vaia, who said researchers have found the presence of monkeypox in the sperm of 14 infected men out of 16 studied.

院長弗朗切斯科‧瓦亞表示，研究人員後來擴大工作範圍，在接受研究的16人中，有14名男性病患的精子中發現猴痘病毒。

"This finding tells us that the presence of the virus in sperm is not a rare or random occurrence," Vaia told AFP in an interview.

瓦亞在接受法新社訪問時說，「這個發現告訴我們，病毒出現在精子不是罕見或偶然現象。」

2022/07/08 05:30

◎張沛元

An early estimate points to a huge die-off along the Pacific Coast, and scientists say rivers farther inland are warming to levels that could be lethal for some kinds of salmon.

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  2名女子5日在義大利羅馬名勝西班牙階梯的噴泉中戲水降溫。義大利近日飽受罕見高溫與少雨之苦。（美聯社）

一項初步估計顯示，（美國）太平洋沿岸海洋生物大量死亡；科學家則說，更內陸的河川的水溫，正升高到恐令某些鮭魚致命的程度。

Dead mussels and clams coated rocks in the Pacific Northwest, their shells gaping open as if they’d been boiled. Sea stars were baked to death. Sockeye salmon swam sluggishly in an overheated Washington river, prompting wildlife officials to truck them to cooler areas.

死掉的淡菜與蛤蜊佈滿西北太平洋沿岸地區的岩石上，牠們的殼有如被煮熟似地張開。海星被活活烤死。紅鉤吻鮭在過熱的華盛頓河中緩慢游動，促使野生動物官員將之載運到較涼爽的區域。

The combination of extraordinary heat and drought that hit the Western United States and Canada over the past two weeks has killed hundreds of millions of marine animals and continues to threaten untold species in freshwater, according to a preliminary estimate and interviews with scientists.

根據一項初步估計以及對科學家所進行的訪談，美加西部過去兩週來慘遭異常高溫與乾旱襲擊，導致數以億計的海洋生物死亡，並持續威脅無數淡水物種。

新聞辭典

en masse：副詞，一起地，全體地。例句：Defiant employees have quit en masse amid protests against the company’s vaccine mandate.（違抗成命的員工在抗議公司的疫苗令中集體請辭。）

2022/07/07 05:30

◎孫宇青

OMNI, a company that specializes in plant-based dog food in Britain, said it is seeking dog owners to sniff their dog’s poop, to test the effect a plant-based diet has on their dog’s digestion, stool odor and general health.

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  英國一家公司出資招募狗主人，讓其狗狗改吃素食狗糧，以檢驗消化和排泄狀況。示意圖。（法新社檔案照）

英國一家專門生產素食狗糧的企業OMNI說，他們正在尋找肯嗅聞寵物排便的狗主人，以測試一種素食狗糧對狗狗消化狀況、糞便氣味和整體健康的影響。

The winning applicant will be paid $6,685.82 to use OMNI’s dog food for two months and report on the effects the food has on the animal’s frequency of bowel movements, poop odor, energy levels, behavior, sleep patterns, weight and fur condition.

雀屏中選的申請人須使用OMNI的狗糧2個月，期間回報動物食用後的排便頻率、糞便氣味、體力、行為、睡眠規律、體重和毛髮狀況等，並可得到6685.82美元（約20萬台幣）。

OMNI co-founder Shiv Sivakumar said customers have reported improved general health after switching to the plant-based food.

OMNI共同創辦人席夫．西瓦庫瑪說，許多顧客反映，在改用素食狗糧後，狗狗的整體健康有所改善。

"We know that this is quite a peculiar vacancy, but we also know that this is the way for us to put our money where our mouth is and show that plant-based dog food could improve dogs’ digestive health," he said.

2022/07/06 05:30

◎管淑平

The race to resume supersonic passenger flights nearly two decades after the retirement of Concorde was offered a glimmer of excitement on Monday when plane manufacturer Bombardier revealed high speed achievements while confirming the launch of its new business jet.

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  龐巴迪「環球8000」客機。（取自龐巴迪官網）

飛機製造商龐巴迪週一揭露其最新商務噴射客機達到的高速度成果，同時證實上市時間，為協和號退役將近20年後，重拾超音速載客飛行的競賽，注入一絲興奮。

The Canadian company said the in-development Global 8000 will be "the world’s fastest and longest-range purpose-built business jet."

這家加拿大公司說，這款開發中的「環球8000型」客機，將是「全世界最快、最長程的特製商用噴射機」。

The news comes after a Global 7500 test vehicle broke the sound barrier during a demonstration flight last May, achieving speeds of more than Mach 1.015.

在發布這項消息前，一架環球7500型測試機，在去年5月一次試飛中突破音障，達到超過1.015馬赫的速度。

"The Global 8000 aircraft leverages the outstanding attributes of the Global 7500 aircraft, providing our customers with a flagship aircraft of a new era," Éric Martel, president and CEO for Bombardier, said.

2022/07/04 05:30

◎陳成良

Scientists have identified more than 3,000 potentially harmful chemicals that can be found in food packaging and other food-related materials, two-thirds of which were not previously known to be in contact with food.

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  科學家在食品包裝中發現3000多種潛在有害化學物質；示意圖。（法新社檔案照）

科學家們已經確定3000多種可在食品包裝和其他食品相關材料中發現的潛在有害化學物質，其中3分之2是以前未發現與食品接觸的化學品。

An international group of scientists analyzed more than 1,200 scientific studies where chemicals had been measured in food packaging, processing equipment, tableware and reusable food containers.

一個國際科學家小組分析1200多份科學研究，這些研究對食品包裝、加工設備、餐具和可重複使用的食品容器中的化學物質進行檢測。

A report released on Thursday by the Food Packaging Forum, a Switzerland-based non-profit, noted little is known about many of the 3,240 chemicals examined in these studies or their effects on people.

瑞士非營利組織「食品包裝論壇」週四發布的一份報告指出，人們對這些研究檢測的3240種化學物質中的許多物質，及其對人類的影響知之甚少。

Just one-third of the chemicals studied appeared in a previously compiled database of more than 12,000 chemicals associated with the manufacturing of food contact materials.

所研究的化學品中，僅有3分之1出現在先前彙編、與食品接觸材料製造有關的1萬2000多種化學品資料庫中。