英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

◎陳維真

Smoking "rots" the brain by damaging memory, learning and reasoning, according to researchers at King’s College London.

倫敦國王學院的研究人員表示，吸菸會損害記憶、學習與推理能力，「腐蝕」大腦。

A study of 8,800 people over 50 showed high blood pressure and being overweight also seemed to affect the brain, but to a lesser extent. Scientists involved said people needed to be aware that lifestyles could damage the mind as well as the body.

一份調查8800名50歲以上民眾的研究顯示，高血壓與過重可能也會影響大腦，但影響程度較小。參與的科學家表示，大家必須注意生活型態，因為它不只影響心理，也影響身體。

Researchers at King’s were investigating links between the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke and the state of the brain. The results showed that the overall risk of a heart attack or stroke was "significantly associated with cognitive decline" with those at the highest risk showing the greatest decline.

國王學院的研究人員針對心臟病發作或中風可能性與腦部狀態的關連性展開研究。結果顯示，心臟病發作或中風的整體風險與「認知退化有顯著關連」，最可能發生心臟病發作或中風的人，認知退化最嚴重。

It also said there was a "consistent association" between smoking and lower scores in the tests.

研究同時指出，抽菸與腦部測驗分數較低「有所關連」。

Dr Simon Ridley, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said： "Research has repeatedly linked smoking and high blood pressure to a greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia, and this study adds further weight to that evidence."

◎魏國金

Cigarette butts are widely reviled as an urban nuisance but birds in Mexico City see them as a boon, apparently using them to deter parasites from their nests, scientists say.

菸蒂被廣泛痛斥為城市公害，不過墨西哥市的鳥兒卻視其為一項恩惠；牠們顯然利用菸蒂阻斷寄生蟲入侵鳥巢，科學家說。

Local sparrows and finches incorporate smoked cigarette butts in their nests to provide cosy cellulose lining for their chicks and nicotine to ward off mites, they believe.

當地麻雀與雀鳥在其巢內混入抽過的菸蒂，為幼鳥提供舒適的纖維內襯，尼古丁則可避開小跳蚤，他們認為。

A team led by Constantino Macias Garcia at the National Autonomous University monitored 57 nests and found that the tally of bugs declined as the number of smoked butts in each nest increased.

由國立自治大學學者賈西亞率領的一個團隊監測57個鳥巢，發現當每個鳥巢裡的菸屁股數量增加時，小蟲數量就下降。

Sparrow nests had between none and 38 used butts, with an average of eight per nest, and finch nests between none and 48, with an average of 10.

麻雀巢有0到38個用過的菸蒂，平均每巢有8個菸蒂，雀鳥巢有0到48個用過的菸蒂，平均為10個。

The behaviour is an example of how birds adapt to an urban environment, according to the study, which appears on Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters, published by Britain’s Royal Society.

◎國際新聞中心

Chimpanzees and orangutans may experience a "mid-life crisis" like humans, a study suggests.

研究顯示，黑猩猩與紅毛猩猩可能像人類一樣經歷「中年危機」。

An international team of researchers assessed the well-being and happiness of the great apes. They found well-being was high in youth, fell to a low in midlife and rose again in old age, similar to the "U-shape curve" of happiness in humans.

一個國際研究團隊評估這種大型猿類的幸福與快樂。他們發現年輕的黑猩猩幸福度高，步入中年時幸福度下滑，老年幸福度又重新上升，類似人類幸福度的「Ｕ型曲線」。

The sample subjects included 508 chimpanzees and orangutans of varying ages, from zoos, sanctuaries and research centres. They were assessed by zoo keepers, volunteers, researchers and caretakers who had worked with the primate subject for at least two years and knew its behaviour.

樣本包括508隻不同年齡層的黑猩猩與紅毛猩猩，分別來自動物園、保護區與研究中心。牠們由曾參與靈長類主題工作至少2年、了解靈長類行為的動物園管理員、志工、研究人員與照護者評估。

The animals were numerically scored for well-being and happiness on a short questionnaire, which was based on a human well-being model but modified for use in non-human primates.

這些動物的幸福與快樂以簡短的問卷評分，問卷是根據人類的幸福度模型，但修改為可供非人類的靈長類使用。

新聞辭典

◎張沛元

Good fortune and having children just seem to go together for Norwegian mother Hege Jeanette Oksnes.

對挪威媽媽海婕．珍妮特．歐克斯尼斯來說，好運道與生小孩似乎形影不離。

Each time the 29-year-old petrol station attendant from tiny Austevoll island off Norway’s west coast gives birth, someone in her family wins the national lottery.

這名29歲、來自挪威西岸外海小島奧斯特沃爾的加油站員工，每次只要一生小孩，她的家人就會簽中國家樂透。

"This is completely insane... we don’t even play the lottery that often," Oksnes said only days after the family collected 12.2 million crowns （$2.12 million） with their third lottery win in six years.

「這簡直太瘋狂了……我們也沒那麼常玩樂透，」歐克斯尼斯在他們家在6年內第3次簽中樂透、領取1220萬挪威克朗（212萬美元）後如是說。

Oksnes, who serves hot dogs at a petrol station, gave birth to her first child in 2006 just one day after her father Leif won 4.2 million crowns on the national lottery.

2006年，在加油站裡賣熱狗的歐克斯尼斯在她的父親列夫中了420萬克朗國家樂透的隔天，生下頭一胎。

Three years later, Oksnes herself won, claiming 8.2 million crowns one day before giving birth to her second child.

◎陳成良

Divorce rates are far higher among "modern" couples who share the housework than in those where the woman does the lion’s share of the chores, a Norwegian study has found.

共同分擔家務的「現代」夫婦，離婚率比妻子承擔絕大部分家務的夫婦高得多，挪威一項最新研究發現。

In what appears to be a slap in the face for gender equality, the report found the divorce rate among couples who shared housework equally was around 50 per cent higher than among those where the woman did most of the work.

該報告顯示，共同分擔家務的夫婦離婚率比妻子承擔絕大部分家務的夫婦高出約50%。這不啻賞了性別平等理念一記耳光。

"What we’ve seen is that sharing equal responsibility for work in the home doesn’t necessarily contribute to contentment," said Thomas Hansen, co-author of the study entitled "Equality in the Home".

該研究的共同作者托馬斯．漢森說：「我們所見的是，在家裡共同分擔家務並不一定會促成滿足感。」這份報告名為《家庭中的平等》。

The lack of correlation between equality at home and quality of life was surprising, the researcher said.

家庭中的平等和生活品質缺少關聯性，這很令人吃驚，該研究人員說。

"One would think that break-ups would occur more often in families with less equality at home, but our statistics show the opposite," he said.