英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

◎黃靖媗

Otago University and United Kingdom researchers developed the world-first device, which uses magnets to lock the mouth almost shut, to help fight the global obesity epidemic.

奧塔戈大學與英國研究人員研發了世界首款裝置，使用磁鐵鎖住嘴巴至幾乎閉上，幫助對抗全球肥胖流行。

DentalSlim Diet Control is an intra-oral device fitted by a dental professional to the upper and lower back teeth.

「牙科瘦身飲食控制」是一種口內裝置，會由牙科專業人員安裝至上下臼齒。

The device was being widely ridiculed after being shared on social media, with Twitter users calling it "creepy" and "bizarre".

這款裝置被分享至社群媒體後，受到大量嘲笑，推特用戶稱它「令人毛骨悚然」且「怪異」。

But Dunedin researchers who developed the device are defending the invention, saying those panning the weight loss tool have misunderstood its intention.

但開發這款裝置的達尼丁研究員為這項發明辯護，表示斥責這款減重工具的人們誤解了它的本意。

Lead researcher Prof Paul Brunton said it was not intended to be used for general weight loss purposes, but instead for specific cases where there was a clinical need to lose weight quickly.

首席研究員保羅．布倫頓教授表示，它不是為了用於普通的減重目的，而是針對臨床上需要快速減重的特殊案例。

2021/07/12 05:30

◎陳成良

A recent study done by a group of scientists at the Tel Aviv University has discovered that some plants will scream in a high frequency when they are undergoing stress.

近日一項由以色列特拉維夫大學的科學家團隊完成的研究發現，某些植物在承受壓力時會發出高頻率尖叫。

The research was carried out on tomato plants and tobacco plants by cutting their stems and depriving them of water. A microphone is placed 10cm away from the setup.

這項研究是透過切開番茄植株和菸草植株的莖部，或是剝奪其水分而進行，同時將一個麥克風放置在距離實驗裝置10公分的地方。

When they started cutting the stems, they found out that the plants started ’screaming’ between 20 and 100 kilohertz and they believe that this scream is probably meant to warn other plants and organisms nearby.

當他們開始切割莖部時，他們發現植物開始發出20至100千赫茲之間的「尖叫」，他們相信這種尖叫很可能是為了警告附近的其他植物和生物體。

When the tomato plant’s stem was cut, 25 ultrasonic distress sounds were recorded over the course of an hour, and on the other hand, 15 ultrasonic distress sounds were recorded from the tobacco plant.

他們在切開番茄植株的莖部後，在1小時的過程中記錄到25次超音波緊迫聲。另一方面，從菸草植株實驗中記錄到15次超音波緊迫聲。