◎國際新聞中心

Scientists believe they have found a way to beat sleeping sickness using a bacterium against the tsetse fly host that spreads the disease to humans.

科學家相信已經找到方法來對抗睡眠病，他們藉著使用一種細菌，防止采采蠅宿主將睡眠病傳染給人類。

In the same way that we have friendly bacteria in our intestines, the tsetse fly harbours bacteria in its midgut, muscle and salivary glands. Experts in Belgium have genetically modified these "good bugs" so they attack the culprit parasite carried by the fly.

人類的腸子裡有好菌，采采蠅也以同樣的方式，將細菌藏在中腸、肌肉與唾腺中。比利時專家基因改造這種「好菌」，讓它們得以攻擊采采蠅挾帶的罪魁禍首寄生蟲。

Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, is a potentially fatal disease that plagues many regions of Africa. Although the number of people being infected with the disease has been going down thanks to better diagnosis and treatment, there were still more than 7,000 new cases recorded in 2010.

睡眠病或稱人類非洲椎蟲病，是一種蔓延非洲許多地區、可能致命的疾病。雖然因為更好的診斷以及治療，感染人數逐漸降低，但2010年新罹患人數仍創下超過7000人的紀錄。

Without treatment, sleeping sickness is fatal. But current therapies often have unpleasant side-effects. And so scientists are seeking alternatives. The Belgium team at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp have focused on finding a way to destroy the sleeping sickness parasite - trypanosome - that the tsetse fly carries. They found bacteria called Sodalis glossinidius, which naturally live in the fly and can be used to mount an attack from the inside.

要是缺乏治療，睡眠病會致命，但目前的療法常會有副作用，因此科學家正在尋找替代療法。比利時安特衛普熱帶醫學研究院的團隊，著重在設法摧毀采采蠅挾帶的睡眠病寄生蟲「椎蟲」。他們發現一種原本就存在采采蠅體內，可從內部發動攻擊的一種Sodalis glossinidius菌。

◎ 魏國金

Climate change is altering the face of the Himalayas, devastating farming communities and making Mount Everest increasingly treacherous to climb, some of the world’s top mountaineers have warned.

氣候變遷正改變喜馬拉雅山的風貌、破壞農業社群，同時讓聖母峰的攀登更形危險，一些世界頂尖的登山家警告說。

Apa Sherpa, the Nepali climber who has conquered Mount Everest a record 21 times, said he was disturbed by the lack of snow on the world’s highest peak, caused by rising temperatures.

創下21次征服聖母峰紀錄的尼泊爾登山家阿帕‧雪巴指出，他對全球最高峰因氣溫上升，導致缺雪感到不安。

"In 1989 when I first climbed Everest there was a lot of snow and ice but now most of it has just become bare rock. That, as a result, is causing more rockfalls which is a danger to the climbers," he said.

「1989年我首度攀登聖母峰時，那兒有許多雪與冰，但現在該處多半變成了裸露的岩石，結果這引發更多對登山客危險的岩崩，」他說。

Apa Sherpa would not rule out the possibility of Everest being unclimbable in the coming years.

阿帕‧雪巴不排除幾年後聖母峰恐無法攀越的可能性。

◎ 魏國金

Thousands of anti-nuclear protestors in Germany demanded a swifter end to the use of nuclear power Sunday, organisers said, on the first anniversary of Japan’s reactor crisis.

德國數千名反核抗議人士，週日在日本核子反應爐危機一週年紀念日，要求加快終結核電的使用，主辦單位指出。

About 3,000 people formed a human chain around the nuclear power station in Brokdorf in northern Germany, and protests were also held at four other sites in both the north and south of the country, organisers said in a written statement.

約3000人在德國北部的布羅克多夫的核電廠周邊形成一條人鏈，抗議行動也在德國南北其他4個場所登場，主辦單位在書面聲明上表示。

"The half-hearted and much too slow nuclear exit in Germany must clearly be accelerated," they said.

「德國不認真以及太過緩慢的廢核（步調），顯然必須加以催促，」他們說。

Berlin decided last March to permanently switch off Germany’s eight oldest nuclear reactors and to close by 2022 nine others currently online in the wake of Japan’s massive March 11 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

在日本3月11日大規模的福島核災後，柏林於去年3月決定永久關閉德國8座最老舊的核子反應爐；同時，到2022年時，目前運轉中的其他9座核電廠也將關廠。

◎ 魏國金

Climate change is altering the face of the Himalayas, devastating farming communities and making Mount Everest increasingly treacherous to climb, some of the world’s top mountaineers have warned.

氣候變遷正改變喜馬拉雅山的風貌、破壞農業社群，同時讓聖母峰的攀登更形危險，一些世界頂尖的登山家警告說。

Apa Sherpa, the Nepali climber who has conquered Mount Everest a record 21 times, said he was disturbed by the lack of snow on the world’s highest peak, caused by rising temperatures.

創下21次征服聖母峰紀錄的尼泊爾登山家阿帕‧雪巴指出，他對全球最高峰因氣溫上升，導致缺雪感到不安。

"In 1989 when I first climbed Everest there was a lot of snow and ice but now most of it has just become bare rock. That, as a result, is causing more rockfalls which is a danger to the climbers," he said.

「1989年我首度攀登聖母峰時，那兒有許多雪與冰，但現在該處多半變成了裸露的岩石，結果這引發更多對登山客危險的岩崩，」他說。

Apa Sherpa would not rule out the possibility of Everest being unclimbable in the coming years.

阿帕‧雪巴不排除幾年後聖母峰恐無法攀越的可能性。

◎國際新聞中心

Women who regularly eat citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit may have a lower risk of blood-clot related stroke, according to a US study published on Thursday.

根據週四發表的一項美國研究指出，女性規律食用柳橙或葡萄柚等柑橘類水果，因血管阻塞相關因素中風的風險可能較低。

Researchers looked at 14 years of data from a US survey that included 69,622 women who reported what they ate, including details on fruit and vegetable consumption, every four years.

研究人員觀察一項美國調查所得到的14年資料，數據中6萬9622名女性每4年一次通報她們吃什麼，包括蔬果攝取的詳細資料。

The aim was to study the effects of flavonoids -- a class of compounds present in fruits, vegetables, dark chocolate and red wine -- on health. While total flavonoid consumption across all six main types found in the typical US diet did not show a benefit in preventing stroke, those who ate lots of oranges and grapefruit and their derived juices showed a 19 percent lower stroke risk than their counterparts in the study.

研究目的是觀察類黃酮對健康的影響。類黃酮是蔬果、黑巧克力與紅酒所含的一種複合物。雖然美國典型飲食主要6大類中的類黃酮攝取，並未發現有助預防中風，但食用大量柳橙與葡萄柚以及這種果汁的人，中風風險比研究中的同儕低19%。

"Studies have shown higher fruit, vegetable and specifically vitamin C intake is associated with reduced stroke risk," said Aedin Cassidy, lead author of the study in the Stroke︰Journal of the American Heart Association.

「研究顯示，較多蔬果、特別是維他命C的攝取，與中風風險低相關」，研究主要作者卡西迪在「中風：美國心臟協會期刊」中寫道。

◎張沛元

According to folklore, the cat was omitted from the Chinese zodiac because it was duped by the rat into believing that New Year’s Day was a day later, and thus it failed to show up at an all-important gathering.

根據民俗傳說，貓之所以被從中國生肖榜上除名，是因為被老鼠欺騙，以為隔天才是新年，以致沒能在這場非常重要的（生肖）集合中現身。

Cat lovers can take relief this year in knowing that their feline friends have not been written off as mere fools, with a series of exhibits paying tribute to the role of the cat in traditional Japanese art being held in Tokyo.

目前在東京展出的一系列向貓在傳統日本藝術中所扮演的角色致敬的展覽，今年讓愛貓人士能好好鬆一口氣，知道他們的貓朋友並非因為是笨蛋而被生肖榜除名。

Since Jan. 3, the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Museum in the Toyosu district of Tokyo’s Koto Ward has been featuring part of some 200 ukiyo-e woodblock prints, which feature cats as motifs.

1月3日起，東京都江東區豐洲的平木浮世繪美術館展出約200幅以貓為主角的浮世繪版畫。

The exhibition has been divided into three parts, each with a separate theme, running through the end of March.

該展覽分為3部分，每一部分有不同主題，持續展出到3月底為止。