Why cats prefer silver vine to catnip and other May highlights
Why cats prefer silver vine to catnip and other May highlights
为什么猫更喜欢木天蓼而非猫薄荷：五月科技要闻精选
It’s a regrettable reality that there is never enough time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across. So every month, we highlight a handful of the best stories that nearly slipped through the cracks. May’s list includes the discovery of a possible prehistoric mining site in the Pyrenees; a new species of tiny blue octopus; why cats seem to prefer silver vine to catnip; and why political polarization might behave like a phase transition, among other noteworthy stories.
令人遗憾的是，我们总是没有足够的时间去报道所有遇到的有趣科学故事。因此，每个月我们都会精选出一批差点被遗漏的精彩报道。五月的榜单包括：在比利牛斯山脉发现的史前矿区遗址；一种新的微型蓝色章鱼；为什么猫似乎更喜欢木天蓼而非猫薄荷；以及为什么政治极化可能表现得像一种相变，等等值得关注的故事。
Prehistoric mining in the Pyrenees
比利牛斯山脉的史前采矿遗址
High in the eastern Pyrenees is a prehistoric cave, excavated between 2021 and 2023. Based on analysis of artifacts uncovered at the site, a team of Spanish archaeologists believes this may have served as an ancient copper smelting spot, with far more frequent occupation by humans than previously thought. The researchers described these preliminary findings in a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.
在东比利牛斯山脉的高处有一座史前洞穴，于2021年至2023年间进行了发掘。根据对现场出土文物的分析，一支西班牙考古学家团队认为，这里可能曾是古代的炼铜点，人类在此居住的频率远比之前认为的要高。研究人员在《环境考古学前沿》（Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology）期刊上发表的一篇论文中描述了这些初步发现。
Of particular interest were 23 hearths found in the second and third layers of the excavation, filled with crushed green mineral fragments that had clearly been subject to burning; other materials found there showed no sign of thermal damage. The team is still conducting experiments to conclusively identify the green material, but the fragments strongly resemble malachite. That’s significant because malachite can be heated to produce copper. Most of the hearths are between 4,000 and 5,500 years old. The team also recovered two prehistoric pendants, a human finger bone, and a baby tooth belonging to a child about 11 years old. It’s possible there may be burials in deeper layers as excavations continue at the site.
特别引人注目的是在发掘的第二层和第三层中发现的23个炉灶，里面装满了明显经过焚烧的绿色矿物碎片；而在那里发现的其他材料则没有热损伤的迹象。研究小组仍在进行实验以最终确定这种绿色物质，但这些碎片非常像孔雀石。这一点意义重大，因为孔雀石加热后可以提炼出铜。大多数炉灶的年代在4000到5500年之间。该团队还发现了两件史前吊坠、一根人类手指骨和一颗属于约11岁儿童的乳牙。随着现场发掘工作的继续，更深的地层中可能还存在墓葬。
Singing mice
歌唱鼠
Singing mice live high in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, engaging in chirping call-and-response duets that can change slightly depending on responses received. In 2019, scientists pinpointed the precise brain circuit responsible for this behavior. Now, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have discovered that this ability doesn’t require any major evolutionary leap in brain complexity, just a couple of targeted changes to existing wiring patterns, according to a paper published in Nature.
歌唱鼠生活在哥斯达黎加的高海拔云雾森林中，它们会进行唧唧喳喳的呼应式二重唱，这种鸣叫会根据对方的反应而略有变化。2019年，科学家确定了负责这种行为的精确大脑回路。现在，冷泉港实验室（CSHL）的科学家在《自然》（Nature）杂志上发表论文称，他们发现这种能力并不需要大脑复杂性发生重大的进化飞跃，只需对现有的神经连接模式进行几次针对性的改变即可。
The key to the discovery was a molecular barcoding technique developed by CSHL’s Anthony Zador, which enabled the team to map out the wiring of thousands of individual neurons in the brains of singing mice and other closely related species. This revealed that there were roughly triple the number of neurons connecting the mouth-movement control region with the cortex that controls hearing, and a midbrain structure that controls vocalizations. The authors suggest it might one day be possible to make an ordinary lab mouse “sing” by making similar neural wiring changes.
这一发现的关键在于CSHL的Anthony Zador开发的一种分子条形码技术，该技术使团队能够绘制出歌唱鼠及其他近缘物种大脑中数千个独立神经元的连接图谱。研究显示，连接口腔运动控制区与听觉控制皮层以及控制发声的中脑结构的神经元数量大约是普通小鼠的三倍。作者认为，未来或许可以通过进行类似的神经连接改造，让普通的实验室小鼠也能够“歌唱”。
Tiny blue octopus
微型蓝色章鱼
In 2015, scientists on a deep-sea expedition in the Galapagos Islands, aboard the E/V Nautilus, were looking at footage from the remotely operated vehicle (ROV). They spotted a tiny, distinctly blue octopus some 5,800 feet (1,773 meters) below the surface, and collected the creature for further analysis, along with other deep-sea specimens. Charles Darwin Foundation researchers have now concluded that the adorable creature, small enough to fit into the palm of one’s hand, is a new species, according to a paper published in the journal Zootaxis.
2015年，在加拉帕戈斯群岛进行深海考察的科学家们乘坐“鹦鹉螺号”（E/V Nautilus）考察船，在查看遥控潜水器（ROV）拍摄的影像时，在水下约5800英尺（1773米）处发现了一只微小的、颜色鲜艳的蓝色章鱼，并将其与其他深海标本一起收集起来进行进一步分析。据发表在《动物分类学》（Zootaxis）期刊上的一篇论文显示，查尔斯·达尔文基金会的研究人员现已断定，这种小到可以放在手掌心里的可爱生物是一个新物种。
The little octopus has been preserved in storage since it was collected. Scientists were reluctant to cut the specimen open for a thorough analysis to determine the species, since it was one of a kind, and it was extremely unlikely that another would be collected. Instead, the team opted for mini-CT scans, enabling a 3D virtual dissection with clear imaging even of soft tissues. This revealed that the creature had short arms, few arm suckers, and no ink sac, as well as having very smooth skin and a large rachidian tooth. They’ve dubbed the new species Microeledone galapagensis.
这只小章鱼自被采集以来一直被保存着。科学家们不愿将其切开进行彻底分析以确定物种，因为它是独一无二的，而且极不可能再采集到另一只。相反，团队选择了微型CT扫描，实现了3D虚拟解剖，即使是软组织也能清晰成像。结果显示，该生物拥有短臂、较少的吸盘、没有墨囊，皮肤非常光滑，且有一颗巨大的齿舌齿。他们将这个新物种命名为 Microeledone galapagensis。
Not all “slapsticks” are created equal
并非所有的“拍板”都生而平等
Foley artists have used so-called “slapsticks” to mimic the sound of the crack of the whip since at least the mid-20th century; it’s used in Leroy Anderson’s holiday classic “Sleigh Ride,” for example. But not all commercial slapsticks are created equal, according to Daniel Ludwigsen of Kettering University, who presented the results of his preliminary experiments comparing five versions at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Philadelphia.
至少从20世纪中期开始，拟音师们就一直使用所谓的“拍板”（slapstick）来模拟鞭子的抽打声；例如，它被用于勒罗伊·安德森的节日经典曲目《雪橇之旅》（Sleigh Ride）中。但凯特灵大学的丹尼尔·路德维格森（Daniel Ludwigsen）在费城举行的美国声学学会会议上展示了对比五种版本的初步实验结果，他指出，并非所有的商业拍板都生而平等。
Ludwigsen played each of the five commercial slapsticks five times in an anechoic environment, minimizing any acoustic room effects with absorbing wedges. All shared a high-frequency roll-off and a broad peak between 1,000 and 3,000 Hz, with varying degrees of low-frequency roll-off. The two smallest could be played with one hand thanks to a spring hinge and performed best in the high-frequency range. By contrast, longer models like the “Sleighride Special” performed best in low-frequency ranges. The resulting sound’s tone is influenced by how hard one smacks the sticks together. And preliminary testing of the Pearl slapstick showed roughly uniform sound directionality regardless of frequency, although Ludwigsen emphasized that a more complete study is needed.
路德维格森在消声环境中将五种商业拍板各演奏了五次，并利用吸音楔最大限度地减少了房间的声学影响。所有拍板都表现出高频衰减，并在1000到3000赫兹之间有一个宽峰，同时伴有不同程度的低频衰减。得益于弹簧铰链，其中最小的两款可以用单手演奏，且在高频范围内表现最佳。相比之下，像“Sleighride Special”这样较长的型号在低频范围内表现更好。最终产生的音色受拍击力度影响。对Pearl拍板的初步测试显示，无论频率如何，其声音指向性大致均匀，尽管路德维格森强调仍需进行更全面的研究。