Research roundup: 6 cool science stories we almost missed
Research roundup: 6 cool science stories we almost missed
科研综述：6个我们差点错过的酷炫科学故事
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. July’s list includes outfitting cyborg cockroaches with a tiny diving suit for navigating flooded terrain; confirmation that a Medici duke died of malaria, not poisoning; the best evidence to date that Betelgeuse is orbited by a companion star; and evidence that some ancient Egyptian princesses were skilled archers.
一个令人遗憾的事实是，我们永远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。七月的名单包括：为半机械蟑螂配备微型潜水服以在洪水地形中导航；证实美第奇公爵死于疟疾而非中毒；迄今为止关于参宿四拥有伴星的最佳证据；以及一些古埃及公主是熟练弓箭手的证据。
Sacrificial Incan boy died of blunt force trauma
印加祭祀男孩死于钝器伤
It’s known that the Incas practiced a human sacrifice ritual known as Capachoca, in which children were offered to the mountains and believed to become divine themselves, serving as intermediaries with the gods. This often involved pilgrimages to the remote sacrificial sites, with colonial accounts describing strangulation, asphyxiation, and blunt force trauma as the most common methods of sacrifice. Archaeologists have reanalyzed the remains of one such victim and concluded the boy died from blunt force trauma, rather than freezing to death as previously believed. They described their findings in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.
众所周知，印加人曾实行一种名为“卡帕科查”（Capachoca）的人祭仪式，即将儿童献给山神，人们相信这些儿童会变得神圣，并成为与神灵沟通的媒介。这通常涉及前往偏远祭祀地点的朝圣之旅。殖民时期的记录描述称，勒死、窒息和钝器伤害是最常见的祭祀方式。考古学家重新分析了其中一名受害者的遗骸，结论是该男孩死于钝器伤害，而非此前认为的冻死。他们在《科学进展》（Science Advances）杂志上发表的一篇论文中描述了这一发现。
The Boy of Cerro El Plomo, as he is known, showed no evidence of freezing prior to death, or any cold-related injuries to his extremities. But there was a left frontal skin lesion and associated fracture likely suffered just before death, since there was no evidence of healing. The injury is consistent with blunt force trauma rather than an accidental fall, with a star-shaped mace being the most likely weapon. The plantar surfaces of the boy’s feet showed evidence of prolonged walking over a long distance, consistent with making a pilgrimage to a sacrificial site. CT scans showed a full stomach, suggesting the boy had feasted before the sacrificial ceremony, as well as a dilated esophagus consistent with vomiting. The latter could have been triggered by the head injury.
这位被称为“埃尔普洛莫山男孩”（Boy of Cerro El Plomo）的遗骸显示，他在死前没有冻伤迹象，四肢也没有任何与寒冷相关的损伤。但他的左额部有皮肤损伤及相关骨折，这很可能是在死前不久遭受的，因为没有愈合迹象。这种损伤与钝器伤害一致，而非意外跌落，星形权杖是最可能的凶器。男孩脚底的痕迹显示他曾长途跋涉，这与前往祭祀地点的朝圣行为相符。CT扫描显示他胃部饱满，表明他在祭祀仪式前曾饱餐一顿，同时食管扩张，这与呕吐症状一致。后者可能是由头部受伤引起的。
The team also analyzed the remains of two young girls found at another site, Cerro Esmeralda, previously believed to have died by strangulation. While they weren’t able to identify an exact cause of death because of the condition of the remains, the authors concluded that the marks on the two girls’ necks were not consistent with strangulation and were more likely caused by textiles, i.e., clothing. CT scans showed that the hyoid bones were still intact with no evidence of fractures and in their correct anatomical position.
研究小组还分析了在另一个地点——埃斯梅拉达山（Cerro Esmeralda）发现的两名年轻女孩的遗骸，此前人们认为她们死于勒死。虽然由于遗骸状况，研究人员无法确定确切的死因，但作者得出结论：两名女孩颈部的痕迹与勒死不符，更可能是由纺织品（即衣物）造成的。CT扫描显示，她们的舌骨完好无损，没有骨折迹象，且处于正确的解剖位置。
Ancient Egyptian princesses were skilled archers
古埃及公主是熟练的弓箭手
Late 19th century archaeologists excavated the Dahshur pyramid complex within the Memphis Necropolis in Egypt and found several intact burial chambers containing the remains of King Hor and Princess Noub-Hotep, among others. This was soon followed by the excavation of two more burials of Princess Ita and Princess Khenmet, and then Princess Itaweret and Princess Sathathormeryt. A paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology describes the latest multifaceted re-assessment of those remains, concluding that the princesses were likely skilled at using the weapons buried with them.
19世纪末，考古学家在埃及孟菲斯墓地的代赫舒尔金字塔群中发掘了几个完好的墓室，其中包含霍尔国王（King Hor）和努布-霍特普公主（Princess Noub-Hotep）等人的遗骸。随后，考古学家又发掘了伊塔公主（Princess Ita）和赫内特公主（Princess Khenmet）的墓葬，以及伊塔韦雷特公主（Princess Itaweret）和萨塔索梅雷特公主（Princess Sathathormeryt）的墓葬。发表在《环境考古学前沿》（Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology）杂志上的一篇论文描述了对这些遗骸的最新多方面重新评估，结论是这些公主很可能擅长使用随葬的武器。
The authors combined osteological analysis with X-ray imaging and relied on FTIR spectroscopy to analyze the embalming materials. While the princesses’ skulls had been lost, and some of the bones had not been preserved, the rest of the bones were in good condition. Princess Ita, they determined, died between the ages of 24 and 28 and had strong upper-body muscle attachments, suggesting habitual use of maces or daggers. Princess Khenmet was in her late 30s or 40s and also had strong ligament attachments. Princess Itaweret was between 20 and 34, with healed broken ribs and foot fractures, and her bones showed evidence consistent with being skilled at archery.
作者结合了骨学分析和X射线成像，并利用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）分析了防腐材料。虽然公主们的头骨已经丢失，部分骨骼也未保存下来，但其余骨骼状况良好。他们确定伊塔公主死于24至28岁之间，其上肢肌肉附着点强壮，表明她习惯使用权杖或匕首。赫内特公主死于30多岁或40多岁，也有强壮的韧带附着点。伊塔韦雷特公主死于20至34岁之间，有愈合的肋骨骨折和足部骨折，其骨骼显示出与擅长射箭相符的证据。
“We found pronounced development in the upper limbs of these individuals, which correlates to repetitive, high-intensity actions like pulling a bowstring or stabilizing a weapon, proving these activities were habitual throughout their lives,” said co-author Zeinab Hashesh of the University of Beni-Suef in Egypt. “This directly explains the presence of bows, arrows, and maces in the women’s tombs; these were not just symbolic gifts but tools they actively used.”
“我们发现这些个体上肢有显著的发育，这与拉弓弦或稳定武器等重复性、高强度的动作相关，证明这些活动在她们的一生中是习惯性的，”埃及贝尼苏韦夫大学的合著者扎伊纳布·哈谢什（Zeinab Hashesh）说。“这直接解释了为什么女性墓葬中会出现弓、箭和权杖；这些不仅仅是象征性的礼物，而是她们实际使用的工具。”
Cyborg cockroaches
半机械蟑螂
In 2013, Backyard Brains developed the crowdfunded RoboRoach, a DIY kit that enabled users to transform cockroaches from pests into remote-controlled cyborgs, just by performing a bit of (rather gruesome) surgery. The kits are still around and even being used in upper-level college biology courses. And in 2022, Japanese researchers turned a Madagascar hissing cockroach into a cyborg for search-and-rescue missions using a similar, though more sophisticated, approach. Now scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have built an amphibious version by outfitting the cockroaches with a tiny diving suit, according to a paper published in Nature Communications.
2013年，Backyard Brains开发了众筹项目“机器蟑螂”（RoboRoach），这是一款DIY套件，用户只需进行一点（相当残酷的）手术，就能将蟑螂从害虫变成受控的半机械生物。这些套件至今仍在使用，甚至被用于大学高年级的生物课程中。2022年，日本研究人员使用类似但更复杂的方法，将马达加斯加发声蟑螂改造成了用于搜救任务的半机械生物。据发表在《自然-通讯》（Nature Communications）上的一篇论文显示，现在新加坡南洋理工大学的科学家们通过为蟑螂配备微型潜水服，制造出了两栖版本。
Cyborg insects use the creature’s own muscles to move, so such hybrids consume less power than small artificial robots used for similar purposes. The downside is that many disaster zones may have puddles and partially submerged spaces, where a living cyborg like a cockroach would not be able to breathe. Cockroaches breathe through small openings in the trachea called spiracles.
半机械昆虫利用生物自身的肌肉来移动，因此这种混合体比用于类似目的的小型人造机器人消耗的能量更少。缺点是许多灾区可能存在水坑和部分淹没的空间，像蟑螂这样的活体半机械生物在这些地方无法呼吸。蟑螂通过气管上的小孔（称为气门）进行呼吸。