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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute?

In the insect world, bright reds, oranges and yellows can be a warning: Eat me at your own risk, pal¹. Because colorful bugs² can be toxic³, they often get their chemical protection from nibbling⁴ poisonous plants. But these poisons can have a flip⁵ side for us. Some fight cancer or tropical parasites⁶ that cause diseases like malaria⁷. The idea that colorful bugs can tip us off to disease-fighting plants isn’t new. But researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute just backed it up with science, in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. They chose ten plant species that kill parasites and cancer in lab tests, and ten species that look similar but do nothing. Then they headed into the Panamanian jungle to survey hundreds of these plants for beetles⁸ and caterpillars⁹. Turns out, they found colorful bugs on almost all the toxic plants but less than half of the harmless plants. And black, brown and gray bugs didn’t have a preference, they ate indiscriminately. So modernday shamans scouring¹⁰ the jungle for cancer-fighting drugs might just cut down on search time by keeping an eye out for brightly colored bugs.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

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1 pal
n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友
参考例句：
He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。 Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

2 bugs
adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误
参考例句：
All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。来自《简明英汉词典》 The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。来自《简明英汉词典》

3 toxic
adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的
参考例句：
The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。 There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 nibbling
v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬
参考例句：
We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。 He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 flip
vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的
参考例句：
I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。 Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

6 parasites
寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )；靠他人为生的人；诸虫
参考例句：
These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。 Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

7 malaria
n.疟疾
参考例句：
He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。 Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 beetles
n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。来自《简明英汉词典》 This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 caterpillars
n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带
参考例句：
Caterpillars eat the young leaves of this plant. 毛毛虫吃这种植物的嫩叶。 Caterpillars change into butterflies or moths. 毛虫能变成蝴蝶或蛾子。来自辞典例句

10 scouring
擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤
参考例句：
The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。 This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。