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全球科学要闻(2)

Hi, I'm Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here's a short piece from the January 2019 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it's a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe, compiled by editorial contributor Emiliano Rodríguez Mega.

FROM ITALY

Europe's most rentless volcano, Mount Etna, is slowly sliding into the sea under its own weight. If part of it collapses¹ suddenly, researchers say it could trigger megatsunamis in the Mediterranean².

FROM INDONESIA

The construction of a hydro electric dam and power plant in North Sumatra's Batang Toru forest caused orangutans from an endangered, newly described species to flee the project site. The government has sent guards to monitor the apes, which have built their nests on local plantations³.

FROM THE NETHERLANDS

A court of appeals in The Hague has ruled that the Dutch government ne?eds to take action to help stop climate change. The ruling states that the country must reduce greenhouse gas emissions⁴ to at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

FROM KAZAKHSTAN

An astronaut and a cosmonaut escaped a Russian spacecraft that experienced a launch failure shortly after takeoff. Nick Hague and Alexey Ovchinin landed safely after their capsule made an emergency separation from the rocket.

FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Health authorities detected the first polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea in 18 years. The three cases were identified in Morobe Province, where sanitation⁵ is limited and vaccine⁶ coverage⁷ is low.

AND FROM BULGARIA

The world's oldest intact shipwreck⁸ was discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea, off the coast of Bulgaria. Radiocarbon analysis suggests the wood vessel⁹ dates back to 400 B.C.

That was "Quick Hits" by Emiliano Rodríguez Mega.