SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, July 13, 2004

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long. Coming up: scientists demonstrate a possible way to make faster computers in the future.

VOICE ONE:

What to do about some ancient Native American ruins.

VOICE TWO:

And the World Health Organization urges people to be careful with traditional medicines.

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VOICE ONE:

Scientists have made a big move in the transport of matter. Two teams say they transported the properties of one atom to another without the use of any physical link. The process is called teleportation.

 
They made it look easy.
Back in the nineteen-sixties, the "Star Trek²" television series made the process look easy. There, you stepped into a transporter. Your body de-materialized. Then it came back together someplace else. To return, you could simply radio the ship's chief engineer and say: "Beam me up, Scotty!"

In real life, nothing about teleportation is simple, not even the scientific description. In the minds of physicists⁴, to teleport is to move quantum states between atoms. The quantum state of an atom describes its physical properties. These are properties like energy, magnetic field and movement.

Scientists have demonstrated teleportation with particles of light. But this was the first demonstration⁵ with atoms.

VOICE TWO:

The two teams that did the experiments are from the United States and Austria. The American team is from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder⁶, Colorado. The Austrians work at the University of Innsbruck. The two teams worked independently. But they jointly⁷ published their findings in the magazine Nature.

The scientists used different kinds of atoms in their experiments. The American team used laser beams to teleport the properties of an atom of beryllium, a kind of metal. The team in Austria used a calcium⁸ atom. All the atoms were ions. This means they had an electric charge.

In both cases the teams used three ions. We will call them A, B and C. The teams set up magnetic traps that held the ions in place. Then the scientists began a process called entanglement⁹. Entanglement links the quantum states of atoms.

The scientists linked A with B. They also linked A with C. These relationships created a system. Any change to one ion produced a change in the others. The goal was to teleport the properties of B to C. The scientists did this in three steps. These were entanglement, measurement of A and B and correction to C to permit the teleportation to happen.

VOICE ONE

So ion C took on the properties of ion B. But not completely.

This is one reason you will not be traveling by teleportation anytime soon. Humans would probably want a guarantee of one-hundred percent reproduction at the other end. And a human being would mean a lot more information to gather and send than a single atom.

The scientists say they cannot imagine such use of teleportation. But their work does offer great possibilities for the future of information technology. It could help in efforts to build a quantum computer. Such a computer would be faster and more powerful than any we now use.

VOICE TWO:

Quantum properties of atoms are not like the world we normally observe. For example, scientists are able to create a special condition where ions can be in two places at once. Ions can also hold information representing more than one number at once.

And scientists have known for many years that two ions can be entangled¹⁰. Such atoms can be made to affect each other even when they are separated. Albert Einstein had a name for this kind of effect. The great physicist³ called it "spooky action at a distance."

We talked about teleportation with Laura Ost [OH-st] in the news office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She noted¹¹ that teleportation does not physically¹² move matter. It only moves the properties of one particle to another. This could be faster than physically moving particles inside a device like a quantum computer.

But the only way to teleport is to destroy the particle being teleported. If the particle were not destroyed, then you would be copying. And scientists say there is no copying in the quantum world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In the American West, the public has gotten its first look at the ruins of an ancient people who lived in what is now the state of Utah. Officials recently showed reporters the area where the Fremont Indians lived about a thousand years ago.

 
Waldo Wilcox in the remains¹³ of an ancient Indian pit house.
A cattle ranch¹⁴ owner named Waldo Wilcox had protected the ruins for the last fifty years. The land was part of his property. He permitted some researchers to visit. But mostly he kept the ruins a secret. Mister Wilcox is now in his seventies. He finally sold the property into the public trust. The state of Utah now owns the land. But Mister Wilcox says he still worries that the ruins will be destroyed or stolen by people who want a piece of history.

The state wants to prevent this and still permit people to learn about the Fremont culture.

The ruins are spread over thousands of hectares of land in the high desert about two-hundred kilometers southeast of Salt Lake City. Only one dirt road leads into the area.

Scientists have found where the Indians stored grain in the sides of mountains. There was still maize¹⁵ inside. They have found arrows used a thousand years ago. They have also found human remains, examples of rock art and pieces of pottery¹⁶. Fifteen years ago, Mister Wilcox himself discovered the remains of a small village built on an edge of a mountain.

VOICE TWO:

 
Thousand-year-old artwork.
Scientists say the ruins may offer answers to questions about the Fremont Indians. Scientists do know that the people hunted animals and gathered plants for food. But no one knows what happened to them. The Indians left the place now known as Range Creek¹⁷ about eight hundred years ago.

The ruins show that the Fremont Indians built homes from stone. They painted and carved designs in rock walls. They built stone containers for corn and beans.

Waldo Wilcox, the former owner of the land, is not the only one worried about the future of the ancient ruins. Some local Indian leaders want to make sure that tribal¹⁸ ways are honored as the area is studied. They are especially worried about the human remains that have been found.

Utah officials say they do not know how many remains are still at Range Creek. But they say they are sure that Native Americans will be involved in decisions about the future of the area.

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VOICE ONE:

The World Health Organization says people need more information about how to safely use traditional medicines. The W.H.O. now has guidelines to suggest ways for public health officials to develop that information. The health agency is part of the United Nations.

The W.H.O. says up to eighty percent of people in developing countries depend on traditional medicines. More and more people in wealthy countries use them too. But the W.H.O. notes that just because products are natural does not always mean they are safe. It says reports of bad reactions have increased sharply in the last few years.

In China, for example, about ten-thousand harmful drug reactions were reported in two-thousand-two. There were just four-thousand cases reported between nineteen-ninety and nineteen-ninety-nine.

Traditional medicines are made from plants, animal products and minerals. The health agency says they remain largely outside government control.

VOICE TWO:

In most countries, traditional medicines can be purchased without a doctor's order. Sometimes they are prepared by friends or by the patients themselves. The W.H.O. says this situation raises concerns about the quality of treatments and the lack of professional supervision¹⁹.

Under the new guidelines, traditional healers would have to be skilled. And the public would have to be informed about how and where to report problems.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver²⁰, Nancy Steinbach and Jill Moss²¹. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

3 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

4 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

7 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

8 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

9 entanglement   

n.纠缠，牵累

参考例句：

• This entanglement made Carrie anxious for a change of some sort.这种纠葛弄得嘉莉急于改变一下。
• There is some uncertainty about this entanglement with the city treasurer which you say exists.对于你所说的与市财政局长之间的纠葛,大家有些疑惑。

10 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

15 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

16 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

17 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

18 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

19 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

20 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

21 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。