2024-01-05

封面圖中展示的是一株肉食性小豬籠草，它將一只螞蟻引誘到像屋頂一樣的陷阱蓋下的危險(xiǎn)位置。雨滴將這個(gè)蓋子變成致命的跳板，把昆蟲彈入陷阱中。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種不尋常的誘捕機(jī)制依賴于3 個(gè)獨(dú)立的特性，并進(jìn)化了2 次，而高度可塑性的隨機(jī)巧合促進(jìn)了新特性的出現(xiàn)。

A carnivorous Nepenthesgracilis pitcher plant lures anant into a precarious positionunder the roof-like trap lid.Raindrops turn the lid into adeadly springboard that catapultsinsects into the trap. Researchersfound that this unusual trappingmechanism， reliant on threei n d e p e n d e n t t r a i t s ， e v o l v e dtwice， and random coincidenceof highly plastic traits facilitatedthe emergence of the new trait.

2024-01-12

封面圖描繪的是桑蓋考古遺址的城市核心，圖中展示了沿著烏帕諾河兩側(cè)懸崖邊緣分布的人造土制平臺(tái)和挖掘街道。最近的調(diào)查顯示，在安第斯山脈東麓厄瓜多爾亞馬孫流域的烏帕諾山谷，有一個(gè)密集的前西班牙城市中心系統(tǒng)。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)改變了人們對(duì)亞馬孫古人類過(guò)去的看法。

T h e u r b a n c o r e o f t h eSangay archaeological site showsartificial earthen platforms anddug streets distributed along theedge of the cliffs flanking theUpano River. Recent investigationrevealed a dense system of pre-Hispanic urban centers in theU p a n o V a l l e y o f A m a z o n i a nEcuador， in the eastern foothillsof the Andes. This discoverychanges the perception of theAmazon’s ancient human past.

2024-01-19

人類的生存和繁衍依賴于植物多樣性。數(shù)以萬(wàn)計(jì)的植物物種都是在野外獲得的，或者是由農(nóng)民在包括中國(guó)湖北省茶園在內(nèi)的環(huán)境中種植的。已利用的植物多樣性在全球分布不均，這就需要制定一些在保護(hù)自然的同時(shí)對(duì)人類作出貢獻(xiàn)的機(jī)制。

Humanity depends on plantdiversity for subsistence and wellbeing.Tens of thousands of plantspecies are harvested in the wildor are cultivated by farmers insettings that include these teaplantations in the Hubei Provinceof China. The uneven globald i s t r i b u t i o n o f u t i l i z e d p l a n tdiversity calls for the developmentof mechanisms to preserve natureand its contributions to people.

2024-01-26

封面圖展示的是瑞士德朗斯抽水蓄能電站，它可以通過(guò)將水從較低的水庫(kù)抽至海拔425 米的較高水庫(kù)儲(chǔ)存取自風(fēng)能、太陽(yáng)能和其他清潔能源的剩余能源。而當(dāng)電力短缺時(shí)，水可以通過(guò)渦輪機(jī)釋放出來(lái)，為發(fā)電廠提供數(shù)小時(shí)的電力。

The Nant de Drance pumpedhydroelectric plant in Switzerlandcan store surplus energy fromwind， solar， and other cleansources by pumping water froma lower reservoir to an upperone， located 425 meters higher.When electricity runs short， thewater can be unleashed throughturbines， generating a powerplant’s worth of electricity formany hours.（陶 陶 編譯）■