Text # 11 “Scientists give mice night vision”
Would you like to be able to see in the dark? One day this might be possible. Scientists have done tests on mice and have given them the ability to see near-infrared light. This is a kind of light wave that mice (and humans) cannot normally see. Research teams from the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of Massachusetts Medical School changed the vision of the test mice. They injected special nanoparticles into their eyes. These tiny particles let the mice see better in the dark. The effect of the injections lasted for around 10 weeks. The scientists said the eyesight of the mice was not damaged and the eyes did not suffer from any side effects.
The research is now published in the research journal 'Cell'. The researchers say they hope the same tests could be done with humans. Researcher Dr Tian Xue explained what he hopes for the future. He said: "Human beings have been trying to develop new technology to enable abilities that are beyond our natural abilities." He said future tests could let humans see things in the dark that they cannot see now. Dr Tian added: "Another cool thing about this potential technology is that it wouldn't require a person to wear heavy and energy-intensive equipment, such as night-vision goggles." He also said: "The military will very likely be interested in this work."
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- The article said we will be able to see in the dark for one day. T / F
- Humans can see near-infrared light. T / F
- Scientists injected things into the eyes of mice. T / F
- The effects of the injections lasted for around 10 days. T / F
- The research is published in a journal called "Cell". T / F
- Researchers said they would not test this technology on humans. T / F
- This new technology means there will be no need for goggles. T / F
- The military could be interested in this technology. T / F
Text # 12 “DNA could decide whether you like coffee or tea”
New research suggests that our DNA helps us to decide whether we prefer coffee or tea. Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia studied how our genes affected our taste and why we like some tastes more than others. Following the research, researchers believe they know why some of us prefer coffee while others like tea more. The researchers found that people who like more bitter tastes are more likely to drink coffee. The researchers said they found something strange in their research. People who were more sensitive to the bitter taste of caffeine were more likely to prefer coffee to tea. They were also more likely to drink more coffee than those who were not so sensitive to caffeine.
Researchers looked at data on more than 400,000 men and women in the United Kingdom. They also looked at an Australian study that compared the tastes of 1,757 twins with their siblings. The researchers said genes aren't the only factors affecting people's tastes. Other things like our changing environment, social factors or the effects of taking medicine can also turn us on or off coffee or tea. The researchers said we can learn to like coffee. Dr Liang-Dar Hwang said: "Bitter taste perception is shaped not only by genetics, but also environmental factors. Even though humans naturally dislike bitterness, we can learn to like or enjoy bitter-tasting food after being exposed to environmental factors."
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- The research was from a university in Austria. T / F
- The researchers said our jeans affected whether we liked tea of coffee. T / F
- People who like bitter tastes are less likely to like coffee. T / F
- People who are sensitive to caffeine generally like coffee. T / F
- Researchers studied the tastes of over 1,700 twins. T / F
- Medicine can affect whether or not we like coffee. T / F
- The researchers said we can't learn to like coffee if we dislike it. T / F
- A researcher said not just genetics make us like bitter things. T / F
Text # 13 “Astronauts plug space station hole with finger”
Astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have fixed a hole in the shell of its outer wall. The ISS is a large satellite in space that scientists live in to do scientific experiments. The first part of it was put into space in 1998. Last week, NASA alerted astronauts on the ISS that the station was slowly leaking air. Astronaut Alexander Gerst and five other astronauts started looking for the leak. Mr Gerst eventually found it and quickly used a simple and effective way of stopping the leak - he put his finger over the hole. Luckily, the hole was only two millimeters wide so it was not a major emergency, but it did need fixing.
The hole was in a docked Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. NASA said it could have been caused by a small piece of space junk or a small meteorite colliding with the spacecraft. The ISS travels at speeds of around 28,000 kph. Even a tiny object hitting it can cause a lot of damage. Flight controllers in the USA and Russia worked together with the crew to fix the hole. The Soyuz commander, Sergey Prokopyev, used a heat-resistant "space tape" and a special glue to plug the hole. These are part of a "necessary space repair kit". A NASA official said the crew on the ISS are safe after the repair. He said: "The crew are healthy and safe with weeks of air left in the International Space Station reserves."
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- A hole on the ISS was fixed by cosmonauts and astronauts. T / F
- Parts of the ISS have been in space since 1998. T / F
- A total of six astronauts looked for a hole in the ISS. T / F
- The hole in the ISS was 20 millimeters wide. T / F
- The hole was definitely caused by a piece of space junk. T / F
- A cosmonaut used special "space tape" to fix the hole. T / F
- A NASA official said the ISS crew weren't safe yet. T / F
- The ISS doesn't have enough reserves of air to last. T / F
Text # 14 “Scientists solve mystery of Stonehenge”
Scientists say they have uncovered details about who built the 5,000-year-old prehistoric monument Stonehenge. The ancient stones in the southwest of England are famous all over the world. How Stonehenge was built has been a mystery for thousands of years. A new study shows that the architects and builders of Stonehenge could have come from Wales, which is more than 160 kilometres away. Researchers wrote in the Scientific Reports journal that some human bones found at the site were from the Preseli Mountains in west Wales. The researchers said the oldest human remains discovered so far date back to about 3000 BC, which is over 5,000 years ago.
Stonehenge is a ring of standing monoliths - giant stones. Each standing stone is around four metres high and 2.1 metres wide. They each weigh around 25 tons. Scientists say Stonehenge was first used as a burial mound. The giant monoliths also came from the Preseli Mountains. Scientists are not sure how ancient people transported the giant stones the 160 km to their site in Stonehenge. They now believe the people who are buried at Stonehenge helped transport, position and erect the stones. Researcher John Pouncett said: "People from the Preseli Mountains not only supplied the bluestones used to build the stone circle but moved with the stones and were buried there too."
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- Scientists know the names of the people who built Stonehenge. T / F
- The ancient stones are in the southeast of England. T / F
- Scientists believe Stonehenge's architects are Welsh and not English. T / F
- The oldest human remains found at Stonehenge are 3,000 years old. T / F
- Each stone at Stonehenge is four metres wide. T / F
- Scientists don't know how the stones got from Wales to Stonehenge. T / F
- The people who transported the stones may be buried at Stonehenge. T / F
- The stones that make up Stonehenge are bluestones. T / F
Text # 15 “Scientists record the sounds of the Sun”
What does the Sun sound like? Perhaps you have never thought about what kinds of sounds the Sun makes, but scientists have found out. Researchers from the European Space Agency, NASA and the Solar and Heliospheric Agency studied 20 years of data to listen to the Sun. They say the Sun produces a low, deep "heartbeat" sound. The scientists used a solar observatory to measure vibrations from the Sun. They translated these vibrations into different sounds. These can tell the scientists what is happening inside the Sun. They can now understand more about solar flares, chemical reactions and other phenomena that happen inside the Sun and on its surface.
The scientists explained how they created the Sun's sound. Researchers from the Stanford Experimental Physics Lab turned data from the space agencies into a "song". Dr Alex Young said: "We don't have straightforward ways to look inside the Sun. We don't have a microscope to zoom inside the Sun, so using a star or the Sun's vibrations allows us to see inside of it." Dr Young continued: "Waves are travelling and bouncing around inside the Sun, and if your eyes were sensitive enough, they could actually see this." He added: "We are finally starting to understand the layers of the Sun and the complexity. That simple sound is giving us a probe inside a star. I think that's a pretty cool thing."
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- The article said we have all wondered what the Sun sounds like. T / F
- Three space agencies joined together on this research. T / F
- The scientists said the Sun sounds like a heartbeat. T / F
- Scientists can now know more about the inside of the Sun. T / F
- The article said scientists used the Sun's sounds to make a poem. T / F
- Scientists said they have a big microscope to look at the Sun. T / F
- Scientists said many people could see waves bouncing around the Sun. T / F
- A scientist said it was cool that we could probe inside a star. T / F