2017年：被忽略的七個重大科學發現

今年對科學來說又是意義重大的一年，但就算是最瘋狂的科學愛好者也可能錯過一些不可思議的科學新聞，畢竟每一年都有海量的新研究發布。現在，我們就來分享一下2017年你可能忽略的一些有趣的科學發現，排名不分先后。

1. 兩個超大質量黑洞的“雙人舞”

In June, a large team of hard-working astronomers finally observed something that had been in the works for more than two decades - a pair of orbiting supermassive holes roughly 750 million light years from Earth. It's a theoretical event that should happen after the merging of two galaxies, but until this year, nobody had evidence of it actually happening. And now we do.
天文學家苦尋二十載，終于觀察到了一對超大質量黑洞彼此繞轉。它們距地球約7.5億光年。理論上，當兩個星系合并時，會發生此現象。但直到今年6月，人們才看到了證據。

2. 緩步類動物才是最終贏家

We already knew that tardigrades are seemingly indestructible, seeing how they can survive being desiccated, extreme heat, extreme cold, and even the vacuum of space. And a study published this year established that tardigrades could survive nearly any apocalypse hurled at us, whether a gamma ray burst or an asteroid impact.
我們已經知道，緩步類動物幾乎無法摧毀。它們能夠在干旱、極度高溫、極度嚴寒、甚至真空環境中存活！今年發布的一項新研究得出結論說，即便地球毀滅，它們也能繼續存活。伽瑪射線暴、小行星撞擊……幾乎所有類型的滅頂之災都消滅不了它。

3. 地球生命可能源于隕石

A study spanning research from astrophysics to chemistry and geology has given more weight to the hypothesis that the very first ingredients for life on our planet travelled here through space. The team says that as space rocks splashed into warm, slushy ponds on the surface of Earth, molecules arranged in just the right way to produce RNA polymers.
一項囊括天體物理學、化學、地質學的新研究進一步證實了一個假想，那就是地球生命的第一份原料可能來自太空。研究團隊解釋說，當隕石撞擊溫暖濕潤的地表海洋時，分子以某種特殊形式進行排列，剛好能夠制造RNA聚合物。

4. 火星會下雪

In August, planetary scientists revealed something bizarre about Mars's weather patterns - turns out that during the night, there are severely intense snowstorms happening on the planet, basically pelting it with tiny chunks of ice. Given how little water there is, we sure didn't expect that.
今年8月，行星科學家揭示了火星的一個奇特的天氣模式，那就是火星晚上會有嚴重的暴雪現象——天上會砸下許多干冰小顆粒。考慮到火星上的水資源那么少，你肯定沒想到火星上還會下雪。

5. 百年老藥竟對自閉癥有奇效

For the first time ever, a medication that's normally used for treating sleeping sickness was tried in a pilot study on a group of boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The results were absolutely astonishing - after just a single dose, their ASD symptoms significantly improved.
今年，一種通常用來治療昏睡癥的藥物被用于試點研究，科學家首次在一群自閉癥男孩身上試驗此藥，結果十分驚人——只需一劑藥，他們的自閉癥癥狀就得到了顯著緩解。

6. 糖尿病有重大突破

In April, researchers announced they'd found a brand new type of insulin-producing cell that's been hiding in plain sight, right within the pancreas. These 'virgin beta cells' have opened up new avenues for scientists who are trying to understand type 1 diabetes, and are working to come up with new, better treatments.
今年4月，研究人員宣布，他們新發現了一種分泌胰島素的細胞類型，這種新β細胞就隱藏在胰腺中。這樣一來，科學家就能夠換種思路研究1型糖尿病和新型治療方式。

7. 物理學家破解“魯珀特之淚”之謎

Prince Rupert's Drops are these baffling droplets that can be made by dripping molten glass into water. The resulting tear-shaped baubles are incredibly strong on the thick end - you can smack them with a hammer or shoot with a gun, and they won't break. But all you have to do is snap the tail of the droplet, and suddenly the whole thing bursts apart. For around 400 years, researchers have been trying to figure out why that happens. And now we finally know - what a time to be alive!
熔融玻璃滴入冰水中，能夠自然形成一道玻璃淚滴——“魯珀特之淚”。它的頭部堅硬得不可思議——錘子砸不爛，開槍打不穿。然而，你只要扯一下它的尾巴，整根淚滴就會瞬間瓦解。400年來，科學家對此百思不得其解。今年，謎團終于揭曉，活著真好！

注：“魯珀特之淚”之謎的原因就在于表面應力分布——頭部的表面壓縮應力高達700MPa，是大氣壓的7000倍，但分布卻很薄，只占直徑的10%。

英文來源：Science Alert
中文來源：煎蛋網
編輯：丹妮