The state of Texas Tuesday announced its first case of local transmission of the Zika virus. It is feared that the virus causes birth defects. Texas is the second US state, after Florida, to report the appearance of this mosquito-borne virus.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, this case of infection involves a woman who is neither pregnant and nor who has recently traveled to any areas where there is currently a Zika epidemic.
Before officials discovered actual evidence of vector mosquitoes, cases of Zika infection were being regarded as “possible” instances of local transmission. Texan state health officials said that there are currently no other suspected cases of local transmission of the Zika virus, but have given assurances that they will continue to monitor the situation.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透社
Florida was the first state in the US to report cases of local transmission of the virus, reporting 238 instances of this kind of case, bringing this year’s tally to date to over 1,200 cases of infection in the state as a whole.
(Translated by Paul Cooper)
美國德州宣布當地出現首起本土茲卡病例,是繼佛羅里達州之後,美國第二個州通報出現這種由病媒蚊傳播且恐導致出生缺陷的疾病。
根據德州衛生服務局,這起病例涉及一名婦女,她沒有懷孕且最近沒有到過任何茲卡病毒正在蔓延的地方旅行。
在官員發現病媒蚊的證據之前,德州這起病例都被視為「可能」本土傳染病例。德州衛生官員表示,目前沒有其他茲卡本土傳染的疑似病例,但矢言將繼續監控。
佛羅里達州是美國第一個通報茲卡本土病例的州, 上週通報兩百三十八起這類病例,今年迄今全州已有超過一千兩百多起感染病例。
(中央社)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from