In today's news, with Trevor and Paz:
An asteroid gets an indigenous name, a trial starts for lab-grown red blood cells, and blue whales swallow too much plastic.
Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.
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以原住民語命名為日月潭的小行星
Asteroid Given Indigenous Name for Sun Moon Lake
Did you know you can name an asteroid?
You just have to be the first to discover it!
There are actually quite a number of asteroids discovered by Taiwanese astronomers (天文學家) and named by them.
You can find Alishan, Yushan, Taipei, Bunun (布農族), Taiwan, and many other asteroids out there in space.
And the latest one is an asteroid discovered by Nantou County's Lulin Observatory (鹿林天文台), Asteroid No. 300286.
The observatory named the asteroid "Zintun".
That means "Sun Moon Lake" in the language of Taiwan's indigenous Thao people (台灣邵族人).
The Thao people are an indigenous tribe living around Sun Moon Lake.
The naming pays tribute to the Thao people, who discovered the lake after moving from western Taiwan to the Central Mountain Range.
這個命名是為了向邵族人致敬，他們的祖先從台灣西部遷移至中央山脈而發現了日月潭。
The asteroid "Zintun" is 1.3 kilometers in diameter, and has an orbital period (繞著太陽公轉) of almost four years.
Who knows? Maybe you can also discover an asteroid and name it, too!
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英國開始人造紅血球的臨床實驗
Lab-Grown Red Blood Cell Trials Start in the U.K.
Blood transfusion (輸血) has always been important in the medical field.
They are needed for diseases, surgery, dialysis (洗腎) , and many other medical conditions.
That is why blood banks and hospitals are always encouraging people to donate blood.
For people with a rare blood type (罕見血型), getting blood can be a lot harder than expected.
The lab-grown red blood cells are grown from stem cells (幹細胞) from donors.
There are two potential advantages of using lab-grown blood.
First, patients with rare blood types who require regular transfusions will not have to worry about the shortage of blood.
Second, regular red blood cells have a lifespan of about 120 days.
Lab grown blood cells are all fresh.
Therefore, they should perform better and last longer.
Currently, two healthy volunteers have been transfused with the lab grown blood cells.
目前已經有兩位健康的志願者被輸送人造紅血球。
No negative side effects have been reported.
Although scientists are hopeful about the research, they say blood donors are still essential (必不可少).
So, roll up your sleeve and give blood if you can!
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藍鯨每天吞入高達43公斤的塑膠
Blue Whales Swallow Up To 43 Kilograms of Plastic Daily
The blue whale is not only the biggest animal on earth, but it is also the biggest mammal (哺乳類).
They can grow up to a length of 30 meters, and weigh over 100 tons.
Due to their size, blue whales have to eat a lot daily.
An average blue whale eats about 16 tons daily.
And most of what it eats is krill (磷蝦), a kind of shrimp.
Studies show that whales usually feed at ocean depths of 50 to 215 meters.
And that is also where the plastic pollution is the worst in the ocean.
According to a study, blue whales swallow roughly 10 million pieces of microplastic (塑膠微粒), up to about 43 kilograms of plastic, every day.
But blue whales are not the only whales eating plastic.
The study also shows that Fin whales (長鬚鯨) take in about 25 kilograms of plastic daily, and humpback whales (座頭鯨) about 17 kilograms daily.
And some of the microplastics are not directly eaten by the whales.
The plastics comes from their prey (獵物) that had already eaten microplastics before.
That means plastic pollution is being passed down the ocean food chain.
塑膠污染正沿著海洋食物鏈擴散。
Researchers are still trying to understand the potential (潛在的) health effects that the microplastics have on the whales.
So please think twice before throwing trash on the beach or in the ocean!
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So, in today's News Bites:
Nantou County's Lulin Observatory named Asteroid No. 300286 "Zintun".
It means "Sun Moon Lake" in Taiwan's indigenous Thao language.
The naming pays tribute to the Thao people who discovered the lake after moving from western Taiwan to the Central Mountain Range.
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Lab-grown red blood cell trials have started in the U.K.
Red blood cells are grown in a lab, from stem cells that come from donors.
Researchers hope they can solve the shortage of rare blood type donors.
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And…
Blue whales swallow up to 43 kilograms of plastic daily.
The whales are not the only ocean creatures eating plastic.
The plastic pollution is being passed down the ocean food chain.
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And that's today's episode of News Bites!