点击科学

2017-06-23

就像封面图上“脊椎动物西部基金会”的收藏品那样，鸟类产的卵在颜色、图案、大小及形状等方面各有不同。一项由Stoddard等人进行的调查推翻了我们的传统观点，掲示出鸟蛋的形状与其飞行能力有关。另外，鸟蛋的柔性膜（不是指蛋壳）也许是鸟蛋形状各异的原因之一。

Birds lay eggs in a diverse array of colors， patterns， sizes， and shapes， as seen in this assortment from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology collection. An investigation by Stoddard et al. reveals that egg shape is related to flight ability in birds， overturning classic theories. Additionally， the egg s flexible membrane （not the shell） might be responsible for the great variety of egg shapes.

2017-06-30

封面上展不的是一株矮牵牛花的近轴表面图。每天晚上，矮牵牛花花瓣的锥形表皮细胞就会释放出挥发性的有机化合物。这种挥发性的排放，曾经被认为仅仅是由扩散产生的，实际上是在二麟酸腺苷（ATP）结合盒转运载体蛋白的帮助下进行的主动转运。

Adaxial surface of a petunia flower. Each night， volatile organic compounds are released from conically shaped epidermal cells of petunia flower petals. Volatile emission， once thought to be driven solely by diffusion， is dependent on active transport facilitated by A TP—binding cassette transporters.

2017-07-07

封面上的这幅概念插图描绘的是一个人造神经元唤醒了一项正在改变许多科学领域的技术：人工智能（简称“AI”）。人工智能的一种常见形式就是神经网络，作为模拟神经元之间的桥梁——“学习”改变了对输入指令的应对方式。这样的系统可以在大量的数据组中找到有意义的模式，应用范围从基因组学到天文学，甚至已经开始设计各种实验了。

A conceptual illustration of an artificial neuron evokes a technology that is transforming many fields of science ： artificial intelligence （AI）. One common form of AI is a neural network， which“learns” as connections between simulated neurons change in response to inputs. Such systems can find meaningful patterns in vast data sets， ranging from genomics to astronomy， and are even beginning to design experiments.

2017-07-14

封面圖展不的是2016年美国佛罗里达州迈阿密的一位园丁正在喷洒除蚊子的杀虫剂。寨卡病毒是通过无处不在的埃及伊蚊传播的。这种黄病毒已经在南美洲引起了大规模的爆发性感染，研究表明与新生儿的神经系统异常有关。目前，该病毒已经扩散到北部地区，并且在美国境内也已经发现了感染病例。

A groundskeeper sprays pesticide to control mosquitoes in Miami， Florida， in 2016. Zika virus is spread by the ubiquitous Aedes aegypti mosquito. This flavivirus has caused a huge outbreak of infection across South America， where it has been associated with neurological abnormalities in newborn children. The virus has spread north， and cases of infection have been detected in the United States.endprint