Interactive transcript · 207 lines
Good morning to all our wonderful science enthusiasts out there.
早上好，各位棒极了的科学爱好者们。
Welcome to TalkCast, your daily early morning digest of the most thrilling discoveries from across
欢迎收听 TalkCast，为您送上每日清晨关于各地最惊人发现的文摘
the globe and deep into space.
涵盖整个地球直至深空。
I am Zoe.
我是佐伊。
And a very bright and cheerful morning to you.
祝您度过一个非常明朗欢快的早晨。
I am Ryan.
我是莱恩。
It is September 11th, 2026, and we are absolutely thrilled to have you tuning in to start your day
今天是2026年9月11日，能有您的收听并开启新的一天，我们感到无比激动
with us.
与我们同行。
Before we look at today's mind -blowing headlines, we want to take a quick moment to express our
在查看今天令人心潮澎湃的头条新闻之前，我们想花点时间表达我们
deepest gratitude to all our incredible TalkCast members.
对所有不可思议的 TalkCast 会员表 示最深切的感激。
Your support is the engine that drives this podcast forward every single day.
您的支持是推动这个播客每天前行的引擎。
It really is.
确实如此。
Thank you so much, everyone.
非常感谢大家。
If you are not a member yet, we warmly invite you to join our growing TalkCast family.
如果您还不是会员，我们热烈邀请您加入我们不断壮大的 TalkCast 大家庭。
Your support allows us to keep digging up these fascinating science stories and sharing them with
您的支持让我们能够不断挖掘这些迷人的科学故事，并与
the world.
世界分享。
Now, Ryan, are you ready to hear what we have lined up for our listeners this morning?
现在，莱恩，准备好听听我们今天早晨为听众朋友们准备了什么吗？
I am more than ready, Zoe.
我早已准备好了，佐伊。
Give us the scoop.
快把独家新闻告诉我们吧。
Today, we are starting with a jaw -dropping achievement in neuroscience.
今天，我们首先带来的是神经科学领域一项令人惊叹的成就。
Researchers have mapped a fruit fly's brain, and they are using it to simulate classic video games
研究人员绘制了一只果蝇的大脑图谱，并用它来模拟经典的电子游戏
like Doom and Super Mario 64.
比如《毁灭战士》和《超级马里奥64》。
That is wild.
那真是太不可思议了。
Next, we'll step into a time machine to hear what a Jurassic forest actually sounded like, thanks to
接下来，我们将踏入时光机，去倾听侏罗纪森林真正的声音，这要归功于
some prehistoric insect wings and artificial intelligence.
一些史前昆虫翅膀和人工智能。
Then, we'll look at how the simple shape of a bird's egg is inspiring scientists to build advanced
然后，我们将了解鸟蛋的简单形状是如何启发科学家建造先进的
armor to protect our spacecraft from high -speed space junk.
装甲，以保护我们的宇宙飞船免受高速空间垃圾的伤害。
And for a quickfire round, we have shrinking planets, a bird feather trapped in dinosaur poop, and a
在快速简讯环节，我们有正在缩小的行星、困在恐龙粪便里的鸟类羽毛，以及
massive prehistoric tooth found in a California creek.
在加利福尼亚一条溪流中发现的巨大史前牙齿。
It is a packed show, so let's jump straight into our first story.
今天的节目内容丰富，所以让我们直接切入第一个故事。
Our first headline comes from the world of advanced artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
我们的第一个头条新闻来自先进的人工智能和 神经科学领域。
An international team of scientists, including researchers at Google, has achieved a massive milestone.
一个由科学家组成的国际团队（包括谷歌的研究人员）取得了一个重大里程碑。
They have successfully mapped the entire brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly.
他们成功绘制了一只成年雄性果蝇的完整大脑和中枢神经系统图谱。
Wow, mapping a whole brain.
哇，绘制整个大脑图谱。
But wait, fruit flies are tiny.
但等等，果蝇可是非常微小的。
How complex can their brains actually be?
它们的大脑实际上能有多复杂？
You might be surprised, Ryan.
你可能会感到吃惊，莱恩。
Even though a fruit fly is smaller than a grain of rice, its brain contains over 166 ,000 neurons
尽管果蝇比一粒大米还小，但它的大脑包含超过 166,000 个神经元
connected by more than 50 million microscopic pathways called synapses.
由超过 5000 万个被称为突触的微观通路连接。
50 million?
5000 万？
That's a lot of traffic.
那可是非常大的交通量。
Yes, and this complete map of neural connections is called a connectome.
是的，而这种神经连接的完整图谱被称为连接组。
Hold on, Zoe. Connectome?
等等，佐伊。连接组？
That sounds like a heavy scientific word.
这听起来像是一个高深的科学词汇。
Can you break that down for us?
你能给我们分解解释一下吗？
Of course.
当然可以。
Think of a connectome as the ultimate city roadmap.
可以把连接组想象成终极的城市路线图。
If a normal brain map just shows you where the major neighborhoods are, a connectome shows you every
如果普通的大脑图谱只是告诉您主要街区的位置，那么连接组则会向您展示每一个
single highway, every suburban street, every tiny back alley, and even the direction that every
独条高速公路、每条郊区街道、每条微小的后巷，甚至是每一辆
single car is allowed to drive.
允许行驶的汽车方向。
It is a complete blueprint of how information flows through the brain.
这是信息如何在大脑中流动的完整蓝图。
Ah, that makes perfect sense.
啊，那太有道理了。
So it's like a Google map for the fly's mind.
所以这就好比是苍蝇大脑的谷歌地图。
But the headline also said this brain map is playing video games.
但头条新闻还说，这个大脑地图正在玩电子游戏。
How does a digital map play Super Mario 64 or Doom?
一个数字地图是怎么玩《超级马里奥64》或《毁灭战士》的？
Flies don't have hands for controllers?
苍蝇又没有拿手柄的手？
They certainly do not.
它们确实没有。
What the researchers did was create a highly detailed AI -powered computer model of this fruit fly brain.
研究人员所做的是创建了一个高度详细的、由人工智能驱动的这种果蝇大脑电脑模型。
Then they connected this virtual brain to virtual environments.
然后，他们将这个虚拟大脑连接到虚拟环境中。
By translating the visual information from the video games into signals that the virtual fly's eyes
通过将来自电子游戏的视觉信息转化为虚拟苍蝇眼睛
could detect, the simulated brain processed the data and actually decided how to move the characters
能够检测到的信号，模拟的大脑处理了这些数据，并实际上决定了如何移动角色
in the game.
在游戏中。
That is absolutely mind -blowing.
那简直令人叹为观止。
So the virtual fly's brain is acting like a tiny living computer program, reacting to the game in
所以这个虚拟苍蝇的大脑就像一个微小的活体计算机程序，对游戏做出反应
real time just like a real fly would react to a predator or food. Exactly.
实时地进行，就像真实苍蝇对捕食者或食物做出反应一样。一点没错。
It is a breakthrough because it shows we can simulate complex biological behavior using a digital blueprint.
这是一项突破，因为它表明我们可以利用数字蓝图来模拟复杂的生物行为。
Scientists hope this will help us understand how our own, much larger brains process information,
科学家们希望这将有助于我们理解我们自己更大的大脑是如何处理信息的，
make decisions, and interact with the world.
做出决策，并与世界进行互动。
Well, I just hope the virtual flies don't get too good at Doom, or we might have some very clever
好吧，我只希望虚拟苍蝇不会在《毁灭战士》里变得太厉害，否则我们可能会遇到一些非常聪明的
digital pests on our hands.
数字害虫需要应对。
Let's hope not.
希望不会吧。
Moving from digital bugs to prehistoric ones, let's travel back in time 165 million years.
从数字昆虫转移到史前昆虫，让我们穿越回1.65亿年前。
Scientists have successfully recreated the exact chirps and songs of Jurassic insects.
科学家们已经成功重现了侏罗纪昆虫确切的鸣叫声和歌声。
Wait, really?
等等，真的吗？
165 million years ago?
1.65亿年前？
How on earth can we know what an insect sounded like back then?
我们究竟怎么可能知道那时候昆虫的声音听起来是什么样的？
It's not like they left behind voice recordings.
它们又没留下声音录音。
No, they didn't.
不，它们没有。
But they did leave behind incredibly preserved fossils.
但它们确实留下了保存极其完好的化石。
Specifically, the wings of ancient katydids, which are the ancestors of modern crickets and grasshoppers.
具体来说，是古代螽斯的翅膀，它们是现代蟋蟀和蝗虫的祖先。
Oh, I see.
哦，我明白了。
Modern crickets make sound by rubbing their wings together, right?
现代蟋蟀是通过摩擦它们的翅膀发声的，对吗？
Spot on, Ryan.
完全正确，莱恩。
That process is called stridulation.
那个过程被称为摩擦发声。
On their wings, they have tiny, microscopic ridges, almost like a file and a scraper.
在它们的翅膀上，有微小的、显微级别的脊状结构，几乎就像锉刀和刮刀一样。
When they rub them together, it makes that familiar chirping sound.
当它们相互摩擦时，就会发出那种熟悉的唧唧声。
So the scientists found these tiny ridges on the fossilized wings? Exactly.
所以科学家们在这些化石翅膀上发现了这些微小的脊状结构？一点没错。
They used advanced high -resolution lasers and artificial intelligence to scan the microscopic
他们使用了先进的高分辨率激光和人工智能来扫描微观
structure of these ancient wings.
这些古代翅膀的结构。
By analyzing the shape, thickness, and spacing of the ridges, the AI was able to calculate how the
通过分析脊状结构的形状、厚度和间距，人工智能能够计算出
wing would vibrate and what frequency of sound it would produce.
翅膀会如何振动以及它会产生什么频率的声音。
That is genius.
那真是绝妙。
It is like reconstructing a musical instrument just by looking at its shape.
这就像仅仅通过看形状就重构一件乐器一样。
So what did the Jurassic Forest actually sound like?
那么侏罗纪森林的声音究竟听起来像什么？
Was it loud?
声音响亮吗？
It was a very busy acoustic landscape.
那是一个非常热闹的声学景观。
The AI simulation revealed a dense chorus of high -pitched chirps.
人工智能模拟展现出了密集的高音虫鸣合唱。
What is truly fascinating is that some of these ancient species were already singing at ultrasonic frequencies. Ultrasonic?
真正令人着迷的是，其中一些古代物种已经在用超声频率鸣叫了。超声？
That means the pitch was so high that human ears would not be able to hear it, right? Precisely.
这意味着音调高到人类耳朵听不到，对吧？正是如此。
It was a completely secret frequency channel.
那是一个完全保密的频率频道。
Scientists believe these insects evolved this super high -pitched song so they could communicate with
科学家们认为这些昆虫演化出了这种超高频的声音，以便彼此交流，
each other without drawing the attention of larger predators.
而不会引起更大捕食者的注意。
Like dinosaurs, who probably could not hear those high frequencies. Wow.
就像恐龙一样，它们可能根本听不到那些高频声音。哇。
So even in the Jurassic period, insects were using advanced stealth communication.
所以即使在侏罗纪时期，昆虫就在使用先进的隐蔽通讯方式了。
That is incredible.
这太不可思议了。
I would love to hear a recording of that.
我很想听听那段录音。
It really brings the prehistoric world to life in a way that skeletons in a museum just cannot do.
它确实让史前世界栩栩如生，而这是博物馆里的骨架所无法做到的。
Now, let's blast off into the future of space exploration.
现在，让我们一起飞向太空探索的未来。
As we launch more satellites and spacecraft, space debris has become a major threat.
随着我们发射越来越多的卫星和航天器，太空碎片已成为重大威胁。
Even a tiny speck of paint floating in orbit can strike a spacecraft with the force of a bullet
即使是在轨道上漂浮的一小块漆斑，也能以子弹般的力量撞击航天器，
because it is traveling so incredibly fast.
因为它的飞行速度极其快速。
Yeah, space junk is no joke.
是的，太空垃圾可不是闹着玩的。
I heard that even a tiny bolt can pierce through solid metal.
我听说即使是一个微小的螺栓也能穿透坚固的金属。
How are scientists trying to solve this?
科学家们正在尝试如何解决这个问题？
Well, Chinese researchers have looked to nature for inspiration, and they have designed a highly
嗯，中国研究人员从大自然中寻找灵感，设计出了一个高效的
effective protective shield based on the humble shape of an egg.
基于不起 眼的鸡蛋形状的防护盾。
Wait a minute, Zoe.
等一下，佐伊。
An egg?
一个鸡蛋？
Eggshells are famously fragile.
蛋壳是出了名的易碎。
If I drop a carton of eggs, half of them smash.
如果我不小心掉了一盒鸡蛋，一半都会摔碎。
How can an egg protect a high -tech spaceship?
鸡蛋怎么能保护高科技的宇宙飞船呢？
It sounds counterintuitive, but think about how strong an egg actually is when you try to squeeze it.
这听起来有些反直觉，但想想当你试图挤压鸡蛋时，它实际上有多坚固。
If you place an egg in the palm of your hand and squeeze it evenly, it is almost impossible to break.
如果你把鸡蛋放在掌心并均匀地捏它，几乎是不可能捏碎的。
That is because its curved dome -like shape naturally distributes any force applied to it outward
这是因为其弯曲的穹顶状结构自然地将其承受的力向外分散
across the entire surface, rather than letting it focus on a single weak spot.
贯穿整个表面，而不是集中在某一个薄弱点上。
Ah, that is why architectural domes are so strong too. Exactly.
啊，这就是为什么建筑圆顶也那么坚固的原因。一点没错。
The researchers created what they call a metastructure array.
研究人员创造了一种他们称之为超结构阵列的东西。
It's basically a grid of tiny, water -filled aluminum domes shaped like eggshells.
它基本上是由形状像蛋壳的微小注水铝制圆顶构成的网格。
Ok, so they built a grid of tiny, metal eggshells.
好的，所以他们建造了一个由微型金属蛋壳组成的网格。
But why is there water inside them?
但为什么它们内部会有水呢？
The water is the secret ingredient.
水就是其中的秘密要素。
When a piece of high -speed space debris strikes one of these water -filled domes, the impact
当碎片高速撞击这些注水圆顶时，撞击产生的冲击
instantly vaporizes the water.
会瞬间使水汽化。
The liquid absorbs a massive amount of the kinetic energy, scattering the shockwave in all directions.
液体吸收了大量的动能，向各个方向散射冲击波。
In computer simulations, this egg -shaped, water -filled armor reduced the speed and force of the
在计算机模拟中，这种蛋形的注水装甲降低了碎片的运行速度和冲击力，
debris by a staggering 65%. 65 %?!
降幅达到惊人的65%。65%？！
That is a huge reduction.
这真是大幅度的降低。
It is like a catcher's mitt that catches a fast -moving baseball and gently slows it down, rather
这就像接球手的手套，接住高速飞来的棒球并缓和地使其减速，而不是
than a hard wall that just lets the ball smash through.
像一面硬墙那样直接让球砸穿。
That is a perfect analogy, Ryan.
这是一个非常完美的类比，赖恩。
It's lightweight, highly efficient, and could save future space missions millions of dollars in damages.
它重量轻、高效，可以为未来的太空任务节省数百万美元的损失。
Who knew that breakfast could hold the key to deep space survival?
谁能想到早餐竟掌握着深空生存的关键？
Nature is truly the ultimate designer.
大自然确实是终极设计师。
It really is.
确实如此。
Now, let's speed things up with our morning quickfire round.
现在，让我们通过早晨的快问快答环节来加快进度。
First up, we have some fascinating news about the smallest planet in our solar system, Mercury.
首先，我们有一条关于太阳系中最小行星水星的迷人新闻。
New studies show that Mercury is shrinking much faster than scientists previously estimated. Shrinking?
最新研究表明，水星萎缩的速度远快于科学家先前估计的速度。萎缩？
Is it going to disappear completely?
它会完全消失吗？
Not at all.
一点也不。
As Mercury's massive iron core cools down, the whole planet is contracting.
随着水星巨大的铁核冷却，整个行星都在收缩。
Think of it like a grape turning into a raisin.
把它想象成葡萄变成了葡萄干。
As it shrinks, the outer crust wrinkles, creating massive cliff -like ridges called scarps.
随着它的收缩，表皮会起皱，形成被称为陡崖的巨大悬崖状山脊。
That is wild.
这太神奇了。
Do we have any spacecraft nearby to take a closer look at these wrinkles?
附近有宇宙飞船能近距离观察这些皱纹吗？
Yes, we do.
是的，确实有。
Europe's BepiColombo spacecraft is currently on its final approach to orbit Mercury.
欧洲的贝皮科伦坡号航天器目前正处于飞往水星轨 道的最终接近阶段。
It will give us our most detailed view yet of this planetary shrinkage.
它将为我们提供迄今为止关于这种行星收缩现象的最详细视图。
I cannot wait to see those photos.
我迫不及待想看到那些照片。
What is our next brief, Zoe?
佐伊，我们的下一个简讯是什么？
Next, paleontologists have made a rather unusual discovery.
接下来，古生物学家们有一个相当不寻常的发现。
They found an exquisitely preserved fossilized bird feather from 66 million years ago trapped inside
他们发现了一根精美保存的来自 6600 万年前的鸟类羽毛化石，被封存在
fossilized dinosaur poop. Poop?
化石化的恐龙粪便里。粪便？
That is hilarious, but also highly informative.
这太滑稽了，但也包含极其丰富的信息。
What does a feather in a pile of ancient dung tell us?
一堆古代粪便中的羽毛能告诉我们什么？
It is actually a major scientific breakthrough.
这实际上是一项重大的科学突破。
It provides direct evidence of what predatory dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurs, were eating.
它提供了像暴龙这样的食肉恐龙当时吃什么的直接证据。
But even more importantly, because the feather is so beautifully preserved, it helps scientists
但更重要的是，因为这根羽毛保存得如此完好，它有助于科学家
understand the plumage of ancient birds and why certain bird species managed to survive the mass
了解古代鸟类的羽毛，以及为什么某些鸟类能够在大规模
extinction event while the dinosaurs died out.
灭绝事件中幸存下来，而恐龙却灭绝了。
That is incredible.
这太难以置信了。
A tiny feather in a dirty fossil helping to rewrite evolutionary history.
一块脏兮兮化石里的小小羽毛，竟然有助于重写演化历史。
Truly amazing.
真的很神奇。
What is our final brief for today?
今天我们的最后一份简讯是什么？
Finally, a young girl looking for frogs in a creek in San Mateo County, California, stumbled upon an
最后，加利福尼亚州圣马特奥县的一名年轻女孩在一条小溪里找青蛙时，偶然发现了
oddly shaped rock.
一块形状古怪的石头。
It turned out to be a massive, perfectly preserved, 10 ,000 -year -old Ice Age Mastodon tooth. Wow!
结果那竟是一颗巨大且保存完好的、有一万年历史的冰河时代乳齿象牙齿。哇！
Imagine going out to find a frog and coming home with a giant tooth from a prehistoric relative of
想象一下，出门去找青蛙，结果带回家一颗来自史前大象亲戚的巨大牙齿？
the elephant?
大象的？
That is the discovery of a lifetime.
这绝对是一生难得一遇的发现。
It really is.
确实非常难得。
The tooth is in immaculate condition, and local scientists are absolutely thrilled to study it to
这颗牙齿保存得完美无瑕，当地科学家对于能够研究它感到非常兴奋，
learn more about the ancient ecosystems of California.
以进一步了解加利福尼亚州古代的生态系统。
And that brings us to the end of today's morning broadcast of TalkCast.
以上就是今天 TalkCast 早间广播的全部内容。
We have journeyed from the digital brain of a fruit fly to the acoustic sounds of the Jurassic
我们从果蝇的数字大脑，一路探索到了侏罗纪森林的声学音效，
Forest, explored eggshell space shields, and uncovered treasures in dinosaur dung and California creeks.
探索了蛋壳太空防护盾，并在恐龙粪便和加州小溪中发掘了珍宝。
What an incredible adventure!
这是一场多么不可思议的冒险！
Now, we have a fun and thought -provoking question for our listeners today.
现在，我们今天为听众们准备了一个有趣且引人深思的问题。
If you could use a time machine to travel back to any prehistoric era, which natural sound would you
如果您能使用时光机穿越回任何史前时代，您最想听到的自然声音
want to hear most, and why?
是什么，为什么最想听到？
Oh, I love that question.
哦，我喜欢这个问题。
Would you want to hear the roar of a T -Rex?
你想听到霸王龙的咆哮吗？
Or the wind rustling through giant ancient ferns?
还是穿过巨大的古代蕨类植物的风声？
Please write down your answers in the comments section below.
请在下面的评论区写 下您的答案。
Or take a look at what other listeners are suggesting.
或者看看其他听众有什么建议。
We always love reading your creative thoughts.
我们总是喜欢阅读大家富有创意的想法。
Yes, please do join the conversation.
是的，请务必加入讨论。
If you loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe to TalkCast, share it with your friends and
如果您喜欢今天的这期节目，别忘了订阅 TalkCast，并分享给您的朋友和
family, and leave us a glowing review on your favorite podcast platform.
家人，并在您最喜爱的播客平台上为我们留下热情的好评。
A quick reminder for our dedicated language learners, the full English script and audio of today's
给我们的热心语言学习者一个快速提醒，今天
broadcast are published regularly on our website, www .talkcast .top, as well as on our official
广播的英文全文和音频都会定期发布在我们的网站 www.talkcast.top 以及我们的官方
WeChat public account, TalkCast.
微信公账号，TalkCast。
It is the perfect companion to help you practice reading, build your vocabulary, and master your
它是帮助你练习阅读、积累词汇并掌握知识的完美伴侣
listening skills.
听力技能。
Thank you all so much for starting your morning with us.
非常感谢大家与我们一起开启美好的早晨。
Have a wonderful, curious day, and we will see you next time.
祝您度过美好且充满好奇的一天，我们下次再见。
Goodbye, everyone.
再见，大家。
Keep exploring.
保持探索。
