The Enigma is 555.55 carats, January 17, 2022, January 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)エニグマは555.55カラットで、2022年1月17日、2022年1月17日。(AP写真/Kamran Jebreili)
An employee of Sotheby's Dubai holds a 555.55 Carat Black Diamond called "The Enigma." Photo taken at Sotheby's Dubai gallery in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
People use the saying “out of this world,” to praise something as exceptional. But, at auction house Sotheby’s Dubai, officials are using the term literally.
The company announced this week that it will sell a black diamond that they say is believed to have fallen to Earth from outer space. That would make it a literal “out of this world” jewel.
Sotheby’s calls the large black diamond, “The Enigma.” It weighs 555.55 carats. A carat is a term of measurement for valuable stones often used in jewelry. One carat equals 200 milligrams.
The rare stone was shown to reporters at Sotheby’s on Monday. In February, it will be put up for sale at Sotheby’s in London.
Sotheby’s expects the purchase price will reach at least $6.8 million.
Experts at the National Space Foundation in the United States call black diamonds “carbonado diamonds.”
On its website, the science organization writes that carbonado diamonds form during supernova explosions. “Black diamonds,” the website says, “were once the size of asteroids a kilometer or more” across when they first began to hit Earth.
Carbonado diamonds are extremely rare and are found naturally only in Brazil and Central Africa. Experts say study of the stone’s chemical structure leads them to believe they come from space.
The Enigma is 555.55 carats, January 17, 2022, January 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Sophie Stevens, a jewelry specialist at Sotheby’s Dubai, told The Associated Press that the number five has a great importance to The Enigma. Along with its carat weight, the diamond also has 55 facets. Facets are the flat surfaces of a cut gem.
Stevens explained that the shape of this black diamond is based on the Khamsa, an important symbol in the Middle East and northern Africa. “It stands for strength and it stands for protection.”
Words in This Story
auction – n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most : auction house– n. a business that runs auctions
literally – adv. in a way that uses the ordinary and usual meaning of a word
supernova – n. the explosion of a star that causes the star to become extremely bright
asteroid – n. any of the small rocky celestial bodies found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
gem – n. a valuable stone that has been cut and polished for use in jewelry
symbol – n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality
Jewelとgemの違い
単語解説にもありましたが
gem – n. a valuable stone that has been cut and polished for use in jewelry
An employee from the National Health Organization (EODY) prepares a Johnson and Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 at Karatepe refugee camp, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, on December 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas, File)
Pandemics do end, even if Omicron is making it difficult to know when. But when it does, it will not completely go away. The world will have to learn to live with this virus. Luckily, there are some defenses now.
Vaccines offer strong protection from serious illness, even if they do not always prevent a mild infection. Omicron does not appear to be as deadly as some earlier variants. Those who survive will have some increased protection against other forms of the virus.
Dr. Albert Ko is an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public health. He said the newest variant is a warning about what will continue to happen “unless we really get serious about the endgame.”
Ko added that COVID will be with us permanently. He said that the world will never be free of COVID, so we have to know our goals.
The World Health Organization will decide when enough countries have controlled their COVID cases, or at least hospitalizations and deaths, to declare the end of the pandemic. Exactly what that means is not clear.
Even when that happens, some parts of the world will still struggle, like poorer nations that lack enough vaccines or treatments. Other countries will change into some sort of acceptable state to deal with COVID-19.
Stephen Kissler is an infectious disease expert of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He says he believes the world will reach a state where COVID is like another infectious disease, the flu.
COVID-19 has killed more than 800,000 Americans in two years while the flu kills between 12,000 and 52,000 a year.
Exactly how much continuing COVID-19 illness and death the world will accept is largely a social question, not a scientific one. People will have to decide how much risk they can accept in their normal lives.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top United States infectious disease expert, is looking ahead to controlling the virus in a way that does not affect daily life and the economy.
People wait in line at a COVID-19 testing site in New York's Times Square on December 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
The U.S. is showing signs that it is on the road to the new normal. The Biden administration says there are enough tools, like vaccines, treatments, and face coverings, to deal with Omicron without the shutdowns of the pandemic’s earlier days.
Dr. William Moss of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health expects “this virus will kind of maxout” in its ability to create more dangerous variants. He says he believes there will not be endless new variants.
Many experts say after the pandemic, the virus will cause minor illness for some and more serious illness for others, depending on their general health. Mutations will continue and might require newer vaccines. The human body will also get better at recognizing and fighting against the virus as time goes on.
Ali Ellebedy is a doctor that studies the immune system, which protects the body from diseases and infections. He is an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Ellebedy said the protection our bodies have gained has improved so much that there will be a drop in severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths, even with new variants.
He says he believes there will be a day when someone gets a coronavirus infection, they stay home two to three days and then "...move on. That hopefully will be the endgame.”
Words in This Story
pandemic – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world
variant – n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind
endgame – n. the final stage of some action or process
max out – phr. v. to reach an upper limit: to come to the highest level possible
mutation – n. a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes physical characteristics that are different from what is normal
FILE - Emil Iversen of Norway, Oskar Svensson of Sweden and Gleb Retivykh of Russia in action February 21, 2019FILE - 滑走するノルウェーのエミール・イヴェルセン、スウェーデンのオスカル・スヴェンソン、ロシアのグレブ・レティヴィク選手達 2019年2月21日撮影
Canada's Brady Leman, Canada's Kristofor Mahler, Russia's Igor Omelin, and Switzerland's Alex Fiva in action during the men's ski cross at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, China, Nov. 27, 2021. (REUTERS/Tingshu Wang)
Olympicskiers have said they are worried about competing safely at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing next month because there will be little natural snow. The athletes say snow made by machines is not as safe as snow that falls naturally.
Some of the world’s best skiers in events that include cross-country skiing say snow made with machines is not as soft as natural snow. Cross-country skiing takes place on both flat and downhill surfaces. The skiers say snow made by a machine gets icy, which makes for faster races. But it also leads to high-speed crashes.
Observers say climate change is making natural snow less available around the world. So, people who organize ski races depend on snow-making machines. This is the case even in parts of the world that are cold during the winter months. That is because snow does not fall as often as it once did in many places.
Organizers put snow machines along race courses before events to create a path for the skiers along hills and through forests.
Johanna Taliharm is an Olympic athlete from Estonia in the biathlon, an event that combines shooting and skiing. She said it hurts more if skiers fall in an area where there is no snow.
Chris Grover is the leader of the cross-country ski team for the U.S. He said the machine-made snow is “rock-hard.” So, when a skier falls, it can feel like hitting a hard surface.
Gus Schumacher is an American cross-country skier. He said, at an event in France, some skiers slipped in the corners because the man-made snow did not stay together like natural snow. He called it “super-unforgiving.”
FILE - Emil Iversen of Norway, Oskar Svensson of Sweden and Gleb Retivykh of Russia in action February 21, 2019
John Aalberg is a former Olympic skier who now designs race courses. He said cross-country ski races now have more athletes on the course at one time. He said now the corners need to be wider to fit more skiers.
Jessie Diggins is a U.S. team member. He said the skiers can reach speeds close to 80 kilometers per hour in the downhill parts of the race. He called it “scary” to reach such high speeds when there is not much snow outside of the racing area. He said he thinks the sport is more dangerous now than in the past.
The Associated Press asked FIS, the organization that runs ski racing around the world, if it had information about crashes in cross-country races. FIS said it did have information about crashes but would not make it public at this time. The group did not answer questions about man-made snow.
Jim Steenburgh is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah. He said the reason races that use man-made snow are different is that snow made by machines “isn’t really snow at all.”
He explained that the machines force water through small holes. The water turns into droplets that freeze. However, he said, the structure of natural snow is very different.
The machines that make snow are the same for cross-country and downhill races, Steenburgh said. The downhill racers like the man-made snow. He noted that natural snow is sometimes cleared from the downhill race courses so the surface can be harder and faster. But, he said, cross-country skiing is “different.”
Andrew Young is a cross-country skier from Great Britain. He crashed at an event last year and broke his leg. He was not able to recover in time to compete at the 2021 World Championships. He said climate change has changed the sport, but there are other reasons why it is more dangerous.
He said the paths the racers take were changed so that television cameras and fans can see them more easily. As a result, he said, there are shorter circles, more corners and more crashes.
Some racing areas now need less space to put on cross country events. For example, in 2002 at the Winter Olympics in Utah, there were 17 kilometers of racing paths. In future Winter Olympics, the paths will only total 11 or 12 kilometers.
Young said race courses are built with just a “ribbon of artificial snow.” He added that, if there is a crash, the results “of exiting the track become actually quite serious.”
Words in This Story
skier – n. a person who takes part in a sport which uses two narrow pieces of plastic, metal or wood to slide over snow downhill or over flat areas
course – n. a path that competitors take in a race
Israeli Researchers Teach Goldfish to Drive Robotic Car
A goldfish navigates on land using a fish-operated vehicle developed by a research team at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, Israel, January 6, 2022. Picture taken January 6, 2022. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Israeli researchers say they have successfully taught a goldfish to drive a small, robotic car.
The team said the fish showed its ability to navigate toward a target in order to receive a food reward.
For the experiment, the researchers built what they called a Fish Operated Vehicle (FOV). The main part of the vehicle was a fish tank attached to a moving machine with four motorized wheels.
Attached to the top was a system used to follow all movements of the fish and vehicle. The system was operated by lidar, a technology that uses light lasers to map environments and measure distances.
When the system observed that the fish was up against the side of the glass while facing forward, it would move the vehicle forward in that direction. The researchers said that over time, the fish learned that putting itself in these positions would move the FOV in those directions. In this way, the fish was able to “drive” the vehicle.
A goldfish navigates on land using a fish-operated vehicle developed by a research team at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, Israel, January 6, 2022. Picture taken January 6, 2022. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
A team at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev carried out the research. Results of the experiment were recently reported in the publication Behavioral Brain Research.
Researcher Shachar Givon told the Reuters news agency it was surprising how quickly the fish learned to drive the vehicle. “They're confused at first - they don't know what's going on,” he said. “But they're very quick to realize that there is a correlation between their movement and the movement of the machine that they're in.”
The team used six different goldfish in the study. Each fish took part in about 10 driving exercises. A colorful target was clearly marked on a wall opposite the tank. Each time a fish reached a target, it was rewarded with food.
The researchers said the fish were able to navigate to the target even if something happened to temporarily take them off the path. And, they said, the fish were not fooled by false targets placed by the team.
Researcher Ronen Segev said some of the fish proved to be “excellent” drivers. Others, he said, showed that while they could control the vehicle, they were not very good at driving it.
The team reported that their experiment led to two main findings. The first was that “navigational ability is universal rather than specific to the environment,” researcher Givon said in a statement.
Secondly, the experiment showed that goldfish have the “cognitive ability” to learn to perform a complex operation “in an environment completely unlike the one they evolved in.”
Givon compared the experiment to a human first learning to ride a bicycle or drive a car. In both of those cases, the beginning can be difficult, he said.
A goldfish navigates on land using a fish-operated vehicle developed by a research team at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, Israel, January 6, 2022. Picture taken January 6, 2022. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
A description of the study noted that navigation is a “critical ability” for animal survival. Such an ability permits many kinds of creatures to find shelter, seek mates and be successful in many kinds of behaviors.
In this case, the researchers sought to find out whether the fish could use the same navigational skills they use in the water to move a vehicle traveling on land.
In the end, the team found the results demonstrated that a fish is able to keep its “space representation and navigation skills” when put into a completely “terrestrial,” or land-based, environment.
Researcher Ronen Segev said, "We humans think of ourselves as very special. And many think of fish as primitive, but this is not correct." He added that there are many other “very important and very smart creatures."
Words in This Story
navigate – v. to find the right direction for traveling by using maps or other equipment
reward– n. something good that you receive or experience because you do something good, work hard, behave well, etc.
confused – adj. unable to think clearly or understand something
correlation – n. a connection between two or more things, usually where one causes or influence the other
cognitive– adj. relating to how people think, understand and learn
evolve– v. to develop or make something develop
primitive – adj. relating to human society at a very early stage of development
Study: T-cells From Common Cold Might Help Fight COVID-19
FILE - A woman blows her nose in Dalston as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 14, 2020. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
High levels of T cells from coronaviruses that cause the common cold can provide protection against COVID-19, a recent study has found.
The findings came from an Imperial College London study. The new information could help scientists develop ideas for second-generation vaccines.
Immunity against COVID-19 is complex. There is evidence of reduced antibody levels six months after vaccination. However, T cells are believed to play an important part in providing protection.
The Imperial College London study began in September 2020. It examined levels of cross-reactive T cells produced by earlier common colds in 52 household contacts of positive COVID-19 cases. The researchers looked at people shortly after they had come in contact with the virus. The goal was to see if the contacts went on to develop infections.
The researchers found that the 26 who did not develop infection had notably higher levels of those T cells than people who did get infected. The study did not say how long protection from the T cells would last.
Dr. Rhia Kundu was the study’s lead writer. Kundu said, "We found that high levels of pre-existing T cells, created by the body when infected with other human coronaviruses like the common cold, can protect against COVID-19 infection."
The study appeared recently in the publication Nature Communications. The team that wrote about the research said that the T cells targeted proteins inside the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This finding could offer a new target for vaccine makers.
Current COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein, a protein on the outside surface of the virus, which changes or mutates regularly. These changes create variants such as Omicron. These changes in the spike protein also reduce the effectiveness of vaccines against infections that show physical signs.
Professor Ajit Lalvani was a co-writer of the study. Lalvani said, "The internal proteins targeted by the protective T-cells we identified mutate much less."
Lalvani added that these T cells “are highly conserved between the various SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron.”
He said new vaccines that include these special proteins would support the “protective T cell responses that should protect against current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants."
Words in This Story
T cell– n. a kind of white blood cell that is part of the immune system which fights infection in the body and that develops from cells in the center of bones
response– n. something that is done as a reaction to something else
Testing Best Way to Know Difference Between Cold, Flu or COVID
FILE - An image of a woman sneezing in a tissue serves as a reminder of preventive measure against COVID-19 at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar on March 21, 2020. (Photo by Seyllou / AFP)
Medical experts say the only way to know for sure if you have the common cold, flu or COVID-19 is to get a test because symptoms can be similar.
The flu and COVID-19 have common symptoms, such as cough, fever, tiredness and muscle soreness. The viruses can all spread before people know they are sick.
Many people who have COVID-19 do not feel sick but they can still spread the virus.
Important differences
The main difference with COVID-19 is people sometimes lose their ability to smell and taste.
With flu, fevers are more common.
With colds, people usually have throat pain or nasal congestion.
The viruses are separate. It is, however, possible to become sick with more than one at the same time.
Some people are calling the combination of flu and COVID-19 “flurona.”
Kristen Coleman is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She said the number of people with flu and COVID-19 will increase in the coming weeks and months as the northern hemisphere enters flu season.
Testing is the best way to find out which virus you have.
While tests are in short supply in some parts of the world, Coleman said the best way to find out is to visit a pharmacy, where you can be tested for both flu and COVID-19 at the same time.
As soon as you know which illness you have, doctors can help with treatment.
Coleman said that in normal times, laboratories can find out if you have the common cold. However, right now, most are focused on testing for COVID-19.
One way to reduce your chances of having a problem with flu and COVID is to get vaccinated, experts say. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is safe to get the flu vaccine and a third COVID-19 shot, or booster, at the same time.
Words in This Story
symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present
cough – n. a physical condition or illness that causes someone to cough
fever – n. a body temperature that is higher than normal
congestion – n.related to a part of the body : blocked with fluid (such as blood or mucus)
pharmacy – n. a store or part of a store in which drugs and medicines are prepared and sold