1 . A new study warns that more than a fifth of all reptile (爬行动物) species are threatened with extinction, which may have a bad impact on the planet.

The largest ever analysis of the state of the world’s reptiles, published in Nature, has showed that 21% of the reptile species are facing extinction. The study says from lizards to snakes, such a loss could have disastrous impacts on ecosystems around the world.

Although many reptiles live in dry environments such as deserts, most species occur in forests, where they suffer from threats such as logging of land for agriculture.30% of the forest-dwelling reptiles are at risk of extinction, compared with 14% in dry habitats. Hunting is also a major threat to reptiles, especially turtles and crocodiles, many of which are at risk of extinction. Another major contributing factor is the introduction of invasive species.

“If we removed reptiles, it could change ecosystems fundamentally, with unfortunate knock-on effects, such as increases in pest insects,” said Neil Cox, co-leader of the study. “Biodiversity, including reptiles, supports the ecosystem services that provide a healthy environment for people.”

Our hope is that this first-ever assessment of the world’s 10,000-plus reptiles helps put them in the spotlight and goes some way to highlighting this diversity, and just how much we have to lose. As well as controlling rats, mosquitoes and other pests, reptiles deliver many other benefits. “They help spread seeds, especially in island environments,” said researcher Hoffmann. “We’ve also achieved many medical advances from studies of reptiles.”

The results of the study are not all doom and gloom. Scientists have found, surprisingly, that if they set out to protect places where threatened birds, mammals and amphibians (两栖动物) live together, they’ll meanwhile protect many more threatened reptiles.

3 . Dressed in a kachhad, a traditional Nepalese clothes, Umesh Balal walked into his meetings at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on climate change in Dubai with a sense of determination.

Balal, who has physical disability, was there to publicly _________ inclusion of disability rights in the climate change conference, an aspect that he said has long been _________ by organizers of the world’s largest annual meeting on climate issues.

As a student, Balal was _________ about science and involved himself in research on environmental science. Those were his first few interactions that _________ the climate related issues to him. Being from a mountainous region, Balal _________ more about how climate change had _________ people there, which led him to develop climate anxiety.

The more Balan _________ himself to climate science, the more he learned about the impact of climate change. People with more resources have better chances of _________ the climate crisis. But the less developed countries, for the _________ communities, usually don’t have the same opportunities, which will push them further into the __________

And it is even harder for people with __________. Many people with disabilities in Nepal don’t have __________ to proper education or opportunities for growth. As a result, they aren’t able to advocate for their rights.   

In an interview, Balan said, “__________, I am honored that I come from a supportive family, where I had a chance of good education which __________ me to grow in life. This is what I __________for others, to change the way they live their lives.”

4 . We all love butterflies. Their beautiful wings attract us, and their presence lights up our garden. Well, that’s our view of butterflies, but have you ever wondered what plants think of them?

The butterflies’ eggs lie on the underside of the leaves. The eggs themselves don’t damage plants. However, upon coming into contact with the eggs, the plants become oversensitive. It means that once a plant recognizes a pest, it will cause death in the contacted plant part. When these dead leaves or partial leaf parts break away from the plant, the eggs on them fall off. Along with the hypersensitivity response, plants also produce something special, which can attract animals to cat the eggs, thus preventing damage in the future.

After the baby butterflies come out of their eggs, the caterpillar (毛虫) stage begins. Most caterpillars feed on the leaves of the plants, damaging some of the plants in your own garden. Incredibly, they are major plant pests that bring about major losses to farmers. The next stage is pupa (蛹). The caterpillars begin their change into an adult. They don’t depend on the energy that the leaves provide. Finally, they become adult butterflies that have wings and move from one plant to the other. They feed on the sweet liquid produced by flowers.

While on their search for food, the butterflies carry pollen (花粉) on their body. They are key pollinators that place pollen from one flower to another in ecosystem. Plants that have flowers will create some special features to draw these pollinators’ attention. Certain plants have flowers giving off smells that can charm butterflies when they are looking for a mate. Some plants even have flat flowers to assist butterflies when landing.

Butterflies aid in pollination during their final adult stage. Thus, they change into beneficial insects to plants. This change makes butterflies an important friend of plants, despite being a hated enemy in previous life cycle stages!

8 . Solar stills (蒸馏器) provide a clever and simple means of purifying dirty or salty water, but they work at a rather slow rate. A new material has been shown to boost their performance, and it’s made from fruit waste which would otherwise be thrown away.

In its most basic form, a conventional solar still consists of a basin of undrinkable water that is set beneath a cover. The water evaporates (蒸发) as it’s heated by the sun, condensing (凝结) on the inside surface of the cover. That condensation—which is pure, clean water-drops down the cover and is collected in a separate container for drinking. In order to warm the dirty/salty water at a faster rate, scientists have developed materials that float on its surface, transforming sunlight into heat. They commonly use carbon obtained from coal.

To seek a less costly and more environmentally-friendly alternative, Prof. Edison and colleagues at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University looked to something that is free for the taking—fruit waste. More specifically, the scientists tried out coconut peels, orange peels and banana peels.

In a simple carbonization process, the fruit waste was heated at 850℃for a few hours, and mixed with a kind of chemical substance. Doing so transformed the fruit waste into a new material which has a very highlight-to-heat transforming efficiency.

When tested in a small solar still, this new material proved to be very effective at transforming sunlight into heat, causing the dirty/salty water to evaporate much more rapidly. And because the material is full of holes, the waters team is able to rise right through it, subsequently condensing on the inside of the still’s cover.

Prof. Edison and his team found material obtained from the coconut peels worked best, as it transformed sunlight to heat with an efficiency rate of 94%. They are now developing the technology further, and are seeking industry partners to help with its commercialization.