2 . Coral reefs in Florida have lost an estimated 90% of their corals in the last 40 years. This summer, a marine heat wave hit Florida’s coral reefs. The record high temperatures created an extremely stressful environment for the coral reefs, which are currently also experiencing intense coral bleaching (白化).

A coral is an animal, which has a symbiotic relationship with a microscopic algae (藻类). The algae gets energy from the sun and shares it with the coral internally. The coral builds a rock-like structure, which makes up most of the reef, providing homes and food for many organisms that live there. Coral bleaching is when the symbiotic relationship breaks down. Without the algae, the corals appear white because the rock skeleton becomes visible. If the bleaching continues for an extended period, the corals can starve to death without the energy.

Florida is on the front lines of climate change. It is also on the cutting edge of restoration science. Many labs, institutions and other organizations are working nonstop to protect and maintain the coral reefs. This includes efforts to understand what is troubling the reef, from disease outbreaks to coastal development impacts. It also includes harvesting coral spawn (卵), or growing and planting coral parts. Scientists moved many coral nurseries into deeper water and shore-based facilities during this marine heat wave. They are digging into the DNA of the coral to discover which species will survive best in future.

There are some bright spots in the story, however. Some corals have recovered from the bleaching, and many did not bleach at all. In addition, researchers recorded coral spawning. Although it’s not clear yet whether the larvae (幼虫) will be successful in the wild, it’s a sign of recovery potential. If the baby corals survive, they will be able to regrow the reef. They just have to avoid one big boss: human-induced climate change.

5 . Scientists say they have found detailed evidence of ancient rivers on Mars. The discovery supported existing evidence that Mars once had water. The researchers said their findings suggested rivers may have flowed on the surface of Mars for hundreds of thousands of years.

These images were captured by a camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The camera is able to take detailed pictures of the surface while orbiting the planet from about 400 kilometers away. A team of scientists studied the images, which showed a valley network on Mars.

The team was led by Francesco Salese, a geologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Salese said the scientists studied sedimentary (沉淀物) rocks from a 200 meters high rocky cliff. Sedimentary rocks form when sedimented (使沉积) and transported by water or wind.

“These are sedimentary rocks and were formed by rivers that were likely active for over 100,000 years,” Salese said, adding even without the ability to examine the cliff area on Mars, the pictures show strong similarities to sedimentary rocks found on the earth.

William McMahon is another geologist who was part of the investigation team. He said sedimentary rocks have long been studied on the earth to learn what conditions were like on our planet millions or even billions of years ago. Another leader of the team was Joel Davis, a researcher with Britain’s Natural History Museum. He said scientists had never before been able to examine such a rock formation with such great detail. They created 3D images of the area to get a more detailed understanding of it, which suggested some ancient Martian rivers were several meters deep.

7 . When most people think of Amish communities, they picture old-fashioned environments free of modern technology. For the most part, that’s true, but there are a few surprising exceptions. Many Amish families use solar panels to meet their modest electricity needs.

According to Electric Rate, some Amish communities adopted solar as far back as the 90’s. In addition to wind turbines on churches and barns, Amish homes may also have solar panels on the roofs. These are connected to batteries that power electric lights, water pumps, and even the occasional washing machine, refrigerator, cash register, or e-bike. Amish communities don’t reject all technology for its own sake. Instead, they consider the impact each type of technology will have on their lifestyle and traditions.

Television doesn’t have a place in the simple Amish lifestyle, and connecting to the power grid to run multiple appliances (家用电器) would threaten the community’s independence and self-reliance. However, electric lights are another matter, according to Electric Rate. Amish families previously used kerosene (煤油) lamps to light their homes. These created major safety issues, like heightened fire risk and harmful smoke.

Solar panels and LED lights were the perfect solutions, Electric Rate says. They’re self-contained, so Amish communities don’t have to pay a monthly bill. They don’t even have to add wiring to the whole house. Just one or two panels are enough for a whole home since they don’t have many electric appliances. The lights themselves are reliable, efficient, long-lasting, affordable, and safe.

Even better, solar technology is getting cheaper all the time. Ongoing breakthroughs in solar panel design have made them easier to manufacture and more efficient to use, opening up this possibility for even more families. Solar panels are also gentle on the planet. Unlike burning kerosene, solar doesn’t produce air pollution that traps heat in our atmosphere. The more households, businesses, and governments adopt solar, the more we cool down the planet.

8 . Though fireworks (烟花) on bonfire night bring joy to many people, it is likely to be a night of fright and pain for the UK’s geese (鹅).

Research by Anglia Ruskin University has found that fireworks displays (表演) cause wild birds to suffer significant pain, and researchers have recommended that displays should not take place in areas with large wildlife populations. A study, published in the journal Conservation Physiology, is one of the first carried out into the effects of fireworks on wildlife. It found that the heart rate (率) of geese increases by 96% when they are influenced by fireworks displays.

The study involved 20 wild grey lag geese fitted with recorders to record their heart rate and body temperature, which are measures of physiological stress. Claudia Wascher, who led the research, found that the average heart rate increased from 63 to 124 beats per minute, and their average body temperature increased from 38℃ to 39℃, in the first hour of fireworks displays. It took the geese about five hours before the birds displayed normal body temperatures, with average readings returning by 5 am.

“Ours is one of the first scientific studies to examine whether fireworks disturb wildlife. There have been previous studies showing that fireworks can cause anxiety in pets, for example in dogs, but little research has been done into how animals in the wild react. We need to carry out further research to conclusively tell whether the geese are reacting to the noise or the light pollution from the fireworks, or a combination of both. Many people get a lot of enjoyment from fireworks but it’s important that we consider animals both pets and wildlife — whenever planning a display,” Wascher said.

In July 2019, Shanghai became the first city in China     1     (make) household waste sorting (分类) compulsory (强制的). A number of other cities have followed in Shanghai’s footsteps by     2     (introduce) compulsory household and workplace rubbish sorting in the following years.     3     (actual), about 300 cities in China have carried out rubbish sorting programs at present, with a community coverage rate of 82.5%.

According to Hua Lei, a volunteer involved in rubbish sorting, the practice     4     (become) part of the daily lives of local residents (居民) over the past five years. Young people have played     5     important role in raising knowledge and educating the community, using creative     6     (way) such as short plays to teach older residents about rubbish sorting. Additionally, students     7     have learned about waste management at school have shared their knowledge     8     their families, further spreading the message.

Through these joint efforts, China is making progress in rubbish sorting and recycling. More residents     9     (encourage) to use rubbish sorting habits to contribute to a cleaner and     10     (good) living environment for its citizens.

10 . Water makes up 71% of the Earth’s surface, but no one knows how or when such massive quantities of water arrived on the Earth. A new study published in the journal Nature brings scientists one step closer to answering that question.

Led by University of Maryland Assistant Professor of Geology Megan Newcombe, researchers analyzed melted meteorites (熔化的陨石) that had been floating around in space since the solar system’s formation 4.5 billion years ago. They found that these meteorites had extremely low water content — in fact, they were among the driest materials ever measured outside the Earth.

These results, which let researchers rule them out as the primary source of the Earth’s water, could have important information for the search for water — and life — on other planets. It also helps researchers understand the unlikely conditions making the Earth a livable planet.

Researchers wanted to understand how our planet managed to get water because it’s not completely obvious. Getting water and having surface oceans on a planet that is small and relatively near the sun is a challenge.

“We knew that plenty of outer solar system objects were differentiated, but it was sort of secretively assumed that because they were from the outer solar system, they must also contain a lot of water,” said Sune Nielsen, a study co-author and geologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “Our paper shows this is definitely not the case. As soon as meteorites melt, there is no remaining water.”

The findings have applications beyond geology. Scientists of many fields — and especially exoplanet (系外行星) researchers — are interested in the origin of the Earth’s water because of its deep connections with life.

“Water is considered to be a must for life to be able to exist, so as we’re looking out into the universe and finding all of these exoplanets, we’re starting to work out which of those planetary systems could be potential hosts for life,” said Newcombe. “In order to be able to understand these other solar systems, we want to understand our own.”