2017年：被忽略的七个重大科学发现

今年对科学来说又是意义重大的一年，但就算是最疯狂的科学爱好者也可能错过一些不可思议的科学资讯，毕竟每一年都有海量的新研究发布。现在，我们就来分享一下2017年你可能忽略的一些有趣的科学发现，排名不分先后。

1. 两个超大质量黑洞的“双人舞”

In June, a large team of hard-working astronomers finally observed something that had been in the works for more than two decades - a pair of orbiting supermassive holes roughly 750 million light years from Earth. It's a theoretical event that should happen after the merging of two galaxies, but until this year, nobody had evidence of it actually happening. And now we do.

天文学家苦寻二十载，终于观察到了一对超大质量黑洞彼此绕转。它们距地球约7.5亿光年。理论上，当两个星系合并时，会发生此现象。但直到今年6月，人们才看到了证据。

2. 缓步类动物才是最终赢家

We already knew that tardigrades are seemingly indestructible, seeing how they can survive being desiccated, extreme heat, extreme cold, and even the vacuum of space. And a study published this year established that tardigrades could survive nearly any apocalypse hurled at us, whether a gamma ray burst or an asteroid impact.

我们已经知道，缓步类动物几乎无法摧毁。它们能够在干旱、极度高温、极度严寒、甚至真空环境中存活！今年发布的一项新研究得出结论说，即便地球毁灭，它们也能继续存活。伽玛射线暴、小行星撞击……几乎所有类型的灭顶之灾都消灭不了它。

3. 地球生命可能源于陨石

A study spanning research from astrophysics to chemistry and geology has given more weight to the hypothesis that the very first ingredients for life on our planet travelled here through space. The team says that as space rocks splashed into warm, slushy ponds on the surface of Earth, molecules arranged in just the right way to produce RNA polymers.

一项囊括天体物理学、化学、地质学的新研究进一步证实了一个假想，那就是地球生命的第一份原料可能来自太空。研究团队解释说，当陨石撞击温暖湿润的地表海洋时，分子以某种特殊形式进行排列，刚好能够制造RNA聚合物。

4. 火星会下雪

In August, planetary scientists revealed something bizarre about Mars's weather patterns - turns out that during the night, there are severely intense snowstorms happening on the planet, basically pelting it with tiny chunks of ice. Given how little water there is, we sure didn't expect that.

今年8月，行星科学家揭示了火星的一个奇特的天气模式，那就是火星晚上会有严重的暴雪现象——天上会砸下许多干冰小颗粒。考虑到火星上的水资源那么少，你肯定没想到火星上还会下雪。

5. 百年老药竟对自闭症有奇效

For the first time ever, a medication that's normally used for treating sleeping sickness was tried in a pilot study on a group of boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The results were absolutely astonishing - after just a single dose, their ASD symptoms significantly improved.

今年，一种通常用来治疗昏睡症的药物被用于试点研究，科学家首次在一群自闭症男孩身上试验此药，结果十分惊人——只需一剂药，他们的自闭症症状就得到了显著缓解。

6. 糖尿病有重大突破

In April, researchers announced they'd found a brand new type of insulin-producing cell that's been hiding in plain sight, right within the pancreas. These 'virgin beta cells' have opened up new avenues for scientists who are trying to understand type 1 diabetes, and are working to come up with new, better treatments.

今年4月，研究人员宣布，他们新发现了一种分泌胰岛素的细胞类型，这种新β细胞就隐藏在胰腺中。这样一来，科学家就能够换种思路研究1型糖尿病和新型治疗方式。

7. 物理学家破解“鲁珀特之泪”之谜

Prince Rupert's Drops are these baffling droplets that can be made by dripping molten glass into water. The resulting tear-shaped baubles are incredibly strong on the thick end - you can smack them with a hammer or shoot with a gun, and they won't break. But all you have to do is snap the tail of the droplet, and suddenly the whole thing bursts apart. For around 400 years, researchers have been trying to figure out why that happens. And now we finally know - what a time to be alive!

熔融玻璃滴入冰水中，能够自然形成一道玻璃泪滴——“鲁珀特之泪”。它的头部坚硬得不可思议——锤子砸不烂，开枪打不穿。然而，你只要扯一下它的尾巴，整根泪滴就会瞬间瓦解。400年来，科学家对此百思不得其解。今年，谜团终于揭晓，活着真好！

注：“鲁珀特之泪”之谜的原因就在于表面应力分布——头部的表面压缩应力高达700MPa，是大气压的7000倍，但分布却很薄，只占直径的10%。