Technology And The Brain

 

What's up sunshine I'm Coy Wire. You're watching CNN 10. It's Thursday April 17th Happy Friday Eve. This is the 29th day of spring and that means there are only 64 days till summer. Yes, please. Riddle for you today.

 

riddle [ˋrɪd!] n. 謎，謎語

There are 30 cows in a field 28 chickens. How many didn't?  If you know the answer shout it out.

30 cows 28 chickens. How many didn't?

Answer is 10. 30 cows 28 chickens, that means 10 did not.

It's mathematical. It's grammatical. It's a random thought Thursday. Now let's get you your 10 minutes of news. We begin today with a study from two Texas universities.

They took on the question of whether lifetime use of technology increases reliance on devices and as a consequence weakens cognitive abilities over time.

They studied what's called the digital dementia hypothesis. Analyzing 57 studies published over the last two decades that included hundreds of thousands of adults who were on average 68 years old when the studies began.

The Alzheimer's Association defines dementia as quote general term for loss of memory, language, problem solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life," unquote.
 

dementia [dɪˋmɛnʃɪə] n.【医】痴呆；失智症

They add that Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. The findings of these studies were significant. None of the studies the researchers reviewed overall correlated an increased risk of cognitive impairment with technology use.
 

correlate [ˋkɔrə͵let] v. 使..互相關聯[（+with）]

In fact their studies found that technology use was actually associated with a 42% lower risk of cognitive impairment in the subjects involved in these studies.

 

But the researchers also concluded that these findings are not some sort of green light to just start scrolling mindlessly on your smartphone.

And some of the study's limitations leave a number of questions about the relationships between technology use and brain health.

 

For example there weren't any details on whether people were using devices in ways that meaningfully exercise their brains or what kind of devices they used and for how long.

While technology use was generally linked with a lower risk of cognitive decline, the authors say the findings for social media use were inconsistent.

 

In all for both younger and older generations, researchers say engaging with technology in moderation is the way to go.

 

way to go（用以表示贊同、興奮等或揶揄他人時）很好，真棒… 

Especially when technology helps us be neurologically active bringing genuine connection, creativity and intellectual stimulation to our lives.

 

Pop quiz hot. What whale name derives from a Latin word referring to the Roman god of the underworld?

 

Humpback whales

Pilot whales

Orca whales

Beluga whales.

If you said orca you're so money. Also known as killer whales their scientific name Orsinus Orca is derived from the Latin word Orcus referring to the Roman god of the underworld.

 

Orcus [ˋɔrkəs] n.【罗神】死人的世界；冥府之神

And its species name Orca that means large-bellied pot in Latin referring to the whale's body shape.

 

Killer whales are famous hunters known to prey on everything from fish like salmon to seals even other whales and sharks.

But the apex predators diet has put them at risk of toxic contamination.

 

It can come from pollutants like pesticides and industrial chemicals found in their food that can harm them physically.

Our Hanako Montgomery shows us how researchers are using innovative AI powered tracking technology to monitor orca's health and improve their ecosystems.

Oh, good morning, Rolf. Good morning I assume you're looking for the Bigg’s.

 

Yeah I'm just creeping along here at the reefs in the fog. Super slow. I'm sure I'll see them here in the next few minutes.

Scientist Jared Towers and PhD student Chloe Kotik are on the lookout for dolphins.

 

But not just any dolphins. They're looking for the largest and most deceivingly named member of the dolphin family the orca. Also known as the killer whale.
 

deceivingly [dɪˋsivɪŋlɪ] adv. 欺骗性地，骗人地; 造成假象地

I spent a lot of time as a kid here in Alert Bay in the surrounding waterways and this area has always been a mecca for killer whale research uh since the 1970s.

 

mecca [ˋmɛkə] n. 许多人想去的地方

 

So I was kind of brought up into this field.

My job basically entails keeping track of killer whales I collect photo identification data, predation data, social and behavioral as well as genetic data.

 

predation [prɪˋdeʃən] n. 掠奪；掠食

 

Jared has been studying whales for about 20 years focusing mainly on the big species also known as transients that live in the North Pacific Ocean.
 

transient [ˋtrænziənt] n. 暂住者; 流动人口

Bigg’s killer whales or transients. They primarily feed on marine mammals like seals, porpoises dolphins, sea lions and even other whales occasionally.

 

porpoise [ˋpɔrpəs] n. 海豚；鼠海豚

 

But as apex predators they also ingest high concentrations of harmful contaminants found throughout the marine food web.

So when you have something like a killer whale come along and uh eat the seal that ate the fish then it bioaccumulates those toxins at a much greater rate.

 

bioaccumulate [͵baɪəˋkjumjə͵let] v. 生物累积;  (of a substance) become concentrated inside the bodies of living things

So that's why these mammal-eating killer whales we have on the coast here are some of the most toxic animals on the planet.

The toxic chemicals from things like industrial waste and oil spills collect in whales’ blubber which can affect their health and the survival rates of their offspring.
 

blubber [ˋblʌbɚ] n. 鲸脂；鲸油

My hope for this work is that by quantifying some of the effects that contaminants are having on these killer whales we can provide a little bit of evidence for how we're affecting them and that might motivate us to clean up our act.
 

clean up 清理, 清除, 整理

Their work relies heavily on photo identification through digital cameras, citizen submissions and drones.

Well right now I'm just waiting for these whales to come up. I'll fly over each one of them and get a look at the body condition.

Over the last few years, Jared has been tapping into AI to help process and organize the vast amounts of visual data they collect.

 

So when we click on a photo for example uh the model suggestion automatically shows up.

And then the model predicts who the individual is.

 

And you can see that even though this isn't a great ID photo, the model is correctly identifying this as T90.

 

They can then take a deeper dive and apply other analytical tools to look at specific parameters like calf mortality.

 

calf [kæf] n.（鲸、象等的）仔

What we're finding so far is that individuals that are getting a higher dose of contaminants from mom, seem to have an increased risk of mortality before age three.

 

This research helps provide insights not just into the health of these killer whales but also their ecosystem.

So all the data we collect, month after month and year after year, is crucial for informing management decisions and conservation efforts to protect these populations.

 

In this part of the coast, we have some of the strongest viewing guidelines and regulations when it comes to killer whales and that is one example of a protection measure which has been implemented over time.

When it comes to killer whales I think it's really important that we really make an effort to coexist with them and find ways that we can both live in harmony and have successful populations moving forward.

 

Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.

 

A herd of elephants who will rise up and do anything to protect each other.

When Southern California experienced a 5.2 two magnitude earthquake this week.

 

Elephants at the San Diego Zoo sensing some sort of danger stomped into action.

Moving as a unit to protect each other. Our Samantha Lindell shows us this fascinating moment caught on camera.

You're watching African elephants try to protect one another as a 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California Monday morning.

Elephants like these at the San Diego Zoo instinctively create what are called alert circles to protect the herd in the face of danger.

According to zoo officials elephants have highly sensitive feet that can feel sound making even a relatively minor earthquake potentially stressful.

The zoo says the elephants resumed normal behavior after a few minutes but they did stick close together.

Whoa! My god that was huge, Buster.

 

More than 25 million people experienced weak to light shaking during the 5.2 magnitude quake according to the US Geological Survey.

One moral of the story? Find yourself a strong herd who will be there for you when your world gets rocked.

 

All right superstars we got a big old shout out today.

This one's going to Danville, Vermont and all our bears at the Danville School Rise up.

 

Before we go some food for thought from Franklin D Roosevelt who once said quote "The only limitation to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.", unquote

 

food for thought 引人沈思的事；需要认真考虑的事

So believe that you're going to become that which you want to be.

 

Don't let anyone or anything change how you think. You are more powerful than you know I'm Coy Wire making it an awesome day.

I'll see you here tomorrow for Friday right here on

 

CNN 10.