2004-5-17
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VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Sarah
Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Bob Doughty. This week ... new thinking about an ancient
people.
VOICE ONE:
Concerns about a possible shortage of American scientists.
VOICE TWO:
Some places to go for health information on the Internet.
VOICE ONE:
And, just how much water do we really need to drink?
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VOICE TWO:
In Central America, scientists
have made some recent discoveries about the ancient Maya people.
These findings show that the Maya developed their civilization
centuries earlier than experts thought. Three separate teams made
the discoveries in the rainforest of Guatemala.
Experts call the time between the year two-fifty and the year
nine-hundred the Classic Maya period. It was a period of great
civilization. Until now, scientists thought that earlier Maya people
were simple farmers. The discoveries show that they used writing,
drew pictures and built complex structures sooner than the experts
knew.
VOICE ONE:
Scientists have found some things they say are more than
two-thousand years old. For example, a team found two masks inside
the main pyramid in the city of Cival. These masks are three meters
tall. They are cut in the image of a sun god. The Maya used the
pyramid as a temple. The masks may have been a part of ceremonies
led by a king. Experts from Vanderbilt University in Nashville,
Tennessee, made the discovery.
Another Vanderbilt team reported on new research at the city of
Cancuen. And scientists from Southern Methodist University in
Dallas, Texas, made discoveries at the ancient city of Waka
[wah-KAH]. The National Geographic Society supported all the
research.
VOICE TWO:
At Waka, scientists found the
burial place of a woman they think was a Maya queen. They do not
know her name. But they believe she ruled more than
one-thousand-two-hundred years ago.
Her bones were lying on a stone table. Many jewels surrounded her
remains. The team also found pieces of green stone that appeared to
be the remains of the kind of war helmet worn by rulers.
Scientists say the discovery will help then understand how Maya
women shared power with men. Not many burial places of important
royal women have been found.
Tens of thousands of people may have lived in the ancient city of
Waka. Today it is called El Peru.
The Waka project is part of an effort to save an area of
rainforest from farming and other illegal activities inside a
national park.
VOICE ONE:
Also in northern Guatemala, scientists found a stone showing an
eighth-century king playing a game of ball with visiting rulers. It
is the third such stone found at the city of Cancuen.
They also found large pieces of stone with writing and pictures
of leaders. A Guatemalan expert called it one of the greater
masterpieces of Maya art ever discovered in Guatemala.
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VOICE TWO:
A new government report warns that the United States may not have
enough scientists in the future. The National Science Board says the
situation threatens the economic health and security of the country.
The United States is now seventeenth in its share of young people
who train in science and engineering. In nineteen-seventy-five, the
United States was third among nations in the number of people
studying science.
The report says the number of American jobs that require science
and engineering will continue to grow. But the number of people
prepared for those jobs will not.
Today, thirty-eight percent of all the scientists and engineers
in the United States are foreign born. But the National Science
Board says the number of people with scientific training who come to
the United States will decrease.
One reason is because of limits to entry since the terrorist
attacks of September eleventh, two-thousand-one. But there is also
intense competition around the world for people with scientific
skills.
VOICE ONE:
The National Science Board says that even if action is begun
today, the situation will not improve for ten to twenty years. That
is because students have to prepare at a young age if they want to
become scientists or engineers. They must take the necessary math
classes in middle school.
The twenty-four member board governs the National Science
Foundation. This independent federal agency advises Congress and the
president. The report says the government has a responsibility to
support education in science and technology at levels that will
appeal to more students.
VOICE TWO:
Americans do still publish almost thirty-three percent of all
scientific papers. This is one reason why not all scientists agree
about the dangers to the health of American science.
Still, they say schools and scientists themselves should be doing
more to get young people to choose science over business or other
jobs. For one thing, many older scientists will retire in the next
ten years.
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VOICE ONE:
You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English.
The National Library of Medicine, near Washington, D.C, is the
largest center of medical information in the world. It is part of
the National Institutes of Health. Doctors and scientists use this
library. So do people from around the world who just want some
health information.
The library has a service on the Internet called MedlinePlus.
This offers general information about more than six-hundred-fifty
diseases and conditions. There is also a medical dictionary, and
information about medicines. The Web site is medlineplus.gov. Again,
the address is medlineplus dot g-o-v.
The National Library of Medicine also has a Web site for older
adults and their families. This service is called N.I.H. Senior
Health. The address is nihseniorhealth.gov. The library created this
site with the National Institute on Aging. Again, the site is
nihseniorhealth, all one word, dot g-o-v.
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VOICE TWO:
Many people believe they are supposed to drink eight glasses of
water a day, or about two liters. Why? Because that is what they
have been told all their life. But a recent report offers some
different advice. Experts say people should obey their bodies; they
should drink as much water as they feel like drinking.
The report says most healthy people meet their daily needs for
liquid by letting thirst be their guide. The report is from the
Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies. This
organization provides scientific and technical advice to the
government and the public.
The report contains some general suggestions. The experts say
women should get about two-point-seven liters of water daily. Men
should get about three-point-seven liters. But wait -- in each case,
that is more than eight glasses.
VOICE ONE:
There is one important difference. The report does not tell
people how many glasses of water to drink. In fact, the experts say
it may be impossible to know how many glasses are needed to meet
these guidelines. This is because the daily water requirement can
include the water content in foods.
People do not get water only by forcing themselves to drink a set
number of glasses per day. People also drink fruit juices and sodas
and milk. They drink coffee and tea. These all contain water. Yet
some also contain caffeine. This causes the body to expel more
water. But the writers of the report say this does not mean the body
loses too much water.
As you might expect, the Institute of Medicine says people need
to drink more water when they are physically active. The same is
true of those who live in hot climates. Depending on heat and
activity, people could need two times as much water as others do.
All this, however, does not answer one question. No one seems
sure why people have the idea that good health requires eight
glasses of water daily.
VOICE TWO:
It may have started with a misunderstanding. In
nineteen-forty-five, the National Academy of Sciences published some
guidelines. Its Food and Nutrition Board said a good amount of water
for most adults was two-point-five liters daily. This was based on
an average of one milliliter for each calorie of food eaten.
But that was only part of what the board said. It also said that
most of this amount is contained in prepared foods.
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VOICE ONE:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn
Watson. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. This is Sarah Long.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Bob Doughty. Listen again next week for more news
about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.