- Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by cataclysmic events in the universe such as colliding black holes or neutron stars.
ü
Ripple
- a small wave on the surface of water
ü
Cataclysmic - changing a situation in a sudden, violent, and
unpleasant way
ü
Collide - if people or things collide, they crash into each other
- Hence the observatory offers a way of looking back in time to unravel mysteries pertaining to the early days of the universe’s existence.
- An example was the effort made to bring some coherence into the source modelling.
ü
Coherence - the
situation when the parts of something fit together in a natural or reasonable
way
- Time and clocks have held a special fascination for humankind down the ages.
ü Fascination - something that
interests or attracts people very strongly
- Working with the humble fruit fly, the three scientists isolated a gene named period that studies had shown disrupted the fly’s circadian clock.
ü Fruit fly - a very small fly that
eats decaying fruit
ü Isolate - to keep someone /
something away from others
ü Circadian - relating to a period of
24 hours, especially to the changes in people’s or animals’ bodies that happen
during this period
- It is this crucial human health angle that has spawned a mushrooming body of science centred on understanding the linkages between sleep and normal metabolic activity, and the potentially deleterious effect of sleep deprivation.
ü Spawn
- to cause
something new, or many new things, to grow or start suddenly
ü Mushrooming - to increase or develop
very quickly
ü Metabolic - relating to the
chemical processes by which cells produce the energy and substances necessary
for life
ü Deleterious - harmful
ü Deprivation - a situation in which
people do not have basic things that they need to live a comfortable life
- The ubiquitousness of the smartphone, tablet, computer and TV screens that may disrupt the circadian rhythm because of the light they emit is being studied extensively.
ü Ubiquitousness - existing or being
everywhere, especially at the same time
ü Emit - to send something
out into the air, especially gas, light, or heat
ü Extensively - in a way that covers or
affects a large area
No comments:
Post a Comment