A new way to reduce poaching

Researchers are working on a pilot program backed by Russia’s Rosatom Corp to inject rhino horns (犀牛角) with radioactive material, a strategy that could discourage consumption and make it easier to detect illegal trade.

Poachers (偷猎者) killed 394 rhinos in South Africa for their horns last year, government data shows, with public and private game 【小题1】 lacking the resources needed to monitor vast tracts of land and protect the animals that live there. While the toll was a third lower than in 2019 and the sixth 【小题2】 drop, illegal hunting remains the biggest threat to about 20,000 of the animals in the country — the world’s biggest population.

Thousands of 【小题3】 sensors along international borders could be used to detect a small quantity of radioactive material 【小题4】 into the horns, according to James Larkin, a professor at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, who has a background in radiation protection and nuclear security. “A whole new 【小题5】 of people could be able to detect the illegal movement of rhino horn,” he said. Some alternate methods of discouraging poaching, including poisoning, dyeing and removing the horns, have raised a variety of opinions as to their virtue and efficacy.

Known as The Rhisotope Project, the new anti-poaching 【小题6】 started earlier this month with the injection of an amino acid (氨基酸) into two rhinos’ horns in order to detect whether the compound will move into the animals’ bodies. Also, 【小题7】 studies using computer modeling and a replica rhino head will be done to determine a safe dose of radioactive material. Rhino horn is used in traditional medicine, as it is believed to cure disease such as cancer, 【小题8】 as a show of wealth and given as gifts.

“If we make it radioactive, these people will be hesitant to buy it,” Larkin said. “We’re pushing on the whole supply chain.”

Besides Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, the University of Witwatersrand, scientists and private rhino owners are involved in the project. If the method is 【小题9】 feasible, it could also be used to curb illegal trade in elephant ivory.

“Once we have developed the whole project and got to the point where we completed the proof of concept, then we will be making this whole idea 【小题10】 to whoever wants to use it,” Larkin said.

The impact of bullying behavior is not confined to geographic boundaries. Negative impacts and lessons learned can be found across the world. To share the work being done outside the United States, StopBullying.gov is honored to highlight the work of Ditch(抛弃) the Label in the United Kingdom and its CEO Liam Hackett.

Imagine that you have just 【小题1】 a young person bullying one of his peers. How would you respond? Our 【小题2】 is often to punish the ‘bully’ and to 【小题3】 emotional support and reassurance to the ‘victim’. This is what has been used in many cases of bullying – punishment and reactive support.

What if I tell you that there are new and more effective ways of tackling the issue? Ways in which bullying could be prevented from happening in the first place?

Firstly, I would like you to 【小题4】 the words ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ from your vocabulary. At Ditch the Label, we never use either of those words to describe somebody because bullying is a behavior and not an identity. Society has certain 【小题5】 about those words that can be 【小题6】 damaging and frequently discourage people from reaching out for help. We already know that those who are identified as being a ‘bully’ are twice as likely to engage in crime later on in life.

We 【小题7】 8,850 young people aged 12-25 in the United Kingdom and we know that people who bully others are more likely to have difficulties at home, and probably have recently experienced something traumatic or 【小题8】 and aren’t dealing with it in positive ways. As a result, their physical and mental health suffers, with 29% feeling constantly physically ill. The similarity with those who have been bullied is clear – 27% report feeling constantly physically ill.

Finally, the support for the person being bullied is 【小题9】 and should never be ignored. But instead of punishing the person doing the bullying, try to find the root issues and help them through. This takes time and patience, but by helping them overcome their issues, you are 【小题10】 preventing numerous other people from being bullied.

All of us rely on what we see. We say to ourselves, "I know, I was there; I saw it happen,"   and that settle the matter. Or does it? Can we really trust the【小题1】 of our eyes?

Take competitive sports. Fans who see the same game will not agree with each other and will disagree with the referee. “He was out of bounds when he caught the pass” says one fan. Says another, “You're crazy. I saw it with my own eyes. He was five feet in bounds. You must be blind.” The referee【小题2】 that the receiver did step out of bounds. But thousands of fans are still not【小题3】 because they were there!

It's the same story in the court-room. Trial 【小题4】 depends on witnesses giving testimony (证 词). But just now reliable is the testimony of a person who reports what he has seen? In a recent study, ten thousand【小题5】 were asked to describe the man they saw 【小题6】 a crime. The study reveals that, on the average, the witnesses didn’t play 【小题7】 on them!

What can we do to keep error to【小题8】? First of all, don't let your emotions interfere with your vision. Don't see something because you want to see it. Secondly, try to stay relaxed. If you are【小题9】 you are likely to see red when the color is blue. And finally, it helps to make notes of what you see. Don't rely on your memory alone. Take pictures, make recordings, and use any other【小题10】 to reduce distortion (歪曲).