Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites.

I'm Kelly Kimura.

and I'm Nancy Sun.

In today's news:

More robots and drones for firefighters, air pollution makes flowers smell less appealing to pollinators and the reason why your dog tilts its head when you're talking to it.

Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.

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政府將為消防員採購機器人與無人機

More Robots and Drones for Firefighters

Being a firefighter is an honorable (光榮的) job that comes with lots of risks.

They are one of the first responders (急救員) to respond to various emergencies.

They save lives while putting their own lives in danger.

That's why they need lots of special equipment to help protect themselves.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, there are now many inventions that can help firefighters with their rescue missions.

The government plans to invest $1.1billion NT to procure specialized firefighting gear.

There will be 88 firefighting robot vehicles and 88 drones equipped with infrared (紅外線) sensors.

The equipment will be deployed by 22 firefighting units across the country.

When responding to a factory fire, firefighters sometimes have little information about the interior of the factory.

A robot vehicle could be sent in to gather various kinds of information.

They can scan for survivors, detect hazardous (有毒) materials and gas, and gather details of the floor plan (平面圖).

They can also douse (澆熄) flames with water.

For an emergency in a tunnel, the robot would also be able to gather valuable information.

Other than building fires, firefighters also have to cope with emergencies in natural landscapes.

This is where the drones come in.

During forest fires, the drones would be able to provide real-time images to rescue workers on the ground.

They would also be crucial for locating distressed trekkers in the mountains, or even for locating shipwreck (船難) survivors in the water.

長久以來，災難現場的有限資訊造成了許多消防員的受傷。

The government hopes that this equipment can protect the safety of these first responders.

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空氣污染減少花香對授粉者的吸引力

Air Pollution Makes Flowers Smell Less Appealing to Pollinators

Pollinators (授粉者) are essential to our eco-system.

Bees, birds, butterflies and many other animals are responsible for helping plants reproduce.

Without them, our food supply would collapse (崩壞).

That's why experts around the world are asking farmers reduce the use of pesticides (農藥).

The pesticides not only kill pests but also bees.

A recent study shows that air pollution is also affecting pollination.

Researchers found out that emissions (排放) from cars and factories are breaking down

(分解) wild plant fragrances (香氣).

The fragrance from plants is essential for attracting pollinators.

The experiment studied the interaction between primroses (晚櫻) and hawk moths (天蛾).

Primroses are wildflowers that only bloom (開花) at night.

The hawk moth is a nocturnal (夜行性) insect pollinator.

The researchers first captured air samples that contained the flower's fragrance.

Back at the lab, they analyzed the fragrance and reconstructed the chemical components that attract the moths.

They then made an artificial flower that contains these chemicals.

The researchers also put pollutants on the flower.

The fake flower was placed in a wind tunnel with a healthy flower.

The team then released two species of hawk moth into the tunnel.

One species reduced visitation of the fake flower by 50%.

The other species stopped visiting the polluted flower completely.

The team also placed their polluted flower in a field of healthy primroses.

The visitation of moths to the polluted flower fell by 70% in one night.

This would drastically (大幅) reduce the seed production of the primroses.

In the final stage of the experiment, the team designed computer models.

The model analyzed how plant scents interacted with air pollution.

They found out that air pollution has reduced the distance pollinators can detect scents by 50%.

It is happening in most cities around the world.

This phenomenon is known as "sensory pollution (感官污染)," which means artificial elements are messing with animal senses.

專家表示，他們需要更深入的研究來了解這個現象是否也影響其他物種。

One thing for sure is that humans need to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

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So, in today's News Bites:

The government plans to buy 88 robots and 88 drones, to be deployed by 22 firefighting units across Taiwan.

This equipment will greatly improve the safety of firefighters responding to fires and other emergencies.

And,

Air pollution makes flowers smell less appealing to pollinators.

Chemicals in the air are messing with the hawk moths' ability to sense a flower.

This is happening around the world to pollinators.

Humans need to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

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趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

And now for today's Tasty Tidbit…

Do you have a dog?

Does your dog's head tilt (傾斜) when you're talking to him?

If it does, he's trying to find out where sounds are from faster.

He's also trying to find words he knows, like "sit" or "lie down."

He's listening to how you are speaking to him too. Are you happy? Angry?

Some dogs don't tilt their heads very much.

They listen for sounds less.

But they're looking at you more!

They want to find out the same things!

Whether your dog is tilting his head or not, he wants to understand what you're saying and feeling.

And that's today's episode of News Bites!

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Thank you for listening to today's News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected]. You might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!