115 年 國立臺灣大學生命科學研究所《專業英文（H）》

Copy the sentences which are the main question and results for the following abstracts (5 points each)

1. Antigenic variation is the main immune escape mechanism for RNA viruses like influenza or SARS-CoV-2. While high
   mutation rates promote antigenic escape, they also induce large mutational loads and reduced fitness. It remains
   unclear how this cost-benefit trade-off selects the mutation rate of viruses. Using a traveling wave model for the
   coevolution of viruses and host immune systems in a finite population, we investigate how immunity affects the
   evolution of the mutation rate and other nonantigenic traits, such as virulence. We first show that the nature of the
   wave depends on how cross-reactive immune systems are, reconciling previous approaches. The immune-virus system
   behaves like a Fisher wave at low cross-reactivities, and like a fitness wave at high cross-reactivities. These regimes
   predict different outcomes for the evolution of nonantigenic traits. At low cross-reactivities, the evolutionarily stable
   strategy is to maximize the speed of the wave, implying a higher mutation rate and increased virulence. At large
   cross-reactivities, where our estimates place H3N2 influenza, the stable strategy is to increase the basic reproductive
   number, keeping the mutation rate to a minimum and virulence low.
   (a) main question:
   (b) results:

2. Associated microorganisms ("microbiota") are intimately connected to the behavior and physiology of their animal
   hosts, and defining the mechanisms of these interactions is an urgent imperative. This study focuses on how
   microorganisms influence the life span of a model host, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster First, we performed a
   screen that suggested a strong influence of bacterial methionine metabolism on host life span. Follow-up analyses of
   gene expression and metabolite abundance identified stronger roles for vitamin B, and glucose than methionine
   metabolism among the tested mutants, possibly suggesting a more limited role for bacterial methionine metabolism
   genes in host life span effects. In a parallel set of experiments, we created a distinct bacterial strain that expressed life
   span-extending methionine metabolism genes and showed that this strain can extend fly life span. Therefore, this work
   identifies specific bacterial genes that influence host life span, including in ways that are consistent with the
   expectations of methionine restriction.
   (a) main question:
   (b) results:

3. The circadian clock in murine articular cartilage is a critical temporal regulatory mechanism for tissue homeostasis and
   osteoarthritis. However, translation of these findings into humans has been hampered by the difficulty in obtaining
   circadian time series human cartilage tissues. As such, a suitable model is needed to understand the initiation and
   regulation of circadian rhythms in human cartilage. We used a chondrogenic differentiation protocol on human
   embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as a proxy for early human chondrocyte development. Chondrogenesis was validated
   using histology and expression of pluripotency and differentiation markers. The molecular circadian clock was tracked
   in real time by lentiviral transduction of human clock gene luciferase reporters. Differentiation-coupled gene expression
   was assessed by RNAseq and differential expression analysis. hESCs lacked functional circadian rhythms in clock gene
   expression. During chondrogenic differentiation, there was an expected reduction of pluripotency markers
   (e.g., NANOG and OCT4) and a significant increase of chondrogenic genes (SOX9, COL2A1 and ACAN). Histology of the
   3D cartilage pellets at day 21 showed a matrix architecture resembling human cartilage, with readily detectable core
   clock proteins (BMAL1, CLOCK and PER2). Importantly, the circadian clocks in differentiating hESCs were activated
   between day 11 (end of the 2D stage) and day 21 (10 days after 3D differentiation) in the chondrogenic differentiation
   protocol. RNA sequencing revealed striking differentiation coupled changes in the expression levels of most clock genes
   and a range of clock regulators. The circadian clock is gradually activated through a differentiation-coupled mechanism
   in a human chondrogenesis model. These findings provide a human 3D chondrogenic model to investigate the role of
   the circadian clock during normal homeostasis and in diseases such as osteoarthritis.
   見背面
   (a) main question:
   (b) results:

4. Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) maintain the specialized lipid compositions of organellar membranes¹2. In
   humans, many LTPs are implicated in diseases³, but for the majority, the cargo and auxiliary lipids
   facilitating transfer remain unknown. We have combined biochemical, lipidomic and computational
   methods to systematically characterize LTP-lipid complexes and measure how LTP gains of function affect
   cellular lipidomes. We identified bound lipids for approximately half of the hundred LTPs analyzed,
   confirming known ligands, while discovering new ones across most LTP families. Gains in LTP function
   affected the cellular abundance of both their known and newly identified lipid ligands, indicating
   comparable functional relevance of the two ligand sets. Using structural bioinformatics, we have
   characterized mechanisms contributing to lipid selectivity, identifying preferences based on head group or
   acyl chain. We demonstrate some basic principles of how LTPs mobilise their ligands. They commonly
   interact with several classes of lipids and exhibit broad but selective preference, not only for particular
   head groups, but also for lipid species with shorter acyl chains containing one or two unsaturations,
   suggesting that only subsets of lipid species are efficiently mobilized. The datasets represent a resource
   for further analysis in different cell types and states, such as those associated with pathologies.
   (a) main question:
   (b) results:

II. Reading comprehension: read the following article and answer the questions (10 points each)

The Ancient Spark: Redefining the Neanderthal
For decades, the mastery of fire has been considered the definitive hallmark of human evolution. It was the tool that
allowed our ancestors to cook food, ward off predators, and eventually smelt the metals that built civilization. While
scientists have long suspected that fire-making was an ancient skill, confirmed evidence of humans actually starting
fires-rather than just scavenging embers from lightning strikes-only dated back about 50,000 years. However, a
groundbreaking study from the site of Barnham in eastern England has shattered that timeline, revealing that
Neanderthals were intentionally sparking fires as far back as 400,000 years ago.
The discovery began in 2013 when archaeologist Nick Ashton and his team uncovered flint fragments that had been
shattered by intense heat. While intriguing, these stones alone couldn't prove human intent; they could have been the
result of a random wildfire. The breakthrough arrived years later when Ashton discovered a two-foot-wide streak of
reddened clay in the earth. Lab analysis confirmed this was ancient soil that had been subjected to extreme temperatures.
Crucially, the evidence showed that this specific patch of ground had been burned repeatedly over several generations.
Because natural wildfires are chaotic and nomadic, the presence of a persistent, localized hearth pointed directly to
intentional human activity.
The most compelling evidence, or the "smoking gun," was the discovery of pyrite alongside the heat-shattered flint.
When struck against flint, pyrite-often called fool's gold-produces the hot sparks necessary to ignite tinder. This
"strike-a-light" technology represents a massive cognitive leap in human history. Perhaps most impressively, pyrite does
not occur naturally within forty miles of the Barnham site. This means the Neanderthals didn't just stumble upon these
materials; they identified them, understood their value, and transported them over long distances with the specific goal
of creating fire on demand.
This find forces a significant rewrite of the Neanderthal narrative. Rather than being the primitive, slow-witted
creatures of popular myth, these early humans were capable of forward planning and chemical engineering. By using fire
to extract resin from tree bark, they created adhesives to anchor stone spear tips to wooden shafts, a process known as
hafting. This level of technical sophistication suggests a species that was highly adapted to its environment and capable of
passing complex traditions down through the ages.
While some researchers argue that this fire-making ability might have been a localized "experiment" limited by the
availability of minerals, others believe it was a revolutionary technology that would have spread rapidly through ancient
social networks. Regardless of how widespread the practice was, the hearths at Barnham stand as a testament to the
ingenuity of our ancient cousins. They prove that the light of technological innovation was flickering in the darkness of
prehistory hundreds of thousands of years earlier than we ever imagined.

1. What is the primary discovery discussed in the article, and why is it considered "groundbreaking"?

II. Reading comprehension: read the following article and answer the questions (10 points each)

The Ancient Spark: Redefining the Neanderthal
For decades, the mastery of fire has been considered the definitive hallmark of human evolution. It was the tool that
allowed our ancestors to cook food, ward off predators, and eventually smelt the metals that built civilization. While
scientists have long suspected that fire-making was an ancient skill, confirmed evidence of humans actually starting
fires-rather than just scavenging embers from lightning strikes-only dated back about 50,000 years. However, a
groundbreaking study from the site of Barnham in eastern England has shattered that timeline, revealing that
Neanderthals were intentionally sparking fires as far back as 400,000 years ago.
The discovery began in 2013 when archaeologist Nick Ashton and his team uncovered flint fragments that had been
shattered by intense heat. While intriguing, these stones alone couldn't prove human intent; they could have been the
result of a random wildfire. The breakthrough arrived years later when Ashton discovered a two-foot-wide streak of
reddened clay in the earth. Lab analysis confirmed this was ancient soil that had been subjected to extreme temperatures.
Crucially, the evidence showed that this specific patch of ground had been burned repeatedly over several generations.
Because natural wildfires are chaotic and nomadic, the presence of a persistent, localized hearth pointed directly to
intentional human activity.
The most compelling evidence, or the "smoking gun," was the discovery of pyrite alongside the heat-shattered flint.
When struck against flint, pyrite-often called fool's gold-produces the hot sparks necessary to ignite tinder. This
"strike-a-light" technology represents a massive cognitive leap in human history. Perhaps most impressively, pyrite does
not occur naturally within forty miles of the Barnham site. This means the Neanderthals didn't just stumble upon these
materials; they identified them, understood their value, and transported them over long distances with the specific goal
of creating fire on demand.
This find forces a significant rewrite of the Neanderthal narrative. Rather than being the primitive, slow-witted
creatures of popular myth, these early humans were capable of forward planning and chemical engineering. By using fire
to extract resin from tree bark, they created adhesives to anchor stone spear tips to wooden shafts, a process known as
hafting. This level of technical sophistication suggests a species that was highly adapted to its environment and capable of
passing complex traditions down through the ages.
While some researchers argue that this fire-making ability might have been a localized "experiment" limited by the
availability of minerals, others believe it was a revolutionary technology that would have spread rapidly through ancient
social networks. Regardless of how widespread the practice was, the hearths at Barnham stand as a testament to the
ingenuity of our ancient cousins. They prove that the light of technological innovation was flickering in the darkness of
prehistory hundreds of thousands of years earlier than we ever imagined.

2. Why was the discovery of "reddened clay" more significant than the discovery of "heat-shattered flint"?

II. Reading comprehension: read the following article and answer the questions (10 points each)

The Ancient Spark: Redefining the Neanderthal
For decades, the mastery of fire has been considered the definitive hallmark of human evolution. It was the tool that
allowed our ancestors to cook food, ward off predators, and eventually smelt the metals that built civilization. While
scientists have long suspected that fire-making was an ancient skill, confirmed evidence of humans actually starting
fires-rather than just scavenging embers from lightning strikes-only dated back about 50,000 years. However, a
groundbreaking study from the site of Barnham in eastern England has shattered that timeline, revealing that
Neanderthals were intentionally sparking fires as far back as 400,000 years ago.
The discovery began in 2013 when archaeologist Nick Ashton and his team uncovered flint fragments that had been
shattered by intense heat. While intriguing, these stones alone couldn't prove human intent; they could have been the
result of a random wildfire. The breakthrough arrived years later when Ashton discovered a two-foot-wide streak of
reddened clay in the earth. Lab analysis confirmed this was ancient soil that had been subjected to extreme temperatures.
Crucially, the evidence showed that this specific patch of ground had been burned repeatedly over several generations.
Because natural wildfires are chaotic and nomadic, the presence of a persistent, localized hearth pointed directly to
intentional human activity.
The most compelling evidence, or the "smoking gun," was the discovery of pyrite alongside the heat-shattered flint.
When struck against flint, pyrite-often called fool's gold-produces the hot sparks necessary to ignite tinder. This
"strike-a-light" technology represents a massive cognitive leap in human history. Perhaps most impressively, pyrite does
not occur naturally within forty miles of the Barnham site. This means the Neanderthals didn't just stumble upon these
materials; they identified them, understood their value, and transported them over long distances with the specific goal
of creating fire on demand.
This find forces a significant rewrite of the Neanderthal narrative. Rather than being the primitive, slow-witted
creatures of popular myth, these early humans were capable of forward planning and chemical engineering. By using fire
to extract resin from tree bark, they created adhesives to anchor stone spear tips to wooden shafts, a process known as
hafting. This level of technical sophistication suggests a species that was highly adapted to its environment and capable of
passing complex traditions down through the ages.
While some researchers argue that this fire-making ability might have been a localized "experiment" limited by the
availability of minerals, others believe it was a revolutionary technology that would have spread rapidly through ancient
social networks. Regardless of how widespread the practice was, the hearths at Barnham stand as a testament to the
ingenuity of our ancient cousins. They prove that the light of technological innovation was flickering in the darkness of
prehistory hundreds of thousands of years earlier than we ever imagined.

3. How does the absence of natural pyrite within forty miles of the site support the theory of "intentional" fire-making?

II. Reading comprehension: read the following article and answer the questions (10 points each)

The Ancient Spark: Redefining the Neanderthal
For decades, the mastery of fire has been considered the definitive hallmark of human evolution. It was the tool that
allowed our ancestors to cook food, ward off predators, and eventually smelt the metals that built civilization. While
scientists have long suspected that fire-making was an ancient skill, confirmed evidence of humans actually starting
fires-rather than just scavenging embers from lightning strikes-only dated back about 50,000 years. However, a
groundbreaking study from the site of Barnham in eastern England has shattered that timeline, revealing that
Neanderthals were intentionally sparking fires as far back as 400,000 years ago.
The discovery began in 2013 when archaeologist Nick Ashton and his team uncovered flint fragments that had been
shattered by intense heat. While intriguing, these stones alone couldn't prove human intent; they could have been the
result of a random wildfire. The breakthrough arrived years later when Ashton discovered a two-foot-wide streak of
reddened clay in the earth. Lab analysis confirmed this was ancient soil that had been subjected to extreme temperatures.
Crucially, the evidence showed that this specific patch of ground had been burned repeatedly over several generations.
Because natural wildfires are chaotic and nomadic, the presence of a persistent, localized hearth pointed directly to
intentional human activity.
The most compelling evidence, or the "smoking gun," was the discovery of pyrite alongside the heat-shattered flint.
When struck against flint, pyrite-often called fool's gold-produces the hot sparks necessary to ignite tinder. This
"strike-a-light" technology represents a massive cognitive leap in human history. Perhaps most impressively, pyrite does
not occur naturally within forty miles of the Barnham site. This means the Neanderthals didn't just stumble upon these
materials; they identified them, understood their value, and transported them over long distances with the specific goal
of creating fire on demand.
This find forces a significant rewrite of the Neanderthal narrative. Rather than being the primitive, slow-witted
creatures of popular myth, these early humans were capable of forward planning and chemical engineering. By using fire
to extract resin from tree bark, they created adhesives to anchor stone spear tips to wooden shafts, a process known as
hafting. This level of technical sophistication suggests a species that was highly adapted to its environment and capable of
passing complex traditions down through the ages.
While some researchers argue that this fire-making ability might have been a localized "experiment" limited by the
availability of minerals, others believe it was a revolutionary technology that would have spread rapidly through ancient
social networks. Regardless of how widespread the practice was, the hearths at Barnham stand as a testament to the
ingenuity of our ancient cousins. They prove that the light of technological innovation was flickering in the darkness of
prehistory hundreds of thousands of years earlier than we ever imagined.

4. How does the confirmed date of fire-starting at Barnham compare to previous scientific beliefs?

II. Reading comprehension: read the following article and answer the questions (10 points each)

The Ancient Spark: Redefining the Neanderthal
For decades, the mastery of fire has been considered the definitive hallmark of human evolution. It was the tool that
allowed our ancestors to cook food, ward off predators, and eventually smelt the metals that built civilization. While
scientists have long suspected that fire-making was an ancient skill, confirmed evidence of humans actually starting
fires-rather than just scavenging embers from lightning strikes-only dated back about 50,000 years. However, a
groundbreaking study from the site of Barnham in eastern England has shattered that timeline, revealing that
Neanderthals were intentionally sparking fires as far back as 400,000 years ago.
The discovery began in 2013 when archaeologist Nick Ashton and his team uncovered flint fragments that had been
shattered by intense heat. While intriguing, these stones alone couldn't prove human intent; they could have been the
result of a random wildfire. The breakthrough arrived years later when Ashton discovered a two-foot-wide streak of
reddened clay in the earth. Lab analysis confirmed this was ancient soil that had been subjected to extreme temperatures.
Crucially, the evidence showed that this specific patch of ground had been burned repeatedly over several generations.
Because natural wildfires are chaotic and nomadic, the presence of a persistent, localized hearth pointed directly to
intentional human activity.
The most compelling evidence, or the "smoking gun," was the discovery of pyrite alongside the heat-shattered flint.
When struck against flint, pyrite-often called fool's gold-produces the hot sparks necessary to ignite tinder. This
"strike-a-light" technology represents a massive cognitive leap in human history. Perhaps most impressively, pyrite does
not occur naturally within forty miles of the Barnham site. This means the Neanderthals didn't just stumble upon these
materials; they identified them, understood their value, and transported them over long distances with the specific goal
of creating fire on demand.
This find forces a significant rewrite of the Neanderthal narrative. Rather than being the primitive, slow-witted
creatures of popular myth, these early humans were capable of forward planning and chemical engineering. By using fire
to extract resin from tree bark, they created adhesives to anchor stone spear tips to wooden shafts, a process known as
hafting. This level of technical sophistication suggests a species that was highly adapted to its environment and capable of
passing complex traditions down through the ages.
While some researchers argue that this fire-making ability might have been a localized "experiment" limited by the
availability of minerals, others believe it was a revolutionary technology that would have spread rapidly through ancient
social networks. Regardless of how widespread the practice was, the hearths at Barnham stand as a testament to the
ingenuity of our ancient cousins. They prove that the light of technological innovation was flickering in the darkness of
prehistory hundreds of thousands of years earlier than we ever imagined.

5. What specific evidence did the researchers use to rule out the possibility that the fires were caused by lightning
   strikes?

III. Write a 150-word paragraph with a short title on the most exciting biological discovery you have learned about. Briefly
explain the discovery and why it has a significant impact on our understanding of life. (10 points)