Based on the fossil records, scientists can deduce the climate conditions of ancient times.

deduce 是动词，由前缀 de-（表示"向下、去除"）和词根 duce（来自拉丁语 ducere，意为"引导"）组成，字面意思是"向下引导"，引申为"通过逻辑推理得出结论"的意思。在科学语境中常表示"根据证据进行推断"。