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CraigVenter_2005G-_dna和海洋_
At the break, I was asked by several people about my comments about the aging debate . 休息的时候,有几个人过来问我 对老龄化问题怎么看
debate:n.辩论;争论;考虑;v.辩论;争论;考虑;
And this will be my only comment on it. 我的唯一看法是
comment on:对…评论;
And that is, I understand that optimists greatly outlive pessimists . 我认为 乐观主义者比悲观主义者活得久得多
optimists:n.乐观主义者;乐天派; greatly:adv.很,大大地;非常; outlive:v.比…活得长;比…经久;经受住;渡过…而存在; pessimists:悲观主义者(pessimist的复数);
(Laughter) （笑声）
What I'm going to tell you about in my 18 minutes is how we're about to switch from reading the genetic code to the first stages of beginning to write the code ourselves. 在这18分钟里我将告诉你们的是 我们是如何做到 从最初的阅读遗传编码 发展到我们自己开始编写遗传编码
genetic code:n.遗传密码;
It's only 10 years ago this month when we published the first sequence of a free living organism , that of haemophilus influenzae. 仅仅十年之前的这个月 我们发表了第一个 来自自由活动生命体的基因序列 即流感嗜血杆菌的序列
sequence:n.顺序; v.按顺序排列; organism:n.生物;有机体;有机组织;(尤指)微生物;
That took a genome project from 13 years down to four months. 由此我们将基因组项目完成的时间 从13年降到4个月
genome:n.基因组;染色体组;
We can now do that same genome project in the order of two to eight hours. 现在,同样的基因组项目 只需要 2到8个小时
So in the last decade, a large number of genomes have been added: most human pathogens , a couple of plants, several insects and several mammals , including the human genome. 因此过去十年,我们完成了大量的基因组测序 大部分的人类病原体 几种植物 多种昆虫和哺乳动物 包括人类基因组
genomes:n.[遗]基因组(genome复数); pathogens:n.[基医]病原体;病原菌;[基医]致病菌; mammals:n.哺乳动物;(mammal的复数)
Genomics at this stage of the thinking from a little over 10 years ago was by the end of this year, we might have between three and five genomes sequenced; it's on the order of several hundred. 约在十年前 我们对基因组学发展的设想是 到今年年底的时候 我们或许能完成3到5个基因组的测序 而事实上已经完成了数百个
Genomics:n.基因组学;基因体学;
We just got a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to sequence 130 genomes this year, as a side project from environmental organisms . 我们刚刚从戈登-贝蒂·摩尔基金会获得一笔资助 作为环境有机体项目的副项目 我们将在今年完成130个基因组的测序
grant:v.授予;允许;承认;同意;n.拨款;[法]授予物; Betty:n.贝蒂(皮包品牌); Foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立; organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体;
So the rate of reading the genetic code has changed. 阅读遗传编码的速率已然改变
But as we look, what's out there, we've barely scratched the surface on what is available on this planet. 但我们看到,未来的路还很长 我们仅仅探索了这个星球 表面上浅浅的一层
barely:adv.仅仅,勉强;几乎不;公开地;贫乏地; scratched:adj.受抓损的;有刮痕;v.抓;搔;(scratch的过去式及过去分词)
Most people don't realize it, because they're invisible , but microbes make up about a half of the Earth's biomass , whereas all animals only make up about about one one-thousandth of all the biomass. 大多数人没有意识到这些肉眼看不到的生物 微生物构成了地球约一半的生物量 而所有的动物加起来 也才占地球生物量的千分之一
invisible:adj.看不见的;n.看不见的人或物; microbes:n.细菌,[微]微生物;微生物类(microbe的复数形式); biomass:n.(单位面积或体积内的)[生态]生物量; whereas:conj.然而;鉴于;反之;
And maybe it's something that people in Oxford don't do very often, but if you ever make it to the sea, and you swallow a mouthful of seawater , keep in mind that each milliliter has about a million bacteria and on the order of 10 million viruses. 跑到海边喝上一口海水 或许不是牛津人 经常做的事 但请记住每一毫升的海水里 有大约一百万个的细菌 其中的病毒更是以千万计
swallow:v.吞下;咽下;吞没;相信;n.吞;咽;燕;一次吞咽的量; seawater:n.海水; keep in mind:记住; milliliter:n.毫升; bacteria:n.[微]细菌;
Less than 5,000 microbial species have been characterized as of two years ago, and so we decided to do something about it. 两年前只有不到五千种的微生物 被鉴定归类 于是我们决定做些这方面的事情
microbial:adj.微生物的;由细菌引起的; species:n.[生物]物种;种类; characterized:adj.以…为特点的;
And we started the Sorcerer II Expedition, where we were, as with great oceanographic expeditions , trying to sample the ocean every 200 miles. 我们启动了巫师二号考察 和其他大型的海洋考察活动一样 我们尝试每200英里采一次样
Sorcerer:n.(故事中的)术士,男巫,巫师; oceanographic:adj.海洋学的;有关海洋学的(等于oceanographical); expeditions:n.探险(expedition的复数);远征;
We started in Bermuda for our test project. 考察伊始,我们在百慕大进行了测试项目
Bermuda:n.百慕大群岛(北大西洋西部群岛);
Then moved up to Halifax , working down the U.S. East Coast, the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, through to the Galapagos, then across the Pacific, and we're in the process now of working our way across the Indian Ocean. 然后前往哈利法克斯 接着到美国东海岸 加勒比海、巴拿马运河 穿过加拉帕哥斯群岛,然后横跨太平洋 现在我们正在 穿越印度洋的过程中
Halifax:哈里法克斯(财富500强公司之一,总部所在地英国; n.哈利法克斯港或哈利法克斯市; Caribbean:adj.加勒比海的;加勒比人的;加勒比语的;n.加勒比海;
It's very tough duty; we're doing this on a sailing vessel , in part to help excite young people about going into science. 工作很艰难,我们乘着一艘帆船 某种程度上我们想通过它 激起年轻人投身科学的兴趣
vessel:n.器皿;轮船;脉管;大船;
The experiments are incredibly simple. 实验其实非常简单
incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地;
We just take seawater and we filter it, and we collect different size organisms on different filters . 采集海水,过滤 用不同的过滤器采集不同大小的生物
filters:n.过滤器; v.过滤; (filter的第三人称单数和复数)
And then take their DNA back to our lab in Rockville , where we can sequence a hundred million letters of the genetic code every 24 hours. 然后把它们的DNA带回罗克韦尔的实验室 在那里我们可以每24小时 测完一亿字符的遗传编码
Rockville:n.罗克维尔市(位于美国马里兰州中部);
And with doing this, we've made some amazing discoveries. 通过这些 我们已经有了一些惊人的发现
For example, it was thought that the visual pigments that are in our eyes -- there was only one or two organisms in the environment that had these same pigments. 比如我们眼睛里的视色素 之前认为自然界中只有一到两种生物 拥有和我们一样的视色素
visual:adj.视觉的,视力的;栩栩如生的; pigments:n.[颜料]颜料,染料;[物][生化]色素(pigment的复数形式);
It turns out, almost every species in the upper parts of the ocean in warm parts of the world have these same photo receptors , and use sunlight as the source of their energy and communication. 但后来发现 在温暖海区的 上层海水中 几乎每个物种都拥有这类光受体 并利用阳光作为能量来源 和交流工具
upper:adj.上面的;内陆的;n.靴面;兴奋剂; receptors:n.[生化]受体;接受器;神经末梢(receptor的复数); sunlight:n.日光; source:n.来源;水源;原始资料;
From one site , from one barrel of seawater, we discovered 1.3 million new genes and as many as 50,000 new species. 仅仅一个采集点,从一桶水中 我们就能发现1300万个新基因 相当于5万个新种
site:n.地点;位置;场所;v.设置;为…选址; barrel:n.桶;枪管;一桶(的量);v.飞驰; genes:n.基因;(gene的复数)
We've extended this to the air now with a grant from the Sloan Foundation. 借助来自斯隆基金会的资助 我们已经将研究扩展到空气中
extended:adj.延长了的;扩展了的;v.使伸长;扩大;扩展;(extend的过去式和过去分词)
We're measuring how many viruses and bacteria all of us are breathing in and out every day, particularly on airplanes or closed auditoriums . 我们正在测算,在我们每天呼吸的空气中 漂浮着多少病毒和细菌 特别是在飞机 和礼堂等封闭环境中
particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地; airplanes:n.(美)[航]飞机(airplane的复数); auditoriums:n.听众席(auditorium的复数形式);
(Laughter) （笑声）
We filter through some simple apparatuses; we collect on the order of a billion microbes from just a day filtering on top of a building in New York City. 我们通过一些简单的仪器进行过滤 在纽约市某栋建筑的顶上 仅用一天我们就过滤出数十亿计的微生物
filtering:v.[化工]过滤,滤除(filter的ing形式);
And we're in the process of sequencing all that at the present time. 目前 我们正在对它们进行测序
in the process of:在…的过程中; sequencing:n.[计]排序; v.[计]定序(sequence的ing形式);
Just on the data collection side, just where we are through the Galapagos, we're finding that almost every 200 miles, we see tremendous diversity in the samples in the ocean. 单纯从数据搜集方面 仅仅在加拉帕戈斯群岛 我们就发现几乎每200英里 我们都能从采集的样品中 看到巨大的多样性
tremendous:adj.极大的,巨大的;惊人的;极好的; diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化:
Some of these make logical sense, in terms of different temperature gradients . 不同的温度梯度 或许可以部分解释这种多样性
gradients:n.渐变,[数][物]梯度(gradient复数形式);
So this is a satellite photograph based on temperatures -- red being warm, blue being cold -- and we found there's a tremendous difference between the warm water samples and the cold water samples, in terms of abundant species. 这是一张基于温度的卫星图片 红色表示温暖区域 蓝色表示冷的区域 我们发现,在温暖海水中获得样品 与冷海水中的样品 在物种的丰富程度上具有极大的差异
abundant:adj.丰富的;充裕的;盛产;
The other thing that surprised us quite a bit is these photo receptors detect different wavelengths of light, and we can predict that based on their amino acid sequence. 另一个让我们感到惊奇的事情是 这些光受体能探测到不同波长的光 而我们能通过它们的氨基酸序列来推测这一过程
detect:vt.察觉;发现;探测; wavelengths:n.[物]波长(wavelength的复数); predict:v.预报;预言;预告; amino acid:n.氨基酸;
And these vary tremendously from region to region. 不同区域之间,它们（的机制）也差别巨大
vary:vi.变化;变异;违反;vt.改变;使多样化;变奏; tremendously:adv.非常地;可怕地;惊人地; region:n.地区;范围;部位;
Maybe not surprisingly , in the deep ocean, where it's mostly blue, the photo receptors tend to see blue light. 或许不是很让人惊奇 在几乎是幽蓝的深海里 光受体倾向于“看”到蓝光
surprisingly:adv.令人惊讶地;出乎意料地
When there's a lot of chlorophyll around, they see a lot of green light. 而当周围存在大量叶绿素的时候 它们则“看”到许多绿光
chlorophyll:n.[植][生化]叶绿素;
But they vary even more, possibly moving towards infrared and ultraviolet in the extremes . 在向较极端的 红外和紫外波段移动时 光受体的差别可能更大
infrared:n.红外线;adj.红外线的; ultraviolet:adj.紫外的;紫外线的;n.紫外线辐射,紫外光; extremes:n.极端不同的感情;极端;极度;极限;(extreme的复数)
Just to try and get an assessment of what our gene repertoire was, we assembled all the data -- including all of ours thus far from the expedition, which represents more than half of all the gene data on the planet -- and it totaled around 29 million genes. 为了对我们采集的所有基因 进行评估 我们汇总了所有数据 包括到目前为止考察所得的所有数据 代表了地球上超过一半的基因数据 总共约2900万个基因
assessment:n.评定;估价; repertoire:n.全部节目;计算机指令系统;(美)某人或机器的全部技能; assembled:v.聚集;集合;收集;装配;组装;(assemble的过去分词和过去式) represents:v.代表;维护…的利益;相当于;(represent的第三人称单数) totaled:v.总数达;合计;(total的过去分词和过去式)
And we tried to put these into gene families to see what these discoveries are: 我们把这些基因放入基因家族中 试图回答:
Are we just discovering new members of known families, or are we discovering new families? 我们是发现了已知基因家族中的新成员 还是发现了新的基因家族？
And it turns out we have about 50,000 major gene families, but every new sample we take in the environment adds in a linear fashion to these new families. 结果表明我们找到了大约5万个 主要的基因家族 但我们从环境中获得的每个新样品 都只是对这些新基因家族的线性补充
linear:adj.线的,线型的;直线的,线状的;长度的;
So we're at the earliest stages of discovery about basic genes, components and life on this planet. 因此我们正处在发现地球生命 及其组成部分 和基因基础的最初阶段
components:n.部件;组件;成份(component复数);
When we look at the so-called evolutionary tree, we're up on the upper right-hand corner with the animals. 我们来看下所谓的进化树 我们人类就在右上角,和动物们在一起
so-called:adj.所谓的;号称的; evolutionary:adj.进化的;发展的;渐进的; right-hand:adj.得力的;右手的,用右手的;
Of those roughly 29 million genes, we only have around 24,000 in our genome. 在动物界约2900万个基因中 我们的基因组 才仅仅拥有24000个基因
roughly:adv.粗糙地;概略地;
And if you take all animals together, we probably share less than 30,000 and probably maybe a dozen or more thousand different gene families. 如果把所有的动物算在一起 我们与之分享着不到30000 可能在1.2万或再多数千 的不同的基因家族
I view that these genes are now not only the design components of evolution. 现在我不仅仅将这些基因视为 进化的设计组件
And we think in a gene-centric view -- maybe going back to Richard Dawkins' ideas -- than in a genome-centric view, which are different constructs of these gene components. 而且我们要从“基因中心观点”—— 或许要追溯到理查德·道金斯的理论—— 而非“基因组中心观点”来思考 它们对这些基因组件的构造方式是不同的
constructs:n.构念(construct的复数);建筑物;构图;v.设计(construct的三单形式);建造;
Synthetic DNA, the ability to synthesize DNA, has changed at sort of the same pace that DNA sequencing has over the last decade or two, and is getting very rapid and very cheap. 合成DNA,即人工合成DNA的能力 在过去的十年或二十年里 与DNA测序的能力 在某种程度上是同步发展的 而且都变得越来越快速和廉价
Synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物; synthesize:vt.合成;综合;vi.合成;综合;
Our first thought about synthetic genomics came when we sequenced the second genome back in 1995, and that from mycoplasma genitalium. 有关合成基因组的想法 是在1995年我们对第二个基因组 即生殖道支原体测序的时候想到的
sequenced:[数][计]序列; mycoplasma:n.[微]支原菌,[微]支原体;
And we have really nice T-shirts that say, you know, "I heart my genitalium." 我们还制作了相当不错的T恤 写着,“我爱惜我的生殖器”
This is actually just a microorganism . 这其实只不过是个微小的生物
microorganism:n.[微]微生物;微小动植物;
But it has roughly 500 genes. 却拥有近500个基因
Haemophilus had 1,800 genes. 嗜血杆菌拥有1800个基因
And we simply asked the question, if one species needs 800, another 500, is there a smaller set of genes that might comprise a minimal operating system ? 我们提出疑问 如果某物种需要800个基因,另一种需要500个 是否能用一套更小的基因 组成一个微小的可运作生命系统
comprise:vt.包含;由…组成; minimal:adj.最低的;最小限度的; operating system:n.(计算机)操作系统;
So we started doing transposon mutagenesis . 于是我们开始做转座子的突变发生
mutagenesis:n.突变形成;变异发生;
Transposons are just small pieces of DNA that randomly insert in the genetic code. 转座子是随机插入遗传编码之中 的短的DNA片段
Transposons:n.[生化]转座子; randomly:adv.随便地,任意地;无目的,胡乱地;未加计划地;
And if they insert in the middle of the gene, they disrupt its function. 如果转座子插入到基因中间,就会扰乱基因的功能
disrupt:vt.破坏;使瓦解;使分裂;使中断;使陷于混乱;adj.分裂的,中断的;分散的;
So we made a map of all the genes that could take transposon insertions and we called those " non-essential genes." 因此我们找出 所有能够接受转座子插入的基因 并为这些“非必需基因”制作了“地图”
insertions:n.插入(insertion的复数形式); non-essential:adj.非本质的;不重要的;n.不重要的人或事;
But it turns out the environment is very critical for this, and you can only define an essential or non-essential gene based on exactly what's in the environment. 但结果我们发现环境对此的影响非常关键 我们只能根据 环境中确实存在的条件 来定义必需和非必需基因
critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的; define:v.定义;使明确;规定;
We also tried to take a more directly intellectual approach with the genomes of 13 related organisms, and we tried to compare all of those, to see what they had in common. 我们还试图做一个更直观的研究 对13个有亲缘关系的生物 我们试图比较它们的基因组,看它们是否有相同之处
directly:adv.直接地;立即;马上;正好地;坦率地;conj.一…就; intellectual:n.知识分子;脑力劳动者;adj.智力的;脑力的;理智的;有才智的; approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理; compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较;
and we got these overlapping circles. And we found only 173 genes common to all 13 organisms. 于是我们得到了这些重叠的圆圈,我们发现只有173个基因 在这所有13种生物中是相同的
overlapping:v.(物体)部分重叠,交叠;使部分重叠;(overlap的现在分词)
The pool expanded a little bit if we ignored one intracellular parasite; it expanded even more when we looked at core sets of genes of 310 or so. 如果忽略掉一个细胞内寄生物的话 这个基因库还能扩展一点 当我们审视核心的一组 约310个基因时 基因库扩大更多
expanded:adj.扩充的;展开的;vt.扩大(expand的过去式); ignored:v.忽视;对…不予理会;佯装未见;不予理睬;(ignore的过去分词和过去式) intracellular:adj.细胞内的; core:n.核心;要点;果心;[计]磁心;vt.挖...的核;
So we think that we can expand or contract genomes, depending on your point of view here, to maybe 300 to 400 genes from the minimal of 500. 因此我们认为可以从最少500个基因 扩展或缩小 ——取决你怎么看这个问题—— 到约300到400个基因
contract:v.收缩;感染;订约;n.合同;婚约; point of view:观点;见地;立场;
The only way to prove these ideas was to construct an artificial chromosome with those genes in them, and we had to do this in a cassette-based fashion. 证明这些理论的唯一方法 是以这些基因人工构建一个染色体 而且我们必须用基于表达框的方式来达到这一目的
artificial:adj.人造的;仿造的;虚伪的;非原产地的;武断的; chromosome:n.[遗][细胞][染料]染色体(形容词chromosomal,副词chromosomally);
We found that synthesizing accurate DNA in large pieces was extremely difficult. 我们发现大片段精确合成DNA 是非常非常困难的
synthesizing:v.合成;(音响)合成;综合;(synthesize的现在分词) accurate:adj.精确的; extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地;
Ham Smith and Clyde Hutchison, my colleagues on this, developed an exciting new method that allowed us to synthesize a 5,000 -base pair virus in only a two-week period that was 100 percent accurate, in terms of its sequence and its biology . 我的同事汉姆·史密斯和克莱德·哈钦森 发明了一个让人振奋的新方法 能让我们在短短两周时间内 合成一个拥有5000个碱基对的病毒 而且在基因序列和生物学特性上 都百分百精确
colleagues:n.同事;同行(colleague的复数); biology:n.(一个地区全部的)生物;生物学;
It was a quite exciting experiment -- when we just took the synthetic piece of DNA, injected it in the bacteria and all of a sudden , that DNA started driving the production of the virus particles that turned around and then killed the bacteria. 那是个相当让人兴奋的实验:我们仅仅把合成的DNA片段 注进细菌中,突然之间 DNA就开始引导病毒颗粒的合成 而病毒反过来杀死了细菌
injected:v.(给…)注射(药物等); (inject的过去分词和过去式) all of a sudden:突然地,出乎意料地; particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式);
This was not the first synthetic virus -- a polio virus had been made a year before -- but it was only one ten-thousandth as active and it took three years to do. 这并非第一个合成的病毒 一年前已有某种脊髓灰质炎病毒被制造了出来 但这却是唯一达到百分之一活性的病毒 耗时三年才合成成功
polio:n.小儿麻痹症(等于poliomyelitis);脊髓灰质炎;
This is a cartoon of the structure of Phi X-174. 这是Phi X-174结构的一个动画
structure:n.结构;构造;建筑物;vt.组织;构成;建造;
This is a case where the software now builds its own hardware , and that's the notions that we have with biology. 这是软件为自己构建硬件的活例子 也为我们的生物学提供了新想法
hardware:n.计算机硬件;五金器具; notions:n.观念(notion的复数);小商品;
People immediately jump to concerns about biological warfare , and I had recent testimony before a Senate committee , and a special committee the U.S. government has set up to review this area. 有人立即开始担心生物武器的威胁 不久前我也在参议院委员会 和另一个由美国政府成立 旨在评价这一领域的特殊委员会上作证
concerns:n.关注; v.使关心(concern的三单形式); biological warfare:n.生物战;细菌战; testimony:n.[法]证词,证言;证据; Senate:n.参议院,上院;(古罗马的)元老院; committee:n.委员会;
And I think it's important to keep reality in mind, versus what happens with people's imaginations . 我认为最重要的是将事实牢记在心 而非人们对事情发生的想象
versus:prep.对;与...相对;对抗; imaginations:n.[心理]想象力;空想;幻想物;
Basically , any virus that's been sequenced today -- that genome can be made. 基本上,任何现在已经被测序的病毒 其基因组都可以被合成
Basically:adv.主要地,基本上;
And people immediately freak out about things about Ebola or smallpox , but the DNA from this organism is not infective . 人们立马被埃博拉病毒或天花病毒之类等吓坏了 但从这些生物体中提取的DNA并不具有感染力
freak:n.怪人,怪事;畸形人;反复无常;adj.奇异的,反常的; Ebola:n.埃博拉病毒; smallpox:n.[内科]天花; infective:adj.有传染性的,感染别人的;
So even if somebody made the smallpox genome, that DNA itself would not cause infections . 因此即使有人制成了天花病毒基因组 其DNA本身并不会引发感染
infections:n.传染病;口腔病害(infection复数形式);
The real concern that security departments have is designer viruses. 安全部门真正需要担心的是 “设计者病毒”
And there's only two countries, the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, that had major efforts on trying to create biological warfare agents . 只有两个国家,美国和前苏联 曾经花大力气 致力于生物武器的研制
Soviet:adj.苏维埃的;苏联的;n.苏维埃(前苏联的各级代表会议);苏联人; agents:n.代理人,经纪人;原动力;(agent的复数)
If that research is truly discontinued , there should be very little activity on the know-how to make designer viruses in the future. 如果这些研究真的已经终止 那么在未来 人为制造出设计者病毒的几率微乎其微
discontinued:adj.停止使用的;不连续的;v.停止;中断(discontinue的过去分词); know-how:n.诀窍;实际知识;专门技能;
I think single-cell organisms are possible within two years. 我想两年内制造出单细胞生物是可能的
And possibly eukaryotic cells, those that we have, are possible within a decade. 而真核细胞 我们自己拥有的这种细胞 也可能在十年内制造出来
eukaryotic:adj.真核的,真核生物的;
So we're now making several dozen different constructs, because we can vary the cassettes and the genes that go into this artificial chromosome. 我们可以区分开进入这个人工基因组的 不同表达框和不同基因 使得我们能构建数十种不同的结构
cassettes:n.盒式录音带(cassette的复数);
The key is, how do you put all of the others? 关键是,如何把所有其他的（基因）放进来？
We start with these fragments , and then we have a homologous recombination system that reassembles those into a chromosome. 我们从这些片段开始 然后通过一个同源重组系统 将其组合到染色体中
fragments:n.碎片(fragment的复数);片断;[计]分段;v.破碎(fragment的三单形式);打碎; homologous:adj.相应的;[生物]同源的;类似的;一致的; recombination:n.复合,再结合;[遗]重组; reassembles:重新组装(reassemble的第三人称单数);
This is derived from an organism, deinococcus radiodurans, that can take three million rads of radiation and not be killed. 这来自一种名为耐辐射奇异球菌的生物 能在三百万拉德的辐射剂量下保持活力
derived:adj.导出的;衍生的,派生的;v.得到;推断(derive的过去分词);由…而来; rads:abbr.雷达字母和数字显示系统(RadarAlphanumericDisplaySystem); radiation:n.辐射;放射线;放射疗法;
It reassembles its genome after this radiation burst in about 12 to 24 hours, after its chromosomes are literally blown apart. 在暴露辐射约12到24小时 其染色体几乎完全破碎的情况下 它还能将自身的染色体重新组装起来
burst:v.破裂;爆炸;突破;冲进;n.爆发;点射;释放;(情感的)迸发; chromosomes:n.[遗][细胞][染料]染色体(chromosome的复数形式); literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
This organism is ubiquitous on the planet, and exists perhaps now in outer space due to all our travel there. 这种生物在地球上几乎无处不在 甚至由于人类的活动 它们还可能在外太空活动
ubiquitous:adj.普遍存在的;无所不在的; outer:adj.外面的,外部的;远离中心的;n.环外命中;
This is a glass beaker after about half a million rads of radiation. 这是玻璃烧杯 在约50万拉德辐射下的情形
beaker:n.烧杯;大口杯;
The glass started to burn and crack , while the microbes sitting in the bottom just got happier and happier. 玻璃开始燃烧,爆裂 而位于底部的微生物 则似乎越来越开心
crack:v.使破裂;打开;变声;n.裂缝;声变;噼啪声;adj.最好的;高明的;
Here's an actual picture of what happens: the top of this shows the genome after 1.7 million rads of radiation. 这是实际的情形 上面是经过170万拉德辐射 之后的染色体
The chromosome is literally blown apart. 几乎已经支离破碎
And here's that same DNA automatically reassembled 24 hours later. 下面是24小时之后 同样的DNA自动重组的结果
automatically:adv.自动地;机械地;无意识地;adj.不经思索的; reassembled:重新组装(reassemble的过去式和过去分词);
It's truly stunning that these organisms can do that, and we probably have thousands, if not tens of thousands of different species on this planet that are capable of doing that. 这些生物能做到的真是叹为观止。 如果不是数以万计的话 也许我们还能找到数以千计 的物种也同样能够做到
stunning:adj.惊人的; v.使昏迷; (stun的现在分词) capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的;
After these genomes are synthesized , the first step is just transplanting them into a cell without a genome. 这些基因组合成之后 第一步就是将它们 移植到另一个没有基因组的细胞中
synthesized:adj.合成的;综合的;v.合成(synthesize的过去分词);综合; transplanting:n.移植;vt.移植(transplant的现在分词);
So we think synthetic cells are going to have tremendous potential , not only for understanding the basis of biology but for hopefully environmental and society issues . 因此我们认为合成细胞将具有巨大的前景 不仅仅在生物学基础的理解上 而且很可能帮我们应对环境和社会问题
potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的; issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数)
For example, from the third organism we sequenced, 例如,从我们测序的第三种生物
Methanococcus jannaschii: it lives in boiling water temperatures, its energy source is hydrogen and all its carbon comes from CO2 it captures back from the environment. 詹氏甲烷球菌,生活在相当于水沸点的高温中 以氢作为能量来源 并依靠捕获环境中的二氧化碳为自己提供所需的碳
hydrogen:n.氢;氢气; carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; captures:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;争得;(capture的第三人称单数)
So we know lots of different pathways , thousands of different organisms now that live off of CO2, and can capture that back. 由此可知,通过大量不同的途径 数以千计的生物 能够捕获 并依赖二氧化碳生存
pathways:n.小路;小径(pathway的复数);
So instead of using carbon from oil for synthetic processes , we have the chance of using carbon and capturing it back from the atmosphere , converting that into biopolymers or other products. 因此我们可以通过 捕获大气中的碳 制造生物高聚物 或其他产品 来替代从石油中 工业合成的碳制品
processes:n.过程; v.处理(process的第三人称单数形式); capturing:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;(capture的现在分词) atmosphere:n.大气;气氛;气压;风格; converting:v.(使)转变,转换,转化;可转变为;归附;(convert的现在分词)
We have one organism that lives off of carbon monoxide , and we use as a reducing power to split water to produce hydrogen and oxygen. 有种依赖一氧化碳的生物 我们利用其还原能力 使水分子破裂,制造出氢和氧
carbon monoxide:n.一氧化碳; split:v.分离;使分离;劈开;离开;分解;n.劈开;裂缝;adj.劈开的;
Also, there's numerous pathways that can be engineered metabolising methane . 同样,还有许多途径 能够用来转化甲烷
numerous:adj.许多的,很多的; metabolising:vi.新陈代谢;vt.使新陈代谢(等于metabolize); methane:n.[有化]甲烷;[能源]沼气;
And DuPont has a major program with Statoil in Norway to capture and convert the methane from the gas fields there into useful products. 杜邦公司和挪威石油公司有一大型项目 就是把挪威油气田中的甲烷 转化为有用的产品
DuPont:n.杜邦,杜邦公司;
Within a short while, I think there's going to be a new field called Combinatorial Genomics, because with these new synthesis capabilities, these vast gene array repertoires and the homologous recombination, we think we can design a robot to make maybe a million different chromosomes a day. 我突然想到,将有一个新的领域 “组合基因组学”很快就要诞生 因为有了这些新的合成方法 有了这么庞大的基因序列 和同源重组 我们可以设计出一个 能够每天生产近百万个染色体的机器人
Combinatorial:adj.组合的; synthesis:n.综合,[化学]合成;综合体; array:n.数组,阵列;排列,列阵;大批,一系列;衣服;v.排列,部署;打扮;
And therefore, as with all biology, you get selection through screening, whether you're screening for hydrogen production, or chemical production, or just viability . 因此,所有的生物学特征 都能通过屏幕来选择 无论是制造氢 化学合成,或者仅仅是生存能力
selection:n.选择;选拔;挑选;被挑选的人(或物); chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; viability:n.生存能力,发育能力;可行性;
To understand the role of these genes is going to be well within reach. 理解这些基因的功能 将变得触手可及
We're trying to modify photosynthesis to produce hydrogen directly from sunlight. 我们正尝试改进光合作用 以直接在阳光下制造出氢
modify:vt.修改,修饰;更改;vi.修改; photosynthesis:n.光合作用;
Photosynthesis is modulated by oxygen, and we have an oxygen-insensitive hydrogenase that we think will totally change this process. 光合作用受氧调节 而我们使用的对氧不敏感的氢化酶 将完全改变这一过程
modulated:adj.已调的; v.调整,调节; hydrogenase:n.[生化]氢化酶;
We're also combining cellulases, the enzymes that break down complex sugars into simple sugars and fermentation in the same cell for producing ethanol . 我们还整合了多种纤维素酶 这些酶可以把复杂的糖类分解为简单的糖类 并在同一个细胞内发酵 产生酒精
enzymes:n.[生化]酶(enzyme的复数);酶类,酵素; complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; fermentation:n.发酵; ethanol:n.[有化]乙醇,[有化]酒精;
Pharmaceutical production is already under way in major laboratories using microbes. 在一些大型的实验室里 已经开始利用微生物 进行药品生产
Pharmaceutical:adj.制药(学)的;n.药物; under way:进行中;航行中;在行进; laboratories:n.实验室;(laboratory的复数)
The chemistry from compounds in the environment is orders of magnitude more complex than our best chemists can produce. 环境中化合物的化学 比我们最好的化学家制造出来的化合物 还要复杂很多
compounds:n.混合物,化合物;大院(compound的复数形式); magnitude:n.大小;量级;[地震]震级;重要;光度; chemists:n.化学家(chemist的复数);药剂师;
I think future engineered species could be the source of food, hopefully a source of energy, environmental remediation and perhaps replacing the petrochemical industry. 也许未来的工程物种将成为 我们的食物来源 能量来源 环境补救手段 甚至 取代石化行业
remediation:n.补救;矫正;补习; petrochemical:adj.石化的;n.石油化学产品;
Let me just close with ethical and policy studies. 最后让我以道德和政策上的研究结束吧
ethical:adj.伦理的;道德的;凭处方出售的;n.处方药; policy:n.政策,方针;保险单;
We delayed the start of our experiments in 1999 until we completed a year-and-a-half bioethical review as to whether we should try and make an artificial species. 我们推迟了1999年开始的实验 直到对是否应该尝试制造人工物种这一问题进行了一年半的生物伦理学讨论后 实验才继续进行
Every major religion participated in this. 每个主要宗教都参与其中
participated:v.参加;参与;(participate的过去式和过去分词)
It was actually a very strange study, because the various religious leaders were using their scriptures as law books, and they couldn't find anything in them prohibiting making life, so it must be OK. The only ultimate concerns were biological warfare aspects of this, 真是一项奇怪的研究 因为许多宗教领袖都以他们的教义、经文作为法律 而且不能从中找出禁止制造生命的条文 所以这应该没什么问题 最根本的担忧来自生物武器方面
religious:adj.宗教的;虔诚的;严谨的;修道的;n.修道士;尼姑; scriptures:n.经文,经典著作; prohibiting:v.禁止(prohibit的ing形式); ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则; aspects:n.方面;相位;面貌(aspect的复数);
but gave us the go ahead to start these experiments for the reasons we were doing them. 但只有开始进行这些实验之后 我们才能找出从事这一切的原因
Right now the Sloan Foundation has just funded a multi-institutional study on this, to work out what the risk and benefits to society are, and the rules that scientific teams such as my own should be using in this area, and we're trying to set good examples as we go forward. 目前斯隆基金会已经资助了 一个相关的多机构参与的研究 以确定这些实验给社会带来的风险和益处 同时也为像我们这样的科学团队 在这一领域开展研究制定规则 在前进的同时我们也努力成为一个良好的榜样
funded:adj.提供资金的;v.提供资金;积存;提供资金偿付的本息;(fund的过去式); scientific:adj.科学的,系统的;
These are complex issues. 有许多复杂的议题
Except for the threat of bio-terrorism , they're very simple issues in terms of, can we design things to produce clean energy, perhaps revolutionizing what developing countries can do and provide through various simple processes. 除了生物恐怖主义 它们其实都很简单: 我们能否设计出生产清洁能源的工具 通过各种不同的简单步骤 或能彻底改变 发展中国家的能源生产模式
bio-terrorism:生物恐怖袭击; revolutionizing:vt.发动革命;彻底改革;宣传革命;vi.革命化;从事革命;
Thank you very much. 非常感谢