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DIYNFruitFlies_2018V-_如何让果蝇吃蔬菜_
Greg Gage : It's an age-old pursuit of all parents, getting their kids to eat their vegetables. 格雷格 · 盖奇（Greg Gage）: 长久以来,所有家长使尽浑身解数, 就为了让孩子吃蔬菜,
Gage:vt.以…为担保;以…为赌注;n.计量器;挑战;抵押品; age-old:adj.古老的;由来已久的; pursuit:n.追求;追赶;追捕;跟踪;
But getting them to eat cookies or ice cream is relatively easy, and that's because our brains prefer sweetness . 但是让他们吃饼干和冰淇凌 却容易得多。 这是因为我们的大脑偏爱甜食。
relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地; prefer:v.更喜欢;宁愿;提出;提升; sweetness:n.美妙;芳香;可爱;
Now, there's a new technology called optogenetics which may be able to trick our taste buds , for instance preferring vegetables over sweets. 一项新的技术,“光遗传学”, 或许可以迷惑我们的味蕾, 比如,让我们更喜欢蔬菜而非甜食。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; buds:[植]芽;蓓蕾;未成熟的人(bud的复数); instance:n.实例;情况;建议;v.举...为例; preferring:v.较喜欢;喜欢…多于…;(prefer的现在分词)
We're going to try this today using fruit flies. 今天我们要用果蝇来做实验。
[DIY Neuroscience] [ DIY 神经科学 ]
The reason why we experiment with fruit flies is they have a small enough nervous system that gives us a fighting chance to really understand what's going on. 我们选果蝇来做实验的原因是 它们的神经系统很小, 从而能让我们有一丝机会 去理解其中的神经运作机制。
nervous system:n.神经系统;
And believe it or not, their taste buds are very similar to ours. 并且随便你信不信, 它们的味蕾和我们的十分相似。
But before we try to manipulate their taste preferences , we need to establish : What is the baseline of the fruit fly ? 不过,在操纵它们的口味偏好前, 我们要先明白: 果蝇基准偏好是什么？
manipulate:vt.操纵;操作;巧妙地处理;篡改; preferences:n.偏爱;爱好;喜爱;偏爱的事物;(preference的复数) establish:v.创立;设立;建立;确立;使立足;查实; baseline:n.基线;底线; fruit fly:n.果蝇;实蝇;
What does it prefer? 它们原本喜欢什么味道？
We call this a control experiment. 我们称之为一组对照试验——
Spencer's been hard at work doing this. 就像斯宾塞正努力做的实验。
OK, Spencer, let's do our first experiment. 斯宾塞,让我们来做第一个实验。
We want to test to see if fruit flies prefer bananas or broccoli . 我们想测试果蝇 更喜欢香蕉还是西兰花,
broccoli:n.花椰菜;西兰花;
So what do we need? 那我们需要准备些什么呢？
Spencer Brown: So we need the fly pad , which is basically an iPad for flies. 斯宾塞 · 布朗（Spencer Brown）: 我们需要一个果蝇平板,类似果蝇的 iPad,
pad:n.软垫,护垫;便笺本;爪垫;肉掌;v.填充,覆盖,保护;蹑手蹑脚地走;做黑账; basically:adv.主要地,基本上;
It measures the touch. 它能够感应并测量触摸。
GG: You put a fly in each chamber ? GG:你在每个格子里放一只果蝇吗？
chamber:n.(身体或器官内的)室,膛; adj.室内的; vt.把…关在室内;
SB: Yeah. Inside, we'll offer them banana and broccoli to see which one they prefer. SB:对。在每个格子里我们 也会给它们提供香蕉和西兰花, 看看它们更喜欢哪个。
GG: In order to count how many times the fruit fly eats a banana versus the broccoli, these chambers have been outfitted with a small electrode that sends data to a computer. GG:为了统计果蝇 吃香蕉和西兰花的次数, 每个格子都装备了一个小电极, 能把信号数据传回电脑。
versus:prep.对;与...相对;对抗; chambers:n.内庭(chamber的复数); outfitted:n.机构;用具;全套装备;vi.得到装备;vt.配备;供应; electrode:n.[电]电极;电焊条;
And so what were your findings on banana versus broccoli? 所以,在这个实验中 你的发现是什么？
findings:n.调查发现;判决;裁决;(finding的复数)
SB: I found that the flies visited banana the most. SB:我发现这些果蝇 吃香蕉的次数更多。
GG: Both were there, but like most kids, they choose not to eat the broccoli, and they go switch to something sweeter. GG:两种食物都在那里, 但是像很多孩子一样, 它们也选择不吃西兰花, 而是转向更甜的食物。
GG: Now a quick background on how taste works. GG:让我们简单介绍一下 味觉的原理。
Taste buds are made up of specialized neurons called taste receptors . 味蕾是由一种叫“味觉感受器”的 特殊神经元组成的。
made up of:由…组成,由…构成; specialized:adj.专业的; v.专门研究(或从事); (specialize的过去式和过去分词) receptors:n.[生化]受体;接受器;神经末梢(receptor的复数);
When we eat something that triggers a particular taste, those taste neurons will fire a signal to the brain. 我们吃东西的时候 会触发一种特定的味觉, 这些相应的味觉感受器随之 会向大脑发送信号,
triggers:n.[电子]触发器;触发物(trigger的复数);v.引起(trigger的单三形式);引爆;
This allows our brain to know what's sweet and what's bitter . 于是大脑便可以知道 什么是甜的,什么是苦的。
bitter:adj.苦的; n.苦味; v.激烈地; v.使变苦;
So when a fruit fly eats a banana, its sweet taste neurons will fire. 所以当果蝇吃香蕉时, 它的甜味感受器就会发送信号。
But when it eats broccoli, those same neurons stay pretty quiet. 而吃西兰花的时候, 这些神经元就会保持相对稳定。
But what if we could force those sweet-tasting neurons to fire every time the fruit fly eats broccoli? 但是如果我们可以 在果蝇吃西兰花的时候 强制刺激甜味感受器发送信号, 那会怎么样？
what if:如果…怎么办?
We may be able to get the fruit fly to like broccoli as much as banana. 我们有可能让果蝇 像喜欢香蕉一样喜欢西兰花。
Enter optogenetics. “光遗传学”（Optogenetics）,
This is the revolutionary new tool that's taking neuroscience by storm, and in this case, "opto" means light and " genetic " refers to the fact that these fruit flies have been modified to contain a special gene that makes only certain neurons respond to light. 这个革命性的新技术 正在席卷神经科学领域。 这里,“opto” 是光的意思, “genetic” 则表示果蝇 被一种特殊的基因修改。 这种基因只让某些特定的神经元 对光线作出反应。
revolutionary:adj.革命性的;革命的;彻底变革的;n.改革者;革命者; neuroscience:n.神经系统科学(指神经病学,神经化学等); genetic:adj.基因的;遗传学的; refers:v.谈及;提到;提及;涉及;描述;(refer的第三人称单数) modified:adj.改进的,修改的;改良的;v.修改;缓和;(modify的过去分词); respond:vi.回答;作出反应;承担责任;n.应答;唱和;
In our case, we've added the special gene to the sweet taste receptors. 因此我们的实验中,我们 在甜味感受器中嵌入了这种特殊基因。
Now here's the fun part. 接下来就非常有趣了。
Optogenetics means that we can control these special neurons whenever they're exposed to a bright-colored light, causing them to send messages to the brain. 光遗传意味着 我们可以让神经元 在受到明亮颜色的光线照射时 向大脑发出信号。
exposed:adj.无遮蔽的; v.暴露; (expose的过去分词和过去式)
In this experiment, we're going to have these modified fruit flies choose between banana and broccoli again, only this time, every time the fruit fly eats the broccoli, we're going to trigger a big bright red light. 在这个实验中,我们要 让这些被修改的果蝇 再次在香蕉和西兰花中 做出选择。 但是这一次, 每当果蝇吃西兰花时, 我们会设计 触发一个高亮度的红灯。
And when the channels see that red light, they're going to open up, and they're going to cause that neuron to fire, and the sweet taste message will be sent to the brain. 甜味感受器上的通道 受到这种光照射时就会打开, 使神经元进入兴奋状态, 甜味信息传送至大脑。
neuron:n.[解剖]神经元,神经单位;
How do you get them out? 你怎么把果蝇弄出来呢？
SB: So we're going to be using a mouth aspirator , so it's just two straws put together . SB:我们要用一个口抽吸器—— 就只是把两根吸管拼一起。
aspirator:n.[医]抽吸器,[医]吸引器;吸气器; straws:n.[作物]稻草;吸管(straw的复数形式); put together:..放在一起;组合;装配;
GG: So it's a fancy name for a straw. GG:说白了还是吸管。
fancy:n.幻想; adj.想象的; v.想象;
SB: Basically. SB:差不多吧。
GG: So you're going to suck those out. GG:所以你要把它们吸出来。
suck:v.吸吮;吸取;n.吮吸;
Have you ever sucked up a fly before? 你以前吸过果蝇吗？
sucked:v.吸,吮;吸收;吞没;(suck的过去分词和过去式)
SB: Once or twice. SB:一两次吧。
GG: There we go. You got all four. GG:好了,四个都出来了,
OK, perfect. 完美。
So you're going to turn on your OptoStimmers here. 现在你在电脑上 打开 OptoStimmer 软件,
You're going to park the light right on top of the chambers. 再把光源放在这些格子的正上方,
So now we sit here and we wait for them to eat broccoli, and then when the light fires, they're going to think it's tasting something sweet. 然后我们坐在这里 等它们吃西兰花。 现在每当灯一亮起来, 它们就会认为自己在吃甜的东西。
Come on. Oh, he's getting closer. 快啊,哦！它要过去了,
Come on. It tastes good now. 快点,现在西兰花变好吃了。
SB: It's about to. SB:快了。
GG: Oh, he's back. All right! GG:哦,它进去了。太好了！
All right, so now we see that some of these flies are switching over from the banana to the broccoli. 现在我们看到,其中一些果蝇 从吃香蕉 变成了吃西兰花。
SB: Exactly, yeah. SB:对,没错。
GG: Every time this light goes off, that means that they think they're tasting something sweet. GG:每当这个灯亮起来, 它们会认为自己在吃甜的东西。
SB: Yeah. So this guy's really going after it. SB:对,它们真的很喜欢甜食。
GG: So we saw that we were able to rescue broccoli and make it just as appealing as banana to our fruit flies. GG:我们看到,对于果蝇, 我们可以让西兰花 变得和香蕉一样诱人。
rescue:n.救援;抢救;营救;获救;v.抢救;营救;援救; appealing:adj.吸引人的; v.呼吁; (appeal的现在分词)
And we're able to replicate these same results in all of our experiments. 我们所有的实验, 我们都能够复制这一实验结果。
replicate:vt.复制; vi.重复; adj.复制的; n.复制品;
So the question is: Can we do the same thing in humans? 现在的问题是:这适用于人类吗？
Well, that depends on a number of items . 这取决于很多条件。
items:n.项目;一件商品(或物品);一则,一条(新闻)(item的复数)
First, do optogenetic tools even work in humans? 首先,光遗传工具对人类 真的有用吗？
And that looks like the answer is yes, and in fact, clinical trials are already being planned that will treat chronic pain and blindness using optogenetics. 这个答案看起来是肯定的, 实际上,已经研究人员 计划在临床试验中 使用光遗传治疗慢性痛症和失明。
clinical:adj.临床的;诊所的; treat:v.治疗;处理;招待;款待;n.款待;乐事;乐趣; chronic:adj.慢性的;长期的;习惯性的;
And the next question is, can we easily trigger a light source so that every time we eat vegetables, it will go off? 下一个问题是, 我们能不能在某人吃蔬菜的时候 触发一处光源？
source:n.来源;水源;原始资料;
For that, I'm afraid at least at this time, the answer is still no. 目前来看,这可能无法做到。
But today, we got to witness just a taste of optogenetics and its amazing potential . 但如今,我们已经能够 浅尝光遗传学应用带来的好处, 并预见其格外光明的前景。
witness:n.证人;目击者;证据;v.目击;证明;为…作证; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
(Music) （音乐）