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DimitarSasselov_2010G-_我们如何找到大量类地行星_
Well, indeed, I'm very, very lucky. 是的,我非常的幸运
My talk essentially got written by three historic events that happened within days of each other in the last two months -- seemingly unrelated , but as you will see, actually all having to do with the story I want to tell you today. 我的演讲实际上是由 三个历史性的事件构成的 这三个事件各自相隔不过几天时间 都是在过去的两个月内发生的 看上去它们毫无关联,但是你将看到 事实上他们都与 我今天要讲的故事有所关联
essentially:adv.本质上;本来; historic:adj.有历史意义的;历史上著名的; seemingly:adv.看来似乎;表面上看来; unrelated:adj.无关的,不相干的;
The first one was actually a funeral -- to be more precise , a reburial . 第一个事件事实上是一个葬礼 更准确的说,是一个二次葬礼
funeral:n.葬礼;麻烦事;adj.丧葬的,出殡的; precise:adj.准确的;确切的;精确的;明确的; reburial:再掩埋;
On May 22nd, there was a hero's reburial in Frombork, Poland of the 16th-century astronomer who actually changed the world. 5月22日,在波兰的Frombork 一个伟人得到了重葬 他是16世纪的天文学家 他改变了这个世界
Poland:n.波兰(欧洲国家); astronomer:n.天文学家;
He did that, literally , by replacing the Earth with the Sun in the center of the Solar System , and then with this simple-looking act, he actually launched a scientific and technological revolution , which many call the Copernican Revolution. 是的,他的确改变了世界 他让太阳取代了地球的地位 让太阳成为太阳系的中心 通过这个看上去简单的改变 他启动了一个 科学技术的革命 很多人称之为哥白尼革命
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: Solar System:[天]太阳系; launched:v.发射;发起;开展;开始;(launch的过去式和过去分词) scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; technological:adj.技术[工程](上)的;因工艺技术高度发展而引起的; revolution:n.革命;旋转;运行;循环; Copernican:adj.哥白尼的;哥白尼学说的;
Now that was, ironically , and very befittingly, the way we found his grave . 这场革命 帮助我们 找到了他的坟墓
ironically:adv.讽刺地;说反话地; grave:adj.重大的;严肃的;黯淡的;n.墓穴,坟墓;死亡;v.雕刻;铭记;
As it was the custom of the time, 按照当时的风俗
Copernicus was actually simply buried in an unmarked grave, together with 14 others in that cathedral . 哥白尼事实上 只是与其他14人一起 简单的合葬在了位于大教堂的 一座没有任何标记的坟墓之中
Copernicus:n.哥白尼(波兰天文学家); unmarked:adj.无记号的;未被注意的; cathedral:n.大教堂;
DNA analysis , one of the hallmarks of the scientific revolution of the last 400 years that he started, was the way we found which set of bones actually belonged to the person who read all those astronomical books which were filled with leftover hair that was Copernicus' hair -- obviously not many other people bothered to read these books later on. DNA分析 作为一个在这场由他发起的 至今已有400年的科技革命 的关键性标志 帮助我们指出 哪一副骸骨 属于哥白尼 在哥白尼阅读过的天文学书籍里 夹杂了很多脱落的头发 这些头发被证实是哥白尼本人的 显然,在他之后也没有人 会去碰这些书了。
analysis:n.分析;分解;验定; hallmarks:印记; astronomical:adj.天文的,天文学的;极大的; leftover:n.吃剩的食物;遗留物;adj.剩余的;吃剩的;未用完的; bothered:adj.烦(恼)的; v.使(某人)烦恼;
That match was unambiguous . 这些鉴定结果都是十分明确的
unambiguous:adj.不含糊的;清楚的;明白的;
The DNA matched, and we know that this was indeed DNA的匹配也十分吻合 所以我们能确定
Nicolaus Copernicus. 这就是尼古拉斯·哥白尼本人
Now, the connection between biology and DNA and life is very tantalizing when you talk about Copernicus because, even back then, his followers very quickly made the logical step to ask: if the Earth is just a planet, then what about planets around other stars? 当你谈论哥白尼时 生物学和DNA 以及生命之间 又有什么联系呢？ 因为就算在当时 他的同伴 也能很快意识到在逻辑上我们所要面临 的下一个问题是:如果地球只是太阳的一个行星 那么其他恒星的行星呢？
biology:n.(一个地区全部的)生物;生物学; tantalizing:v.招惹,使干着急;(tantalize的现在分词)
What about the idea of the plurality of the worlds, about life on other planets? 也许存在有很多个我们这样的世界 也许在其他行星上也存在生命
plurality:n.多数;复数;兼职;胜出票数;
In fact, I'm borrowing here from one of those very popular books of the time. 事实上,我也只是借用了 当时非常流行的一本书上的观点
And at the time, people actually answered that question positively : "Yes." 在当时 人们对于这些问题的回答 是肯定的
positively:adv.肯定地;明确地;断然地;
But there was no evidence . 但当时的人们没有证据
evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明;
And here begins 400 years of frustration , of unfulfilled dreams -- the dreams of Galileo, Giordano Bruno, many others -- which never led to the answer of those very basic questions which humanity has asked all the time. 这是一个持续了400年的 而未得到实现的梦想 伽利略,布鲁诺 以及其他许多追寻这个梦想的人 都没有能够得到答案 一些最基本的问题 一直困惑着人类
frustration:n.挫折; unfulfilled:adj.未得到满足的;没有成就感的; humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科;
'"What is life? What is the origin of life? 什么是生命？生命如何起源？
origin:n.起源;起因;源头;出身;
Are we alone?" 我们是否是唯一的？
And that especially happened in the last 10 years, at the end of the 20th century, when the beautiful developments due to molecular biology, understanding the code of life, DNA, all of that seemed to actually put us, not closer, but further apart from answering those basic questions. 在过去的十年间,这些问题显得尤为突出 在20世纪末 由于分子生物学的进展 我们对于生命的密码——DNA的理解 取得了非常令人振奋的进步 但是所有这些似乎 并没有让我们获得 以上那些基本问题的答案 反而让我们更加疑惑
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; molecular:adj.[化学]分子的;由分子组成的;
Now, the good news. 但是,在过去的几年中
A lot has happened in the last few years, and let's start with the planets. 我们却得到了不少的好消息 让我们从行星开始讲
Let's start with the old Copernican question: 从哥白尼的经典问题开始:
Are there earths around other stars? 其他恒星是否有行星绕转
And as we already heard, there is a way in which we are trying, and now able, to answer that question. 我们已经了解了 通过不断地尝试 人类已经能够 解答这些问题
It's a new telescope . 这是一架新的望远镜
telescope:n.望远镜;v.(使)叠套缩短;精简;
Our team, befittingly I think, named it after one of those dreamers of the Copernican time, 我们团队 以哥白尼时代 众多探索者之一的名字为它命名
dreamers:n.梦想家(dreamer的复数形式);做梦的人;
Johannes Kepler , and that telescope's sole purpose is to go out, find the planets that orbit other stars in our galaxy , and tell us how often do planets like our own Earth happen to be out there. 约翰尼斯 开普勒 这架望远镜的唯一目标 是在更遥远的地方 搜寻环绕其他恒星 的行星 告诉我们,类似地球的行星 在整个星系中出现的概率如何
Johannes:n.葡萄牙18,19世纪的金币; Kepler:na.Kepler; sole:n.鞋底; adj.仅有的; v.给(鞋)换底; orbit:n.轨道;眼眶;势力范围;生活常规;vi.盘旋;绕轨道运行;vt.绕…轨道而行; galaxy:n.银河;[天]星系;银河系;一群显赫的人;
The telescope is actually built similarly to the, well-known to you, Hubble Space Telescope, except it does have an additional lens -- a wide-field lens, as you would call it as a photographer. 这架望远镜事实上 是仿照 我们熟知的哈勃空间望远镜建造的 但是它增加了一个 广角透镜 你们可以把它称作照相机
similarly:adv.同样地;类似于; well-known:adj.著名的;众所周知的;清楚明白的; additional:adj.附加的,额外的; lens:n.透镜,镜头;晶状体;隐形眼镜;汽车的灯玻璃;v.给…摄影;
And if, in the next couple of months, you walk out in the early evening and look straight up and place you palm like this, you will actually be looking at the field of the sky where this telescope is searching for planets day and night, without any interruption , for the next four years. 如果你在接下来的几个月 在入夜不久的时候走到室外 向你的头顶上看 然后像这样伸开手掌 你所看到的这一块天空 就是望远镜搜寻行星的地方 在接下来的四年内 它将昼夜不停地工作
palm:n.手掌;手心;棕榈树;v.把…藏在手中(尤指玩戏法); interruption:n.阻断物;中断时间;打扰;插嘴;
The way we do that, actually, is with a method, which we call the transit method. 我们进行搜寻 的方法叫做掩星法
transit:n.运输;经过;v.运送;经过;
It's actually mini-eclipses that occur when a planet passes in front of its star. 当行星穿过恒星面前时 就会发生一次小规模的食现象
occur:v.发生;出现;存在于;出现在;
Not all of the planets will be fortuitously oriented for us to be able do that, but if you have a million stars, you'll find enough planets. 当然不是所有的行星都 正好在我们的视线方向 但是如果有一百万颗恒星 你就会找到足够多的恒星
fortuitously:adv.偶然地,意外地; oriented:adj.导向的; v.调整;
And as you see on this animation , what Kepler is going to detect is just the dimming of the light from the star. 你在这个动画上将看到 开普勒望远镜将要探测的 只是来自恒星亮度的减弱
animation:n.活泼,生气;激励;卡通片绘制; detect:vt.察觉;发现;探测; dimming:n.调光;变暗;v.变暗(dim的现在分词);
We are not going to see the image of the star and the planet as this. 我们看不到像这样恒星与行星的图像
All the stars for Kepler are just points of light. 所有的恒星对于开普勒望远镜来说都只是一个亮点
But we learn a lot from that: not only that there is a planet there, but we also learn its size. 但是我们从中也能获得很多信息 不仅能判断出是否有行星,还能知道它的大小
only that:只是;要不是;
How much of the light is being dimmed depends on how big the planet is. 恒星的亮度减弱了多少 取决于从它面前路过的行星有多大
dimmed:adj.无效的;暗灰色的;v.使暗淡;变模糊(dim的过去式);
We learn about its orbit, the period of its orbit and so on. 我们还能获得它的轨道的信息 例如轨道的周期等等
So, what have we learned? 那么,我们从这些结果中又能得到些什么呢？
Well, let me try to walk you through what we actually see and so you understand the news that I'm here to tell you today. 让我简单的描述下 我们实际上看到了些什么 那么你们就会理解 我今天要告诉你们的东西了
What Kepler does is discover a lot of candidates, which we then follow up and find as planets, confirm as planets. 开普勒望远镜 发现了很多候选对象 然后我们可以从中确定出 真正的行星
It basically tells us this is the distribution of planets in size. 首先我们能够得到 行星大小的分布
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; distribution:n.分布;分配;分发;分销;
There are small planets, there are bigger planets, there are big planets, okay. 它们大小各异
So we count many, many such planets, and they have different sizes. 我们对大量的行星计数 它们的大小都不同
We do that in our solar system. 我们对太阳系也进行计数
In fact, even back during the ancients, the Solar System in that sense would look on a diagram like this. 事实上,在古代 太阳系的行星数量 可以用这样一个图表示
There will be the smaller planets, and there will be the big planets, even back to the time of Epicurus and then of course Copernicus and his followers. 早在在伊壁鸠鲁或者 是哥白尼 及其追随者的时代 人们就已经知道行星有大有小
Up until recently , that was the Solar System -- four Earth-like planets with small radius , smaller than about two times the size of the Earth -- and that was of course Mercury , 到现在为止,我们的太阳系 有四个半径较小的类地行星 它们都小于两倍地球的大小 这就包括水星
recently:adv.最近;新近; radius:n.半径,半径范围;[解剖]桡骨;辐射光线;有效航程; Mercury:n.[化]汞,水银;[天]水星;温度表;精神,元气;
Venus , Mars , and of course the Earth, and then the two big, giant planets. 金星,火星 这个显然是地球 然后是两个巨行星
Venus:n.[天]金星;维纳斯(爱与美的女神); Mars:n.火星 giant:n.巨人;伟人;巨兽;adj.巨大的;特大的
Then the Copernican Revolution brought in telescopes , and of course three more planets were discovered. 之后哥白尼革命 给我们带来了望远镜 另外的三颗行星也就这样被发现了
telescopes:n.望远镜; v.套叠; (telescope的第三人称单数)
Now the total planet number in our solar system was nine. 现在太阳系中的 行星数目是九颗
The small planets dominated , and there was a certain harmony to that, which actually Copernicus was very happy to note, and Kepler was one of the big proponents of. 较小的行星占多数 哥白尼很高兴的发现 行星数量之间的关系是如此和谐 开普勒望远镜也同样支持这一观点
dominated:v.支配;控制;左右;影响;(dominate的过去式和过去分词) harmony:n.协调;和睦;融洽;调和; proponents:n.支持者;建议者(proponent的复数);
So now we have Pluto to join the numbers of small planets. 现在我们把冥王星归为较小行星的那一类
Pluto:n.冥王;冥王星;
But up until, literally, 15 years ago, that was all we knew about planets. 但是严格来说,15年前 关于行星,我们知道的还只有这些而已
And that's what the frustration was. 我们对此也很失望
The Copernican dream was unfulfilled. 哥白尼的梦想还没有得到实现
Finally , 15 years ago, the technology came to the point where we could discover a planet around another star, and we actually did pretty well. 最终,在15年前 科技的发展终于 能够让我们看到绕转其他恒星的行星了 我们也充分的利用了各项技术来达到这个目标
Finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; technology:n.技术;工艺;术语;
In the next 15 years, almost 500 planets were discovered orbiting other stars, with different methods. 这15年里 我们通过各种方法发现了将近500颗 绕转其他恒星的行星
orbiting:v.[航][天]轨道运行;轨道运动;转圈(orbit的ing形式);
Unfortunately , as you can see , there was a very different picture. 但是,你会看到 这与我们的太阳系有很大的差别
Unfortunately:adv.不幸地; as you can see:正如你所看到的;你是知道的;
There was of course an explanation for it: 对此也是有解释的
We only see the big planets, so that's why most of those planets are really in the category of "like Jupiter ." 我们只能看见较大的行星 所以大多数被发现的行星 都是“类似木星”的
category:n.种类,分类;[数]范畴; Jupiter:n.[天]木星;朱庇特(罗马神话中的宙斯神);
But you see, we haven't gone very far. 但是,我们几乎没有取得太多的进展
We were still back where Copernicus was. 我们又回到了哥白尼当时的情况
We didn't have any evidence whether planets like the Earth are out there. 我们没有找到关于 像地球这样的行星存在的任何证据
And we do care about planets like the Earth because by now we understood that life as a chemical system really needs a smaller planet with water and with rocks and with a lot of complex chemistry to originate , to emerge , to survive. 而我们关心的正是这个问题 因为我们知道 生命这样精密的化学反应系统 只能存在于较小的行星上 需要有水,有岩石 需要很多复杂的化学过程 生命才得以起源,成形,以及生存下去
chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; originate:vt.引起;创作;vi.发源;发生;起航; emerge:v.浮现;显现;暴露;露出真相;
And we didn't have the evidence for that. 但是我没有关于生命的任何证据
So today, I'm here to actually give you a first glimpse of what the new telescope, Kepler, has been able to tell us in the last few weeks, and, lo and behold , we are back to the harmony and to fulfilling the dreams of Copernicus. 所以今天我将会给你展示 开普勒望远镜 在几周之前所取得的最新成果 请看, 我们又得到了类似太阳系的平衡 这几乎实现了哥白尼的梦想
glimpse:v.瞥见;[诗]闪现;n.领悟;概况;见识;一睹; behold:v.看;注视;把...视为;int.瞧;看呀; fulfilling:adj.让人感觉有意义的; v.实现; (fulfill的现在分词)
You can see here, the small planets dominate the picture. 你们可以看到 小的行星占了大多数
The planets which are marked "like Earth," “类地”的这一类行星
[are] definitely more than any other planets that we see. 比其他任何我们所看到的行星 都要多
definitely:adv.清楚地,当然;明确地,肯定地;
And now for the first time, we can say that. 这也是我们首次获得这样的发现
There is a lot more work we need to do with this. 当然,还有很多的工作等着我们完成
Most of these are candidates. 大多数这些行星都还只是候选者
In the next few years we will confirm them. 在接下来的几年内,我们需要确认它们
But the statistical result is loud and clear. 但是统计的结果 是非常明确的
statistical:adj.统计的;统计学的;
And the statistical result is that planets like our own Earth are out there. 统计的结果表明 类似我们地球的行星 确实存在着
Our own Milky Way Galaxy is rich in this kind of planets. 我们的银河系有非常多这样的行星
Milky Way:na.[天]银河;
So the question is: what do we do next? 那么现在的问题是:我们接下来该做什么？
Well, first of all , we can study them now that we know where they are. 当然,我们首先需要研究它们 现在我们已经了解了它们的位置
first of all:adv.首先;
And we can find those that we would call habitable , meaning that they have similar conditions to the conditions that we experience here on Earth and where a lot of complex chemistry can happen. 然后我们就能找到那些所谓的“可居住”的行星 这就意味着,这些星球的环境 与我们在地球上所处的环境 是类似的 在这种环境下,能够发生一系列复杂的化学反应
habitable:adj.可居住的;适于居住的;
So, we can even put a number to how many of those planets now do we expect our own 我们甚至可以给出 银河系所包含的 类似地球的行星
Milky Way Galaxy harbors . 的个数
harbors:n.海港(harbor的名词复数);海湾;避难所;躲藏处;
And the number, as you might expect, is pretty staggering . 这个数目,正如你们期望的 是十分惊人的
staggering:adj.惊人的; v.蹒跚; (stagger的现在分词)
It's about 100 million such planets. 大约有一亿颗这样的行星
That's great news. Why? 这是个非常令人振奋的结果
Because with our own little telescope, just in the next two years, we'll be able to identify at least 60 of them. 因为这意味着我们小小的望远镜 在接下来的两年内 将能够分辨出至少60个类地行星
identify:v.识别:鉴定:确认:发现:
So that's great because then we can go and study them -- remotely , of course -- with all the techniques that we already have tested in the past five years. 这样的话,接下来 我们就能够着手研究它们 当然,只能在地球上进行 利用我们在过去的五年内 所检验过的所有技术
remotely:adv.遥远地;偏僻地;(程度)极微地,极轻地; techniques:n.技巧;技艺;工艺;技术;(technique的复数)
We can find what they're made of, would their atmospheres have water, carbon dioxide , methane . 我们能探测出它们的成分 它们的大气是否有水有二氧化碳和甲烷
atmospheres:n.[心理]气氛(atmosphere的复数形式); v.使有…的氛围(atmosphere的单三形式); carbon dioxide:二氧化碳; methane:n.[有化]甲烷;[能源]沼气;
We know and expect that we'll see that. 我们相信我们能够探测到这些
That's great, but that is not the whole news. 这已经非常了不起了,但这还不是全部
That's not why I'm here. 这还不是今天我在这里进行演讲的原因
Why I'm here is to tell you that the next step is really the exciting part. 我今天站在这里,是想告诉你们我们接下来要做的 绝对是令人振奋的
The one that this step is enabling us to do is coming next. 这一步 将让我们有能力面对接下来的问题
enabling:adj.授权的;v.使能够;授权给(enable的现在分词);
And here comes biology -- biology, with its basic question, which still stands unanswered , which is essentially: "If there is life on other planets, do we expect it to be like life on Earth?" 那就是生物学 生物学方面的基本问题 仍然没有得到解决 问题就是 如果在其他行星上有生命存在 他们是否会类似于地球上的生命？
unanswered:adj.未答复的;无反应的;
And let me immediately tell you here, when I say life, I don't mean " dolce vita ," 我需要说明的是 我所说的“生命”不是指“愉快的生活”
dolce:adj.温柔的,甜美的;悦耳而柔和的;adv.甜美温柔地;n.柔和,柔美;记号; vita:n.传记;履历书;[女名]女子名;
good life, human life. 也不是指人生
I really mean life on Earth, past and present, from microbes to us humans, in its rich molecular diversity , the way we now understand life on Earth as being a set of molecules and chemical reactions -- and we call that, collectively , biochemistry , life as a chemical process, as a chemical phenomenon . 我想表达的是 在地球上过去以及现在存在的生命 从微生物到我们人类 具有丰富的分子多样性 我们所理解的地球上的生命 都是一系列的分子以及化学反应的结果 准确的说,我们称之为生物化学 生命就是一个化学过程 一个化学现象
microbes:n.细菌,[微]微生物;微生物类(microbe的复数形式); diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化: molecules:n.[化学]分子,微粒;[化学]摩尔(molecule的复数); reactions:n.反应;回应;抗拒;生理反应;副作用(reaction的复数) collectively:adv.共同地,全体地; biochemistry:n.生物化学;生物化学过程; phenomenon:n.现象;杰出的人;非凡的人(或事物);
So the question is: is that chemical phenomenon universal , or is it something which depends on the planet? 所以问题就是 这种化学现象在全宇宙都会发生, 还是与 所处的行星有关？
universal:adj.普遍的;全体的;全世界的;共同的;
Is it like gravity, which is the same everywhere in the universe, or there would be all kinds of different biochemistries wherever we find them? 是否就好像引力 在整个宇宙都适用 或者像是各种生物化学反应 因为地域得不同而改变？
We need to know what we are looking for when we try to do that. 当我们努力解答这些问题的时候 我们要明白我们在寻找什么
And that's a very basic question, which we don't know the answer to, but which we can try -- and we are trying -- to answer in the lab. 这个最最基本的问题,我们却给不出答案 但是我们努力尝试 尝试在实验室中寻找答案
We don't need to go to space to answer that question. 我们不需要去太空中 探索答案
And so, that's what we are trying to do. 这就是我们努力的方向
And that's what many people now are trying to do. 这也是许多人正在努力的方向
And a lot of the good news comes from that part of the bridge that we are trying to build as well. 在这个我们不断探索的领域中 也得到了很多好的成果
So this is one example that I want to show you here. 这只是我想要在这展示的 一个例子
When we think of what is necessary for the phenomenon that we call life, we think of compartmentalization , keeping the molecules which are important for life in a membrane , isolated from the rest of the environment, but yet, in an environment in which they actually could originate together. 当我们考虑生命现象 需要满足那些条件时 我们往往会考虑到分离作用 把那些对于生命来说重要的分子包裹在 一个膜之内 与外界的环境分隔开 然而这些分子仍处于 能让它们共同产生的环境之中
compartmentalization:n.划分;区分; membrane:n.膜;薄膜;羊皮纸; isolated:adj.偏远的; v.隔离,孤立,脱离;
And in one of our labs , 在我们的一个实验室
labs:n.实验室;实验大楼;(lab的复数)
Jack Szostak's labs, it was a series of experiments in the last four years that showed that the environments -- which are very common on planets, on certain types of planets like the Earth, where you have some liquid water and some clays -- you actually end up with naturally available molecules which spontaneously form bubbles . Jack Szostak的实验室中 过去的四年间 我们进行了一系列实验 发现在一些特定环境下 一些在地球这类行星上 常见的环境 这样的环境中一般都存在水和粘土 实际上你会得到 自然形成的分子 自然地形成了泡
series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书; clays:n.黏土(clay的复数);v.用黏土处理(clay的三单形式); naturally:adv.自然地;自然而然地;轻而易举;天生地;大方地; spontaneously:adv.自发地;自然地;不由自主地; bubbles:n.泡; v.起泡; (bubble的第三人称单数和复数)
But those bubbles have membranes very similar to the membrane of every cell of every living thing on Earth looks like, like this. 但是这些泡都有膜 这些膜与地球上所有生物的细胞膜 都非常相似 如同这样
membranes:n.细胞膜(membrane的复数);薄膜;膜皮;
And they really help molecules, like nucleic acids, like RNA and DNA, stay inside, develop, change, divide and do some of the processes that we call life. 这些膜使得 像核酸,RNA、DNA之类的分子 能够在膜内演化 转变,和分化 这其中的一些过程,就是我们所说的生命现象
nucleic:adj.核的; processes:n.过程; v.处理(process的第三人称单数形式);
Now this is just an example to tell you the pathway in which we are trying to answer that bigger question about the universality of the phenomenon. 这仅仅是一个例子 用来说明我们如何 解决一个重要的问题: 关于这种现象的普遍性
pathway:n.路,道;途径,路径; universality:n.普遍性;广泛性;一般性;多方面性;
And in a sense , you can think of that work that people are starting to do now around the world as building a bridge, building a bridge from two sides of the river. 在某种意义上,你可以把这个领域内 人们正在开始着手的工作 看作是建造一座桥 在河的两岸建造
in a sense:在某种意义上;
On one hand , on the left bank of the river, are the people like me who study those planets and try to define the environments. 河的左岸 是像我一样,研究这些行星的人 尝试定义生命存在的环境
On one hand:一方面; define:v.定义;使明确;规定;
We don't want to go blind because there's too many possibilities, and there is not too much lab, and there is not enough human time to actually to do all the experiments. 有太多的可能性,我们不能盲目的尝试 因为实验室资源并不多 并且个人的时间也不足以 完成所有的实验
So that's what we are building from the left side of the river. 这就是我们在河的左岸所建造的
From the right bank of the river are the experiments in the lab that I just showed you, where we actually tried that, and it feeds back and forth , and we hope to meet in the middle one day. 而在河的右岸 就是我刚刚展示的实验室里的实验 我们尝试互通有无 我们希望有一天能够在桥中间回合
back and forth:前后移动的,来回的,反复的;
So why should you care about that? 那么,我凭什么让你们听我的演讲
Why am I trying to sell you a half-built bridge? 我凭什么在这里兜售 一座没有完成的桥
Am I that charming ? 我有那么大的魅力么？
charming:adj.令人着迷的;吸引人的;v.吸引;迷住;控制,保护;(charm的现在分词)
Well, there are many reasons, and you heard some of them in the short talk today. 其实原因有很多 你们从今天的演讲中 了解了其中的一些
This understanding of chemistry actually can help us with our daily lives. 这些对于化学的理解 实际上能够在日常生活中 帮助我们
But there is something more profound here, something deeper. 但是还有更深层次的 意义存在
profound:adj.深厚的;意义深远的;渊博的;
And that deeper, underlying point is that science is in the process of redefining life as we know it. 其更深层次的意义 在于科学 正在重新定义生命 如我前面所介绍的
underlying:adj.根本的; v.构成…的基础; (underlie的现在分词) in the process of:在…的过程中; redefining:v.改变…的本质(或界限);重新定义;使重新考虑;(redefine的现在分词)
And that is going to change our worldview in a profound way -- not in a dissimilar way as 400 years ago, 这同样也将深刻地改变 我们的世界观 就如同 400年前
worldview:n.世界观; dissimilar:adj.不同的;
Copernicus' act did, by changing the way we view space and time. 哥白尼的发现那样 改变了我们 对空间与时间的认识
Now it's about something else, but it's equally profound. 而现在转变的,尽管并非对时间与空间观念 但是它的意义也同样深远
And half the time, what's happened is it's related this kind of sense of insignificance to humankind , to the Earth in a bigger space. 最重要的 是关于 它让我们 作为人类 面对地球,面对更广阔的宇宙时 产生的渺小感
insignificance:n.无意义;不重要;无价值; humankind:n.人类(总称);
And the more we learn, the more that was reinforced . 我们知道的越多 这种感觉也就越强烈
reinforced:adj.加固的;加强的;加筋的;v.加强;增援;(reinforce的过去式和过去分词)
You've all learned that in school -- how small the Earth is compared to the immense universe. 我们在学校时就已经知道 与整个宇宙相比 地球是多么渺小
compared:adj.比较的,对照的; v.相比; (compare的过去式和过去分词) immense:adj.巨大的,广大的;无边无际的;非常好的;
And the bigger the telescope, the bigger that universe becomes. 而我们的望远镜造的越大 我们所发现的宇宙就越大
And look at this image of the tiny, blue dot. 看看这个图像上的小蓝点
This pixel is the Earth. 这个像素就代表地球
pixel:n.象素;图像的基本单位;表示显示在萤幕上的一点;
It is the Earth as we know it. 这就是在
It is seen from, in this case, from outside the orbit of Saturn . 土星轨道外 看我们熟悉的地球的样子
Saturn:n.[天]土星;农业之神(罗马神话中的一个形象);
But it's really tiny. 它真的很小
We know that. 我们知道
Let's think of life as that entire planet because, in a sense, it is. 现在我们把生命当作一个行星 因为在某种程度来说的确如此
The biosphere is the size of the Earth. 地球有多大生物圈就有多大
biosphere:n.生物圈;
Life on Earth is the size of the Earth. 地球上的生命 就是地球的大小
And let's compare it to the rest of the world in spatial terms. 现在让我们在空间上将它 与宇宙的其他部分比较
spatial:adj.空间的;存在于空间的;受空间条件限制的;
What if that 如果
What if:如果…怎么办?
Copernican insignificance was actually all wrong? 哥白尼带给我们的渺小感 是完全错误的
Would that make us more responsible for what is happening today? 我们会不会对当今世界所发生的一切 更具有责任感？
responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的;
Let's actually try that. 我们也许应该尝试一下
So in space, the Earth is very small. 在宇宙中,地球非常的小
Can you imagine how small it is? 你能想象它有多小么？
Let me try it. 我们来看看
Okay, let's say this is the size of the observable universe, with all the galaxies , with all the stars, okay, from here to here. 比如说 这是可观测宇宙 的大小 包括所有的星系 以及恒星 从这里到这里
observable:adj.显著的;觉察得到的;看得见的;n.[物]可观察量;感觉到的事物; galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数)
Do you know what the size of life in this necktie will be? 你知道生命在这条领带上 占多大尺寸么？
necktie:n.领带;
It will be the size of a single, small atom . 它的尺寸将会是 一个原子的大小
atom:n.原子;
It is unimaginably small. 不可思议的小
unimaginably:adv.不能想像地;难以理解地;
We can't imagine it. 我们无法想象
I mean look, you can see the necktie, but you can't even imagine seeing the size of a little, small atom. 我的意思是,你能看到这条领带 但是你根本想象不到能够看到 单个原子的尺寸
But that's not the whole story, you see. 但这还不是全部
The universe and life are both in space and time. 宇宙与生命 都存在于时空当中
If that was the age of the universe, then this is the age of life on Earth. 如果这是 宇宙的年龄 那么这就是地球上生命的年龄
Think about those oldest living things on Earth, but in a cosmic proportion . 想象一下地球上最古老的生命 再对比宇宙的时间尺度
cosmic:adj.宇宙的; proportion:n.比例;部分;份额;均衡;v.摊派;使相称;
This is not insignificant . 就显得不那么渺小了
insignificant:adj.无关紧要的;
This is very significant. 而是非常显著的
So life might be insignificant in size, but it is not insignificant in time. 所以生命在空间上是十分渺小的 但是在时间上却不是这样
Life and the universe compare to each other like a child and a parent, parent and offspring . 生命与宇宙 对比起来就像是孩子和父母 父母与子女
offspring:n.后代,子孙;产物;
So what does this tell us? 这告诉我们什么？
This tells us that that insignificance paradigm that we somehow got to learn from the Copernican principle , it's all wrong. 这告诉我们 从哥白尼时代 我们就被灌输的 渺小感 是错误的
paradigm:n.范例;词形变化表; somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地; principle:n.原理,原则;主义,道义;本质,本义;根源,源泉;
There is immense, powerful potential in life in this universe -- especially now that we know that places like the Earth are common. 生命在宇宙之中 是巨大的,有力的,有潜能的 特别在现在我们知道 像地球这样的星球还有很多
potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
And that potential, that powerful potential, is also our potential, of you and me. 这种潜力,这种巨大的潜力 也是我们的潜力 包括你和我
And if we are to be stewards of our planet Earth and its biosphere, we'd better understand the cosmic significance and do something about it. 如果我们都成为 我们地球 与生物圈的管理员 我们也许能够更加理解 生命对于宇宙的意义 能够为此做点什么
stewards:n.干事; v.管理;
And the good news is we can actually, indeed do it. 好消息是我们 确实能够做些事情
And let's do it. 让我们开始行动
Let's start this new revolution at the tail end of the old one, with synthetic biology being the way to transform both our environment and our future. 在前一场革命的末端 开始一场新的革命 人工生物学已经成为 改造我们环境 以及未来 的手段
tail end:n.末端;末尾;尾端; synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物; transform:v.使改变;使改观;使转换;n.[数]变换式;[化]反式;
And let's hope that we can build this bridge together and meet in the middle. 希望我们能够一起建造这座桥 在中间回合
Thank you very much. 非常感谢
(Applause) 掌声