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JakobMagolan_2017X-_一堂有机化学的速成课程_
I'd like you to ask yourself, what do you feel when you hear the words " organic chemistry ?" 我想请各位问问自己, 听到「有机化学」时, 你有什么感觉？
organic chemistry:n.有机化学;
What comes to mind? 会想到什么？
There is a course offered at nearly every university, and it's called Organic Chemistry, and it is a grueling , heavy introduction to the subject, a flood of content that overwhelms students, 几乎在每一所大学, 都有开一门课程, 就叫做「有机化学」, 这门课是种既繁重又累人的 有机化学入门, 一大堆的内容,让学生无法招架,
grueling:adj.累人的;紧张的;使极度疲劳的; content:n.内容,目录;满足;容量;adj.满意的;vt.使满足; overwhelms:vt.压倒;淹没;受打击;
and you have to ace it if you want to become a doctor or a dentist or a veterinarian . 如果你想要成为医生、 牙医,或兽医, 就得要把这门课读好。
veterinarian:n.[兽医]兽医;
And that is why so many students perceive this science like this ... 那就是为什么很多学生 都这样看待这门科学……
perceive:v.注意到;意识到;将…理解为;认为;
as an obstacle in their path, and they fear it and they hate it and they call it a weed-out course. 他们道路上的阻碍, 他们害怕它、讨厌它, 他们称它为一门淘汰课。
obstacle:n.障碍;障碍物;阻碍;绊脚石;
What a cruel thing for a subject to do to young people, weed them out. 一门学科对年轻人 做这样的事,实在很残忍, 把他们淘汰。
weed:v.除草;铲除;n.杂草,野草;菸草;
And this perception spread beyond college campuses long ago. 很早以前,这种感受就已经 散播到大学校园以外的地方了。
perception:n.感知;知觉;看法;洞察力; campuses:(大学)校园;大学;校园内的草地(campuse的复数);
There is a universal anxiety about these two words. 不论在哪里, 这四个字都让人焦虑。
universal:adj.普遍的;全体的;全世界的;共同的; anxiety:n.焦虑;渴望;挂念;令人焦虑的事;
I happen to love this science, and I think this position in which we have placed it is inexcusable . 我刚好很爱这门科学, 我认为,我们将它 定位在这个位置, 实在不可原谅。
inexcusable:adj.不可原谅的;没法辩解的;不可宽恕的;
It's not good for science, and it's not good for society, and I don't think it has to be this way. 那样对科学没有好处, 对社会没有好处, 我不认为这是必要的。
And I don't mean that this class should be easier. It shouldn't. 我的意思并不是这门课 应该简单一点。它不该简单。
But your perception of these two words should not be defined by the experiences of premed students who frankly are going through a very anxious time of their lives. 但你们对于这四个字的感受 不应该被医学院预科 学生的经验所定义, 坦白说,他们正在经历 他们人生中非常焦虑的时期。
defined:adj.有定义的,确定的; v.使明确; premed:n.医学院预科;医学预科生;术前药物处理;
So I'm here today because I believe that a basic knowledge of organic chemistry is valuable , and I think that it can be made accessible to everybody, and I'd like to prove that to you today. 今天,我来这里,是因为我相信 有机化学的基本知识 是很有价值的, 我认为它应该是任何人 都可以进入的一门科学, 今天我会向大家证明这一点。
valuable:adj.有价值的;贵重的;可估价的;n.贵重物品; accessible:adj.易接近的;可进入的;可理解的;
Would you let me try? 你们愿意让我试试吗？
Audience: Yeah! 观众:愿意！
Jakob Magolan: All right, let's go for it . 讲者:好,咱们开始吧！
go for it:努力争取;加油;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Here I have one of these overpriced EpiPens. 我手上是一支定价过高的 肾上腺素注射器。
overpriced:adj.价格太高的;过于昂贵的
Inside it is a drug called epinephrine . 里面装的是一种叫肾上腺素的药。
epinephrine:n.[生化][药]肾上腺素;
Epinephrine can restart the beat of my heart, or it could stop a life-threatening allergic reaction . 肾上腺素能够让我的心脏 重新开始跳动, 它也可以阻止可能 威胁生命的过敏反应。
life-threatening:adj.威胁生命的; allergic:adj.对…过敏的;对…极讨厌的; reaction:n.反应,感应;反动,复古;反作用;
An injection of this right here will do it. 只要把它注射到这里就可以了。
injection:n.注射;大量资金的投入;(液体的)注入;
It would be like turning the ignition switch in my body's flight-or-flight machinery . 它就像是一个点火开关, 控制我身体的 「打或逃」机械装置。
ignition:n.点火,点燃;着火,燃烧;点火开关,点火装置; machinery:n.机械;机器;机构;机械装置;
My heart rate, my blood pressure would go up so blood could rush to my muscles . 我的心跳率、我的血压会上升, 血液就会被急送给我的肌肉。
blood pressure:n.[医]血压; muscles:n.肌肉(muscle的复数);
My pupils would dilate . I would feel a wave of strength. 我的瞳孔会放大。 我会感受到一波力量。
dilate:vi.扩大;膨胀;详述;vt.使扩大;使膨胀;
Epinephrine has been the difference between life and death for many people. 对许多人而言,肾上腺素 决定了他们是生还是死。
This is like a little miracle that you can hold in your fingers. 它就像是你能够掌握 在手中的一个小小奇迹。
miracle:n.奇迹,奇迹般的人或物;惊人的事例;
Here is the chemical structure of epinephrine. 这是肾上腺素的化学结构。
chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; structure:n.结构;构造;建筑物;vt.组织;构成;建造;
This is what organic chemistry looks like. 有机化学看起来就是这个样子的。
It looks like lines and letters ... 它看起来像是线段和英文字母……
No meaning to most people. 对大部分人来说没有意义。
I'd like to show you what I see when I look at that picture. 我想展示一下,当看到 这张图时我看见的是什么。
I see a physical object that has depth and rotating parts, and it's moving. 我看见一个实体的物体, 有立体深度,也有能旋转的部位, 且它会动。
physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查; rotating:v.(使)旋转,转动;(工作)由…轮值;(rotate的现在分词)
We call this a compound or a molecule , and it is 26 atoms that are stitched together by atomic bonds. 我们称它为化合物或分子, 它是由 26 个原子, 用原子键结合在一起而成。
compound:v.合成; adj.混合; n.大院; molecule:n.[化学]分子;微小颗粒,微粒; atoms:n.[物]原子(atom的复数); stitched:v.缝;缝补;缝合(伤口);(stitch的过去分词和过去式) atomic:adj.原子的,原子能的;微粒子的;
The unique arrangement of these atoms gives epinephrine its identity , but nobody has ever actually seen one of these, because they're very small, so we're going to call this an artistic impression , and I want to explain to you how small this is. 这些原子的独特排列方式, 就代表着肾上腺素, 但没有人看见过这些东西, 因为它们非常小, 所以我们可以称它为艺术印象, 我想要跟各位说明它有多小。
unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物; arrangement:n.安排;筹备;布置;商定;约定;改编乐曲; identity:n.身份;同一性,一致;特性;恒等式; artistic:adj.艺术的;风雅的;有美感的; impression:n.印象;影响;效果;感想;
In here, I have less than half a milligram of it dissolved in water. 在这里,我取了半毫克, 将它溶解在水中。
milligram:n.毫克; dissolved:v.溶;使(固体)溶解;解除;终止;(dissolve的过去式和过去分词)
It's the mass of a grain of sand. 这是一粒沙的质量。
mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集; grain:n.粮食; v.把…作成细粒;
The number of epinephrine molecules in here is one quintillion . 这里的肾上腺素分子数量 是一百万的三次方。
molecules:n.[化学]分子,微粒;[化学]摩尔(molecule的复数); quintillion:n.百万的三次方(美,法);百万的五次方(英,德);
That's 18 zeroes. 也就是 18 个零。
That number is hard to visualize . 这个数字很难视觉化。
visualize:vt.形象,形象化;想像,设想;vi.显现;
Seven billion of us on this planet? 在地球上有 70 亿人？
Maybe 400 billion stars in our galaxy ? 宇宙中也许有 4000 亿颗星星？
galaxy:n.银河;[天]星系;银河系;一群显赫的人;
You're not even close. 都还差得远呢。
If you wanted to get into the right ballpark , you'd have to imagine every grain of sand on every beach, under all the oceans and lakes, and then shrink them all so they fit in here. 如果你想要做更正确的约略估计, 你得要想像在所有 海洋和湖泊底下, 每一个海滩上的每一粒沙子, 接着把它们通通缩小, 塞到这里面来。
ballpark:n.(美)棒球场;活动领域;可变通范围;adj.大约的; shrink:v.收缩;减少;退缩;畏缩;n.精神病学家;心理学家;
Epinephrine is so small we will never see it, not through any microscope ever, but we know what it looks like, because it shows itself through some sophisticated machines with fancy names like " nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers ." 肾上腺素非常小, 我们永远不可能看见它, 透过任何显微镜都不可能, 但我们知道它的外观, 因为它能透过一些 很精密的机器显现出来, 这些机器的名字很炫, 比如「核磁共振光谱仪」。
microscope:n.显微镜; sophisticated:adj.复杂的;老练的;见多识广的;水平高的; fancy:n.幻想; adj.想象的; v.想象; nuclear:adj.原子能的;[细胞]细胞核的;中心的;原子核的; magnetic:adj.像磁铁的;有磁性的;磁的;富有吸引力的; resonance:n.[力]共振;共鸣;反响; spectrometers:n.光谱分析仪;[光]分光仪(spectrometer的复数);
So visible or not, we know this molecule very well. 不论看不看得见, 我们都很了解这个分子。
visible:adj.明显的;看得见的;现有的;可得到的;n.可见物;进出口贸易中的有形项目;
We know it is made of four different types of atoms, hydrogen , carbon , oxygen and nitrogen . 我们知道它是由四种 不同型的原子组成, 氢、碳、氧,和氮。
hydrogen:n.氢;氢气; carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; nitrogen:n.氮;氮气;
These are the colors we typically use for them. 我们通常会用 这些颜色来表示它们。
typically:adv.代表性地;作为特色地;
Everything in our universe is made of little spheres that we call atoms. 在我们宇宙中的一切, 都是由小球体组成, 它们叫做原子。
spheres:n.[数]球体(sphere的复数); v.把…放在球体内(sphere的第三人称单数形式);
There's about a hundred of these basic ingredients , and they're all made from three smaller particles : protons , neutrons , electrons . 这种基本组成元素大约有 100 种, 它们都是用这三种 更小的粒子组成的: 光子、中子、电子。
ingredients:n.成分;(尤指烹饪)原料;(成功的)要素;(ingredient的复数) particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式); protons:n.[物]质子;氢核(proton的复数); neutrons:n.[核]中子(neutron的复数); electrons:n.[物]电子(electron的复数形式);
We arrange these atoms into this familiar table. 我们用这个熟悉的表格 来排放这些原子。
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
We give them each a name and a number. 每一种都有一个名称和数字。
But life as we know it doesn't need all of these, just a smaller subset , just these. 但我们所知道的生命, 并不需要表中的每一种原子, 只需要其中的一些, 只要这些即可。
subset:n.[数]子集;子设备;小团体;
And there are four atoms in particular that stand apart from the rest as the main building blocks of life, and they are the same ones that are found in epinephrine: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. 有四种原子很特别, 和其他原子不同, 它们是生建造生命的主要建材, 也就是在肾上腺素中 找到的那几种: 氢、碳、氮,以及氧。
in particular:尤其,特别; building blocks:(儿童玩的)积木;建筑砌块;堆积木;建筑砖块;基石;
Now what I tell you next is the most important part. 我接下来要告诉各位的, 是最重要的部分。
When these atoms connect to form molecules, they follow a set of rules. 当这些原子连结起来,形成分子, 它们会遵循一组规则。
Hydrogen makes one bond, oxygen always makes two, nitrogen makes three and carbon makes four. 氢有一个键结, 氧总是有两个键结, 氮有三个键结, 碳有四个键结。
That's it. 就这样。
HONC -- one, two, three, four. H、O、N、C,一、二、三、四。
If you can count to four, and you can misspell the word " honk ," 如果你会数到四,且你会拼错 「honk（喇叭声）」这个字,
misspell:vt.拼错;vi.拼错; honk:n.雁叫声;汽车喇叭声;v.发雁鸣或汽车喇叭声;按汽车喇叭;
you're going to remember this for the rest of your lives. 那你一辈子就不会忘记这些。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Now here I have four bowls with these ingredients. 这里,我有四个碗, 里面有这些组成元素。
We can use these to build molecules. 我们可以用它们来建立分子。
Let's start with epinephrine. 咱们从肾上腺素开始。
Now, these bonds between atoms, they're made of electrons. 在原子之间的键结, 是由电子组成的。
Atoms use electrons like arms to reach out and hold their neighbors. 原子把电子当成手臂来用, 向外伸,抓住它们的邻居。
Two electrons in each bond, like a handshake , and like a handshake , they are not permanent . 每个键结有两个电子, 就像在握手, 还有一点也像握手: 它们并非永久的。
handshake:n.握手; permanent:adj.永久的,永恒的;n.烫发;
They can let go of one atom and grab another. 它们会放掉一个原子, 去抓另一个。
grab:v.攫取;霸占;将…深深吸引;n.攫取;霸占;夺取之物;
That's what we call a chemical reaction, when atoms exchange partners and make new molecules. 那就是我们所谓的化学反应, 原子会交换伙伴,并形成新分子。
exchange:n.交换;交流;交易所;兑换;v.交换;交易;兑换;
The backbone of epinephrine is made mostly of carbon atoms, and that's common. 肾上腺素的主要骨干 大部分是由碳原子所组成, 那很常见。
backbone:n.支柱;主干网;决心,毅力;脊椎;
Carbon is life's favorite structural building material, because it makes a good number of handshakes with just the right grip strength. 碳是生命最喜欢的结构建材, 因为它握手的数量很理想, 握手的力量也很恰好。
structural:adj.结构的;建筑的; handshakes:n.握手;(handshake的复数) grip:n.紧握;柄;支配;握拍方式;拍柄绷带;vt.紧握;夹紧;vi.抓住;
That's why we define organic chemistry as the study of carbon molecules. 那就是为什么我们把有机化学 定义为对碳原子的研究。
Now, if we build the smallest molecules we can think of that follow our rules, they highlight our rules, and they have familiar names: water, ammonia and methane , H20 and NH3 and CH4. 如果我们依据我们的规则, 建造出我们所能想出最小的分子, 它们会突显出我们的规则, 且它们的名字都很耳熟: 水、氨、甲烷, 即 H2O、NH3,和 CH4。
highlight:vt.突出;强调;使显著;加亮;n.最精彩的部分;最重要的事情;加亮区; ammonia:n.[无化]氨,阿摩尼亚; methane:n.[有化]甲烷;[能源]沼气;
The words "hydrogen," "oxygen" and "nitrogen" -- we use the same words to name these three molecules that have two atoms each. 「氢」、「氧」, 和「氮」这些字—— 这三个分子都各 含有两个相同的原子, 所以我们直接以 原子的名字来命名它们。
They still follow the rules, because they have one, two and three bonds between them. 它们仍然遵循规则, 因为它们之间的键结数 为一、二,以及三个。
That's why oxygen gets called O2. 那就是为什么氧气要叫 O2。
I can show you combustion . 我可以展示燃烧给各位看。
combustion:n.燃烧,氧化;骚动;
Here's carbon dioxide , CO2. 这是二氧化碳,CO2。
carbon dioxide:二氧化碳;
Above it, let's place water and oxygen, and beside it, some flammable fuels. 在上面,我们放上水和氧, 在旁边,是可燃的燃料。
flammable:adj.易燃的;可燃的;可燃性的;n.易燃物;
These fuels are made of just hydrogen and carbon. 这些燃料的成份只有氢和碳。
That's why we call them hydrocarbons . We're very creative . 所以它们被称为碳氢化合物。 我们很有创意。
hydrocarbons:n.烃类(hydrocarbon的复数);[有化]碳氢化合物; creative:adj.创造性的;
(Laughter) （笑声）
So when these crash into molecules of oxygen, as they do in your engine or in your barbecues , they release energy and they reassemble , and every carbon atom ends up at the center of a CO2 molecule, holding on to two oxygens , and all the hydrogens end up as parts of waters, and everybody follows the rules. 当这些分子撞上氧分子, 就像在引擎或烤肉野餐 所发生的状况, 它们就会释出能量、重组, 每个碳原子最后都会成为 一个 CO2 分子的中心, 抓住两个氧原子, 所有的氢最后都会成为水的一部分, 大家都会遵循规则。
barbecues:n.烤肉;烤肉架;v.烧烤;在户外烤肉;(barbecue的第三人称单数和复数) release:v.释放;发射;让与;允许发表;n.释放;发布;让与; reassemble:vi.重新集合;vt.重新装配;重新召集; oxygens:n.[化学]氧气,[化学]氧; hydrogens:n.[化学]氢;
They are not optional , and they're not optional for bigger molecules either, like these three. 没得选, 更大的分子也没得选, 比如这三个分子。
optional:adj.可选择的,随意的;n.选修科目;
This is our favorite vitamin sitting next to our favorite drug, 这是我们最爱的维他命, 旁边是我们最爱的药物,
vitamin:n.维生素;维他命;
(Laughter) （笑声）
and morphine is one of the most important stories in medical history. 在医疗史上,吗啡是 最重要的故事之一。
morphine:n.[毒物][药]吗啡;
It marks medicine's first real triumph over physical pain, and every molecule has a story, and they are all published. 它代表的是医学第一次 战胜了身体的痛苦, 每个分子都有一段故事, 通通都已经出版。
triumph:v.战胜;成功;打败;n.巨大成功;重大成就;伟大胜利;喜悦;
They're written by scientists, and they're read by other scientists, so we have handy representations to do this quickly on paper, and I need to teach you how to do that. 这些故事是由科学家所写, 读者则是其他科学家, 所以,我们有方便的表示方式, 方便论文的读写, 而我得要教各位这些表示方式。
handy:adj.便利的;手边的,就近的;容易取得的;敏捷的; representations:代表;表现(representation的复数);
So we lay epinephrine flat on a page, and then we replace all the spheres with simple letters, and then the bonds that lie in the plane of the page, they just become regular lines, and the bonds that point forwards and backwards, they become little triangles , either solid or dashed to indicate depth. 我们把肾上腺素 摊平放在一张纸上, 接着,我们把所有的球体 都换成简单的字母, 再把平面纸上的那些键结也换掉, 换成一般的线段, 至于指向前以及向后的那些键结, 就换成小三角形, 用实心或是虚线来呈现深度。
triangles:n.[数]三角形,三角型态(triangle的复数形式); indicate:v.表明;显示;象征;暗示;
We don't actually draw these carbons. 我们不会真的画出这些碳。
We save time by just hiding them. 为了节省时间, 我们会把它们隐藏起来。
They're represented by corners between the bonds, and we also hide every hydrogen that's bonded to a carbon. 键结之间的转角,就表示碳, 我们也会把和碳 连结的氢给隐藏起来。
represented:v.代表; (represent的过去式和过去分词)
We know they're there whenever a carbon is showing us any fewer than four bonds. 我们只要看到一个碳 旁边的键结不到四个, 就知道有氢在那里。
The last thing that's done is the bonds between OH and NH. 最后处理的是 OH 和 NH 间的键结。
We just get rid of those to make it cleaner, and that's all there is to it. 我们直接把它们拿掉, 让画面更干净, 就只有这样而已。
This is the professional way to draw molecules. 这是画分子的专業方法。
professional:adj.专业的;职业的;职业性的;n.专业人员;职业运动员;
This is what you see on Wikipedia pages. 在维基百科上 看到的图就是这种图。
Wikipedia:维基百科;
It takes a little bit of practice, but I think everyone here could do it, but for today, this is epinephrine. 需要一点练习,但我认为 这里人人都做得到, 但今天,知道这是肾上腺素即可。
This is also called adrenaline . They're one and the same . epinephrine 和 adrenaline 这两个字都是指肾上腺素。
adrenaline:n.[生化]肾上腺素; one and the same:同一个;完全一回事;
It's made by your adrenal glands . 它是由你的肾上腺制造的。
glands:n.腺体(gland的复数);气封;
You have this molecule swimming through your body right now. 现在你的体内就有 这种分子在游动。
It's a natural molecule. 它是种天然分子。
This EpiPen would just give you a quick quintillion more of them. 这支肾上腺素注射器只是很快地 再补给十的十八次方个给你。
(Laughter) （笑声）
We can extract epinephrine from the adrenal glands of sheep or cattle, but that's not where this stuff comes from. 我们可以从羊或牛的肾上腺 抽取出肾上腺素, 但我手上的这东西 并不是这么来的。
extract:v.提取;取出;摘录;榨取;n.汁;摘录;榨出物;选粹; stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
We make this epinephrine in a factory by stitching together smaller molecules that come mostly from petroleum . 这种肾上腺素是在工厂制造的, 做法是把比较小的分子结合起来, 而这些分子通常都来自石油。
stitching:n.(一行)针脚;v.缝补;缝合(伤口);(stitch的现在分词) petroleum:n.石油;
And this is 100 percent synthetic . 这是 100% 合成的。
synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物;
And that word, "synthetic," makes some of us uncomfortable. 「合成」这个词会让 一些人感到不舒服。
It's not like the word "natural," which makes us feel safe. 它不像是「天然」这个词 会让我们感到安全。
But these two molecules, they cannot be distinguished . 但这两种分子其实 完全一样,无法区别。
distinguished:adj.尊贵的; v.区分;
We're not talking about two cars that are coming off an assembly line here. 我们并不是在谈同一条 生产线上产出的两台车。
assembly line:na.装配线;
A car can have a scratch on it, and you can't scratch an atom. 车体上可能会有刮痕, 你无法去刮一个原子。
These two are identical in a surreal , almost mathematical sense. 在一种超现实,几乎可说是数学的 意义上,这两种分子是一样的。
identical:adj.同一的;完全相同的;n.完全相同的事物; surreal:adj.超现实主义的;离奇的;不真实的; mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的;
At this atomic scale , math practically touches reality. 在原子的尺度上, 数学几乎是切中现实的。
scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢; practically:adv.实际地;几乎;事实上;
And a molecule of epinephrine ... 而肾上腺素的分子——
it has no memory of its origin . 它不会记着它的来源。
origin:n.起源;起因;源头;出身;
It just is what it is, and once you have it, the words "natural" and "synthetic," they don't matter, and nature synthesizes this molecule just like we do, except nature is much better at this than we are. 它就是它, 一旦你有了它, 是「天然」或「合成」 都无所谓了, 且大自然和我们用同样的方式 合成这种分子, 只差在大自然比我们 更擅常这件事。
synthesizes:vt.合成;综合;vi.合成;综合;
Before there was life on earth, all the molecules were small, simple: carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, just simple things. 在地球上有生命出现之前, 所有的分子都很小、很简单: 二氧化碳、水、氮, 都是简单的东西。
The emergence of life changed that. 生命的出现带来了改变。
emergence:n.出现,浮现;发生;露头;
Life brought biosynthetic factories that are powered by sunlight , and inside these factories, small molecules crash into each other and become large ones: carbohydrates , proteins , nucleic acids, multitudes of spectacular creations . 生命带来了生物合成工厂, 靠太阳能提供能量, 在这些工厂内, 小分子会发生碰撞, 变成较大的分子: 碳氢化合物、蛋白质、核酸, 许许多多了不起的创造物。
biosynthetic:adj.生物合成的; sunlight:n.日光; carbohydrates:n.碳水化合物;糖类;(carbohydrate的复数) proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数); nucleic:adj.核的; multitudes:n.众多;大量;群众;民众;人群;(multitude的复数) spectacular:adj.壮观的;壮丽的;令人惊叹的;n.壮观的场面;精彩的表演; creations:n.创作;创造物(creation的复数形式);
Nature is the original organic chemist, and her construction also fills our sky with the oxygen gas we breathe, this high-energy oxygen. 大自然是最原始的有机化学家, 靠它的建造,我们的天空中 才会充满了我们呼吸的氧气, 这种高能的氧。
original:n.原件;原作;原物;原型;adj.原始的;最初的;独创的;新颖的; construction:n.建设;建筑物;解释;造句; high-energy:高能的;
All of these molecules are infused with the energy of the sun. 太阳的能量会注入 所有这些分子之中,
infused:灌输;
They store it like batteries . 存在分子之中,就像电池。
batteries:n.电池;炮组;炮列;[法]殴打;(batteries是battery的复数)
So nature is made of chemicals . 所以,大自然是由 化学物质组成的。
chemicals:n.化学制品;化学品;(chemical的复数)
Maybe you guys can help me to reclaim this word, "chemical," 也许各位可以协助我 恢复「化学」这个词的意思,
reclaim:v.开拓;回收再利用;改造某人,使某人悔改;n.改造,感化;再生胶;
because it has been stolen from us. 因为它被从我们身上偷走了。
It doesn't mean toxic , and it doesn't mean harmful, and it doesn't mean man-made or unnatural . 它并不是指有毒,不是指有害, 它也不是指人造的或非自然的。
toxic:adj.有毒的;中毒的; man-made:adj.人造的;人工的;合成的; unnatural:adj.不自然的;反常的;不近人情的;
It just means "stuff," OK? 它的意思就只是「原料」,好吗？
(Laughter) （笑声）
You can't have chemical-free lump charcoal . 不可能会有任何木炭块 是没有化学物质的。
lump:n.肿块;(通常为无定形的)块;隆起;笨重的人;v.把…归并一起(或合起来考虑); charcoal:n.木炭; vt.用木炭画(过去式charcoaled,过去分词charcoaled,现在分词charcoaling,第三人称单数charcoals);
That is ridiculous . 那太荒谬了。
ridiculous:adj.可笑的;荒谬的;
(Laughter) （笑声）
And I'd like to do one more word. 我还想再谈一个词。
The word "natural" doesn't mean "safe," 「天然」这个词并不表示「安全」,
and you all know that. 你们都知道这一点。
Plenty of nature's chemicals are quite toxic, and others are delicious, and some are both ... 很多大自然的 化学物质是相当毒的, 有些则是很可口, 有些两者都是……
(Laughter) （笑声）
toxic and delicious. 又毒又可口。
The only way to tell whether something is harmful is to test it, and I don't mean you guys. 只有一种方式可以分辨 一样东西是否有害, 就是去测试它, 我不是指在座各位。
Professional toxicologists : we have these people. 专業毒物学家:有这种人存在。
toxicologists:n.毒理学家;
They're well-trained , and you should trust them like I do. 他们受过很好的训练, 你们应该跟我一样相信他们。
well-trained:adj.训练有素的;良好训练;
So nature's molecules are everywhere, including the ones that have decomposed into these black mixtures that we call petroleum. 所以,大自然的分子无所不在, 其中有些分子,已经分解成 这种被我们称为石油的黑色混合物。
decomposed:adj.已腐烂的,已分解的; mixtures:n.[化学]混合物(mixture的复数);配合料;
We refine these molecules. 我们精炼这些分子。
refine:v.精炼;改进;改善;提纯;
There's nothing unnatural about them. 这么做一点也不会「不天然」。
We purify them. 我们将它们纯化。
purify:v.使(某物)洁净;净化(心灵);提纯;精炼;
Now, our dependence on them for energy -- that means that every one of those carbons gets converted into a molecule of CO2. 在能源方面,我们要依赖它们—— 那就表示,那些碳全部 都会被转换成 CO2 分子。
dependence:n.依赖;依靠;信任;信赖; converted:adj.修改的;改变信仰的;v.转变;改变信仰(convert的过去式和过去分词形式);
That's a greenhouse gas that is messing up our climate. 那是一种温室气体, 会扰乱我们的气候。
greenhouse gas:n.温室气体(尤指二氧化碳); messing:v.使不整洁;弄脏;弄乱;随地便溺;(mess的现在分词)
Maybe knowing this chemistry will make that reality easier to accept for some people, I don't know, but these molecules are not just fossil fuels. 也许对一些人而言, 知道这种化学特性, 会比较容易接受现实,我不知道, 但这些分子并不只是化石燃料。
fossil:n.化石;老人;老古董;adj.从地下发掘出来的;化石的;属于旧时代的;陈腐的;
They're also the cheapest available raw materials for doing something that we call synthesis . 要做合成时,它们也是 可得原料当中最便宜的。
synthesis:n.综合,[化学]合成;综合体;
We're using them like pieces of LEGO . 我们把它们当成乐高积木来使用。
LEGO:n.乐高积木(商标名);
We have learned how to connect them or break them apart with great control. 我们已经学会如何连结它们 或在得宜的掌控下将它们拆解。
I have done a lot of this myself, and I still think it's amazing it's even possible. 我自己就常常这么做, 我仍然觉得能做到这样 真的很了不起。
What we do is kind of like assembling LEGO by dumping boxes of it into washing machines, but it works. 我们所做的, 就像是组合乐高积木, 但做法是把整盒积木 倒到洗衣机里面, 但这样是可行的。
assembling:v.聚集;集合;收集;装配;组装;(assemble的现在分词) dumping:n.倾倒,倾卸;v.丢弃,扔掉;抛弃;抛售;(dump的现在分词)
We can make molecules that are exact copies of nature, like epinephrine, or we can make creations of our own from scratch , like these two. 我们能做出和天然分子 一样的分子,就像肾上腺素, 或者我们也可以自己 从无到有来创造,就像这两种。
from scratch:白手起家;从头做起;
One of these eases the symptoms of multiple sclerosis; the other one cures a type of blood cancer that we call T-cell lymphoma . 其中一种可以缓和 多发性硬化的症状; 另一种可以治疗一种血癌, 叫做 T 细胞淋巴瘤。
symptoms:n.症状;征候;征兆;(symptom的复数) multiple:adj.数量多的;多种多样的;n.倍数; cancer:n.癌症;恶性肿瘤; lymphoma:n.[肿瘤]淋巴瘤;
A molecule with the right size and shape, it's like a key in a lock, and when it fits, it interferes with the chemistry of a disease . 大小和形状正确的分子, 就像是一把锁的钥匙, 如果能对上,它就能 干涉疾病的化学性质。
interferes:n.干涉(interfere的复数形式); v.妨碍; disease:n.病,[医]疾病;弊病;vt.传染;使…有病;
That's how drugs work. 药品就是这么运作的。
Natural or synthetic, they're all just molecules that happen to fit snugly somewhere important. 不论是天然的或合成的, 它们都只是在重要的地方 刚好完全符合需求的分子。
snugly:adv.舒适地;隐蔽地;贴身地;紧密地;
But nature is much better at making them than we are, so hers look more impressive than ours, like this one. 但大自然远比我们 更擅长制造它们, 所以她的成品比我们的 更让人印象深刻, 就像这一个。
impressive:adj.感人的;令人钦佩的;给人以深刻印象的;
This is called vancomycin . 它叫做万古霉素。
vancomycin:n.万古霉素;
She gave this majestic beast two chlorine atoms to wear like a pair of earrings. 大自然给予这只 雄伟的巨兽两个氯原子, 就像戴着耳环一样。
majestic:adj.庄严的;宏伟的; chlorine:n.[化学]氯(17号化学元素);
We found vancomycin in a puddle of mud in a jungle in Borneo in 1953. 1953 年,我们在婆罗洲的丛林中的 一个泥坑里发现了万古霉素。
puddle:n.水坑,泥潭; vt.使泥泞,搅浑; vi.搅泥浆; jungle:n.密林;尔虞我诈的环境;危险地带;
It's made by a bacteria . 它是由细菌制造的。
bacteria:n.[微]细菌;
We can't synthesize this cost-efficiently in a lab. 在实验室中,我们没有 高成本效益的方式来合成它。
It's too complicated for us, but we can harvest it from its natural source , and we do, because this is one of our most powerful antibiotics . 对我们来说,它太复杂了,但我们 可以从它的天然来源取得它, 我们确实这么做了,因为它是 我们最强大的抗生素之一。
complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式) source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; antibiotics:n.抗菌素;抗生素(如青霉素);(antibiotic的复数)
And new molecules are reported in our literature every day. 每天在我们的文献中 都会有新分子的资讯。
literature:n.文学;文献;文艺;著作;
We make them or we find them in every corner of this planet. 我们制造新分子,或在地球上的 每个角落寻找新分子,
And that's where drugs come from, and that's why your doctors have amazing powers ... 药品就是这么来的, 那就是为什么医生 有很了不起的力量……
(Laughter) （笑声）
to cure deadly infections and everything else. 来治疗会致命的感染及其他病症。
deadly:adj.致命的;非常的;死一般的;adv.非常;如死一般地; infections:n.传染病;口腔病害(infection复数形式);
Being a physician today is like being a knight in shining armor . 现今,身为医生就像是 身为穿着闪亮盔甲的骑士。
physician:n.[医]医师;内科医师; knight:n.(中世纪的)骑士;(英国)爵士(其名前冠以Sir);v.封(某人)为爵士; armor:n.[军]装甲;盔甲;v.为…装甲;
They fight battles with courage and composure , but also with good equipment. 他们带着勇气和和沉着去作战, 但也有很好的装备。
composure:n.镇静;沉着;
So let's not forget the role of the blacksmith in this picture, because without the blacksmith, things would look a little different ... 别忘了在这张图片中, 铁匠所扮演的角色, 因为若没有铁匠, 一切看起来就会有点不同……
blacksmith:n.铁匠;锻工;
(Laughter) （笑声）
But this science is bigger than medicine. 但这项科学不只是医学。
It is oils and solvents and flavors , fabrics , all plastics, the cushions that you're sitting on right now -- they're all manufactured , and they're mostly carbon, so that makes all of it organic chemistry. 它也是石油、溶剂、味道、 织物、所有的塑胶。 各位现在所坐的坐垫, 都是制造来的,它们大部分是碳, 所以它们都是有机化学。
solvents:n.[化学]溶剂;解决方法(solvent的复数形式); flavors:n.风味调料(flavor复数);v.添加味道(flavor的三单形式); fabrics:n.纤维织物(fabric的复数); cushions:n.软垫; v.起缓冲作用; manufactured:adj.制造的,已制成的;v.制造,加工(manufacture的过去式);
This is a rich science. 它是一项丰富的科学。
I left out a lot today: phosphorus and sulfur and the other atoms, and why they all bond the way they do, and symmetry and non-bonding electrons, and atoms that are charged, 今天我省去了很多: 磷和硫以及其他原子, 以及它们的键结方式 为什么是那样的, 还有对称性, 以及没有键结的电子, 还有被充电的原子,
phosphorus:n.磷; sulfur:vt.用硫磺处理;n.硫磺;硫磺色; symmetry:n.对称(性);整齐,匀称;
and reactions and their mechanisms , and it goes on and on and on, and synthesis takes a long time to learn. 以及反应和它们的机制, 还有好多好多, 合成需要花很多时间去学。
reactions:n.反应;回应;抗拒;生理反应;副作用(reaction的复数) mechanisms:n.机制;[机]机构(mechanism的复数);机械;[机]机构学; on and on:继续不停地;
But I didn't come here to teach you guys organic chemistry -- 但我并不是来这里 教各位有机化学的——
I just wanted to show it to you, and I had a lot of help with that today from a young man named Weston Durland, and you've already seen him. 我只是想将它展示给各位看, 且一位叫做威斯顿德兰的 年轻人给了我很大的协助, 你们已经看过他了。
He's an undergraduate student in chemistry, and he also happens to be pretty good with computer graphics . 他是化学系的大学生, 他刚好也非常擅长电脑绘图。
undergraduate:n.本科生; graphics:n.[测]制图学;制图法;图表算法;
(Laughter) （笑声）
So Weston designed all the moving molecules that you saw today. 今天各位看到所有会动的原子都是 威斯顿设计的。
He and I wanted to demonstrate through the use of graphics like these to help someone talk about this intricate science. 我和他想要用 这样的绘图来做展示, 来协助讲解这门复杂的科学。
demonstrate:vt.证明;展示;论证;vi.示威; intricate:adj.复杂的;错综的,缠结的;
But our main goal was just to show you that organic chemistry is not something to be afraid of. 但我们主要的目标 只是要让各位看到, 没有必要害怕有机化学。
It is, at its core , a window through which the beauty of the natural world looks richer. 它在本质上,就是一扇窗, 通过它,自然世界的美好 看起来会更丰富。
core:n.核心;要点;果心;[计]磁心;vt.挖...的核;
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）