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LynnRothschild_2018X-_于外星上提供人类生活所需的生命科技_
For thousands of years, well, really probably millions of years, our ancestors have looked up at the sky and wondered what's up there, and they've also started to wonder, hmm, could we be alone in this planet? 几千年或几百万年来, 我们的祖先抬头仰望天空, 想知道那里有什么。 他们纳闷: 人类和地球独一无二吗？
Now, I'm fortunate that I get to get paid to actually ask some of those questions, and sort of bad news for you, your tax dollars are paying me to try to answer some of those questions. 我很幸运能够领着薪水 实际探讨这些问题; 对你而言算是个坏消息, 因为你纳的税正付我薪水 去探索其中的一些问题。
fortunate:adj.幸运的;交好运的;吉利的;
But then, about 10 years ago, 大约 10 年前我被告知,
I was told, I mean asked, if I would start to look at the technology to help get us off planet, and so that's what I'm going to talk to you about today. 换言之, 我被要求研究 幫人类飞离地球的技术, 这就是我今天的主题。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语;
So playing to the local crowd, this is what it looks like in your day-to-day life in Boston , but as you start to go off planet, things look very, very different. 这是波士顿本地人日常生活的样貌; 这就是我今天的主题。 一旦你离开地球就大不相同。
day-to-day:adj.日常的;逐日的; Boston:n.波士顿(美国城市);
So there we are, hovering above the WGBH studios . 这是我们在 WGBH 电台的上空徘徊。
hovering:v.翱翔;盘旋;踌躇;靠近(某事物);处于不稳定状态(hover的现在分词) studios:n.工作室(studio的复数);
And here's a very famous picture of the Earthrise from the Moon, and you can see the Earth starting to recede . 这是一张非常着名 从月球看地球升起的照片, 看得到地球渐行渐远。
recede:v.逐渐远离;慢慢变小;变秃;
And then what I love is this picture that was taken from the surface of Mars looking back at the Earth. 我喜欢从火星表面看地球的照片。
Mars:n.火星
Can anyone find the Earth? 谁找得到地球？
I'm going to help you out a little. 让我来幫忙。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Yeah. 是啊。
The point of showing this is that when people start to go to Mars, they're not going to be able to keep calling in and be micromanaged the way people on a space station are. 关键是前往火星的人 无法继续打电话, 也无法像在太空站上那样微观管理。
micromanaged:v.微观管理;(micromanage的过去式和过去分词) space station:n.太空站;航天站;宇宙空间站;
They're going to have to be independent . 他们必须靠自己。
independent:adj.独立的; n.无党派议员(或候选人等);
So even though they're up there, there are going to be all sorts of things that they're going to need, just like people on Earth need things like, oh, transportation , life support , food, clothing and so on. 因此,在火星那里的人 将会需要各种各样的东西, 就像地球上的人需要东西一样, 诸如运输、维生、食物、衣服等等。
transportation:n.运输;运输系统;运输工具;流放; life support:adj.保障生命的,维持生命的;
But unlike on Earth, they are also going to need oxygen. 但与地球不同,他们还需要氧气,
They're going to have to deal with about a third of the gravity that we have here. 还得面对这里三分之一的重力。
They're going to have to worry about habitats , power, heat, light and radiation protection, something that we don't actually worry about nearly as much on the Earth, because we have this beautiful atmosphere and magnetosphere . 他们得担心栖息地、 能源、高温、光线和辐射防护, 在地球上无需担心这些, 因为我们有美丽的大气层和磁层。
habitats:n.[生态]栖息地;(动植物的)[经]产地(habitat的复数形式); radiation:n.辐射;放射线;放射疗法; atmosphere:n.大气;气氛;气压;风格; magnetosphere:n.磁气圈;磁层;
The problem with that is that we also have a lot of constraints . 问题是限制很多,
constraints:n.[数]约束;限制;约束条件(constraint的复数形式);
So the biggest one for us is upmass, and the number that I've used for years is it costs about 10,000 dollars to launch a can of Coke into low Earth orbit . 其中最大的问题就是载重 （升空承载质量,upmass）。 多年来我用的数字是 将一罐可乐推入近地轨道 约需一万美元。
launch:v.发射(导弹,火箭等); n.发射; 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;
The problem is, there you are with 10,000 dollars later, and you're still in low Earth orbit. 问题是花了一万美元后 你仍处于近地轨道,
You're not even at the Moon or Mars or anything else . 还没到月球、火星或其他任何地方。
or anything else:或什么别的;或任何东西其他;
So you're going to have to try to figure out how to keep the mass as low as possible so you don't have to launch it. 因此得想出办法 尽可能降低送上太空的质量。
mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集;
But on top of that cost issue with the mass, you also have problems of storage and flexibility and reliability . 除了质量和成本问题, 还有存储、灵活度 和可靠性方面的问题。
issue:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;发行; flexibility:n.灵活性;弹性;适应性; reliability:n.可靠性;
You can't just get there and say, "Oops, I forgot to bring," 你不能到了那里才说: 「哎呀,我忘了带」,
So you better be prepared. 你最好先准备好。
So what is the solution for this? 那么有什么解决方案？
solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答;
And I'm going to propose to you for the rest of this talk that the solution actually is life, and when you start to look at life as a technology, you realize, ah, that's it, that's exactly what we needed. 在接下来的演讲 我提的解决之道就是生命。 当你把生命视为科技时 就会意识到:「啊,果真如此, 正是我们需要的。」
propose:v.建议;提议;求婚;打算;
This plant here, like every person here and every one of your dogs and cats and plants and so on, all started as a single cell. 这株植物,就像这里的每个人、 你们的狗、猫和植物等, 都从一个单细胞开始。
So imagine, you're starting as a very low upmass object and then growing into something a good deal bigger. 想像你一开始的质量很小, 然后长得很大。
Now, my hero Charles Darwin, of course, reminds us that there's no such thing as a designer in biology , but what if we now have the technology to design biology , maybe even design, oh, whole new life-forms that can do things for us that we couldn't have imagined otherwise? 虽然我的英雄 查尔斯?达尔文提醒我们 在生物学中没有设计师这号人物, 但倘若我们拥有设计生物的技术, 能够设计全新的生物, 来为我们做过去无法想像的事呢？
reminds:v.提醒;使想起;(remind的第三人称单数) biology:n.(一个地区全部的)生物;生物学; what if:如果…怎么办? life-forms:n.生物;
So years ago, I was asked to start to sell this program, and while I was doing that, 几年前,我被指派来推展这个专案,
I was put in front of a panel at NASA, as you might sort of imagine, a bunch of people in suits and white shirts and pencil protectors , and I did this sort of crazy, wild, "This is all the next great thing," 我面对美国太空总署的一个小组—— 想像一群 穿西装、白衬衫, 外加防笔渍保护套的人—— 我疯狂地推销: 「这是下一个壮举」,
panel:n.镶板;仪表盘;钣金;(衣服上的)镶条;v.镶板(用木或玻璃板等镶嵌或装饰); a bunch of:一群;一束;一堆; protectors:n.保护者;[电]保护装置(protector的复数);
and I thought they would be blown over, and instead the chairman of the committee just looked at me straight in the eye, and said, "So what's the big idea?" 以为他们会惊为天人。 然而委员会主席只是直视着我并说: 「是什么壮举？」
committee:n.委员会;
So I was like, "OK, you want Star Trek ? 我想:「好吧,你想要星际迷航？
Trek:v.长途跋涉;远足,徒步旅行;n.长途跋涉(尤指在山区);
We'll do Star Trek." 就给你星际迷航。」
And so let me tell you what the big idea is. 听我说明这壮举是什么。
We've used organisms to make biomaterials for years. 多年来我们一直 用生物制造生物材料。
organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体; biomaterials:n.[材]生物材料(biomaterial的复数);
So here's a great picture taken outside of Glasgow , and you can see lots of great biomaterials there. 这是在格拉斯哥外拍摄的精美照片, 看得到很多很棒的生物材料:
Glasgow:n.格拉斯哥(英国城市名);
There are trees that you could use to build houses. 有树可以用来建房子,
There are sheep where you can get your wool from. 有羊可以取得羊毛和皮革。
wool:n.毛;毛线;毛料;毛织物;
You could get leather from the sheep.
leather:n.皮革;皮革制品;v.用皮革包盖;抽打;adj.皮的;皮革制的;
Just quickly glancing around the room, I'll bet there's no one in this room that doesn't have some kind of animal or plant product on them, some kind of biomaterial. 快速浏览这大厅, 我敢打赌这里没有任何人 不用某种动物或植物产品, 都用某种生物材料。
glancing:adj.斜的;附带的;粗略的;v.扫视;一瞥;闪耀(glance的现在分词); bet:n.打赌;赌注;预计;估计;v.下赌注(于);用…打赌;敢说;八成儿;
But you know what? 但你知道吗？
We're not going to take sheep and trees and stuff to Mars. 我们不会把羊、树和东西带上火星,
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
That's nuts, because of the upmass problem. 由于载重的问题,那样行不通。
But we are going to take things like this. 我们会用的方式如下。
This is Bacillus subtilis. 这是枯草芽孢杆菌。
Bacillus:n.杆菌;芽孢杆菌;细菌;
Those white dots that you see are spores . 那些看得到的白点是孢子,
spores:n.[生物]孢子(spore的复数);v.形成芽孢(spore的三单形式);
This happens to be a bacterium that can form incredibly resistant spores, and when I say incredibly resistant, they've proven themselves. 恰好是一种可以形成 非凡抗性孢子的细菌, 它们已经证明了自己的非凡抗性。
bacterium:n.[微]细菌;杆菌属; incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; resistant:adj.抵抗的,反抗的;顽固的;n.抵抗者;
Bacillus subtilis spores have been flown on what was called LDEF, 枯草芽孢杆菌孢子 已经长时间暴露在
Long Duration Exposure Facility , for almost six years and some of them survived that in space. 太空梭的长时照射设备（LDEF）上 有些幸存在太空中。
Duration:n.持续时间;期间; Exposure:n.暴露;显露;揭露;面临; Facility:n.设施;设备;特别装置;特色;场所;天资;
Unbelievable , a lot better than any of us can do. 令人难以置信的是 它们的表现比我们人类好。
Unbelievable:adj.(非正式)难以置信的;不可信的
So why not just take the capabilities, like to make wood or to make wool or spider silk or whatever, and put them in Bacillus subtilis spores, and take those with you off planet? 那么,为什么不利用这能力来制作 木头、羊毛、蜘蛛丝等材料, 将其放入枯草芽孢杆菌孢子中 带离地球呢？
spider:n.蜘蛛;
So what are you going to do when you're off planet? 离开地球后要怎么做？
Here's an iconic picture of Buzz Aldrin looking back at the Eagle when he landed, oh, it was almost 50 years ago, on the surface of the Moon. 这张标志性的照片是 外号「嗡嗡」的太空人艾德林上校, 约在 50 年前登月时, 他回头看「鹰」号登月舱。
iconic:adj.图标的,形象的; Buzz:n.嗡嗡声; v.发出嗡嗡声; Aldrin:n.[农药]艾氏剂;阿耳德林(一种杀虫剂);
Now if you're going to go to the Moon for three days and you're the first person to set foot, yeah, you can live in a tin can, but you wouldn't want to do that for, say, a year and a half. 如果你是第一个踏足月球的人, 要在那里待上三天, 那么你的确可以靠罐头过日子; 但是要住上一年半载就不行了。
So I did actually a calculation, being in California. 因此我在加州实际算了一下。
I looked at what the average size of a cell at Alcatraz is, and I have news for you, the volume in the Eagle there, in the Lunar Module , was about the size of a cell at Alcatraz if it were only five feet high. 我看过恶魔岛禁闭室的平均大小, 让我告诉你, 「鹰」号登月舱的大小 会和恶魔岛的禁闭室大小差不多, 如果舱高只有 150 公分。
Alcatraz:n.恶魔岛(等于阿尔卡特拉兹岛,是美国旧金山的头号景点,曾是联邦监狱所在地,也是一个野生动物的庇护所); volume:n.体积;容积;音量;响度;一册;合订本 Lunar:adj.月亮的,月球的;阴历的;银的;微亮的; Module:n.模块;组件;单元;
So incredibly cramped living quarters. 生活空间狭窄得如此难以置信,
cramped:adj.狭小的;拥挤的;密密麻麻的;v.阻碍,阻止;(cramp的过去分词和过去式)
You just can't ask a human to stay in there for long periods of time. 无法要求人类长时间住在那里。
So why not take these biomaterials and make something? 那么何不用这些生物材料 制造点什么呢？
So here's an image that a colleague of mine who is an architect , Chris Maurer, has done of what we've been proposing , and we'll get to the point of why I've been standing up here holding something that looks like a dried sandwich this whole lecture . 我的建筑师同事克里斯?毛惹 稍后会说明为什么我站在这里 手里一直拿着看似干掉的三明治。
colleague:n.同事,同僚; architect:n.建筑师;设计师;创造者; proposing:v.提议;建议;打算;计划;求婚;(propose的现在分词) get to the point:言归正传;直奔主题; sandwich:n.三明治;夹心面包片; lecture:n.演讲;讲座;讲课;谴责;v.开讲座;讲授;讲课;指责;告诫
So we've proposed that the solution to the habitat problem on Mars could just simply lie in a fungus . 我们已经提出解决火星栖地的办法 可能就在于真菌。
proposed:adj.建议的;推荐的;v.提议;建议;计划;求婚;(propose的过去分词和过去式) fungus:n.真菌,霉菌;菌类;
So I'm now probably going to turn off everyone from ever eating a mushroom again. 如果我现在再次提到吃蘑菇 可能会使所有的人厌烦。
So let's talk about fungi for a second. 让我们来讨论一下真菌。
fungi:n.真菌;菌类;蘑菇(fungus的复数);
So you're probably familiar with this fruiting body of the fungus. 或许你熟悉真菌的子实体,
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
That's the mushroom. 也就是蘑菇。
But what we're interested in actually is what's beneath the surface there, the mycelium , which are these root hair-like structures that are really the main part of the mushroom. 但实际上我们感兴趣的是 表面下的菌丝体, 这些根毛状的结构, 乃是蘑菇真正主要的部分。
beneath:prep.在…之下;adv.在下方; mycelium:n.菌丝;菌丝体; hair-like:adj.毛发似的; structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式);
Well, it turns out you can take those -- there's a micrograph I did -- and you can put them in a mold and give them a little food -- and it doesn't take much, you can grow these things on sawdust -- so this piece here was grown on sawdust, and that mycelium then will fill that structure to make something. 你能拿那些—— 这是一张显微照片—— 把真菌放在模具里, 喂一点食物, 不需要多,它们可以长在木屑上—— 这个长在木屑上, 菌丝体将会长满该结构。
micrograph:n.显微照片,显微图;微动描记器; mold:n.模具;模型;霉菌;类型;v.用可塑材料塑成;浇铸;发霉; sawdust:n.[木]锯屑;adj.撒木屑的;无实质的;vt.在…上撒木屑;用木屑填塞;
We've actually tried growing mycelium on Mars Simulant . 我们在火星模拟物上 实际试种过真菌——
Simulant:adj.模拟的;伪装的;[生]拟态的;
So no one's actually gone to the surface of Mars, but this is a simulated surface of Mars, and you can see those hair-like mycelia out there. 没有人真的去过火星的表面, 这是模拟火星的表面—— 在那里看得到那些毛发状的菌丝体。
simulated:adj.假装的; v.假装; (simulate的过去式和过去分词)
It's really amazing stuff. 真是神奇。
How strong can you make these things? 这东西有多强呢？
Well, you know, I could give you numbers and tests and so on, but I think that's probably the best way to describe it. 我可以提供数字和测试之类, 但我认为这可能是最佳的描述方式。
describe:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形;
There's one of my students proving that you can do this. 我一个学生证明能坐在上面。
To do this, then, you've got to figure out how to put it in context . 为了要做到,得要弄清楚周遭的环境。
context:n.环境;上下文;来龙去脉;
How's this actually going to happen? 要怎么做呢？
I mean, this is a great idea, Lynn, but how are you going to get from here to there? 我的意思是,主意是不错, 但要怎么办到呢？
So what we're saying is you grow up the mycelium in the lab, for example and then you fill up a little structure, maybe a house-like structure that's tiny, 我们的作法是在实验室中长菌丝体, 填满一个像房子一样的小结构,
that is maybe a double-bagged sort of plastic thing, like an inflatable -- 大概像充气的双层塑胶袋那样吧——
inflatable:adj.膨胀的,可充气的;得意的;
I sort of think L.L.Bean when I see this. 看到这个我就会想到 L. L. Bean。 （户外用品网购公司）
And then you put it in a rocket ship and you send it off to Mars. 把它放入火箭太空船,
Rocket lands, you release the bag and you add a little water, and voila , you've got your habitat. 火箭降落, 释出袋子, 加点水, 瞧,你有栖息地了。
release:v.释放;发射;让与;允许发表;n.释放;发布;让与; voila:int.(法)瞧;可不是;
You know, how cool would that be? 你知道这有多酷吗？
And the beauty of that is you don't have to take something prebuilt. 最棒的是你不必预先铸造。
And so our estimates are that we could save 90 percent of the mass that NASA is currently proposing by taking up a big steel structure if we actually grow it on site . 我们估计如果实际在现场种植, 可以比现在太空总署用的大型钢构 节省 90％ 的质量。
estimates:n.估计;估价;估计的成本;v.估价;估算(estimate的第三人称单数和复数) currently:adv.当前;一般地; site:n.地点;位置;场所;v.设置;为…选址;
So let me give you another big idea. 让我再说个好主意。
What about digital information? 怎么处理数位讯息呢？
digital:adj.数字的;手指的;n.数字;键;
What's really interesting is you have a physical link to your parents and they have a physical link to their parents, and so on, all the way back to the origin of life. 最有趣的地方是: 你与父母有基因上的联系, 它们与它们的父母 也有基因上的联系等等, 一直回溯到生命的起源。
physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查; origin:n.起源;起因;源头;出身;
You have never broken that continuum . 那连续从未被打破。
continuum:n.[数]连续统;[经]连续统一体;闭联集;
But the fact is that we can do that today. 事实上我们今天做得到。
So we have students every day in our labs -- students in Boston even do this -- that make up DNA sequences and they hit the "send" button and they send them to their local DNA synthesis company. 因此,我们实验室每天都有学生—— 波士顿的学生—— 甚至排序 DNA, 排好后按「发送」钮, 送给当地的 DNA 合成公司。
labs:n.实验室;实验大楼;(lab的复数) sequences:n.[数][计]序列,顺序;继起的事(sequence的复数形式); synthesis:n.综合,[化学]合成;综合体;
Now once you break that physical link where you're sending it across town, it doesn't matter if you're sending it across the Charles River or if you're sending that information to Mars. 一旦你打破了那从此地 送到彼地的实体连结, 不论是送到查尔斯河对岸 或送上火星并不是重点。
You've broken that physical link. 你打破了那个实体的连结。
So then, once you're on Mars, or across the river or wherever, you can take that digital information, synthesize the physical DNA, put it maybe in another organism and voila, you've got new capabilities there. 那么,一旦你在火星上, 或者在河对岸或任何地方, 你能接收数位讯息, 合成 DNA 实体, 把它放在另一个有机体中, 瞧,你就有了新的能力。
synthesize:vt.合成;综合;vi.合成;综合;
So again, you've broken that physical link. That's huge. 再说一次,你突破实体连结,真棒！
What about chemistry? 化学呢？
Biology does chemistry for us on Earth, and again has for literally thousands of years. 生物学在地球上为我们做化学反应 已经有几千年了。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
I bet virtually everyone in this room has eaten something today that has been made by biology doing chemistry. 我敢打赌,这个房间里的每个人 今天都吃过生物化学做的东西。
virtually:adv.事实上,几乎;实质上;
Let me give you a big hint there. 让我给你一个很大的提示。
hint:n.提示;暗示;迹象;窍门;v.暗示;透露;示意;
What about another idea? 另一个想法如何呢？
What about using DNA itself to make a wire? 用 DNA 来制作电线如何？
Because again, we're trying to miniaturize everything. 再说一次,因为我们 努力缩小化一切。
miniaturize:vt.使小型化;使微型化(等于miniaturise);
DNA is really cheap. DNA 非常便宜。
Strawberries have a gazillion amount of DNA. 草莓含有大量的 DNA。
Strawberries:n.草莓;(strawberry的复数) gazillion:n.极大量;
You know, you could take a strawberry with you, isolate the DNA, and one of my students has figured out a way to take DNA and tweak it a little bit so that you can incorporate silver atoms in very specific places, thus making an electrical wire. 你可以随身携带草莓, 分离 DNA 出来, 我的一个学生已经找到了一种方法 擷取 DNA,略微调整它, 将银原子连接在特定之处, 从而制成电线。
strawberry:n.草莓 isolate:v.孤立; n.[微]分离菌; tweak:vt.扭;拧;扯;稍稍调整;n.扭;拧;扯;轻微调整 incorporate:vt.包含,吸收; vi.合并; adj.合并的; silver:n.银; v.给…镀(或包)银; adj.银色的; atoms:n.[物]原子(atom的复数); specific:adj.特殊的,特定的;明确的;详细的;[药]具有特效的;n.特性;细节;特效药; electrical:adj.有关电的;电气科学的;
How cool is that? 多么酷啊！
So while we're on the subject of metals, we're going to need to use metals for things like integrated circuits . 既然我们正在谈论金属, 我们将需要将金属 用于积体电路之类的东西上。
integrated:adj.综合的; v.整合; (integrate的过去式和过去分词) circuits:n.环行路线;电路;线路;巡回赛;v.巡回;周游;(circuit的第三人称单数和复数)
Probably we're going to want it for some structures, and so on. 可能我们会想要把它 用在某些结构上之类的。
And things like integrated circuits ultimately go bad. 像积体电路这样的东西最终会坏掉。
ultimately:adv.最终;最后;归根结底;终究;
We could talk a lot about that, but I'm going to leave it at that, that they do go bad, and so where are you going to get those metals? 这部分有很多可谈,但我不多说了。 当它们坏了的时候, 你去哪里找这些金属呢？
Yeah, you could try to mine them with heavy equipment, but you get that upmass problem. 没错,你可以尝试用重型设备挖矿, 但是你又碰到了那个载重的问题。
And I always tell people, the best way to find the metals for a new cell phone is in a dead cell phone. 而我总是说,为新手机找金属的最佳方法是 回收旧手机的金属。
So what if you take biology as the technology to get these metals out? 如果用生物学 作为获取这些金属的技术呢？
And how do you do this? 怎么做呢？
Well, take a look at the back of a vitamin bottle and you'll get an idea of all the sorts of metals that we actually use in our bodies. 看一下维生素瓶的背面, 你就会知道我们体内 实际上用到各种金属。
take a look at:看一看;检查; vitamin:n.维生素;维他命;
So we have a lot of proteins as well as other organisms that can actually specifically bind metals. 因此,我们有很多 蛋白质和其他的生物 能够结合特定的金属。
proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数); as well as:也;和…一样;不但…而且; specifically:adv.特别地;明确地; bind:v.结合;装订;有约束力;过紧;n.捆绑;困境;讨厌的事情;植物的藤蔓;
So what if we now take those proteins and maybe attach them to this fungal mycelium and make a filter so we can start to pull those metals out in a very specific way without big mining equipment, 如果我们把这些蛋白质 附着在这种真菌的菌丝体上 制成滤器,那么我们能用非常特殊的 方式取出这些金属, 不需要大型采矿设备。
attach:v.贴上;重视;把…固定,把…附(在…上);参加;与…有联系; fungal:adj.真菌的(等于fungous); filter:n.滤波器;过滤器;滤光器;滤声器;v.过滤;渗入;(用程序)筛选;缓行;
and, even better, we've actually got a proof of concept where we've then taken those metals that we pulled out with proteins and reprinted an integrated circuit using a plasma printer. 更棒的是,我们实际上 验证了一个概念: 我们用那些从蛋白质取出的金属, 透过离子印表机重新印出积体电路。
proof:n.证据;证实;adj.能抵御;可防护; reprinted:vt.再版;重印;n.重印;翻版; integrated circuit:n.集成电路; plasma:n.[等离子]等离子体;血浆;[矿物]深绿玉髓;
Again, how cool? 再次,多酷啊！
Electricity : I was asked by a head of one of the NASA centers if you could ever take chemical energy and turn that into electrical energy. 电力:美国太空总署 其中一个中心的负责人问我, 是否可以吸收化学能, 将其转化为电能。
Electricity:n.电力;电流;强烈的紧张情绪; chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的;
Well, the great news is it's not just the electric eel that does it . 好消息是不仅电鳗办得到,
electric eel:na.[动]电鳗; that does it:我受够了;
Everybody in this room who is still alive and functioning is doing that. 这里的每个活人都在发电。
Part of the food that you've eaten today has gone to operate the nerve cells in your body. 你今天吃的部分食物 已用于操作你体内的神经细胞。
nerve:n.神经;勇气;神经质;神经紧张;v.鼓足勇气;振作精神;
But even other organisms, nonsentient ones, are creating electric energy, even bacteria . 即使是「非有情」 （nonsentient）的其他有机体 也正在产生电能。 细菌也是。
bacteria:n.[微]细菌;
Some bacteria are very good at making little wires. 有些细菌擅长制作电线。
So if we can harvest that ability of turning chemical energy into electrical energy, again, how cool would that be? 因此,如果我们能够妥善利用 把化学能转为电能的能力 又会多酷呢？
So here are some of the big ideas we talked about. 以下是我们谈到的一些重要想法。
Let me try one more: life 2.0. 让我再说一次:生活 2.0。
So for example, all of the sugars in our body are right-handed . 例如,我们体内所有的糖 都是右旋的。
right-handed:adj.用右手的,惯用右手的;向右转的;
Why shouldn't we make an organism with left-handed sugars? 为什么我们不制造左旋的有机体呢？
left-handed:adj.左撇的;用左手的;笨拙的;
Why not make an organism that can do things that no organism can do today? 为什么不制造一种有机体
So organisms normally have evolved to live in very specific environments. 有机体通常已经进化到 适应非常特定的环境。
normally:adv.正常地;通常地,一般地; evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式)
So here's this lion cub literally up a tree, and I took a picture of him a bit later, and he was a lot happier when he was down on the ground. 这只小狮子爬上一棵树, 稍后我给牠拍了一张照片, 是牠高兴地躺在地上。
cub:n.(熊、狮、狐狸等的)幼兽;v.(野兽)生仔;捉幼狐[幼兽];adj.没经验的;
So organisms are designed for specific environments. 有机体针对特定环境而演化。
But what if you can go back to that idea of synthetic biology and tweak 'em around? 但是如果你能回到合成生物学的想法 并稍做调整呢？
synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物;
So here is one of our favorite places in Yellowstone National Park . 这是我们最喜欢的 黄石公园地景之一:
National Park:n.国家公园;
This is Octopus Springs. 章鱼（Octopus）热泉。
Octopus:n.章鱼;
If you tilt your head a little bit, it sort of looks like a body and tentacles coming out. 如果你稍微倾斜头部, 它看起来就像身体和伸出的触手。
tilt:vi.倾斜;翘起;以言词或文字抨击;vt.使倾斜;使翘起;n.倾斜; tentacles:n.[动]触手;[动]触须(tentacle的复数);
It's above the boiling temperature of water. 这里的温度高于水沸腾的温度。
Those organisms that you see on the edge and the colors actually match the temperatures that are there, very, very high-temperature thermophiles. 在边缘看到的那些生物和颜色 实际上与那里的温度相匹配, 非常非常高温的嗜热生物。
high-temperature:高温;
So why not take organisms that can live at extremes , whether it's high temperature or low temperature or low pH or high pH or high salt or high levels of radiation, and take some of those capabilities and put it into other organisms. 因此,为什么不拿那些 可以生活在极端环境的生物, 无论是高温、低温, 低 pH 值或高 pH 值, 高盐或高辐射水平, 采取一些这些能力, 把它放入其他生物体中。
extremes:n.极端不同的感情;极端;极度;极限;(extreme的复数)
And this is a project that my students have called, and I love this, the "hell cell." 这是我的学生称为 「地狱细胞」的专案—— 我喜欢这名字——
And so we've done that. 我们已经完成了。
We've taken organisms and sort of tweaked them and pushed them to the edges. 我们拿有机体,做了一些调整,
tweaked:v.扭;拧;扯;稍稍调整;(tweak的过去分词和过去式)
And this is important for getting us off planet and also for understanding what life is like in the universe. 这对于让我们离开地球 和了解宇宙生命极为重要。
So let me give you just a couple of final thoughts. 最后让我总结两个想法。
First is this whole idea that we have all these needs for human settlement off planet that are in some ways exactly like we have on the Earth, that we need the food and we need the shelter and so on, but we have very, very different constraints of this upmass problem and the reliability and the flexibility and so on. 首先是整体的想法, 我们地球人定居外星的所有需求, 在某种程度上与我们 在地球上的完全一样: 我们需要食物、住屋等等, 但我们有非常非常不同的限制—— 载重、可靠性和灵活度等等。
settlement:n.协议:处理:结算:定居点;
But because we have these constraints that you don't have here, where you might have to think about the indigenous petrochemical industry, or whatever, you now have constraints that have to unleash creativity. 因为有这些地球上没有的限制, 不得不考虑本土的石化行業或其他。 这些限制使我们必须发挥创造力。
indigenous:adj.本土的;土著的;国产的;固有的; petrochemical:adj.石化的;n.石油化学产品; unleash:vt.发泄;突然释放;使爆发;
And once you unleash this creativity because you have the new constraints, you're forcing game-changing technological advances that you wouldn't have gotten any other way. 一旦你释放了这种创造力—— 你被迫发展改变游戏规则的技术, 没有其他的办法。
technological:adj.技术[工程](上)的;因工艺技术高度发展而引起的;
Finally , we have to think a little bit, is it a good idea to tinker around with life? 最后,我们得要思考 摆弄生命的 DNA 是个好主意吗？
Finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; tinker:n.修补工;小炉匠,补锅匠,白铁匠;v.(尤指不起作用地)小修补,小修理;
Well, the sort of easy answer to that is that probably no one in the room keeps a wolf cub at home, but you might have a puppy or a dog; you probably didn't eat teosinte this summer, but you ate corn. 简单的回答是, 大概没有人在家里养一窝小狼, 但可能有只小狗; 今年夏天你可能没吃蜀黍, 但是吃了玉米。
puppy:n.小狗;幼犬;傲慢小子;自负无礼的青年
We have been doing genetic modification with organisms for literally 10,000 or more years. 生物的基因改造 已经持续一万年或更长时间。
genetic:adj.基因的;遗传学的; modification:n.修改;改进;改变;
This is a different approach , but to say all of a sudden humans should never touch an organism is kinda silly because we have that capability now to do things that are far more beneficial for the planet Earth and for life beyond that. 这是不同的做法, 人类永远不应该摆弄 有机体的基因就有点蠢, 因为我们现在有能力去做 对地球和生命极为有利的事情。
approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理; all of a sudden:突然地,出乎意料地; capability:n.才能,能力;性能,容量; beneficial:adj.有益的,有利的;可享利益的;
And so then the question is, should we? 那么问题是,我们应该吗？
And of course I feel that not only should we, at least for getting off Earth, but actually if we don't use synthetic biology, we will never solve this upmass problem. 当然,我觉得我们不仅应该—— 至少是为了离开地球—— 但实际上如果我们不用合成生物学, 我们永远解决不了载重的问题。
So once you think of life as a technology, you've got the solution. 因此一旦将生命视为一项技术, 就拥有了解决方案。
And so, with that, I'd like to finish the way I always finish, and say "ad astra," which means, "to the stars." 说到这里,我想用 我用来结尾的老方式来结束, 说「ad astra」,意思是「前往星际」。
Thank you very much, Boston. 非常感谢,波士顿。
(Applause) （掌声）