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OdedShoseyov_2016S-_我们如何驾驭大自然隐藏的超能力_
Two hundred years of modern science. 现代科学两百年。
We have to admit that our performance is not great. 我们不得不承认 我们的表现不怎么好。
performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演;
The machines we build continue to suffer from mechanical failures. 我们建造的机器老是故障。
mechanical:adj.机械的;力学的;呆板的;无意识的;手工操作的;
The houses we build do not survive severe earthquakes. 我们盖的房子无法承受强烈地震。
severe:adj.极为恶劣的;十分严重的;严厉的;苛刻的;
But we shouldn't be so critical of our scientists for a simple reason: they didn't have much time. 但我们不应苛责科学家,原因很简单: 他们的时间有限。
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;
Two hundred years is not a lot of time, while nature had three billion years to perfect some of the most amazing materials, that we wish we had in our possession . 两百年并不长; 大自然花了三十多亿年 使若干材料臻于完美, 完美到我们希望拥有。
possession:n.拥有;具有;属地;个人财产;
Remember, these materials carry a quality assurance of three billion years. 切记,这些材料有着三十亿年的品质保证。
quality assurance:n.质量保证;
Take, for example, sequoia trees. 以红杉为例:
sequoia:n.红杉(产于美国加州);
They carry hundreds of tons for hundreds of years in cold weather, in warm climates, 它们几百年来载重数百吨, 不论是天冷、天暖,
UV light. 或被紫外线照射。
Yet, if you look at the structure by high-resolution electron microscopy , and you ask yourself, what is it made of, surprisingly , it's made of sugar. 若你用高倍率电子显微镜观察它的结构, 纳闷它是什么东西做成的？ 结果出人意表,它的成分是糖。
structure:n.结构;构造;建筑物;vt.组织;构成;建造; high-resolution:n.高分辨率; electron:n.电子; microscopy:n.显微镜检查;显微镜使用;显微镜学; surprisingly:adv.令人惊讶地;出乎意料地
Well, not exactly as we drink in our tea. 但不完全等同我们饮料里的糖。
It's actually a nanofiber called nanocrystalline cellulose . 而实际上是一种被称为「奈米纤维素」的奈米纤维。
cellulose:n.纤维素;(植物的)细胞膜质;
And this nanocrystalline cellulose is so strong, on a weight basis, it's about 10 times stronger than steel. 这种奈米纤维素的不凡强度, 是同等重量钢材强度的十倍。
Yet it's made of sugar. 然而,它的组成是糖。
So scientists all over the world believe that nanocellulose is going to be one of the most important materials for the entire industry. 因此,全世界的科学家咸信 奈米纤维素将会成为整个工業最重要的材料之一。
nanocellulose:纳米纤维素;
But here's the problem: say you want to buy a half a ton of nanocellulose to build a boat or an airplane . 但有个问题: 假设你要买半吨的奈米纤维素, 用来造船或飞机。
airplane:n.飞机;
Well, you can Google , you can eBay, you can even Alibaba. 你可以上Google、eBay,甚至阿里巴巴的网站搜寻。
Google:谷歌;谷歌搜索引擎;
You won't find it. 你找不到的。
Of course, you're going to find thousands of scientific papers -- great papers, where scientists are going to say this is a great material, there are lots of things we can do with it. 当然你会找到数以千计的科学论文, 很棒的论文,科学家在文中描述这种美好的物质, 以及它们的众多用途。
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的;
But no commercial source . 但是,没有用于商業的材料来源。
commercial:adj.贸易的;商业的;赢利的;以获利为目的的;n.(电台或电视播放的)广告; source:n.来源;水源;原始资料;
So we at the Hebrew University, together with our partners in Sweden, decided to focus on the development of an industrial-scale process to produce this nanocellulose. 因此,我们希伯来大学与瑞典的伙伴合作, 决定专注于开发能以工業规模 大量生产这种奈米纤维素的制程。
Hebrew:n.希伯来人,犹太人;希伯来语;adj.希伯来语的;希伯来人的; industrial-scale:n.大规模; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的;
And, of course, we didn't want to cut trees. 而且当然不要砍伐树木,
So we were looking for another source of raw material , and we found one -- in fact, the sludge of the paper industry. 而是从其他源头寻找原料。 我们找到了,找到的是造纸業的废渣。
raw material:n.原料; sludge:n.烂泥;泥泞;泥状雪;沉淀物;(海上)小浮冰;
The reason: there is a lot of it. 原因是:它的量很充足。
Europe alone produces 11 million tons of that material annually . 仅欧洲一地,每年就产生一千一百吨的废渣。
annually:adv.每年;一年一次;
It's the equivalent of a mountain three kilometers high,sitting on a soccer field. 相当于耸立在足球场中高三公里的山。
equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物;
And we produce this mountain every year. 并且每年产出一座高山。
So for everybody, it's an environmental problem, and for us, it's a gold mine . 对每个人而言,它是个环境问题; 对我们而言,却是个金矿。
gold mine:金矿,金山;
So now, we are actually producing, on an industrial scale in Israel , nanocellulose, and very soon, in Sweden. 现在,我们已在以色列以工業的规模生产奈米纤维素, 也即将在瑞典大量生产。
Israel:n.以色列(亚洲国家);犹太人,以色列人;
We can do a lot of things with the material. 这材料有许多用途。
For example, we have shown that by adding only a small percent of nanocellulose into cotton fibers , the same as my shirt is made of, it increases its strength dramatically . 例如, 我们已展示过,在我们穿的衬衫棉纤维里, 添加少许奈米纤维素, 它的强度就会大大地增加。
fibers:n.纤维(fiber的复数); dramatically:adv.戏剧地;引人注目地;adv.显著地,剧烈地;
So this can be used for making amazing things, like super-fabrics for industrial and medical applications. 因此,它可被很奇妙地应用在 像工業或医疗之类的超级纤维。
But this is not the only thing. 不仅这样,
For example, self-standing, self-supporting structures , like the shelters that you can see now, actually are now showcasing in the Venice Biennale for Architecture . 例如,能支撑自己、靠自身挺立的结构, 如同你现在看到的避难所, 正在威尼斯建筑双年展中展示。
self-supporting:adj.自营的;自立的;自给的; structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式); showcasing:v.展示(showcase的ing形式); Venice:n.威尼斯(意大利港市); Architecture:n.建筑学;建筑风格;建筑式样;架构;
Nature actually didn't stop its wonders in the plant kingdom. 大自然的奇迹不仅止在植物王国,
Think about insects. 举个昆虫的例子:
Cat fleas , for example, have the ability to jump about a hundred times their height. 猫蚤 能够跳至数百倍于它身长的高度。
fleas:n.蚤;(flea的复数)
That's amazing. 太棒了。
It's the equivalent of a person standing in the middle of Liberty Island in New York, and in a single jump,going to the top of the Statue of Liberty . 等同于一个人 站在纽约的自由岛中间, 一跳就跳至自由女神像的最高点。
Statue of Liberty:n.(美国纽约港的)自由女神像;
I'm sure everybody would like to do that. 相信每个人都愿拥有这能力。
So the question is: 所以,问题是:
How do cat fleas do it? 猫蚤是如何办到的呢？
It turns out, they make this wonderful material, which is called resilin. 原来它自身产出这种奇妙的材料, 名为「节肢弹性蛋白」。
In simple words, resilin, which is a protein , is the most elastic rubber on Earth. 简单地说,节肢弹性蛋白是一种蛋白质, 是地球上最有弹性的橡胶。
protein:n.蛋白质; elastic:n.橡皮圈;adj.有弹力(弹性)的;伸缩自如的;机变的; rubber:n.橡胶;橡皮;v.涂橡胶于…;
You can stretch it, you can squish it, and it doesn't lose almost any energy to the environment. 你可以伸展它, 可以压挤它, 而它几乎不会流失任何的能量。
stretch:v.伸展;延伸;伸出;舒展;n.伸展;弹性;舒展;一片;adj.有弹力的; squish:n.咯吱声;挤扁;vt.压扁;把...挤扁;vi.发出嘎吱声;
When you release it -- snap ! 一旦你放手,骤然间,
release:v.释放;发射;让与;允许发表;n.释放;发布;让与; snap:v.断裂;移到某位置;厉声说;n.啪嗒声;(尤指抢拍的)照片;adj.仓促的;
It brings back all the energy. 它所有的能量全回来了。
So I'm sure everybody would like to have that material. 相信每个人都希望拥有它。
But here's the problem: to catch cat fleas is difficult. 但有个问题: 很难捉得到猫蚤。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Why? Because they are jumpy . 为何呢？
jumpy:adj.神经质的;跳跃的;
(Laughter) （笑声）
But now, it's actually enough to catch one. 实际上,抓住一只就够了。
Now we can extract its DNA and read how cat fleas make the resilin, and clone it into a less-jumpy organism like a plant. 今日我们已可提取它的DNA, 解读出猫蚤如何产生节肢弹性蛋白, 然后复制于不怎么会跳的生物体,
extract:v.提取;取出;摘录;榨取;n.汁;摘录;榨出物;选粹; clone:v.克隆; n.克隆动物(或植物); organism:n.生物;有机体;有机组织;(尤指)微生物;
So that's exactly what we did. 这正是我们的做法。
Now we have the ability to produce lots of resilin. 我们现有能力制造出大量的节肢弹性蛋白。
Well, my team decided to do something really cool at the university. 我的大学团队决定做更酷的事。
They decided to combine the strongest material produced by the plant kingdom with the most elastic material produced by the insect kingdom -- nanocellulose with resilin. 他们决定合併 植物王国中最强韧的物质 与昆虫王国中最具弹性的材料, 也就是合併奈米纤维素与节肢弹性蛋白。
And the result is amazing. 结果非常惊人。
This material, in fact, is tough, elastic and transparent . 制成的材料坚韧、具弹性且透明。
transparent:adj.透明的;显然的;坦率的;易懂的;
So there are lots of things that can be done with this material. 因此,这种材料的用途极广。
For example, next-generation sport shoes, so we can jump higher, run faster. 例如,下一代的运动鞋 可以跳得更高、跑得更快。
And even touch screens for computers and smartphones , that won't break. 或者用于电脑和智慧型手机的触控萤幕, 摔不破。
smartphones:智能手机(smartphone的复数);
Well, the problem is, we continue to implant synthetic implants in our body, which we glue and screw into our body. 有个医疗的问题, 是我们一向把合成物植入身体里面, 用胶水黏,或用螺丝锁住。
synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物; implants:n.移植物;埋植剂(implant的复数);v.灌输(implant的第三人称单数); glue:n.胶;胶水;v.粘贴; screw:v.旋,拧;压榨;强迫;n.螺旋;螺丝钉;吝啬鬼;
And I'm going to say that this is not a good idea. 我认为这不是好主意。
Why? Because they fail. 为什么？因为这样做不成功。
This synthetic material fails, just like this plastic fork, that is not strong enough for its performance. 有的合成材料失败, 就像这只塑料叉子, 性能不够强。
But sometimes they are too strong, and therefore their mechanical properties do not really fit their surrounding tissues . 但有的合成材料力道太强, 它们的机械性能和周围组织不相配。
tissues:n.纸巾,手巾纸;(人、动植物细胞的)组织;(tissue的复数)
But in fact, the reason is much more fundamental . 但事实上有更根本的原因。
fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的;
The reason is that in nature, there is no one there that actually takes my head and screws it onto my neck, or takes my skin and glues it onto my body. 原因是,在本质上, 没有人的头 是用螺丝钉锁在脖子上, 或者皮肤是以胶水黏着于身体。
screws:n.[机]螺丝; v.用螺钉固定; glues:n.[胶粘]胶水;胶类;v.粘;固着(glue的第三人称单数);
In nature, everything is self-assembled . 自然界中,一切自组、浑然天成。
self-assembled:自组装;
So every living cell, whether coming from a plant, insect or human being, has a DNA that encodes for nanobio building blocks . 每一个活细胞, 无论是植物、昆虫或人类的, 其 DNA 具有奈米级的微小生物基础架构。
encodes:vt.[计]编码,译码; building blocks:(儿童玩的)积木;建筑砌块;堆积木;建筑砖块;基石;
Many times they are proteins . 基础架构通常是蛋白质,
proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数);
Other times, they are enzymes that make other materials, like polysaccharides , fatty acids. 其他时候则是酶, 组成像多醣、脂肪酸等其他材料。
enzymes:n.[生化]酶(enzyme的复数);酶类,酵素; polysaccharides:n.[有化]多糖(polysaccharide的复数); fatty:adj.脂肪的;肥胖的;多脂肪的;脂肪过多的;n.胖子;
And the common feature about all these materials is that they need no one. 这些材料的和共同特性是: 它们无需其他材料或助力。
They recognize each other and self-assemble into structures -- scaffolds on which cells are proliferating to give tissues. 它们彼此认识, 能自行组装、迭架、增生扩散 成为细胞组织。
recognize:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到; scaffolds:n.支架;[建]脚手架;绞刑台(scaffold的复数); proliferating:adj.增生的;v.增殖(proliferate的现在分词);
They develop into organs , and together bring life. 它们发育成器官,共同带来生命。
organs:n.[生物]器官;机构;风琴(organ的复数);
So we at the Hebrew University, about 10 years ago, decided to focus on probably the most important biomaterial for humans,which is collagen . 因此大约十年前,我们希伯来大学决定重点开发「胶原蛋白」 这种可能是人类最重要的生物材料。
biomaterial:n.[材]生物材料; collagen:n.[生化]胶原,胶原质;
Why collagen? 为什么开发胶原蛋白？
Because collagen accounts for about 25 percent of our dry weight. 因为人体去掉水分之外的体重,胶原蛋白约占25％。
We have nothing more than collagen, other than water, in our body. 在我们的身体里,只有水的重量超过胶原蛋白。
So I always like to say, anyone who is in the replacement parts of human beings would like to have collagen. 所以我常说, 任何更换的人体部位 都要用到胶原蛋白。
replacement:n.替换;更换;替代品;接替者;
Admittedly , before we started our project, there were already more than 1,000 medical implants made of collagen. 诚然,在开始我们的计划之前, 已有超过一千种医用植入物 是由胶原做成的。
Admittedly:adv.公认地;无可否认地;明白地;
You know, simple things like dermal fillers to reduce wrinkles , augment lips, and other, more sophisticated medical implants, like heart valves . 简单的像是减少皱纹的皮肤填充物、 厚唇填充物等等; 复杂的像是心脏瓣膜之类的医疗植入物。
dermal:adj.真皮的;皮肤的; fillers:n.[涂料]填充料,[涂料]填料(filler复数形式); wrinkles:n.皱纹;皱痕;v.起皱纹;皱起;(使)起皱褶;(wrinkle的第三人称单数和复数) augment:vi.增加;增大;vt.增加;增大;n.增加;增大; sophisticated:adj.复杂的;老练的;见多识广的;水平高的; valves:n.[机]阀门; v.装阀于…;
So where is the problem? 那么问题出在哪儿呢？
Well, the problem is the source. 问题是来源。
The source of all that collagen is actually coming from dead bodies: dead pigs, dead cows and even human cadavers . 目前所有的胶原蛋白来源 实际上取自尸体,例如: 死猪、死牛, 甚至人类的大体。
cadavers:n.死尸;尸体;(cadaver的复数)
So safety is a big issue. 因此,安全是个大问题,
But it's not the only one. 但不是唯一的问题,
Also, the quality. 质量也是问题。
Now here, I have a personal interest. 我有切身的兴趣和需求。
personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词;
This is my father, Zvi, in our winery in Israel. 这是家父兹维,背景是我们在以色列的酿酒厂。
winery:n.酿酒厂;葡萄酒酿造厂(复数wineries);
A heart valve, very similar to the one that I showed you before, seven years ago, was implanted in his body. 一片像我稍早展示的心脏瓣膜, 在七年前植入他的身体。
implanted:植入的;
Now, the scientific literature says that these heart valves start to fail 10 years after the operation. 科学文献载明:这些心脏瓣膜在手术后 十年就会渐渐损坏。
literature:n.文学;文献;文艺;著作;
No wonder: they are made from old, used tissues, just like this wall made of bricks that is falling apart. 也难怪, 它们是用老旧的组织制成的, 如同这片旧砖墙的砖块分崩离析。
Yeah, of course, I can take those bricks and build a new wall. 虽然我能用这些砖块重新砌墙,
But it's not going to be the same. 但它无法复原成原状。
So the US Food and Drug Administration made a notice already in 2007, asking the companies to start to look for better alternatives . 所以美国食品和药物管理局 已在2007年通知那些公司 务必开始寻找更好的替代品。
alternatives:n.可供选择的事物;(alternative的复数)
So that's exactly what we did. 我们正是在寻找替代品。
We decided to clone all the five human genes responsible for making type I collagen in humans into a transgenic tobacco plant. 我们复制了全部五种 人体负责制造第一型胶原的基因, 将它们移植于烟草植栽中。
genes:n.基因;(gene的复数) responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的; transgenic:adj.转基因的;基因改造的;
So now, the plant has the ability to make human collagen brand new , untouched . 如今这些植物已能产生全新、未被碰过的人体胶原蛋白。
brand new:adj.崭新的;最近获得的; untouched:adj.未受影响的;未改变的;未触动过的;不受感动的;
This is amazing. 这件了不起的事
Actually, it's happening now. 正在实际发生中。
Today in Israel, we grow it in 25,000 square meters of greenhouses all over the country. 今天以色列全国有二万五千平方公尺的温室种植这种烟草。
greenhouses:n.温室(greenhouse的复数);
The farmers receive small plantlets of tobacco. 农民领取烟草幼苗,
It looks exactly like regular tobacco, except that they have five human genes. 幼苗看起来与一般烟草无异, 所不同的只是它们含有五种人类的基因,
They're responsible for making type I collagen. 负责制作第一型胶原的基因。
We grow them for about 50 to 70 days, we harvest the leaves, and then the leaves are transported by cooling trucks to the factory. 植株大约生长50至70天, 然后我们采收叶子, 将叶子用冷藏卡车运送至工厂,
transported:v.(用交通工具)运输,运送,输送;(transport的过去分词和过去式)
There, the process of extracting the collagen starts. 在那里提取胶原蛋白。
extracting:n.提取;萃取;撷取;adj.拔出的(extract进行式);
Now, if you ever made a pesto -- essentially , the same thing. 基本上与制作萝勒青酱的过程相同。
pesto:n.(美)香蒜沙司; essentially:adv.本质上;本来;
(Laughter) （笑声）
You crush the leaves, you get the juice that contains the collagen. 捣碎叶子,取得含胶原蛋白的汁液;
crush:v.压碎;弄皱,变形;使…挤入;n.粉碎;迷恋;压榨;拥挤的人群;
We concentrate the protein, transfer the protein to clean rooms for the final purification , and the end result is a collagen identical to what we have in our body -- untouched, brand new and from which we make different medical implants: bone void fillers, for example, for severe bone fractures , spinal fusion . 浓缩其蛋白质; 转移到无尘室,进行最终的纯化步骤; 最后制成和我们体内完全相同的胶原蛋白, 全新未被碰过、用过的胶原蛋白 被用来做成各式各样的医疗植入物, 例如:骨填充物, 用于治疗严重骨折或脊椎融合手术。
concentrate:n.浓缩物;v.聚精会神;集中(注意力);使…集中(或集合、聚集);(使)浓缩; transfer:n.转移;调任;调离;[体]转会球员;v.调任;调走;转学;转移; purification:n.净化;提纯;涤罪; end result:n.最终结果; identical:adj.同一的;完全相同的;n.完全相同的事物; void:adj.空的;无效的;无人的;n.空虚;空间;空隙;v.使无效;排放; fractures:v.(使)断裂,折断,破裂;(使)分裂;(fracture的第三人称单数) spinal:adj.脊髓的;脊柱的;针的;脊骨的;尖刺的;n.脊椎麻醉; fusion:n.融合;熔化;熔接;融合物;[物]核聚变;
And more recently , even, we've been able to launch into the market here in Europe a flowable gel that is used for diabetic foot ulcers , that is now approved for use in the clinic . 最近, 我们已在欧洲市场推出 治疗糖尿病足溃疡的流动性凝胶 已被批准临床使用。
recently:adv.最近;新近; launch into:进入,投入; gel:vi.胶化;n.[物化]凝胶,胶体; diabetic:adj.糖尿病的,患糖尿病的;n.糖尿病患者; ulcers:n.[病理]溃疡,疡(ulcer的复数); approved:adj.被正式接受的,被正式认可的; v.赞成; (approve的过去分词和过去式) clinic:n.诊所;临床实习;(医院的)门诊部;门诊时间;
This is not science fiction . 这不是科幻故事,
science fiction:科幻小说;
This is happening now. 而是现在的实况。
We are using plants to make medical implants for replacement parts for human beings. 我们正利用植物来制造 用于人体的医疗植入物及替代品。
In fact, more recently, we've been able to make collagen fibers which are six times stronger than the Achilles tendon . 事实上,最近我们已能做出 强度是阿基里斯腱六倍的胶原纤维。
Achilles tendon:n.[解]跟腱;
That's amazing. 太美妙了！
Together with our partners from Ireland, we thought about the next thing: adding resilin to those fibers. 我们和爱尔兰的合作伙伴 一起想出接下来要做的事: 把节肢弹性蛋白加到那些纤维中。
By doing that, we've been able to make a superfiber which is about 380 percent tougher, and 300 percent more elastic. 这样做, 我们能做超级纤维, 增加三点八倍的韧性 和三倍的弹性。
So oddly enough, in the future, when a patient is transplanted with artificial tendons or ligaments made from these fibers, we'll have better performance after the surgery than we had before the injury . 所以在未来会很不寻常, 在患者移植了这些纤维制成的人工肌腱或韧带后, 手术后的表现会比受伤之前更好。
oddly:adv.古怪地;奇妙地;单数地; patient:adj.有耐心的,能容忍的;n.病人;患者; transplanted:移植;转移; artificial:adj.人造的;仿造的;虚伪的;非原产地的;武断的; tendons:n.肌腱,[解剖]腱;蹄筋(tendon的复数); ligaments:n.[解剖]韧带(ligament的复数); surgery:n.外科;外科手术;手术室;诊疗室; injury:n.伤害,损害;受伤处;
So what's for the future? 那么,未来会怎样？
In the future, we believe we'll be able to make many nanobio building blocks that nature provided for us -- collagen, nanocellulose, resilin and many more. 我们相信在未来能够 做出许多大自然提供的奈米级的生物结构: 胶原蛋白、奈米纤维素、节肢弹性蛋白等等。
provided:conj.假如; v.提供; (provide的过去分词和过去式)
And that will enable us to make better machines perform better, even the heart. 将使我们能做出表现更好的机器, 甚至心脏。
enable:v.使能够;使有机会;使成为可能;使可行;
Now, this heart is not going to be the same as we can get from a donor . 这样的心脏与来自器捐者的不同,
donor:n.捐赠者;供者;赠送人;adj.捐献的;经人工授精出生的;
It will be better. 而是更好;
It actually will perform better and will last longer. 会表现得更好, 持续更久。
My friend Zion Suliman once told me a smart sentence. 我的朋友锡安·苏里曼曾告诉我 很聪明的一句话:
He said, "If you want a new idea, you should open an old book." 「如果你想有新的想法, 就应该翻开一本旧书。」
And I'm going to say that the book was written. 而我要说的是,这本书早已被写好,
It was written over three billion years of evolution . 是超过三十多亿年的进化所写成的,
evolution:n.演变;进化;发展;渐进;
And the text is the DNA of life. 内容是生命的 DNA 。
All we have to do is read this text, embrace nature's gift to us and start our progress from here. 我们只要读这书, 拥抱大自然给我们的礼物, 开始我们的进步里程。
embrace:n.拥抱,怀抱;v.拥抱;乐意采纳(思想、建议等);信奉;包括;
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）