TED演讲:疯狂的科学家用苹果做出了耳朵(4)

 What I'm really curious about is if one day, it will be possible to repair, rebuild and augment¹ our own bodies with stuff we make in the kitchen. 我真正好奇的是会不会有一天，人们有可能修复、改造、强化我们自己的身体，用到的只是我们厨房里的材料。

Now speaking of kitchens, here's some asparagus. 好，说到厨房，这是一些芦笋。

Ok. They're tasty, and they make your pee smell funny.  它们很可口，不过会让你的尿液有股怪味。

Now, I was in my kitchen, and I was noticing that when you look down the stalks of these asparagus, 有一次，我在我的厨房里发现，当你观察芦笋茎秆那一端（的截面），

what you can see are all these tiny little vessels².  你会看到这些细小的导管。

And when we image them in the lab, you can see how the cellulose forms these structures. 而当我们在实验室里观察它们时，你会发现纤维素是如何形成这些结构的。

This image reminds me of two things: our blood vessels and the structure and organization of our nerves and spinal³ cord. 这张图让我想到了两样东西：我们的血管和我们的神经和脊髓的结构组织。

So here's the question: Can we grow axons and neurons down these channels? 那么问题来了：我们能否沿着这些通道，培植神经轴突或神经元呢?

Because if we can, then maybe we can use asparagus to form new connections between the ends of damaged and severed⁴ nerves.  如果我们可以实现，也许我们就能用芦笋来形成全新的节点，连接损伤或切断的神经末梢。

Or maybe even a spinal cord.  或者甚至可以是脊髓。

Now don't get me wrong - this is exceptionally challenging and really hard work to do, and we are not the only ones working on this.  不要误会--这非常具有挑战性，而且极其难操作，并不是只有我们正在研究这方面内容。

But we are the only ones using asparagus.  但只有我们在使用芦笋。

Right now, we've got really promising⁵ pilot data.  如今，我们已经取得了，具备可行性的实验数据，

And we're working with tissue engineers and neurosurgeons to find out what's actually possible. 正在和人体组织工程师以及神经外科医生合作，来找出其中的可能性。

1 augment   

vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张

参考例句：

• They hit upon another idea to augment their income.他们又想出一个增加收入的办法。
• The government's first concern was to augment the army and auxiliary forces.政府首先关心的是增强军队和辅助的力量。

2 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

4 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。