2023年经济学人 基因编辑产生的"音乐植物"(2)

 

    Dr Fril started with barley¹, which has the longest spikes³ of the three, and therefore the most potential for fine tuning⁴.

    弗里尔博士从大麦开始实验，大麦在三种植物中具有最长的穗，因此最有微调的潜力。

    (He also likes a glass of beer.)

    (他也喜欢喝大麦啤酒。)

    Besides tweaking the spike² lengths, his team installed in their modified barley plants versions of the buzz-detecting and nectar-generating genes⁵ from evening primroses⁶.

    除了调整穗状物的长度，他的团队还在改良后的大麦植株上装上了夜樱草的蜂群检测和产生花蜜等基因。

    Together with a few other genetic⁷ rearrangements, the consequent redirection of nutrients⁸ (for wind-pollinated crops like barley produce no nectar, meaning the nutrients involved are available for other purposes) means that GeneDupe's Fortissimo barley grows faster than the normal variety if it is played appropriate sounds.

    再加上其他一些基因重组，可以致使营养物质重新定向(对于像大麦这样的风媒传粉作物来说，它们不产生花蜜，也意味着相关的营养物质可以用于其他目的)这意味着，如果播放适当的声音，基因复制公司的强音大麦比正常品种生长得更快。

    The first generation of Fortissimo barley had not involved too much tinkering with the original genetics, so it was to the buzzing of bees that it responded.

    第一代强音大麦并没有修改太多原始基因，所以它只对蜜蜂的嗡嗡声做出了反应。

    However, barley's wind pollination⁹ means bees do not bother to visit it.

    然而，大麦的风媒传粉意味着蜜蜂不为它传粉。

    It was therefore necessary to play the sound of bees across the experimental field through a speaker stack, which resulted in numerous complaints from the firm's neighbours.

    因此，通过扬声器在整个试验场播放蜜蜂的声音是有必要的，这导致了该公司收到邻居的大量投诉。

    Applying another of modern biotechnology's techniques, protein-folding software, did away with that problem.

    应用另一种现代生物技术，也就是蛋白质折叠软件，可以解决这个问题。

    By predicting how protein chains will fold up, and thus what physical properties the resulting molecule¹⁰ will have, this software allows the design of novel genes that encode suites¹¹ of proteins which respond appropriately but specifically to a wide range of sounds, from Beethoven to Beyonce.

    通过预测蛋白质链如何折叠，以及由此产生的分子将具有什么物理特性，该软件可以设计新的基因，编码蛋白质套件，这些蛋白质套件能够对从贝多芬到碧昂斯的各种声音做出恰当且具体的反应。

    That permits farmers to sow whichever variety of crop corresponds to their personal musical taste.

    这使得农民可以种植任何一种符合个人音乐品味的作物。

    The prize activity of GeneDupe's newly created botanoacoustics division, however, is its work on the flip¹² side of the matter—sound generation by plants.

    然而，该公司新成立的植物声学部门的获奖活动则是在另一方面下功夫，也就是植物产生的声音。

    The aim of this is to get crops to egg each other on to grow faster, with each plant broadcasting sounds that will stimulate¹³ the growth of those adjacent.

    这样做的目的是让作物相互促进，加快生长速度，每一种植物播放出的声音都会刺激相邻植物的生长。

    That way there will be no need for loudspeakers, aggrieved¹⁴ neighbours or the inevitable¹⁵ arguments about which tracks crops like to listen to most.

    这样一来，就不需要扩音器，没有愤愤不平的邻居，也不需要一直争论哪些音乐是作物的最爱。

    This last point will in any case be settled in the next generation of Fortissimo crops, for GeneDupe's artificial-intelligence algorithms have developed versions of them that will both generate and respond to any pattern of sound programmed into their DNA¹⁶, from Rabbie Burns's “Coming through the rye” to that glorious, tub-thumping, harvest-festival hymn¹⁷, “The valleys stand so thick with corn/That even they are singing”.

    无论如何，最后一点将在下一代强音作物上得到解决，因为该公司的人工智能算法有这些作物的开发版本，它们可以产生并响应编入DNA的任何声音，从罗比·伯恩斯的《穿越麦田》到丰收节那首辉煌的、鼓声咚咚的赞美诗，“山谷里长满了玉米/它们甚至都在唱歌”。

    With this tweak, Dr Fril is pretty sure he will have a commercial success on his hands after its unveiling to an eager public on Saturday.

    有了这一调整，弗里尔博士确信，在周六向迫不及待的群众展示后，他将获得商业上的成功。

1 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

2 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

3 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

6 primroses   

n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 )；淡黄色；追求享乐（招至恶果）

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The primroses were bollming; spring was in evidence. 迎春花开了，春天显然已经到了。 来自互联网

7 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

8 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 pollination   

n.授粉

参考例句：

• The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
• Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉，谷物的长势就会受阻。

10 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

11 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

12 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

13 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

14 aggrieved   

adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

16 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

17 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。