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科学美国人60秒 SSS 用芽殖酵母制造大麻素化合物

时间:2019-12-10 08:58:41

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This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

The compounds THC and CBD are known as cannabinoids, because they co??me from cannabis. AKA marijuana. Now biologists have taken the genes1 that produce cannabinoids in weed, and plugged them into: yeast2.

"Yeah—there's several reasons. The first is cost." Jay Keasling is a synthetic3 biologist at U.C. Berkeley, who has previously4 programmed yeast to cheaply produce antimalarial drugs. He says yeast could conceivably produce cannabinoids for about $400 a kilogram—that's compared to the $40,000-a-kilo price tag when using synthetic chemistry.

Other benefits exist, too: "There are about 100 different cannabinoids that naturally occur in cannabis but it's been hard to do research on those because there's not much available. They are produced in such minute quantities in the cannabis you'd have to purify a huge amount of cannabis just to get enough to test."

Keasling says they can even make cannabinoids that don't exist in nature at all, by feeding the yeast certain fatty acids. The resulting cannabinoids, which are chemically similar but not identical to garden-variety THC and CBD, have little appendages5 the scientists can do chemistry on.

"We could attach an antibody to it and get it to go to a certain location in the human body based on the antibody. We could also put a tail on it so it could be put on a patch and cross the skin, and be used like the nicotine6 patches. We could also put another drug on it so you'd have a dual7 action therapy. And this is something that kind of came out of the research that we didn't expect."

The research is in the journal Nature.

Keasling has already founded a new company—Demetrix—to study these yeast-produced medicines. But there are also more mundane8 things you could do with this technology. Many people are already enthusiasts9 of the fermented10 beverages11 yeast produce. A certain segment of them may also be fans of cannabinoids. With this technology, Keasling says you could produce a THC or CBD beer. Which would give a new meaning to, "This Bud's for You."

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.


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1 genes 01914f8eac35d7e14afa065217edd8c0     
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
2 yeast 7VIzu     
n.酵母;酵母片;泡沫;v.发酵;起泡沫
参考例句:
  • Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
  • The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。
3 synthetic zHtzY     
adj.合成的,人工的;综合的;n.人工制品
参考例句:
  • We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
  • It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。
4 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
5 appendages 5ed0041aa3aab8c9e76c5d0b7c40fbe4     
n.附属物( appendage的名词复数 );依附的人;附属器官;附属肢体(如臂、腿、尾等)
参考例句:
  • The 11th segment carries a pair of segmented appendages, the cerci. 第十一节有一对分节的附肢,即尾须。 来自辞典例句
  • Paired appendages, with one on each side of the body, are common in many animals. 很多动物身上有成对的附肢,一侧一个,这是很普遍的现象。 来自辞典例句
6 nicotine QGoxJ     
n.(化)尼古丁,烟碱
参考例句:
  • Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
  • Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
7 dual QrAxe     
adj.双的;二重的,二元的
参考例句:
  • The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
  • He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。
8 mundane F6NzJ     
adj.平凡的;尘世的;宇宙的
参考例句:
  • I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作,而不是一份平凡无奇的。
  • I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的,即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。
9 enthusiasts 7d5827a9c13ecd79a8fd94ebb2537412     
n.热心人,热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册
10 fermented e1236246d968e9dda0f02e826f25e962     
v.(使)发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 );(使)激动;骚动;骚扰
参考例句:
  • When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句
11 beverages eb693dc3e09666bb339be2c419d0478e     
n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
  • regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

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