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科学美国人60秒 SSS 有些驱蚊剂就像隐形斗篷

时间:2020-08-25 01:20:18

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列,我是克里斯托弗·因塔格里塔。

It might seem obvious that the primary function of insect repellents like DEET is to, well, repel1. But if you bring a pipette tip full of DEET right up to a mosquito, as Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Chris Potter did:

显而易见,避蚊胺等驱蚊剂的主要功能是驱蚊。但如果你像约翰霍普金斯大学的神经学家克里斯·波特那样,将装满避蚊胺的吸管直接放到蚊子面前:

"She just ignores it. So that really does demonstrate that DEET by itself is not repellent, and it's not going to make them fly away."

“蚊子会无视它。因此,这确实证明避蚊胺本身并不是驱蚊剂,不会将蚊子赶走。”

Potter's team also genetically2 engineered Anopheles mosquitoes to make their antennae3 light up when their olfactory4 neurons picked up on a scent5. But when they spritzed the antennae with DEET and other so-called repellents, even at 100 percent strength:

波特的团队还对按蚊进行了基因改造,使其嗅觉神经元嗅到气味时触须会发光。但当他们用避蚊胺和其他所谓的合成“驱蚊剂”喷洒触须时,即便浓度为100%:

"There just was no response. So that was a surprise to us. Just going into this, we thought, 'Okay, they're insect repellents. They're going to activate6 neurons; that's how they repel mosquitoes.' So then the question is, 'What are they actually doing?'"

“蚊子也没有任何反应。这令我们相当吃惊。一开始我们认为:这些是驱蚊剂。它们会通过激活神经元的方式来驱蚊。然后问题就变成,‘它们到底是如何做到的?’”

The researchers kept experimenting with those genetically modified mosquitoes to find out. A whiff of molecules7 commonly found on human skin made the mosquitoes' antennae light up like a Christmas tree, Potter says. So they do sense us, which you've likely experienced. But when they combined compounds from our natural human perfume with DEET and other synthetic8 repellents, the antennae just flickered9 dimly.

为了找到答案,研究人员一直用这些经过基因改造的蚊子进行实验。波特表示,人类皮肤上常见的一些气味使蚊子的触须像圣诞树一样亮了起来。因此,蚊子的确感觉到了我们,你可能也经历过。但是,当他们将自然人类气味化合物与避蚊胺和其他合成驱蚊剂混合在一起时,蚊子的触须只会微弱地闪烁。

"So these odors, which, before, would strongly activate the olfactory system, essentially10 now didn't do anything."

“所以,这些以前会强烈激活嗅觉系统的气味现在基本上没有任何作用。”

Meaning repellents like DEET actually act like an invisibility cloak against mosquitoes. The details are in the journal Current Biology.

意思是,避蚊胺等驱蚊剂就像对付蚊子的隐形斗篷。研究详情发表在《当代生物学》期刊上。

Natural repellents, on the other hand, like lemongrass oil, strongly activated11 the skeeter's senses in a negative way. And they weren't as affected12 by masking chemicals like DEET. So the scientists say maybe you could combine them—to both offend the mosquitoes' senses and to mask the more irresistible13 scent—of you.

另一方面,柠檬草油等天然驱蚊剂,会以负面方式强烈地激活蚊子的感官。这些驱蚊剂不会受到避蚊剂胺等掩饰化学物质的影响。因此,科学家表示,也许你可以将它们结合起来——既能刺激蚊子的感官,又能掩盖你身上那更诱人的气味。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 repel 1BHzf     
v.击退,抵制,拒绝,排斥
参考例句:
  • A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
  • Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。
2 genetically Lgixo     
adv.遗传上
参考例句:
  • All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
  • Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物
3 antennae lMdyk     
n.天线;触角
参考例句:
  • Sometimes a creature uses a pair of antennae to swim.有时某些动物使用其一对触须来游泳。
  • Cuba's government said that Cubans found watching American television on clandestine antennae would face three years in jail.古巴政府说那些用秘密天线收看美国电视的古巴人将面临三年监禁。
4 olfactory Z5EzW     
adj.嗅觉的
参考例句:
  • He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
  • Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现,凯勒推断,每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。
5 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
6 activate UJ2y0     
vt.使活动起来,使开始起作用
参考例句:
  • We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
  • These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。
7 molecules 187c25e49d45ad10b2f266c1fa7a8d49     
分子( molecule的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
  • Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里,大分子裂变为小分子。
8 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。
9 flickered 93ec527d68268e88777d6ca26683cc82     
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
10 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
11 activated c3905c37f4127686d512a7665206852e     
adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。
12 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
13 irresistible n4CxX     
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的
参考例句:
  • The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前,势不可挡。
  • She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

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