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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I am Cynthia Graber. This'll just take a minute.

It took 13 years and countless1 hours of research to unravel2 the human genome. Now neuroscientists want to do their field’s version. A small group of researchers is advancing the emerging field of what they call “connectomics.” As genomics moved from individual genes3 to the entire genome, so connectomics wants to take us from individual neurons in our brain to the connections and wiring in the entire nervous system network. That involves nerve cells, the axons that stretch out like wires, the synapses4 that transmit information. It’s a daunting5 task—you have about a hundred billion neurons in your brain. Connectomics wouldn’t be possible without computer processing and imaging. This allows researchers to look at a maze6 of axons in a sample and determine just which axon is connected to which neuron. It’s as complicated as it sounds. Jeff Lichtman is a Harvard scientist whose lab is at the forefront of this effort. He says detailing the connections in a single human brain would require data storage equivalent to Google’s entire collection. But the effort’s underway. Lichtman says Connectomics could teach us how the brain processes information, and how we develop and learn. Which, he says, is what makes us human.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm Cynthia Graber.
 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
2 unravel Ajzwo     
v.弄清楚(秘密);拆开,解开,松开
参考例句:
  • He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧,其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线,他都能解开。
  • This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。
3 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
4 synapses 866e8ec5e7e57c04ff0daa7921c4d2a5     
n.(神经元的)突触( synapse的名词复数 );染色体结合( synapsis的名词复数 );联会;突触;(神经元的)触处
参考例句:
  • Nerve cells communicate with one another at the synapses, where their membranes almost touch. 神经细胞在突触部位彼此沟通,在这里它们的膜几乎接触到一起了。 来自辞典例句
  • Glutamatergic synapses are common excitatory chemical connections in mammalian central nervous system. 谷氨酸性突触是哺乳动物神经系统的主要兴奋性突触。 来自互联网
5 daunting daunting     
adj.使人畏缩的
参考例句:
  • They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
  • Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。
6 maze F76ze     
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑
参考例句:
  • He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
  • She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时,她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

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