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万物简史 第531期:丰富多彩的生命(27)

时间：2019-03-15 04:54:55

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 Even now nearly a quarter of all prescribed medicines are derived1 from just forty plants, with another 16 percent coming from animals or microbes, 即使现在，差不多四分之一的全都处方药来自仅仅40种植物，还有l6%来自动物或微生物，

so there is a serious risk with every hectare of forest felled of losing medically vital possibilities. 因此每砍伐l0万平方米森林，失去重要的药用发展前途的风险就增加一分。
Using a method called combinatorial chemistry, 化学家们使用一种名叫组合化学的方法，
chemists can generate forty thousand compounds at a time in labs, but these products are random2 and not uncommonly3 useless, 在实验室里一次可以产生出4万种化合物，但这些产品是规格不一的，没有多大用处，
whereas any natural molecule4 will have already passed what the Economist5 calls 而自然界的每个分子都已经经过《经济学家》杂志所说的
"the ultimate screening programme: over three and a half billion years of evolution." “最终的审查过程：35亿多年的进化”。
Looking for the unknown isn't simply a matter of traveling to remote or distant places, however. 然而，寻找未知的东西不完全是一件要去偏僻或遥远地方的事情。
In his book Life: An Unauthorised Biography, 在《生命：一部未经授权的传记》一书中，
Richard Fortey notes how one ancient bacterium6 was found on the wall of a country pub "where men had urinated for generations", 理查德·福泰指出，有一种古老的细菌是在一家乡村酒店的墙上发现的，“世世代代的男人都在那儿撒尿”，
a discovery that would seem to involve rare amounts of luckand devotion and possibly some other quality not specified7. 这一发现似乎包含几个因素：罕见的运气和专心，可能再加上某种别的没有明确的因素。
There aren't enough specialists. 专门人才不足。
The stock of things to be found, examined, and recorded very much outruns the supply of scientists available to do it. 需要发现、研究和记录的东西实在太多，干这活儿的科学家供不应求。
Take the hardy8 and little-known organisms known as bdelloid rotifers. 以名叫吸螨的那种生命力很强而又鲜为人知的微生物为例，
These are microscopic9 animals that can survive almost anything. 那种微生物几乎可以在任何环境里生存。
When conditions are tough, they curl up into a compact shape, switch off their metabolism10, and wait for better times. 条件恶劣的时候，它们就缩成一团，关闭新陈代谢系统，等待好的年景。
 

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1 derived 6cddb7353e699051a384686b6b3ff1e2     
vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取
参考例句：
  • Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 random HT9xd     
adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句：
  • The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
3 uncommonly 9ca651a5ba9c3bff93403147b14d37e2     
adv. 稀罕(极，非常)
参考例句：
  • an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
  • My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。
4 molecule Y6Tzn     
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。
5 economist AuhzVs     
n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人
参考例句：
  • He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
  • He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。
6 bacterium BN7zE     
n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌
参考例句：
  • The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
  • A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。
7 specified ZhezwZ     
adj.特定的
参考例句：
  • The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
  • It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
8 hardy EenxM     
adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的
参考例句：
  • The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
  • He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。
9 microscopic nDrxq     
adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的
参考例句：
  • It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
  • A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。
10 metabolism 171zC     
n.新陈代谢
参考例句：
  • After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
  • All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

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