经济学人253:美国研发战略 医学受阻

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　R D in America

　　美国研发战略

　　Bad medicine

　　医学受阻

　　Cutting American health research will harm the world

　　美国削减医药研究经费，影响波及整个地球

　　BARACK OBAMA, in his state-of-the-union speech on February 12th, called for a new era of scientific discovery.

　　2月12日，巴拉克·奥巴马在国情咨文演讲中号召人民开启科研成果新纪元。

　　Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the space race, he declared.

　　他宣布:自太空竞赛取胜以来，我们始终未能将科技研发推向一个新高度，现在是时候了。

　　He praised projects to map the human brain and accelerate regenerative medicine.

　　他还表扬了大脑活动图谱绘制工程和再生医学提速项目。

　　This would mean spending more on research.

　　这意味着他打算在科研上投入更多的经费。

　　As The Economist¹ went to press, America's government was about to do the opposite.

　　本期《经济学人》付印时，美国政府正欲背道而驰。

　　Federal spending is due to be cut on March 1st, the result of a long brawl² over the deficit³.

　　赤字当前，各政客长期意见不合，导致联邦自动减支于3月1日强制启动。

　　Complex politics triggered this sequester⁴ but the sequester itself is brutally⁵ simple.

　　政局复杂导致了财政封存，但是财政封存却简单得要命。

　　America will cut 85 billion from this year's budget, split between military and non-military programmes.

　　美国将在本年度预算中削减850亿美元，由军事开支和非军事开支共同分担。

　　Among the areas to be squeezed is R&D, and medical research in particular.

　　研发项目开支也将被削减，而医学研究首当其冲。

　　For years America has enjoyed pre-eminence in research, but this is fading.

　　美国历年都在科研方面独占鳌头，但现在她龙头的光环越来越小。

　　Chinese investment more than quintupled from 2000 to 2010, to 160 billion, in 2005 prices.

　　以2005年价格核算，2010年中国的研发投资是2000年的5倍多，达1600亿美元；

　　America's RD spending rose by just 22% over that period, according to the OECD.

　　而据经济合作与发展组织称，同期美国只增加了22%。

　　Research also makes up a smaller portion of America's economy than some other countries'.

　　同时，研究经费在美国经济中所占的比例比其他一些国家都要小。

　　In a ranking of RD spending as a share of GDP, America came tenth in 2011.A decade earlier it was sixth.

　　在2011年研发开支占GDP比例上，美国排名第十，而十年前，美国位居第六。

　　Nevertheless, America remains⁶ the world's biggest engine for innovation.

　　然而，美国仍然是全球最大的创新引擎。

　　It spent 366 billion on research in 2011, compared with 275 billion by all 27 countries of the European Union.

　　2011年，美国在科研上投入了3660亿美元，而27个欧盟国家的总投入仅有2750亿美元。

　　Despite China's rapid ascent⁷, America still spends more than twice as much on R&D. Subsidies⁸ help.

　　虽然中国涨势迅猛，美国在研发上的开支仍比中国高出1倍以上。

　　America's government pays for about one-third of all domestic research and for most basic science.

　　这少不了补贴的功劳。美国政府承担国内三分之一左右的研究经费及多数基础科学费用。

　　Medicine is one of the main beneficiaries.

　　医学研究成了补贴的主要受益对象。

　　America's National Institutes of Health is the world's biggest funder of biomedical research.

　　美国国家卫生研究所是世界最大的生物医学研究投资方。

　　It pays for risky⁹ basic science; companies pay for later stages of development.

　　对于成功率较低的基础科学，开始阶段的研究由研究会买单，而后阶段的开发则由各大公司支付。

　　For example, the NIH supported early research into monoclonal antibodies.

　　比如，NIH支付了单克隆抗体早期的研发费用。

　　By 2010 such research underpinned¹⁰ five of America's 20 bestselling drugs.

　　截至2010年，美国最畅销的20种药物中，有5种来自于这种方式。

　　As drug firms trim their budgets, the NIH's work is becoming even more vital.

　　药物公司的预算减少，NIH的作用就更加重要了。

　　But since 2003, inflation-adjusted spending on medical research has declined.

　　然而，由于通胀所迫，医学研究经费自2003年起也有所下降。

　　With the sequester public investment will shrink further.

　　由于财政封存，国家投资将进一步减少。

　　America's total outlay¹¹ on RD will drop by 8.7 billion this year, according to the American Association for the Advancement¹² of Science.

　　据美国科学发展协会称，今年美国在研发上的总支出会减少87亿美元。

　　Francis Collins, the NIH's director, says that his organisation¹³ will spend 1.6 billion less in 2013—a cut of 5.1%—and 16 billion less over the next decade.

　　NIH所长弗朗西斯?柯林斯说，今年，NIH的开支也会缩减16亿美元，减少约5.1%。在未来十年内，将减少160亿美元；

　　Hundreds of grants will not be awarded.

　　数百项项目经费也将取消。

　　Existing grantees will receive only 90% of the cash promised to them.

　　已申请成功的人士也只能拿到约定经费总额的九成。

　　These cuts will speed the erosion of American supremacy¹⁴ in research.

　　美国在研究领域的龙头地位已经不保，以上各项开支削减进一步加快了其下滑速度。

　　In December Battelle, a research group, predicted that China would surpass America's spending by 2023.

　　去年12月，巴特尔研究中心预测，中国的科研经费将在2023年赶超美国。

　　Thanks to the sequester, that date may come earlier.

　　拜财政封存所赐，这天将来得更早了。

　　But the real problem is absolute, not relative, and affects the whole world, not just America.

　　然而，真正的问题在于，美国不仅会在研发开支排名上下滑，也无疑将在研发进展上落后。这不仅会减缓美国发展，且影响会波及全世界。

　　RD is a rare type of public spending that stimulates¹⁵ growth.

　　能刺激经济增长的国家投资不多，研发就是其中之一。

　　Knowledge is cumulative¹⁶, easy to share and generates benefits that spill rapidly across borders.

　　知识是可积累的，便于分享，而且还可以带来效益、造福各界。

　　Dr Collins says that cuts to the NIH will slow work on Alzheimer's disease, a universal flu vaccine¹⁷ and cancer therapies, to name just a few.

　　柯林斯博士说，削减NIH支出，会减缓多种研究的进程，比如老年痴呆症、通用流感疫苗和抗癌疗法。

　　1.scientific discovery 科学发现

　　We have brought scientific discovery and entrepreneurial activity together.

　　我们把科学发现和企业经营活动联系在一起。

　　As is often the way with scientific discovery, technological¹⁸ breakthroughs of the sort that have given science the neanderthal genome have been as important to the development of genomics as intellectual insights have been.

　　一如以往的科学发现，这样的技术突破对科学发展起到重要作用，尼安德特人的基因组对基因学发展的贡献和历史上的智力发现一样具有里程碑意义。

　　2.about to do 将要完成

　　Consider repercussions¹⁹ of what you're about to do.

　　你们要想清楚这样做的后果。

　　When we discovered what you were about to do.

　　当我们得知你们要做什么的时候。

　　3.due to 由于；因为；应归于

　　Much of the shift is due to economic growth.

　　这种变化的大部分都是由于经济的增长。

　　Police say it's due to better policing.

　　警察说这是因为加强了治安。

　　4.in particular 尤其， 特别

　　Progress is needed in three areas in particular.

　　尤其需要在三个方面取得进展。

　　Unemployment in particular has risen less than once seemed likely.

　　特别是失业率的增速似乎可能有所放缓。

1 economist   

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。

2 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 sequester   

vt.使退隐，使隔绝

参考例句：

• Everything he owned was sequestered.他的所有财产都被扣押了。
• This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.预计这个陪审团将至少被隔离两个月。

5 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

8 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 underpinned   

v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的过去式和过去分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• The report is underpinned by extensive research. 这份报告以广泛的研究为基础。
• The statue of Diana was underpinned with charred piles. Diana雕像是建造在炭化了的木桩上的。 来自辞典例句

11 outlay   

n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费

参考例句：

• There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
• The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。

12 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

13 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

14 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

15 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

17 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

18 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

19 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》