Emerging Technologies

Emerging Technologies

2

Bacterial¹ factories

By Erika Jonietz

 

In the valleys of central China, a fernlike weed called sweet wormwood grows in fields formerly² dedicated³ to corn. The plant is the only source of artemisinin, a drug that is nearly 100 percent effective against malaria⁴. But even with more farmers planting the crop, demand for artemisinin exceeds supply, driving its cost out of reach for many of the 500 million afflicted⁵ with malaria every year. Bioengineer Jay Keasling aims to solve the supply problem—and drastically reduce the cost of treatment—by mass-producing the compound in specially⁶ engineered bacteria.

 

Keasling’s efforts are an example of metabolic⁷ engineering, a field in which researchers try to optimize⁸ the complex processes whereby a cell produces or breaks down a particular substance. These processes rely on the stepby-step direction of genes¹⁰. Changing even one gene⁹ can alter the outcome. Most metabolic engineering has previously¹¹ focused on modifying a cell’s natural processes by inserting, mutating or deleting a few key genes. According to James Collins, a biological engineer at Boston University, “what Jay is doing is a bit more radical”: creating entirely¹² new metabolic pathways by integrating multiple genes from different organisms into a host microbe.

 

Ultimately, Keasling believes, new technologies for analyzing¹³ and understanding cellular¹⁴ pathways will enable researchers to engineer microbes to produce a huge range of chemicals, from drugs to plastics. Unlike conventional chemical engineering, bacteria do their job cleanly, without requiring or producing environmentally harmful compounds. “We’ve got all these great tools,” Keasling says. “Now we can start to put these to use to solve this one particular problem: how to engineer a cell to do the kinds of chemistries that you want it to do.”

 

 

Vocabulary Focus

drastically (adv) [5drAstikli] severely¹⁵ and suddenly or with very noticeable effects

optimize (v) [5Cptimaiz] to make something as good or effective as possible

integrate (v) [5inti^reit] to combine two or more things in order to become more effective

 

Specialized¹⁶ Terms

malaria (n) 疟疾 a disease cause by the bite of a particular type of mosquito, which causes periods of fever, coldness and shaking, and is common in many hotter parts of the world

mutate (v) 使突变 to permanently¹⁷ change a gene in order to develop new physical characteristics

microbe (n) 微生物 a very small living thing, especially one which causes disease and which is too small to see without a microscope

 

新兴科技

2

细菌工厂

中国中部的山谷，一种名为香苦蒿、貌似羊齿植物的草丛生长在昔日的玉米田间。青蒿素是治疗疟疾几乎百分之百有效的良药，而香苦蒿就是其唯一来源。不过，纵然已有较多的农民种植香苦蒿，青蒿素仍然供不应求，使得价格飙涨，超出每年罹患疟疾5亿人口中许多人的负担范围。生物工程师杰伊·吉斯林一心想解决供应短缺问题，以大幅降低治疗成本，她的方法是利用特别设计的细菌，大量生产青蒿素这一化合物。

吉斯林的努力是代谢工程的一例。代谢工程领域的研究人员设法尽可能改善细胞生产或分解特定物质的复杂过程，这些过程依赖各基因的逐步引导，即使只改变一个基因也可能影响整个结果。多数的代谢工程之前均致力于植入、删除一些关键基因或使关键基因突变，以更改细胞的自然生产及分解过程。波士顿大学生物工程师詹姆斯·科林斯说：“杰伊的做法更激进一点”，将来自不同有机体的多个基因整合至宿主微生物，好创造出崭新的代谢路径。

吉斯林相信，用于分析及了解细胞路径的新技术最终可使研究人员设计出微生物，进而生产从药品到塑料等广大范围的化学制品。与传统化学工程不同的是，细菌的代谢工程较为干净，不需要也不会产生对环境有害的化合物。吉斯林说：“我们有这些很棒的方法，现在可以开始用它们来解决这个问题：如何设计一个细胞来做你希望它完成的化学程序。”

1 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

2 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

8 optimize   

v.使优化 [=optimise]

参考例句：

• We should optimize the composition of the Standing Committees.优化人大常委会组成人员的结构。
• We should optimize our import mix and focus on bringing in advanced technology and key equipment.优化进口结构，着重引进先进技术和关键设备。

9 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

10 genes   

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

11 previously   

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。

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

14 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

17 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。