彭蒙惠英语：Send in the Rescue Rats

 

Send in the Rescue Rats

 

By Emily Singer © 2004, New Scientist Magazine.

Reed Business Information Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services.

 

Rats equipped with radios that transmit their brainwaves could soon help locate survivors¹ buried in the wreckage² of collapsed³ buildings

 

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Rats have an exquisitely⁴ sensitive sense of smell and can crawl just about anywhere. This combination makes them ideal candidates for sniffing⁵ out buried survivors. Of course, the animals have to be taught to home in on people, and then they must signal their position to rescuers on the surface. In a project funded by the Defense⁶ Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s research arm, Linda and Ray Hermer-Vazquez of the University of Florida worked out a way to achieve this.

 

First, the researchers identified the neural⁷ signals rats generate when they have found a scent⁸ they are looking for. “When a dog is sniffing a bomb, he makes a unique movement that the handler recognizes,” says John Chapin, a State University of New York neuroscientist who is collaborating⁹ with Ray and Linda on the project. “Instead of the rat making a conditioned response, we pick up the response immediately from the brain.”

 

“There are two [types of] neural events that we believe are hallmarks of the ‘aha!’ moment for the rat,” says Linda. High-frequency activity occurs in one subset of neurons, and decreased activity is observed in two other areas, she says.

 

Reading the rat’s mine

 

Each rat has electrodes implanted in three areas of the brain: the olfactory¹¹ cortex, where the brain processes odor signals; the motor cortex, where the brain plans its next move; and the reward center, which, when stimulated¹³, gives the rat a pleasurable sensation. The electrodes are permanently¹⁴ implanted in the brain and can give accurate signals for up to nine months.

 

Vocabulary Focus

home in on (idiom) to aim for and move directly toward something

implant¹⁰ (v) [im5plB:nt] to put an organ, group of cells, or device into the body in a medical operation

stimulate¹² (v) [5stimjuleit] to cause part of the body to function or experience increased activity

 

Specialized¹⁵ Terms

Pentagon (n) 五角大楼，即美国国防部 the headquarters for the U.S. Defense Department

neural (adj) 神经系统的 involving a nerve or the system of nerves that includes the brain

handler (n) （动物）训练师 a person who trains and takes care of animals, especially as a job

conditioned response (n phr) 条件反射 something a person or animal does after connecting an experience to a specific action, situation or stimulation¹⁶

electrode (n) 电极 a device through which an electric current enters or leaves something

 

老鼠救援队出场

吴四民 译

 

很快地，配有无线电以传送自身脑电波的老鼠，将可协助找出埋在断垣残壁下的幸存者

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老鼠拥有非常敏锐的嗅觉，而且几乎可以爬进任何地方。这种组合使它们成为能嗅出埋在瓦砾中幸存者的理想选择。当然，这些鼠辈必须接受训练，专以人类为搜寻目标，而且还必须发出信号，让地面上的搜救者知道它们的位置。美国国防部五角大楼的研究机构国防先进研究计划局（DARPA）出资进行相关的研究计划，其中佛罗里达大学的琳达与雷·荷默－瓦奎斯夫妇找到了一种能够达成这个目标的方法。

首先，研究人员辨识出老鼠在发现它们所寻找的味道时会产生的神经系统信号。纽约州立大学神经科学家约翰·查平，与琳达和雷共同进行这项研究计划。他表示：“狗儿嗅到炸弹时，会做出训练师看得出来的独特动作。”他说：“然而，我们可以不必等老鼠作出条件反射，就立即从它的脑子看到反应。”

琳达说：“有两种类型的神经活动，是我们认为老鼠发出‘哈！就是它！’的讯息的证据。”她表示，高频率的活动发生于神经元的某个集合，而经过观察，还有其它两个区域出现频率不那么高的活动。

 

读懂老鼠的心

在每只老鼠大脑的3个区域植入电极，分别是：大脑处理气味信号的嗅觉皮质、决定下个动作的运动皮质、以及在受到刺激时给老鼠愉悦感的敏感中枢。这些电极永久地植入老鼠的脑部，在长达9个月的期间内，都可提供精确的信号。

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 exquisitely   

adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地

参考例句：

• He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服，还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分

5 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

8 scent   

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。

9 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

10 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

11 olfactory   

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。

12 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

13 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

14 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。

15 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。

16 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。