时差N小时 冰河时代的植物存活至今

Like a science fiction time traveler, an arctic plant of the late Pleistocene age, over 31 thousand years old, is growing again after a long frozen sleep.

就像科幻小说中的时间旅行者一样，一株晚更新世时期的北极植物，在历经了31,000年的冰冻休眠后，现在又开始重新生长了。

Narrow leafed campion (Silene stenophylla) is a small plant whose modern relatives are found in eastern Russia and northern Japan. It's a perennial¹ species that grows on stony² cliffs or sandy shores. Once a year, it produces five-petalled flowers that range in color from white to pink to lilac.

窄叶剪秋萝（柳叶蝇子草）是一种小型植物，它们的近亲目前依然在俄罗斯东部和日本北部地区生长。它是一种在陡峭石崖上与沙地上生长的多年生植物。这种植物每年一次会开出五个花瓣的花朵，颜色有白色、粉红和淡紫色。

Russian scientists examining an ancient arctic squirrel burrow³ recovered ancient campion fruits from the sediments⁴. Curious to see if the fruits' seeds might germinate⁵, they planted them. The seeds didn't grow, but the scientists weren't discouraged.

俄罗斯科学家们通过仔细研究一个古北极的鼠洞，在沉积物中找到了这种植物的果实。科学家们非常好奇种子能否发芽，于是把它们种了起来。种子并未发芽，但科学家们并不气馁。

They knew an ancient sacred lotus dating back 1200 years had been restored. Why not the campion? They decided⁶ to try growing a new plant from fruit tissue. It had been frozen all those years, so some cells might be viable⁷.

科学家们知道一株距今一千两百年的圣莲都可以发芽，为什么剪秋萝就不可以呢？于是他们决定尝试从果肉组织中培育一株新的植物。因为几万年来剪秋萝一直处于冷冻状态，因此就可能有一些细胞存活下来。

By bathing the fruit tissue in a culture solution with growth hormones⁸, similar to a technique commonly used to start plants from cuttings, the scientists were able to restart cell division and get several plants to grow.

通过将该果实组织浸入在含有生长激素的培养液中，类似于从一株植物上分离出一部分进行培养，科学家能够重新启动细胞分裂，培育出多个新植物。

The plants not only flourished, they produced flowers. The flowers went on to produce fruit and seeds that were viable and germinated⁹ into a second generation of plants. The ancient campion was given a second chance at life.

实验结果是，种子不但发芽长成了一株茂盛的植物，并且还开了花。这些花凋零之后孕育出的果实和种子能够继续发芽生长出第二代植物。这株远古时期的剪秋萝得到了二次生命。

As the earth warms and more and more arctic permafrost melts, larger numbers of ancient plants will be exposed, giving us a chance to bring plants of the ancient past back to life. And who knows, one day we might resurrect a mammoth¹⁰ to eat them.

随着地球变暖，越来越多的北极冰冻土壤开始融化，越来越多的远古时期的植物暴露在外，使我们有机会让这些植物重新在现代生长。谁知道呢，也许有一天我们需要复活一头猛犸象，并把他们当做盘中餐呢。

1 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

2 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

3 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

4 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

5 germinate   

v.发芽；发生；发展

参考例句：

• Seeds will not germinate without water.没有水，种子是不会发芽的。
• Can thin and hollow seeds germinate?瘦瘪的种子能够发芽吗？

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

8 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

9 germinated   

v.（使）发芽( germinate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• First, the researchers germinated the seeds. 研究人员首先让种子发芽。 来自辞典例句
• In spring they are germinated and grown for a year in beds. 春季里，他们在苗床发芽并生长一年。 来自辞典例句

10 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。