VOA慢速英语--科学家们在实验室里发明了一种培育木材的方法

Scientists Develop Method to Grow Wood in a Lab

American scientists say they have developed a way to grow wood material in a laboratory. The method could create different wood products indoors in a single process, greatly cutting the cost of production and reducing damage to the world's forests.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated a proof of concept by growing wood-like structures from cells taken from the leaves of a flowering plant.

The results were recently reported in a study appearing in the Journal of Cleaner Production. The lead researcher on the project was Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a scientist in MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories.

He told MIT News the process is still in early development. But if it can be perfected, it could simplify and speed up the production of wood products. "The way we get these materials hasn't changed in centuries and is very inefficient¹," Velásquez-García said.

For example, the current process for making a wooden table can take many years. First, a tree has to grow. Then, it must be cut down, transported, processed, etc. Velásquez-García says lab-grown wood could combine all those steps into one. "If you want a table, then you should just grow a table," he said.

The process is similar in some ways to lab produced meat, which is grown from live animal cells. But in the wood experiment, the MIT team collected live cells from the leaves of a zinnia plant.

The plant cells were then cultured and kept in an environment designed to activate² and support growth. "Plant cells are similar to stem cells in the sense that they can become anything if they are induced to," Velásquez-García said.

The experiment was carried out indoors, without soil or sunlight. During the process, the researchers used a mixture of two plant hormones⁴ that helped the cells grow a thick, strong wood-like structure. With further development, the researchers say they could use the same process to grow wood in specific shapes, such as a table or chair.

Ashley Beckwith is a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at MIT who led the research. She told MIT News she got the idea for the project while spending time on a farm. She said she wondered whether some of the inefficiencies present in agriculture could be improved through laboratory methods.

"I wanted to find a more efficient way to use land and resources so that we could let more arable⁵ areas remain wild," Beckwith said. She says the experiment demonstrated that growing plant tissue in a lab could also have a big effect in agriculture.

Like with wood production, the process could reduce the time and effort related to traditional agriculture methods. It could also remove difficulties linked to weather and seasonality⁶ in farming, Beckwith said.

Such a lab-based farming method "promises to improve yields while reducing plant waste and competition for arable land," the research study states.

David Stern is a plant biologist and president of the Boyce Thompson Institute. He was not involved in the study. He told MIT News one big question is whether the technology can be effectively scaled and remain economically competitive.

Stern added that scaling up the method would require major financial and intellectual investments. And he said new issues would arise when bringing parts of forestry⁷ and agriculture into the lab. "Agriculture uses the sun's energy through photosynthesis⁸, and...natural rainfall. It does not require buildings, heat, or artificial light," Stern said.

Velásquez-García said his team will be working to improve the method, especially to learn how to better control the final materials that are produced. And, the researchers also want to carry out new experiments to see whether the same results can be reached with other kinds of plants.

Words in This Story

concept – n. an idea of what something is or how it works

inefficient – adj. not capable of producing the desired results without wasting time and energy

culture – v. the beliefs, customs, arts of a particular group of people

induce – v. to cause something to happen next

hormone³ – n. a natural substance that is produced in the human body and determines how the body grows and develops

arable – adj. suitable for farming

yield – v. to produce something, such as crops

scale – v. a range of levels from low to high

photosynthesis – n. the plant process of deriving⁹ nutrients¹⁰ from the sun

artificial – adj. not real, not alive

1 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

2 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• 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。

4 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。

5 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

6 seasonality   

季节性

参考例句：

• a high degree of climatic seasonality 明显的季节性气候变化
• Confinement. Seasonality of tourist trade, animals often 'contracted' to work. 限制，在旅游旺季时，动物们通常都得被迫“上工”。 来自互联网

7 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

8 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

9 deriving   

v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• I anticipate deriving much instruction from the lecture. 我期望从这演讲中获得很多教益。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He anticipated his deriving much instruction from the lecture. 他期望从这次演讲中得到很多教益。 来自辞典例句

10 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》