雙語文摘蟑螂是如何拯救生命的
蟑螂大家都有見過吧!那么你知道蟑螂拯救生命的嗎?接下來，小編給大家準(zhǔn)備了雙語文摘蟑螂是如何拯救生命的,歡迎大家參考與借鑒。
雙語文摘蟑螂是如何拯救生命的
提到蟑螂，我們總會(huì)聯(lián)想到骯臟昏暗的廚房和浴室——當(dāng)你進(jìn)入房間打開燈的時(shí)候，它們就立馬溜走了。但是并不只有害蟲處理專家對(duì)它們感興趣——這些昆蟲也啟發(fā)了抗體、機(jī)器人以及機(jī)械肢體的研究，Mary Colwell寫道。
Cockroaches are often associated with dirty kitchens and grimy bathrooms - scuttling away as soon as you enter the room and turn on the light. But pest controllers aren't the only people interested in them - these insects are inspiring research into antibiotics, robots and mechanical limbs, writes Mary Colwell.
在哈瓦那，當(dāng)?shù)亓辆G色的古巴蟑螂經(jīng)常被當(dāng)做寵物來喂養(yǎng)，而且在古老的民間故事里也有它們的身影。有一個(gè)故事講述了一個(gè)名叫Martina的年輕漂亮的古巴蟑螂，她通過惹惱前來拜訪她的追求者們來測試他們的品格。
In Havana the native bright green Cuban cockroach is often kept as a pet and the insect even appears in old folktales. In one story, a beautiful young Cuban cockroach called Martina tests the character of her suitors by annoying them when they come to visit.
“把咖啡倒在他們的鞋上，看看他們的反應(yīng)，”她明智的祖母建議道。“知道你未來的丈夫生氣的時(shí)候是什么樣子可重要得很——咖啡測試百試百靈?！?/p>
"Drop coffee on their shoes to see how they react," recommends her wise grandma. "It is very important to know what your future husband is like when he is angry - the coffee test never fails."
當(dāng)鞋子變得濕漉漉的，她富有的追求者們露出了他們的本性。一個(gè)盡管貧窮但是溫柔善良的追求者通過了測試，從此他們幸福的生活在了一起。
When faced with soaking wet shoes, her rich suitors show their true colours. A kind and gentle but poor hopeful passes the test though, and the couple live happily ever after.
明智和美麗可不經(jīng)常用于形容蟑螂，但是它們的壞名聲有時(shí)有點(diǎn)兒冤枉。已知的蟑螂種類有4500多種，只有四種被認(rèn)為是害蟲。大部分都生存在遠(yuǎn)離人類居住區(qū)域的地區(qū)，以尸體和腐爛的東西為食，在生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中起到重要的作用。
Wise and beautiful are words not often associated with these creatures but their bad reputation is not always justified. Out of the 4,500 known species, only four are considered pests. Most don't live near human homes and they perform a vital ecological role, eating dead and decaying matter.
它們中的有些種類具有亮麗的色彩和精致的花紋。有一些是社會(huì)性昆蟲，進(jìn)行群體決策，分享食物和庇護(hù)所的信息。它們通過歌唱、發(fā)出嘶嘶和打鼓一樣的聲音來求偶。它們的生存能力也非常頑強(qiáng)，即使連續(xù)幾個(gè)月缺乏食物也可以生存下來。例如，南美橙頭蟑螂在只有水的情況下也可以生存一年。
Some species are exquisite with brilliant colours and patterns. Some are social and make collective decisions, passing on information about food and shelter. Others are solitary. Some pair up and raise their young together. They can hiss, sing and make drumming sounds to attract a mate, and they are supremely hardy, surviving on the most meagre rations for months on end. One, [In his 2014 TED talk](https://books.google.co.uk/books?>the Eublaberus posticus, can survive for a year on water alone.
澳大利亞的犀牛蟑螂是蟑螂中最重的一種，重量可達(dá)35g，身長可達(dá)8cm。而在歐洲和北美比較常見的害蟲——德國蟑螂，則屬于最小的種類之一，身長僅僅超過1cm。如果Martina和她的祖母知道咖啡渣常被用來誘捕它們，一定會(huì)覺得有趣極了。
The heaviest, the subterranean rhinoceros cockroach, weighs in at 35g, measures 8cm in length, and lives in Australia. One of the smallest is a pest commonly found in Europe and North America - the German cockroach, which is just over 1cm long. Martina and her grandma might be interested to know that coffee grounds are often used as bait to trap them.
不過科學(xué)家可沒那么反感它們，它們可是科學(xué)家們的靈感之源。1999年，加利福尼亞大學(xué)伯克利分校的Robert Full教授從蟑螂移動(dòng)的方式中獲得啟發(fā)，設(shè)計(jì)出了六足機(jī)器人，具有更快的移動(dòng)速度，同時(shí)移動(dòng)起來也更加容易。
But rather than finding them repulsive, scientists see them as a source of inspiration. In 1999, the way cockroaches moved inspired Prof Robert Full at the University of California, Berkley, to devise a six-legged robot that moved faster and more easily than any others.
在他的TED演講中，解釋了昆蟲的具有彈性的足、圓潤的身形和柔韌的外骨骼——由管狀和板狀結(jié)構(gòu)彼此相連構(gòu)成——是如何使它們適應(yīng)復(fù)雜地形。蟑螂在微型跑步機(jī)上以及在應(yīng)對(duì)突發(fā)情況時(shí)的片段顯示了它們行進(jìn)時(shí)是多么穩(wěn)定——如果它們身體不小心翻了過去，翅膀也可以幫助它們重新翻過來。
he explained how the insects' springy legs, rounded body shape and flexible exoskeletons - made up of connected tubes and plates - enable them to negotiate complex terrain. Footage of cockroaches on mini treadmills and assault courses shows how stable they are - and if they do happen to flip over, they can use their wings to right themselves.
蟑螂的足也為研究者設(shè)計(jì)人類下一代義肢提供了靈感。新型機(jī)械手可以做一些抓握的動(dòng)作，其原型就是蟑螂腿那具有彈性的構(gòu)造。根據(jù)哈弗仿生機(jī)器人實(shí)驗(yàn)室負(fù)責(zé)人Robert D Howe的觀點(diǎn)，設(shè)計(jì)的目的在于制造出一種更先進(jìn)的假手，可以“滑過物體表面，然后握住它們，就像人們用真正的手端起咖啡杯的動(dòng)作一樣”。
The insects' legs are also providing ideas for researchers designing the next generation of prosthetic legs for humans. And the mechanics of their springiness are the basis for the grip in a new mechanical hand. The aim, according to Robert D Howe, head of Harvard's Biorobotics Laboratory, is to produce a hand that can "glide along objects until it wraps around them, just like a human hand lifting a coffee cup".
將微型計(jì)算機(jī)用類似外科手術(shù)的方法接在活蟑螂的背上，這就是蟑螂機(jī)器人。通過對(duì)計(jì)算機(jī)傳遞信息，可以指揮蟑螂到人類難以進(jìn)入的地方，例如倒塌的建筑或者下水道，去那里采集我們需要的數(shù)據(jù)。
Then there's the robotic roach - a fusion of live cockroach and mini-computer, surgically attached to its back. By sending messages to the computer, the cockroach can be directed to places that are hard for to humans to access, such as collapsed buildings or broken sewers, where they collect data.
"當(dāng)?shù)谝淮我姷剿鼈儠r(shí)，我的頭皮都一陣發(fā)麻，“德州農(nóng)工大學(xué)的首席研究員Hong Liang說。“但是后來我開始在辦公室養(yǎng)一些當(dāng)作寵物。事實(shí)上，它們可是非常迷人的生物。它們總是會(huì)清理它們自己?！?/p>
"When I first saw them, my hair stood up," says the lead researcher on a project at Texas A&M University, Hong Liang. "But I went on to keep some in my office as pets for a while. They are actually beautiful creatures. They are constantly cleaning themselves."
在六月份，上海交通大學(xué)的學(xué)生演示了他們?nèi)绾斡盟麄兊囊饽顏砜刂企?。通過把人的腦電波轉(zhuǎn)換為電脈沖，然后再發(fā)送到蟑螂身上的接收器上，他們就可以通過他們的想法來指揮蟑螂走不同形狀的隧道了。
In June students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University demonstrated how they could control cockroaches with their minds. Translating human brain waves into electrical impulses, they directed a cockroach attached to receiver down different shaped tunnels - simply by thinking about it.
在醫(yī)藥方面，蟑螂也是研究者們的研究對(duì)象。長時(shí)間以來，科學(xué)家們都好奇為什么蟑螂能夠生活在骯臟的環(huán)境里卻不受疾病的影響，直到他們發(fā)現(xiàn)蟑螂可以產(chǎn)生強(qiáng)大的抗體。
There is cockroach-related research in medicine too. Scientists had long wondered how roaches could spend their lives in dirty environments with no ill effects and it turns out they [produce their own powerful antibiotics.
他們也許已經(jīng)找到了打敗那些致病有毒細(xì)菌，如大腸桿菌、金黃色葡萄球菌以及其它現(xiàn)有方法難以殺滅的超級(jí)細(xì)菌，的關(guān)鍵。
They might hold the key when it comes to developing drugs to knock out the most virulent bacteria that make humans ill, such as E. coli, MRSA and other superbugs resistant to many existing treatments.
盡管，把蟑螂用于治療疾病也不是什么新鮮事了。在19世紀(jì)，一名名叫小泉八云的記者和作家在美國北部旅行時(shí)記錄道，“蟑螂茶被用于治療破傷風(fēng)。我不知道做這樣一杯茶需要多少只蟑螂;但是我知道新奧爾良的美國人非常相信它的治療作用?！?/p>
Cockroach cures are nothing new, though. In the 19th Century Lafcadio Hearn, a journalist and writer who travelled through the southern states of the US, noted, "For tetanus, cockroach tea is given. I do not know how many cockroaches go to make up the cup; but I find faith in this remedy is strong among many of the American population of New Orleans."
而在今天，在中國有些地方的醫(yī)院里，他們會(huì)用蟑螂粉末制得的乳霜來治療燒傷，或者用蟑螂糖漿來緩解腸胃炎。
Today, hospitals in parts of China use a cream made from powdered cockroaches to treat burns and a cockroach syrup is sometimes given to patients to alleviate the symptoms of gastroenteritis.
當(dāng)Wang Fuming意識(shí)到蟑螂的市場需求正在增長，他就在中國東部的山東省開設(shè)了蟑螂養(yǎng)殖廠。他在地下共養(yǎng)殖了2千2百萬只蟑螂，他說從2010年以來，蟑螂尸體的價(jià)格已經(jīng)漲了十倍。
When Wang Fuming realised demand for the insects was growing he set up a cockroach farm in Shandong province in eastern China. He keeps 22 million at a time in his underground bunkers and says that since 2010 the price of dried cockroaches had risen tenfold.
蟑螂也可以食用——在中國，美洲蟑螂被視作美味佳肴。把它們?cè)跓嵊椭蟹▋纱?，?huì)使它們的外皮焦脆內(nèi)里多汁，像白軟干酪一樣。灑上紅辣椒則增加美味。
The insects can also be eaten - in China, the American cockroach is the preferred delicacy. Double frying them in hot oil is said to give them a crispy outer and succulent inner with the consistency of cottage cheese. A sprinkling of chilli gives an extra zing.
隨著人口數(shù)量和其對(duì)蛋白質(zhì)需求量的增長，也許有一天，倍受白眼的蟑螂將喂養(yǎng)全世界人。只要人能不那么容易對(duì)它反胃。
As the human population and its need for mass produced protein grows, perhaps the reviled cockroach will one day feed the world. If only people could be a little less squeamish.
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