快⬆️⬆️点击上方蓝字关注并星标这个公众号，一起涨姿势～
词数：398 words
难度：★★★☆☆
小贴士：
因公众号推送机制改版，很多朋友反映看不到我们，为了能更常看到我们的文章，请把我们“设为星标”，阅后点赞哦~
——大橙子留
✦ +
+
上期划线句答案
If you look at our ancestors, a lot of them passed away by the time they were in their 50s because they had a greater antigenic load [the amount of inflammatory stress an infection causes] before there were vaccines, higher living standards and better sanitation.
如果你看看我们的祖先，很多人50岁左右就去世了，因为在疫苗、更高的生活水平和更好的卫生条件出现之前，他们承受了更大的抗原负荷（感染引起的炎症压力）。
✦ +
+
本期内容
◆
双语阅读
Para.1
Handedness, more formally known as chirality, is hugely important in biology because interactions between biomolecules rely on them having the expected form. For example, if a protein’s handedness is reversed, it cannot interact with partner molecules, such as receptors on cells. “Think of it like hands in gloves,” says Katarzyna Adamala, a synthetic biologist at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the article and the accompanying technical report, which is almost 300 pages long. “My left glove won’t fit my right hand.”
Para.2
The authors are worried about mirror bacteria, the simplest life-form their concerns apply to. The capability to create mirror bacteria does not yet exist and is “at least a decade away,” they write, but progress is underway. Researchers can already synthesize mirror biomolecules, such as DNA and proteins. At the same time, progress has been made toward creating synthetic cells from nonmirrored components.
Para.3
Many immune system mechanisms also rely on handedness. T cells, responsible for recognizing foreign invaders, for example, might fail to bind to something with the wrong handedness. So these therapies could also avoid triggering immune reactions in patients. “A mirror peptide will not be readily degraded, which is why they could be great as therapeutics,” says co-author John Glass, a synthetic biologist at JCVI. “We see absolutely no reason to prohibit this.”
Para.4
A potential application of mirror bacteria is might be bioreactors, biological factories that use cells or microorganisms to manufacture various compounds, such as antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) can wipe out bacteria-based bioreactors, costing huge amounts of time and money, but it is likely they wouldn’t infect mirror bacteria, because they wouldn’t recognize their molecules. Similarly, natural predators, like amoebae, which consume normal bacteria, would fail to recognize mirror bacteria as food.
Para.5
It is these supposedly advantageous properties that gave rise to the scientists’ concerns. “All the practical applications that drew us into this field are the reasons we’re terrified of it now,” Adamala says. The ability to evade immune responses could allow bacteria to cause lethal infections as they multiply unchecked. Unlike viruses, bacteria don’t need to interact with specific molecules to infect an organism, and mirror bacteria could infect a broad range of hosts, including humans, other animals, and plants. And a lack of predators could enable mirror bacteria to spread widely through ecosystems.
本文节选自：Scientific American（科学美国人）
发布时间：2024.12.14
作者： Simon Makin
原文标题：Creating ‘Mirror Life’ Could Be Disastrous, Scientists Warn
◆
写作句总结
原句：It is these supposedly advantageous properties that gave rise to the scientists’ concerns.
结构：It is x that gave rise to the Y’s concerns.
例句：It is this political news that gave rise to the government’s concerns.
◆
阅读理解题
Which of the following statements best describes a potential danger associated with mirror bacteria?
A) Mirror bacteria could be easily degraded by the immune system, limiting their effectiveness as therapeutics.
B. Mirror bacteria might fail to bind to receptors on cells due to reversed handedness, rendering them harmless.
C. Mirror bacteria could evade immune responses, potentially leading to unchecked infections and widespread ecological disruption.
D. Mirror bacteria would be readily consumed by natural predators, preventing their use in bioreactors.
◆
全文概括
Scientists are exploring the creation of "mirror bacteria," bacteria with reversed chirality (handedness). While this technology offers potential benefits like new therapeutics and bioreactors resistant to common threats, the researchers express serious concerns about the potential for uncontrolled infection and ecological disruption due to the mirror bacteria's ability to evade immune systems and natural predators. The technology is still some years away, but the potential risks are prompting discussion.
◆
打卡作业
翻译文章中的划线句，文末留言打卡，下期推送会在文章开头处公布参考翻译答案，大家一起来学习英语吧~
翻译 | 大橙子
校对 | 李柚子
词汇词组 | 西西弗
划线句讲解 | 流木
写作句总结 | 沅沅
免责声明：本文来自网络公开资料，仅供学习交流，其观点和倾向不代表本公众号立场。
