Researchers
Hope to Develop First Lab-Grown Chicken
VOA News
Last updated on: March 12, 2015 7:04 PM (source)
Researchers Hope to Develop First
Lab-Grown Chicken
研
究人員希望研發出首次的實驗室培養雞肉
Reuters
March 12, 2015 7:04 PM
TEL AVIV/FRANKFURT—
Two years after scientists cooked up the first test tube beef
hamburger, researchers in Israel are working on an even trickier
recipe: the world's first lab-grown chicken.
距上次科學家烹煮試管牛肉已經兩年過去,以色列的科學家們現
正動手一個更難搞定的食譜:實驗室雞肉的世界首例
Professor Amit Gefen, a bioengineer at Tel Aviv University, has begun a
yearlong feasibility
study into manufacturing chicken in a lab, funded by a nonprofit group
called the Modern Agriculture Foundation that hopes "cultured
meat" will one day replace the raising of animals for slaughter.
臺拉維夫大學(Tel Aviv
University)的生物工程學家Amit Gefen教授針對於實驗室產製(manufacture)雞肉開始為期一年的可行性研究(feasibility study)。計畫出資(funded by. . .)的是非營利組織「現
代農業基金會(Modern Agriculture Foundation)」,希望終有一天能用培養肉(cultured meat)來取代飼養屠宰動物(animals for slaughter)。
The foundation's co-founder, Shir Friedman, hopes to have "a recipe for
how to culture chicken cells" produced by the end of the year.
基金會的共同創辦人 Shir
Friedman希望年底前能得到「培養雞肉細胞的作法」。(編按:recipe有兩個意思,一方面指處理食物與烹飪
的「食譜」,另一方面有「方法、處方」的意思,例句:What is your recipe for success?
「你成功的秘訣是什麼?」。recipe在
此新聞中用法是作兩個意思的雙關語。)
The researchers say their task is more difficult than producing the
first lab-grown hamburger, a 0,000 beef patty cooked
up at Maastricht University in the Netherlands after five years of
research financed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
研究員認為,這個任務比實驗室製造漢堡肉的首例更具挑戰。牛
肉漢堡肉(patty)是荷蘭的馬斯特里赫特大學
(Maastricht University)五年研究的結果,造價達30萬美金,有Google的共同創辦人Sergey Brin資金挹注(financed by . . .)。
Rather than gathering small fibers of cow
muscle into one big chunk of
meat, Gefen will try to make a whole piece of chicken, starting from a
single cell.
不同於收集小塊的牛肌肉纖維(fiber)來組織成肉塊(chunk)的方法,Gefen教授將試著從單一細
胞開始來製造出整塊雞肉。
Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals offered
a million prize to the first lab able to use chicken cells to create
commercially viable
test tube meat, but the 2014 deadline passed without anyone laying claim.
爭取動物權的團體「善待動物組織(People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals,PETA)」曾提供一百萬美元獎金,獎賞用雞肉細胞製造出有商業利益可行的(commercially viable)試管肉的
研究團隊,但2014年的獎金期限已過,卻仍無人領獎
(lay claim)。
Gefen, an expert in tissue engineering, said the plan is to culture
chicken cells and let them divide and multiply. In previous research,
he used growth factors extracted
from tumors to stimulate cells, but this is not appropriate for food.
Gefen教授是生物組織工程(tissue engineering)的專家,他
表示這次的計畫是要培養雞肉細胞,讓其分裂與增生。在
之前的研究中(in previous research)他
曾使用腫瘤(tumor)萃取出(extract)的生長激素(growth factor)來刺激細胞生長,但這
個方法不適用於製作食物。
Demand
for meat is expected to double between 2000 and 2050, when Earth's
population is set to surpass nine
billion, and proponents
of growing meat in the lab say it is the only way to meet such demand
without destroying the environment.
肉類的需求從2000到2050年預測將至少增加一倍,屆時
地球也將有超過(surpass)九十億的人口數。實驗的支持者(proponent)認為,這是唯一能滿足人類對肉
類的需求而不危害環境的方法。
According to a study by Oxford University and the University of
Amsterdam, cultured meat would produce 96 percent less greenhouse gas,
consume 82 to 96 percent less water and virtually eliminate land
requirements needed to raise livestock.
根據牛津大學與阿姆斯特丹大學的研究,與飼養牲畜(livestock)比起來,培養肉所產生的溫室氣體(green gas)將減少96%,消耗的水份減少
82到96%,而幾乎(virtually)完全去除土地的需求。
"In the not so distant future, we will look back at how we used to
raise cows and chickens and put so much effort into getting a small
piece of meat," Friedman said.
「現代農業基金會」的Friedman表示,「就在不遠的將來(in the not so distant future),
人類將回顧這段只為了吃那一點肉而大費周章(put so much effort into . . .)
飼養牛、雞的歷史」。
Some big-name investors are entering the field. Yahoo co-founder Jerry
Yang and Asia's wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing, have invested in Hampton
Creek, which is creating plant-based substitutes for eggs.
眾多享有盛名的(big-name)投資人也進入這個領域。
Yahoo的共同創辦人Jerry Yang和亞洲首富李嘉誠都投資了Hampton Creek公司。這家公司製作植物性的雞蛋替代品(substitute)。
Microsoft's Bill Gates and Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone
have backed a company called Beyond Meat. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel
has backed Modern Meadow, which creates food from tissue engineering.
微軟的Bill
Gates和Twitter創辦人Evan Williams與Biz Stone都贊助(back)名為「超越肉類(Beyond
Meat)」的公司,而PayPal工同創辦人Peter Thiel則是投資「現代牧場(Modern
Meadow)」公司,用生物組織工程來製造食物。
Growing chicken in a lab would be a big step. It accounts for
nearly a third of the world's total meat, second behind pork, which it
is expected to overtake in the next decade, according to a report from
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
實驗室培養雞肉若成功將會是人類的一大步。世界整體的肉食量
中,雞肉僅次於豬肉,佔了三分之一的比例(account for . . .)。但根據經濟
合作暨發展組織(Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development)預測,未來十年間,雞肉的食用量將超越(overtake)豬肉。
Language Notes
feasibility
(n) 合理性,可能性 * feasible (a) 可能的,合理的
culture
(v) 培養
slaughter
(n) (食用牲口的)屠宰 * slaughterhouse (n) 屠宰場
patty
(n) 漢堡肉;肉片
fiber
(n) 纖維
chunk
(n) 塊狀物
viable
(a) 可實行的
lay
claim to . . . (v phr) 對. . . 提出權利要求
extract
(v) 提出(精華);榨出
* 本字亦作名詞「萃取物」,當名詞時,注意重音位置與發音變化:
demand
(n) 需求
surpass
(v) 大於,多於
proponent
(n) 擁護者;支持者 * opponent (n) 反對者
livestock
(n) 牲畜 * 本字作不可數名詞或集合名詞用,即字尾無加 “s” 的複數型
account
for . . . (v phr) 占…的比例 * 本片語也常表示「對. . .負責」或「對 . . .
提出合理解釋」之意,例句:Can you account for your poor behavior? 「你能對你失當的行為提出解釋嗎?」
Check your vocabulary!
Fill
in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary
changes. After you finish, select the text above to reveal the hidden
answers.
1. Contemporary mixed farming is intensive and commercial and
integrates crops and livestock.
2. Steinem has always been a strong proponent
of women's rights.
3. The committee came forward with one viable
solution.
4. Oils are extracted from the
plants.
5. There is a huge demand for new
cars.
6. In 15 years, China will likely surpass
the U.S. as the world's largest market.
編譯:簡嘉呈
|