文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：A Belgian company wants to create woolly-mammoth burgers
原文发布时间：9 Jul. 2023
A Belgian company wants to create woolly-mammoth burgers
Just a strand of Elvis's hair would do. Pluck out his DNA and it could be copied millions of times using a technique called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). That was the business plan pitched in the 1990s by Kary Mullis, an American biologist. Mullis had helped develop PCR in the 1980s; in 1993 he shared a Nobel prize. "StarGene", as his company was known, hoped to make money by selling jewellery stuffed with celebrity DNA.
The idea never quite worked out. But that has not stopped a slew of newer firms also hoping to mine gold from dead individuals—or even entire species. Paleo, for instance, is a Belgian startup that creates synthetic proteins for the artificial-meat business. Driven in part by a "childhood fascination with prehistory", Hermes Sanctorum, the company's CEO, is keen to expand the business into making woolly-mammoth burgers.
Working with the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden, the firm has obtained fragments of DNA from mammoth teeth found in the Siberian permafrost that are up to 1.2m years old. These fragments were combined with DNA from Asian and African elephants, the mammoth's nearest living relatives, to reconstruct what the firm hopes is the mammoth version of the gene that encodes myoglobin, a protein that helps give meat its rich taste and vibrant red colour. That gene was inserted into the DNA of yeast, which duly began turning out mammoth myoglobin. The protein was mixed with binders such as potato starch, oil, salt and other flavours so that it resembled the taste and texture of a burger.
一家比利时公司想要制造长毛象汉堡
精听党背景导读
2019年8月7日，诺贝尔奖得主卡利·穆利斯（Kary Mullis）因为肺炎去世，享年74岁。1993年，他因开发了聚合酶链式反应法（PCR）获诺贝尔化学奖。这一发现不仅使警方能够更好的利用DNA证据来对付罪犯，还激发了电影《侏罗纪公园》中利用化石DNA克隆恐龙的灵感。如今PCR已成为生物化学和分子生物学的一项核心技术，《纽约时报》如此评价：“具有高度原创性和重大意义，几乎将生物学分为PCR前和PCR后两个时代。”
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：A Belgian company wants to create woolly-mammoth burgers原文发布时间：9 Jul. 2023关键词：长毛象 DNA 汉堡
精听党带着问题听
1.“商业计划”用英语可以怎么表达？2. 如何理解段一中的“pitch”？3. 肌红蛋白的主要作用是什么？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
A Belgian company wants to create woolly-mammoth burgers
一家比利时公司想要制造长毛象汉堡
Belgian adj. 比利时的；1. Belgian chocolate is famous for its high quality. 比利时巧克力以其高品质而闻名。2. Belgiun n. 比利时；
woolly-mammoth n. 毛象；
burger n. 汉堡；1. He ordered a burger and fries for lunch. 他点了一个汉堡和薯条当午餐。2. Burger King 汉堡王；
段一
Just a strand of Elvis’s hair would do. Pluck out his DNA and it could be copied millions of times using a technique called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). That was the business plan pitched in the 1990s by Kary Mullis, an American biologist. Mullis had helped develop PCR in the 1980s; in 1993 he shared a Nobel prize. “StarGene”, as his company was known, hoped to make money by selling jewellery stuffed with celebrity DNA.
strand n. 缕；1. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 她把一缕散发夹在耳朵后面。
pluck out 拔出，抽出；取出；
polymerase chain reaction 聚合酶链式反应；1. The polymerase chain reaction is a technique used to amplify a single copy of DNA. 聚合酶链式反应是一种用于扩增单个DNA副本的技术。
business plan 商业计划；1. They presented their business plan to potential investors. 他们向潜在投资者展示了他们的商业计划。
pitch vt. 推销；1. She pitched her idea to the company’s board of directors. 她向公司董事会推销她的想法。
develop vt. 开发；1. The company has developed a new product line. 公司开发了一条新产品线。
Nobel prize 诺贝尔奖；1. Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. 玛丽·居里是第一个获得诺贝尔奖的女性。
jewellery n. 珠宝，首饰；
stuff vt. 塞进，填进；填满，装满；
celebrity n. 名声，名望；名人，明星；
参考译文
只要一缕猫王（著名摇滚歌星）的头发就行了。取出猫王的DNA，利用聚合酶链式反应技术可以将猫王的DNA复制数百万次。这是美国生物学家卡利·穆利斯在上世纪90年代提出的商业计划。穆利斯在20世纪80年代帮助开发了聚合酶链式反应技术；1993年，穆利斯获得了诺贝尔奖。穆利斯的公司名为“星基因”，希望通过出售填充了名人DNA的珠宝来赚钱。
段二
The idea never quite worked out. But that has not stopped a slew of newer firms also hoping to mine gold from dead individuals—or even entire species. Paleo, for instance, is a Belgian startup that creates synthetic proteins for the artificial-meat business. Driven in part by a “childhood fascination with prehistory”, Hermes Sanctorum, the company’s CEO, is keen to expand the business into making woolly-mammoth burgers.
a slew of 大量的，许多；1. There has been a slew of new restaurants opening in the city. 城市里新开了大量餐厅。
mine vt. 采（煤等矿物）；1. The area has been mined for slate for centuries. 这个地区开采板岩有数百年了。
species n. 物种；1. The panda is an endangered species. 熊猫是一种濒危物种。
synthetic adj. 合成的；1. Synthetic fabrics are made from man-made fibers. 合成织物由人造纤维制成。
protein n. 蛋白质；1. Protein is an essential nutrient for building muscle and repairing tissue. 蛋白质是构建肌肉和修复组织的必需营养素。
artificial-meat n. 人造肉；1. Artificial meat is made from plant-based ingredients or cultured animal cells. 人造肉由植物性成分或培养的动物细胞制成。
参考译文
虽然这个想法从未完全实现过，但这并没有阻止一大批新公司也希望从死去的个体甚至整个物种中挖掘出值钱的东西。例如，Paleo是一家比利时的初创公司，为人造肉行业生产合成蛋白质。由于“在童年很迷恋史前时代”， Paleo的首席执行官Hermes Sanctorum热衷于将业务扩展到制作长毛象汉堡上面。
段三
Working with the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden, the firm has obtained fragments of DNA from mammoth teeth found in the Siberian permafrost that are up to 1.2m years old. These fragments were combined with DNA from Asian and African elephants, the mammoth’s nearest living relatives, to reconstruct what the firm hopes is the mammoth version of the gene that encodes myoglobin, a protein that helps give meat its rich taste and vibrant red colour. That gene was inserted into the DNA of yeast, which duly began turning out mammoth myoglobin. The protein was mixed with binders such as potato starch, oil, salt and other flavours so that it resembled the taste and texture of a burger.
palaeogenetics n. 古遗传学；
fragment n. 碎片；1. She picked up a fragment of glass from the floor. 她从地上捡起一块玻璃碎片。
permafrost n. 多年冻土；永久冻结带；永久冰冻；
combine vt. 结合；1. She combined flour, sugar, and eggs to make a cake batter. 她将面粉、糖和鸡蛋混合起来做蛋糕面糊。
reconstruct vt. 重建；1. The archaeologists were able to reconstruct the ancient building from its ruins. 考古学家们能够从废墟中重建古代建筑。
encode vt. 编码；1. The genetic code encodes the instructions for the development and function of living organisms. 遗传密码编码了生物体发育和功能的指令。
myoglobin n. 肌红蛋白（等于 myohemoglobin）；
vibrant adj. 充满活力的，充满生机的，生气勃勃的；鲜艳的，醒目的；
insert vt. 插入；1. She inserted the key into the lock and turned it. 她把钥匙插入锁孔并转动它。
yeast n. 酵母；1. Yeast is used in baking to make bread rise. 烘焙时使用酵母使面包发酵。
duly adv. 适当地，恰当地；按时地，适时地；1. They duly arrived at 9.30 in spite of torrential rain. 尽管下着倾盆大雨，他们仍在9:30准时到达了。
binder n. 粘合剂；1. The binder holds the paint pigment together. 粘合剂将颜料粘合在一起。
参考译文
Paleo与瑞典古遗传学中心合作，从西伯利亚永久冻土中发现的120万年前的猛犸象牙齿中获得了DNA片段。这些片段与亚洲象和非洲象（猛犸象现存的近亲）的DNA相结合，重建了Paleo希望的猛犸象基因版本，这种版本的基因可以编码肌红蛋白，肌红蛋白是一种有助于赋予肉类丰富口感和鲜红颜色的蛋白质。这种基因被插入到酵母的DNA中，酵母会适时地开始生产猛犸肌红蛋白。这种蛋白质与马铃薯淀粉、油、盐和其他口味的粘合剂混合在一起，使其味道和口感类似于汉堡。
精听党每日单词
Belgian
/ˈbeldʒən/ adj. 比利时的；
woolly-mammoth
/ˈwʊli ˈmæməθ/ n. 毛象；
burger
/ˈbɜːrɡər/ n. 汉堡；
strand
/strænd/ n. 缕；
pluck out
拔出，抽出；取出；
polymerase chain reaction
聚合酶链式反应；
business plan
商业计划；
pitch
/pɪtʃ/ vt. 推销；
develop
/dɪˈveləp/ vt. 开发；
Nobel prize
诺贝尔奖；
jewellery
/ˈdʒuːəlri/ n. 珠宝，首饰；
stuff
/stʌf/ vt. 塞进，填进；填满，装满；
celebrity
/səˈlebrəti/ n. 名声，名望；名人，明星；
a slew of
大量的，许多；
mine
/maɪn/ vt. 采（煤等矿物）；
species
/ˈspiːʃiːz/ n. 物种；
synthetic
/sɪnˈθetɪk/ adj. 合成的；
protein
/ˈproʊtiːn/ n. 蛋白质；
artificial-meat
/ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l miːt/ n. 人造肉；
palaeogenetics
/ˌpeɪlɪəʊdʒɪˈnetɪks/ n. 古遗传学；
fragment
/ˈfræɡmənt/ n. 碎片；
permafrost
/ˈpɜːrməfrɔːst/ n. 多年冻土；永久冻结带；永久冰冻；
combine
/kəmˈbaɪn/ vt. 结合；
reconstruct
/ˌriːkənˈstrʌkt/ vt. 重建；
encode
/ɪnˈkoʊd/ vt. 编码；
myoglobin
/ˈmaɪəˌɡloʊbɪn/ n. 肌红蛋白（等于 myohemoglobin）；
vibrant
/ˈvaɪbrənt/ adj. 充满活力的，充满生机的，生气勃勃的；鲜艳的，醒目的；
insert
/ɪnˈsɜːrt/ vt. 插入；
yeast
/jiːst/ n. 酵母；
duly
/ˈduːli/ adv. 适当地，恰当地；按时地，适时地；
binder
/ˈbaɪndər/ n. 粘合剂；
精听党文化拓展
在获得诺贝尔奖之后，穆利斯曾对《纽约时报》说，“我或多或少地受到了自己的欲望的支配，而不是别人的想法。我不认为现在我需要做一些更大更好的事情。”
穆利斯精明，尖锐，总是惊人地坦诚，经常发表一些令人大跌眼镜的言论。他在1998年出版的自传《心灵裸舞》（Dancing Naked in the Mind Field）中提出了许多打破人们对科学家印象的观点，比如：他不同意支持气候变化的科学证据，也不同意艾滋病毒导致艾滋病的证据，他还表达了自己对占星术的信仰。
穆利斯的才智和他古怪的天性一样闻名，他的种种出格行为，就像动画《Rick and Morty》中那个天才又古怪的Rick姥爷，直率、怪异、知识丰富、无所顾忌，满嘴奇思妙想的胡话，讲述的故事引人人胜、富有洞察力。他为人充满争议，有多少人喜欢他，也就有多少人讨厌他，但谁也无法否认他做出的巨大贡献。
穆利斯的去世是科学界的一个损失，但他洒脱随性，兴致盎然地度过了丰富有趣的人生。这不能不说是一种完满。就像他在自传中写的那样：“人类应该做的就是为生命的存在感到幸运……坐下来喝杯啤酒，放松。这就是为什么在真正学会享受生活之前，人们不得不一次又一次地回到起点的原因。天没有塌。”
精听党每日美句
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
不尝试，必定失败。
经济学人原文链接：
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2023/07/05/a-belgian-company-wants-to-create-woolly-mammoth-burgers