Continuing Evolution · 持续进化
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| antibiotic resistance/ˌæntɪbaɪˈɒtɪk rɪˈzɪstəns/ | 抗生素耐药性 | kàng shēng sù nài yào xìng |
Evolution is not finished
- Evolution is not just a story about the distant past.
- It is happening right now, all around us.
- In fast-breeding organisms, we can even watch it unfold.
- Nowhere is this clearer than in bacteria facing antibiotics.
进化没有结束
- 进化不只是一个关于遥远过去的故事。
- 它此时此刻正在我们周围发生。
- 在快速繁殖的生物里,我们甚至能看着它展开。
- 没有哪里比面对抗生素的细菌更清楚地展现这一点。
Fast lives, fast evolution
- Bacteria can divide every twenty minutes.
- So thousands of generations pass in a matter of days.
- With each generation, selection has another chance to act.
- Evolution that takes millions of years in whales takes weeks in bacteria.
短暂的一生,快速的进化
- 细菌能每二十分钟分裂一次。
- 所以几天之内就有几千代过去。
- 每一代,选择都有又一次起作用的机会。
- 在鲸身上要花数百万年的进化,在细菌身上只要几周。
Why can we see evolution happening in bacteria within our lifetime? · 为什么我们能在有生之年看到细菌中的进化?
Bacteria divide in minutes, so many generations - and much selection - happen in a short time. · 细菌在几分钟内分裂,所以许多代——和大量的选择——在很短的时间里发生。
Antibiotic resistance
- A few bacteria carry a chance mutation that makes them resistant to a drug.
- When the antibiotic is used, it kills the non-resistant bacteria.
- The resistant survivors multiply, and soon the whole population resists the drug.
- This spread of antibiotic resistance 抗生素耐药性 is natural selection in fast-forward.
抗生素耐药性
- 少数细菌携带一个偶然的突变,使它们对一种药有抗性。
- 当抗生素被使用时,它杀死无抗性的细菌。
- 有抗性的幸存者繁殖,很快整个种群都抵抗这种药。
- 这种抗生素耐药性(antibiotic resistance)的传播,是快进的自然选择。
Selection for resistance · 对抗性的选择
Watch how a drug kills most bacteria but the rare resistant ones survive and take over. · 观察一种药如何杀死大多数细菌,而罕见的有抗性的存活下来并占据主导。
How does antibiotic resistance spread through a bacterial population? · 抗生素抗性如何在一个细菌种群中传播?
A few bacteria are naturally resistant; the antibiotic kills the rest, so the survivors take over. · 少数细菌天生就有抗性;抗生素杀死其余的,所以幸存者占据主导。
Resistant bacteria appear first by random ____, not by trying to resist. · 有抗性的细菌首先是通过随机____出现的,不是通过努力抵抗。
A chance mutation makes a bacterium resistant before · 在...之前 the drug arrives; selection then favours it. · 一次偶然的突变在药物到来之前就让一个细菌有抗性;选择随后青睐它。
Why overuse is dangerous
- Every use of an antibiotic favours any resistant bacteria present.
- Overusing them speeds up the evolution of resistance.
- This is why doctors urge us not to misuse antibiotics.
- Resistant "superbugs" are a real and growing danger.
过度使用为什么危险
- 每一次使用抗生素,都青睐在场的任何有抗性的细菌。
- 过度使用它们会加快抗性的进化。
- 这就是医生敦促我们不要滥用抗生素的原因。
- 有抗性的"超级细菌"是一个真实且日益增长的危险。
Overusing antibiotics speeds up the evolution of resistant bacteria. · 过度使用抗生素会加快有抗性细菌的进化。
Each use kills non-resistant bacteria and favours resistant ones, so overuse breeds resistance faster. · 每次使用都杀死无抗性的细菌、青睐有抗性的,所以过度使用更快地培育出抗性。
Select all · 所有 true statements about continuing evolution. · 选出关于持续进化的所有正确说法。
Bacteria do not choose to resist - resistance arises by random mutation. The other three are correct. · 细菌不选择抵抗——抗性是通过随机突变产生的。其余三条正确。
Bacteria do not "try" to become resistant, and the drug does not teach them. Resistance comes first, by random mutation, in a few bacteria. The antibiotic then simply selects those survivors. Evolution has no goal — it only favours what already works.
细菌并不"努力"变得有抗性,药物也不教它们。抗性首先出现,通过随机的突变,在少数细菌里。抗生素随后只是选择那些幸存者。进化没有目标——它只青睐已经有效的东西。
The rise of a superbug:
- In a patient, one bacterium happens to carry a resistance mutation.
- Antibiotics wipe out its non-resistant neighbours, leaving it to multiply.
- Within days the infection is dominated by resistant bacteria — a superbug, evolved before our eyes.
一种超级细菌的崛起:
- 在一个病人体内,一个细菌碰巧携带一个抗性突变。
- 抗生素消灭它无抗性的邻居,留下它去繁殖。
- 几天之内,感染就被有抗性的细菌主导——一种超级细菌,在我们眼前进化出来。
Evolution continues today, fastest in quick-breeding organisms. Antibiotic resistance spreads when a chance mutation makes a few bacteria resistant, the drug kills the rest, and the survivors multiply. Overusing antibiotics speeds this up. Bacteria do not choose to resist — selection favours those that already can.
进化今天仍在继续,在快速繁殖的生物里最快。抗生素耐药性在一个偶然的突变让少数细菌有抗性、药物杀死其余、幸存者繁殖时传播开来。过度使用抗生素会加快这个过程。细菌不选择抵抗——选择青睐那些已经能抵抗的。