奥巴马新冠阳性！新病毒组合英文名出炉！

译介 2023-06-20

收录于合集 #双语热点 166个

一转眼，新冠疫情已经伴随了我们有两年多之久，人们已经渐渐习惯了与新冠病毒“共处”的生活。

我们时不时会听闻某个名人新冠阳性的消息。

就在3月13日，美国前总统奥巴马发文表示他的新冠检测结果呈阳性。

奥巴马说，他近期感觉喉咙发痒，除此之外感觉良好。他和夫人米歇尔都已完成新冠疫苗接种，并接种了加强针。米歇尔新冠病毒检测结果呈阴性。

最后他还提醒大家，就算病例变少了，没打疫苗还是要尽早去打。

大家还在讨论奥巴马之时，又传来一个惊天消息：

新冠变异株德尔塔和奥密克戎“生宝宝”了！

这个叫做“德尔塔克戎”（Deltacron）的“新冠宝宝”是怎么被发现的？它的危险系数又有多高呢？

我们一起来看外媒的报道吧。

How was it found? 它是如何被发现的？

华盛顿卫生部公共卫生实验室一位名叫Scott Nguyen（斯科特·阮）的科学家在查看流感及新型冠状病毒数据平台GISAID时发现了一些奇怪的现象。

He found samples collected in France in January that researchers had identified as a mix of Delta and Omicron variants. In rare cases, people can be infected by two coronavirus variants at once. But when Dr. Nguyen looked closely at the data, he found hints that this conclusion was wrong.

阮博士发现了1月份在法国收集的样本，这些样本已被研究人员确认为德尔塔和奥密克戎变体的混合体。在极少数情况下，人们可能同时被两种冠状病毒变体感染。但阮博士仔细研究数据后发现，有迹象表明这一结论是错误的。

Instead, it looked to Dr. Nguyen as though each virus in the sample actually carried a combination of genes from the two variants. Scientists call such viruses recombinants. When Dr. Nguyen looked for the same pattern of mutations, he found more possible recombinants in the Netherlands and Denmark.

相反，在阮博士看来，样本中的每个病毒实际上都携带着两种变体的基因组合。科学家们称这种病毒为重组体。在寻找相同的变异模式时，阮博士在荷兰和丹麦发现了更多的疑似重组体。

recombinant /rɪˈkɒmbɪnənt/

n. （经基因重组而形成的）重组有机体，重组细胞

在这一段中我们能找到关于recombinant 的解释：

a combination of genes from the two variants两种变体的基因组合

另外，它还可以做形容词，表示“（基因）重组的”。

这个单词其实很好记，可以按照构词法把 recombinant 拆分成 re+combinant。

re- 这个前缀可以表示“再；重新；重复”

例如：

review 复习

reunion 团圆

reconstruction 重建

Dr. Nguyen shared his findings in an online forum called cov-lineages, where scientists help one another track new variants. These collaborations are essential to double-check possible new variants: A supposed Delta-Omicron recombinant found in January in Cyprus turned out to be a mirage resulting from faulty laboratory work.

阮博士在一个名为cov-lineages的在线论坛上分享了他的发现。在这个论坛，科学家们会互相帮助追踪新的变体。这些合作互助对于复核疑似新变体来说是至关重要的。1月在塞浦路斯发现的所谓Delta-Omicron重组体就被证实是实验室工作失误造成的假象。

① 沙漠中的“海市蜃楼”的英文是 mirage /'mɪrɑ:ʒ/

② mirage还可以指：a dream, hope, or wish that cannot come true 梦想；幻想；妄想

此时，为illusion的同义词。

例句：

Perhaps we are just chasing a mirage.

也许我们只是在追一个梦。

Perhaps we are all just chasing a mirage.

也许我们都只是在追逐一个幻想。

虽然一开始的结果不尽人意，但巴黎巴斯德研究所的病毒学家艾蒂安·西蒙-洛里埃和他的团队最终证实了阮博士的猜测。

3月8日，他们在GISAID上公布了首个重组体基因组。

Where has the new hybrid been found?

在哪里发现了这个新的重组体？

In a March 10 update, an international database of viral sequences reported 33 samples of the new variant in France, eight in Denmark, one in Germany and one in the Netherlands.

根据3月10日的最新消息，一个国际病毒序列数据库报告说，法国有33个新变种的样本，丹麦8个，德国1个，荷兰1个。

As first reported by Reuters, the genetic sequencing company Helix found two cases in the United States. Dr. Nguyen said he and his colleagues were taking a fresh look at some database sequences from the United States in an effort to find more cases.

正如路透社首次报道的那样，基因测序公司Helix在美国发现了两个病例。阮博士说，他和他的同事正在重新审视美国的一些数据库序列，以便找到更多的病例。

1. 看过《吸血鬼日记》的同学对 hybrid 这个词应该不陌生。

① hybrid /'haɪbrɪd/ 指：

something that consists of or comes from a mixture of two or more other things〔两种或两种以上不同事物组成的〕混合体

例：

hybrid architecture 具有混合风格的建筑

a unique hybrid of blues, country, pop, and gospel music

混合了布鲁斯、乡村、流行和福音音乐的一种独特音乐

② 我们很熟悉的“杂交水稻”英文就是 hybrid rice

在这里hybrid是指：an animal or plant produced from parents of different breeds or types 杂种动物；杂交植物；杂交而成的生物体

2. genetic sequencing 指“基因测序”

基因测序是一种新型基因检测技术，能够从血液或唾液中分析测定基因全序列，预测罹患多种疾病的可能性，个体的行为特征及行为合理。基因测序技术能锁定个人病变基因，提前预防和治疗。

① 这里的 sequencing 是 sequence /'si:kw(ə)ns/ 的动名词形式，表示“测定（整套基因或分子成分的）序列”

② sequence 做名词：〔事情发生的〕顺序，次序

用法：

in a ... sequence 以……的次序

in sequence 依次

out of sequence 不按顺序

例句：

The questions should be asked in a logical sequence.

这些问题应该按逻辑顺序提出。

Number them in sequence, 1,2,3 etc.

用 1, 2, 3 等依次给它们编号。

The chapters may be studied out of sequence.

可以不按顺序来阅读这些章节。

3. take a fresh look at... 以全新的目光审视

短语中fresh /freʃ/ 是指：adding to or replacing something 新的；新做的；新增的

这里可不是我们熟悉的“新鲜的”哦~

例句：

I’ll just make some fresh coffee.

我来重新煮点咖啡。

The report provides fresh evidence about the way the business was run.

报告提供了有关该公司运营方式的新证据。

Is it dangerous? 它危险吗？

“This is not a novel concern,” Dr. Simon-Loriere said.

西蒙-洛里埃博士说：“这不是一个新的问题。”

For one thing, the recombinant is extremely rare. Although it has existed since at least January, it has not yet shown the ability to grow exponentially.

首先，这种重组体是极其罕见的。尽管它至少从1月份就开始存在，但它还没有显示出指数级增长的能力。

Dr. Simon-Loriere said that the genome of the recombinant variant also suggested that it wouldn’t represent a new phase of the pandemic. The gene that encodes the virus’s surface protein — known as spike — comes almost entirely from Omicron. The rest of the genome is Delta.

西蒙-洛里埃博士说，该重组变体的基因组也表明，它并不标志着新冠疫情将迎来新的阶段。这个病毒表面蛋白质（即“突刺蛋白”）的编码基因几乎完全来自奥密克戎。基因组的其他部分来自德尔塔。

The spike protein is the most important part of the virus when it comes to invading cells. It is also the main target of antibodies produced through infections and vaccines. So the defenses that people have acquired against Omicron — through infections, vaccines or both — should work just as well against the new recombinant.

在入侵细胞时，突刺蛋白是该病毒最重要的组成部分。人体在感染病毒或接种疫苗后会产生抗体，它就是这些抗体的主要目标。因此，人们针对奥密克戎所采取的防御措施（感染病毒、接种疫苗或两种方法双管齐下）对新的重组体应该同样有效。

1. spike protein 是指“突刺蛋白”或“棘突蛋白”

① spike /spaɪk/ 作名词可以指“尖状物”，还可以指“〔数量或比率的〕激增”

用法：spike + in

例：

a spike in interest rates 利率的大幅上调

2. antibody /'æntɪbɒdɪ/ 指：a substance produced by your body to fight disease 抗体

抗体（antibody）是机体由于抗原的刺激而产生的具有保护作用的蛋白质。

例句：

Your body enlists several types of antibodies in its immune army.

你的身体把几种抗体招募进了免疫大军中。

On the positive side, there is a new antibody treatment available.

从积极的一面看，已经有一种新的抗体治疗方法了。

Scientists suspect that Omicron’s distinctive spike is also partly responsible for its lower odds of causing severe disease. The variant uses it to successfully invade cells in the nose and the upper airway, but it doesn’t do so well deep in the lungs. The new recombinant may display the same penchant.

科学家们怀疑，奥密克戎独特的突刺蛋白也是导致它严重致病率降低的部分原因。奥密克戎利用突刺蛋白成功入侵鼻子和上呼吸道的细胞，但它在肺部深处的表现却并不理想。新的重组体可能会显示出同样的倾向性。

Where do recombinant viruses come from?

重组病毒从何而来？

People are sometimes infected with two versions of the coronavirus at once. For example, if you go to a crowded bar where several people are infected, you might breathe in viruses from more than one of them.

人们有时会同时感染两种变体的冠状病毒。例如，如果你去一间拥挤的酒吧，那里有几个人被感染了，那么你有可能会吸入一种以上的病毒变体。

It’s possible for two viruses to invade the same cell at the same time. When that cell starts producing new viruses, the new genetic material may be mixed up, potentially producing a new, hybrid virus.

两种病毒有可能同时入侵同一个细胞。当该细胞开始产生新的病毒时，新的遗传物质可能会混合在一起，就有可能产生一种新的病毒混合体。

It’s probably not uncommon for coronaviruses to recombine. But most of these genetic shuffles will be evolutionary dead ends. Viruses with mixtures of genes may not fare as well as their ancestors did.

冠状病毒重组的情况可能并不罕见。但这些基因的打乱重组大多会成让病毒的进化进入死胡同。具有混合基因的病毒的感染率可能会比它们的“前辈”要低。

文章提到几种基因的重组，其实就像是“给基因洗牌了 genetic shuffle”一样。

① shuffle /'ʃʌf(ə)l/ 做名词指：

the act of mixing cards into a different order before playing a game 洗牌

也可表示“将（纸张等）变换位置，打乱顺序”

② 做动词除了指“洗牌”，还可以指：to walk very slowly and noisily, without lifting your feet off the ground 拖着脚步走

用法：

shuffle+ forward/over/back

例句：

The official signaled to one of the waiters, who shuffled forward.

这名官员向其中一名侍者打了个手势，那个侍者拖着脚步走上前来。

With sore legs and aching chest he shuffled over to the bathroom.