2016年四大科技發(fā)明

Nat+Berman

數(shù)十年來，各項(xiàng)科技發(fā)明層出不窮，極大地改變了我們的生活。但科學(xué)家和研究者們從未停下腳步，幾乎每一年都有新的科技突破。而本文要介紹的2016年的四大科技發(fā)明絕對不可小覷，它們將在不久的未來改變我們的生活。讓我們拭目以待吧！

When it comes to technology， there is the kind you can buy soon after it&apos；s invented. Then， there is the kind that is so breakthrough that it has just recently emerged1） in research. Rather than only considering gadgets2） with the latest technology， the four emerging technologies of 2016 on this list are also providing new opportunities or solving huge problems. Some are already on the market or very close to being there， but some of the most fascinating are the ones still in the hands of researchers and scientists. All of these technologies are changing the way we consider what is possible， and that&apos；s pretty impressive.

說到科技發(fā)明，有一種是開發(fā)出來后你很快就能買得到的，還有一種則實(shí)在太具突破性，只是最近（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2016年8月）才在研究領(lǐng)域里出現(xiàn)。下面這份清單上列出的四項(xiàng)科技發(fā)明都是2016年才出現(xiàn)的，可不要僅僅認(rèn)為它們只是些和最新科技相關(guān)的小玩意兒，它們還在給人類提供許多新的機(jī)遇，或在解決一些重大問題。其中有一些已經(jīng)面市，或者將很快進(jìn)入市場，但還有一些最吸引人的科技發(fā)明仍在研究人員和科學(xué)家的手中。所有這些科技都在改變著我們思考“可能”的方式，這點(diǎn)著實(shí)令人印象十分深刻。

1. emerge [i?m??d?] vi. 出現(xiàn)

2. gadget [?ɡ?d??t] n. 小器具；精巧的小玩意

3. immune engineering： 免疫工程，指的是根據(jù)免疫學(xué)理論用免疫學(xué)的方法來改善或重建機(jī)體的免疫狀態(tài)，以此來戰(zhàn)勝疾病。

4. T cell： T細(xì)胞（又名T淋巴細(xì)胞），來源于骨髓的多能干細(xì)胞，具有免疫功能，可以殺死瘤細(xì)胞、異體細(xì)胞等。

5. synthetic biologist： 合成生物學(xué)家。合成生物學(xué)是分子生物學(xué)、基因組學(xué)、信息技術(shù)和工程學(xué)交叉融合而產(chǎn)生的新學(xué)科，主要指的是利用學(xué)科理論知識(shí)人工設(shè)計(jì)和合成生物元件。

6. therapy [?θer?pi] n. （非藥物、非手術(shù)的）療法，治療

7. tumor [?tju?m?（r）] n. 腫瘤

8. plague [ple?ɡ] vt. 不斷困擾，折磨

The first rocket to return from a space flight came home to a landing pad in November， 2015. Up until this moment， thousands had flown into space， only to fly a few moments and then burn up during free falls down through Earth&apos；s atmosphere. The rocket that landed first was Blue Origin， the project of tech billionaire Jeff Bezos. The second， SpaceX， the project of Tesla CEO billionaire Elon Musk， succeeded in December， 2015.

SpaceX company is already in the business of launching space station supply missions and satellites. Blue Origin is planning to take tourists on four-minute rides into space. Though the companies differ in focus， they both share the need for reusable rockets. The two companies developed onboard software which allows their rockets to use flaps9） and thrusters10） which slow their rockets and allow them to be manipulated11） precisely as they return toward Earth. If both companies can sustain the process of regularly returning rockets safely so that they can be refueled and flown many times， then spaceflight should be much less costly and may become far more accessible to human passengers.

Scientists have spent decades researching how T cells4） within the human body can recognize dangerous invaders and then kill them off. Synthetic biologists5） such as Wendell-Lim of Cell Design Labs， are producing the T cells of the future. His T cells are able to target cells which are enemies， and can be programmed so that they only kill when a specific drug is added and only if there are two different markers on an enemy cell. These types of T cells have already been used in trials to provide immune therapy6） for tumors7） of the brain， lungs and liver， and so far， some patients were cured during these trials. Tech firms， immune therapy start-ups and the largest drug companies in the world are working with T cells to try to find cures for the major diseases plaguing8） humans.

Immune Engineering3）

免疫工程

Reusable Rockets 可重復(fù)使用的火箭

數(shù)十年來，科學(xué)家們一直在研究人體中的T細(xì)胞是如何能識(shí)別出危險(xiǎn)的入侵者，然后把它們?nèi)傻舻摹Ｏ駚碜约?xì)胞生物實(shí)驗(yàn)室公司的溫德爾-利姆這樣的合成生物學(xué)家正在研制未來的T細(xì)胞。他所研制的T細(xì)胞能夠鎖定目標(biāo)敵細(xì)胞，它可以經(jīng)過編程，從而能夠在加入特定藥物并且只有當(dāng)敵細(xì)胞有兩個(gè)不同的標(biāo)識(shí)時(shí)才將其殺滅。這種T細(xì)胞已經(jīng)開始用于試驗(yàn)，針對腦部、肺部和肝部的腫瘤進(jìn)行免疫治療。迄今為止，有些病人已經(jīng)在這些試驗(yàn)中被治愈了。全球的一些科技公司、免疫治療創(chuàng)業(yè)公司和最大的制藥公司都在致力于T細(xì)胞的研究，試圖找到治療那些折磨著人類的重大疾病的方法。

2015年11月，首枚火箭經(jīng)過太空飛行后在著陸點(diǎn)著陸，回到了家。在此之前，上千枚火箭飛向太空，只飛行了一會(huì)兒，然后就在穿過地球大氣層的自由落體過程中燒光了。首枚著陸的火箭是由科技巨頭、億萬富翁杰夫·貝索斯的藍(lán)色起源公司制造的。2015年12月，特斯拉首席執(zhí)行官、億萬富翁伊隆·馬斯克的SpaceX公司讓第二枚火箭成功返回了地面。

SpaceX公司已經(jīng)涉足商業(yè)性的活動(dòng)，開始為空間站提供補(bǔ)給和發(fā)射衛(wèi)星。而藍(lán)色起源公司一直計(jì)劃著將游客帶上天進(jìn)行四分鐘的太空之旅。這兩個(gè)公司雖然著眼點(diǎn)不同，但都有對火箭進(jìn)行回收的需求。二者開發(fā)出的箭載軟件能夠使其火箭利用阻力板和推進(jìn)器進(jìn)行減速，并能讓它們在返回地球時(shí)被精準(zhǔn)控制。如果這兩個(gè)公司都能持續(xù)開展火箭的定期安全返航工作，讓火箭可以重新裝填燃料，進(jìn)行多次飛行，那么太空飛行的成本應(yīng)該就會(huì)大大減少，而人類也就更有可能搭乘火箭。

“殺手”T細(xì)胞

展望與回首

Thousands of people around the world die each day from human error car crashes. Tesla electric car company began placing ultrasonic12） sensors placed along the sides and bumpers13） of cars in October， 2014. The sensors were paired with digitally controlled brakes14）， a front radar and a camera， with the entire package designed to let the car take over to avoid crashes. But the packages went unused， yet collecting data. In October， 2015， a software update was sent by Tesla to its 60，000 cars including the sensor technology. The software was given the name Tesla Version 7.0， but its nickname， Autopilot， was the one customers claimed.

Autopilot included automatic parallel parking15）， which General Motors， BMW and Mercedes already offered. It also gave cars the ability to manage speed， park itself， steer16） within lanes and even change lanes. Its ability to provide self-steering put it at the forefront of car transportation. Autonomous driving was a thing of science fiction future， and the future had arrived， at least partially.

The Tesla test fleet17） of partially autonomous cars is capable of doing many things on the road， but it cannot start automatically， requires a series of steps to launch， and can shut itself off when road conditions warrant18） it. The company will add increasing autonomy to the software， using upgrades in cautious increments19）. However， Elon Musk， Tesla CEO， believes completely autonomous cars are technically possible as soon as two years from now.

Tesla Autopilot 特斯拉自動(dòng)駕駛

世界上每天大約有上千人在人為駕駛失誤而導(dǎo)致的車禍中喪生。2014年10月，特斯拉電動(dòng)汽車公司開始在車身四周和保險(xiǎn)杠上安裝超聲波傳感器。與這些傳感器相配套的還有數(shù)控剎車、一個(gè)前置雷達(dá)和一個(gè)攝像頭，整個(gè)裝置的設(shè)計(jì)旨在讓汽車來接管控制權(quán)，以避免車禍的發(fā)生。但這些裝置當(dāng)時(shí)并未投入使用，而是在進(jìn)行數(shù)據(jù)采集。2015年10月，特斯拉對其六萬輛車進(jìn)行了包括傳感器技術(shù)在內(nèi)的軟件升級(jí)。這個(gè)軟件被命名為特斯拉7.0版，而 Autopilot （自動(dòng)巡航）則是客戶們給它起的綽號(hào)。

Autopilot系統(tǒng)包括自動(dòng)平行泊車功能，這一功能通用汽車、寶馬和奔馳也已提供。Autopilot系統(tǒng)還使汽車能夠控制行駛速度，進(jìn)行自動(dòng)泊車，在車道內(nèi)自動(dòng)駕駛，甚至還能變換車道。它提供自動(dòng)操控駕駛的這一能力讓它站在了汽車運(yùn)輸行業(yè)的前沿。自動(dòng)駕駛曾是科幻小說中對未來的憧憬，而這個(gè)未來已經(jīng)到來，至少有一部分已成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。

特斯拉的半自動(dòng)化測試車隊(duì)能夠在路上做許多事，但Autopilot系統(tǒng)不能自行啟動(dòng)，需要一系列步驟才能發(fā)動(dòng)，并能在路況允許的情況下自行關(guān)閉。特斯拉公司將通過對駕駛謹(jǐn)慎性方面的升級(jí)來增加該軟件的自主性。不管怎樣，特斯拉公司的首席執(zhí)行官伊隆·馬斯克堅(jiān)信，兩年后我們就有可能在技術(shù)層面上實(shí)現(xiàn)汽車的完全自動(dòng)駕駛。

9. flap [fl?p] n. 阻力板

10. thruster [?θr?st?（r）] n. 推進(jìn)器

11. manipulate [m??n?pjule?t] vt. 操作；控制

12. ultrasonic [??ltr??s?n?k] adj. 超聲波的

13. bumper [?b?mp?（r）] n. （汽車的）保險(xiǎn)杠

14. brake [bre?k] n. （汽車的）剎車

15. parallel parking： 平行停車，側(cè)方停車，即汽車側(cè)面與路緣平行的一種停車方式。

16. steer [st??（r）] vi. 駕駛（車、船、飛機(jī)等）；引導(dǎo)

17. fleet [fli?t] n. （尤指同一機(jī)構(gòu)或統(tǒng)一行動(dòng)的）車隊(duì)

18. warrant [?w?r?nt] vt. 保證……的安全

19. increment [???kr?m?nt] n. 增加量；增長額

20. ambient backscatter： 環(huán)境背反射技術(shù)，可以把周圍已經(jīng)存在的無線信號(hào)轉(zhuǎn)變成電能來源和通信媒介。ambient [??mbi?nt] adj. 周圍的；四周的。backscatter [?b?k?sk?t?（r）] n. 后向散射

21. harvest [?hɑ?v?st] vt. 獲取；收獲

22. charge [t?ɑ?d?] vt. 給……充電

23. portable [?p??t?bl] adj. 輕便的；手提式的；便于攜帶的

24. bulky [?b?lki] adj. 龐大的；笨重的

25. sleek [sli?k] adj. 外形流暢雅致的，造型優(yōu)美的

26. leverage [?li?v?r?d?] vt. 施加影響

27. imbed [?m?bed] vt. 把……嵌入

28. concrete [?k??kri?t] n. 混凝土

Ambient Backscatter20）： Power Harvested21） from Air

環(huán)境背反射技術(shù)：從空氣中采集能量

As the world increasingly communicates using mobile devices， the need for access to power sources has increased. Charging22） laptops and mobile phones has been either challenging or impossible in remote locations， leaving owners of these devices the problem of finding portable23） solutions for charging. But replacement batteries and recharging solutions are often bulky24） and expensive. As computing and communication devices are rapidly decreasing in size， the wires that recharge them can seem awkward in comparison to slim and sleek25） devices. Remote locations simply do not have accessible charging sources.

Researchers have developed a device which allows for wireless communications by leveraging26） the existing ambient Radio Frequency signals absorbed from the air. Tiny ambient backscatter devices require no batteries， last forever， and require zero maintenance. They can be imbedded27） into concrete28） walls， floors or roofs. Keys wallets and sunglasses could be imbedded with the ambient backscatter cells. When lost， they could communicate with cellphones to let owners know where their items are located. It is estimated that ambient backscatter devices will be available within two to three years.

隨著全球人們越來越多地使用移動(dòng)設(shè)備來進(jìn)行交流，人們對接入電源的需求也有所增加。在偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)，給筆記本電腦和手機(jī)充電一直要么是個(gè)大挑戰(zhàn)，要么就根本無法實(shí)現(xiàn)，于是就給這些設(shè)備的用戶帶來一個(gè)問題，即尋找便攜的充電方式。但備用電池和充電設(shè)備通常都又笨重又昂貴。隨著計(jì)算機(jī)通信設(shè)備在尺寸上越做越小，與纖巧精致的設(shè)備相比，給其充電的有線裝置就顯得相當(dāng)笨重。而偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)則完全沒有可用的充電電源。

研究人員已經(jīng)開發(fā)出了一種設(shè)備，它能利用周圍空氣中存在的無線電頻率信號(hào)進(jìn)行無線通信。小巧的環(huán)境背反射設(shè)備不用電池即可永久持續(xù)工作，且無需維護(hù)。它們可以鑲嵌在混凝土墻內(nèi)、地板下或房頂上。鑰匙包和太陽鏡里也可以鑲嵌這種環(huán)境背反射裝置。如果找不見了，它們會(huì)向手機(jī)發(fā)送信息，讓主人知道他們的東西放哪了。據(jù)估計(jì)，兩到三年內(nèi)這種環(huán)境背反射裝置就能投入使用。