Viruses--The aliens among us（part-3）

Viruses cause pandemics. They also shape the world

Evolution’s most enthralling insight is that breathtaking complexity can emerge from the sustained, implacable and nihilistic competition within and between organisms. The fact that the blind watchmaker has equipped you with the capacity to read and understand these words is in part a response to the actions of swarms of tiny, attacking replicators that have been going on, probably, since life first emerged on Earth around 4bn years ago. It is a startling example of that principle in action—and viruses have not finished yet.

Enthralling  /ɪnˈθrɔːlɪŋ/ holding the attention completely; fascinating; spellbinding 引人入胜的; 迷人的

implacable  /ɪmˈplækəbl/ adj. 不能安抚的；难和解的；不能缓和的

nihilistic  /ˌnaɪɪˈlɪstɪk/  adj. 虚无主义的；无政府主义的

swarms of tiny：微小物的蜂拥 指的是病毒的入侵   Replicator /ˈreplɪkeɪtə(r)/ n. 复制器；复制基因

Startling  adj. /ˈstɑːtlɪŋ/  

1.extremely unusual and surprising 惊人的；让人震惊的 2.( of a colour 颜色 ) extremely bright 极鲜亮的

the blind watchmaker 盲眼钟表匠， 特指大自然

英国著名生物学家理查德·道金斯(Richard Dawkins)出版经典《the blind watchmaker》中文名为《盲眼钟表匠:生命自然选择的秘密》

"钟表匠"的观点最先由18世纪的神学家培里提出，他以创造论支持者的身份提出这个有名的论点:就像手表这样精密、复杂的东西绝不可能无中生有、突然出现一样，对所有的生物而言，其复杂程度远超过手表，势必更是经由巧手特意创造出来的。而道金斯的天才发现挑战了创造论者的观念。他以"生物适应的起源"为核心，用稳健的文笔，详细阐释了生物适应是任何演化理论家不可回避的问题，而天择说是唯一可信的理论。天择说指出:物种的演化并没有特殊的目的。大自然是一位手巧的拼凑匠，而不是神乎其技的发明家。物种的演化并没有特殊的目的，如果我们还是要把大自然比喻成钟表匠的话，只能说它是一位"盲眼"的钟表匠。"钟表"也是"世界运行模式"的隐喻，象征自然运行的机制是环环相扣、一丝不苟。

Humanity’s unique, virus-chiselled consciousness opens up new avenues to deal with the viral threat and to exploit it. This starts with the miracle of vaccination, which defends against a pathogenic attack before it is launched. Thanks to vaccines, smallpox is no more, having taken some 300m lives in the 20th century. Polio will one day surely follow. New research prompted by the covid-19 pandemic will enhance the power to examine the viral realm and the best responses to it that bodies can muster—taking the defence against viruses to a new level.

Chiselled  /ˈtʃɪzld/ adj. 凿过的；形如凿刀的；轮廓鲜明的

pathogenic attack 致病攻击         Polio  /ˈpəʊliəʊ/ 小儿麻痹症

Prompt  /prɒmpt/ v. 提示，鼓励；促进；激起；导致；（给演员）提白  adj. 敏捷的，迅速的；立刻的，及时的；准时的；（商品）即期要送的n. 提示，提词；（电脑屏幕上的）提示符；鼓励；催促；付款期限 adv. 准时地 

realm /relm/ 领域，范围；王国 ·in the realm of literature 在文学领域内·the defence of the realm 王国的防卫

mustervt.   /ˈmʌstə(r)/

1.~ sth (up) to find as much support, courage, etc. as you can 找寻，聚集，激起（支持、勇气等） •We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。2.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）·The troops mustered. 部队集结起来。3. 赶拢（牛、羊） 4.聚集的人群；（尤指）集结的兵力 •muster stations 集结站

Another avenue for progress lies in the tools for manipulating organisms that will come from an understanding of viruses and the defences against them. Early versions of genetic engineering relied on restriction enzymes—molecular scissors with which bacteria cut up viral genes and which biotechnologists employ to move genes around. The latest iteration of biotechnology, gene editing letter by letter, which is known as CRISPR, makes use of a more precise antiviral mechanism.

enzyme /ˈenzaɪm/酶  

restriction enzyme：限制性内切酶（根据柯林斯英文释义解释--细菌中一些抵抗病毒感染的酶，通常用作基因工程或者诊断来剪辑DNA）

molecular /məʊˈlɛkjʊlə/ 分子的       molecular scissor 分子剪刀

Biotechnologist：bio-technologist生物技术专家   Iteration  /ˌɪtəˈreɪʃn/  迭代；（计算机）新版软件

 CRISPR：基因编辑技术

The natural world is not kind. A virus-free existence is an impossibility so deeply unachievable that its desirability is meaningless. In any case, the marvellous diversity of life rests on viruses which, as much as they are a source of death, are also a source of richness and of change. Marvellous, too, is the prospect of a world where viruses become a source of new understanding for humans—and kill fewer of them than ever before.

Desirability /dɪˌzaɪərəˈbɪləti/  n. 愿望；有利条件；值得向往的事物；合意

marvellous /ˈmɑːvələs/  ( US mar·vel·ous ) extremely good; wonderful 极好的；非凡的

原文：经济学人九月刊