EVO-1

外刊精读The life fantastic AI will make it possible to design and build organisms from scratch AI 或许会让人类从头设计并构建生物体；这篇报道同时讨论医学前景与生物安全风险。 原文音频 英文原文朗读 建议先读英文原文，再对照中文翻译，最后整理重点词汇。遇到生词不必立刻停下，先读完一段，再回头理解。 00开篇 Introduction 英文原文 TWENTY YEARS ago, The Economist ran a story about a factory that could make dragons. It was an April Fool, based on the idea that living cells could be modelled accurately inside computers. At the time, that idea was a fantasy. But the flourishing of artificial intelligence in the intervening decades appears to have brought it closer to reality. A sign of progress came on October 7th, when the Virtual Biology Initiative (VBI), a project to collect the data needed to create predictive models of how cells behave and change, announced that it had received commitments worth $800m since its launch in April. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 二十年前，《经济学人》曾写过一篇“造龙工厂”的愚人节文章，设想能在计算机中准确模拟活细胞。那时这只是幻想；此后 AI 蓬勃发展，使设想似乎更接近现实。10 月 7 日，旨在收集数据、建立细胞行为预测模型的“虚拟生物学倡议”（VBI）宣布，自 4 月启动以来已获得价值 8 亿美元的支持承诺。这个数字及项目进度来自原文报道。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 flourishing /ˈflʌrɪʃɪŋ/ n. 蓬勃发展搭配：the flourishing of AI / flourishing research例句：The flourishing of AI revived the old idea. intervening /ˌɪntərˈviːnɪŋ/ adj. 期间发生的；中间的搭配：intervening decades / intervening years例句：AI changed rapidly in the intervening decades. 英文原文 The VBI’s goals are medical. Predictive models will let researchers design more effective drugs that are more likely to pass successfully through clinical trials. But, if that works, future generations of models might be used to design modified versions of existing organisms, such as crop plants—and perhaps, eventually, entirely new living things. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 VBI 的直接目标是医疗：预测模型可以帮助研究人员设计疗效更好、临床试验成功率更高的药物。如果这条路走通，后续模型也可能用于改造现有生物，比如农作物；更远的未来，或许能设计全新的生命体。文章区分了近期目标与更具猜测性的远景。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 Predictive models n. 预测模型搭配：build predictive models / predictive models of cells例句：Predictive models could help design drugs. clinical trials n. 临床试验搭配：pass clinical trials / run clinical trials例句：Better candidates might pass clinical trials. 英文原文Remixing biology The technology that has made such advances conceivable is deep learning, wherein large neural networks are trained to tackle complex problems. It is this technique that underpins the foundation models that power the chatbots marketed by firms such as Anthropic, Google and OpenAI. To such models, the long-chain molecules at the heart of biology (nucleic acids and proteins) are no different from the chains of words in human writing. Letting foundation models loose on them was thus an obvious idea. And it is proving extraordinarily productive. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 使这些进展看似可行的技术是深度学习：用大型神经网络解决复杂问题。它支撑了 Anthropic、Google、OpenAI 等公司的聊天机器人基础模型。在模型看来，生物学核心的长链分子——核酸和蛋白质——与人类文字构成的词链有可类比之处。因此，让基础模型处理它们是自然的尝试，而且成果颇丰。这里的类比是建模方法上的，不意味着分子与语言完全相同。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 underpins /ˌʌndərˈpɪnz/ v. 支撑；作为基础搭配：underpins the models / underpins progress例句：Deep learning underpins foundation models. foundation models n. 基础模型搭配：train foundation models / biological foundation models例句：Foundation models can analyse biological sequences. 英文原文 In the words of Adrian Woolfson, the business brain behind Genyro, a bio-start-up in San Diego, “Biology is now computable, predictable and therefore designable.” It is also instantiable. Evo 2, for example, a foundation model partly invented by Brian Hie, of the Arc Institute in Palo Alto, can analyse DNA segments up to 1m base-pairs long (the size of a small bacterial genome). By studying the order of chemical bases paired together in that molecule’s double helix, it can predict how changes to that order might affect its parent organism. It is able to do this because it was trained on DNA sequences collected from over 100,000 species, in the way that chatbots are trained on text. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 圣迭戈生物初创公司 Genyro 的商业负责人 Adrian Woolfson 说，生物学如今“可以计算、可以预测，因此可以设计”，也可以把设计付诸实体。Arc Institute 的 Brian Hie 参与开发的基础模型 Evo 2，可分析长达 100 万碱基对的 DNA 片段，约相当于一个小型细菌基因组。它从逾 10 万种物种的 DNA 序列学习，借助碱基排列预测改动可能如何影响生物体。模型能力与引述均归属原文。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 instantiable /ɪnˈstænʃiəbəl/ adj. 可具体实现的；可实例化的搭配：biology is instantiable / an instantiable design例句：Woolfson calls biology instantiable. double helix n. 双螺旋结构搭配：DNA double helix / bases in a double helix例句：The model studies bases in DNA’s double helix. 英文原文 In January Dr Woolfson’s scientific partners, Kaihang Wang and Noah Robinson, of the California Institute of Technology, unleashed on the world a high-fidelity, high-efficiency DNA-assembly system called Sidewinder. Sidewinder can piece long stretches of DNA together (currently up to 12,500 base pairs) with high accuracy. That is enough, by itself, to synthesise the genomes of small viruses. It also simplifies the construction of yet-longer stretches, such as bacterial genomes and small artificial chromosomes. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 今年 1 月，Woolfson 的科研伙伴、加州理工学院的 Kaihang Wang 和 Noah Robinson 推出了高精度、高效率的 DNA 组装系统 Sidewinder。它目前能较准确地拼接长达 12,500 个碱基对的 DNA 片段，足以合成某些小型病毒的基因组，也能简化更长片段、如细菌基因组或小型人工染色体的构建。此处仅翻译报道，不提供实验方法。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 unleashed /ʌnˈliːʃt/ v. 推出；释放搭配：unleashed on the world / unleash a tool例句：The researchers unleashed Sidewinder. high-fidelity /ˌhaɪ fɪˈdeləti/ adj. 高保真、高精度的搭配：high-fidelity assembly / high-fidelity data例句：Sidewinder is described as a high-fidelity system. 英文原文 Combined with Evo 2 (Dr Hie is another of Genyro’s founders) the firm now has the tools needed for Dr Woolfson to put his money where his mouth is. He hopes to do so by synthesising, among other things, an artificial wheat chromosome carrying genes for heat- and drought-resistance. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 结合 Evo 2——Hie 也是 Genyro 创始人之一——公司如今拥有 Woolfson 所说的实践工具。他希望借此合成一条人工小麦染色体，携带耐热、抗旱基因。这仍是公司的计划和目标，不是文中已证实完成的成果。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 put his money where his mouth is idiom 用实际行动兑现承诺搭配：put his money where his mouth is / put your money where your mouth is例句：He hopes to put his money where his mouth is. drought-resistance /ˈdraʊt rɪˌzɪstəns/ n. 抗旱能力搭配：genes for drought-resistance / improve drought-resistance例句：The proposed chromosome carries drought-resistance genes. 英文原文 Evo 2 is by no means the only genomic foundation model out there. DeepMind, Google’s AI lab, has created one called AlphaGenome. It is more of a specialist than Evo 2. AlphaGenome was trained almost exclusively on human genomes, as was Genos, an offering from BGI Research, in Shenzhen, China. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 Evo 2 远非唯一的基因组基础模型。Google 旗下 DeepMind 的 AlphaGenome 更专精于人类基因组；深圳 BGI Research 的 Genos 也主要用人类基因组训练。不同模型因此面向不同类型的生物学问题。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 genomic /dʒɪˈnoʊmɪk/ adj. 基因组的搭配：genomic foundation model / genomic data例句：Several genomic models are being developed. exclusively /ɪkˈskluːsɪvli/ adv. 仅仅；专门地搭配：almost exclusively / exclusively on human genomes例句：AlphaGenome was trained almost exclusively on human genomes. 英文原文 Deep-learning models are available, too, for those studying particular groups of non-human species. Plants, fungi, bacteria, viruses and vertebrate animals are all served in this way. Conversely, Basecamp Research, a company in London, is casting the net wider. Its model is trained on samples that attempt to capture all the DNA in, say, a water sample from a particular place, in order to study—with a view to creating new antibiotics—the chemical warfare going on between the microbes therein. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 研究非人类物种也有专门的深度学习模型，涵盖植物、真菌、细菌、病毒和脊椎动物。伦敦的 Basecamp Research 则把网撒得更广：其模型利用环境样本，例如某地水样中的全部 DNA，研究微生物之间的化学竞争，以寻找新抗生素的线索。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 vertebrate /ˈvɜːrtɪbrət/ adj. 脊椎动物的搭配：vertebrate animals / vertebrate species例句：Models also cover vertebrate animals. casting the net wider idiom 扩大搜寻范围；广撒网搭配：casting the net wider / cast the net wide例句：Basecamp Research is casting the net wider. 英文原文 And that is only genomics. Deep-learning models of various sorts can also handle other biological molecules, especially proteins. They are able to work out how natural proteins, which are long chains of chemical links called amino acids, fold up, which is crucial to understanding how they work. They can also predict what changing particular amino acids will do, and even design proteins from scratch, with particular purposes in mind—from better antidotes to snake venom to bespoke enzymes for novel chemical reactions. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 基因组学还只是开端。其他深度学习模型可处理蛋白质等生物分子：预测由氨基酸链组成的天然蛋白质如何折叠，从而理解其作用；评估替换特定氨基酸的效果，甚至按目标从头设计蛋白质，例如改良蛇毒解毒剂，或为新化学反应定制酶。原文描述的是科研方向，不是可直接应用的成熟疗法。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 amino acids n. 氨基酸搭配：chains of amino acids / particular amino acids例句：Proteins are chains of amino acids. bespoke /bɪˈspoʊk/ adj. 定制的搭配：bespoke enzymes / bespoke treatment例句：Models may design bespoke enzymes. 英文原文 DeepMind also has one of these, called AlphaFold 3. And its spin-off, Isomorphic Labs—which has the modest mission statement “Solve all disease”—plans to use both that and AlphaGenome in drug-discovery partnerships with three larger, longer-established pharma firms: Novartis, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. The pharma firms will provide the targets. Isomorphic will use its AI to suggest drug candidates. The pharma firms will then test its suggestions experimentally. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 DeepMind 的 AlphaFold 3 也是此类模型之一。其分拆公司 Isomorphic Labs 的使命宣言颇为大胆：“解决所有疾病”。它计划将 AlphaFold 3 和 AlphaGenome 用于与诺华、礼来、强生的药物研发合作：药企提出靶点，Isomorphic 用 AI 建议候选药物，再由药企在实验中检验。这里描述的是研发分工，而非药物疗效已获证实。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 spin-off /ˈspɪn ɔːf/ n. 分拆公司搭配：a DeepMind spin-off / corporate spin-off例句：Isomorphic Labs is a DeepMind spin-off. drug candidates n. 候选药物搭配：suggest drug candidates / test drug candidates例句：AI may suggest drug candidates for testing. 英文原文 Other established pharma companies are doing similar AI work in-house. Roche, Novo, GSK and AstraZeneca all either own or have stakes in supercomputers for that purpose. Indeed, Lilly itself has hedged its bets by building one, called LillyPod, independently of Isomorphic. This will apply the deep-learning approach to data from the company’s 150-year-old archive, which is replete with unpublished failures as well as published successes. That should yield insights unavailable to those relying solely on the published scientific literature, with its bias towards what worked. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 传统药企也在内部做类似的 AI 工作。罗氏、诺和、葛兰素史克和阿斯利康都拥有超级计算机或持有相关权益。礼来也独立建设了 LillyPod，用深度学习分析其 150 年的档案，其中既有发表的成功案例，也有未公开的失败记录。这或许能提供只看公开科研文献得不到的洞见，因为发表的研究往往偏向成功结果。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 hedged its bets idiom 两手准备；分散风险搭配：hedged its bets / hedge a bet例句：Lilly hedged its bets by building LillyPod. replete /rɪˈpliːt/ adj. 充满的搭配：replete with failures / replete with examples例句：The archive is replete with unpublished failures. 英文原文 In the field of agriculture, meanwhile, AI is being brought to bear on several hitherto-intractable problems. One such is polyploidy, a phenomenon common in plants in which an organism has multiple sets of similar chromosomes. Several important crops, including wheat, cotton and potatoes, are polyploid. This makes it hard to determine which genes are responsible for what effects, and thus know where to make advantageous genetic edits. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 农业领域也在尝试用 AI 解决过去棘手的问题。其中之一是“多倍体”：某些植物拥有多套相似染色体，小麦、棉花、土豆都属于此类。因此，研究者难以厘清哪个基因影响哪种性状，也就不容易决定何处适合做有益的基因编辑。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 hitherto-intractable adj. 此前难以解决的搭配：hitherto-intractable problems / seemingly intractable例句：AI is being applied to hitherto-intractable problems. polyploidy /ˈpɒliˌplɔɪdi/ n. 多倍体现象搭配：crop polyploidy / study polyploidy例句：Polyploidy complicates crop genetics. 英文原文 Appropriate AI can sort out what’s what. It can also help make sense of plant immune systems, which have evolved independently of those in animals but are similarly complex. That should allow them to be tweaked to farmers’ advantage. And there are even attempts to use AI to tinker with the fundamentals of photosynthesis, to try to make it more efficient—a long shot, given that evolution has had several billion years to optimise it, but one that would be of incalculable value if it could be pulled off to increase yields. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 合适的 AI 模型或可帮助理清多倍体中的基因作用，也能分析植物免疫系统。植物免疫系统独立于动物演化，却同样复杂；如果更懂它，就可能为农民改良作物。还有研究尝试用 AI 提高光合作用效率。这是高风险、难度很大的目标——毕竟演化已优化了数十亿年——但若成功，提高产量的价值将难以估量。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 tinker /ˈtɪŋkər/ v. 小幅调整；尝试改造搭配：tinker with photosynthesis / tinker with a system例句：Researchers may tinker with photosynthesis. incalculable /ɪnˈkælkjələbəl/ adj. 无法估量的搭配：incalculable value / incalculable impact例句：Higher yields could be of incalculable value. 英文原文 The big prize, though, will be to combine the approaches to biology enabled by AI to devise computer models of how cells work. The VBI is a step towards this. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 更大的目标是整合 AI 在各生物领域的应用，建立能模拟细胞运作的计算机模型。VBI 正朝这个方向迈出一步。这里的“细胞模型”仍是研究目标，并非已经可以全面替代真实细胞。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 devise /dɪˈvaɪz/ v. 设计；想出搭配：devise a model / devise an approach例句：Researchers hope to devise models of cells. step towards phrase 迈向……的一步搭配：a step towards the goal / step towards a model例句：The VBI is a step towards virtual cells. 英文原文 The initiative itself is a coalition of public, academic and private research organisations led by Biohub, an organisation in San Francisco set up by Mark Zuckerberg, boss of Meta, and his wife Priscilla Chan. DeepMind, Isomorphic Labs and the Arc Institute are among its members. The aim is to gather, in AI-friendly format, the vast amounts of new biological data needed to create predictive models. Though these will not replicate all aspects of cellular behaviour they will respond like real cells to simulated disease and treatment. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 这项倡议由旧金山的 Biohub 牵头，集合公共部门、学界和私营研究机构。Biohub 由 Meta 老板 Mark Zuckerberg 与妻子 Priscilla Chan 创立；DeepMind、Isomorphic Labs 和 Arc Institute 等也参与其中。目标是以适合 AI 使用的格式汇集大量新生物学数据，建立预测模型。这些模型不会复制真实细胞的所有行为，但研究者希望它们能像细胞那样回应模拟疾病和治疗。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 coalition /ˌkoʊəˈlɪʃən/ n. 联盟；合作团体搭配：a research coalition / coalition of organisations例句：The initiative is a coalition of researchers. replicate /ˈreplɪkeɪt/ v. 复制；重现搭配：replicate cell behaviour / replicate a result例句：The models will not replicate every aspect of cells. 英文原文 That should greatly speed up medical research and drug testing. Virtual cells with different genomes, for example, might indicate which are likely to respond well to a drug even before clinical trials start. That would make such trials more of a formality, rather than the nail-biting, years-long exercise they currently are. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 虚拟细胞若能预测不同基因组对某种药物的反应，将有助于医学研究和药物测试，甚至可能在临床试验开始前筛选更适合的对象。文章推测，这有望使如今漫长、令人忐忑的试验更接近最终确认步骤；但这仍是远景，现实临床试验不能因此省略。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 formality /fɔːrˈmæləti/ n. 形式上的程序；例行步骤搭配：more of a formality / a mere formality例句：Trials might become more of a formality, the article speculates. nail-biting /ˈneɪl baɪtɪŋ/ adj. 令人紧张不安的搭配：nail-biting trials / nail-biting wait例句：Drug trials are often nail-biting. 英文原文 To understand enough biology to make such a virtual cell will require looking at, and building models to handle, a lot more than just the composition of individual DNA and protein molecules. These new models will need to know where those molecules are, how they interact with each other and with the other molecules of biochemistry (such as lipids and sugars) and how this whole network responds to signalling molecules such as hormones. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 要真正建立这样的虚拟细胞，模型不能只知道 DNA 和蛋白质各自的组成，还得知道这些分子位于何处、怎样彼此相互作用，如何与脂质、糖等其他生化分子相互作用，以及整个网络如何回应激素等信号分子。这比单独预测分子序列复杂得多。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 composition /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/ n. 组成；成分搭配：molecular composition / composition of proteins例句：A cell model needs more than molecular composition. signalling molecules n. 信号分子搭配：respond to signalling molecules / hormonal signalling molecules例句：Cells respond to signalling molecules. 英文原文 Biohub will sponsor the development of tools to do this, such as cryo-electron tomography, which can resolve what is happening inside a cell at close to atomic detail. Meanwhile, in a collaboration also announced on October 7th, America’s Department of Energy (DoE) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) will chip in too. The NIH will contribute $500m-worth of already-collected data that Biohub will attempt to standardise, and the DoE will spend a similar sum on computing and other resources needed for the endeavour. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 Biohub 将资助冷冻电子断层成像等工具，以近乎原子尺度观察细胞内部。文章还称，美国能源部与国立卫生研究院在 10 月 7 日宣布合作：后者将提供价值 5 亿美元的既有数据供 Biohub 标准化，前者将投入相近规模的计算等资源。这里是对合作和资源承诺的报道，不等于项目结果已完成。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 cryo-electron tomography n. 冷冻电子断层成像搭配：use cryo-electron tomography / tomography of cells例句：Biohub plans to support cryo-electron tomography. chip in v. 出资；贡献资源搭配：chip in resources / chip in too例句：Two US agencies will chip in. 英文原文Virus ex machina Virtual cells will still be just computer models. Synthetic biology’s masterpiece—in the word’s original sense of a work created to prove mastery—will be to create completely novel organisms from scratch. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 虚拟细胞终究只是计算机模型。合成生物学更大的“出师之作”——按原词义，是用来证明技艺已经成熟的作品——将是从头创造全新生物体。这是文章提出的远景，不是现有能力的全面描述。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 masterpiece /ˈmæstərpiːs/ n. 杰作；证明技艺成熟的作品搭配：a scientific masterpiece / a masterpiece of design例句：The article imagines a synthetic-biology masterpiece. novel organisms n. 新型生物体搭配：create novel organisms / completely novel organisms例句：Researchers discuss the possibility of novel organisms. 英文原文 Depending on how you define the words “organisms” and “novel”, this may already have happened. In September 2025 Dr Hie and some of his colleagues at the Arc Institute announced that they had used Evo 2 and its predecessor, Evo 1, to design and synthesise 16 viable viruses based on, but significantly different from, a bacteriophage called Phi-X174 that is one of virology’s workhorses. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 若把“生物体”和“全新”定义得宽一些，这件事或许已有初步案例。文章称，2025 年 9 月，Hie 与 Arc Institute 的同事宣布，借助 Evo 2 及其前代 Evo 1，设计并合成了 16 种有活性的病毒。它们以病毒学常用的噬菌体 Phi-X174 为基础，却与之有显著差异。此处只传达报道中的结果，不包含制作步骤。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 predecessor /ˈpredəsesər/ n. 前代；前任搭配：its predecessor / predecessor model例句：Evo 1 is Evo 2’s predecessor. viable viruses n. 具备存活或复制能力的病毒搭配：synthesise viable viruses / viable viral particles例句：The article reports 16 viable viruses. 英文原文 Bacteriophages, as their name suggests, prey on bacteria. Intriguingly, some of Dr Hie’s novelties had higher fitness than their wild equivalents. Cocktails of them proved able to overcome the normal resistance to viruses shown by three different strains of E. coli, a gut bacterium that also has workhorse status. This is of particular interest because custom-built phages might have medical applications. So-called phage therapies, in which hostile bacteria are kept under control by viruses rather than chemical antibiotics, were once widely regarded as eccentric, but are now under active consideration. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 噬菌体以细菌为宿主。研究人员发现，一些新设计的噬菌体在某些指标上比野生型更适应环境；混合使用它们还能克服三种大肠杆菌菌株平常对病毒的抵抗。定制噬菌体因而可能有医疗用途。过去常被视为异端的噬菌体疗法——用病毒而非化学抗生素控制有害细菌——如今正得到认真研究。文中所述实验结果和潜在疗法不能等同于临床有效性。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 Bacteriophages /bækˈtɪrioʊfeɪdʒɪz/ n. 噬菌体搭配：engineered bacteriophages / bacteriophages prey on bacteria例句：Bacteriophages infect bacteria. eccentric /ɪkˈsentrɪk/ adj. 古怪的；非主流的搭配：regarded as eccentric / an eccentric idea例句：Phage therapy was once seen as eccentric. 英文原文 Back at Genyro, no one could accuse Dr Woolfson of thinking small. He hopes the combination of biological foundation models and cheap, large-scale DNA synthesis will enable the exploration of the myriad possibilities offers that natural selection has not yet discovered—what he calls “the whole of DNA space.” TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 回到 Genyro，Woolfson 的雄心远不止于此。他希望把生物学基础模型与低成本、大规模 DNA 合成结合，探索自然选择尚未发现的无数可能性，称之为“整个 DNA 空间”。原文这一句有明显语法不顺，译文按上下文表达其大意。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 myriad /ˈmɪriəd/ adj. 无数的；多种多样的搭配：myriad possibilities / myriad forms例句：He imagines myriad possibilities in DNA space. natural selection n. 自然选择搭配：through natural selection / natural selection has discovered例句：Natural selection has explored only part of DNA space. 英文原文 This would, presumably, start with creatures that, though novel, still had, like Dr Hie’s phages, a recognisable resemblance to something natural. But, just as natural selection, proceeding one step at a time, went from microbes to humans via fish, amphibians, mammal-like reptiles and monkeys, so AI-driven incremental change might result in applications that sound, today, like fantasy. Growing buildings rather than constructing them, perhaps? Delivery drones with wings instead of propellers? Off-road cars with legs instead of wheels? TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 起步阶段，新生物也许仍与天然物种相似，就像 Hie 团队的噬菌体。但自然选择曾一步步从微生物走向人类，历经鱼类、两栖类、似哺乳爬行动物和猴类。作者因此设想，AI 驱动的渐进改变也可能带来今天听似幻想的用途：长出来而不是造出来的建筑、有翅膀而非螺旋桨的配送无人机、用腿而非轮子越野的汽车。这些是想象性的例子，不是现成技术。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 recognisable resemblance n. 可辨认的相似性搭配：bear a recognisable resemblance / resemblance to nature例句：Early designs may resemble natural organisms. incremental change n. 渐进式改变搭配：AI-driven incremental change / incremental change over time例句：Incremental change could yield unexpected forms. 英文原文 And DNA space itself may prove bigger than it looks at first sight. AI-designed artificial cells might assist the extension of biochemistry, and therefore synthetic biology, by rewriting the genetic code itself. Natural proteins employ only 20 types of amino acid, but DNA would have the ability to encode three times as many if the machinery of protein synthesis could be rewired to eliminate duplicates. That might permit all sorts of useful chemistry that is currently not seen in nature. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 “DNA 空间”或许还比最初想象得更广。AI 设计的人工细胞可能通过改写遗传密码，扩展生物化学和合成生物学。天然蛋白质通常只使用 20 种氨基酸；文章指出，如果能改造蛋白质合成机制、去除密码中的重复，DNA 理论上可以编码其三倍之多的种类，从而支持自然界现有体系之外的化学功能。这仍是推测性的研究方向。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 genetic code n. 遗传密码搭配：rewrite the genetic code / genetic code itself例句：The article imagines rewriting the genetic code. rewired /ˌriːˈwaɪərd/ v. 重新连接；重构机制搭配：machinery could be rewired / rewired system例句：Protein synthesis would need to be rewired. 英文原文 It could also, though, unleash accidental monsters. Dr Hie and his colleagues chose phages for their work on synthetic viruses in part because they pose no conceivable threat of turning into pathogens. And the creators of Evo 2 made sure when they were training it that none of the viruses in the databases were pathogenic, lest the model accidentally learn to do something dangerous. As the technology spreads, though, risks will proliferate. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 但这也可能意外释放危险。文章称，Hie 团队选择噬菌体，是因为它们不可能直接变成人类病原体；Evo 2 的开发者也在训练时避开已知致病病毒数据，以降低模型学到危险能力的风险。技术扩散后，风险仍可能增加。这里应保持审慎，不把研究者的安全判断写成绝对无风险的保证。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 pathogens /ˈpæθədʒənz/ n. 病原体搭配：turn into pathogens / pathogenic viruses例句：The researchers aimed to avoid pathogens. proliferate /prəˈlɪfəreɪt/ v. 激增；扩散搭配：risks proliferate / proliferate rapidly例句：Risks could proliferate as the technology spreads. 英文原文 Like AI itself, then, the biology that AI will enable offers possible worlds that are both wonderful and terrifying. The next time you read a story about a dragon factory in an issue of The Economist, don’t be so sure that we’re joking. TRANSLATION · 查看翻译 因此，AI 推动的生物学和 AI 本身一样，都可能开启既美好又可怕的世界。作者回扣开头的造龙工厂笑话：下次《经济学人》再写到这种工厂，也别太确信它只是玩笑。这是带有文学色彩的结尾，不应当成现实技术已实现的断言。 KEY VOCABULARY · 重点词汇讲解 terrifying /ˈterɪfaɪɪŋ/ adj. 令人恐惧的搭配：wonderful and terrifying / terrifying prospect例句：New biology could be both wonderful and terrifying. don’t be so sure phrase 别太肯定搭配：don’t be so sure / not so sure例句：The writer says: don’t be so sure we are joking.