手机APP下载

您现在的位置: 首页 > 英语听力 > 英语视频听力 > 科学探秘之旅 > 正文

快速进化就发生在眼前

来源:可可英语 编辑:kelly   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet

The evolutionary process is one that takes hundreds of thousands of years, right?

进化是一个需要数十万年才能完成的过程,对吗?

Not so much. For some species, we're seeing evolution right in front of our eyes.

并不全是。对于某些物种,我们看到进化就在眼前。

This is what's called rapid evolution where major environmental changes in predation,

这就是所谓的快速进化,在捕猎、食物或气候等主要环境发生变化之处,

food, or climate can alter the natural selection to favor genes that were previously disadvantaged.

自然选择可改变对之前劣势基因的青睐程度。

It can happen in a very short amount of time.

它可以发生在很短的时间内。

For example, in a period of five years, male Polynesian field crickets in Hawaii lost their ability to make noise to avoid parasitic attacks.

例如,在五年的时间内,夏威夷的波利尼西亚波利尼西亚蟋蟀失去了它们发出噪声的能力,以避免寄生攻击

That is one of the fastest evolutions in the wild ever recorded!

这是有史以来野生动物最快的一次进化!

Graduating college can take longer than that!

从大学毕业都可能比这花费的时间长!

Basically, one gene mutation led to a very silent cricket, and his silence helped him avoid theparasitic attacks that were killing his brothers.

基本上,一只非常安静的蟋蟀只源于一个基因突变,他的沉默帮他躲避了正在杀害他兄弟的寄生攻击。

The problem is, female crickets like the song, so without it the silent males needed to change their behavior.

问题是,雌性蟋蟀喜欢歌声,所以没有了它,沉默的雄性蟋蟀就需要改变他们的行为。

They started creeping on the singing males, mating with those females that would show up and passed on their mutation.

他们开始爬上鸣叫的雄性,与那些会出现的雌性交配,传递他们的突变基因。

Boom. Rapid evolution. All this happened in just 5 years!

爆发。快速进化。这一切都发生在短短的5年里!

90% of the population is now songless.

现在90%的蟋蟀都不唱歌。

This fast-moving evolution isn't exactly what Charles Darwin envisioned back in 1859.

这种快速的进化并不像1859年查尔斯·达尔文所设想的那样。

He thought any changes would take many generations, which sounds like a long time -- but it doesn't have to be.

他认为任何改变都需要多代,这听起来像是一段很长的时间——但是未必。

Darwin knew almost nothing about genetics.

达尔文对遗传学几乎一无所知。

He was simply observing patterns in the wild, but he couldn't pinpoint why or really how long these things could take.

那时他只是在野外观察,但他不能确定为什么或发生进化究竟需要多长时间。

进化

But now, with advances in modern tech and molecular biology, we can.

但是现在,随着现代技术和分子生物学的进步,我们可以做到。

Evolutionary biologists can identify and track the exact gene adaptations that species have over time.

进化生物学家可以识别和跟踪物种在一段时间内经历的确切基因适应。

But it ain't the 19th century anymore, and the environment for our planet's little critters is changing quicker than ever before.

但这不是十九世纪了,我们星球的小生物环境改变得比以前更快。

What used to take hundreds of years now can take a few because the animals are keeping up with their rapidly changing surroundings.

过去需要几百年时间才能完成的进化过程现在只需几年就能完成,因为动物们正在紧跟快速变化的环境。

In just 15 years, green anole lizards in Florida have evolved to have better grips in their feet to escape invasive species.

在短短的15年里,佛罗里达州的绿色变色蜥已经进化,脚上抓力更强,以摆脱外来入侵物种。

Tawny owls, typically a grey dominant species, are now becoming more brown as winters grow warmer, and maybe closer to home,

棕色猫头鹰,一个典型的灰色优势种,现在随着冬天越发温暖,他们的棕色也越发明显,而且也许离家也更近了,

in the last 50 years bed bugs have developed stronger enzymes to make themselves more resistant to insecticide.

在过去的50年里,臭虫已经发展出了更强的酶,使自己对杀虫剂更加耐受。

You might think you're safe because humans are apex predators, but you're not.

你可能认为你是安全的,因为人类是顶尖掠食者,但你不是。

Organisms can acclimate fast, and this includes pathogens that can harm humans, and tumors that can resist chemotherapy.

生物体能够快速适应,这同样包括可以伤害人类的病原体,以及抗化疗的肿瘤。

So yeah, humans should pay attention to rapid evolution too.

所以,是的,人类也应该注意快速进化。

But now that we know about this, the better we can understand how our environment affects our genes and have a greater chance to create better medicine and other means of improving our longevity.

但现在我们知道了这一点,我们就能够更好地了解我们的环境如何影响我们的基因,并有更多的机会研制更好的药物,以及想出其他延长我们寿命的方法。

We've come a long way from Darwin simply observing finches in the Galapagos, but we still have a long way to go.

达尔文在加拉帕戈斯群岛观察鸟的历史已然久远,但我们仍有很长的路要走。

Hey apex predators, like science in your day?

嘿,顶端掠食者,喜欢你今天的科学吗?

Go ahead and check us out now on Prime Video.

请继续浏览我们在Prime Video上播出的视频。

Fun fact: Darwin went to the Galapagos and noted how different finches all had different beaks.

有趣的事实:达尔文去了加拉帕戈斯群岛,注意到不同的鸟都有不同的喙。

Today, we know the gene BMP4 helps determine the different beaks of the birds that Darwin based his first theories on.

今天,我们知道基因BMP4能够决定达尔文最初的理论所立足的不同鸟喙。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
resist [ri'zist]

想一想再看

v. 抵抗,反抗,抵制,忍住
n. 防蚀涂层

联想记忆
planet ['plænit]

想一想再看

n. 行星

 
population [.pɔpju'leiʃən]

想一想再看

n. 人口 ,(全体)居民,人数

联想记忆
evolution [.i:və'lu:ʃən]

想一想再看

n. 进化,发展,演变

联想记忆
evolutionary [.i:və'lu:ʃnəri]

想一想再看

adj. 进化的,发展的,演变的

 
longevity [lɔn'dʒeviti]

想一想再看

n. 长寿

联想记忆
avoid [ə'vɔid]

想一想再看

vt. 避免,逃避

联想记忆
understand [.ʌndə'stænd]

想一想再看

vt. 理解,懂,听说,获悉,将 ... 理解为,认为<

 
invasive [in'veisiv]

想一想再看

adj. 侵略性的;攻击性的

 
mutation [mju:'teiʃən]

想一想再看

n. 变化,转变,母音变化

 

发布评论我来说2句

    最新文章

    可可英语官方微信(微信号:ikekenet)

    每天向大家推送短小精悍的英语学习资料.

    添加方式1.扫描上方可可官方微信二维码。
    添加方式2.搜索微信号ikekenet添加即可。