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Being buried by ice would seem like a death sentence. But some moss recently freed from the deep freeze after four centuries appears to be doing just fine. That's according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
被埋在冰下似乎是被判了死刑。但是有些苔藓在摆脱四个世纪的深度冰冻后，似乎生长得挺不错。这种说法由发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》上的一项报告得来。
Ice sheets the world over are melting back and that's particularly true in the Arctic. The meltdown is picking up pace, too.
全世界的冰川都在消融，北极圈尤其如此。而且冰川融化还在加速。
As the ice retreats it uncovers the foliage it had entombed. Researchers gathered a sample of such flora in the Canadian territory of Nunavut to gauge its condition. Carbon dating showed that the vegetation had not seen the sun since at least near the start of the Little Ice Age, some 400 years ago.
冰川的消融让深埋在冰下的植物重见天日。研究人员在加拿大努勒维特领土上收集了这种植物的样本，用来测定它的生存条件。碳定年法显示这种植物至少从小冰河时期（大约400年前）开始就从未接触过阳光。
Back in the lab's friendlier confines, the moss picked up where they'd left off—the collected sample spread out into a vibrant green blanket.
回到实验室，在有利的条件下，苔藓会落地生根——这个收集的样本发展成为生机勃勃的绿色草地。
Admittedly, cryopreservation is a technique for keeping a wide variety of living cells and tissue in stasis—so the moss survival may not be such a surprise. Plus, moss are pretty hardy, with the ability to withstand extreme conditions.
无可否认，低温保存是一种保存多种活细胞和组织，使其停止生长的技术。因此苔藓能够复活也不令人惊奇。再者，苔藓非常耐寒，能够承受极端的条件。
Nevertheless, this resurrection after ice entombment displays the resiliency of some life as conditions change. But restoring the disappearing ice itself, well, that's a far trickier matter.
无论怎样，在冰川下埋藏之后，苔藓复活说明随着环境的变化，有些生命能够复苏。但恢复消失的冰川本身却是更棘手的问题。
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