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Fish that walk, mushrooms that “bleed,” primates that find their food just with their middle finger...
会走路的鱼，会“流血”的蘑菇，只用中指寻找食物的灵长类……
These are real things, people.
胖友们，这些都是真事噢。
We share our planet with millions of incredible life forms.
我们正和无数令人惊叹的生命形式共存在这座星球上。
And discovering who they are, where they are, and what makes them tick
它们都是谁？它们都在哪里？它们是如何生存的？
is key if we want to unlock the secrets of medicine, engineering, design, economics,
如果我们想揭开医学、工程学、设计学、经济学、可持续以及管理的奥秘，
sustainability and stewardship that will define the future of our species;
改变人类这一物种的未来；
reveal clues about our evolutionary past; and just cultivate our sense of wonder at life’s sheer potential.
打开通往人类进化历程的钥匙；感慨生命蕴含的巨大潜能，那弄清楚这些问题就显得至关重要，
But we need to act fast.
但我们行动要快。
"So today we are living in a biodiversity crisis,
“如今我们正已经迈入了生物多样性危机，
in which species are going extinct before we even realize their existence, or their potential value."
我们还没有来得及意识到他们的存在或他们潜在的价值，他们就已经灭绝了。”
So, how close are we to discovering all life on earth?
那么问题来了，我们距离发现地球上所有的生物还有多远呢？
In this episode, we’ll meet some amazing biodiversity researchers
在本期视频中，我们会认识几位非常了不起的生物多样性研究人员，
working internationally to accelerate species discovery, develop digital conservation tools,
他们正在开展国际协作，加快物种探索的脚步，开发数字化的生物保护工具，
and maintain one of the world’s largest biological collections through a process called “cryopreservation” that is, literally, ultra-cool.
通过所谓的“超低温保存”——听上去就碉堡了——技术汇集世界上规模最大的生物集合。
But this network of researchers has a herculean effort in front of them.
然而，一项艰巨的任务横在了这群研究人员的面前。
"Strangely enough, we know only maybe 10% of the biodiversity that we have on our planet."
“奇怪的是，这座星球上的生物我们才了解了10%的样子。”
That means there’s something like 90% of life on earth left to discover.
这就意味着，地球上还有90%的生物都有待被发现。
So let’s start at the beginning.
那我们还是从头说起吧。
Describing a new species typically requires collecting a physical specimen of some kind,
要形容一个新物种通常需要收集某种形式的物理样本，
which can often mean traveling to hard-to-reach locations.
收集这样的样本通常意味着要到很难到达的地方去收集。
"They call them these 'rapid inventories.'
“他们管这种收集办法叫‘快速评估’。
Sometimes they don't have road access so they'll fly in by plane
有时候没有路他们就只能开飞机去，
and just parachute in with a team of ecologists that identify the plants, the birds, the amphibians and the butterflies."
然后和认识那些植物、鸟类、两栖动物或者蝴蝶的生态学家跳伞下去收集。”
"If a species is bigger, it's easier to find than a small specimen.
“体型大的物种要比体型小的物种好找。
If the species has a really colorful pattern,
如果那个物种身上的花纹颜色比较丰富的话，
it's easier to see than a species that has a kind of camouflage."
就要比会伪装的物种好找一些。”
Once it’s retrieved, the sample will be sent to a scientific collection,
拿回样本以后，要先把它们送到一个科学收集站，
where it may have to wait to be discovered all over again.
到了那里之后可能还要重新发现一遍。
"After you collect this specimen in nature,
“从自然界收集到一个物种的样本以后，
it might take, like, 21 years for that specimen to be discovered in a scientific collection,
在科学收集站，可能还要等21年才能轮到它被发现，
and have someone process it and describe it as a formal new species."
对它进行处理，正式将其定义为一个新物种。”
This is because the expertise required to do this is pretty rare.
这是因为具备定义新物种所需知识的专家少之又少。
A taxonomic expert needs to study the species’ shape, structure, and genetic makeup,
分类学专家需要研究该物种的形状、结构、基因组成，
and then compare it with any close known relatives before giving it a name.
然后将其与所有已知的近亲物种做比较，之后才能给它命名。
"We don't have enough taxonomists.
“我们缺少足够的分类学专家。
We need to have, like an army of taxonomists to describe all the species that exist in the world."
要想统计描述全世界所有的物种，我们就需要一大批分类学专家。”
But dubbing a species official is just the beginning.
然而，正式给一个物种命名还只是个开始。
To create a record of it that other scientists can study, let alone use for any conservation work,
要想把它记录下来，供其他科学家研究，且不说用来保护这个物种，
we need to capture and preserve all the information we can about an organism.
我们还需要捕捉并保存我们能获取的有关这种生命形式的所有信息。
That’s where collections like the Smithsonian Institution’s biorepositories come in.
史密森学会的生物数据库之类的生物收藏便应运而生了。
So we went to visit the national zoo in downtown Washington, D.C. to see what happens next.
为此，我们去了一趟华盛顿市中心的国家动物园了解接下来的环节。
"A biorepository is a specialized facility that really contains a lot of biological materials
“生物数据库是一种专用设备，
that really need to be preserved in a stable state.
用来保存各种需要在稳定环境保存的生物材料。
It's like in a museum when you have, you know, paintings that are very sensitive to variation of humidity or temperature.
它就好比是一座收藏着各种对湿度和温度的变化都非常敏感的画作的博物馆。
Every day, we have tens to hundreds of incoming samples that are processed and stored for the long term.
每天，我们都会接到上百，甚至是上千需要处理并长期保存的样本。
I would say that we are probably among the largest collections in the world."
我想说，我们的收藏规模放在全世界都没几个比得上。”
That collection represents around 18,000 species
他说的收藏代表的是近18000个物种，
and includes over 1 million DNA samples, skin biopsies, blood samples, sperm, eggs, embryos...you name it.
包括100多万个DNA样本，皮肤活检，血液样本，精子，卵子，胚胎……凡是你说得上来的他们都有。
Cryopreservation involves a series of meticulous steps, which I got to experience firsthand.
超低温保存涉及一系列精度要求非常高的步骤，我这次有幸亲身体验了一把。
The water in a skin sample from a newly discovered rodent, for example,
比如，我们需要把最近新发现的一种啮齿动物的皮肤样本里的水分
needs to be replaced with a fluid called cryoprotectant that acts as antifreeze,
换成一种名叫“冷冻保护剂”的液体，这种液体能够起到抗冻剂的作用，
effectively putting the cells on pause when the sample is stored in liquid nitrogen.
使样本保存在液氮里的时候，样本内的细胞能够处于休眠状态。
"So basically you suspend life entirely and this life suspension can travel through time for a long, long period of time."
“差不多就是暂停生命活动，而这个暂停过程可以延续很长很长时间，从而达到时间穿越的效果。
"Do you mind if I try? Is that okay?"
“我可以试试吗？可以吗？”
"Sure, go for it."
“当然可以，你来你来。”
"You have to show me how to do it, though, because I have a feeling this is harder than it looks."
“不过你要教教我怎么做，因为我感觉这个并没有看起来那么简单。”
"A little."
“一点点吧。”
"Okay. So, we’ve got the… Things… And the goal is to put it in the tube, right? Okay."
“好吧。现在，我们需要夹住这个……东西……目标就是把它放到管子里，对吧？”
"While keeping everything underneath the liquid nitrogen, as much as possible."
“嗯。但是要尽可能保证不把它们拿出液面。”
"Haha, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do that, okay. Let’s try.
“哈哈，不知道我行不行。我试试。
Okay, okay. Like this... It’s not submerged, it’s not submerged… Oh no.
冷静，冷静，这样……冒出来了，冒出来了……完蛋了。
Ha! It’s good, right?" "Nice!" "Yaaaaaaas. High five."
哈！还行嘛？”“很棒！”“耶~~~~~~~~~~~~。击个掌呗。”
"We preserve also, all the packaging of the DNA
“那些DNA我们是连着外面的包装一块儿保存下来的，
but we also preserve the cells that are containing the DNA and beyond the cells, the whole tissue.
那些DNA存在的细胞，以及细胞之外的整个组织我们都保存了。
We want to make sure that everything is still viable when we are thawing the samples.
我们希望解冻样本的时候，所有那些材料都能活过来。
Viable means that the tissue has to be able to recover
意思就是组织要能恢复过来，
and to resume normal activities, biochemical, biophysical activities
从生物化学以及生物物理的角度恢复正常的活动，
and when we are talking about gonadal tissues like ovaries or testes,
如果低温保存的是卵巢或睾丸这样的性腺组织，
we need to make sure that they are still producing germinal cells.
那我们还要确保它们解冻后还能产生生殖细胞。
