2016年四大科技发明

Nat+Berman

數十年来，各项科技发明层出不穷，极大地改变了我们的生活。但科学家和研究者们从未停下脚步，几乎每一年都有新的科技突破。而本文要介绍的2016年的四大科技发明绝对不可小觑，它们将在不久的未来改变我们的生活。让我们拭目以待吧！

When it comes to technology， there is the kind you can buy soon after it&apos；s invented. Then， there is the kind that is so breakthrough that it has just recently emerged1） in research. Rather than only considering gadgets2） with the latest technology， the four emerging technologies of 2016 on this list are also providing new opportunities or solving huge problems. Some are already on the market or very close to being there， but some of the most fascinating are the ones still in the hands of researchers and scientists. All of these technologies are changing the way we consider what is possible， and that&apos；s pretty impressive.

说到科技发明，有一种是开发出来后你很快就能买得到的，还有一种则实在太具突破性，只是最近（编注：英文原文发表于2016年8月）才在研究领域里出现。下面这份清单上列出的四项科技发明都是2016年才出现的，可不要仅仅认为它们只是些和最新科技相关的小玩意儿，它们还在给人类提供许多新的机遇，或在解决一些重大问题。其中有一些已经面市，或者将很快进入市场，但还有一些最吸引人的科技发明仍在研究人员和科学家的手中。所有这些科技都在改变着我们思考“可能”的方式，这点着实令人印象十分深刻。

1. emerge [i?m??d?] vi. 出现

2. gadget [?ɡ?d??t] n. 小器具；精巧的小玩意

3. immune engineering： 免疫工程，指的是根据免疫学理论用免疫学的方法来改善或重建机体的免疫状态，以此来战胜疾病。

4. T cell： T细胞（又名T淋巴细胞），来源于骨髓的多能干细胞，具有免疫功能，可以杀死瘤细胞、异体细胞等。

5. synthetic biologist： 合成生物学家。合成生物学是分子生物学、基因组学、信息技术和工程学交叉融合而产生的新学科，主要指的是利用学科理论知识人工设计和合成生物元件。

6. therapy [?θer?pi] n. （非药物、非手术的）疗法，治疗

7. tumor [?tju?m?（r）] n. 肿瘤

8. plague [ple?ɡ] vt. 不断困扰，折磨

The first rocket to return from a space flight came home to a landing pad in November， 2015. Up until this moment， thousands had flown into space， only to fly a few moments and then burn up during free falls down through Earth&apos；s atmosphere. The rocket that landed first was Blue Origin， the project of tech billionaire Jeff Bezos. The second， SpaceX， the project of Tesla CEO billionaire Elon Musk， succeeded in December， 2015.

SpaceX company is already in the business of launching space station supply missions and satellites. Blue Origin is planning to take tourists on four-minute rides into space. Though the companies differ in focus， they both share the need for reusable rockets. The two companies developed onboard software which allows their rockets to use flaps9） and thrusters10） which slow their rockets and allow them to be manipulated11） precisely as they return toward Earth. If both companies can sustain the process of regularly returning rockets safely so that they can be refueled and flown many times， then spaceflight should be much less costly and may become far more accessible to human passengers.

Scientists have spent decades researching how T cells4） within the human body can recognize dangerous invaders and then kill them off. Synthetic biologists5） such as Wendell-Lim of Cell Design Labs， are producing the T cells of the future. His T cells are able to target cells which are enemies， and can be programmed so that they only kill when a specific drug is added and only if there are two different markers on an enemy cell. These types of T cells have already been used in trials to provide immune therapy6） for tumors7） of the brain， lungs and liver， and so far， some patients were cured during these trials. Tech firms， immune therapy start-ups and the largest drug companies in the world are working with T cells to try to find cures for the major diseases plaguing8） humans.

Immune Engineering3）

免疫工程

Reusable Rockets 可重復使用的火箭

数十年来，科学家们一直在研究人体中的T细胞是如何能识别出危险的入侵者，然后把它们全干掉的。像来自细胞生物实验室公司的温德尔-利姆这样的合成生物学家正在研制未来的T细胞。他所研制的T细胞能够锁定目标敌细胞，它可以经过编程，从而能够在加入特定药物并且只有当敌细胞有两个不同的标识时才将其杀灭。这种T细胞已经开始用于试验，针对脑部、肺部和肝部的肿瘤进行免疫治疗。迄今为止，有些病人已经在这些试验中被治愈了。全球的一些科技公司、免疫治疗创业公司和最大的制药公司都在致力于T细胞的研究，试图找到治疗那些折磨着人类的重大疾病的方法。

2015年11月，首枚火箭经过太空飞行后在着陆点着陆，回到了家。在此之前，上千枚火箭飞向太空，只飞行了一会儿，然后就在穿过地球大气层的自由落体过程中烧光了。首枚着陆的火箭是由科技巨头、亿万富翁杰夫·贝索斯的蓝色起源公司制造的。2015年12月，特斯拉首席执行官、亿万富翁伊隆·马斯克的SpaceX公司让第二枚火箭成功返回了地面。

SpaceX公司已经涉足商业性的活动，开始为空间站提供补给和发射卫星。而蓝色起源公司一直计划着将游客带上天进行四分钟的太空之旅。这两个公司虽然着眼点不同，但都有对火箭进行回收的需求。二者开发出的箭载软件能够使其火箭利用阻力板和推进器进行减速，并能让它们在返回地球时被精准控制。如果这两个公司都能持续开展火箭的定期安全返航工作，让火箭可以重新装填燃料，进行多次飞行，那么太空飞行的成本应该就会大大减少，而人类也就更有可能搭乘火箭。

“杀手”T细胞

展望与回首

Thousands of people around the world die each day from human error car crashes. Tesla electric car company began placing ultrasonic12） sensors placed along the sides and bumpers13） of cars in October， 2014. The sensors were paired with digitally controlled brakes14）， a front radar and a camera， with the entire package designed to let the car take over to avoid crashes. But the packages went unused， yet collecting data. In October， 2015， a software update was sent by Tesla to its 60，000 cars including the sensor technology. The software was given the name Tesla Version 7.0， but its nickname， Autopilot， was the one customers claimed.

Autopilot included automatic parallel parking15）， which General Motors， BMW and Mercedes already offered. It also gave cars the ability to manage speed， park itself， steer16） within lanes and even change lanes. Its ability to provide self-steering put it at the forefront of car transportation. Autonomous driving was a thing of science fiction future， and the future had arrived， at least partially.

The Tesla test fleet17） of partially autonomous cars is capable of doing many things on the road， but it cannot start automatically， requires a series of steps to launch， and can shut itself off when road conditions warrant18） it. The company will add increasing autonomy to the software， using upgrades in cautious increments19）. However， Elon Musk， Tesla CEO， believes completely autonomous cars are technically possible as soon as two years from now.

Tesla Autopilot 特斯拉自動驾驶

世界上每天大约有上千人在人为驾驶失误而导致的车祸中丧生。2014年10月，特斯拉电动汽车公司开始在车身四周和保险杠上安装超声波传感器。与这些传感器相配套的还有数控刹车、一个前置雷达和一个摄像头，整个装置的设计旨在让汽车来接管控制权，以避免车祸的发生。但这些装置当时并未投入使用，而是在进行数据采集。2015年10月，特斯拉对其六万辆车进行了包括传感器技术在内的软件升级。这个软件被命名为特斯拉7.0版，而 Autopilot （自动巡航）则是客户们给它起的绰号。

Autopilot系统包括自动平行泊车功能，这一功能通用汽车、宝马和奔驰也已提供。Autopilot系统还使汽车能够控制行驶速度，进行自动泊车，在车道内自动驾驶，甚至还能变换车道。它提供自动操控驾驶的这一能力让它站在了汽车运输行业的前沿。自动驾驶曾是科幻小说中对未来的憧憬，而这个未来已经到来，至少有一部分已成为现实。

特斯拉的半自动化测试车队能够在路上做许多事，但Autopilot系统不能自行启动，需要一系列步骤才能发动，并能在路况允许的情况下自行关闭。特斯拉公司将通过对驾驶谨慎性方面的升级来增加该软件的自主性。不管怎样，特斯拉公司的首席执行官伊隆·马斯克坚信，两年后我们就有可能在技术层面上实现汽车的完全自动驾驶。

9. flap [fl?p] n. 阻力板

10. thruster [?θr?st?（r）] n. 推进器

11. manipulate [m??n?pjule?t] vt. 操作；控制

12. ultrasonic [??ltr??s?n?k] adj. 超声波的

13. bumper [?b?mp?（r）] n. （汽车的）保险杠

14. brake [bre?k] n. （汽车的）刹车

15. parallel parking： 平行停车，侧方停车，即汽车侧面与路缘平行的一种停车方式。

16. steer [st??（r）] vi. 驾驶（车、船、飞机等）；引导

17. fleet [fli?t] n. （尤指同一机构或统一行动的）车队

18. warrant [?w?r?nt] vt. 保证……的安全

19. increment [???kr?m?nt] n. 增加量；增长额

20. ambient backscatter： 环境背反射技术，可以把周围已经存在的无线信号转变成电能来源和通信媒介。ambient [??mbi?nt] adj. 周围的；四周的。backscatter [?b?k?sk?t?（r）] n. 后向散射

21. harvest [?hɑ?v?st] vt. 获取；收获

22. charge [t?ɑ?d?] vt. 给……充电

23. portable [?p??t?bl] adj. 轻便的；手提式的；便于携带的

24. bulky [?b?lki] adj. 庞大的；笨重的

25. sleek [sli?k] adj. 外形流畅雅致的，造型优美的

26. leverage [?li?v?r?d?] vt. 施加影响

27. imbed [?m?bed] vt. 把……嵌入

28. concrete [?k??kri?t] n. 混凝土

Ambient Backscatter20）： Power Harvested21） from Air

环境背反射技术：从空气中采集能量

As the world increasingly communicates using mobile devices， the need for access to power sources has increased. Charging22） laptops and mobile phones has been either challenging or impossible in remote locations， leaving owners of these devices the problem of finding portable23） solutions for charging. But replacement batteries and recharging solutions are often bulky24） and expensive. As computing and communication devices are rapidly decreasing in size， the wires that recharge them can seem awkward in comparison to slim and sleek25） devices. Remote locations simply do not have accessible charging sources.

Researchers have developed a device which allows for wireless communications by leveraging26） the existing ambient Radio Frequency signals absorbed from the air. Tiny ambient backscatter devices require no batteries， last forever， and require zero maintenance. They can be imbedded27） into concrete28） walls， floors or roofs. Keys wallets and sunglasses could be imbedded with the ambient backscatter cells. When lost， they could communicate with cellphones to let owners know where their items are located. It is estimated that ambient backscatter devices will be available within two to three years.

随着全球人们越来越多地使用移动设备来进行交流，人们对接入电源的需求也有所增加。在偏远地区，给笔记本电脑和手机充电一直要么是个大挑战，要么就根本无法实现，于是就给这些设备的用户带来一个问题，即寻找便携的充电方式。但备用电池和充电设备通常都又笨重又昂贵。随着计算机通信设备在尺寸上越做越小，与纤巧精致的设备相比，给其充电的有线装置就显得相当笨重。而偏远地区则完全没有可用的充电电源。

研究人员已经开发出了一种设备，它能利用周围空气中存在的无线电频率信号进行无线通信。小巧的环境背反射设备不用电池即可永久持续工作，且无需维护。它们可以镶嵌在混凝土墙内、地板下或房顶上。钥匙包和太阳镜里也可以镶嵌这种环境背反射装置。如果找不见了，它们会向手机发送信息，让主人知道他们的东西放哪了。据估计，两到三年内这种环境背反射装置就能投入使用。