Food 食物
Lab-grown Meat Feeds the World
Cultured meat, in vitro meat, or any other name, whatever we call it, we have to get used to it. Because meat produced in a lab could be the future of nutrition.
The scientists who are developing test-tube meat (and chicken) say it is an important way to keep up with the worlds growing appetite for protein while simultaneously reducing meat productions environmental impact like land requirements and CO2 emissions.
There are only about 30 scientists working on cultured meat globally, and they all agree the stuff will take a while to get to grocers shelves. The biggest hurdle to commercialization (besides the obvious “ick” factor) is lack of funding for research—though money is trickling in from unconventional sources. A scientist in Netherlands received 300,000 euros from an anonymous donor to produce a lab-burger.
人造肉類(lèi)養(yǎng)活全世界
培養(yǎng)肉、試管肉,或者其他任何名稱,不管怎么叫,我們都得習(xí)慣它。因?yàn)?,?shí)驗(yàn)室培育的食用肉可能將成為人類(lèi)未來(lái)的營(yíng)養(yǎng)食品。
研究試管肉(包括雞肉)的科學(xué)家們指出,我們一方面要滿足人類(lèi)對(duì)蛋白質(zhì)日益增長(zhǎng)的需求,同時(shí)還要降低豬肉生產(chǎn)所造成的用地需求、二氧化碳排放等環(huán)境影響,要想實(shí)現(xiàn)這些目的,這種方法至關(guān)重要。
當(dāng)下,全球僅有大約30名科學(xué)家正在研究人工培養(yǎng)肉;他們一致認(rèn)為,人工培養(yǎng)肉上市還需要一段時(shí)間。雖然有非傳統(tǒng)型渠道為這項(xiàng)研究提供資金,但研究經(jīng)費(fèi)不足仍是人造肉實(shí)現(xiàn)商業(yè)化的最大障礙(當(dāng)然,“令人惡心”也是另一個(gè)顯而易見(jiàn)的障礙)。荷蘭的一位科學(xué)家獲得了30萬(wàn)歐元的匿名捐贈(zèng),用于生產(chǎn)實(shí)驗(yàn)室漢堡。
Education 教育
Schools Learn From Businesses
A more market-minded approach is coming to a K-12 classroom near you. It may start with teachers, who will move up the educational equivalent of a corporate ladder. Forget tenure, educators would depend on their intelligence to reach “master teacher” level. The idea already exists in many New York schools, where theyre called “mentor teachers.” “Its not just meant to prune lousy teachers, but also to make them more effective,” says a professor at UC Berkeleys graduate school of education.Testing will become more centralized —and potentially more important, state assessment exams will give way to national ones, and skills-based testing could fast-track careers. “Credentials based on rigorous certification exams will be more valuable in the job market than acollege degree,” adds another professor of the education nonprofit Khan Academy. And corporations, frustrated by the skills gap of high school grads, may open schools of their own. Wal-Mart High, anyone?
教學(xué)機(jī)構(gòu)全面學(xué)習(xí)企業(yè)
我們身邊的中小學(xué)及學(xué)前教育的學(xué)校將會(huì)采取更具市場(chǎng)意識(shí)的教育方式。首先是教師,他們需要遵守與企業(yè)類(lèi)似的晉升制度來(lái)獲得升職。教齡不再是教育工作者能否達(dá)到“特級(jí)教師”級(jí)別的衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn),取而代之的是資質(zhì)。紐約的許多學(xué)校已經(jīng)將這個(gè)理念付諸實(shí)施。在那里,教師被稱為“教學(xué)導(dǎo)師”。加州大學(xué)伯克利分校教育研究院的一名教授說(shuō):“當(dāng)然,這不僅意味著要淘汰不稱職的教師,而且還要提高教師的工作效率?!笨荚噷⒆兊酶蛹小踔?xí)兊酶又匾?,州?jí)評(píng)估考試將給國(guó)家考試讓路,而且以考核技能為主的測(cè)試將成為實(shí)現(xiàn)職業(yè)規(guī)劃的快速通道?!芭c大學(xué)學(xué)位相比,通過(guò)嚴(yán)格的資格認(rèn)證考試獲得的證書(shū)在就業(yè)市場(chǎng)上將具有更高的價(jià)值,”非盈利教育機(jī)構(gòu)可汗學(xué)院的另一名教授補(bǔ)充道。除此之外,由于高中畢業(yè)生并未掌握技術(shù),企業(yè)有可能創(chuàng)辦自己的學(xué)校。比如沃爾瑪高中,有人報(bào)名嗎?
Medicine 醫(yī)學(xué)
A Map of the Brain Leads to Cures
The key to curing many diseases may come only when scientists fully understand the human brain, “the complex machine” that hasnt been completely investigated.
Scientists will spend the next decade trying to map the mind, zooming in on single neurons (thebrain has billions) to study each ones genetic information, shape, and electrical signals. Using tiny robotic tools such as an “auto patcher” — developed by MITs Edward Boyden and Georgia Techs Craig Forest—researchers will be able to turn off individual cells and plot patterns with its neighbors. The robot can check neurons much faster than humans, who need extensive training to do the process manually.
Diagnosing the breakdowns within a neuron will allow for targeted gene therapy. As the process gets cheaper and less invasive, more patients will have access to treatment from such advanced tools. Among the first neurological disorders physicians can tackle when the brain is mapped?
大腦成像技術(shù)開(kāi)辟醫(yī)療新境界
許多疾病要想治愈,或許要等到科學(xué)家完全了解了人類(lèi)大腦之后才有可能。但目前這個(gè)“復(fù)雜的機(jī)器”仍存在諸多未解之謎。
未來(lái)十年,科學(xué)家們將嘗試?yán)L制大腦圖像,放大單個(gè)神經(jīng)元(大腦共有數(shù)十億個(gè)神經(jīng)元),用于研究每個(gè)神經(jīng)元的基因信息、形狀和電子信號(hào)。利用微型機(jī)器人工具,如由麻省理工學(xué)院的愛(ài)德華·博伊登和佐治亞理工學(xué)院克雷格·弗雷斯特共同研發(fā)的“自動(dòng)補(bǔ)丁”,研究人員有望關(guān)閉單個(gè)細(xì)胞,并借助相鄰細(xì)胞來(lái)重新繪制圖形。人類(lèi)需要在接受大量培訓(xùn)后才能手動(dòng)檢查神經(jīng)細(xì)胞,相比之下,機(jī)器人的速度卻要快得多。
診斷單個(gè)神經(jīng)元的障礙使定向基因療法成為可能。隨著這種療法成本下降,侵入性降低,越來(lái)越多的病人將有機(jī)會(huì)接受這種借助高科技工具的治療。如果大腦成像技術(shù)取得成功,第一批可治愈的神經(jīng)障礙疾病會(huì)是哪些呢?
Banking 銀行業(yè)
Big U. S. Banks Get Even Bigger
Looking at them now, licking self-inflicted wounds from the financial crisis, it seems hard to believe that Americas big banks could be even bigger and stronger a decade from now. But thats the scenario many industry analysts envision.Once the euro crisis clears and America fixes its mortgage mess, giants like J. P. Morgan will enter a new era of expansion. Yes, new regulations will impose higher costs and reduce once-lucrative trading profits, resulting in far slower growth for the largest banks. But those regulations will also make it tougher for others to challenge their top positions. Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley wont be able to use the levels of leverage they once did to boost revenue-generating trading operations, making them prey for the megabanks.Think of tomorrows banks as highly regulated public utilities: Theyll hold lots of capital, eke outprofits, and hire managers who shun risk. Welcome to the big and boring future of banking.
美國(guó)銀行巨頭進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)張
美國(guó)的大型銀行自作自受,眼下正舔舐著金融危機(jī)帶來(lái)的創(chuàng)傷。眼前的情形很難讓我們相信,在未來(lái)的十年內(nèi),美國(guó)的大型銀行將進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)大規(guī)模和勢(shì)力。但是,這確實(shí)是行業(yè)分析師們預(yù)見(jiàn)到的情形。等到歐元危機(jī)平息,美國(guó)解決抵押市場(chǎng)的混亂狀態(tài)之后,摩根大通銀行等大型銀行將進(jìn)入擴(kuò)張的新時(shí)代。誠(chéng)然,新出臺(tái)的法規(guī)將增加它們的成本,壓縮一度十分豐厚的營(yíng)業(yè)利潤(rùn),從而導(dǎo)致這些最大型銀行的增長(zhǎng)放緩。但是,這些法規(guī)也使其他銀行無(wú)力挑戰(zhàn)這些行業(yè)巨頭的地位。高盛投資銀行和摩根士丹利等投資銀行將無(wú)法故技重施,繼續(xù)利用杠桿比率來(lái)刺激產(chǎn)生收入的交易,最終,它們將淪為銀行業(yè)巨頭的獵物。其實(shí),我們不妨把未來(lái)的銀行想象成受到政府高度監(jiān)管的公用事業(yè):它們將持有大量的資金,勉強(qiáng)維持盈利,并且會(huì)聘用經(jīng)理人來(lái)回避風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。如果果真如此,未來(lái)的銀行將會(huì)進(jìn)入龐大但缺乏生機(jī)的新階段。