2021年经济学人 蜜蜂是最先发明疫苗的物种(2)

In this case, to stop such an infection happening, Dr Harwood and Dr Salmela heat-treated, and so killed, the pathogens in advance. They also labelled the dead bacteria with a fluorescent¹ dye, to make their subsequent fates easy to track. And, sure enough, fluorescent microscopy confirmed that fragments of P. larvae² were getting into royal jelly secreted³ by those bees which had been fed with the laced sugarwater. Moreover, examination of this royal jelly revealed elevated levels, compared with royal jelly from bees that had not been dosed with P. larvae, of an antimicrobial peptide known as defensin-1. This substance is thought to help bee immune systems fend⁴ off bacterial⁵ infections.

在这种情况下，为了阻止这种感染的发生，哈伍德博士和萨尔梅拉博士事先对病原体进行了热处理并将它们杀死。他们还用荧光染料给死亡的细菌做了标记，以便追踪它们之后的命运。果然，荧光显微镜证实了幼虫芽孢杆菌的碎片进入了那些用加了糖水的蜜蜂分泌的蜂王浆中。而且，荧光显微镜确实证实了幼虫芽孢杆菌的碎片正在进入那些用掺有糖水的蜜蜂分泌的蜂王浆中。这种物质被认为可以帮助蜜蜂免疫系统抵御细菌感染。

All told, these findings suggest that nurse bees are indeed, via their royal jelly, passing antigens on to the queen for inoculation⁶ into her eggs. They also mean, because larvae, too, receive royal jelly for the first few days after they hatch, that the nurses are inoculating⁷ their larval charges as well. Each infant bee is therefore being vaccinated⁸ twice.

综上所述，这些发现表明，看护蜂确实通过蜂王浆将抗原传给蚁后，以便将其接种到卵中。这也意味着，因为幼虫在孵化后的头几天也会接受蜂王浆，所以看护蜂也在给它们的幼虫注射疫苗。因此每只幼蜂要接种两次疫苗。

Whether this is simply a belt-and-braces approach, or is actually the equivalent of a prime-boost human vaccination⁹ in which the second dose multiplies the effect of the first, remains¹⁰ to be determined¹¹. But either way, it seems protective. Not so much herd¹², as swarm¹³, immunity¹⁴.

这是一种双保险策略，还是说其实是加强人类免疫的疫苗且第二剂疫苗的效果是第一剂疫苗的两倍，尚未有定论。但不管怎样，这似乎是一种保护。与其说是群体免疫，不如说是蜂群免疫。

1 fluorescent   

adj.荧光的，发出荧光的

参考例句：

• They observed the deflections of the particles by allowing them to fall on a fluorescent screen.他们让粒子落在荧光屏上以观察他们的偏移。
• This fluorescent lighting certainly gives the food a peculiar color.这萤光灯当然增添了食物特别的色彩。

2 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

3 secreted   

v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏

参考例句：

• Insulin is secreted by the pancreas. 胰岛素是胰腺分泌的。
• He secreted his winnings in a drawer. 他把赢来的钱藏在抽届里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

5 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

6 inoculation   

n.接芽；预防接种

参考例句：

• Travellers are reminded that inoculation against yellow fever is advisable. 提醒旅游者接种预防黄热病的疫苗是明智的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Travelers are reminded that inoculation against yellow fever is advisable. 旅客们被提醒，注射黄热病预防针是明智的。 来自辞典例句

7 inoculating   

v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He attempted to investigate bidirectional streaming by inoculating two dishes with R. oryzae. 他试图研究双向流动的问题，他把未根霉接种于两个培养皿。 来自辞典例句
• Doctors examined the recruits but nurses did the inocuLating. 医生们给新兵检查了身体，护士们给他们打了预防针。 来自互联网

8 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

9 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

13 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。