VOA标准英语2010-Former Priest Turned Geneticist Separates

Rosanne Skirble | Washington, DC 05 April 2010
Francisco Ayala accepts the 2010 Templeton Prize for his achievement in affirming life's spirituality.
Related Links:

Fact Sheet Francisco Ayala
Link to Bio at University of California, Irvine
2010 Templeton Prize
National Medal of Science
American Association for the Advancement¹ of Science
 

Francisco Ayala is a man at the intersection² of science and religion, who sees no conflict between the two. The molecular³ biologist has revolutionized evolutionary⁴ theory, leading to new ways to prevent diseases while shedding light on issues concerning society, ethics⁵ and religion.

Ayala was born in Madrid in 1934, a few years before the Spanish Civil War that deeply divided his native country and prompted an exodus⁶ of the Spanish elite⁷.  But Ayala's family - who owned a department store - stayed and he grew up in the shadow of the Spanish dictatorship. He and his siblings⁸ went to Catholic schools.

Francisco Ayala, professor of biology and evolutionary genetics, in his laboratory at the University of California (1988)

Science and Religion

A priest sparked Ayala's interest in science. He went on to study physics at the University of Madrid and with that degree in hand headed to a theological center in Salamanca, where, in 1960, he was ordained⁹ a Dominican priest.

But the next year he decided¹⁰ to return to science and five years later, left the priesthood. He pursued a degree in evolutionary genetics at Columbia University in New York. "Trying to understand humans, what we are and where we come from," he says.

In 1964, Ayala received a doctorate¹¹ in the field. His research began with fruit flies, but over the last two decades, his focus has been on parasitic¹² protozoa, single-celled organisms that cause major diseases.

Francisco Ayala with sons, Carlos [left] and Jose [right], in 1995.

Scientific breakthrough

Ayala discovered that parasites¹⁴ were responsible for Chagas, an often fatal disease afflicting¹⁵ millions of people in the Americas. The parasites reproduced not sexually, but by cloning.

"Each individual [parasite¹³] grows and divides into two, and that process keeps going on generation after generation, thousand after thousand years, millions after million years," says Ayala.

This led Ayala to similar discoveries about the parasites that cause malaria¹⁶ and other tropical diseases. "We are able to demonstrate that the spread of malignant¹⁷ malaria happened only within the last five thousand years, even though the parasite affects hundreds of millions of people. So it's a very recent human disease in the evolutionary scale."

Francisco Ayala argues both science and faith are damaged when one invades the other.

Ayala says malaria was likely first transmitted from chimpanzees to humans through a single mosquito. In one recent study - among the 1,000 he's published - Ayala establishes that gorillas¹⁸ and chimps¹⁹ may serve as reservoirs for the parasites that cause human malaria.  "The next stop is for epidemiologists and physicians who are trying to develop vaccines²⁰ or drugs to take advantage of this knowledge in doing their work," he says.

'The bible has no place in science education'

In addition to his work as a scientist, Ayala has also written and lectured extensively on religion and science. The former priest says the theory of evolution is consistent with his Christian²¹ faith.  "Belief in God and accepting that life has purpose and meaning and accepting that life has moral values and other things that are properly the content of religion are perfectly²² compatible with science."

Francisco Ayala travels to Poland for a book signing following the publication of his book, 'Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion.'

In 1981 Ayala joined a legal battle as an expert witness in the challenge against an Arkansas law mandating²³ that the biblical story of creation be taught in schools, alongside Darwin's theory of evolution.  "That law was rejected," in court he says because, "the bible has no place in science education."

That position was later affirmed by the U.S. Supreme²⁴ Court. "Laws like this which required teaching creationism in science classes are unconstitutional," he says.

Not only are the laws unconstitutional, Ayala asserts, but creationism - especially widespread in the American South among evangelical Christians²⁵ - is contrary to Christian tradition. He says 3rd century church theologian and philosopher St. Augustine understood that.

"Augustine says repeatedly what the bible is teaching us is how to worship god, how we should relate to each other, our moral values and how to go to heaven, not how the heavens were made. How the heavens were made is for the scientists to find out."

Ayala became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1971. He has received many awards for his work, including the National Medal of Science, the nation's top science honor. And, this year he won the Templeton Prize for achievement affirming life's spirituality. In announcing the award, Templeton officials said "Ayala's clear voice in matters of science and faith echoes the foundation's belief that evolution of the mind and truly open-minded inquiry²⁶ can lead to real spiritual progress in the world."  The prize is worth $1.6 million and Ayala says all the money will go to charity.

 

1 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

2 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

3 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

4 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

5 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

6 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

9 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

12 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

13 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

14 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

15 afflicting   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是困扰现代社会的严重问题之一。
• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。

16 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

17 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

18 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

20 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

21 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

22 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

23 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

24 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

25 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

26 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。