翻译 Oct.10 · 2022

Back from the brink: How 'frozen zoos' could save dying species

如悬崖勒马一般：为什么这个冰冻的公园可以保存灭绝中的物种？

When Kurt Benirschke started collecting skin samples from rare and endangered animals in 1972, he didn't have a firm plan on what to do with them. As a researcher at the University of California San Diego, he believed that one day the tools would be developed to use them to save those animals.

当KB在1972年开始收集稀有和濒临灭绝动物的皮肤样本时，他并没有对以这些样本做什么有坚定的计划。作为一个在加州圣地亚哥大学的研究者，他认为总会有一天相关的工具会被开发出来并用它们去保存这些动物。

A few years later, he moved his collection to San Diego Zoo, and called it the Frozen Zoo. Today, the Frozen Zoo is the world's largest animal cryobank, with samples from over 10, 500 individual animals from 1, 220 species.

几年之后，他讲他的收藏品移送至圣地亚哥动物园，并为其取名冷冻动物园。今天，冷冻动物园是世界上最大的动物冷冻库，有着1220个物种，超过10500个单独的动物样本。

cryobank：冷冻库

individual：个人、独特的、单独的

Since the Frozen Zoo was founded, many milestones have been reached in the field of genetics, starting with the cloning of the first animal — a sheep named Dolly — in 1996.

自从冷冻公园被建立以来，伴随着1996年，第一只克隆动物的诞生开始——克隆羊多丽，很多基因领域的里程碑都已经实现了。

Starting in 2001, four endangered species have been cloned using genetic material from the Frozen Zoo: the Indian Gaur, a humpbacked Asian wild ox; the Banteng, a Southeast-Asian species of cattle; Przewalski's horse, once found throughout Mongolia and extinct in the wild until recently; and the Black-footed ferret, which was believed to be extinct in the wild until it resurfaced in 1981, but was then almost wiped out by an epidemic.

在2001年，四个濒危物种使用冰冻公园中的基因材料进行了克隆：印度野牛，一种驼背的亚洲野牛；白臀野牛，是东南亚地区的一种牛；普列泽瓦尔斯基的马，曾在蒙古各地发现，最近在野外灭绝；黑脚雪貂，据信在野外已经灭绝，直到1981年重新浮出水面，但后来几乎被流行病消灭。

species：物种

humpbacked：驼背的

wild ox：野牛

Banteng：白臀野牛

cattle：牛、家畜

once found：可以表示 ‘曾经’ 的意思

throughout：到处都是

Although cloning isn't perfect, it's a useful tool to help save endangered species, because it can increase genetic diversity. When the population of a species dwindles, the remaining animals are forced to inbreed and the genetic pool shrinks, further threatening survival. In a species of animals, the genetic diversity is what gives it its resilience.

尽管克隆并不完美，但这是一种有效的工具去帮助保存濒危物种，因为它可以增加基因多样性。当物种的数量逐渐减少，剩下的动物开始被迫近亲繁殖，使得基因池萎缩，更进一步的威胁到了生存。在动物物种中，基因的多样性赋予了其恢复力。

diversity：多样性

dwindle：逐渐变小变少

threatening：威胁的、危险的

resilience：恢复力、弹性

生肉 Oct.10 · 2022

Back from the brink: How 'frozen zoos' could save dying species

When Kurt Benirschke started collecting skin samples from rare and endangered animals in 1972, he didn't have a firm plan on what to do with them. As a researcher at the University of California San Diego, he believed that one day the tools would be developed to use them to save those animals.

A few years later, he moved his collection to San Diego Zoo, and called it the Frozen Zoo. Today, the Frozen Zoo is the world's largest animal cryobank, with samples from over 10, 500 individual animals from 1, 220 species.

Since the Frozen Zoo was founded, many milestones have been reached in the field of genetics, starting with the cloning of the first animal — a sheep named Dolly — in 1996.

Starting in 2001, four endangered species have been cloned using genetic material from the Frozen Zoo: the Indian Gaur, a humpbacked Asian wild ox; the Banteng, a Southeast-Asian species of cattle; Przewalski's horse, once found throughout Mongolia and extinct in the wild until recently; and the Black-footed ferret, which was believed to be extinct in the wild until it resurfaced in 1981, but was then almost wiped out by an epidemic.

Although cloning isn't perfect, it's a useful tool to help save endangered species, because it can increase genetic diversity. When the population of a species dwindles, the remaining animals are forced to inbreed and the genetic pool shrinks, further threatening survival. In a species of animals, the genetic diversity is what gives it its resilience.