fifaol3非i发数据库:研究：中国将种子撒向太空

Chinese scientists claim to have created a range of so-called super crops by blasting seeds into space so their genes are mutated by cosmic radiation.

中国科学家宣布，通过将种子带入太空，利用宇宙射线使农作物的基因发生突变，培育出一系列的超级农作物。

Giant cucumbers and tomatoes -- along with fast-growing sesame, cotton and even white lotus and chrysanthemum flowers -- were produced by the technique, according to a study published by Chinese government researchers.

根据中国政府学者的研究表明，超大黄瓜和番茄，甚至超速生长的芝麻、棉花以及白莲花、菊花都已经利用这种技术培育了出来。

If its success can be confirmed, space agriculture could have the potential to rival earthbound genetic modification, a laboratory-based technique that is effective but expensive, as a means of producing new breeds of high-yield crops.

如果该项技术得到确认，太空农业将作为培育高产作物的新型育种手段，成为地面基因改良技术的潜在对手，因为基于实验室的基因改良技术虽高效却昂贵。

"China's fruitful achievements have proved that real space agriculture is no longer a dream because it is a reality now," Professor Li Chengzhi, of Beijing's Beihang University, said in a study published in the journal Space Policy.

北京航空航天大学李承志教授发表在《太空政策》杂志上的研究指出，“中国已取得的大量成果表明太空农业已经不再是梦想，而已成为事实。”

The bold claims, however, are being treated with caution. Chinese science is far less open than in Western countries, and, as is common in China, Li and his colleagues have not published supporting data.

可是这种大胆的言论被小心翼翼的对待，因为中国的学术界远不及西方开放，并且作为中国的潜规则，李承志和他的同事并没用公开相应的支持性数据。

The basic principle that radiation can cause mutations, some of which may be beneficial, is well known, and Western scientists also have used it to try to create new strains.

这种技术的基本原理是：辐射可以产生变异，有些变异被认为可能是有益的，西方科学家也曾用这种技术尝试创造出新的菌株。

Li said, "China has initiated a new space industry with its own characteristics -- 'space breeding.' Crop breeding in space, or spaceflight mutation breeding, is a technology in which crop seeds are carried by recoverable satellites into space and back to Earth. While in space, the seeds undergo a process of mutation so better crops can be produced back on Earth."

李承志说：“中国创造出具有中国特色的新型太空产业——‘太空育种’，植物在太空里生长，或者在太空飞船里诱变培育，农作物种子搭载返回式卫星进入太空并返回地面。在太空中，种子在诱变环境下产生变异，这些变异产生的良种可以在地面继续繁殖。”

China's interest in space crops dates back to 1987, but its first breakthrough came in 1999 with a new strain of fast-growing space rice, Hangyu 1, which is now planted on more than 400,000 acres (161,874 hectares).

中国的太空育种历史可以追溯到1987年，但直到1999年一种新型快速生长的太空大米“航育1号”的出现才标志着太空育种第一次取得突破，现在“航育1号已经种植了超过40万英亩（161874公顷）。

Since then, similar techniques have been applied to more crops -- including wheat, fruit and vegetables such as giant green peppers and cucumbers. Many were developed from seeds flown in the Shijian-8 satellite, which was packed with seeds and spent 15 days in orbit around Earth in 2006.

从那时开始，这种技术在更多的作物上得到应用——包括小麦、水果和诸如大青椒、大黄瓜在内的蔬菜。许多作物都是从“实践8号”卫星内搭载的种子繁育而来，2006年，该卫星搭载着大量种子环绕地球飞行了15天。

"The research institute at the Chinese Academy of Sciences succeeded in cultivating a new type of cucumber with a higher yield, better taste and bigger fruit," Li said. "Some 90,000 kilograms [198,416 pounds] of cucumber can be produced from each hectare [2.5 acres], a 20 percent higher yield. The biggest cucumber can weigh 1.5 kilograms [3.3 pounds]. Space-bred cherries and tomatoes have a high sugar content of 13 percent, comparable with that of oranges. They also taste good."

“中国科学院的研究机构成功培育出新型高产量黄瓜，这种黄瓜口感更好，而且多汁”，李承志说“一公顷地（2.5英亩）可以产9万公斤（198416磅）黄瓜，比普通品种的产量高出了20%”，最大的黄瓜可以达到1.5公斤重（3.3磅）。太空樱桃和太空番茄里的糖分高达13%，可以与桔子相媲美，并且味道也很鲜美。”