时差N小时:好消息!玉米可能是一个新能源

A gene is a gene is a gene. But a single gene oftenhas more than one job in the cell. Scientists workingwith corn genes know that first hand. In thebeginning, they thought the Glossy 15 gene onlygave corn seedlings a waxy coat. Much to theirsurprise, they discovered Glossy 15 did more thanthat. They could use it to make super corn plants.

一个基因是一个基因。但是细胞内的一个单基因通常有更多作用。那些研究玉米基因的科学家掌握着第一手的资料。一开始，他们认为 Glossy 15 基因只能为玉米幼苗提供腊质胞壁。但出乎意料的是，他们发现 Glossy 15 的作用远不止如此。他们可以利用它生产超级玉米。

When additional copies of the Glossy 15 gene were inserted into corn, the maturation processslowed down. This doesn't seem like it would be very helpful. Why would people interested inmaking better corn plants want them to mature more slowly?

当把 Glossy 15 基因的复制本植入玉米时，玉米成熟得更慢。这看起来不太有用。那为什么对生产高质量玉米有兴趣的人会想要玉米慢点成熟呢?

Because when the plants mature at a slower rate, they become much larger by the end of theseason. Unfortunately, producing bigger corn plants does not mean more corn. It seems thatseed maturation is slowed by the gene also. But corn is grown for more than its seed. Itsbiomass of leaves and stems is used to feed cattle.

因为当植物以较慢的速度成熟时，他们于季末时个头会变得更加大。不幸的是，生产个头更大的玉米并不代表产量更多。似乎玉米粒也因植入额外的基因而成熟地更慢了。但是种植玉米是为了收获更多的玉米种子。玉米叶和茎则通常被用来饲养牲畜。

Scientists also believe that because of the larger size, the new super corn would be an idealenergy crop to make ethanol. And super corn needs less nitrogen fertilizer, so it's less costlyto grow. Government Approval Scientists say the government needs to approve their newsuper corn, but they feel using Glossy 15 is a great way to safely improve corn productionbecause they are using a gene that is already in the corn plant.

科学家们也认为，新型的玉米个头更大，所以它们会是制造乙醇的理想的能源作物。超级玉米需要的化肥更少，因此种植成本更低。科学家们说道，政府支持他们种植超级玉米，并认为利用 Glossy 15 基因技术是改进玉米生产的很好的方法，因为他们所要利用的基因玉米本身就有。

It looks like it's only a matter of time until you can thank the Glossy 15 gene for the steak onyour plate or that gallon of ethanol in your tank.

似乎，利用 Glossy 15 基因技术来改变生活只是时间的问题，到时候吃着盘里的牛排，用着油缸里的乙醇燃料时要记得感谢哦。