外刊第10期.docx

外刊第10期.docx

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外刊第10期

2014年外刊第10期

赵老师英语   2014-06-1722:

35:

41

Passage1:

Malariacontrol

Xmarksthespot

Howtogetmosquitoestobreedthemselvestodeath

Jun14th2014 | Fromtheprintedition

KILLthemosquitoandyoukillthedisease.Thatistheusualapproachtocontrollingmalaria.Andifdoneproperly,itworks.Theproblemisthattheinsecticidesemployedtodothekillingdestroylotsofotherthingsaswell.Anolddreamofthosewhoseektoeliminatemalariaisthusawayofselectivelykillingonlywhattransmitstheparasite:

mosquitoesofthegenus Anopheles,mostnotably Anophelesgambiae.Andthat,moreorless,iswhatisproposedbyNikolaiWindbichlerandAndreaCrisantiofImperialCollege,London,inapaperin NatureCommunications.Theythinktheyhaveworkedouthowtostop A.gambiae femalesbeingcreatedinthefirstplace.Thatwouldbreakthechainoftransmissionintwoways:

immediately,becauseitisonlyfemalesthatdrinkbloodandsopasstheparasiteon;andinthelongertermbecausewithoutfemalesapopulationcannotreproduce.

Theresearchers’trickistoengineerintothemosquitoesageneforaproteincalledahomingendonuclease.Thesegenesarepeculiar,andareprobablyatypeofgeneticparasite.TheycutparticularsequencesofDNAinawaythatdamagesthechromosomesuchDNAisfoundin.Inextremecases,thatdestroysthechromosome.（Inlessextremecases,theprocessofrepairoftencopiestheendonucleasegeneintotherepairsite;hencethename“homing”,andalsothesuspicionofparasitism）.DrWindbichlerandDrCrisantihavefoundahomingendonucleaseinaspeciesofslimemouldthat,byastrangecoincidence,cutsasequenceofDNAfoundrepeatedlyintheXchromosomeof Anophelesgambiae,destroyingthechromosomecompletely.

Likehumans,mosquitoeswithtwoXchromosomesarefemaleandthosewithanXandaYaremales.AnunfertilisedeggcanthereforehaveonlyanXchromosome,butaspermcellcanhaveeither.Itisthusthespermthatdeterminesanoffspring’ssex.Bytransplantingtheendonucleasegeneintothegenomesofmalemosquitoes,andarrangingforittobeactiveonlyduringtheprocessofspermatogenesis（sothatotherbodilyfunctionsareunaffected）,theresearcherscreatemaleswhichproducepredominantly“male”spermcells—about95%ofthemcarryYchromosomes.Manyofthesewillalsocarrytheendonuclease,sothesamethingwillhappeninthenextgeneration.Theupshotisthatapopulationintowhichthemodifiedmalesareintroducedshouldgetmoreandmoremale-dominated,andsmallerandsmaller.

Thatwascertainlythecaseincagedpopulationstheresearchersexperimentedon.Whetheritwillhappeninthewildwilldependonwhetherfemalemosquitoescantellthedifferencebetweennormalandmodifiedmales.Iftheycannot,thenreleasingabunchofmodifiedmalesintoanareamight,atleasttemporarily,breakthechainoftransmission.

Eventuallynaturalselectionwillfindawayaroundtheendonuclease,andthenumberofmosquitoeswillreturntonormal.Butiftheparasitehasgone,andisnotreintroducedfromelsewhere（assometimeshappenedinplacesmademalaria-freeusinginsecticides）,thenamalaria-freezonewillhavebeencreatedwithoutmuchdisruptiontothelocalecology.

Passage2:

Americanspies

Necessary

Theimportanceofintelligence

Jun7th2014 | Fromtheprintedition

Dishdashadad

TheGoodSpy:

TheLifeandDeathofRobertAmes.ByKaiBird.CrownPublishing;416pages;$26. BuyfromA, Amazon.co.uk

KAIBIRDhaschosenaclevertitleforthisbook.RobertAmes,aCIAagentkilledinthe1983bombingoftheAmericanembassyinBeirut,wasbothmorallysound,asafaithfulhusbandanddotingfatherofsix,and,accordingtoMrBird’simpressivesources,verygoodathisjob.

Thejobtookhimfirsttoatwo-manCIApostinginDhahran,inSaudiArabia（wherethe11-year-oldMrBird,whosefatherwasanon-CIAforeign-serviceofficer,livedacrossthestreet）,andfinallytoaseniorroleinWashington,DC.HavingspentyearslivingbothintheArabworldandIran,bythetimeofhislastfatefulvisittoBeirut,hehadbecome,asMrBirdputsit,“theCIA’s‘MrMiddleEast’intheReaganadministration”.

ButhowdidAmes,afluentArabic-speakerwithrealaffectionfortheArabworld,seehiscareer?

Inthisoftengrippingbook,MrBirdportrayshimasabraveandultimatelydisappointedadvocateofpeacebetweenPalestiniansandIsraelis.HisconduittoYasserArafat’sPLOwasAliHassanSalameh,thechiefofoperationsofBlackSeptemberandthemanwhomay—ormaynot,itisdifficulttoknowinthemurkyworldofterrorism—havebeenresponsibleforthekillingofIsraeliathletesatthe1972MunichOlympics.AmeswasintroducedtoSalamehbyMustafaZein,aLebaneseShi’itebusinessmanwhobothadmiredAmericaandsupportedthePalestiniancause.Amescountedbothmenasfriendsand,totheannoyanceofsomeCIAcolleagues,refusedtorecruitthemasagents.

Salameh,nicknamedthe“RedPrince”forhisplayboylifestyle,ispartofacolourfulcastwhoseliveswerecutshortbyviolence.Hisownendcamein1979nearhisBeirutapartment,whenErikaChambers,aBritishpassport-holderrecruitedbyMossad,triggeredahugecar-bomb.

AllofthisisengrossingforthosefascinatedbythemachinationsofthepeopleandpoliticsoftheMiddleEast.Ameshimself,forallhissympathyfortheArabworld,hadnoillusionsabouttheregion.OfthehorriblyviciousLebanesecivilwar,hewrote:

“Onegoodthingcameoutofthiswar.TheLebanesearenotsoarrogantanymore.TheyrealisethatlifeismorethanaMercedesandanYvesStLaurenttie.”

Butthisbookshouldappealtoawideraudience.Itunderlinestheneedforintelligence-gatheringbyhumansaswellasbymachines,andillustratesthegapbetweenspyingandpolicy.Ames’slinkswithSalamehprovidedabackdoorforAmericatotalktothePLOatatimewhenHenryKissingerhadpledgedtoIsraelthatAmericawouldnotnegotiatewiththePLO.AmestheidealistcouldseeafutureinwhichPalestiniansandIsraeliswereatpeacewitheachother,andinwhichAmericawasseenasafriendbyall.

ButAmestherealistwasforcedtorecognisetheobstaclesimposedbyAmerica’spoliticalcycleandbyitsabhorrenceoftheterrortacticsthathadfinallybroughtthePalestiniancausetoitsattention.Inhissoberingfinalpages,MrBirdwritesofImadMughniyeh,aLebaneseShiarecruitedbySalamehintoArafat’seliteintelligenceunit,Force17.Mughniyeh,whowasassassinatedinDamascusin2008,possiblybyMossadinconjunctionwiththeCIA,becamealeadingforceinHizbullah.Hisuseofsuicide-bomberswaslateradoptedbyal-Qaeda;heissaidtohavemetOsamabinLadeninKhartoumin1995.

MughniyehmayhavedirectedtheBeirutembassybombing.Ifso,thatpostscriptonAmes’slifeisbitterenough,butworsestillistherevelationthatAmericalatergrantedasylumtoAliRezaAsgari,Mughniyeh’scontrollerinIran’sRevolutionaryGuards.MrAsgari,responsibleformanyAmericandeaths,defectedin2007—andhisinformation,MrBirdreckons,revealedIran’snuclearplantnearNatanzandledalsotoIsrael’sdestructionofaSyriannuclearreactor.Itcouldbeanepisodefrom“Homeland”.

Passage3：

Freeexchange

Wastedpotential

Countingthelong-termcostsofthefinancialcrisis

Jun14th2014 | Fromtheprintedition

THErichworldisatlonglastclawingitswayfromtheeconomicditchoftheGreatRecession.Thisyearmaybethefirstsince2007inwhichallbigadvancedeconomiesmanagetogrow.InMayemploymentinAmericafinallysurpasseditspre-crisispeak.LaterthisyearBritishoutputshouldregainthelevelitreachedinearly2008.Yetrelativetowhatwasexpectedofthempre-crisis,richeconomiesarelimpingalong,producingfarlessthanonceseemedpossibleandgrowingmoreslowly.Newresearchsuggeststhisweaknessmaylast.

Sinceearlyintherecessioneconomistsfrettedthatitmightleavepermanentscars.Alongslumpcanthrottleinvestment,leavingeconomiesill-equippedtogrowinfuture.Labourmarketscansuccumbto“hysteresis”,inwhichshort-termjoblessnessleadstohigherlong-rununemploymentasworkers’skills,motivationandconnectionserode.

AstheGreatRecessionretreatsfurtherintothepastitstollbecomeseasiertoassess.AnewworkingpaperbyLaurenceBallofJohnsHopkinsUniversitytotsupitscostsbycomparingestimatesofpre-andpost-crisiseconomicpotentialpublishedbytheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment（OECD）,aclubmainlyofrichcountries.EachyeartheOECDreleasesaneconomicoutlookwhichincludesestimatesofmembers’potentialeconomicoutput:

thehighestlevelofproductioneacheconomycouldfeasiblysustainwithoutignitinginflation.Thisiscalculatedbasedonlong-runtrendsininvestment,labour-forcegrowthandtheproductivityofworkersandcapital;moreofeachmeansaneconomyboastsagreatereconomiccapacity.MrBallextrapolatesthetrendinpotentialfrom2000to2009forwardto2015andcomparesthattrend-linewiththeOECD’smostrecentpublishedfigures,releasedinMay.

AGermany-sizedhole

Beforethecrisissomeeconomieswereoperatingabitabovetheirtruepotential,thankstounsustainablecreditgrowth.Yetinthetumultthatfollowed,therichworldgavebackthatgroundandmuchmore.Afewrichcountries,likeAustraliaandSwitzerland,camethroughthepastsevenyearslargelyunharmed.Mostpaidthemacroeconomicequivalentofanarmoraleg（seechart1）.Asoflastyearpotentialoutputwas4.7%belowthepre-crisistrendinAmericaand11%belowtrendinBritain.TheEuropeanperipheryhasfaredevenworse:

potentialoutputinGreeceisabout3