人造葉子把陽光變成藥物

人造葉子把陽光變成藥物

Our sun is an incredible, abundant source of energy that we’re only just now beginning to learn how to tap. Plants, on the other hand, are masters at exploiting the free energy delivered from the sky, so it’s only natural that scientists look to them for inspiration.

我們的太陽是一個不可思議的、豐富的能量來源，而我們才剛剛開始學(xué)習(xí)如何利用它。另一方面，植物是利用來自天空的自由能量的高手，所以科學(xué)家們從植物身上尋找靈感是很自然的。

Now, an ongoing effort from researchers with the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has yielded a promising new type of artificial leaf. Like actual foliage, the faux leaves take in sunlight and use it to create something entirely new, only instead of generating fuel for a living plant, these “mini-reactors” can produce medicine for humans.

現(xiàn)在，荷蘭艾恩德霍文科技大學(xué)的研究人員正在進(jìn)行的一項研究已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了一種很有前景的新型人工葉子。就像真正的葉子一樣，人造葉子吸收陽光，并利用它來創(chuàng)造一些全新的東西，只是這些“微型反應(yīng)堆”可以為人類生產(chǎn)藥物，而不是為活著的植物提供燃料。

The research team has been working on this artificial leaf system for some time, first presenting a prototype back in 2016. Now, the technology has been refined and the researchers say that the colorful fake foliage can be used to create just about any kind of drug imaginable.

研究團(tuán)隊已經(jīng)在這個人工葉子系統(tǒng)上工作了一段時間，并在2016年首次展示了一個原型?，F(xiàn)在，這項技術(shù)已經(jīng)被改進(jìn)，研究人員說，這些五顏六色的假葉子可以用來制造任何可以想象的藥物。

Taking cues from Mother Nature, the tiny reactors utilize intricate channels that flow like veins through the leaves. When sunlight hits certain liquids flowing through the leaves it sparks a chemical reaction. This is a process that would normally require electric power, harsh chemicals or both, but by using sunlight to power the medicine production, it becomes much more sustainable.

這些微型反應(yīng)器從大自然中汲取靈感，利用復(fù)雜的通道，就像樹葉上的靜脈一樣流動。當(dāng)陽光照射到流經(jīng)樹葉的某些液體時，會引發(fā)化學(xué)反應(yīng)。這是一個通常需要電力、刺激性化學(xué)物質(zhì)或兩者兼而有之的過程，但通過利用陽光為藥品生產(chǎn)提供動力，它變得更加可持續(xù)。

The scientists envision such systems being used in places where medicine is in short supply and producing it on-site is difficult. Producing anti-malaria drugs in the jungle without a power grid could become much easier thanks to these advancements.

科學(xué)家們設(shè)想，這樣的系統(tǒng)將被用于藥物供應(yīng)短缺和難以在現(xiàn)場生產(chǎn)的地方。由于這些進(jìn)展，在沒有電網(wǎng)的叢林中生產(chǎn)抗瘧疾藥物可能變得容易得多。