Scientists Found a Caterpillar 科学家们找到了一种肉虫，That Eats Plastic 他们能吃塑料. Could It Help Solve our Plastic Crisis? 这种虫子有没有可能解决我们的塑料危机？
There are now 现在（世界上）有 more than 超过 50 known species 五十种已知的 of ‘plastivores 塑料虫,’ or plastic-eating 或者说吃塑料的 organisms 有机体, mostly 大多数是 bacteria 细菌 and fungi 和菌类, that can turn plastics 它们都能将塑料变 into energy 成能量.
One of these 其中一种, the greater wax moth 是大蜡蛾, is offering scientists hope 给科学家带来了希望 in the fight against plastic pollution 在与塑料污染的战斗中.
The researchers 研究者们 were particularly interested 特别有兴趣 in how this caterpillar 对这种肉虫, together with 以及 the microorganisms in its gut 它肠道里的微生物 — its microbiome 叫做微生物群落 — could break down 能够化解 and metabolize plastic 并且代谢塑料.
That work 那项研究工作 included 包括 separating out the bacteria 分离细菌 from the waxworms’ gut 从蜡蛾的肠道中 and growing it 并且培育它 on its own 单独 in the lab 在实验室. They found 他们发现 that one particular species of bacteria 有一种细菌 could indeed 的确能够 survive 存活 on nothing but plastic 只吃塑料没别的for a year. 整整一年
Both 这两种生物都 can consume plastic 消化塑料 on their own 单独. However 但是, when the two 当这二者work together合作时, it rapidly 它能够迅速 accelerates 加速 the plastic biodegradation 塑料的生物化解. What’s more 还有, the researchers found 研究者们还发现 that caterpillars 肉虫 that ate plastic 吃塑料的 actually 实际上 had dramatically higher amounts 有多得多的 of gut microbes 肠道微生物.
These caterpillars 这些肉虫 aren’t some mutant 不是一些变种 evolved for the modern world 从现代世界进化而来的, either 也（不是）. These so-called waxworms 这些叫做蜡虫的 are actually bee pests 实际上是蜂巢里的害虫 that invade beehives 它们会入侵蜂群 and live off the honeycomb 吃掉里面的蜂巢.
How much plastic 多少塑料 can a group of very hungry caterpillars eat 一群很饥饿的肉虫吃掉? According to the scientists 根据科学家的说法, about 60 waxworms 大约六十只蜡虫 chewed through 能吃掉 a matchbook-sized square of plastic bag 一个火柴盒大小的塑料袋 in under a week 在一周时间内. Clearly 很明显, the world would need 这个世界将需要 a lot of caterpillars 很多很多肉虫 to solve its plastic problems 来解决它的塑料问题.
But 但是 LeMoine （叫做LeMoine的相关项目负责人）says that’s not really the point 说这并不是重点. “Waxworms are not 蜡虫不是 an immediate solution 直接解决方案 to plastic pollution 针对塑料污染的,” he says. 他说
However 然而, if scientists can 如果科学家能够 unravel 解开 what makes 是什么使得 these caterpillars 这些肉虫 and their gut bacteria 它们肠道里的细菌 flourish 生机勃勃, they might be able to 他们也许能够design tools 设计出一些工具 to wipe out plastic 来解决掉所有的塑料. “A better understanding 更好的理解 of how this synergy works 这种协同工作是如何发挥作用的 may guide 也许能够指导 future efforts 未来的努力 to design the ‘perfect’ 去设计一个完美的 plastic 塑料 biodegradation 生物降解 system 系统,” he says 他说.
That goal 那个目标 is still far 仍然很遥远 from complete 距离实现.
As we go along with the scientifically accepted Big Bang theory stating that our universe originated from the singularity, the tendency to unify various theories and models explaining disparate phenomena which arose around the nineteenth and twentieth century seems very likely.
Presently, modern physics rests upon the theories of General Relativity (focuses on gravity for understanding the universe in regions of both large scale and high mass: stars, galaxies, clusters of galaxies)
and Quantum Mechanics (concerning with the three non-gravitational forces, small scale, and low mass: sub-atomic particles, atoms, molecules).
第二是量子力学（关注三种非引力，都具有小尺度和低质量的特征：亚原子粒子、原子、分子）。
Though thoroughly proven in their separate fields of relevance, none of the two justify phenomena at the Planck scale requiring a single unified force.
Thus, a hypothetical framework, capable of fusing these incongruous theories and thus unveiling deeper realities of the universe — ’Theory of Everything’ was assumed to exist.
Since the early 20th century, Nature’s fundamental constituents have been considered to be indivisible, dot-like particles — electrons, quarks, and neutrinos — bereft of internal machinery.
String theory challenges this by proposing that at the heart of every particle is a tiny, vibrating string-like filament.
而弦理论不认同这一点，它提出，上述每个粒子的核心还有内部结构，是一个微小的、振动的弦状细丝。
It claims that the differences between one particle and another — their masses, electric charges, spin and nuclear properties — all arise from differences in how their internal strings vibrate and twist themselves in various complex ways.
Switching from dimensionless particles to unidimensional strings also adds extra dimensions to our currently approved 3-dimensional space model.
从无维度的粒子切换到一维的弦，也为我们目前所熟悉的 三 维空间模型增加了额外的维度。
Delightfully, the mathematics revealed that one of these notes had properties precisely matching those of the ‘Graviton’, a hypothetical particle that, according to quantum physics, should carry the force of gravity from one location to another.
Researchers have used results from anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence in the formulation of string theory to answer many fundamental questions in quantum field theory, condensed matter physics, cosmology (specifically attempting to explain events just after the big bang) as well as quantum gravity (explains Black hole information paradox to some extent).
It has also sparked the idea of the possibility of a multiverse (Each having a separate seemingly consistent vacuum model and cosmological constant).
它还引发了多重宇宙可能性的想法（每个宇宙都有一个独立的，看上去一致的真空模型，和宇宙学常数）。
While this theory seemed to lead the scientists closer to reality, several variables popped into the picture.
虽然这一理论似乎的确让科学家们更接近现实，但其中也出现了几个变数。
Current comprehensions of String theory devices an enormous number of vacuum states (corresponding to the various shapes suggested for the extra dimensions of space), estimated to be around 10⁵⁰⁰, might be sufficiently diverse to accommodate almost any phenomenon that might be observed at low energies, and thus destroys the hope of using the theory to predict anything.
None of the confirmed vacuum models in the string theory landscape is known to support a metastable, positive cosmological Constant on contrary to some popular dark energy models.
与一些流行的暗能量模型相反，弦理论领域中已确认的真空模型中，没有一个支持亚稳态的正宇宙常数。
In string theory, one must typically specify a fixed reference geometry for spacetime, and all other possible geometries described as perturbations of this fixed one.
This contradicts the fundamental property of Einstein’s theory of relativity being Background independent.
这与爱因斯坦相对论中，背景无关这个基本特性相矛盾。
Lack of technologies to function high energy experiments required for probing this infinitesimally small structure and several inconsistencies as compared to the presently approved theories have left String theory unresolved.
