Life on Mars火星生命

胡楊

Scientists have discovered new things about the atmosphere1 and environment on Mars. They found a “toxic cocktail” of chemicals that would easily kill any living organism2. The chemicals have been found on the surface of the Red Planet. The scientists， from Edinburgh University in the UK， say the discovery of the chemicals means the chance of finding life on Mars has fallen. The scientists are astrobiologists3—they study the atmosphere and environments in the universe that might support life. The researchers said Mars had no ozone4 layer， which means there are high levels of ultra-violet5 （UV） radiation6. The mix of UV radiation and the chemicals will kill the lives on Mars.

科學(xué)家們有了關(guān)于火星大氣和環(huán)境的新發(fā)現(xiàn)。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種“有毒的混合物”，這種化學(xué)物質(zhì)能輕易殺死一切生物。在這顆紅色星球的表面已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這類化學(xué)物質(zhì)。來自英國愛丁堡大學(xué)的科學(xué)家們表示，這類化學(xué)物質(zhì)的發(fā)現(xiàn)意味著在火星上存在生命的可能性大大降低。這些科學(xué)家是天體生物學(xué)家，他們研究宇宙中能維持生命存在的大氣和環(huán)境。研究人員說，火星沒有臭氧層，這意味著紫外線（UV）的輻射水平很高。紫外線輻射和化學(xué)物質(zhì)會(huì)殺死火星上的任何生命。

The scientists tested what happens when the chemicals found on Mars mix with UV radiation. They found it killed organisms very quickly. The chemicals alone were enough to kill living organisms. However， when the chemicals were mixed with UV rays， the mix killed organisms 11 times faster. The scientists said， “Our observations show that the surface of present-day Mars is highly harmful to cells， caused by a toxic cocktail of chemicals and UV radiation.” They added that their research was further evidence that the surface of Mars is deadly to any form of plant life. They say the chemicals and UV rays make“much of the surface and near-surface regions uninhabitable7”.

科學(xué)家們測試了把在火星上發(fā)現(xiàn)的化學(xué)物質(zhì)和紫外線輻射混合的時(shí)候所發(fā)生的情況。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)這會(huì)很快殺死生物。僅這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)就足以殺死活著的生物。然而，當(dāng)這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)和紫外線混合作用時(shí)，殺死生物的速度快了11倍?？茖W(xué)家們說：“我們的觀察表明，有毒的化學(xué)物質(zhì)和紫外線輻射導(dǎo)致現(xiàn)今火星的表面會(huì)對細(xì)胞會(huì)造成極大的傷害?！彼麄冄a(bǔ)充說，他們的研究進(jìn)一步證明了火星表面對任何類型的植物都是致命的。他們說，那些化學(xué)物質(zhì)和紫外線使“火星大部分地表和近地表的區(qū)域不適宜居住”。

Notes：

1. atmosphere [■] n. 氣氛；大氣；空氣

2. organism [■] n. 有機(jī)體；生物體；微生物

3. astrobiologist [■] n. 天體生物學(xué)者，太空生物學(xué)者

4. ozone [■] n. [化學(xué)] 臭氧；新鮮的空氣

5. ultra-violet [■] n. 紫外線

6. radiation [■] n. 輻射；發(fā)光；放射物

7. uninhabitable [■] adj. 不適宜居住的