VOA常速英语:Argonne Laboratory Technology Helping Fight COVID-19

It takes a big building to house a mighty machine like the Advanced Photon Source (or APS),
像先进光子源(简称APS)这样强大的机器需要一座很大的建筑，
which gives researchers at Argonne National Laboratory a microscopic view of the front line of the war against Covid-19.
这为阿贡国家实验室的研究人员提供了抗击新冠肺炎疫情前线的微观视角。
The APS is you can think of it as a x-ray microscope.
APS可以看作是x射线显微镜。
What we do is we produce extremely bright x-rays with the central facility.
我们所做的是用中心设备产生极其明亮的x射线。
The Dennis fed to a number of different x-ray beams once where our researchers actually do their work.
丹尼斯在我们的研究人员实际工作的地方注入了许多不同的x射线。
The goal is to aid the scientific communitys frantic scramble for an effective Covid-19 vaccine and drugs,
其目标是帮助科学界竭力找到有效的新冠肺炎疫苗和药物，
to treat those who contract it.
来治疗感染的人。
To do so, Stephan Strifer and a team of hundreds are using the APS to decode Covid-19 proteins.
为此，Stephan Strifer和一个由数百人组成的团队正在使用APS来解码新冠肺炎蛋白。
Those proteins are what makes the virus function,
这些蛋白质使病毒产生一定的功能，
and if we can interrupt the function of those proteins,
如果我们能中断这些蛋白质的功能，
then we could create drugs that can treat the infection.
然后我们就可以发明出治疗感染的药物。
Strifer says the work at Argonne is pre-competitive.
Strifer说，阿贡国家实验室的工作是是领先于竞争的。
What they find is available to the broad medical community working to create a vaccine and other drugs.
他们的发现可用于研制疫苗和其他药物的广泛医学界。
Were interfacing with both the number of pharmaceutical companies but also the broader research community,
我们与许多制药公司以及更广泛的研究团体都有联系，
so this information is open to all.
所以这个信息对所有的人都是开放的。
The APS is one weapon in Oregons Arsenal in the pandemic battle;
APS是俄勒冈州抗击疫情的武器之一;
another is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world—THETA.
另一个武器是世界上最强大的超级计算机之一——THETA。
What we can do with the supercomputers is we can screen for billion drug compounds,
我们能用超级计算机做的是我们可以筛选数十亿种药物化合物，
to see if they have any effect on the virus,
看看它们是否对病毒有任何影响，
and do that in a matter of weeks.
我们要在几周内完成。
To do that without the supercomputers, itll literally take years.
在没有超级计算机的情况下做到这一点的话，实际上需要数年时间。
While THETA is running those calculations,
当Theta在做这些计算的时候，
computer modelers are also using the machine to anticipate the spread of Covid-19.
计算机建模者也在使用这台机器预测新冠肺炎的传播。
So for the city of Chicago what our modelers have done,
所以对于芝加哥市我们的模型师所做的，
is essentially created a computer simulation with individual entities,
实际上是由单个实体组成的计算机模拟，
in that computer simulation that represent individual people in Chicago.
在计算机模拟中，参与的是芝加哥的个人。
Just representations, not real people, not real attributes,
但只是表示个人，不是真实的人，不是真实的属性，
Where for a given set of assumptions,
对于给定的假设，
we project what the future would be for the progression of Covid-19.
我们预测未来新冠肺炎的进展情况。
Charles Michael, a senior systems engineer,
查尔斯·迈克尔是一位高级系统工程师，
says the detailed information THETA provides,
说THETA提供的详细信息
underscores the importance of simple but highly effective things,
强调简单但高效的东西的重要性，
everyone can do to curb the spread of the virus.
每个人都可以控制病毒的传播。
The single most important thing that weve identified is the importance of people,
我们认为最重要的是人，
to adhere to protective behaviors: things like wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands.
人们坚持这些行为来保护自己：戴口罩、保持社交距离、勤洗手。
Argon Steven Strifer says research conducted at the facility,
阿贡实验室的Steven Strifer说，在此进行的研究，
has helped guide decision makers in Illinois:
可以帮助指导伊利诺斯州的决策者，
over when to impose restrictions and how to safely reopen the states economy.
即关于何时实施限制以及如何安全地重新开放该州的经济。
So were providing information directly to the governors task force.
所以我们直接向州长的工作小组提供信息。
Were also working very closely with the city of Chicago.
我们也在与芝加哥市密切合作。
It has one of our major partners,
它有我们的主要合作伙伴之一，
so that theyre using the other information to develop policies,
他们利用其他信息来制定政策，
that we hope will help and get us back to a state,
我们希望能帮助这个州恢复，
where were doing the right things to keep people safe.
我们正在做正确的事情来保证人们的安全。
Were doing in a way which is minimally disruptive to the economy while currently focused on Illinois.
我们正在以一种对经济破坏性最小的方式来做，而目前主要集中在伊利诺伊州。
Argonne is developing the capability to apply the model to other cities and regions,
阿贡国家实验室正在开发将该模型应用到其他城市和地区的能力，
including those currently seeing dramatic increases in the number of new Covid-19 cases.
包括目前新冠肺炎病例急剧增加的国家。
Kane Farabaugh VOA news Chicago Illinois
VOA新闻记者凯恩?法拉博伊利诺斯州芝加哥报道