10種能夠在覈戰爭中倖存的物種(下)

Mummichog

3.底鱂

The rather delightful mummichog might sound like a mythical creature found at Hogwarts, but it is in fact just a simple fish.

聽上去非常討喜的底鱂似乎是在霍格沃茨生活的虛構生物，但實際上它只是一種簡單的魚。

Fish are not typically great survivors, with changes in salt content, water temperature or pollution normally wiping them out. The mummichog is special, however, in that it can live anywhere.

魚類一般不會屬於"倖存者"，因爲僅僅是含鹽量、水溫或者數目的變化就會讓魚類死亡。然而，底鱂非常特殊，因爲它可以在任何地方生存。

It lives in the most polluted areas of sea which have severe chemical spills. It's also the only fish to have been to space.

它們能在海洋裏污染最嚴重、有嚴重化學物質泄漏的地方生存。它們也是唯一到過太空的魚類。

Several were taken to the Skylab space station in 1973 for tests and it was found that they could swim in space and all their offspring were born as usual.

1973年，有幾隻底鱂被帶到太空實驗室中做測試。在測試中，科學家發現他們能夠在太空中有游泳，並且它們的後代也一切正常。

Their ability to survive is linked to their ability to turn genes on and off when required. This allows the fish to survive in any mixture of chemicals, any temperature and any salinity.

它們強大的生存能力來源於底鱂能在必要的時候關閉或者打開它們的基因按鈕。這讓這種魚在任何化學物質裏、任何溫度中、任意含鹽量之下生存。

The fish have actually been observed "redesigning" body parts to cope with new environments. Any fish that can do that is surely a favorite for survival.

科學家們曾觀察到它們在新環境中能夠"重新構造"自己的身體。任何一種類似的魚類無疑是最有可能的倖存者。

Tardigrade

2.水熊蟲

Sounds like something out of Doctor Who, doesn't it? The tardigrade makes the list on account of it being what scientists call an "extremophile".

是不是聽上去像是《神祕博士》裏的東西？水熊蟲能夠被列於這張清單上的原因在於，科學家們把它歸類於"嗜極生物"。

This means they can withstand extremes that would put most animals to shame.

這意味着它們能夠忍受對於很多動物來說都無法接受的極端環境。

They can be boiled, crushed, frozen, live in space, live without water and be brought back to life after being clinically dead for almost a decade.

它們能夠被煮沸、被壓碎、被冰凍、生存於太空、無水生存，並且在醫學意義上死亡十年後，恢復生命。

They only grow up to 1.5mm long as well so are less likely to be at risk from the explosion itself. This, coupled with their ability to survive everything, including radiation, makes them near certainties to survive nuclear war.

他們最長只能長到1.5毫米，所以他們不會遇到因數目激增而導致的問題。這一點，再加上他們能夠在任何環境下生存的能力，也包括放射性環境，保證了它們在覈戰爭中毫無疑問的生存者。

ococcus Radioduran

1.耐輻射菌

Nicknamed "Conan the bacterium" by scientists, this is the undoubted survivor. Tardigrades may be extremophiles but Conan is a "polyextremophile" meaning it is just generally better at everything than the already indestructible tardigrade.

被科學家戲稱爲"柯南微生物"的耐輻射菌，無疑是最有可能的倖存者。如果說水熊蟲是嗜極生物，那麼耐輻射菌就是超級嗜極生物，這意味着它比任何不可毀滅的微生物還要更厲害。

Listed as the "most radiation resistant life form" by the Guinness Book of World Records at one point it is clear that this is one tough cookie.

被列入"最佳抗輻射生命形態"吉尼斯世界紀錄，足以證明它是最佳具有抵抗能力的生物。

It is able to repair damaged DNA so quickly that scientists are trying to use it for help in treating humans. It is already used for cleaning up polluted areas and it is quite literally being used as a time capsule.

它能夠迅速自我修復受損的DNA，而這讓了科學家們試圖將其應用於人類治療中。現在，這個技術已被運用於清理污染領域中，而它確實也被當作時間膠囊而使用。

In case of widespread death (say a nuclear war) a team of scientists discovered they can write a message in the DNA of the bacteria and 100 generations later, when they tested it, the message remained.

在會產生大量死亡的的情況下(例如核戰爭)，一個科學家團隊在測試中發現如果在耐輻射菌的DNA中留下某種信息，這個信號可以一直流傳到後面100代。當他們最後一次檢測結果時，這個信號還一直存在。

Like most bacteria, no one actually knows why it evolved resistance to everything but it is still being studied.

如同其他情況，沒有人確切知道爲什麼耐輻射菌能夠進化出如此之強的抵抗力，對它們的研究也在進行之中。

So not only will future humans survive, they might actually be brought messages by a near indestructible bacteria species going by the name "Conan".

所以在未來，不僅僅是人類會存活下來，它們也會帶着"柯南"這個名字一直作爲不可毀滅的病毒生存下去。