>2400-year-old flush toilet unearthed in China
陜西遺址驚現(xiàn)2400年前“沖水式”廁所

A pottery toilet ancient Chinese people used during the Qin Dynasty has been discovered at the Yueyang City Ruins in Northwest China's Shaanxi province. The discovery is the only "toilet" to have been discovered at an ancient Chinese palace archaeological site and the first "flush toilet" discovered by archaeology.
考古工作者在陜西櫟陽城遺址發(fā)現(xiàn)一處距今約2400年的高等級廁所遺跡，這是中國歷代宮城考古中發(fā)現(xiàn)的唯一一例廁類遺存，也是我國考古發(fā)現(xiàn)的第一個“沖水式”廁所。

The Yueyang City Ruins are located in the Yanliang district of Yueyang.
秦漢櫟陽城遺址位于陜西省西安市閻良區(qū)。

The discovery was made by experts excavating the No.3 Ancient Building at the Yueyang City Ruins. The ancient relic consists of two parts, an indoor toilet on a platform and a pipe system below that directed sewage outside.
考古人員在三號建筑西側(cè)清理出的這處廁所遺跡，由臺基上的室內(nèi)廁位和房外排污坑兩部分組成。

The upper half of the flush toilet was not found during the excavation and hence, experts cannot confirm whether its users sat on it or squatted over it.
由于受到晚期遺存破壞，廁位上部結(jié)構(gòu)已不存在，因此無法確定這是坐便還是蹲便。

The toilet is believed to have been used by Qin Xiaogong (381-338BC) or his father Qin Xian'gong (424-362BC) of the Qin Kingdom during the Warring States Period (475-221BC), or by Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220).
據(jù)信，戰(zhàn)國時期秦國的秦孝公或其父親秦獻公，或者漢朝第一位皇帝劉邦有可能用過這個廁所。

"The flush toilet is concrete proof of the important attachment ancient Chinese people have to sanitation," said Liu Rui from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
中國社會科學(xué)院考古研究所的劉瑞表示，“這個‘沖水式’廁所從側(cè)面可以看出中國古代對于衛(wèi)生的重視”。

> A plant-derived natural photosynthetic system for improving cell anabolism
“大力水手”成真了？這項研究用菠菜讓細(xì)胞“返老還童”

Photosynthesis is a unique skill of green plants – they turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and food via sunlight.
光合作用是綠色植物的一項獨特技能——植物通過陽光將水和二氧化碳轉(zhuǎn)化為氧氣和食物。

A group of Chinese scientists, however, have “copied” the process on animals.
然而，一個中國科學(xué)團隊在動物身上“復(fù)制”了這一過程。

To understand the new breakthrough, it is important to know how photosynthesis works.
要想理解這個新的突破，重點要了解光合作用如何運作。

Plants take in carbon dioxide and water from the air and soil.
植物從空氣和土壤中吸收二氧化碳和水。

Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose.
在植物細(xì)胞內(nèi)，水氧化并轉(zhuǎn)化為氧氣，而二氧化碳轉(zhuǎn)化為葡萄糖。

The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air and stores energy within the glucose molecules.
隨后植物將氧氣釋放回空氣中，并將能量儲存在葡萄糖分子內(nèi)。

In the study, the researchers from Zhejiang University developed an independent and controllable photosynthetic system, according to the study published in Nature in early December, 2022.
該研究發(fā)表于2022年12月初的《自然》雜志上，浙江大學(xué)的研究人員開發(fā)了一套獨立、可控的光合作用系統(tǒng)。

They separated thylakoids, a part of the cell where light reactions take place in plants, from young spinach leaves. The scientists then wrapped the thylakoids with the cover of animal cells, which made the implanted thylakoids more acceptable to foreign bodies.
研究團隊從菠菜嫩葉中分離出參與光合作用的類囊體，再用動物自身的細(xì)胞膜來包裹類囊體，借助這層偽裝，讓植入的類囊體更容易為相異的細(xì)胞所接受。

The mice used in the study were suffering from arthritis, meaning cells in their cartilage had degenerated and could not be repaired by themselves.
在這項研究中，研究者以骨關(guān)節(jié)炎小鼠模型為例進行了探索，這些小鼠的軟骨細(xì)胞已經(jīng)退變、老化，無法自行修復(fù)。

With the thylakoids implanted into the mice and exposed to light, the mice recovered. Their metabolism returned to normal.
研究人員將類囊體植入小鼠體內(nèi)，并施加光照，小鼠的關(guān)節(jié)健康狀況因此得到明顯改善，細(xì)胞的合成代謝也恢復(fù)正常。

In arthritis, patients usually have energy loss since fewer energy-carrying molecules are generated.
如果患有骨關(guān)節(jié)炎，由于新生的載能分子較少，患者通常會產(chǎn)生能量損失。

The implant, however, can correct the imbalance by storing more energy via photosynthesis.
然而，植入的類囊體可以通過光合作用儲存更多能量，扭轉(zhuǎn)這一失衡狀態(tài)。

The researchers also claimed that their tests would have medical usage. It can be used as part of the solution for degenerative diseases because the natural photosynthesis system may repair cells. It may also delay the aging process in cells.
研究人員還表示，這項測試將具有醫(yī)療用途，由于植物天生的光合作用系統(tǒng)可以修復(fù)細(xì)胞，該研究適用于退行性疾病的治療策略，還有望延緩細(xì)胞的衰老。

The study showed “an exciting achievement that opens up possibilities of metabolism engineering,” commented one of the paper’s reviewers Francisco Cejudo from the University of Seville in Spain, reported Xinhua.
據(jù)新華社報道，來自西班牙塞維利亞大學(xué)的論文同行評審弗朗西斯科?塞朱多認(rèn)為，該研究“是一項令人興奮的成就，開辟了代謝工程的可能性?！?/p>

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