听力文本

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Annie Sneed.
Coral reefs are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. They're also in serious danger—climate change and other threats are killing them off. But researchers have come up with an invention they think could help the reefs: 3-D-printed corals.
At the heart of reef ecosystems lies a symbiosis between corals and algae.
"Corals use light, they're photosynthesizing, so they have microscopic algae inside their tissues. And these use light to generate energy, and that energy is then transferred to the coral animal host. And that animal host, in return, transfers certain by-products to the algae, so they have a symbiosis going on."
Daniel Wangpraseurt, a coral reef scientist at the University of Cambridge.
This tight-knit bond between algae and corals is what makes reefs so incredibly productive. And because of this symbiosis, corals have evolved sophisticated skeletal and tissue structures for collecting sunlight.
"So usually, you would have this rapid light attenuation. But through the skeleton, light is pumped and guided into deeper, otherwise shaded areas. So there's a lot of tricks that corals use. And in our work, we copied some of them."

Wangpraseurt and his colleagues imaged corals to analyze their skeletal and tissue makeup. They then used a 3-D bioprinter to build an intricate structure that mimics real corals. The printed corals were made of biomaterials like cellulose and had algae embedded in them. And because the researchers were able replicate coral structure so well, the algae grew tremendously—up to 100 times more densely than they normally grow in the lab.
Wangpraseurt says their 3-D-printed creation could be used as a medium to grow algae to produce bioenergy and also as a tool for studying the coral-algae symbiosis.
"At the same time, of course, there are many other ways this technology can be further scaled and improved to create something like artificial corals in the future. So this is just the first step, where we created the animal host, but we're now continuing to further replicate this animal-algal symbiosis. And we're developing model systems. And eventually, of course, it would be nice that this can have direct applications in coral reef restoration."
Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Annie Sneed.

参考译文

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是安妮·斯尼德Nc=J6P#t)AUOcR]。
珊瑚礁是世界上生产力最强的生态系统之一*tv!a8VLSE9uE6)9。但珊瑚礁也处于严重危险之中——气候变化和其他威胁可能会使其灭绝%RoABRq]s-51。但是研究人员想出了他们认为可以帮助珊瑚礁的发明：3D打印珊瑚Q*f3Ppaq]@%.cp63yo*。
珊瑚礁生态系统的核心是珊瑚虫和藻类的共生关系MoGkOyMJCN。
“珊瑚虫利用光进行光合作用，因此微型藻类会进入它们的组织内9AKb7[lw!4h!gH。这些藻类用光产生能量，之后能量被转移到珊瑚虫宿主身上j=b72YvI,.;LJze-IPF。珊瑚虫宿主又反过来将某些副产品转移给藻类，这样它们就形成了共生关系Vv=9c,q+f(~y%_F^Q。”
剑桥大学的珊瑚礁科学家丹尼尔·旺普拉修特说到uP[rgz!uuq1)1Vk=%x+。
藻类和珊瑚虫之间的这种紧密联系，就是珊瑚礁生产力如此惊人的原因所在r0.9H#13PR+。由于这种共生关系，珊瑚进化出复杂的骨架和组织结构来收集阳光m%sCj0*Nz*。
“通常情况下，这种光会迅速衰减zJXuuboFCyFK=pK。但通过珊瑚骨架后，光会被抽送并引导到更深的阴暗区域=h_=EWn|=x%J&S3mh~RM。珊瑚用了很多技巧|8tuN-q_Fo*Xg#h+8e)。我们的研究工作借用了其中一些,yrQBN(ilA0hIDM。”
旺普拉修特为同事为珊瑚成像，分析它们的骨架和组织结构y_5+h]QyV*r。他们随后用3D生物打印机打造了一个复杂结构，模仿真实的珊瑚3gn1OPR7iGoE|yWF_o。打印珊瑚由纤维素等生物材料制成，有藻类植入其中qgVjxN[^oYc8~tu!,。由于研究人员能够很好地复制珊瑚结构，使得藻类疯狂生长，其生长密度大大超过了实验室正常情况的100倍y5j-tX]!zw。
旺普拉修特表示，他们的3D打印产物可用作媒介，来种植产生生物能源的藻类，也可以作为研究珊瑚-藻类共生关系的工具X41-YjsradQ(qXOU9。
“当然，与此同时，有许多其他方法可以进一步测量和改进这项技术，以便在未来创造出类似人工珊瑚的东西S9%XrZ75Q*E3Hi。因此这只是我们创造动物宿主的第一步，但我们会继续进一步复制这种动物-藻类共生关系Hc^!Ec]S@~。我们计划开发模型系统GvTO!sXM65rb0;.O1H&8。当然，最终，这项技术能够直接应用于珊瑚礁的修复就更好了._&E5Yd*Ed。”
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学[*,RfVjk~Kw[I。我是安妮·斯尼德EJ_rQ;qI%%NI,A。

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重点讲解

重点讲解：
1. kill off 被全部杀死；被灭绝；
Their natural predators have been killed off.
它们的天敌被全部杀死b%+,@KdE%y。
2. come up with 想出，提出(计划、想法等)；
Howard Wilkinson has come up with an absolute corker of an idea.
霍华德·威尔金森想出了一个绝佳的主意v%b+fQD9;07n。
3. in return 作为回报；作为交换；
These are gestures of genuine friendship with no favours expected in return.
这是友谊的真正表现，不期待任何回报[9ly7WBhGugp=t%~!。
4. be made of （由…）构成的；（由…）制成的；
All the furniture was made of wood.
这里所有的家具都是用木料制作的bLg6!&I[#S。