Traditionally,?most?spying?and?intelligence?gathering?has?been?done?by?highly?trained?human?operatives.?But?the?US?military?has?a?plan?to?enlist?a?smart?network?of?plants?to?help?it?stay?one?step?ahead?of?its?enemies.
傳統(tǒng)的間諜和情報(bào)收集工作都是由受過專業(yè)訓(xùn)練的操作員來完成的。然而美國軍方卻計(jì)劃招集整編一群聰明的植物，讓自己先敵一步。


These?flora?won't?be?sneaking?into?secret?labs?or?engaging?in?close?combat,?but?will?be?used?to?monitor?the?environment?for?chemical?attacks?or?even?electromagnetic ?pulses,?says?the?Defense?Advanced?Research?Projects?Agency?(DARPA).
據(jù)美國國防高級研究計(jì)劃局發(fā)言人稱，這些植物不會潛入秘密實(shí)驗(yàn)室或者與敵人近身搏斗，而是被用于檢測使用化學(xué)武器的環(huán)境甚至電磁脈沖。


The?program?is?called?Advanced?Plant?Technologies?or?APT,?and?while?it's?only?just?being?launched,?eventually?DARPA?is?hoping?to?create?a?self-sustaining?network?of?plants?that?can?be?monitored?remotely?for?any?signs?of?environmental?shift.
這個項(xiàng)目被稱為高級植物技術(shù)，或簡稱APT。雖然這個項(xiàng)目剛剛起步，美國國防高級研究計(jì)劃局卻計(jì)劃最終建立一個可持續(xù)的植物生態(tài)網(wǎng)，通過遠(yuǎn)程監(jiān)控了解任何環(huán)境變化的跡象。


"Plants?are?highly?attuned?to?their?environments?and?naturally?manifest?physiological?responses?to?basic?stimuli?such?as?light?and?temperature,?but?also?in?some?cases?to?touch,?chemicals,?pests,?and?pathogens,"?says?DARPA's?Blake?Bextine.“
植物對其生長的環(huán)境具有高度的適應(yīng)性，會對光線和溫度等一般刺激產(chǎn)生自然的生理反射，在某些情況下，對異物觸碰，化學(xué)物質(zhì)，寄生蟲，致病菌等也會產(chǎn)生生理反射?！?/div>

"Emerging?molecular?and?modelling?techniques?may?make?it?possible?to?reprogram?these?detection?and?reporting?capabilities?for?a?wide?range?of?stimuli ,?which?would?not?only?open?up?new?intelligence?streams,?but?also?reduce?the?personnel?risks?and?costs?associated?with?traditional?sensors."
“日益發(fā)展的分子技術(shù)和模塊技術(shù)或許能重新改造植物的這種勘察和報(bào)告功能，使之能適用于更廣范圍的刺激類型，這不僅能開拓新的情報(bào)工作，還能減少傳統(tǒng)的間諜行動帶來的人員風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和人力損失?！?/div>

In?other?words,?plant?spies?could?help?to?keep?human?spies?out?of?danger,?and?at?the?same?time?wouldn't?cost?as?much?or?require?the?same?level?of?maintenance?as?standard?hardware?sensors.
換句話說，植物間諜可以幫助人們讓人類間諜免于身處險(xiǎn)境，同時又不會花費(fèi)或要求和標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的硬件傳感器一樣的維護(hù)成本。


To?do?this,?DARPA?is?planning?to?alter?plant?genomes?or?genetic?material?so?that?certain?environmental?triggers?result?in?certain?biological?responses,?that?can?then?be?picked?up?on?satellite?or?using?other?types?of?remote?monitoring?tech.
為了達(dá)到研究目的，美國國防高級研究計(jì)劃局打算改變植物的基因組或稱基因物質(zhì)，如此一來特定的環(huán)境刺激就會激發(fā)植物身上的特定生物反射，生物反射信息進(jìn)而被衛(wèi)星或其他遠(yuǎn)程控制設(shè)備接收。


DARPA?says?its?existing?ground,?air,?and?space?tech?is?capable?of?watching?for?changes?in?plant?temperature,?composition,?and?light?reflections?from?a?distance,?some?of?the?responses?that?could?be?used?as?warnings.
該局稱自己現(xiàn)有的土壤、空氣和空間技術(shù)可以在一定的距離之外觀測植物溫度、組織結(jié)構(gòu)和光反射的變化，這些植物反應(yīng)中有一些可以用作警告的信號。


So?far?that's?as?much?detail?as?DARPA?has?offered,?but?it?says?the?plants?could?eventually?recognise?pathogens?in?the?air?or?even?be?used?by?communities?to?detect?landmines.?It's?now?inviting?researchers?to?propose?potential?modifications?for?these?plant?operatives.
該局目前提供的技術(shù)信息就只有這些，不過他們還稱，植物將最終可以識別空氣中的病原體，還能幫助軍事組織檢測地雷?，F(xiàn)在他們正向研究者們發(fā)出邀請，邀請他們對可能實(shí)施在植物間諜身上的基因概念做出建議。


To?be?successful,?the?genetic?alterations?mustn't?damage?the?plants'?capacity?to?thrive?and?deal?with?microbes,?insects,?and?other?plants,?DARPA?says,?adding?that?previous?efforts?in?this?area?have?ended?up?sucking?out?resources?the?foliage?needs?to?actually?live.
該局稱，為了達(dá)到實(shí)驗(yàn)?zāi)繕?biāo)，對植物做出的基因改良不能破壞植物原有的發(fā)育機(jī)能以及對抗微生物，害蟲和其他植物的機(jī)能。他們還補(bǔ)充說，過去這一領(lǐng)域的研究最終都掠奪了植物實(shí)際生存所需要的資源。


Contained?lab?and?greenhouse?tests?will?be?run?before?we?see?any?plant?spies?out?in?the?field,?with?oversight?from?regulators?and?biosafety?groups.
不久我們就會看到地里長出的植物間諜，它們受到來自生物安全區(qū)的遠(yuǎn)程監(jiān)控。但在那之前還需要進(jìn)行控制實(shí)驗(yàn)條件的實(shí)驗(yàn)室測試和溫室測試。

（翻譯：小木）