As 2014 comes to a close, it's time to reflect on the most futuristic breakthroughs and developments of the past year. Here are 15 predictions that came true in 2014.
2014年已經(jīng)過去，現(xiàn)在來總結(jié)過去一年中最具前瞻性和影響力的重大發(fā)現(xiàn)和成果正是時(shí)候。下面就一起來看看2014年里那些已成為現(xiàn)實(shí)的15個(gè)預(yù)言吧。

1. Technologically-assisted telepathy was successfully demonstrated in humans
1. 心靈感應(yīng)

易詞解詞（BY 袁新民）

telepathy（tele ‘far’遠(yuǎn)，-pathy ‘feeling, suffering’；feeling from afar 從遙遠(yuǎn)的地方無須說、寫等而相互間可以感受、直接交流→）

n. 傳心術(shù)；讀心術(shù)；心靈感應(yīng)；通靈術(shù)

For the first time ever, two humans exchanged thoughts via mind-to-mind communication.
2014年人類第一次實(shí)現(xiàn)了通過心對(duì)心的交流來交換想法的夢(mèng)想。

Remarkably, the system is completely non-invasive. By using internet-linked electroencephalogram (EEG) and robot-assisted image-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technologies, an international team of researchers were able to get two subjects —one in India and one in France — to mentally transmit the words "hola" and "ciao."
這套心靈感應(yīng)系統(tǒng)完全是非侵入式的。通過使用聯(lián)網(wǎng)式腦電圖以及機(jī)器人輔助成像的經(jīng)顱骨磁力刺激法技術(shù)，這個(gè)國際合作研究團(tuán)隊(duì)實(shí)現(xiàn)了讓兩個(gè)分別在印度和法國的人在心里交換了單詞“hola”和“ciao”。

And in a similar breakthrough, a different team developed a system that allowed a human subject to control the movements of another person. The University of Washington researchers showcased the technology by having participants collaborate on a computer game where a "sender" sent mental instructions to a "receiver" to control their hand movements.
另外一項(xiàng)與此類似的重大突破是另一個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)開發(fā)的系統(tǒng)，這套系統(tǒng)可以讓一個(gè)人控制另一個(gè)人的動(dòng)作。華盛頓大學(xué)的研究人員對(duì)該項(xiàng)新技術(shù)做了如下展示：在一款電腦游戲中，指令發(fā)出者通過在心里默念指令來控制指令接受者的手部活動(dòng)。

2.NASA emailed a wrench to the space station
2. 傳送門

In what's being seen as a precursor to a Star Trek-like replicator, astronauts aboard the ISS used their 3D printer to manufacture a socket wrench. Remarkably, the 20-part wrench was designed on Earth and emailed to astronaut Barry Wilmore who ran it through the printer. It's a prime example of how 3D printing is poised to change space travel, allowing astronauts to produce equipment on demand and in emergency situations.
這可以被看作是《星際迷航》中復(fù)制器的原型，宇航員用3D打印機(jī)做了一個(gè)管鉗子。值得一提的是，這個(gè)由20個(gè)零部件構(gòu)成的管鉗子，先是在地面上被設(shè)計(jì)出來，之后再通過電郵傳給宇航員巴里·威爾莫爾，然后他再用打印機(jī)做出這個(gè)管鉗子。這個(gè)過程不僅展示了3D打印技術(shù)在太空航行中的應(yīng)用，也標(biāo)志著宇航員可以根據(jù)需要隨時(shí)制造新工具。

易詞解詞（BY 袁新民）

precursor（pre- 前，預(yù)先，curs跑，-or…者，…物）

n. 1. 先驅(qū)；先鋒；前身；前輩，前任?2. （從中產(chǎn)生變化的）產(chǎn)物母體，前身，前體

3. Surgeons began using suspended animation
3. 人體急凍術(shù)

It's still in the trial stage, but this a remarkable achievement nonetheless. Surgeons at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital are using suspended animation — or what they call emergency preservation and resuscitation — to dramatically cool down trauma victims to keep them alive during critical operations.
這項(xiàng)技術(shù)雖然目前還處于試驗(yàn)階段，但仍然堪稱為一項(xiàng)偉大的成就。匹茲堡醫(yī)療中心大學(xué)長(zhǎng)老會(huì)醫(yī)院的外科醫(yī)生已經(jīng)在使用這項(xiàng)假死技術(shù)--也叫緊急保存復(fù)蘇術(shù)--來急速冷凍那些嚴(yán)重外傷的病人，使他們能挺過手術(shù)。

易詞解詞（BY 袁新民）

resuscitation /r??s?s?'te??n/（re- 再，又，sus-=sub-‘under，from under’，cit喚起， suscit喚起，叫醒，-ation名詞后綴；再喚起、叫醒→）

n. 恢復(fù)知覺，蘇醒

The technique, which is only being used on patients who would otherwise be expected to die, involves internal rather than external cooling. The patient's blood is replaced with a cold saline solution, which slows down the body's metabolic functions and need for oxygen. Image: Prometheus.
這項(xiàng)技術(shù)只會(huì)用在那些如果不這么做就肯定會(huì)死的病人身上，而且對(duì)病人進(jìn)行的是體內(nèi)而不是外部冷卻。病人的血液全部被替換為冷的生理鹽水溶液，以減慢病人體內(nèi)的新陳代謝過程以及對(duì)氧氣的需求程度。

4. The U.S. Navy deployed a functional laser weapon
4. 激光武器

The device, called a High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon, was fitted to the USS Ponce, which is currently on exercises in the Persian Gulf.
這個(gè)名為“高能激光束”的武器已經(jīng)裝備在了美國海軍的“龐塞號(hào)”上，目前在波斯灣進(jìn)行的打靶訓(xùn)練中得到使用。

It's still at the prototype stage, but it's being fielded to evaluate its capabilities in a real-world environment where it has already shown its effectiveness in destroying two boats and a drone.
雖然這個(gè)武器還只是原型，但是它在實(shí)戰(zhàn)環(huán)節(jié)已經(jīng)顯示出了它的威力：干掉了兩艘小舢舨和一架無人機(jī)。

5. Scientists "uploaded" a worm's mind into a robot
5. 意識(shí)上傳

Researchers at the OpenWorm project are trying to create a digital version of an actual nemotode worm in a computer. They're not quite there yet, but that didn't stop team member Timothy Busbice from creating software that mimics the natural processes of the worm's neural networks — and then putting that knowledge in a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robot.
"開放蠕蟲項(xiàng)目"的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)打算在電腦中創(chuàng)造一個(gè)數(shù)字版的線性蟲。他們目前還沒成功，不過其中一位隊(duì)員蒂莫西·巴斯比斯寫了一個(gè)軟件來模擬蠕蟲的神經(jīng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)--然后把它上載到一個(gè)樂高機(jī)器人中。

"My research takes the way the worm's brain is wired and extends it to a robot for sensory input and motor output," Buspice told Gizmodo. "What we found is that rather than just random, crazy movements by the robot, it actually responded to its environment in the same manner as the biological worm."
“我的工作就是模擬蠕蟲的神經(jīng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)，然后把它裝進(jìn)機(jī)器人，通過傳感器輸入，通過馬達(dá)輸出?！卑退贡人拐f，“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)機(jī)器人并不像普通機(jī)器人那樣亂走，而是會(huì)像一只真蟲子那樣應(yīng)對(duì)陌生環(huán)境?！?/div>

6. A computer solved a math problem that we can't check
6. 利用計(jì)算機(jī)解決數(shù)學(xué)難題

Mathematician Steven Strogatz once predicted that computer-assisted solutions to math problems will eventually extend beyond human comprehension. His prediction appears to have finally come true.
數(shù)學(xué)家斯蒂文·斯特羅加茨曾經(jīng)預(yù)言，通過計(jì)算機(jī)的幫助解決數(shù)學(xué)問題，將來總有一天人類會(huì)看不懂計(jì)算機(jī)給出的結(jié)果。好吧，現(xiàn)在他的預(yù)言實(shí)現(xiàn)了。

Earlier this year, a computer solved the longstanding Erd?s discrepancy problem. Unfortunately, human mathematicians aren't entirely sure about the solution because it's as long as all of Wikipedia's pages combined.
2014年年初，研究人員使用計(jì)算機(jī)解決了一道數(shù)學(xué)界的難題--埃爾德什差異問題?？刹恍业氖?，數(shù)學(xué)家們還無法確定這個(gè)結(jié)果是否正確，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)結(jié)果比維基百科所有網(wǎng)頁加在一起的長(zhǎng)度還要長(zhǎng)。

7. An artificial chromosome was built from scratch
7. 人造染色體

In what was the year's biggest artificial life breakthrough, researchers from New York University Langone Medical Center reconstructed a synthetic and fully functional yeast chromosome. Incredibly, they were also able to insert their own special additions to the chromosome, including a chemical switch that allows scientists to "scramble" it into thousands of different variations to make subsequent gene editing even easier. It's an important proof of concept that could lead to designer organisms and artificial chromosomes in humans.
2014年人造生命的最大突破應(yīng)該來自于紐約大學(xué)朗貢醫(yī)學(xué)中心的研究者們，他們?nèi)斯ず铣闪艘粋€(gè)功能完整的酵母菌染色體。令人難以置信的是，他們還在這個(gè)染色體內(nèi)添加了自己設(shè)計(jì)的一種化學(xué)開關(guān)，使對(duì)染色體的觀察更容易更方便。這項(xiàng)技術(shù)預(yù)示著人工合成人類染色體的目標(biāo)也即將實(shí)現(xiàn)。

8. A venture capitalist firm appointed an AI to the board
8. 人工智能

Some say it was a media stunt, but it might be the start of a larger trend: Hong Kong-based Deep Knowledge ventures appointed a machine learning program, called VITAL, to its board of directors. It's said to be an "equal member" that will uncover trends "not immediately obvious to humans" in order to make investment recommendations. The system will pour over massive data sets, apply machine learning, and then predict which life sciences companies are the best investments.
有人說這可能是媒體的一個(gè)噱頭，但無論如何它有可能成為一種大趨勢(shì)。香港的一家風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司任命一個(gè)名為“VITAL”的計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)為其董事會(huì)的一員?！癡ITAL”被認(rèn)為公正無私，用它來做投資建議時(shí)能避免“人為主觀因素”。這一系統(tǒng)使用機(jī)器學(xué)習(xí)算法分析數(shù)據(jù)，以此來對(duì)生命科技公司進(jìn)行評(píng)估以便進(jìn)行正確投資。

9. A double amputee received two mind-controlled arms
9. 心靈控制義肢

Les Baugh became the first human to ever receive two shoulder-level thought-controlled prosthetic arms. It's not permanent, but the researchers at Johns Hopkins are hoping that the arms will eventually become a permanent add-on.
萊斯·鮑格成為了世界上第一個(gè)雙臂全部截肢并接受心靈控制義肢的人。雖然這還不是永久性的義肢，但是約翰·霍普金斯大學(xué)的研究人員希望最終可以為患者提供永久性的產(chǎn)品。

In other major cybernetic breakthroughs, researchers created an artificial hand that feels, and the first mind-controlled prosthetic hand with 10 degrees of freedom. Also, these wearable limbs took us a step closer to creating Doctor Octopus.
在神經(jīng)控制的領(lǐng)域里，研究人員們已經(jīng)研制出了有知覺的人造手、靈活的10軸機(jī)械臂以及穿戴式假肢等。這樣看來，我們很快就能成為章魚博士了。

10. A cloaking device that hides objects in the visible spectrum
10. 隱身衣

We've seen so-called invisibility cloaks before, but nothing quite like this one.
我們?cè)?jīng)見到過所謂的隱身衣，不過下面提到的這款卻完全不同于以往。

Researchers at the University of Rochester developed a cheap and surprisingly effective cloaking device that's being heralded as the first to perform 3D, continuously multidirectional cloaking in the visible spectrum of light. To do it, they combined four standard optical lenses that keeps an object hidden — even as the viewer moves side to side. The system could eventually be used to eliminate blind spots in vehicles or let surgeons see through their hands during surgery.
羅切斯特大學(xué)的研究人員研發(fā)出了一套便宜但高效的隱身裝置，第一次使用3D技術(shù)操控，能在可見光范圍內(nèi)對(duì)多種方向達(dá)到隱身效果。這套裝置使用4個(gè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)光學(xué)透鏡將一個(gè)物體隱藏，即使觀察者來回移動(dòng)也看不到物體。這項(xiàng)技術(shù)可用于為機(jī)動(dòng)車掃除盲點(diǎn)，還可以讓醫(yī)生在做手術(shù)時(shí)能看到被自己的手擋住的部分。

11. Gender-neutral pronouns came to North America
11. 中性別人稱代詞

Vancouver's school board introduced the gender neutral pronouns "xe," "xem," and "xyr," in an effort to accommodate students for whom gender-specific pronouns doesn't fit or is considered inappropriate. The move is similar to measures enacted in Sweden and Germany.
溫哥華學(xué)校的師生們現(xiàn)在在需要用到人稱代詞的時(shí)候，已經(jīng)開始用"xe","xem","xyr"這些能夠避免性別干擾或歧視的新詞了。德國和瑞典也在使用。

12. An orangutan became a legally recognized person
12. 猩猩的人權(quán)

In an important precedent that could influence law elsewhere, a 29-year-old Sumatran orangutan held at an Argentinian zoo was granted the right of habeas corpus, or bodily autonomy. As noted by AFADA lawyer Paul Buompadre, "This opens the way not only for other Great Apes, but also for other sentient beings which are unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in zoos, circuses, water parks and scientific laboratories." Sandra will be released from the zoo and transfered to a sanctuary.
這可能是影響我們法律的一項(xiàng)重要案例：阿根廷動(dòng)物園內(nèi)一只29歲的蘇門答臘猩猩在法律上被認(rèn)定為擁有人身保護(hù)權(quán)。律師保羅稱：“這開創(chuàng)了先例，不只是類人猿，其他所有有感情的生物，無論在動(dòng)物園、棲息地或?qū)嶒?yàn)室，只要被不平等對(duì)待或被任意剝奪自由，都可以參考這項(xiàng)案例?！边@位名為桑德拉的蘇門答臘猩猩目前已經(jīng)從動(dòng)物園中釋放并轉(zhuǎn)移至避難所。

13. Self-guiding sniper bullets became a reality
13. 子彈拐彎

The DARPA-funded system, called EXACTO, features a .50-caliber sniper round that can be optically guided to a target with a laser. Incredibly, the bullet can hit a target up to 1.2 miles (1.9 km) away.
這個(gè)名為EXACTO的系統(tǒng)，由美國國防部高級(jí)研究計(jì)劃局資助，狙擊手可以使用激光引導(dǎo)來改變.50口徑的子彈方向，這顆子彈能夠命中1.2英里（1.9公里）之外的目標(biāo)。

14. A proto-cyber war erupted between the U.S. and N. Korea
14. 網(wǎng)絡(luò)戰(zhàn)

It all started because of a very silly movie, but the consequences — and potential implications — are anything but. The Sony Hacks were directly linked to North Korea (an accusation that's still being contested), resulting in the temporary cancellation of The Interview's theatrical release. Shortly afterward, North Korea's entire Internet was taken down, allegedly by the United States. The world thus caught its first glimpse of what a cyber war might actually look like.
最近美國和朝鮮打了一場(chǎng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)戰(zhàn)。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的起因是一部搞笑電影，但結(jié)果并不搞笑。索尼被黑，黑客源直接指向朝鮮（后者極力否認(rèn)），而且索尼臨時(shí)取消了該電影的首映。之后朝鮮的網(wǎng)絡(luò)又集體癱瘓，據(jù)傳是美國所為…這一系列事件似乎讓大家看到了未來網(wǎng)絡(luò)戰(zhàn)的樣子。

15. Humanity landed a robot on a comet
15. 機(jī)器人登陸彗星

We've sent robotic probes to planets, but we've never done anything quite like this before.
機(jī)器探測(cè)器登陸行星已不是什么新鮮事，可登陸彗星這可還是頭一次。

Philae's harrowing landing on Comet 67P in early November wasn't perfect, but the mission is being hailed as a wild success. In addition to some incredible images, we're learning about organic compounds on the comet and weird water that's potentially upending our theories of where our oceans came from.
雖然菲萊11月份初登陸彗星67P的過程并不完美，但它所完成的任務(wù)證明了這一壯舉的成功。除了傳回一些人們從沒見過的圖像，菲萊還幫助人們了解到，彗星上存在有機(jī)成分以及一些很奇怪的水。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)很可能會(huì)終結(jié)目前的海洋起源說。