薩拉·沃爾茲：將海藻“變”石油的女孩

Evan+Chao

Algae1）-based biofuels2） are serious business these days. Serious enough that the U.S. Department of Energy recently bet $18 million in research grants3） on theviability4） of such fuels； a combination of universities and private companies will reap5） the benefits of that governmental largesse6）. Yet those big-ticket7）researchers arent the only ones interested in， or actively working on algal biofuels； theres Sara Volz too； as a 17-year-old high school junior8）， Volz won the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search （Intel STS）， and the $100，000 grand prize that went along with it. Shes now continuing her studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Intel STS is "the nations oldest and most respected science competition. It honors exceptional high school seniors for their scientific research and their potential as future leaders in the scientific community." Sara certainly epitomizes9） that kind of excellence. Sara， the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search winner who beat out about 1，700 other nationwide whiz kids， is taking algae to a new level.

Algae-based biofuels have great promise， but also serious challenges. On the positive side， algae-based fuel is environmentally responsible， capable of beingconverted10） into gasoline， diesel11） and jet fuel， and even can provide viable by-products， such as pet food， fertilizer12）， and feed stock. While all that sounds great， the disadvantages are equally as momentous13）； as the research exists today， algae biofuels are much too expensive， and very sensitive to contamination14）. One of the key considerations， then， is the ability to generate more algae for less cost， and thats where Sarahs research really shines.

Sara found the challenges of algae biofuel too attractive to only pursue at school， so she literally built a research lab in her bedroom， in fact， under her loft bed. As her work progressed， she decided that waking and sleeping in synchronicity15） with her algaes light/dark cycles was the best way to stay on top of16） her research， so thats exactly what she did.

Saras greatest insight was in the development of a stable， reproducible17） way to encourage the growth of specific algae that would produce the most oil. She employed "artificial selection" to isolate and reproduce these desired algae. She achieved this by growing the algae in a medium that contained Sethoxydim18）， acyclohexanedione19） family chemical thats the active ingredient in many grass and weed killers. The Sethoxydim killed off algae that were poor producers of acetyl-CoA carboxylase， an enzyme20） critical to lipid21） synthesis22）. That elegant control meant that the algae that remained were particularly adept23） at producing substantial amounts of oil； that result quite possibly could mean commercially viable algae biofuel production in the not too distant future.

As noted， Sara has continued her research at MIT， and its evident that her passion hasnt become weak at all. She gave a very inspirational Ted Talk lecture thats definitely worth watching.

Science is， without question， a vital component to straightening out24） all the challenges facing humans on earth in the 21st century. The best solutions， the ones that really have a chance of making a difference simply must have passion behind them； expertise isnt enough. Sara Volz epitomizes all that is promising about the next generation of passionate， effective scientists.

藻類生物燃料是當(dāng)今一項(xiàng)重大課題，其重大程度足以令美國能源部最近（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2015年9月）撥出1800萬美元的款項(xiàng)，用于這類燃料的可行性研究。政府慷慨贈送的這份大禮將惠及一批大學(xué)和私人企業(yè)。不過，熱心關(guān)注或積極從事藻類生物燃料項(xiàng)目的可不單只有這些地方的高身價(jià)研究人員，還有薩拉·沃爾茲。沃爾茲17歲讀11年級的時(shí)候獲得了2013年英特爾科學(xué)天才獎(jiǎng)（簡稱“英特爾STS”）以及該獎(jiǎng)附帶的十萬美元高額獎(jiǎng)金。目前，她正在麻省理工學(xué)院繼續(xù)她的研究。

英特爾科學(xué)天才獎(jiǎng)是“全美最為悠久、最受尊崇的科學(xué)競賽，表彰的是科研突出且具備科學(xué)界未來領(lǐng)袖潛質(zhì)的、拔尖的高中高年級學(xué)生”。薩拉無疑是這類拔尖生的典型代表。她從約1700位來自全美范圍內(nèi)的其他天才青少年中脫穎而出，奪得了2013年英特爾科學(xué)天才獎(jiǎng)的冠軍，將藻類研究推向了新的高度。

藻類生物燃料具有廣闊的前景，但同時(shí)也面臨著嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)。從積極的一面來說，藻類燃料利于環(huán)保，能夠被轉(zhuǎn)化成汽油、柴油和噴氣燃料，甚至能夠提供可用的副產(chǎn)品，比如寵物食品和肥料，還能用作牲畜飼料。盡管所有這些聽上去都十分可喜，但其缺點(diǎn)也同樣顯著。就現(xiàn)有的研究來看，藻類生物燃料太過昂貴，而且非常容易被污染。因此，其中一個(gè)關(guān)鍵問題就在于如何能做到以更低的成本培育更多的藻類，而這正是薩拉的研究真正大放異彩的地方。

薩拉發(fā)現(xiàn)藻類生物燃料的挑戰(zhàn)太過迷人，只在學(xué)校鉆研根本不夠，索性就在自己的臥室里——其實(shí)是在她的高架床下——真的建起了一個(gè)研究實(shí)驗(yàn)室。隨著研究工作的推進(jìn)，她斷定監(jiān)控這項(xiàng)研究的最好辦法就是讓自己的作息時(shí)間與海藻的生物鐘保持一致；于是她就這么做了。

薩拉最了不起的發(fā)現(xiàn)在于研發(fā)出了一種能夠促進(jìn)產(chǎn)油最多的特定海藻生長的方法，而且這一方法穩(wěn)定可靠，可以推廣。她采用“人工選擇”的方式分離和培育所需要的海藻。通過在含有烯禾定的培養(yǎng)基里培育海藻，她達(dá)到了這一目的。烯禾定是一種環(huán)己二酮族化學(xué)物質(zhì)，是許多除草劑中的活性成分。它能夠殺死乙酰輔酶A羧化酶生成量不佳的海藻，而這種酶正是脂質(zhì)合成的關(guān)鍵。這一精巧的操控手段意味著剩下的那些海藻都特別擅長生產(chǎn)大量燃油。這一成果很可能意味著，在不遠(yuǎn)的未來，藻類生物燃料將會實(shí)現(xiàn)商業(yè)生產(chǎn)。

前文說過，薩拉已經(jīng)進(jìn)入麻省理工學(xué)院繼續(xù)開展她的研究，顯然，她的干勁絲毫未減。她發(fā)表了一場非常鼓舞人心的TED演講，絕對值得一看。

科學(xué)，毫無疑問，是人類應(yīng)對21世紀(jì)全球各種挑戰(zhàn)的一個(gè)重要因素。那些最好的解決之道，那些真正有望帶來改變的解決之道，背后必須有激情的支撐——光靠專業(yè)知識是不夠的。薩拉·沃爾茲代表了所有有關(guān)下一代科學(xué)家們的希望，他們富有激情，做事高效。

當(dāng)我們還在學(xué)校里瘋玩的時(shí)候，七年級的薩拉·沃爾茲發(fā)現(xiàn)自己對生物燃料產(chǎn)生了極大的興趣。當(dāng)我們沉浸在題海戰(zhàn)術(shù)中不能自拔的時(shí)候，讀高中的薩拉·沃爾茲將自己的臥室變成了實(shí)驗(yàn)室，試圖將海藻“變成”燃料，替代石油。這個(gè)癡迷科研的女孩不僅獲得了2013年英特爾科學(xué)天才獎(jiǎng)冠軍，還受到了美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬的接見。你可以說她明明可以靠顏值，卻偏偏靠才華，但其實(shí)這與顏值和才華都無關(guān)。她靠的是內(nèi)心那份對科學(xué)的熱忱以及想把世界變得更好的渴望。

薩拉獲得英特爾科學(xué)天才獎(jiǎng)冠軍

How

Algae

Becomes

Biofuel

Whats More

Teen Topics

These steps show how Sara Volz got algae to produce more oil.

1. After initial growth， algae is treated with herbicide （除草劑）. Surviving algae yield more oil.

2. A press squeezes out 70 to 75 percent of the oil from the algae.

3. Solvents （溶劑） are used to separate sugar from the oil. The solvents then evaporate.

4. The oil is ready to be used in diesel engines or refined （精制） further for cars， jets， and more.

薩拉在自己床下的實(shí)驗(yàn)室工作

9. epitomize [??p?t?ma?z] vt. 成為……的典范；作為……的縮影

10. convert [k?n?v??t] vt. 使改變；更改；使轉(zhuǎn)變

11. diesel [?di?zl] n. 柴油

12. fertilizer [?f??t?la?z?（r）] n. 肥料；化肥

13. momentous [m??ment?s] adj. 重大的；關(guān)鍵的；有影響的

14. contamination [k?n?t?m??ne??n] n. 污染

15. synchronicity [?s??kr??n?s?ti] n. 同時(shí)性；同步發(fā)生

16. stay on top of： 保持密切關(guān)注；監(jiān)控

17. reproducible [?ri?pr??dju?s?bl] adj. 可重復(fù)進(jìn)行的

18. Sethoxydim： 烯禾定，是一種除草劑成分。

19. cyclohexanedione： 環(huán)己二酮

20. enzyme [?enza?m] n. 酶

21. lipid [?l?p?d] n. 脂質(zhì)

22. synthesis [?s?nθ?s?s] n. （通過化學(xué)或生物反應(yīng)進(jìn)行的）合成

23. adept [??dept] adj. 熟練的；擅長的；內(nèi)行的

24. straighten out： 解決（問題）；成功應(yīng)對（困境）

薩拉與其他兩位獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)?/p>

Sara Volz：

2016 College Women of the Year

2016年4月，Sara Volz被英國高端時(shí)尚女性雜志Glamour評選為“2016年度女大學(xué)生”。Sara Volz說：“Theres a saying I love： Science is a verb. Its something you do， not something you study. Its exciting to question the world. At MIT Im researching genome （基因組） editing using a tool called CRISPR. Its a game changer—CRISPR is like scissors for DNA that can cut out bad genes and insert good ones. In 2014 my professor and I， along with a Ph.D. student， discovered how to turn one specific protein on and off in a cell. To think Im helping push this biotechnology forward so that someday we can cure diseases？ Im proud of that. Not every experiment is successful； science is about failure. But each time you learn something.”

Whats More

在新西蘭，有一個(gè)地方被稱為“世界的第九大奇跡”，那里布滿了成千上萬的螢火蟲，它們聚集在一起，形成了奇妙的景觀，就像夜空中璀璨的繁星。讓我們走進(jìn)這個(gè)被譽(yù)為“奇景”的洞穴吧！