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Picture an orange. It’s encased in a biodegradable shell—the peel’s even somewhat edible, as marmalade fans can attest. But we humans often package food in plastic, with its environmental and disposal challenges.
有這樣一個橘子。它包在一個可生物降解的外殼里，甚至它的皮也可以食用——其實這已經得到了果醬迷們的證實。但是，我們人類往往用塑料袋包裝食品，這對環境和垃圾處理造成很大挑戰。
So Harvard scientist David Edwards and colleagues thought, why not take advantage of advances in materials science to mimic nature? The call their result WikiCells. Edwards recently described the development in a talk at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
因此，哈佛大學的科學家戴維•愛德華茲和他的同事們認為，為什么不借助材料科學的進步來使食品包裝天然化？他將他們的研究成果命名為WikiCells。愛德華茲最近在哈佛大學的威斯生物工程研究所談到了這一研究所取得的進展。
Taking note of nature's clever packaging, Edwards and his team created a membrane made of charged particles of edible substances bound by electrostatic forces. The membrane surrounds a liquid, foam or solid food. Then that membrane is surrounded by an edible or biodegradable hard shell.
被天然包裝的奇妙之處所啟發，愛德華茲和他的團隊發明了一種由帶電粒子制成的薄膜。這些粒子由可食用物質構成，通過靜電引力將粒子結合在一起，形成薄膜。這種薄膜可用來盛放各種液體、泡沫或固態食物。然后，薄膜外面再包上一層可食用或可生物降解的堅硬外殼。
The researchers are testing WikiCells at Harvard’s partner Le Laboratoire in Paris, where people are munching on containers of ice cream and soup. The technology is currently a bit of a novelty. But the scientists are working on shelf stability and taste to create a variety of consumer products. Maybe in the future you’ll be able to sip some juice, and eat the package. Of course, clam chowder served in bread bowls is already available in the Harvard area.
研究人員正在哈佛大學的合作伙伴巴黎實驗室測試WikiCells，那里的人們正在大嚼各種盛放冰淇淋或羹湯的容器。這一技術目前的確有點新奇。但科學家們正在致力于延長這種產品的保質期并提升其口味，以使其產品多樣化。也許在未來，你不但能啜飲果汁，還可以吃掉果汁包裝。當然了，如今，哈佛地區的蛤肉羹已經可以用面包制成的碗來盛放了。
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