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It’s boating season. Which means it’ll soon be time for that annoying ritual—the scraping of the barnacles. They latch on tight and don’t let go.
現在是航運季節了。這也意味著惱人的藤壺又來了。它們巴在船上不放。
Barnacles can be a major pain: as they grow they build up calcium deposits under a boat’s paint. And their interference with smooth fluid flow can decrease fuel efficiency by up to 40 percent, a major problem for large vessels.
藤壺危害很大。隨著它們的生長，它們產生鈣質物沉積在船的油漆層。它們能減少大約40%的燃料利用效率，這對大船來說是個主要問題。
Currently, hull paint can be doped with poison, usually based on copper oxide, that leaches out slowly to kill the little critters. But the poison also escapes into the water and can kill other marine life.
目前，船體油漆可以添加有毒物質，通常是銅氧化物，這些有毒物質慢慢滲出，殺死這些藤壺。但是有毒物質也混入水中，同時殺死其他海洋生物。
Now, researchers might have a better option: a paint additive that kills just the barnacles, using their own behavior against them. It’s a toxin based on a molecule created by a bacterium. The researchers developed a method of embedding that toxin into the paint so that it only gets released when the barnacle penetrates the paint. The info was published in a university thesis.
現在，研究人員有更好的選擇了，就是一種只殺死藤壺的油漆添加物，利用藤壺自己的行為殺死它們。這是一種由細菌創造的分子毒素。研究人員發明了一種方法將這種毒素嵌入油漆中，當藤壺附著在油漆上時就會釋放毒素。這個信息發表在一篇大學論文上。
The scientists determined that the toxin works in low concentrations and could be effective for years. Which could lower the cost of paying the barnacle bill.
科學家確定毒素在低濃度下可以有效使用多年。這降低了治理藤壺的花費。
—Cynthia Graber
