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Microbes Digest the Titanic's Remains

微生物蚕食泰坦尼克残骸

In the spring of 1912 an iceberg in the Atlantic took down the Titanic. Now, some humble bacteria are trying to finish the job. Scientists analyzing rust from the sunken ship have discovered a new species of microbe that eats iron. Their findings are described in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

1912年春，泰坦尼克号撞到大西洋上的一座冰山，沉入海底。现如今，一些微小的细菌正在努力完成使其消失的工作。科学家分析了从沉船上采集的铁锈，发现了一种新型噬铁微生物。他们的研究成果发表在《国际系统与进化微生物学杂志》上。

Researchers have been studying the Titanic’s remains since they were discovered resting more than two miles beneath the ocean surface. And they’ve found that the ship has been not-so-slowly disappearing. Visitors have removed artifacts, and the hull is festooned with rusticles: icicle-shaped accretions of iron oxide, otherwise known as rust.

自从在海平面下超过两英里的地方发现了泰坦尼克号沉船遗迹之后，科研人员一直在对其残骸进行研究。他们发现泰坦尼克号并不是慢慢消失的。船内物品已被打捞，船体上挂满了一种生物群落——rusticles，这是一种外形类似于冰柱的氧化铁聚积物，亦即铁锈。

Nearly 20 years ago scientists took samples of that rust, and found that it harbors a mix of iron-munching microbes. Now, analyzing the DNA of these organisms, researchers have catalogued more than two dozen strains of bacteria, including a new one they’ve dubbed Halomonas titanicae.

大约20年前，科学家们采集了铁锈样本，发现有噬铁微生物组合在其中生存。现在，研究人员对这些生物的DNA进行分析，为二十多种细菌做了分类编目，还将其中一个新细菌命名为Halomonas titanicae（盐单胞泰坦尼西（titanicae）菌）。

The bacteria are bad news for the Titanic, which may only last another 20 years, say the scientists. The good news is such bugs could be used to hasten the decay of other, less cinematic wrecks.

科学家表示，这些细菌对泰坦尼克号来说可是个噩耗，它们或许会让这艘巨轮只能再存留二十年。而好消息是这样的细菌可以用来使其它部分——跟电影相关更少的残骸——腐蚀得更快些。

—Karen Hopkin

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