Nature雜誌在Youtube發佈了一段視頻，介紹了面對新型冠狀病毒，全世界不同領域的科學家們都在做些什麼，包括對控制疫情至關重要的三個研究領域：流行病學、病毒學和生物醫學。這些領域的研究將是關鍵，此外還有協作、數據與結果的開放共享等。
同時這個視頻也告訴我們，從科學的角度，如何正確理解疫苗、藥物的研發週期。
新型冠狀病毒已被世界衛生組織宣佈為全球衛生緊急事件。
The novel coronavirus has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.
那麼科學家們是如何應對的呢？科學能幫助控制疫情的發生嗎？
So how are scientists responding and what can science due to help control the outbreak?
最重要的是流行病學。流行病學家衝在前沿，試圖瞭解病毒傳播的方式和原因。
A top priority is epidemiology. Epidemiologists are on the front line, trying to understand how and why the virus is spreading.
他們收集新病例時間和地點相關的數據，瞭解新的感染來源是哪裡，出現症狀需要多長時間。這些數據可以用來預測感染的傳播速度。
They gathered data on the timing and location of new cases where new infections are coming from and how long symptoms take to appear. These data go into models that can predict how fast the infection might spread.
這對於制定遏制計劃和評估這些措施是否有效是至關重要的。
This is critical for both creating containment plans and assessing whether countermeasures are actually working.
通過觀察傳播模型，流行病學家可以推斷出傳播方式，例如通過唾液中或在空氣中傳播。
By looking at the patterns of spread, epidemiologists can infer the mode of transmission such as in saliva or through the air.
流行病學家也需要知道，那些被感染但沒有表現出症狀的人是否仍然可以傳播這種疾病，這種情況會使得這種冠狀病毒更難被消滅。
Epidemiologists also need to know whether people who are infected but not showing symptoms could still pass on the disease, something which would make this coronavirus harder to wipe out.
瞭解病毒的來源也很重要。這種病毒很可能起源於動物，然後才跳到人類宿主體內。
Understanding the source of the virus is also important. The virus likely originated in an animal before jumping to a human host.
對疫情開始的武漢市場採集的樣本進行基因分析，可以告訴科學家來源於哪些動物，幫助預防未來的爆發。
Genetic analysis of samples taken from the market in Wuhan, where the outbreak started, could tell scientists which animal and help prevent future outbreaks.
瞭解病毒如何傳播是控制病毒傳播的重要的第一步。但是科學家也需要知道病毒本身是如何運作的，這就是病毒學家的工作。
Understanding how the virus spreads is a vital first step for containing it. But scientists also need to know how the virus itself functions, and that is the job of virologists.
在世界各地，病毒學家正盡力獲取新型冠狀病毒的物理樣本。這項工作包括在培養細胞中培育病毒並感染動物，以更深入地研究它。有很多東西要了解。
Across the world, virologists are scrambling to get their hands on physical samples of the novel coronavirus. This work involves growing the virus in cultured cells and infecting animals in order to study it closely. There's a lot to learn.
病毒學家可以測量病毒在液滴中的存活時間，就像那些咳嗽或打噴嚏的人。動物模型可以顯示出感染是如何在人與人之間傳播的。
Virologists can measure the survival time of the virus in droplets like those from a cough or sneeze. Animal models may show how the infection actually gets passed between individuals.
研究病毒蛋白質的結構，以及它們用來進入細胞的受體的身份，可以為潛在的治療方法提供信息。
And working out the structure of viral proteins and the identity of the receptors they use to enter cells could inform potential treatments.
病毒的基因組也可以提供線索。幾十個病人樣本的基因序列是公開的，並且已經被用於開發診斷測試。
The genome of the virus can also hold clues. Genetic sequences from dozens of patient samples are publicly available and have already been used to develop diagnostic tests.
但是，在人類細胞培養和動物模型中需要實際樣本來測試疫苗和藥物。這就是生物醫學的用武之地。
But actual samples in human cell cultures and animal models will be needed to test vaccines and drugs. This is where biomedical science comes in.
藥物開發是一個緩慢的過程，研究人員必須儘快找到治療這種新威脅的方法。
Drug development is a slow process, so researchers are having to work fast to find therapies for this new threat.
疫苗是生物醫學科學家能開發出的最有力的工具之一，但這是一個長期的解決方案。
One of the most powerful tools biomedical scientists could develop is a vaccine, but this is a longer-term solution.
短期更有可能性的是給病人注射對抗病毒的抗體。找到識別它的抗體可能並不難，但大規模生產足夠的抗體，即使是用於臨床試驗，也可能需要數月時間。
A more imminent possibility is to inject patients with antibodies against the virus. Finding antibodies that recognize it might not be so difficult, but mass-producing enough antibodies even for trials could take months.
抗病毒藥物也是一種選擇。這是能干擾病毒複製的小分子，但是從零開始開發它們需要數年時間。
Antiviral drugs are also an option. These are small molecules that interfere with viral replication, but developing them from scratch takes years.
因此，研究人員希望證明已經開發出的藥物如治療艾滋病病毒的藥物是有效的，試驗已經開始了。
So researchers are hoping that drugs already developed to treat things like HIV could prove effective and trials have already started.
如果這些對策失敗了，冠狀病毒會成為一種常見的流行病，就像流感一樣，這將使根除戰爭變得極其困難。
If countermeasures fail, the coronavirus could become what's called epidemic recurring regularly, like the flu, that would make it extremely hard to eradicate fighting.
這次疫情需要一系列的科學工具，從基因排序到數學建模。在此基礎上，研究人員還需要數據。
This outbreak will require a range of scientific tools, from genetic sequencing to mathematical modeling. And for all of that, researchers need data.
許多出版機構和實驗室都承諾所有的研究人員都能免費獲得這些數據，鼓勵合作並優先考慮全球衛生領域。
Many publishers and labs have made commitments to make all research free to access, encouraging collaboration and prioritizing global health.
時間會證明一切。
Time will tell how successful it will be.
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關鍵字: 2019未來科學大獎 動物 傳染病
