You've probably heard about the Delta variant, but for the sake of getting us all on the same page, a little recap: The COVID pandemic is caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2, which is constantly changing as it replicates and spreads.
你们可能听说过德尔塔变异毒株，但考虑到大家的已知信息可能参差不一，所以现在做一点回顾：新冠疫情是由一种名为SARS-CoV-2的病毒引起的，该病毒在复制和传播过程中不断变化。
These changes, or mutations, in the virus's genetic code result in new variants of the virus.
病毒遗传密码中的这些变化或突变导致了病毒发生变异。
Most of these have been found to either be weaker or benign versions of the original strain, meaning that the mutations didn't cause the virus to be more harmful in any way, but a handful of variants carry mutations that are associated with increased transmissibility and more severe cases.
他们大多数和原始毒株相比杀伤力更小、更温和，这意味着突变并不会让病毒变得更有危害，然而少数变异所携带的突变会提高其病毒遗传率和重症率。
And those are the variants that experts are keeping close tabs on.
而这些变异正是专家们密切关注的。
So far, four of these have been identified as "variants of concern" by the World Health Organization: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, which is the most recent addition to the list.
到目前为止，世界卫生组织已经确定其中四种为"令人担忧的变异毒株"，分别是阿尔法、贝塔、伽马和德尔塔，其中德尔塔是最新的。
Together, these variants are shown to be either more contagious, more deadly, or more resistant to current treatments.
总之，这些变异要么传染性更强，更致命，要么对目前的治疗手段抵抗力更高。
But of the four, Delta is especially concerning.
但在这四个当中，德尔塔是人们最忧心的。
According to the WHO, it's the "fastest and fittest" variant yet.
世界卫生组织称其迄今为止为"传播速度最快，感染力最强"的变异毒株。
Recent work out of Imperial College London suggests that it's actually up to 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant — which was already 50% more transmissible than the original strain— and many scientists expect Delta will soon replace Alpha as the dominant variant worldwide.
伦敦帝国理工学院最近的研究表明，它的传播率实际上比阿尔法高出60%——阿尔法的传播率已经比原始菌株高出50%——许多科学家预计，德尔塔将很快取代阿尔法，成为世界范围内的主要变异毒株。
We're already feeling the effects, particularly with rates of infection steadily rising amongst unvaccinated populations.
我们已经感受到了它的可怕，特别是在未接种疫苗的人群中，感染率稳步上升。
Delta is also sometimes referred to as the "double mutant".
Delta有时也被称为"双突变体"。
This somewhat sinister moniker is based on the fact that two important mutations can be found in the variant's spike protein.
此恶名来源于这样一个事实：在这个变异毒株的刺突蛋白中有两个重要的突变。
That's the protein on the virus's surface that allows it to gain entry into our cells.
这就是病毒表面的蛋白质，它让病毒得以可以进入我们的细胞。
But there are these 11 other mutations, and we are systematically studying these mutations in isolation to try to get a better handle of are these other mutations playing a role?
但还有11种其他突变，我们正在系统地逐个研究这些突变，试图更好地了解：这些突变会造成危害吗？
And what role are they playing in terms of increased transmissibility that we're seeing with this Delta variant?
德尔塔变异毒株的遗传率升高，它们在其中又起到了什么作用？
Fortunately, past work by Dr. Krogan's team to study other variants is helping them better understand the mutations in Delta.
幸运的是，克洛根博士的团队过去研究其他变体的工作可以帮助他们更好地了解德尔塔的突变。
For the last year and a half, we've been looking at how the host responds to the virus.
在过去的一年半里，我们一直在研究宿主对病毒的反应。
With respect to the Delta variant, compared to the other variants, there's about the same number of mutations, but they're more spread out in the genome.
关于德尔塔变异，与其他变异相比，突变数量大致相同，但它们在基因组中分布更广。
In that way, maybe ultimately, more human proteins in our cells are being manipulated in adverse ways compared to earlier lineage viruses.
这样，也许最终我们细胞中更多人类蛋白质会由与早期谱系病毒相反的方式操纵。
That's one hypothesis.
这是一种假说。
But at the end of the day, we got to wait to see what the data looks like, and then go from there.
但在一天结束时，我们会等着看数据，然后从这里下手。
Questions abound, including whether the Delta variant impacts our health in different ways.
要解决的问题有很多，包括德尔塔变异毒株是否以不同的方式影响我们的健康。
There's been talk of it showing slightly different symptoms—ones typically associated with the common cold: runny nose, sore throat, headache... but there's not enough data to confirm this just yet.
有人说，德尔塔变异的感染症状有些许不同——与普通感冒差不多：流鼻涕，喉咙痛，头痛……但是我们还没有足够的数据证实这一点。
As we wait for answers, the global pandemic response is on track to remain fundamentally the same: use all the available tools to combat the outbreak, which includes completing your vaccine course.
在我们等待答案的过程中，应对全球疫情的措施基本上保持不变：使用所有可用方式方法抗击疫情，包括完成疫苗接种。
That is, if it's available to you—in some countries, there are still no vaccines available at all.
如果有疫苗可接种的话——而有些国家仍然没有可用的疫苗。
If you don't have knowledge, then fear comes.
如果你不够了解情况，那么就会感到害怕。
So at the present time, I think you have to take a deep breath, use the preventative measures we have in place, i.e. the vaccinations, and support the scientists doing the work and wait for the scientists to collect the data, so that we can be in a better mindset going forward as new variants come along.
因此，目前我认为你可以先深呼吸放松心情，使用现有的预防措施，即接种疫苗，支持科学家开展工作，等待科学家收集数据，以便在出现新的变异时能够以更好的心态前进。
It's important to keep in mind that vaccines such as the ones developed by Moderna and Pfizer remain extremely effective against severe disease caused by SARS-CoV-2— variants and all.
要知道，像莫德纳和辉瑞公司开发的疫苗对SARS-CoV-2变异引起的重症仍然非常有效。
And early results investigating their protection against the Delta variant specifically are encouraging: One UK study found Pfizer to be 88% effective against symptomatic disease caused by the Delta variant, while Moderna also found a "modest reduction" in neutralizing antibodies when their vaccine confronted the variant.
研究这些疫苗对德尔塔变异的保护作用的早期结果特别令人振奋：一项英国研究发现辉瑞对德尔塔变异毒株引起的症状性疾病有88%的有效性，而莫德纳公司也发现，他们的疫苗与德尔塔变异病毒相对抗时，中和抗体"适度减少"。
These variants are providing us with a very valuable lesson and right now the lesson is to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.
这些变异病毒给我们上了非常宝贵的一课，而现在最重要的是尽快接种疫苗。
While the coronavirus is a stand-out virus in many ways, it follows many of the same habits of other viruses.
虽然新型冠状病毒在许多方面都和一般病毒不一样，但它也有许多同其他病毒一样的习性。
Namely, that it mutates.
也就是，它会突变。
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