海底现超级细菌 正吞噬泰坦尼克残骸

A newly discovered species of rust-eating bacteria is eating the wreck of the Titanic, researchers say. The micro-organisms, which have never been seen before, are helping decompose the famous ship at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, say the team. They isolated the micro-organisms from a 'rusticle' collected from the ship - lying 3.8km below the ocean surface- and have named their find Halomonas titanicae.

某研究组织宣称，闻名世界的泰坦尼克号在深海中的残骸遭到海底超级细菌的侵蚀，残骸恐N年后彻底消失。据悉，这种神秘的超级细菌（微生物）还是第一次被人类发现，虽然它的“真实身份”还需要研究人员去揭晓，然而这种微生物每天在分解和侵蚀在大西洋3.8公里深处的泰坦尼克号残骸的“举动”很是让人痛心。研究者给超级细菌起了一个学名“盐单胞菌属泰坦尼克号杀手”（H. titanicae ）。

The researchers from Dalhousie University, Canada and the University of Sevilla, Spain, say the bacterium could pose a new microbial threat to the exterior of ships and underwater metal structures such as oil rigs. The researchers, who published their findings in the latest issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, also tested the rusting ability of the bacteria.

来自加拿大以及西班牙大学的研究者称，这种超级细菌严重腐蚀沉船残骸的表面，同时也对钻油设备产生巨大威胁。科学家的这一重大发现已经在《国际微生物期刊》上发表，探索这一超级细菌的腐蚀能力已经正式列为研究课题。

'This could be useful in the disposal of old naval and merchant ships and oil rigs that have been cleaned of toxins and oil-based products and then sunk in the deep ocean.' They believe that the findings have opened up further areas of research that could be applied elsewhere. 'Finding answers to these questions will not only better our understanding of our oceans, but may also equip us to devise coatings that can prevent similar deterioration to our metal structures.'

研究者说，对于超级细菌的研究可以大大提高“海底清污”的能力，以及更好的维护行驶船只，特别是航龄时间较长的大型轮船的基本运行。科学家相信，这项研究具有很强的实用性，研究结果可算是“万众期待”。因为自从英国石油公司泄漏危机事件以来，媒体对“如何治理漏油”事宜十分敏感的缘故。对此，研究者说：“研究超级细菌对海底清污工作的潜在作用可以显著提高人类对海洋的认识，同时也可以相应加强海中金属用品抵御腐蚀的能力。”