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[2009.04.16] Medicine goes digital 药物数字化进程

A special report on health care and technology

对医疗保健和技术的特别报道

 

 

Medicine goes digital

药物数字化进程

 

Apr 16th 2009
From The Economist print edition

 

 

The convergence of biology and engineering is turning health care into an information industry. That will be disruptive, says Vijay Vaitheeswaran (interviewed here), but also hugely beneficial to patients

 

 

生物学和工程学的融合使得医疗保健成为了信息产业。Vijay Vaitheesearan表示，这会引起混乱，但同时病人会大为受益。

 

 

INNOVATION and medicine go together. The ancient Egyptians are thought to have performed surgery back in 2750BC, and the Romans developed medical tools such as forceps and surgical needles. In modern times medicine has been transformed by waves of discovery that have brought marvels like antibiotics, vaccines and heart stents.

 

 

创新和药物一起发展。古代埃及人被认为早在公元前2750年就进行了外科手术，罗马人发明了医疗工具，如医用钳子和手术用针。到了现代，发现探索的浪潮给人们带来了诸多奇迹，如抗生素，育苗和心脏支架。这些都促进了医药的改革。

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[2009.04.23] Not as easy as it looks 简单表面之下的不简单的故事

Chinese script
简体字
簡體字

Not as easy as it looks
简单表面之下的不简单的故事
簡單表面之下的不簡單的故事

Apr 23rd 2009 | BEIJING
From The Economist print edition

A character-forming development

汉字之演变

漢字之演變

FOR better or worse, Mao Zedong usually came out on top, whether facing Japanese invaders, nationalist warlords or Communist Party rivals. But for all his success in overturning traditional values and institutions, the founder of modern China came up short in his desire to convert written Chinese from its character-based system to an alphabet. Intellectuals resisted fiercely, some out of the belief that China’s writing system was superior to any other, and unified a land of many dialects far better than a phonetic system, others on simple sentimental grounds.

不论好坏，毛泽东通常都是最后的胜利者——无论是面对日本侵略者，国民党军阀，还是共产党的对手。尽管这位新中国的创建者推倒了许多旧的价值观和体制，却未能达到自己一个愿望，就是将基于字符的汉字书写体系变成拼音体系。学者们极力反对这一想法，有些学者认为汉字书写体系优于其它文字体系，并且对于一个多方言国家统一所起的作用要优于拼音文字体系，其他人反对的理由仅仅是因为感情原因。
继续阅读“[2009.04.23] Not as easy as it looks 简单表面之下的不简单的故事”

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[2008.4.17]The ravening hoards 贪婪的囤积

China’s grain supply
中国的粮食供应


The ravening hoards
贪婪的囤积
Apr 17th 2008 | BEIJING
From The Economist print edition
英国《经济学人》4月17日文章
No need for alarm; but some Chinese ring bells anyway
虽然无需发出警告，但是一些中国人还是敲响了警钟

“WITH grain in our hands there is no need to panic,” according to China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao. But officials worry about how to keep China near self-sufficiency in grain and sheltered from rising world prices. Mr. Wen’s remarks during a farm tour in Hebei in the north were meant to calm public anxieties about food-price inflation elsewhere in the world. Chinese food prices have been rising fast too in recent months, but the main impact has been on meat. Rice- and wheat-price increases have been modest, except for high-quality imports, a small share of domestic consumption. China produces more than 90% of the grain it consumes.
“手中有粮，心中不慌。”中国总理温家宝如是说。但是官员们担心如何使中国继续保持粮食的自给自足，同时防止它受到世界粮食市场涨价的影响。温总理在视察河北省农田时说的这番话意在平息民众对于世界其他地区食品价格暴涨的忧虑。近几个月来，中国的食品价格也在飞速上扬，但是主要的涨价压力在于肉类。除了优质的进口粮食，大米和小麦价格的上涨幅度不大，而进口粮食在中国国内消费中占据着很小的份额：在中国消费的粮食中，超过９０％源自国内生产。

继续阅读“[2008.4.17]The ravening hoards 贪婪的囤积”

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[2009.3.26] Judgment days 审判的日子

Germany’s Constitutional Court
德国宪法法院

Judgment days
审判的日子

Mar 26th 2009 | KARLSRUHE
From The Economist print edition

The little-known judges on Germany’s Constitutional Court exert real influence, not only at home but also abroad
德国宪法法院的那些不知名的法官们发挥了实实在在的影响，不但在国内，而且在国外也一样！

Illustration by Peter Schrank

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[2009.4.8] Business this week 本周财经

 

Business this week
本周财经
Apr 8th 2009
From The Economist print edition

Pundits continued to ponder the communiqué issued by the members of the G20 at the end of their summit in London. The agreement’s main points include a promise of more money for the IMF, taking its funding to $750 billion; an increase in countries’ access to Special Drawing Rights, the IMF’s synthetic currency; a promise to crack down on tax havens; and the establishment of a Financial Stability Board. The G20 members also committed themselves to supporting $250 billion-worth of new global-trade guarantees and gave assurances they would put a freeze on new protectionist measures.

权威人士继续G20成员国在伦敦峰会结束时发布的“会议公报”进行分析。会议公报主要内容包括：二十国集团承诺为IMF（国际货币基金组织）增资，使其资金总额增加至7500亿美元；增加各国对IMF货币的特别提款权；承诺对“避税天堂”采取制裁行动；建立金融稳定委员会。G20成员将提供2500亿美元作为新一轮全球贸易的保证，并承不设置任何新的投资或贸易壁垒。
继续阅读“[2009.4.8] Business this week 本周财经”

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[2009.04.08] Mission: possible 可能完成的任务

 

The IMF
国际货币基金组织Mission: possible
可能完成的任务

Apr 8th 2009
From The Economist print edition

 

The IMF has been promised lots more money and has a new sense of purpose. But reform is still needed—especially if it is to win the trust of emerging economies

国际货币基金组织承诺了提供更多的资金，其目的性也更加强烈。但是，改革仍势在必行——尤其是如果它想赢得新兴经济体的信任的话。

Illustration by Belle Mellor
Belle Mellor供图

继续阅读“[2009.04.08] Mission: possible 可能完成的任务”