Biomimetics Archives - Mandarin Expression of the Week

wēixíng⁺ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) “jīqì⁺ (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器機器)” 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 ➕ icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and ➕ Reveal + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Not that long ago, the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! magazine was featured in the Teaching Toolbox of the JW Library app. This week’s MEotW, “wēixíng⁺ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) ‘jīqì (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器機器)’ ”, occurs in the caption of the picture at the top of the article in that issue entitled “Shēngmìng⁺ (Life 生命) Gàosu (Tells 告诉告訴) Wǒmen (Wǒ·men Us · [pl] 我们我們) Shénme (Shén·me What · [suf] 什么什/甚麼)?” (“What Life Tells Us”):

English:

The yeast cell is incredibly complex. It has a well-organized nucleus with DNA and microscopic machines that sort, transport, and modify molecules—all of which are vital for the life of the cell.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Jiàomǔ⁺ (Jiào·mǔ yeast · mother → [yeast] 酵母)‐jūn (fungus 菌) de (’ 的) jiégòu⁺ (jié·gòu {tying → [forming]} · constructing → [structure] 结构結構) fēicháng (fēi·cháng un·commonly → [extremely] 非常) fùzá (fù·zá {is turned around → [is complex]} · {is mixed} → [is complex] 复杂複雜). Tā (it 它) yǒu (has 有) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个個/个) bāohán (bāo·hán wraps · {keeps in the mouth} → [contains] 包含) DNA de (’s 的) xìbāo⁺ (xì·bāo tiny · womb → [cell] 细胞細胞)‐hé⁺ ({pit (of a fruit)} → [nucleus] 核核/覈), háiyǒu (hái·yǒu (there) also · {are having → [are]} 还有還有) yìxiē (yì·xiē one · {indefinite number of} → [some] 一些) wēixíng⁺ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) “jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器機器)”, zhèixiē (zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些這些) “jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器機器)” néng (can 能) jìnxíng (jìn·xíng advance · {walk → [carry out]} 进行進行) fēnzǐ⁺ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子) de (’ 的) fēnlèi (fēn·lèi {separating → [differentiating]} · types → [sorting] 分类分類), yùnshū (transporting 运输運輸), hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和和/龢) zhuǎnhuà⁺ (zhuǎn·huà {to be turned → [to be changed]} · transforming → [transforming] 转化轉化), ér (and 而) zhèixiē (zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些這些) bùzhòu (bù·zhòu steps · {to be trotted} → [steps] 步骤步驟) shì (are 是) wéichí (wéi·chí {to maintain} · {to hold → [to sustain]} → [to sustain] 维持維持) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · womb’s → [cell’s] 细胞細胞) shēngmìng (life 生命) bì (certainly 必)‐bùkě (bù·kě not · can → [cannot] 不可)‐shǎo ({be missing} 少) de ({’s (steps)} 的).

As can be seen from above, where the English article refers to the “microscopic machines” inside living cells, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW “wēixíng⁺ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) ‘jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器機器)’ ”. Digging down to the morphemes used in this expression, we find that they literally mean “tiny mould machine devices”.

Exquisite and Amazing Molecular Machines

Note also that the above quote mentions that these “microscopic machines” or “tiny mould machine devices” work on molecules inside cells. Thus another term that can be applied to them is the more technical term “molecular machines”. Long-time readers of this blog may recall that a while back, there was an MEotW post on “fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ body 体體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])”, the expression used in the Mandarin version of another Awake! article to translate “molecular machine”.

Here are a couple of quotations from that MEotW post on the topic of these exquisite and amazing little machines inside our cells:

To give us an idea of what some molecular machines are like, here is a video I came across that uses computer animation to help us visualize how tiny molecular machines inside our cells copy DNA:

If one came across an artificial molecular machine, one would undoubtedly conclude with certainty that it had been intelligently designed—something that tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional obviously could not have developed by chance! As microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) concluded, the tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional biological molecular machines that inspired humans to create artificial molecular machines similarly must have had an intelligent Creator.

fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ

fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ⁺ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ body 体體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “A Microbiologist Explains Her Faith”. It turns out that this microbiologist is from Taiwan, so this article may especially be of interest to Mandarin-speaking people. In this article, microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) explains:

English:

A professor of biochemistry in the United States published a book arguing that the molecular machines in living cells are so complex that they could not have originated randomly. I agreed. I felt that life must have been created.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Měiguó (Měi·guó American · Nation’s → [USA’s] 美国美國) yí (one 一) wèi ({place of a} → [mw for persons] 位) shēnghuà (shēng·huà {living → [bio-] (abbr. for shēngwùxué)} · {transforming → [chemistry] (abbr. for huàxué)} → [biochemistry] 生化) xì ({tied (things)} → [department (in a college/university)] 系) jiàoshòu⁺ (jiào·shòu teaching · {conferring → [instructing]} (person) → [professor] 教授) xiěle (xiě·le wrote · {to completion} 写了寫了) yì (one 一) běn ({root or stem of a} → [mw for books, etc.] 本) shū (book 书書), tā (he 他) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identifies · {(it) to be} (that) 认为認為) huó (living 活) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · wombs → [cells] 细胞細胞) zhōng (within 中) de (’s 的) fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ⁺ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ bodies 体體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machines]) rúcǐ (rú·cǐ {are like} · this 如此) fùzá (fù·zá {turned around → [complex]} · mixed → [complex] 复杂複雜), jué ({being cut off} → [absolutely] 绝絕/絶) bù (not 不) kěnéng (could 可能) shì (be 是) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {given birth to → [produced]} · {given birth to → [caused to exist]} → [brought into being] 产生產生) de ({’s (things)} 的). Wǒ (I 我) tóngyì (tóng·yì {(had the) same} · thought (about) → [agreed with] 同意) tā de ((tā him 他) (de ’s 的) → [his]) guāndiǎn (guān·diǎn {looking at → [view]} · point → [viewpoint] 观点觀點). Wǒ (I 我) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identified · {(it) to be} 认为認為), shēngmìng (life 生命) bìdìng (bì·dìng certainly · {(it) has been set} 必定) shì (is 是) bèi ([passive signifier] → [got] 被) chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造創造) chulai (chu·lai out · {to come} 出来出來) de ({’s (thing)} 的).

As shown in the above quote, the Mandarin version of this article (which, perhaps because it’s from an issue of Awake! magazine, provides the option to show Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)) uses this week’s MEotW, “fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ body 体體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])”, to translate “molecular machines”.

To give us an idea of what some molecular machines are like, here is a video I came across that uses computer animation to help us visualize how tiny molecular machines inside our cells copy DNA:

Polymers and Crystals

The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” for “fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ⁺ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ body 体體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])” specifies that this expression—for example, as used in the above-mentioned Awake! article—refers to a molecular polymerized body that is a protein molecular machine because proteins are polymers made up of amino acid subunits (monomers), but apparently, as summarized in the Wikipedia article on molecular machines, artificial molecular machines that are crystalline exist, or have been conceptualized, in addition to those that are polymeric:

A wide range of applications have been demonstrated for AMMs [artificial molecular machines], including those integrated into polymeric, liquid crystal, and crystalline systems for varied functions

Inspiration and Attribution

As the above-mentioned Wikipedia article on molecular machines summarizes, biological molecular machines have served as inspiration for artificial, or man-made, molecular machines:

Biological molecular machines have been known and studied for decades given their vital role in sustaining life, and have served as inspiration for synthetically designed systems with similar useful functionality.^[source]^[source]

(This kind of human imitation of living things in nature is called biomimetics, or biomimicry. More examples of this can be found in the section of the Was Life Created? brochure entitled “Who Designed It First?”.)

If one came across an artificial molecular machine, one would undoubtedly conclude with certainty that it had been intelligently designed—something that tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional obviously could not have developed by chance! As microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) concluded, the tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional biological molecular machines that inspired humans to create artificial molecular machines similarly must have had an intelligent Creator.

wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) “jīqì+ (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器 機器)” 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”