揭秘青藏高原上的萬能妙藥

UNEARTH THE BURIED SECRETS OF A TIBETAN TREASURE

In the last few years a new business has started to flourish. Described as the 1）Himalayan 2）Viagra， 3）Cordyceps sinensis has become more popular than ginseng. It’s more valuable than gold， and is frequently bought as a wedding gift. Legend says that 4）yaks which feed on it， on the high 5）plateaus of Tibet， increase in strength 6）tenfold. Said to have 7）miraculous properties， some laboratories do not hesitate to describe it as the 8）panacea of the future.

But what is it exactly？ An 9）aphrodisiac mushroom？ A powerful 10）tonic？ The virtues of Cordyceps are so numerous that one starts to wonder： Is it a myth or does it really exist？

The most amazing part of this story begins underground. In fact， this extraordinary 11）organism is the result of one of the most unusual biological processes on Earth. It starts with an insect， a primitive 12）caterpillar， which lives a few centimeters below ground. It digs tunnels in the earth， and goes through 10 different stages of development before its astonishing final 13）metamorphosis.

At the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology， Professor Karl Tsim and his team of biologists have spent years seeking to identify the 14）species. A curious marriage of insect and mushroom， it continues to 15）intrigue the scientific community.

Prof. Tsim： Basically， this herb is containing two part [sic]. One is the 16）fungi and one is the worm. First of all， the fungi that we are dealing with is the Cordyceps sinensis. But on [sic] the same time， we need to have a particular worm. So these worm [sic] in the winter time， they grow under the snow mountain. And 17）subsequently， they also have those 18）spores from the last year [sic] Cordyceps sinensis coming from the 19）mycelia. They sit on the icy mountain. When the ice start [sic] to melt， those spore will go along with the melted ice and they land on the earth. And those worm [sic] eat those spores into their stomach， so when the time come [sic]， sometime before the summer， the spores start to grow from the stomach. They grow upward， coming out from the mouth. Those fungi， they want the sunshine， therefore they grow toward the sun， and look like a grass. And therefore， we call them the“summer grass.”

Despite its name， the Cordyceps sinensis is not a kind of grass but a fungus which grows inside a caterpillar， and eventually kills it. The caterpillar is the 20）larva of a primitive moth of the Hepialidae family. During one of its many metamorphoses the larvae is gradually taken over by the fungus and eventually becomes 21）mummified. The fungus continues its development by feeding on the dead tissue of the larvae， and eventually yields a fruit.

This transformation of a caterpillar into a fungus is the reason for the gold rush currently sweeping every region of Tibet.

在過去幾年里，有一門生意開始風生水起。冬蟲夏草被稱為喜馬拉雅山的男性補藥，它的受歡迎程度超過了人參，甚至比黃金更值錢，并時常作結婚賀禮之用。傳說西藏高原的牦牛吃了蟲草后，體力會增加十倍。由于其不可思議的功效，一些研究實驗室毫不猶豫地稱它為未來的萬能特效藥。

可蟲草究竟是什么東西呢？是催情的菌類？還是強勁的補藥？蟲草功效范圍之廣令人不禁懷疑：這其實只是一個神話抑或真有其事？

關于蟲草的故事，最奇妙的部分由地底下開始。事實上，這種奇特生物的出現源自地球上一個最特別的生物變化過程。蟲草開始的時候是昆蟲，是生存在地下幾厘米處的原始毛蟲。它在泥土中挖地道，在經歷了十個不同的發育階段后，最終迎來了驚人的轉變進程。

香港科技大學的詹華強教授及其生物研究團隊對蟲草進行了多年研究，試圖確定這個物種的類別。這種昆蟲與菌類的奇異結合一直以來都激發著科學界濃厚的興趣。

詹華強教授：基本上，這種藥草由兩部分組成，一是真菌，二是毛蟲。首先我們看到的真菌是蟲草，但同時，我們需要一條非常特別的毛蟲。冬天，毛蟲生長在雪山腳下。其次，蟲草身上都會有孢子，這些孢子來自上一年蟲草身上的菌絲，并停留在雪山上。當雪開始融化時，這些孢子會隨著融雪流到地面，被毛蟲吃進肚子里。

等到了適當的時候，即快進入夏季時，這些孢子開始在毛蟲的體內生長，從毛蟲的口部伸出向上生長?！?br>