That mucus is salty, sticky, and contains lysozymes, which are enzymes that help kill bacteria.

这粘液又咸又稠，含有菌酶，可以杀死细菌。

Now, I would argue that lysozyme is the essential precursor to penicillin.

我认为菌酶是青霉素的基本前身。

Fleming soon found lysozyme in all sorts of human secretions: spit, blood serum and especially tears.

弗莱明很快人类分泌物中发现了菌酶：唾液、血清，尤其是。

Fleming himself, however, told a colleague that " his discovery of lysozyme gave him more satisfaction than his discovery of penicillin."

然而，弗莱明自己告诉一位同事“菌酶的发现比对青霉素的发现更让他满意”。

And it was lysozyme that led other scientists to take interest in penicillin and develop clinical applications of the substance.

正是菌酶引起了其他学家对青霉素的兴趣，并开发了该物质的临床应用。

That something, Fleming soon discovered, was a protein that would be called lysozyme, which literally means " an enzyme with power to dissolve."

弗莱明很快发现，这东西是一叫“菌酶”的蛋白质，字面意思是“有解能力的酶”。

But lysozyme — and any more of mucus's potential secrets — were overshadowed by a discovery Fleming made about seven years later: the much more potent antibiotic penicillin.

但是菌酶——以及粘液的其他潜秘密——被弗莱明七年后发现的更强效抗生素青霉素所掩盖。

He noted in his Nobel lecture that lysozyme was " of great use" to him because the technique he'd worked out to study it applied to penicillin as well.

他诺贝尔演讲中提到，菌酶对他“非常有用”，因为他研究菌酶的方法也适用于青霉素。

For weeks, his lab attendants put up with having lemon peels squeezed in front of their eyes to force them to cry — because their tears were a good source of lysozyme!

几个星期，实验室的助手们忍受着前挤柠檬皮来迫使自己流——因为他们的是菌酶的优质来源！