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

这种粘液又咸又稠，含有溶菌酶，可以杀死细菌。

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

为溶菌酶是青霉素的基本前身。

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

正是溶菌酶引起了其他科学家对青霉素的兴趣，并开发了该物质的临床用。

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

然而，莱明自己告诉一位同事“溶菌酶的发现比对青霉素的发现更让他满意”。

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

莱明很快在各种人类分泌物中发现了溶菌酶：唾液、血清，尤其是眼泪。

And then there wasn't another structure for five years, which was lysozyme at the Royal Institution in London.

然后又过了五年才出现另一项结构研究，那是伦敦皇家研究所的溶菌酶结构。

Returning to St Mary's Hospital, he discovered the first lysozyme, an enzyme in tears and saliva that inhibits bacteria.

回到圣玛丽医院后， 他发现了第一种溶菌酶，这是一种存在于眼泪和唾液中的酶， 能够抑制细菌。

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

莱明很快发现，这种东西是一种叫“溶菌酶”的蛋白质，字面意思是“有溶解能力的酶”。

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.

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

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.

但是溶菌酶——以及粘液的其他潜在秘密——被莱明在七年后发现的更强效抗生素青霉素所掩盖。

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在眼前挤柠檬皮来迫使自己流泪——因为他们的眼泪是溶菌酶的优质来源！