The dust is rising around my work place these days. It’s really no surprise given that the government, university and property developers are all in a construction frenzy.
最近工作地點四周都塵土飛揚，無他的，不論是政府、大學和地產商都大興土木，好不熱鬧。
Directly opposite to the Royal Melbourne Hospital building (to the south) where my laboratory is located, what was once the Royal Dental Hospital has finally been torn down after it was relocated elsewhere 5 to 6 years ago. The demolition works have been in preparation since the start of the year and finally started last month. Within two weeks the whole building was almost reduced to rubbles, and it is indeed a rare sight to be able to see the front of the Royal Melbourne Hospital in full view from afar (see above). The site will turn into a new cancer hospital which will house both medical and research facilities (see below).
實驗室所位處的皇家墨爾本醫院（Royal Melbourne Hospital），正門對面（南方）本是牙科醫院，但自五、六年前搬遷後一直丟空，直至今年初才部署清拆，上個月開展工作，不消個多星期便夷為平地，能從遠處無遮無擋遙望醫院正門，實是難得一見之景象（見上圖）。該址將重建為新癌症中心，集醫療和研究於一身（見下圖）。
The hotel across the road from the former Dental Hospital (to the south-east of the Royal Melbourne Hospital) has been just vacated and is awaiting demolition. In the future, the site will become a research institute in immunology and microbiology under The University of Melbourne. Properties that are still not in the hands of the University will be gradually acquired, so that the University can expand its reach with time.
和舊牙科醫院相隔一條馬路（亦即醫院東南方）的酒店，不久也會遭受同一命運，據悉將來會改建成墨爾本大學屬下的免疫和微生物學研究所。酒店附近仍未屬於大學的物業，未來應會陸續為大學所收購，墨爾本大學的版圖正慢慢擴張呢。
Not far from the hotel, the Neuroscience Institute on the University campus (east of the Royal Melbourne Hospital) has its glass walls fitted in the last few days. It was formerly home to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where I have spent umpteen days for my undergraduate study, made friends that I still keep in touch with, and was first exposed to my current profession. These fond memories are now gone with the old building (apparently I’ve missed the farewell ceremony as I was in Germany at that time), but with the new research institute come new research and job prospects that I can look forward to.
離酒店不遠，在大學校園裡（醫院正東方）的大學神經科學研究所，這幾天開始裝嵌外牆，該址前身是生化及分子生物學系的大本營，那遙遠的本科生日子，不少時間便是在那裡度過，好幾個友人便是在那裡認識，事業也是在那裡奠基，這些回憧隨著舊的生化大樓而去（拆卸時我好像在德國，錯過了這個歷史時刻），難免令人感慨，但想到新的研究所會將來新就業機會，也為我這個做研究的帶來新憧憬。
Across the road west of the hospital, a pub-hotel, a two-storey office block and another building (I’ve forgotten what it used to be) have been successfully knocked down by property developers for building new residential blocks. These developers are sure to make a killing there, as prospective buyers would love somewhere which is just a stone’s throw away from the city sans its noise and crowd.
醫院以西相隔一條馬路，一家酒吧旅館、一家兩層高辦公室、還有一家忘了是甚麼的也給地產商拆了，準備興建多層住宅，那一帶地點好，毗鄰市區但環境頗清靜，相信會大受歡迎。
Then of course there’s my research institute. Our building extension is near completion and my lab is set to move in there towards the end of this year or early next year. Witnessing the construction work day in day out from ground up – and now the renovations – it’s difficult not to be reminded how quickly time flies and memories are erased, including those of the Biochemistry building and the pub-hotel that I would visit from time to time. But the world moves on, and all this construction will bring more than spanking new buildings.
別祇說其他人，我工作的研究所，擴建部分亦已落成，我的實驗室有望今年底或明年初遷入。眼看著由去年初的工地一片，到現在開始為新大樓內部裝潢，不禁令人感歎，時間和世界不等人，亦不停洗刷舊記憶（包括生化大樓和偶而也會光顧的那家酒吧旅館），但所謂「舊的不去，新的不來」，大興土木後，帶來的不祇是新的建築物，還有新的佈局。
It’s all part of the grand plan by the state government of Victoria and The University of Melbourne who aim to bolster existing strengths in medical research by building a research hub with a concentration of research institutes and hospitals. Not only is it supposed to foster exchange of expertise (among research institutes as well as between the institutes and hospitals), but it will also provide a common pool of equipment and instruments. The cluster of hospitals will also help the government save considerable running costs on, for example, catering, logistics and engineering from its medical expenditure. (The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital are currently adjoined to each other, and when the cancer hospital opposite is completed there will be a bridge across the road linking up all three hospitals.) This is indeed a commendable and forward-looking concept. My only reservations are the further pressure on road traffic and public transport which are already rather congested during peak hours, as well as the ease with which contagions will spread among the patients as the hospitals are so concentrated in one place and difficult to be isolated from one another. If all goes to plan, a new face (and phase) of medical services and research will soon be upon us.
其實維多利亞州政府和墨爾本大學，有意把大學周圍打造成頂尖的研究和醫療地段，把眾多研究所和醫院集中一地，冀促進人材交流之餘（研究所之間以及研究所與醫院之間）又可共用器材，把三家醫院集中起來更可為政府節省可觀的日常醫療開支，包括膳食、物料、機房等。（現時皇家墨爾本醫院與皇家婦女醫院是相連的，將來癌症醫院落成後亦會有大橋與皇家墨爾本醫院連接。）這個概念的確可取，我祇是擔心，現時醫院和大學一帶繁忙時間的交通已很擠，將來增添新醫院後更可能負擔不來，而醫院這麼集中，萬一其他大型傳染病爆發的話要做隔離工作不輕易，也極易同時影響三家醫院的病人。將來這個地帶，又會有甚麼氣象？
Compared to construction works that evolve on a daily basis, nature often changes at a much slower pace but no less spectacular. A news article in the journal Nature earlier this week reported that half of the measured melting of glaciers could be attributed to natural climatic fluctuations. I was captivated by the two photos which showed vis-à-vis the views in 1890 and 2005, and I could immediately recognise that the glacier was the Aletschglatscher in Switzerland that I visited in summer 2006. I was stunned by how much the glacier has actually retreated during those years. Glacier levels are an important indicator of climate change, and human activity is responsible for much of it. However, it’s indeed our fatal flaw that we can’t normally see or feel the impact of our lifestyles and activities on the environment because the changes take place over tens if not hundreds of years. If we don’t even make a start on reducing our burden on nature and protecting what’s there now, it will simply be too late!
現比起這些每日都眼看到的變遷，大自然的蛻變一般來得較慢，但也會令人嘆為觀止。好像前幾天科學期刊《自然》引述一篇研究報告，指冰川的融化，有一半的因素是氣候自然的變化，文中登了兩張相片，我第一眼看過後馬上認出是2006年夏天到過的瑞士阿勒其冰川（Aletschglatscher），咦，怎麼1890年時的冰川會比2005年高出這應多！冰川融化，是全球氣候變化的一大指標，而氣候變化不少是由人為因素所造成。人類對大自然的影響無可弗屆，而且往往不易為我們察覺，沒有一百幾十年也不會看得出，如果今日還不努力保護環境、節能減排的話實在太晚了！
最近工作地點四周都塵土飛揚，無他的，不論是政府、大學和地產商都大興土木，好不熱鬧。
Directly opposite to the Royal Melbourne Hospital building (to the south) where my laboratory is located, what was once the Royal Dental Hospital has finally been torn down after it was relocated elsewhere 5 to 6 years ago. The demolition works have been in preparation since the start of the year and finally started last month. Within two weeks the whole building was almost reduced to rubbles, and it is indeed a rare sight to be able to see the front of the Royal Melbourne Hospital in full view from afar (see above). The site will turn into a new cancer hospital which will house both medical and research facilities (see below).
實驗室所位處的皇家墨爾本醫院（Royal Melbourne Hospital），正門對面（南方）本是牙科醫院，但自五、六年前搬遷後一直丟空，直至今年初才部署清拆，上個月開展工作，不消個多星期便夷為平地，能從遠處無遮無擋遙望醫院正門，實是難得一見之景象（見上圖）。該址將重建為新癌症中心，集醫療和研究於一身（見下圖）。
The hotel across the road from the former Dental Hospital (to the south-east of the Royal Melbourne Hospital) has been just vacated and is awaiting demolition. In the future, the site will become a research institute in immunology and microbiology under The University of Melbourne. Properties that are still not in the hands of the University will be gradually acquired, so that the University can expand its reach with time.
和舊牙科醫院相隔一條馬路（亦即醫院東南方）的酒店，不久也會遭受同一命運，據悉將來會改建成墨爾本大學屬下的免疫和微生物學研究所。酒店附近仍未屬於大學的物業，未來應會陸續為大學所收購，墨爾本大學的版圖正慢慢擴張呢。
Not far from the hotel, the Neuroscience Institute on the University campus (east of the Royal Melbourne Hospital) has its glass walls fitted in the last few days. It was formerly home to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where I have spent umpteen days for my undergraduate study, made friends that I still keep in touch with, and was first exposed to my current profession. These fond memories are now gone with the old building (apparently I’ve missed the farewell ceremony as I was in Germany at that time), but with the new research institute come new research and job prospects that I can look forward to.
離酒店不遠，在大學校園裡（醫院正東方）的大學神經科學研究所，這幾天開始裝嵌外牆，該址前身是生化及分子生物學系的大本營，那遙遠的本科生日子，不少時間便是在那裡度過，好幾個友人便是在那裡認識，事業也是在那裡奠基，這些回憧隨著舊的生化大樓而去（拆卸時我好像在德國，錯過了這個歷史時刻），難免令人感慨，但想到新的研究所會將來新就業機會，也為我這個做研究的帶來新憧憬。
Across the road west of the hospital, a pub-hotel, a two-storey office block and another building (I’ve forgotten what it used to be) have been successfully knocked down by property developers for building new residential blocks. These developers are sure to make a killing there, as prospective buyers would love somewhere which is just a stone’s throw away from the city sans its noise and crowd.
醫院以西相隔一條馬路，一家酒吧旅館、一家兩層高辦公室、還有一家忘了是甚麼的也給地產商拆了，準備興建多層住宅，那一帶地點好，毗鄰市區但環境頗清靜，相信會大受歡迎。
Then of course there’s my research institute. Our building extension is near completion and my lab is set to move in there towards the end of this year or early next year. Witnessing the construction work day in day out from ground up – and now the renovations – it’s difficult not to be reminded how quickly time flies and memories are erased, including those of the Biochemistry building and the pub-hotel that I would visit from time to time. But the world moves on, and all this construction will bring more than spanking new buildings.
別祇說其他人，我工作的研究所，擴建部分亦已落成，我的實驗室有望今年底或明年初遷入。眼看著由去年初的工地一片，到現在開始為新大樓內部裝潢，不禁令人感歎，時間和世界不等人，亦不停洗刷舊記憶（包括生化大樓和偶而也會光顧的那家酒吧旅館），但所謂「舊的不去，新的不來」，大興土木後，帶來的不祇是新的建築物，還有新的佈局。
It’s all part of the grand plan by the state government of Victoria and The University of Melbourne who aim to bolster existing strengths in medical research by building a research hub with a concentration of research institutes and hospitals. Not only is it supposed to foster exchange of expertise (among research institutes as well as between the institutes and hospitals), but it will also provide a common pool of equipment and instruments. The cluster of hospitals will also help the government save considerable running costs on, for example, catering, logistics and engineering from its medical expenditure. (The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital are currently adjoined to each other, and when the cancer hospital opposite is completed there will be a bridge across the road linking up all three hospitals.) This is indeed a commendable and forward-looking concept. My only reservations are the further pressure on road traffic and public transport which are already rather congested during peak hours, as well as the ease with which contagions will spread among the patients as the hospitals are so concentrated in one place and difficult to be isolated from one another. If all goes to plan, a new face (and phase) of medical services and research will soon be upon us.
其實維多利亞州政府和墨爾本大學，有意把大學周圍打造成頂尖的研究和醫療地段，把眾多研究所和醫院集中一地，冀促進人材交流之餘（研究所之間以及研究所與醫院之間）又可共用器材，把三家醫院集中起來更可為政府節省可觀的日常醫療開支，包括膳食、物料、機房等。（現時皇家墨爾本醫院與皇家婦女醫院是相連的，將來癌症醫院落成後亦會有大橋與皇家墨爾本醫院連接。）這個概念的確可取，我祇是擔心，現時醫院和大學一帶繁忙時間的交通已很擠，將來增添新醫院後更可能負擔不來，而醫院這麼集中，萬一其他大型傳染病爆發的話要做隔離工作不輕易，也極易同時影響三家醫院的病人。將來這個地帶，又會有甚麼氣象？
* * *
Compared to construction works that evolve on a daily basis, nature often changes at a much slower pace but no less spectacular. A news article in the journal Nature earlier this week reported that half of the measured melting of glaciers could be attributed to natural climatic fluctuations. I was captivated by the two photos which showed vis-à-vis the views in 1890 and 2005, and I could immediately recognise that the glacier was the Aletschglatscher in Switzerland that I visited in summer 2006. I was stunned by how much the glacier has actually retreated during those years. Glacier levels are an important indicator of climate change, and human activity is responsible for much of it. However, it’s indeed our fatal flaw that we can’t normally see or feel the impact of our lifestyles and activities on the environment because the changes take place over tens if not hundreds of years. If we don’t even make a start on reducing our burden on nature and protecting what’s there now, it will simply be too late!
現比起這些每日都眼看到的變遷，大自然的蛻變一般來得較慢，但也會令人嘆為觀止。好像前幾天科學期刊《自然》引述一篇研究報告，指冰川的融化，有一半的因素是氣候自然的變化，文中登了兩張相片，我第一眼看過後馬上認出是2006年夏天到過的瑞士阿勒其冰川（Aletschglatscher），咦，怎麼1890年時的冰川會比2005年高出這應多！冰川融化，是全球氣候變化的一大指標，而氣候變化不少是由人為因素所造成。人類對大自然的影響無可弗屆，而且往往不易為我們察覺，沒有一百幾十年也不會看得出，如果今日還不努力保護環境、節能減排的話實在太晚了！
Comments