Final countdown
最后倒计时
A new technique to work out a corpse’s time of death
确定尸体死亡时间的新方法
- corpse 尸体；（尤指人的）死尸，尸首；（使戏剧演员因忘记台词或止不住笑而）演出僵住
AI could make the work of pathologists more accurate
人工智能让病理学家的工作更精确
IN FICTION, hard-pressed pathologists presented with a corpse are able to take a bite of their sandwich and instantly pronounce a time of death. Reality is, of course, a lot messier, and the results—or lack of them—can make or break a case.
在虚构作品中，被追着要答案的病理学家面对一具尸体，咬一口三明治，就能立即宣布死亡时间。现实里自然是要难办得多，而且得出什么结果——或者没能得出什么结果——可以决定案件的成败。
- make or break 要么成功要么失败；要么得冠军，要么名落孙山
Now artificial intelligence is offering a helping hand. By analysing thousands of deaths and what follows, the technology can offer the best estimates so far of the post-mortem interval (PMI).
现在，人工智能可以来助一臂之力。通过分析成千上万起死亡及其后续状况，这项技术可以给出迄今为止最准确的死后间隔时间（PMI）估计。
