英伦广角 激光可帮助啮齿类动物受损的牙齿再次生长

 

Ouch! About a quarter of all school-age kids will break or otherwise damage a tooth. Adults have their share of cracked chompers too.

But what if fixing a busted¹ bicuspid was as easy as zapping it with a laser? Preliminary work with young rats has moved dentistry a small step in that direction. A new study finds that shining a low-power laser on damaged rat teeth activates² molecular³ growth factors already present in the tissue. These growth factors cue stem cells to generate dentin, the bone-like substance that teeth are mostly made of.

Researchers also found that when mice were missing those growth factors, or when the factors were blocked from working, the stem cells would not regenerate⁴ dentin when exposed to laser light. That finding confirms the important role these signaling pathways play in dental development. The study, led by David Mooney at Harvard’s Wyss Institute, is in the journal Science Translational Medicine. [Praveen R. Arany et al, Photoactivation of Endogenous Latent Transforming Growth Factor–β1 Directs Dental Stem Cell Differentiation⁵ for Regeneration]

Could a light-based treatment for cavities and chipped teeth eventually be in the offing for people? The researchers plan to investigate that possibility for human teeth, both baby and adult. But until then, chew carefully. And don’t lead with your chin.

1 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

2 activates   

使活动，起动，触发( activate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Activates the window and displays it in its current size and position. 激活窗口，保持当前的大小及位置不变。
• Pulling out the alarm switch activates alarm and pushing it deactivates it. 闹钟的开和关是通过拔出和按入闹铃开关实现的。

3 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

4 regenerate   

vt.使恢复，使新生；vi.恢复，再生；adj.恢复的

参考例句：

• Their aim is to regenerate British industry.他们的目的是复兴英国的工业。
• Although it is not easy,you have the power to regenerate your life.尽管这不容易，但你有使生活重获新生的能力。

5 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。