中英双语新闻——21 Frog skin medicine

Scientists have long known that the skin of frogs contains plenty of powerful germ-fighting substances because of the hostile environments they exist in.

科学家很久以前就知道，由于生存环境恶劣，青蛙的皮肤中含有大量能够对抗微生物的物质。

But the substances are also often poisonous to humans.

但对人来说，这些物质同样含有剧毒。

 

Now a team at the United Arab Emirates University have worked out a way of modifying the chemicals to remove their harmful side-effects.

现在，阿联酋大学的一个研究小组找到了一种办法，对这些化学物质进行处理，消除有害的副作用。

 

They have already identified 100 new antibiotics² including one that could fight the superbug.

他们已经发现了100种新型抗生素，其中包括一种能够对抗超级细菌的抗生素。

 

Frog skin is an excellent potential source of such antibiotic¹ agents," said Dr Michael Conlon, a biochemist at the university in Abu Dhabi.

阿布扎比大学生物化学家迈克尔•康伦博士表示，青蛙皮肤是该抗生素一个极佳的潜在来源。

 

“They`ve been around 300 million years, so they`ve had plenty of time to learn how to defend themselves against disease-causing microbes in the environment.”

“它们已存在约3亿年，因此它们有足够的时间来学习如何保护自己免受环境中致病微生物的伤害。”

 

"Their own environment includes polluted waterways where strong defences against pathogens are a must."

“它们生存的环境就包括受到污染的水域，在这种地方，它们必须具有对病原体的强大防御能力。”

 

Scientists have known for years that the skin of frogs is a rich source of chemicals capable of killing³ bacteria, viruses, and fungi⁴.

一直以来，科学家们就知道青蛙的皮肤中含有大量能够杀死细菌、病毒和真菌的化学物质。

 

Researchers have attempted to isolate⁵ those germ-fighting chemicals and make them suitable for development into new antibiotics.

研究人员曾试着将这些抗菌的化学物分离出来，使它们适用于新抗生素的研制。

 

Success, however, has been elusive⁶ because the antibiotics tend to be toxic⁷ to human cells and certain chemicals in the bloodstream easily destroy them.

但结果成功与否还是个未知数，因为这些抗生素往往对人体细胞有害，而且血液中的某些化学物质能够轻易将它们破坏掉。

 

Dr Conlon and colleagues have discovered a way to tweak their molecular⁸ structure, making them less toxic to human cells but more powerful germ killers⁹.

康伦博士和同事发现了一个能改变它们分子结构的办法，使它们对人体细胞的毒性变小，但杀灭细菌的能力更强。

 

Similarly, the scientists also discovered other tweaks that enabled the frog skin secretions¹⁰ to shrug¹¹ off attack by destructive enzymes¹² in the blood.

科学家们还发现了类似的其他好办法，让青蛙皮肤分泌的物质不会被血液中的酶的所破坏。

 

The scientists are currently screening skin secretions from more than 6,000 species of frogs for antibiotic activity. So far, they have purified and determined¹³ the chemical structure of barely 200, leaving a potential bonanza¹⁴ of antibiotic substances awaiting discovery.

科学家们现在正对6000多种青蛙的皮肤分泌物进行甄选，以用于新型抗生素的研究。到目前为止，他们刚刚对200种青蛙的皮肤分泌物进行了提纯并确定化学结构，因此还有一个大量的抗生素的宝藏有待发掘。

 

One substance isolated¹⁵ from the skin secretions of the Foothill Yellow-legged Frog shows promise for killing superbug.

从黄腿蛙的皮肤分泌物中提取出来的一种物质有望杀灭超级细菌。

 

The skin of the mink¹⁶ frog, likewise, contains secretions that show promise for fighting "Iraqibacter".

同样，貂皮蛙的皮肤分泌物则有望对抗“伊拉克细菌”。

1 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

2 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

6 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 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。

9 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

10 secretions   

n.分泌（物）( secretion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lysozyme is an enzyme found in egg white, tears, and other secretions. 溶菌酶是存在于卵白、泪和其他分泌物中的一种酶。 来自辞典例句
• Chest percussion and vibration are used with postural drainage to help dislodge secretions. 在做体位引流时要敲击和振动胸部帮助分泌物松动排出。 来自辞典例句

11 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

12 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

15 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

16 mink   

n.貂，貂皮

参考例句：

• She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
• He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场，五年之内就赚了不少钱。