VOA慢速英语2018--试验性治疗瞄准耐药细菌

Experimental Treatment Targets Drug-Resistant¹ Bacteria

You probably have heard about the Trojan Horse. Tradition says the ancient Greeks used a large wooden horse to trick enemy forces and capture the city of Troy.

Now, researchers say a similar plan of attack could help doctors destroy bacterial² infections that are resistant to antibiotic³ drugs.

Scientists say the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics⁴ is among the most critical problems facing modern medicine. Drug-resistant bacteria have become increasingly difficult to defeat in recent years. Scientists use the term “superbug” when talking about such bacteria.

Learning to trick superbugs

In the United States, researchers wondered if superbugs could be tricked into taking a molecule⁵ that looks like food but causes problems once inside them.

The researchers are with the University of Washington’s School of Medicine. They studied a superbug called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes infections in wounds, the lungs and other body parts. It can be a problem in patients whose ability to fight infection is weakened by cancer or conditions such as AIDS.

The researchers were interested in iron, an important nutrient⁶ for bacteria during infection. It causes the bacteria to grow and spread. The researchers looked for ways to limit and even stop the spread.

Microbiology professor Pradeep Singh said they came up with the idea of using a chemical mimic⁷ to deploy⁸ an antimicrobial drug to fight the bacteria. The researchers decided⁹ to use gallium, another metal, because of its similarity to iron.

In laboratory studies, bacteria developed resistance to gallium at low rates. The researchers found that gallium’s effectiveness was increased when it was used in combination with some existing antibiotics.

These findings led the researchers to test gallium in mice and then in human patients. In the mice, the researchers found that a single dosage of gallium cured lung infections that usually killed the animals.

The human tests involved 20 patients with the lung disease cystic fibrosis. Professor Christopher Goss told VOA the gallium was slowly given to the patients in a liquid solution over five days. And while the metal cleared from the blood, it moved to the lungs, helping¹⁰ the patients breathe easier for up to a month.

An iron Trojan Horse

Goss described gallium as a Trojan Horse. “Gallium not only fails to nourish bacteria as iron would, it actually harms them,” he said.

The results are reported in the publication Science Translational Medicine.

More research is needed to confirm gallium’s safety and effectiveness as a treatment. But the study’s results suggest that the plan of attack that ended the Trojan War might be helpful in the modern-day battle against superbugs.

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

mimic – v. to act like; to copy the actions of something

antimicrobial – adj. related to an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth

dosage – n. a measured amount of something, such as medicine

1 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

2 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

3 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。

4 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。

5 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

6 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

7 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。