VOA标准英语2011--Research Group Has High Hopes for New TB

Research Group Has High Hopes for New TB Vaccine¹

Physicians have long known that the so-called "BCG" vaccine for tuberculosis² does not provide the same level of protection against the disease in all parts of the world. Some also say the vaccine's effectiveness has been declining since its development in the 1920s, and that it protects against only certain kinds of TB infections. Now, a non-profit health organization says a new gene³-based vaccine it's developing has shown promise as a better source of immunity⁴ against tuberculosis, a disease that kills nearly two million people every year.
Aeras is a U.S. based non-profit group dedicated⁵ to the development of tuberculosis vaccines⁶. It currently has five vaccines in the pipeline⁷, two of which are being tested for safety and efficacy.
Michelle Stone, the director of Vaccine Discovery at Aeras, says one of the new vaccines successfully induced complete immunity in laboratory mice - a result she calls unique:
“In most of the vaccines that we have been putting through clinical trials, you see a reduction of one to two blocks of bacterial⁸ burden [amount of infection] in an animal," said Stone. "And in this one, in some - not all - they saw complete elimination⁹ of bacteria from the animal.”
The new vaccine is based on research at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. William Jacobs, who led the project, says the vaccine development team used cutting-edge scientific techniques - to genetically¹⁰ engineer 26 different strains of TB bacterium¹¹. He says those altered bacteria, when injected into lab mice in large doses, provided the mice with absolute immunity to TB.
“It's different from any other vaccine that is out there and different at this point is good because people have tried a lot of things," said Jacobs. "Before we did these studies I didn’t even think that was possible but now I have hope. Now that we have actually seen it we can make this happen in humans.”
But Michelle Stone says it will not be easy to replicate¹² the results from the experiments on mice - to produce a similar vaccine for humans.
“Putting back 26 different genes¹³ is unique but then that also makes it difficult for them because by putting that gene sequence in they now need to go back and figure out which specific ones are responsible for yielding protection, so that when you are making a product out of it, you are only giving the genes or the proteins that are responsible for protection and not just an extra sequence that’s not yielding any protection," she said.
Experts say developing a TB vaccine has been a challenge because the bacterium that causes it keeps evolving and developing resistance to drugs, making the pathogen a more difficult, moving target.
Stone believes the promising¹⁴ results at Aeras mean the global scourge¹⁵ of this persistent¹⁶ and deadly disease may one day be ended. She says Aeras hopes to have an effective new vaccine against TB by the end of this decade.

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

3 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

4 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

8 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。

9 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

10 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

11 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

12 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

13 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

14 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

15 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

16 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。