英语听力文摘 English Digest 525、对付艾滋有新招 ！

 　　Glow In The Dark Cats, Monkeys, And HIV

 

　　Have you heard the one about the jellyfish, the monkey, and the glow in the dark cat?

 

　　Actually, it’s no joke: scientists are experimenting with ways to combat HIV and AIDS by injecting cats with genes² taken from macaque monkeys and jellyfish the latter of which makes the felines⁴ glow green or red.

 

　　What, you may wonder, do glow in the dark cats and monkey genes have to do with treating HIV?

 

　　Like humans and many types of monkeys, cats are susceptible⁵ to being infected by an HIV like virus called feline³ immunodeficiency virus, or FIV. Like HIV, FIV makes cats sick by destroying their infection fighting T cells. Millions of cats die each year from FIV related diseases.

 

　　The good news for cats, though, is that rhesus macaque monkeys have a gene¹ known to block infection by FIV.

 

　　So scientists have experimented with inserting the macaque genes into cats with FIV, to study both how well it protects them against the virus and how well the genes are passed on to the cats’ offspring.

 

　　Which is where the jellyfish gene comes in. The cats are also injected with a glow in the dark gene from jellyfish to allow scientists to track how well the genes are passed on. If the cats’ offspring glow, then they’ve gotten both genes.

 

　　So far, cats and their kittens who’ve received the monkey gene are doing well the monkey gene seems to be doing its job to protect them from FIV.

 

　　This type of gene therapy isn’t ready for use in clinics to treat people with HIV or cats with FIV. But the research will help scientists better understand how genes can be used to fight AIDS and other viral diseases.

1 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。

2 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

3 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

4 felines   

n.猫科动物( feline的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Any of several felines, such as the cheetah or the snow leopard. 这片地区是濒临灭绝的雪豹的栖息地。 来自互联网
• Search in the basket of life, you will find it, answered Felines. 它在生命的篮子里＂巴思特女神回答道。 来自互联网

5 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。