诺贝尔医学奖揭晓 挪威夫妻上榜"夫妻档"

 The discovery of cells in the brain that act as the body's internal global positioning system, which won three scientists the Nobel Prize for medicine on Monday, opens an intriguing¹ new window onto dementia.

Since these spatial² cells are among the first to be hit in Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia -- explaining why sufferers often lose their way -- understanding how they are degraded should shed important light on the disease process.

That is the belief of British-American researcher John O'Keefe, winner of the 2014 prize alongside Norwegians May-Britt and Edvard Moser, who plans to take his research to the next level as director of a new brain institute in London.

"We're now setting up to do much more high-tech³ studies where we hope to follow the progression of disease over time," he told reporters after hearing he would share the 8 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million) prize.

"This will give us the first handle as to when and where the disease starts and how we can attack it at a the molecular⁴ and cellular⁵ level."The battle against Alzheimer's has been long and frustrating⁶. Global cases of dementia are expected to treble by 2050, yet scientists are still struggling to understand its basic biology and drug development is littered with failures.

The work by O'Keefe and the Mosers will not lead to immediate⁷ breakthroughs but by explaining how cells function -- and then fail to function -- in two very specific regions of the brain it is seen as vital for unpicking how Alzheimer's develops.

Dementia, of which Alzheimer's is the most common form, already affects 44 million people worldwide and that number is set to reach 135 million by 2050, according to Alzheimer's Disease International, a non-profit campaign group.

"Understanding how the healthy brain functions, especially areas of the brain crucial to learning and memory, is incredibly important in understanding what changes occur during conditions such as Alzheimer's disease," said Doug Brown, director of research and development at Britain's Alzheimer's Society.

The Nobel Prize winners' work on the brain's navigation system stretches back more than 40 years, but more recently scientists have developed powerful new tools for studying brain circuits that O'Keefe plans to put to work at the new London research institute where his is director.

The first of more than 150 scientists will start work at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural⁸ Circuits and Behaviour at University College London next year, using state-of-the-art lasers, molecular biology and computational modelling to explore the brain's intricate wiring.

"It's a very exciting time," O'Keefe said.

The Group of Eight leading industrial countries set a goal last December of finding a cure or effective treatment for dementia by 2025.

It is a decade since the last drug was approved to treat Alzheimer's, and there is still no treatment that can slow the progression of the disease, with current drugs only easing some of the symptoms of the disorder⁹.

"We all know there is a time bomb there," O'Keefe said. "We are starting to get a handle on it but that doesn't mean it is going to turn into a cure in the immediate future."【新闻快讯】

据诺贝尔奖官网消息，英国伦敦大学学院教授约翰·奥基夫、挪威科技大学教授梅·布里特·莫泽及其丈夫爱德华·莫泽因发现“大脑中的GPS”——组成大脑定位系统的细胞，而获得今年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。莫泽夫妇也成为第五对获诺贝尔奖的夫妇。

诺贝尔奖评选委员会在声明中介绍，“我们如何知道我们身处何方？我们怎么找到从一个地方到另一个地方的路径？我们如何存储这些信息，从而能够在下一次立即找到这条路？”三位获奖科学家的研究为我们解答了这些疑问。尽管三位科学家研究所处的时空并不相同，但是他们的研究都和大脑定位系统的细胞有关，揭示了大脑中的“GPS”定位和导航系统是如何工作的。

1971年，奥基夫就发现了构成这一体系的第一个组成部分。他发现，大脑的海马体里有一种特殊的神经细胞，每当老鼠身处屋子的特定位置时，这种细胞的一部分就会被激活。而当老鼠到了房间内的其他位置时，另外一些细胞则被激活。奥基夫认为，这些“位置细胞”构成了房间位置的一幅地图。

34年之后的2005年，莫泽夫妇发现了大脑定位机制的另外一项关键组成部分。据诺贝尔奖官网称，他们确认了另外一种神经细胞，将其称为“网格细胞”。这种细胞能够产生一种坐标系统，从而使得精确定位与路径搜寻成为可能。二人的后续研究则揭示了位置和网格细胞是如何令定位和导航成为可能的。

1 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 spatial   

adj.空间的，占据空间的

参考例句：

• This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。

3 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

4 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。

5 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

6 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。