科学美国人60秒 早在抗生素出现之前, 刺猬体内就出现了抗药菌(1)

This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是凯伦·霍普金。

Hedgehogs are a lot of things.

刺猬拥有很多特点。

They’re small and spiky¹, covered in quills².

它们体型较小，全身长满了尖刺。

And some people even say they’re cute.

但是有些人却说它们很可爱。

Now, a new study says that they are also the origin of resistance to methicillin, an antibiotic³ derived⁴ from penicillin⁵.

现在，一项新的研究表明，刺猬也是一种从青霉素中提取的抗生素，甲氧西林耐药性的源头。

That pointed⁶ observation appears in the journal Nature.

这一突出的观察结果发表在《自然》期刊上。

Antibiotic resistance is a huge clinical problem.

抗生素耐药性是一个巨大的临床问题。

And methicillin-resistant⁷ Staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as M-R-S-A or MRSA, can be difficult to treat as many have developed resistance to a handful of our frontline therapeutics.

耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌，也被称为M-R-S-A或MRSA，很难治疗，因为许多人已经对我们的一线治疗药物产生了耐药性。

Historically it has been assumed that resistance in disease-causing bacteria, including Staph aureus, is a modern phenomenon driven by clinical use of antibiotics⁸.

过去，包括金黄色葡萄球菌在内的致病细菌的耐药性一直被认为是由临床使用抗生素导致的现代现象。

Jesper Larsen is a senior scientist at the Statens Serum⁹ Institute in Copenhagen, which is the Danish equivalent of the CDC in the US.

杰斯珀·拉森是位于哥本哈根的丹麦国家血清研究所的资深科学家，该研究所相当于丹麦的美国疾病控制与预防中心。

Methicillin resistance was thought to be tied to prescription¹⁰, in part because methicillin-resistant bugs¹¹ were first isolated¹² from British hospitals just a year after the drug became available for clinical use.

甲氧西林耐药性被认为与处方药有关，部分原因是在甲氧西林临床使用一年后，英国医院首次分离出了具有甲氧西林耐药性的细菌。

But a couple of years ago we found out by chance that mecC M-R-S-A is present in more than 60 percent of hedgehogs from Denmark and Sweden.

但几年前，我们偶然发现丹麦和瑞典60%以上的刺猬体内存在mecC M-R-S-A。

Ok, what’s mecC M-R-S-A?

好，什么是mecC M-R-S-A？

Methicillin and penicillin belong to the so-called “beta lactam” family of antibiotics.

甲氧西林和青霉素属于所说的“β-内酰胺”类抗生素。

They kill bacteria by inhibiting¹³ enzymes¹⁴ the bugs use to build their protective cell walls.

细菌通过酶来构建自己的保护性细胞壁，而β-内酰胺类抗生素则通过抑制这些酶来杀死细菌。

MecC and a related gene¹⁵ mecA, encode versions of the enzymes that the antibiotics don’t latch¹⁶ onto as well.

mecC以及相关基因mecA能编码抗生素也无法附着的酶。

Staph aureus bacteria that carry these genes¹⁷ are therefore resistant to most beta lactam antibiotics.

因此，携带这些基因的金黄色葡萄球菌对大多数β-内酰胺类抗生素都有耐药性。

But where did these resistance genes come from?

但是这些耐药性基因是从哪里来的呢？

They’ve been spotted¹⁸ not only in folks with Staph infections, but in livestock¹⁹, like pigs and cattle, and in some wild animals.

它们不仅在感染了金黄色葡萄球菌的人群体内发现，而且在牛和猪等家畜体内也发现了。而且在一些野生动物体内也发现了这种细菌。

And in Sweden, Larsen found that mecC is really common in hedgehogs.

在瑞典，拉森发现mecC常见于刺猬体内。

1 spiky   

adj.长而尖的，大钉似的

参考例句：

• Your hairbrush is too spiky for me.你的发刷，我觉得太尖了。
• The spiky handwriting on the airmail envelope from London was obviously hers.发自伦敦的航空信封上的尖长字迹分明是她的。

2 quills   

n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管

参考例句：

• Quills were the chief writing implement from the 6th century AD until the advent of steel pens in the mid 19th century. 从公元6世纪到19世纪中期钢笔出现以前，羽毛笔是主要的书写工具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defensive quills dot the backs of these troublesome creatures. 防御性的刺长在这些讨人厌的生物背上。 来自互联网

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 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 penicillin   

n.青霉素，盘尼西林

参考例句：

• I should have asked him for a shot of penicillin.我应当让他给我打一针青霉素的。
• Penicillin was an extremely significant medical discovery.青霉素是极其重要的医学发现。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 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。

8 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。

9 serum   

n.浆液，血清，乳浆

参考例句：

• The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
• Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质，共11种，称为补体。

10 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

11 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 inhibiting   

抑制作用的，约束的

参考例句：

• The high cost of borrowing is inhibiting investment by industry in new equipment. 借款的高成本抑制了企业对新设备的投资。
• The pesticides affect the nervous system by inhibiting the enzyme cholinesterase. 这类农药抑制胆碱酯酶而影响神经系统。

14 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。

15 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。

16 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

17 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

18 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

19 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。