更聪明的药

 　　Historians often regard the latter part of the 19th century as a time of great "flowering" in the evolution of medicine. New insights in to how germs affect the human body, as well as advancements¹ in microscopy, led scientists to discover the root causes for a multitude of infectious diseases.

　　Now medicine is on the threshold of a second renaissance², and the discoveries of this period may lead to a revolution in the treatment of everything from heart disease to cancer. The field is known as pharmaco-genetics and the mission is to design drugs that are targeted to a patient's genetic³ profile. Though still in its infancy⁴, the field has made critical steps in the battle against some cancers, and show great potential for improving the overall effectiveness of all drugs.

　　历史学家常把十九世纪后半段视为医学演进“百花齐放”的时代。有关细菌如何影响人体的新见解，以及显微技术的进展，都引领科学家找到多种感染性疾病的根源。

　　现在医学又来到第二个复兴的门槛，这一阶段的种种发现可能带动从心脏病到癌症各种疾病治疗方法的革新。这一个领域叫做药物遗传学，宗旨是依照病人的基因特质设计药物，虽然还在草创阶段，但已经在对抗一些癌症方面有重要的进展，并且在改进所有药物的整体疗效上展现了很大的潜力。

　　Breaking the Mold 打破窠臼

　　Drug companies have an especially keen interest in personalized medicine. The current model of prescribing one big-name drug to millions upon millions of patients has proven ineffective, and sometimes deadly.

　　Drug-maker Merck and Co. knows the dangers of the blockbuster drug model all too well. One of their products-the painkiller⁵ Vioxx-was shown to increase the risk of blood clots⁶ in a very small number of patients. As a result, a jury recently returned a $253 million verdict against the company for the death of a patient who had been taking Vioxx. And this was only the first of many lawsuits⁷.

　　Right now, scientists know very little about how human genes⁸ are linked to drug side effects. Pharmacogenetics seeks to change all that. Someday all patients may undergogenetic screening. They can then be divided into different categories based on those test. Doctors will be able to take a genttic profile and immediately know which drugs are safe to prescribe, and which ones are not. Drugs won't be hand-crafted fro every patient, but rather prescribed to different populations determined⁹ by their genetic subsets.

　　药厂对个人化药品的兴趣特别浓厚。目前为数以百万计的病人开出同一种名牌药品处方的模式，已证实效果不彰，有时还会致病人于死地。

　　默沙东药厂对一体通用给与知名药品模式的个中危险知之甚详。该厂的一种产品──止痛剂伟克适──经证明会增加极少数病人的凝血风险。因此陪审团最近对一位病患服用伟克适死亡的案件，做出由该厂赔偿两亿五千三百万美元的判决，这只不过是许多诉讼案的第一件而已。

　　目前科学家对于人类基因与药物副作用之间的关系所知非常有限。但药物遗传学要改变这种情况。有朝一日，所有病人都可能要接受基因筛检，然后根据化验结果将他们分门别类。医生一拿到基因资料，立刻就知道开出哪些药很安全，哪些药却不然。药物并非为个别病人量身订做，而是针对依照基因群组来分类的各种人分别开药。

　　语言点提示：

　　Infectious (adj) 感染性的;传染性的 easily spread from one person to another

　　Threshold (n) 门槛;起点 the start of a new and important time or development

　　Renaissance (n) (事物的)新生;复兴 a new growth of activity or interest in something

　　Blockbuster (n) 极受欢迎、销量极大的产品 an usually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales

　　Verdict (n) 裁定;判决 an opinion or decision made after judging the facts that are given, especially one made at the end of a trial

　　Microscopy (n) 显微技术;显微镜学 the use, design or production of microscopes Blood clot (n) 凝血;血凝块 a semisolid mass of gelled red and white blood cells

1 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

2 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

3 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

4 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

5 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

6 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

8 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

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。