VOA慢速英语2015 香蕉的蛋白质或是病毒杀手（在线收听）

Banana Protein May Be Virus Killer 香蕉的蛋白质或是病毒杀手

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

这里是VOA健康生活频道

Bananas are often called the perfect food.

香蕉一直都是完美食物

They are nutritious, a good source of all kinds of vitamins and minerals. They can help fight depression and ward off muscle cramps. They can lower blood pressure and protect against heart attacks.

香蕉营养丰富，含有各种维生素和矿物质。有效缓解抑郁症和肌肉痉挛症状。降低血压，预防心脏病。

To most people, bananas taste great. They add natural sweetness to some baked goods and health drinks. And bananas come in their own protective, biodegradable packaging.

大多数人喜欢吃香蕉。也常常把香蕉当作食品添加剂添加到甜蛋糕和保健饮料中。而且香蕉有外皮，相当于自带了可降解生物包装袋。

So, there are many reasons to eat bananas.

所以，我们有很多吃香蕉的理由。

And now there is another.

现在又多了另外一条

Bananas, it turns out, have a secret weapon. And this secret weapon could protect against viruses.

香蕉内还有一个秘密武器，可以抵御病毒的侵害。

Scientists are now taking a protein found in bananas and turning it into a drug that may someday fight viral infections.

科学家们现在发现香蕉中的一种蛋白可以消灭病毒，有朝一日我们利用这种蛋白制成的药物来对抗病毒。

The secret weapon is called banana lectin, or BanLec. BanLec is a protein that attaches to sugar molecules and keeps viruses out of cells. A virus cannot infect what it cannot enter.

这种蛋白质叫做香蕉凝集素或BanLec。BanLec 是一种蛋白质，可以附着在糖蛋白，帮助糖蛋白识别病毒并阻止病毒进入细胞。如果病毒不能进入细胞，就无法产生破坏作用。

The team of researchers published their study in the journal Cell. In their article, the researchers say it could be one of the first antiviral agents to treat a wide-range of viruses. These viruses include HIV, hepatitis and even the common flu virus.

研究小组在《细胞》杂志上发表他们的研究结果。论文中，研究者表示banlec可能是第一种可以用来对付所有种类病毒的抗病毒药物，包括艾滋病毒、肝炎和常见的流感病毒。

Senior co-author of the study is David Markovitz at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He warns that you can't get the benefits of BanLec simply by eating a bunch of bananas.

论文合作编写者之一是密歇根大学安娜堡分校的David Markovitz。他表示，仅仅通过摄取香蕉是不能让banlec对人体产生作用的。

Stomach acids, he explains, will chew up the protein before it has a chance to fight infections in the body. BanLec is a modified, or changed, protein.

因为胃酸会在蛋白质对人体产生作用之前就将其结构破坏。

Markovitz explains.

Markovitz解释机理

"Remember, when you are eating the banana, then the protein which, by the way, is not our modified protein, it is an actual protein; it is probably going to be chewed up by the stomach acid. So, we very much doubt that eating bananas will help you."

因为当你正在吃完香蕉，然后蛋白质，不是我们修改后的蛋白，而是香蕉内实际含有的蛋白质; 很有可能在胃里已经经过胃酸作用发生变性。所以，我们对吃香蕉摄取这种蛋白质的方法变松怀疑。

Discovery by accident

意外发现

Markovitz says researchers investigated the banana protein for a very special use. Women could use a type of the protein before sex to protect them against HIV infection. But the researchers found that the protein fought off a number of viruses. Viruses simply die if they can't infect cells.

Markovitz 说，研究人员调查了香蕉蛋白中具有非常特殊性质的蛋白。妇女可以利用这种类型的蛋白质药物保护自己免受艾滋病毒感染。而且研究人员发现这种蛋白质抗击病毒的作用很明显。如果病毒不能感染的细胞，他们很容易就会死亡。

At this point, Markovitz says, there are no plans to test the BanLec protein on humans. He says he and the other researchers are ambitious, meaning they want to be successful with this drug.

但是目前，Markovitz表示，BanLec蛋白还没有进入临床阶段。他和其他研究人员一样想要将这种蛋白质开发成药物

But, Markovitz adds, they also need to be careful, or be cautious, to avoid doing any harm. It's early days, he says.

但是，Markovitz 补充说道，他们还需要小心谨慎，以避免发生任何药物副作用。现在还只是研究初期

"We're trying to help people with their health, not harm them. And so it's good to be cautious about where we are going. You know, we're also very ambitious to make things work well, but we're not there. You know, we're early on still."

我们希望帮助人们得到健康，而不是给他们造成伤害。所以最好小心为妙。尽管我们很想将其开发成药，但是现在还是为时过早

It may be early on, but these researchers may want to hurry. The world's banana supply in currently in serious trouble.

尽管现在还只是研究初期，但是研究人员已经加快的研究脚步。现在全世界香蕉产率下降

A deadly fungus, now called Tropical Race 4, has been killing banana crops around the world. TR4 started in Malaysia in the 1990s and in 2013 moved across Southeast Asia and into Australia. Now the fungus has moved into Africa and is killing banana crops in Mozambique.

一种致命的病菌——热带种族4，一直在毒害世界各地的香蕉作物。TR4从九十年代到2013 年开始，从马来西亚蔓延至整个东南亚地区和澳大利亚。现在这种真菌已经开始向非洲莫桑比克香蕉园伸出毒手。

Today, bananas are grown in more than 100 countries.

如今，有100 多个国家种植香蕉。

As of 2013, many websites rank India as the world's top producer of bananas.

2013年，根据各大网站排名，印度是世界上最大的香蕉种植地。

Bananas are ranked fourth among the world's food crops in monetary value.

香蕉是世界的粮食作物，价值产量排行第四。

Mozambique officials say bananas bring in more than $70 million per year.

莫桑比克政府表示种植香蕉每年可以带来超过7000万美元收入。

We Americans eat more bananas than apples and oranges combined.

美国人每年吃掉香蕉总量比苹果和桔子加起来都多。

Words in This Story

biodegradable – adj. capable of being slowly destroyed and broken down into very small parts by natural processes, bacteria, etc.

stomach acids – n. digestive secretions of the stomach glands

chew – v. to injure, destroy, or consume as if by chewing

cautious – adj. careful about avoiding danger or risk

ambitious – adj. having a desire to be successful