VOA慢速英语20060214b

 

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - AIDS Study Finds Big Risk in Taking Breaks From Drugs to Treat H.I.V.By Caty Weaver¹ and George Grow

Broadcast: Tuesday, February 14, 2006

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty².

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. This week: People with H.I.V. are warned of the dangers if they go for periods without their medicine ...

VOICE ONE:

A study offers good news for parents of babies born prematurely⁴ 鈥?
Premature³ baby

VOICE TWO:

And a Valentine's Day report on mother love -- was it a bridge-builder to humanity?

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VOICE ONE:

American health officials are advising people with H.I.V. to take their medicine every day and not to stop. They warn that breaks in treatment could sharply increase the risk of AIDS or death.

Experts at the National Institutes of Health say their warning is based on findings from a large study. It examined the effects of controlled suspensions in drug treatment. The study involved more than five thousand people.

Medicines can suppress H.I.V., the virus that develops into AIDS. But the daily treatment can be very costly⁵. And there can be serious short- and long-term side effects.

VOICE TWO:

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health began the study in January of two thousand two. They called it SMART -- Strategies for Management of Anti-Retroviral Therapy. They wanted to study six thousand people around the world. The scientists reached more than ninety percent of the target before they halted new enrollments last month. They did so earlier than planned.

The researchers tested all the people for the level of CD-four cells in their blood. These cells are a measure of the strength of the body's defense⁶ system.

The researchers divided the patients into two groups. One group stayed on continuous anti-retroviral therapy. They took their medicines every day. The others took them periodically. They took the drugs only when their CD-four count fell below two hundred fifty cells per cubic millimeter of blood. The patients would go off the drugs again once their cell count climbed above three hundred fifty.

The study found that these patients were two times as likely to develop AIDS or to die as the group on continuous treatment.

VOICE ONE:

In November, an independent scientific committee looked at the information gathered from the study. The Data and Safety Monitoring Board called for an end to new enrollments.

Just over half of the patients were in the United States, but the study involved people in thirty-three countries. Almost three fourths were men and the average age at entry was forty-six. The study cost more than seventy million dollars.

The results were not what many AIDS activists⁷ and experts had hoped for. Some smaller studies had raised hopes for the idea of periodic anti-retroviral therapy. Now, some people worry that the new findings will end the search for a method that might prove successful.

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VOICE TWO:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English from Washington.

For children born with extremely low birth weights, life begins as a struggle. More than one-fourth of low birth-weight babies experience problems such as delayed development, blindness or cerebral⁸ palsy. Only two percent of normal birth-weight boys and girls experience these problems.

But researchers in Canada are reporting some good news. A study followed the development of low birth-weight babies into young adults. And it compared their development with individuals who had been born at a normal weight. The researchers found that the two groups had similar levels of education, employment and independence.

Saroj Saigal led the researchers. She is a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The United States National Institute of Child Health and Development provided financial aid for the study. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the results earlier this month.

VOICE ONE:

The Canadian study involved one hundred sixty-six people. They were born between nineteen seventy-seven and nineteen eighty-two. At birth, each weighed only between one-half and one kilogram.

The researchers compared this group with one hundred forty-five people who were a normal weight at birth. The two groups were compared as eight-year-olds, as older children and as young adults.

The researchers found similar rates of high school completion. Eighty-two percent in the low birth-weight group had a high school education, compared to eighty-seven percent in the other group. About one-third of the members in each group were still continuing their education beyond high school.

Forty-eight percent of those in the low birth-weight group were permanently⁹ employed. This compared to fifty-seven percent in the normal birth-weight group. The researchers say this difference is not major. Nor did they find major differences in the rates of those who lived independently, were married or were parents.

Doctor Saigal says more studies are needed. But she says the findings should provide hope for parents worried about the long-term future of babies born too soon.

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VOICE TWO:

Valentine's Day, February fourteenth, is a holiday all about love. So this is a good day to talk about a special kind of love: mother love.

There is a new book called The Bridge to Humanity. It argues that a need for expressions of love helped early humans learn to live cooperatively.

VOA's Mike O'Sullivan spoke¹⁰ with the writer. Walter Goldschmidt is an anthropologist¹¹. He studies the physical, social and cultural development of humans. Professor Goldschmidt is ninety-two. He retired¹² from the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds the honor of professor emeritus¹³ of anthropology¹⁴ and psychiatry¹⁵.

VOICE ONE:

Biologists know that creatures sometimes sacrifice themselves in the interest of their children. They follow the biological urge to protect the genetic¹⁷ future of a population. Scientists who study human development know that people sometimes act against their biological interest. Some biologists say this is caused by the selfish gene¹⁶.

So how did humans escape the control of their biology and still survive? Professor Goldschmidt says this question has long been a mystery about human evolution. He thinks the answer might have something to do with a mother's love.

VOICE TWO:

Humans raise their children for an unusually long time. Professor Goldschmidt says the love of a mother does more than just help the social development of her children. He argues that this special relationship led to the social relations that led to societies.

He says human culture began to develop with homo habilis, an early human that made simple tools. The anthropologist says continual growth of the brain after that gave humans the ability to think logically. And he thinks logical thought developed in two directions: one through language and the other through tool-making.

He says both skills are the result of the same mental abilities. These skills developed within ancient communities and, in turn, aided human development. Professor Goldschmidt sees this process repeated today. He sees it in families as children interact with and learn from their parents.

Walter Goldschmidt says physical and emotional ties are important. These are not just wants, he says, but needs. Healthy development depends on them. And he says the same is true of other populations of mammals. Professor Goldschmidt argues that this need in people defeats the so-called selfish gene.

The author of The Bridge to Humanity says evolution is a story of cooperation as much as competition. He says the part played by the loving mother is a missing link to understanding human development.

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VOICE ONE:

If you have a question about science, send it to [email protected]. Please be sure to include your name, and tell us where you are from. Our postal¹⁸ address is VOA Special English, Washington D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

We cannot answer questions personally, but we might be able to answer your question on our show.

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver and George Grow. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. Internet users can read and listen to our programs at www.unsv.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

4 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

14 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

15 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

16 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。

17 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。

18 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。