VOA慢速英语2010年-Health Report - Vaccine-Autism Study I

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, has withdrawn¹ a study that scared many parents and angered many experts. The study, published twelve years ago, suggested a link between autism and the vaccine² against mumps³, measles⁴ and rubella.

A British doctor led that study. Andrew Wakefield studied twelve children. He said eight of them showed signs of autism shortly after receiving the vaccine. Autism disorders⁵ involve problems with social and communication skills and repeated behaviors.

Other studies since then have failed to show such a link. In January, Britain's General Medical Council found that the Wakefield report was dishonest and misleading.

In other vaccine news, scientists in Britain say they have found a simple, low-cost way to store vaccines⁶ at high temperatures. Currently, most vaccines must be kept between two and eight degrees Celsius⁷. This is a big problem in poor countries.

A doctor in Washington examines a 6-year-old girl.

Scientists at Oxford⁸ University tested a new method developed by Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies. Oxford's technology transfer company is working with the inventors to market the idea.

The study involved two viruses being used in experimental vaccines. The researchers say they were able to store the vaccines for four months at forty-five degrees Celsius with no loss of quality. They say the vaccines could be kept at thirty-seven degrees for a year or more with only small losses in the amount of vaccine.

The vaccine is mixed with two kinds of sugars, then left to dry into a thin film on a membrane⁹, a simple filter. Adding water returns the vaccine to a liquid.

The results appeared in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Each year, many vaccines must be destroyed because they became too warm or too cold. American researchers have been testing the best ways to store vaccines in refrigerators. Here are some suggestions from the team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology:

Never store vaccines on the door. Opening and closing it changes the temperature too much. Vaccines should also be kept away from the walls of the refrigerator and out of the "crisper" drawers usually found at the bottom. The crispers can get too cold, and the temperature of the walls can change.

Tests also showed that standard-sized refrigerators without a freezer outperformed smaller ones like those popular with college students.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by June Simms. I'm Barbara Klein.

 

1 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 mumps   

n.腮腺炎

参考例句：

• Sarah got mumps from her brother.萨拉的弟弟患腮腺炎，传染给她了。
• I was told not go near Charles. He is sickening for mumps.别人告诉我不要走近查尔斯， 他染上了流行性腮腺炎。

4 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

5 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

8 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

9 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。