VOA慢速英语2016--黎巴嫩新一届内阁组建完成心脏肌肉再生也许成为可能

 

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

It may seem like a moment in a science fiction movie. In a fierce battle, a creature loses an arm but, then, grows another one to take its place.

However, this is not science fiction. It is scientific fact. Some fish and amphibians¹, such as salamanders, can regrow lost limbs and organs.

As mammals evolved they lost the ability to regrow, or regenerate², parts of their body. However, experiments show that it may be possible to regain³ that ability.

Tropical freshwater zebrafish are popular pets. They are also popular as lab animals. Their embryos⁴ are clear, or translucent⁵. They can regrow damaged fins⁶, skin and hearts. Zebrafish are also genetically⁷ similar to humans.

In 2013, the website Sci-News reported that researchers had found that 70 per cent of “protein-coding human genes⁸” are related to genes found in the zebrafish. The report also said that researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Britain also found that 84 per cent of genes known to be connected to human disease have a zebrafish counterpart.

These researchers published their findings in the scientific journal Nature. Sanger is a non-profit British genomics and genetics research institute.

So, it is no surprise that scientists at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania are using tiny zebrafish to regenerate severely⁹ damaged mouse hearts.

Scientist Wang Yadong is one of the Pittsburg researchers. He and his team are studying the ability of zebrafish to regenerate limbs and organs. Wang says you can cut away about 20 per cent of the zebrafish heart and it will regenerate. He add that same process may be able to help humans.

"So that amazing ability make(s) us think it's possible to borrow some of that repair regeneration mechanism¹⁰ and use that to help us to regenerate our heart."

Scientists injected an “extracellular matrix,” or ECM, from the heart of a zebrafish into a severely damaged mouse heart.

In biology, an extracellular matrix is a substance produced and released by cells that gives structural¹² and biochemical support to surrounding cells. Think of ECM as cellular¹¹ stuff that gives room and board to surrounding cells.

So, what did the researchers find?

They found that the heart muscle regenerated¹³ in days. They found something else. The healing was even faster when the ECM was taken from zebrafish that was itself in the process of re-growing damaged tissue.

Wang adds that if you had to choose between the two matrices, the “healing matrix” is more powerful of the two.

"Between the two, the healing matrix from the zebrafish heart is even more potent¹⁴ than the normal one."

A molecule¹⁵ called neuregulin 1 seems to play a major role in causing the regeneration to happen.

"We did see the zebrafish heart has more neuregulin 1 than the mouse heart. The healing zebrafish heart has even more than the normal. So, it does indicate that neuregulin probably plays a role but we have to do more study on that."

The next step will be to test the regenerative abilities of zebrafish ECM on larger mammals.

Words in This Story

limbs –n. referring to arms and or legs

regenerate –v. to regrow after being lost or damaged

translucent –adj. permitting light to pass through

counterpart –n. something that does the same job as something else

mechanism a process or system that is used to produce a particular result

extracellular matrix substance produced by cells and released into the environment in which the cells are embedded¹⁶; In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a collection of extracellular molecules¹⁷ released by cells that provides structural and biochemical support to the surrounding cells.

room and board –idiom a place to stay and food to eat

potent –adj. active, strong

matrix –n. something from which something else develops

indicate –v. to show

role –n. the part something plays in a system

1 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

2 regenerate   

vt.使恢复，使新生；vi.恢复，再生；adj.恢复的

参考例句：

• Their aim is to regenerate British industry.他们的目的是复兴英国的工业。
• Although it is not easy,you have the power to regenerate your life.尽管这不容易，但你有使生活重获新生的能力。

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

5 translucent   

adj.半透明的；透明的

参考例句：

• The building is roofed entirely with translucent corrugated plastic.这座建筑完全用半透明瓦楞塑料封顶。
• A small difference between them will render the composite translucent.微小的差别,也会使复合材料变成半透明。

6 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

7 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

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 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

11 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

12 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

13 regenerated   

v.新生，再生( regenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are regarded as being enveloped in regenerated gneisses. 它们被认为包围在再生的片麻岩之中。 来自辞典例句
• The party soon regenerated under her leadership. 该党在她的领导下很快焕然一新。 来自辞典例句

14 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

15 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

16 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

17 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。