SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, April 20, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long. On our program this week: new findings for women who have had breast cancer.

VOICE ONE:

 
Graphic² Image
New advice about how to treat ear infections in children.

VOICE TWO:

Plus, the future of a so-called hydrogen economy.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Researchers say a new drug may work better than the current treatment to prevent a return of breast cancer in some women.

Doctors studied patients in thirty-seven countries. All of the women were beyond their reproductive years. All of them had developed a kind of breast cancer linked to the female hormone³ estrogen. And, all had been through operations to remove the cancerous growths. Then the women began to take the medicine tamoxifen.

Currently, five years on tamoxifen is considered the best treatment after surgery for breast cancers linked to estrogen. More than two out of three breast cancers are this kind. Tamoxifen stops estrogen from attaching to tumor⁴ cells and causing them to spread. After some time, however, tamoxifen can stop working in some patients.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Charles Coombes of Charing⁵ Cross Hospital in London led the study. It involved more than four-thousand-seven hundred breast cancer patients. All received tamoxifen after their operations.

As part of the study, half the women discontinued that drug after two to three years. They began to take another medicine, called exemestane [egg-suh-MES-ten]. This drug is known as an estrogen blocker. It stops the production of estrogen in the body.

The doctors found that the women who took exemestane reduced their risk for the return of breast cancer by more than thirty percent. This was compared to the women who continued to take tamoxifen for the remainder of the five years.

VOICE ONE:

The scientists say ninety-one percent of the women who took exemestane for three years were cancer-free. This compared to eighty-seven percent of the patients who remained on tamoxifen. The patients on tamoxifen also had a higher incidence of cancer in the other breast and other parts of the body.

However, the scientists say the study did not show much difference in survival rates between the two groups. Ninety-three women who took exemestane died, compared to one-hundred six who took only tamoxifen.

The researchers continue to observe the women. They say they think more time may show higher survival rates for patients on exemestane.

VOICE TWO:

The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The drug maker⁶ Pfizer helped pay for the research. The company makes the estrogen blocker under the name Aromasin.

The investigators⁷ do not suggest that the new drug should replace tamoxifen. But they say tamoxifen can become less effective after two to three years following surgery.

The study does not offer information about possible long-term effects from the use of exemestane. Doctors say they do not know a lot yet about this hormone blocker. But the report did say that severe reactions were rare among the patients in the study.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In the United States, there is some new medical advice about how to treat ear infections in children. The goal is to decrease the use of antibiotic⁸ medicines.

Antibiotics⁹ kill bacteria that cause infections. But too much use causes problems. Bacteria grow stronger. And people may develop a resistance to the medicine. Then the drugs might not work if a person gets a more serious infection.

One of the conditions most commonly treated with antibiotics is ear infection in children. So the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians have released new guidelines for treatment.

VOICE TWO:

The guidelines tell parents and doctors that the most important step is to ease the pain. Children should first be given pain medicines such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Doctors also need to make sure that a child has acute otitis media, or middle ear infection, before they give antibiotics.

The guidelines say antibiotics may be the right choice for children up to the age of two who have ear infections, not just fluid in the ears. The treatment advice says antibiotics may also be the right choice if a child is very sick or has a high body temperature.

But the new guidelines note that eight out of ten children with ear infections get better with no antibiotics at all.

VOICE ONE:

The problem of drug resistance is not limited to antibiotics and ear infections.

Bacteria, parasites¹⁰ and viruses are all microbes that cause disease. Antimicrobial medicines like penicillin¹¹ have saved countless¹² lives. But they have not always been used correctly. As a result, antimicrobial resistance also makes it harder now to treat infections like diarrhea, malaria¹³, tuberculosis¹⁴ and sexual diseases.

People with drug-resistant infections stay sick longer. There is a greater risk they will die. And it is easier for the disease to spread to other people. Drug companies have to make new and more costly¹⁵ medicines to fight the stronger microbes.

VOICE TWO:

The World Health Organization says local health care workers are important to the effort to reduce drug resistance. But so are the people who need treatment. People should not take antibiotics, for example, in an effort to treat viral infections like the common cold.

When people do take medicine, it is important to take all of it. People should not discontinue the medicine as soon as they feel better.

In poorer countries, people may not have enough money to buy all the medicine they need. So they do not take enough to kill all the infection. The microbes get stronger and add to the problem of resistance.

Food producers also add to the problem. Many give antibiotics to animals to increase growth or to prevent infections on crowded farms.

VOICE ONE:

In some countries, people can buy antimicrobial medicines without an order from a doctor. This was true in Chile, until health officials changed the rules. They decided¹⁶ that too many people took antibiotics.

Because of the changes, people in Chile spent six-million-dollars less on antibiotics between nineteen-ninety-eight and nineteen-ninety-nine. The W.H.O. says lives and money can be saved if people use antibiotics more wisely.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In January of two-thousand-three, President Bush offered a plan to speed the development of cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The president asked Congress to spend more than one-thousand-million dollars over five years for the program.

A new report says efforts to develop hydrogen as a major fuel in the next fifty years could change the energy economy of the United States. The scientists who wrote the report say hydrogen could reduce air pollution and expand the energy supply.

However, the scientists also express concern about technical, economic and other barriers. They say the development of a hydrogen economy could take many years. The say any reductions in oil imports or pollution levels are likely to be small during the next twenty-five years.

The scientists prepared the report for the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council. These are part of the National Academies which advise Congress on science and technology issues.

VOICE ONE:

Hydrogen is a gas. It is the most common element in the universe. By weight, it produces more energy than any other fuel known. When used to power an engine, the only waste produced is water. However, hydrogen explodes easily. It is difficult to store and keep safe.

One way to produce hydrogen uses renewable energy, such as power from the sun, organic matter or wind. Another uses fuels like natural gas and coal. A third uses nuclear energy.

In their report, the scientists say production costs cannot be too high if hydrogen use is to become widespread. They say systems will be needed to supply hydrogen to fueling stations. Also, vehicles will have to store enough hydrogen to go the distance between refuelings that drivers have come to expect.

(THEME)

VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver¹⁷, Karen Leggett and George Grow. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. This is Sarah Long.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.

1 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。

2 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

4 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

5 charing   

n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣

参考例句：

• We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句
• No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网

6 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

9 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

10 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

11 penicillin   

n.青霉素，盘尼西林

参考例句：

• I should have asked him for a shot of penicillin.我应当让他给我打一针青霉素的。
• Penicillin was an extremely significant medical discovery.青霉素是极其重要的医学发现。

12 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

13 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

14 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

15 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。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 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。