VOA标准英语2014--Scientists Will Test New Drugs on Artificial Micro-Organs 科学家将在人工微型器官上测验新药物

 

Scientists Will Test New Drugs on Artificial Micro-Organs 科学家将在人工微型器官上测验新药物

Testing new drugs on lab animals is not the same as testing them on the species they are intended for.  But in early stages of research, testing on humans is sometimes nearly impossible. Scientists are now trying to develop human micro-organs they say may greatly advance development of new medicines.

Testing new drugs on lab animals, such as mice or rats, is not ideal because, when tested on humans, many promising¹ drugs fail due to adverse² effects on other organs.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tennessee, are now developing miniaturized living copies of certain human organs they say will greatly improve testing the effectiveness of drugs and chemicals on people.

This small bioreactor, containing just a handful of cells taken from a human liver, also contains sensors³ that monitor the micro-organ’s health.

John Wikswo is a Professor of Biomedical Science and Physics at Vanderbilt.

“The trick is to make it not too simple but simple enough and then ask it the questions that are most important," said Wikswo.

The ultimate goal is to connect several micro-organs, such as liver, heart, lungs and kidney, for testing the effects of a drug targeted at just one of them.

Wikswo says another goal is to design something affordable⁴ and accessible to researchers everywhere.

“You got to keep the cost low, so someone can have hundreds or thousands of these running in their lab," he said.

Researcher John McLean says this method could one day be used for designing personalized drugs based, for example, on the specific chemical make-up of a tumor⁵.

“So what you would do is look at how those particular cells in that tumor respond to different parts of chemotherapy, such that what you could do is call the physician the next day and say use drug number seven," said McLean.

 

Scientists expect that, within two years, they will have several interconnected human micro-organs ready for testing new medicines.

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

3 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 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。