VOA常速英语2014--科学家研究3D打印人体组织

 

Researchers Work on 3-D Printing of Living Tissue 科学家研究3D打印人体组织

Three-dimensional printers are rapidly becoming everyday appliances, much like color printers a couple of decades ago.  Increasingly, the technology is being used in medicine for printing bone replacements².  And now, researchers in South Carolina are working on printing living tissue replacements.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have been working on fabricating living tissue, or biofabrication, since 2003. 

南卡罗莱纳医科大学的研究者自2003年起就开始制造活组织，也就是生物制造组织。

Researcher Sarah Grace Dennis says new technology, such as the Palmetto bioprinter, advanced the process considerably³.

研究员萨拉·格蕾丝·丹尼斯说Palmetto打印机等新技术对研究活组织有很大推动作用。

“When I got here a year ago, we were printing just a-cellular bio-inks to see if patterns could be printed," she said. "Now we are printing skeletal muscle replica⁴ implants⁵ that we have been implanting into rats.”

“一年前我们只是打印细胞生物墨水来看模型是否能打印出来，现在我们能打印出骨骼肌复制植入品来植入小白鼠体内。”

Researchers prepare complex nutritious⁶ solutions, called bio-inks, made of glucose⁷, proteins and living cells taken from the animal that will be the recipient⁸ of the new, printed tissue.

研究者准备好了名为“生物墨水”的复杂营养溶液，是用葡萄糖、蛋白质和接受新打印组织的动物受体体内的活细胞做成的。

“So this would typically have at least 1.5 million cells in it,” Dennis said

“这样做出来的植入物里至少有150万个细胞。”

The bio-inks are placed in three interchangeable dispensers of the printer’s head.  Position of the printing surface and dispensing⁹ tip-ends is controlled by lasers.

生物墨水被放置在打印机顶部三个可互换的分发器中，印刷面和末端的位置都由激光控制。

Associate Chairman of Surgery for Research, Dr. Michael Yost, says the printing process is fully¹⁰ automated¹¹.

外科研究副主席迈克尔·约斯特博士说打印过程完全是自动化。

“And with our 3-D bio-printer, we have been able to create new microvascular networks that we can then grow new tissues in very key areas such as pancreas, liver and kidney,” he said.

“有了3D生物打印机，我们就能制造新的微血管网络，然后在胰腺、肝和肾等关键部位种植出新组织。”

Researchers point out the technique is in its early stages, but they hope in a few years they may be able to print replacement¹ tissue for damaged human organs.

研究者称该技术仍在初始阶段，但他们希望未来几年能打印出受损人体器官的替代组织。

“Tissue biofabrication is a reality, and it is a reality now, and if you get to come here you get to see it," Yost said. "You will get to see it.  You can not touch it, but you will see it and think this is real.  And this is really human.”

“组织的生物制造是个现实存在，现在已经存在了，如果你来这里就能看到。你不能触摸它，但你能看到，你会认为这是真实的，这是真的人体组织。”

But scientists warn they have to overcome large obstacles, such as how to supply the replacement tissue with the blood vessels¹² essential for its survival.

但科学家警告说，他们还必须克服重大障碍，比如如何为替代组织提供存活所必须的血管。

1 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

2 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

5 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

6 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

7 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

8 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

9 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

12 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》