VOA常速英语2015--训练有素狗狗或检测出前列腺癌

训练有素狗狗或检测出前列腺癌

Cancer of the prostate gland¹ is one of the leading types of cancers affecting men in their 60s.

前列腺癌是男性60多岁会患上的一种主要癌症。

According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, in 2012 it was diagnosed in more than 1 million men.

据世界国际癌症研究基金会的统计，2012年逾100万男性被诊断出这种疾病。

Treatment can be successful if the cancer is diagnosed early,which is why doctors regularly prescribe testing for the so-called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA for short, found in urine.

而如果越早发现, 越早进行的治疗就会很成功，因此医生定期提取尿液样本进行PSA, 即前列腺特异抗原检测。

But that test often gives false alarms or identifies cancers that develop so slowly they don't require treatment.

但这种测试经常误报或诊断出发展缓慢不需要进行治疗的癌症。

With the help of man's best friend, prostate cancer detection may soon be much more accurate.

现在在人类最好朋友的帮助下,前列腺癌检测可能很快会更为准确。

“Dogs have got this fantastic sense of smell;300 million sensory² receptors-us humans have 5 million. So they're very, very good at finding minute odors."

“狗狗天生具有这种神奇的嗅觉;它们拥有3亿感官受体—我们人类只有500万。所以它们非常善于嗅到微乎其微的气味。”

As prostate cancer cells divide, they release certain organic compounds that dogs can smell.

当前列腺癌细胞分裂时候会释放狗狗能闻到的某些有机化合物。

During initial tests at Britain's Milton Keynes University Hospital, dogs detected the disease in 93 percent of cases.

在英国米尔顿凯恩斯大学医院最开始的测试中,狗狗们在93%的样本中发现了这种病毒。

In addition to being accurate, testing with dogs is much quicker and cheaper than laboratory testing for PSA.

除了准确性,通过狗狗进行检测更为快捷而且比实验室检测PSA更便宜。

“These dogs have the ability to screen hundreds of samples in a day. It's something they find very easy. They enjoy their work. To them it's a hunt game-they find the cancer."

“这些狗每天能够对数以百计的样本进行筛选。它们非常容易就能发现。它们喜欢这样的工作。对狗狗而言这就好比一场狩猎发现癌症的游戏。”

It takes about six months to train a dog to sit down, bark or otherwise indicate that a sample contains cancer cells.

需要大约6个月才能训练狗坐下,或对着含癌细胞的样本吼叫。

Researchers say if further tests prove dogs to be reliable detectors³ for prostate cancer, they may try training them to sniff⁴ out other diseases.

研究人员表示如果进一步的实验证明狗狗们是前列腺癌的可靠嗅探器,它们可能会被训练嗅出其他疾病。

But they admit that having dogs in every doctor's office may not be a convenient solution.

但他们承认,每位医生的办公室都养一条狗不是可行的解决方案。

“Ultimately we hope to use the information that the dogs produce to actually develop an electronic nose."

“最终我们希望利用狗嗅出的信息实际研发一种电子鼻。”

 

That technology may be a long way off, because the dog's sense of smell is still far superior to the best electronic sniffing⁵ devices on the market.

这种技术距实现可能还有很长一段路,因为狗狗的嗅觉仍远好于市场上最好的电子嗅探装置。

1 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

2 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

3 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

4 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

5 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》