时差N小时 移除大肠毒素分子

It's three in the morning and you're awakened¹ out of a deep sleep by a terrible pain in the gut². Was it something you ate? And then it hits you—that burger you had the other day was a little undercooked. And there have been several cases of e-coli poisoning reported in your area.

凌晨3点，熟睡中的你突然被胃部剧烈的疼痛弄醒。是因为吃坏肚子了吗？然后你想到昨天吃的汉堡有点生。这附近也报道过几起因大肠杆菌引起中毒的事件。

If you do have e-coli toxins³ coursing through your bloodstream, the symptoms can be distressing⁵, particularly the bloody⁶ diarrhea. And, unfortunately, there's no antidote⁷. All you can do is wait it out. But that may change. Scientists at the University of Alberta, in Canada, have engineered a molecule⁸ to seek out e-coli toxins in the blood and flush them out of the system.

如果你血液里含有大肠杆菌，你会出现疼痛的症状，尤其会出现带血的腹泻。不幸的是，没有解药。你能做的只有坐等情况好转。但情况也许有变。加拿大艾伯塔大学的科学家们研制出一种分子，这种分子能搜索出血液里大肠杆菌，并将它们稀释排出体外。

The molecule works like a kind of molecular⁹ barb¹⁰: it cruises around in the blood, and when it finds an e-coli toxin⁴ it snags the toxin and attaches it to an immune system protein. The protein then neutralizes¹¹ the toxin. So far the molecule has been tested in mice and been found to be effective.

这种分子的作用类似于鱼钩：它在血液里四处巡游，一旦找到大肠杆菌，就用凸起绊住并将它粘附在免疫蛋白上。然后免疫蛋白将毒素中和掉。目前为止，这种分子已经在老鼠身上试验过，效果很显著。

But because e-coli poisoning is relatively¹² rare, it's unlikely that the molecule will be used to manufacture a marketable drug any time soon. The research is still useful, though, because it models a promising¹³ way to treat a potentially wide range of bacterial¹⁴ infections. For example, the e-coli toxin is shaped similarly to the cholera¹⁵ toxin. So there could be a molecular solution to treating cholera—a disease that affects millions of people around the world.

但是因为大肠杆菌中毒现象相对很少见，所以将这种分子大规模制成药物推向市场，还不太可能。但是这项研究仍然有用，因为它塑造了一种有效的方式来治疗各种各样的病毒感染。例如，大肠杆菌与霍乱病毒的形状类似。全球有数百万人感染上霍乱病毒，因此也可以研发出相应的分子，来治疗霍乱。

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

3 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

5 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

8 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。

9 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

10 barb   

n.（鱼钩等的）倒钩，倒刺

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• A fish hook has a barb to prevent the fish from escaping after being hooked.鱼钩上都有一个倒钩以防上了钩的鱼逃走。

11 neutralizes   

v.使失效( neutralize的第三人称单数 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• The dendrimer locks onto toxins and neutralizes them. 树状物锁在毒物表面，从而中和毒物。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
• A substance, such as magnesia or sodium bicarbonate, that neutralizes acid. 解酸的，抗酸的，防酸的，中和酸的消除或中和酸度的，尤其胃酸。 来自互联网

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 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。

14 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

15 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。