VOA慢速英语2018 智能手机app助力治疗蛇毒患者

 Smartphone App Helps Snakebite Victims

Scientists in Denmark have developed a venom 1 test kit 2 to help doctors treat victims of snake bites. The kit was created to be simple and has only two pieces of equipment: a centrifuge and a smartphone.

丹麦科学家研制了一种毒液检测包，以帮助医生治疗被毒蛇咬过的人。这种检测包设计得很简单，只由两个器件组成：离心机和智能手机。

For victims, treating a snakebite requires the use of anti-venom. However, receiving the correct form of treatment can be difficult. The victim must first know which kind of snake bit them. That is because each poisonous snake produces a different kind of venom.

对被蛇咬过的人来说，要想活下来就得用抗蛇毒素来治疗。但要想得到正确的治疗方式很难。受害者首先必须知道咬人的蛇的种类。这是因为每种毒蛇都会产生的毒液种类不同。

The new venom testing kit can help solve this problem.

而这种毒液检测包就能助力解决这个问题。

Snake venom is made up of various protein patterns.

蛇的毒液由多种蛋白质形式组成。

The different patterns in the venom can be used to determine the snake species. Catherine Larsen is a scientist at the Technical University of Denmark, or DTU. She said researchers found these patterns after testing different snake venoms 3 with different small proteins.

毒液中不同的蛋白质形式都可以用来决定蛇的种类。凯瑟琳 拉森(Catherine Larsen)是丹麦技术大学(DTU)的一名科学家。她表示，研究人员在用不同的小蛋白质测试不同的毒液后发现了这些蛋白质形式。

Ivan Doudka is also with DTU. He explained that the kit works by using a smartphone app to analyze 4 a serum 5 sample from the patient.

伊凡 杜德卡(Ivan Doudka)是丹麦技术大学的学生。他解释道，该工具包要通过使用一种智能手机app才能生效，因为该app可以分析受害者体内的血浆血清样本。

To create the sample, the patient’s red blood cells need to first be separated. This is done by using a centrifuge which is a device created to separate fluids. The centrifuge is operated by hand and needs to be spun 6 quickly to separate the substances.

要生成该样本，首先要分离患者的红血球。分离红血球要使用离心机，离心机这种装置就是用来分离液体的。离心机是用手来操作的，其转速需要很快才能分离出样本物质。

The sample is then put into a special container that keeps the condition of the plasma 7 serum the same. After 30 minutes, the sample is placed into a clear container called a cuvette.

然后要将样本放入一种特殊的容器里，以保持血浆血清处于同样的状态。30分钟后，将样本放入一种名为比色杯的透明容器里。

The cuvette is used with a machine known as a spectrophotometer which analyzes 8 the liquid by measuring the amount of light that is absorbed by it.

比色杯要跟一种名为分光光度计的机器一起使用。分光光度计可以分析样本的液体，方法是测量样本吸收的光量。

By connecting the spectrophotometer to a smartphone a smartphone app is used to show the results.

将分光光度计和智能手机连接后，智能手机上就可以显示结果。

The app then identifies the type of snake and suggests the most effective anti-venom.

然后，app就会识别出蛇的种类，并显示最有效的抗蛇毒液。

Andreas Laustsen, another DTU scientist, said the test kit will help doctors make quicker, possibly life-saving decisions.

安德里亚斯 劳斯藤(Andreas Laustsen)也是丹麦技术大学的学生。他表示，这种检测包可以帮助医生更快地做出挽救生命的决定。

The team’s work could help the estimated five million people who are bitten by snakes each year. Those bites kill at least 100,000 people a year, and lead to around 400,000 venom-related amputations.

据估测，该小组的工作可能帮助到每年被蛇咬的500万人。每年这些案例导致至少10万人死亡，至少40万个截肢案例是因为被毒液侵蚀造成的。

Words in This Story

venom - n. poison produced by an animal

kit- n. ?a set of tools or supplies that a person uses for a particular purpose or activity?

equipment - n. ?supplies or tools needed for a special purpose?

centrifuge - n. a machine that uses centrifugal force to separate substances or parts of substances (centrifugal - adj. moving away from a center)

analyze - v. ?to study (something) closely and carefully?

serum - n. ?the part of blood that is like water and that contains substances (called antibodies) that fight disease?

sample - n. ?a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from?

amputation 9 - n. ?the action of cutting off a part of a person's body