2007年VOA标准英语-Stem Cell Breakthrough Announced Amid Fierce De
时间:2019-01-11 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(六月)
Washington
07 June 2007
Scientists in the United States say they have for the first time been able to create stem cells from the ordinary skin cells of mice, a breakthrough that could lead to new medical breakthroughs and eliminate a contentious 1 ethical 2 and political debate over the use of human embryos 3 for such research. From Washington, VOA's Michael Bowman has more on the breakthrough.
Thai surgeons perform an operation to collect stem cells from an unidentified Western patient in Bangkok, 07 February 2007
Scientists say stem cells offer the promise of cures to everything from cancer to spinal 4 cord injuries. Stem cells are malleable 5 and can be used to create virtually any kind of tissue. But there has been a fierce ethical debate over stem cell research, because until now, it was assumed the cells had to be harvested from human embryos, destroying them in the process.
But teams in the United States, using a process pioneered by a leading Japanese researcher, say they have now successfully transformed skin cells from mice into what are, in effect, embryonic 6 stem cells.
Biologist Rudolf Jaenisch at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led one of the teams.
"We can take any skin cell and treat it in a certain way," he said. "And after two or three weeks we will have embryonic stem cells which are indistinguishable from normal embryonic stem cells which have been derived 7 from embryos."
Could the same be done with human skin cells? No one knows just yet, or whether embryonic stem cells created in such a fashion would be as useful in research as those harvested from living embryos. Scientists say further study will be required, and that definitive 8 answers may not be forthcoming for some time.
In the meantime, the political and ethical debate over embryonic stem cells continues to rage in the United States. Jaenisch says he is well aware of the political furor 9 surrounding embryonic stem cell research, and cautions against injecting his findings with regard to mice into the current debate.
"Many who are opposed to embryonic stem cell research will use this [breakthrough] and say, 'Ha! We do not need it [to use embryos].' This is the wrong conclusion," he said.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. Congress there has been more contentious debate on legislation to allow more federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, legislation that President Bush has said he will veto.
Before Thursday's vote to send the measure to the president's desk, Indiana Republican Mike Pence stood in opposition 10.
"Congress is once again poised 11 to pass legislation that authorizes 12 the use of federal tax dollars to fund the destruction of human embryos for scientific research," he said. "I believe that life begins at conception. It is morally wrong to create human life to destroy it.
California Democrat 13 Lynn Woolsey has a different point of view, stressing the seemingly limitless potential of stem cells to improve human health.
"How can we tell a parent watching a child suffering from cancer that we are not going to do every single thing possible to save that child? How can we tell a teenager that there is a chance we could repair a damaged spinal chord, but we are not going to pursue it," she asked.
President Bush has authorized 14 federal funds for stem cell research involving a small number of stem cell lines from discarded embryos. U.S. researchers say those lines are badly contaminated and of little scientific value, and that the United States is falling behind other nations with few restrictions 15 on such research.
- She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
- Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起,他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。
- It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
- It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
- Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段,而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
- Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句
- After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天,就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
- Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。
- Silver is the most malleable of all metals.银是延展性最好的金属。
- Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought.科学家发现成人大脑的可塑性远超过他们之前认识到的。
- It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
- The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。
- Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
- No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样,还没有人给出明确的答复。
- His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
- The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
- The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋,准备俯冲。
- Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张,手悬在电话机上。
- The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
- The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。
- The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
- About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后,他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。
- An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制