时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(五月)


英语课
By Phil Mercer
Sydney
21 May 2008


Australian and U.S. scientists have successfully inserted a gene 1 from the extinct Tasmanian tiger into a mouse embryo 2. They say the result has been bone and cartilage from the extinct marsupial 3 developing inside the embryo. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.


The last known Tasmanian tiger or thylacine, died in a Zoo in Australia's southern island state in 1936. The dog-sized marsupial carnivore was hunted to extinction 4 early in the last century.


The scientists extracted DNA 5 - genetic 6 material - from a 100-year-old specimen 7 that had been preserved in a museum, and injected it into a mouse embryo.


The nine-year project was the work of a joint 8 research team from universities in Melbourne, Australia, and Texas in the United States.


They watched as thylacine bone and cartilage began to grow in the embryo.


Turning a museum relic 9 into a living creature is currently not possible and those expecting the cloning of an entire animal from an extinct species are likely to be disappointed.


But scientist Andrew Pask from the University of Melbourne says the results could lead to experiments that answer questions about the bodies of other extinct species.


"So, any extinct species at all that has some intact DNA left, you can then use this technique to actually examine the function of the genes 10 contained within that genome," Pask explained. "So, there is a lot of DNA available from mammoth 11 and Neanderthal that you could potentially use this technique now to examine exactly how those genes may have functioned."


This is the first time that DNA from an extinct species has been used to grow tissue and bone in a living animal.


The technique could be used to reactivate individual genes from other long-lost creatures, including dinosaurs 12.


Their genes could be transplanted into living animals to determine, for example, what their skin looked like or whether they were warm or cold blooded.


There could also be practical applications for humans. The researchers on this project think their discoveries have the potential to create new cancer-fighting medicines.




n.遗传因子,基因
  • A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
  • The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。
n.胚胎,萌芽的事物
  • They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
  • The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。
adj.有袋的,袋状的
  • Koala is an arboreal Australian marsupial.考拉是一种澳大利亚树栖有袋动物。
  • The marsupial has been in decline for decades due to urban sprawl from car accidentsdog attacks.这种有袋动物其数量在过去几十年间逐渐减少,主要原因是城市的扩张、车祸和狗的袭击。
n.熄灭,消亡,消灭,灭绝,绝种
  • The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
  • The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
n.样本,标本
  • You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
  • This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
n.神圣的遗物,遗迹,纪念物
  • This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
  • He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。
n.基因( gene的名词复数 )
  • You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因,所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪
n.长毛象;adj.长毛象似的,巨大的
  • You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
  • Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。
n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 );守旧落伍的人,过时落后的东西
  • The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
angle sensor
atomic aircraft carrier
auto execution
autobar
back purge system
batterboard
be caught in a trap
bellarosa
bescorns
big sale
bit string operation
bluff into
bolster hanger pin
Bonalbo
bridge-to-bridge communications
Camb.
centre run mould
Chongsǒng-gun
chroma sampling
Chukhung, Mt.
colalin
contraindicate
cooler
crestfallenness
cross culture
cymatoderma caperatum
cytotoxicenzyme
diametral surface
Diphthetia-tetanus
disengaging process
drain sump
Duvaron
endodormacy
equal interval
equal opportunity
exhausted receivers
fish-fry
fraction bars
frame rate
gilles de la tourette syndromes
habbia
hardware word size
hierodula (hierodula) saussurei
hospital admissions
hot rubber
Huguenin edema
I-n-Amzag
ignition starting aid
Ikungu
indoor temperature
ingrown-intrenched meander
insignity
king roll
lavender-blue
leatherjackets
lushai hills (mizo hills)
LVDV
majours
make a pig of yourself
megalomicinC2
meliorisms
multi-stage sampling
neutral gear
nonmatched
nontaxable income
number of braided strand
nuphar pumilum (timm) dc.
ogma
one-north
ordinary visa
orthopedy
pale maille
palermoite
Platea parvifolia
plodder
polyhormonal
potato-onion
Prunus domestica L.
purse sring
rapping allowance
rotating tensioning device
Sans.
set print
setting up shop
slip-slide
social world
sorbo
speciation event
straight tuner
suai
supravenous
Thallichtenberg
three-stage rocket
thwartwise
time varying channel
total resource
touch-type
trailer lashing units
treasurer's-check
unfathomableness
vertical restraints
whooo