VOA慢速英语2016 3D打印如何做到利用干细胞制造人体组织

How 3-D Printing Can Create Tissue from Stem Cells 3D打印如何做到利用干细胞制造人体组织

An Israeli company has asked the United States Patent and Trademark 1 Office for legal rights to a process for making a special kind of human cell.

一家以色列公司向美国专利及商标局申请合法制造人类细胞的权利。

The company, Nano Dimension, says it uses a specialized 2 3-D printer to create an environment in which stem cells could grow into tissue.

这家名叫Nano Dimension的公司表示，他们利用专业的3D打印机创造适宜的环境，使得干细胞可以生长为人体组织。

Stem cells can develop into many different kinds of cells in the body. They can also repair damaged tissues and organs. One kind, called induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS), are used to replace tissues lost to disease or injury.

干细胞可以发展成为人体不同类型的细胞。它们可以修复损伤的组织和器官。其中一种干细胞——诱导多能干细胞可以用于替代因疾病或受伤而丧失的人体组织。

The term 3-D is short for three dimensional. That means an object has length, width and height.

3-D一词是三维的缩写。是指一个物体有长度、宽度和高度三种维度。

In 3-D printing, 3-D models are first created as files on a computer.The printer then uses a material like plastic or metal to create physical objects.The process involves making one layer at a time until the objects reach full form.

3D打印技术中，3D模型最初是在电脑上创建的一个文件。然后打印机使用类似于塑料或金属的材料打印出该物体。每次打印一层，直至打印出物体的整体形态。

Usually this process is slow. But Nano Dimension said it has tested a 3-D printer that can produce stem cells much faster.

通常情况下，这一过程很缓慢。但是Nano Dimension表示经由他们测试过的3D打印机，能以更快的速度制造干细胞。

Nano Dimension is partnering with another Israeli company, Accellta, a developer of proprietary 3 technologies to produce IPS cells.The patent application request describes the 3-D printing process for making human tissues and organs.

Nano Dimension与另一家以色列公司Accellta合作，后者掌握了制造诱导多能干细胞的专利技术。专利申请描述了制造人体组织和器官的3D打印过程。

The companies have yet to produce fully 4 functional 5 human tissue for medical use.

公司尚未制造出功能完全的人体组织供医学使用。

Amit Dror is the head of Nano Dimension.He said testing has so far resulted in a “proof of concept” for 3-D printing stem cells.

Amit Dror是Nano Dimension公司的负责人。他表示测试至今还停留在3D打印干细胞的“概念验证“上。

“What we have proven [is] that we have the ability - by combining the know-how 6 and IP [intellectual property] of both companies -to get to the right materials.And basically being able to print very fast, an array which resembles a tissue by using human stem cells.”

“可以证明的是，通过将两家公司的专业技术和知识产权结合，我们有能力制造出合适的材料。主要是可以打印得非常快，通过使用人体干细胞打印出人体组织。”

Special ink containing living stem cells is mixed with other substances to support growth, Dror said.

Dror 表示含有活的干细胞的特殊墨汁与其他物质混合，可以支持细胞的生长。

The goal is to create the right mixture that copies actual conditions in the human body.

他们的目标是制造出合适的混合物，可以复制出人体的实际状况。

“It’s not that every layer of tissue within an organ, or skin, or any part of the body, has just a mixture of cells,” Dror noted 7. They are located in different concentrations in different places.”

Dror 指出，“一个器官、皮肤或身体任何部位的每一层组织并不仅仅是细胞的混合。他们位于体内不同位置，集中程度也不同。”

Developing stem cells into life-like, functioning tissue has long been a problem for researchers.

对研究人员来说，将干细胞培育为供生命成长，具备机能的组织一直以来都是一项难题。

William Wagner is the director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.He says 3-D printing technology can be very useful.

William Wagner是匹兹堡大学再生医学研究所的主任。他表示3D打印技术非常有用。

“Let’s say you’re looking at a drug that would fix liver disease that causes the liver to not be able to enzymatically degrade some substance. Now you have the ability to do a thousand experiments in parallel, with liver tissue, with your drug, assessing the effectiveness of it.”

“如果你在研发一种药，可以治疗肝脏疾病使得它不再酶降解物质。现在，你有能力利用肝组织，再使用药品做一千次试验来测试药品的有效性。“

Wagner added that he believes production of complex human tissues, such as full organs, is still years away from happening.So 3-D printing would likely be more successful in producing simpler tissues like skin or muscle, he said.

Wagner补充道，他认为制造复杂的人体组织，例如完整的器官，还需要花费好几年。所以他说，3D打印技术有可能在制造较为简单的组织，如皮肤或肌肉上获得成功。

Words in This Story

pluripotent – adj. capable of developing into several different cell types

proof of concept – v. evidence gained from an experiment or project

proprietary – adj. something produced and used under an exclusive right

array – n. an ordered series or arrangement

resemble – v. appear similar to something else

ink – n. colored liquid that is used for writing or printing

concentration – v. amount of substance contained in something

degrade – v. break down chemically

parallel – adj. placed side by side