VOA慢速英語:加州科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)驅(qū)蚊的新藥物

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malaria-related causes in 2012, most of these cases were in African countries south of the Saharan desert.

在世界上很多地方，蚊子的聲音就意味著麻煩。蚊子叮咬有可能致命。這種昆蟲會傳播瘧疾等嚴重疾病。據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織估計，2012年將近有63萬人死于瘧疾和瘧疾相關(guān)疾病，其中多數(shù)病例發(fā)生在撒哈拉以南非洲國家。

In the United States, scientists are seeking new ways to fight malaria. A group of California scientists is working to develop a more effective and less costly substances to protect people from mosquito.

在美國，科學家們正在尋找對抗瘧疾的新辦法。一群加州科學家正致力于研制一種更有效更便宜的化學物質(zhì)來保護人們免受蚊子叮咬。

The researchers work at the University of California Riverside. They are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin.

這些研究人員就職于加州大學河濱分校。他們正在研究蚊子的嗅覺。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，蚊子使用相同的感受器來識別人體呼出的二氧化碳及我們皮膚的氣味。

Anandasankar Ray is leading the investigation. He says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds until they found a substance called Ethyl pyruvate. He says Ethyl pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptor inactive.

Anandasankar Ray領(lǐng)導了這項研究。他說，科學家們測試了一百多萬種化合物，直到他們發(fā)現(xiàn)一種被稱為丙酮酸乙酯的化學物質(zhì)，這種物質(zhì)能夠使蚊子的感受器失靈。

"When we apply Ethyl pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, then very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out," said Ray.

他說，“當我們在人胳膊上涂上丙酮酸乙酯，并放到關(guān)在籠子里的饑餓的蚊子面前，只有極少數(shù)的蚊子被人胳膊所吸引，因為只有極少數(shù)蚊子能夠聞出來。”

Genevieve Tauxe is a member of the UC Riverside research team. She says it was not easy to find the neurons of noble cells that recognise both the smell of human breath and skin. She describes a device the researchers are using to examine mosquitoes.

吉納維夫·托克斯(Genevieve Tauxe)是加州大學河濱分校研究團隊的一員。她說，找到能同時識別人體呼吸和皮膚氣味的神經(jīng)元很不容易。她介紹了研究人員用來研究蚊子的儀器。

"With this apparatus, we are able to insert a very small electrode into the part of the mosquito's nose, effectively, where its olfactory neurons are and where the smell is happening," said Tauxe.

托克斯表示，“有了這個儀器，我們就能把一根非常細小的電極有效地插入蚊子的鼻子部分，這里有著蚊子的嗅覺神經(jīng)元，嗅覺就是在這里發(fā)生的。”

The scientists use these instruments to look for the signals that a mosquito's neurons send to its brain when it finds an interesting smell. Computer screen images show when the sense is strong or weak.

科學家們使用這些儀器來查看蚊子找到有吸引力的氣味后其神經(jīng)元發(fā)給大腦的信號。計算機圖像會顯示這種感官的強或弱。

Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl pyruvate may cost less to manufacture than DEET, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEET is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.

Anandasankar Ray表示，基于丙酮酸乙酯的產(chǎn)品制造成本低于避蚊胺(DEET)，避蚊胺是目前使用最為有效的化學方法。他說，避蚊胺對居住在受瘧疾影響地區(qū)的人們來說過于昂貴。

"Perhaps by finding odors that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEET and finally have the next generation of insect behavior control products," said Ray.

他說，“獲許通過尋找能夠攻擊其它目標感受器的氣味，我們將能夠改進避蚊胺，并最終研制出下一代蚊蟲控制產(chǎn)品。”

The scientists believe they will soon be able to find a way to manufacture less costly and more effective products for the fight against mosquitoes.

科學家們相信他們將很快能夠找到辦法生產(chǎn)出更便宜更有效的防蚊產(chǎn)品。