2021年经济学人 传统医药--专治疑难杂症(2)

To do so, she and her team first contacted several practitioners¹ of traditional medicine and obtained samples of 15 treatments employed against a range of NTDS. Some were mixtures of dried herbs, others watery² concoctions³. Her goal was to test their effectiveness against laboratory cultures of a variety of disease-causing parasites⁴, with the aim of isolating⁵ any active principles they might contain.

为此，她和她的团队先是联系了几名传统医药的医生，获得了15种用来治疗一系列“被忽视的热带病”的样本。有些是干药草的混合物，有些是稀的混合物。她的目标是测试它们对实验室培养的各种致病寄生虫的有效性，目的是分离出它们可能包含的任何活性成分。

Nearly all the samples had some effect against one or more parasites. But one stood out in particular when used against the trypanosomes that cause sleeping sickness. This was a dried mix of Aloe vera, a short-stemmed succulent, and Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion. Intrigued⁶ by that discovery, the team put the crude sample they were working on through two rounds of chromatography, to split it into its constituents⁷, and repeated the tests on these. Their analysis, just published in plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, revealed an oil which proved 30% more effective at killing⁸ trypanosome parasites than did diminazene aceturate, the standard anti-trypanosomal drug.

几乎所有的样本对一种或多种寄生虫都有一定的效果，但其中一个样本在对付引起昏睡病的锥虫时效果尤其突出，即一种短茎多肉植物芦荟和常见的蒲公英的干燥混合物。这个发现激起了研究团队的兴趣，他们对正在研究的原始样品进行了两轮色谱分析，将其分成不同的成分，并对这些成分进行重复测试。他们的分析结果最近刚在《公共科学图书馆·被忽视的热带疾病》杂志上发表，结果显示他们发现了一种油，这种油已被验证其杀死锥虫寄生虫的效果比标准的抗锥虫药物乙酰氨基苯酯要高出30%。

For many researchers, that would have been the cue for a trip to the patent office and negotiations⁹ with a drug company about further rounds of testing. But for Dr Osei-Safo the point is not to make a refined pharmaceutical¹⁰, but rather to direct those who are ill towards the best treatments available from herbalists. Her next move, funding permitting, will be to try to understand better why the newly discovered oil is effective, and to establish in what circumstances the herbal remedy from which it is derived¹¹ should be recommended.

对于许多研究人员来说，这可能意味着他们要去趟专利局并与一家制药公司就进一步的测试进行谈判。但对于多尔卡丝·奥塞-萨福博士来说，重点不是制造精制药品，而是引导那些生病的人从草药医生那里获得最好的治疗。如果资金允许，她的下一步行动将会试着更好地解释这种新发现的油能够发挥效力的原因，并确定在什么情况下应该推荐使用草药。

1 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

2 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

3 concoctions   

n.编造，捏造，混合物( concoction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We bearrived scientists and tested concoctions of milk, orange juice, and mouthwash. 咱们是科技家，尝试牛奶、橙汁和漱口水的混合物。 来自互联网
• We became scientists and tested concoctions of milk, orange juice, and mouthwash. 我们是科学家，尝试牛奶、橙汁和漱口水的混合物。 来自互联网

4 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

5 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

6 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

7 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

11 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• 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》