经济学人344:动物实验 善待小鼠

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　Animal testing

　　动物实验

　　Be nice to mice

　　善待小鼠

　　and they may return the favour

　　或许它们会报以恩情

　　ONLY one drug of every ten successfully tested in laboratory animals ends up working in people.

　　在动物实验中测试成功的药物中仅仅有十分之一最终被用于人类。

　　One reason, of course, is that mice are not men.

　　其中一个原因显然是老鼠与人有本质的不同。

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　　Another, though, might have to do with the fact that whereas human patients are afforded all manner of creature comforts, their animal proxies¹ are not.

　　另一个原因则是人类患者会得到无微不至的照顾与舒适的环境，而被用于实验的动物则不会。

　　Although medical science's favourite critters relish² temperatures of a little over 30°C, laboratories routinely keep them at five or ten degrees below that.

　　药物科学中饲养动物的最适温度略高于30°C，然而，在实验室中，它们所处的温度通常比最适温度低五到十摄氏度。

　　This is not in order to torture the beasts but, rather, because when kept warm they are unmanageably aggressive.

　　这样做并不是有意虐待动物，而是因为在温暖的环境中，动物具有不可控制的攻击性。

　　The downside is that they have to eat more than they otherwise would, in order to keep their bodies warm.

　　降温饲养的不足之处是动物为了保持体温会吃掉比平常更多的食物。

　　That changes their physiology³.

　　这样会影响动物的生理机能，

　　And that in turn alters the way they metabolise drugs, with possibly confusing results.

　　从而改变它们对药物的代谢情况，以至于产生令人困惑的实验结果。

　　Joseph Garner⁴, of Stanford University, thinks the answer is to keep the labs cool,

　　斯坦福大学的约瑟夫加纳认为解决这个问题的办法是保持实验室里较低的温度，

　　but let mice cope with the low temperatures as they do in their natural habitat: not by eating more but by building nests.

　　但是让小鼠的自然习性—筑建巢穴，而非吃更多的食物—来应对低温。

　　So far, though, no one has a clear idea of how much nesting material is needed to keep mice happy.

　　可是到目前为止，人们还不能确定提供多少筑巢材料才能使小鼠保持良好的状态。

　　Dr Garner and his colleagues therefore decided⁵ to find out.

　　然而，加纳博士和他的同事决心找出答案，

　　They have just reported their results in the Public Library of Science.

　　不久前他们将实验结果发表在《公共科学图书馆》杂志上。

　　Dr Garner and his team let each of their mice, 36 males and as many females from three strains commonly used in trials, roam free in two cages connected by a narrow tube.

　　加纳博士和他的团队将36只雄鼠与同等数量的雌鼠置于由一条细管道连接的两只笼子里，并让它们自由活动，这些小鼠来自临床试验中常用的三个种系。

　　One cage was kept constant at one of six temperatures between 20°C and 35°C.

　　其中一只笼子保持在20°C到35°C之间指定的六个温度中的一个；

　　The other was maintained at 20°C but was stocked with up to ten grams of finely shredded⁶ paper, which the mice could use to weave a nest.

　　另一个则维持在20°C，但其中填入了10克经精心加工过的碎纸屑。

　　The idea was to check whether the animals would rather build a nest in the cooler cage or move to the warmer one, possibly tugging⁷ nesting material along with them strand⁸ by strand.

　　此举是为了观察这些小动物会在较冷笼子里建一个巢穴，还是会通过管道爬至较暖和的笼子中，甚至还可能不辞辛苦地将这些筑巢材料一点一点地带过去。

　　The researchers found that the rodents⁹' preferences varied¹⁰ slightly between strains, as well as between sexes, confirming that there is no single set of conditions in which all mice feel cosy¹¹.

　　研究人员发现这些啮齿动物的喜好随着种系和性别的不同而有轻微的改变。此项结果表明，并没有单一的一套环境条件能让所有的小鼠感到舒适。

　　In general, though, with little nesting material around, the animals laboriously¹² carried strands¹³ of paper over to the warmer spot, one or two at a time.

　　不过通常情况下，在周围没有筑巢材料时，小鼠们会勤劳地将纸屑一点一点地运到更暖和的笼子里，

　　But leave at least six grams of paper in the chilly¹⁴ cage, and many mice will prefer instead to brave the cold and build a nest there.

　　但会在较冷笼子里留下至少6克的纸屑。而且许多小鼠会勇于面对寒冷，并在那里筑起自己的家。

　　That seems a small price to pay for better drug trials.

　　如此情况下，为了更好的进行药物试验，这已算是极小的代价了。

1 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

2 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

3 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

4 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

8 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

9 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

10 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

11 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

12 laboriously   

adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地

参考例句：

• She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句

13 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。