2022年经济学人 实验室人造红细胞已被输入人体(2)

The next step is to measure just how long the manufactured cells actually do last.

下一步是检测人造红细胞的实际寿命。

To that end, they have been tagged with a special radioactive dye commonly used in medicine to track things around the body.

为此，研究人员在红细胞上涂上了一种特殊的放射性染料作为标签，这种染料在医学上通常用于跟踪人体的物质。

If they do indeed outlive conventionally transfused¹ cells, as the researchers hope and preclinical studies suggest they will, then recipients² will not need such frequent transfusions⁴.

如果真的像研究人员希望以及临床前研究表明的那样，人造红细胞确实比常规输血中输入的细胞存活时间更长，那么接受者就可以减少输血频率。

That will help a lot.

这将为患者提供很大帮助。

At the moment, patients with blood disorders⁵ such as sickle-cell disease and thalassaemia may require a transfusion³ as often as every four to six weeks.

目前，患有镰状细胞病和地中海贫血症等血液疾病的患者可能需要每四到六周输血一次。

As a consequence, some develop iron overload⁶, which causes severe complications.

一些人因此出现铁过剩的情况，从而患上严重的并发症。

Others end up forming antibodies against many blood types, which makes finding a matching donor⁷ harder.

还有人最终对多种血型形成抗体，导致更难寻找匹配的捐赠者。

If all goes well, the trial will be extended to include at least ten healthy volunteers.

如果一切顺利，试验将扩大到包括至少10名健康志愿者身上。

But that is only the beginning.

但这只是个开始。

Larger tests, including tests on actual patients, will be needed before this approach can be put into practice.

在将这一方法付诸实践之前，需要进行更大规模的测试，包括在实际患者身上进行测试。

That will take time, for it normally requires between five and 15 years to introduce a new medical treatment.

这需要一定的时间，而引入一种新的治疗方法通常需要5到15年的时间。

Even then, the technique will probably be reserved for a favoured few - those possessing extremely rare blood types being at the head of the queue.

即使到那时，这项技术也可能只会供少数人使用——那些血型极其罕见的人才有机会获得这种治疗。

Unless some unforeseen breakthrough occurs, making the cells in quantity will be challenging.

大规模细胞生产将极具挑战性，除非未来出现一些意想不到的突破。

At the moment, harvested stem cells eventually exhaust themselves, so the number of red cells a donation can yield is limited.

目前，从捐献者获得的干细胞最终会耗尽，所以一次干细胞捐赠所能产生的红细胞数量是有限的。

And manufacturing is a cottage industry.

并且，人造红细胞目前类似于家庭手工业。

Producing a batch⁸ of reticulocytes requires 24 litres of nutrient⁹ solution to generate a tablespoon or two of product.

24升营养液只能产生一汤匙或两汤匙那么多的网织红细胞。

The cost of scaling this up is unknown, but will probably be far more than the 145 pounds (166 dollars) that a normal blood donation currently costs in Britain.

扩大生产规模的成本尚不明确，但可能会远远高于英国目前正常输血的145英镑（即166美元）的成本。

It may eventually be possible to make the stuff in bulk.

在未来，人造红细胞也许会有大批量生产的可能。

But for now, human blood donors¹⁰ will continue to be extremely welcome.

但目前，人类献血者仍将受到极大的欢迎。

1 transfused   

v.输（血或别的液体）( transfuse的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；使…被灌输或传达

参考例句：

• He transfused his own courage into his men. 他用自己的勇气鼓舞了士兵。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The professor transfused his enthusiasm for research into his students. 教授把自己的研究热忱移注给学生。 来自辞典例句

2 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

4 transfusions   

n.输血( transfusion的名词复数 )；输液；倾注；渗透

参考例句：

• Still, transfusions have apparently never spread the disease, even among hemophiliacs. 还有，输血很明显从未传播过这种病，即使在血友病人之间也是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 口蹄疫疯牛病
• Blood transfusions are a special, limited example of tissue transplantation. 输血是一个特殊的、有限制的组织移植的例子。 来自辞典例句

5 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 overload   

vt.使超载；n.超载

参考例句：

• Don't overload the boat or it will sink.别超载，否则船会沉。
• Large meals overload the digestive system.吃得太饱会加重消化系统的负担。

7 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

8 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

9 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》