VOA慢速英语2016 铜能杀死细菌和病毒（在线收听）

Copper Metal Kills Viruses on Contact 铜能杀死细菌和病毒

Even in the world of medicine, what is old is new again.

医药界也刮起了复古风。

Thousands of years ago, Egyptians used it to sterilize drinking water. Ancient Romans, Aztecs and Greeks also used it for medical treatments.

几千年前，埃及人就会使用这种东西来给饮用水消毒。古罗马人、阿芝特克人和希腊人也用它来治病。

I am talking about copper.

我说的是铜。

The symbol for copper on the periodic chart for elements is Cu. If we are talking about germs that might mean Cu later! (C + u = “See you”)

元素周期表上铜的符号是Cu，当我们谈到细菌的时候，它的意思可能是“再见”！

Copper kills many germs on contact. Now it is back in hospitals to do just that.

铜通过接触可以杀死很多细菌，现在铜又被医院用来杀菌。

One of the major ways we get sick is we touch surfaces out in the world, many made of metal or plastic. These surfaces are covered with germs. Germs live on poles on a train or bus. They are found on doorknobs and handles.

我们生病的一大原因是接触了一些东西的表面，很多都是金属或塑料制成的，这些表面上有细菌。细菌滋生在火车或公车的杆子上，门把手和手柄上也有细菌。

This is especially true in hospitals.

医院里尤其如此。

Bill Keevil is a microbiologist at Southampton University in Britain. He is investigating the properties of copper that kill germs -- or as researchers call them, pathogens.

比尔·基维尔是英国南安普敦大学一名微生物学家，他正在研究铜能杀菌的属性，研究人员也把细菌称作病原体。

Keevil points to studies that compare infection rates at U.S. hospitals that use copper surfaces and those that do not.

基维尔称在研究中他们把使用铜做表面的美国医院和不这么做的医院的感染率进行了对比。

"They found that copper alloys gave a 58 percent reduction in infection rate. So that showed, you know, that in the real world of a hospital environment, copper alloys do a great job (in preventing infection)."

“他们发现铜合金能将感染率降低58%，所以在医院这样的真实环境中，铜合金可以很有效地预防感染。”

In a study published in the journal mBio, Keevil and his team found that copper surfaces can quickly kill the coronavirus 229E.

在一份发表在期刊mBio的研究中，基维尔和他的团队发现铜表面可以快速杀灭冠状病毒229E。

You may not know coronavirus 229E by name.

你可以没听说过冠状病毒229E。

But if you ever have had the common cold or the more serious pneumonia, you have been in contact with it.

但如果你得过普通感冒或是更严重的肺炎，你可能接触过这种病毒。

The coronavirus 229E is also closely related to the pathogen that causes SARS and MERS.

冠状病毒229E还与导致SARS和MERS的病原体密切相关。

Keevil explains that copper ions -- electrically charged molecules -- kill dangerous viruses by destroying their genetic material. Copper ions do this by interacting with oxygen and changing the oxygen molecules. As a result, the virus cells cannot mutate.

基维尔解释说，带有电荷的铜离子通过破坏其基因物质来杀死病毒，铜离子能与氧化合并改变氧分子结构，这样病毒细胞就无法突变。

"Now these ions are able to punch holes in the cell's membrane, enter the cell and destroy their nucleic acid. So they are completely killed. There's no chance of mutation leading to resistance, and there's no coming back. So the chemistry is fantastic."

“这样铜原子就能在细胞膜上钻洞，进入细胞内部并破坏其核酸，这样就彻底杀灭病毒。这样病毒就没有突变以抵抗的机会，没有卷土重来的机会了，所以这种化学物质很神奇。”

Keevil notes that ancient civilizations knew about the germ-killing properties of copper. However, they may not have understood the science behind it.

基维尔说古人已经知道铜能杀灭细菌的属性，但可能不知道其中的科学原理。

Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health wrote on their website about the oldest recorded medical use of copper.

美国国家卫生研究院的研究人员在研究院网站上撰文描述了最早把铜用作医疗的情况。

They say its use is noted in an Egyptian medical book written about 4,000 years ago.

他们说大约4000年前埃及的一部医学著作上就有记载。

The book describes how they used copper to sterilize wounds and drinking water.

这本著作描述了当时的人们如何用铜来给伤口和饮用水消毒。

Keevil says earlier generations of builders in the United States also knew this about copper. That is why copper alloys such as brass were often used in building materials.

基维尔说美国早期的建筑师们也知道铜的这种用法，因此黄铜等铜合金常被用做建筑材料。

But more modern builders stopped using copper and copper alloys. They cost more than other building materials.

但是现代建筑师已不再用铜和铜合金，因为它们比其他建筑材料都要贵。

However, Bill Keevil says copper could save hospitals money. He says their other costs of fighting infection will drop, including drugs for treatment.

然而，比尔·基维尔说铜可以给医院省钱，他说其他用于对付感染的成本将会下降，包括治疗使用的药物。

More importantly, less people will get sick.

更重要的是，铜很少会致病。

Words in This Story

sterilize – v. to clean (something) by destroying germs or bacteria

pathogen – n. medical : something (such as a type of bacteria or a virus) that causes disease

mutation – n. biology : a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes physical characteristics that are different from what is normal

fantastic – adj. extremely good