VOA常速英语2019--研究人员测试了杀死疟疾蚊子的真菌

Researchers Test Fungus¹ That Kills Malaria² Mosquitos

According to the severe malaria observatory³, the mosquito-borne disease is the leading cause of child mortality in the African nation of Burkina Faso.It’s a loss no parent should have to suffer.“Losing a child was really painful for me or for any parent for that matter. So if we can find the solution against this disease which killed my child, other people we will think that they should do everything to eradicate⁴ this disease. They should help us. We are hoping we are happy without further prices gone.More than half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting the disease but it’s a unique problem in Africa and that’s where University of Maryland researchers are testing a fungus that kills mosquitoes on contact.“We took a gene⁵ from a spider and we put that spider gene which encodes an insect selective toxin⁶. We put that gene into the fungus under the control of a promoter and the promoter is the on/off switch of a gene so under the control of this promoter which only turns on in insect blood.” The fungus works quickly and effectively on malaria carrying mosquitoes the moment it comes in contact with the insects.

根据严重疟疾观察站的数据，蚊子传播的疾病是导致非洲国家布基纳法索儿童死亡的主要原因。没有父母应该承受这种损失。失去一个孩子对我或任何父母来说都是非常痛苦的。所以，如果我们能找到治疗这个杀死我孩子的疾病的方法，其他人，我们会认为，他们应该尽一切努力根除这个疾病。他们应该帮助我们。我们希望不再付出代价，我们会很高兴。世界上一半以上的人口面临感染这种疾病的风险，但这在非洲是一个特有的问题，马里兰大学的研究人员在那里正在测试一种真菌，这种真菌可通过接触杀死蚊子。我们从蜘蛛身上提取了一个基因，然后把这个蜘蛛基因编码成一种昆虫选择性毒素。我们把这个基因放进一个启动子控制的真菌中，启动子是一个基因的开关，所以在这个启动子的控制下，这个启动子只在昆虫血液中启动。”这种真菌一旦接触到携带疟疾的蚊子，就会迅速有效地对它们起作用。

“Out of the box if they land anywhere on the outside of a mosquito they’ll recognize that they’re on a mosquito and they’ll burrow⁷ their way into the mosquito.”In tests once the fungus was introduced into a mosquito population the mosquitoes were gone in a month but success in the lab doesn’t mean success in the field so the team is testing their mosquito killing⁸ fungus in Burkina Faso with the help of researchers there.Using raw meat, the team attracts mosquitoes into these test rooms.Once inside they rest on a black cloth that has been treated with the fungus, the results are swift.“Well, basically within two generations we’ve killed 99 percent of the mosquitoes so we caused the mosquito population to collapse⁹.”The researchers say that the dramatic results of their test and using their treatment belong with insecticides could have a big impact on fighting malaria and also can be adapted to fight other diseases like Zika or dengue.

当从盒子里出来，如果它们落在蚊子外面的任何地方，它们就会意识到它们落在蚊子身上，它们会钻入蚊子体内。”在测试中，一旦真菌被引入蚊子种群，蚊子在一个月内就消失了，但实验室的成功并不意味着在该领域的成功，因此研究小组正在布基纳法索的研究人员的帮助下在那里测试他们的杀蚊真菌。研究小组使用生肉将蚊子吸引到这些试验室，一旦蚊子进入试验室，它们就落在用真菌处理过的黑布上，结果很快就会出来。嗯，基本上在两代之内，我们已经杀死了百分之九十九的蚊子，所以我们使蚊子数量的暴跌。研究人员说，他们测试和使用杀虫剂治疗的激动人心的结果可能对防治疟疾产生重大影响，也可以适应于防治其他疾病，如齐卡或登革热。

1 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

4 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

7 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

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 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。