2022年经济学人 狡猾的细菌(2)

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That finding alone is interesting, because it helps explain why cystic-fibrosis patients with bacterial¹ infections often develop copious² mucus in their lungs, even though this does nothing to counter the bacteria.

这一发现本身就很有趣，因为它有助于解释为什么患有细菌感染的囊性纤维化患者经常在肺部产生大量粘液，尽管这对于对抗细菌毫无作用。

More intriguing³, though, was what happened when the researchers tried growing P.Aeruginosa on samples of this mucus.

然而，更有趣的是，当研究人员试图在这种粘液样本上培养铜绿假单胞菌时发生了的现象。

So long as LasB was present, the bacteria did not merely thrive, but actually consumed the mucus.

只要LasB存在，细菌不仅会茁壮成长，而且实际上还会消耗粘液。

Not only is P.Aeruginosa tricking the immune system into an inappropriate response, it is also feeding on the result.

铜绿假单胞菌不仅欺骗免疫系统，使其产生不恰当的反应，而且还以此为食。

And to make things worse still, Dr Medzhitov also discovered that all this immune manipulation makes the surrounding tissues prone⁴ to allergy⁵.

更糟糕的是，梅德日托夫博士还发现，所有这些免疫操作都会使周围组织容易过敏。

Allergic⁶ reactions are, essentially⁷, exaggerated and inappropriate type-2 immune responses.

过敏反应本质上是夸张和不恰当的2型免疫反应。

The researchers therefore wondered whether the reactions being created by LasB could cause lasting⁸ allergies⁹ to develop.

因此，研究人员想知道LasB产生的反应是否会导致持久的过敏反应。

To find out, they sprayed mice infected with P.Aeruginosa with egg-white protein (often used as an experimental allergen) on the first and seventh days of a four-week experiment.

为了找到答案，他们在为期四周的实验的第一天和第七天，向感染铜绿假单胞菌的小白鼠喷洒蛋清蛋白(通常用作实验性过敏原)。

As a control, they did the same with some mice genetically¹⁰ engineered to lack the ability to produce amphiregulin when exposed to LasB.

作为对照，他们对一些基因改造的小白鼠做了同样的实验，当暴露在LasB中时，小白鼠缺乏产生双性调节蛋白的能力。

They theorised that, in the absence of worms, the inflamed¹¹ epithelial tissues in normal mice might instead identify the egg-white protein as an intruder.

他们推测，在没有蠕虫的情况下，正常小白鼠体内发炎的上皮组织可能会将蛋清蛋白识别为入侵者。

This is exactly what happened.

事情就是这样。

When injected with a small amount of egg-white protein two and three weeks after the start of the experiment, the normal mice showed a strong allergic response to it.

当实验开始两周和三周后，正常小白鼠被注射少量蛋清蛋白后，表现出强烈的过敏反应。

In contrast, the amphiregulin-free mice showed little.

相比之下，不含双调节蛋白的小白鼠几乎没有表现出过敏反应。

These discoveries, fascinating in and of themselves, also pave the way for new approaches to treating infections in those with cystic fibrosis.

这些发现本身就很极具吸引力，也为治疗囊性纤维症患者感染的新方法铺平了道路。

Moreover, if one bug¹² has thus evolved a way to milk the immune system, the chances are good that others have done so too.

此外，如果一种细菌因此进化出了一种骗取免疫系统的方法，那么其他细菌也很有可能这样做。

Thus alerted, researchers will be on the lookout¹³ for similar cases.

因此，研究人员将警惕类似的情况。

1 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

2 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

3 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

5 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

6 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

10 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

11 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

13 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。