VOA常速英语2016--研究或发现寨卡病毒与小头畸形症存在联系（在线收听）

研究或发现寨卡病毒与小头畸形症存在联系

This is the laboratory at Johns Hopkins'Institute for Cell Engineering in Baltimore, where scientists work around the clock for a month to find out how the Zika virus affects brain cells.

这是巴尔的摩约翰霍普金斯大学的细胞工程学实验室，这里的科学家们已经夜以继日工作了一个月希望找出寨卡病毒如何影响脑细胞。

"In this study, we just asked a very simple question:What are the cells that are preferentially vulnerable for the Zika virus?"

“这项研究我们只是要找出一个非常简单问题的答案:哪些细胞更易受寨卡病毒影响？”

Since last year when the Zika outbreaks started in Brazil, more than 5,000 babies have been born with abnormally small heads and the possibility of severe developmental delays.

去年寨卡病毒在巴西爆发以来，超过5000名婴儿被诊断出先天不正常的小头症状，并有可能的严重发育滞缓。

The condition is called microcephaly.

这种症状被称为小头畸形症。

What these babies have in common is that at some time during pregnancy, the mothers were infected with the Zika virus.

这些婴儿的共同之处在于母亲是在怀孕期间被感染寨卡病毒。

Since then, scientists have tried to determine why and how the Zika virus affects the developing brain and when the fetus is most vulnerable.

自那时起，科学家们就一直尝试找出寨卡病毒影响发育中大脑的方式及原因，以及胎儿何时最易受到病毒攻击。

At Johns Hopkins Medicine and Florida State University, researchers looked at what happens when the Zika virus is put into petri dish with lab-grown cells of the type that form the human brain.

在约翰霍普金斯医学中心及佛罗里达州立大学，研究者们观察细菌培养皿中的寨卡病毒和在实验室培养人脑细胞在一起的反应。

These are stem cells and the more developed neural progenitor cells.

这些是干细胞及更高级的神经前体细胞。

The researchers found that the Zika virus react in two different ways.

结果研究者们发现寨卡病毒会以两种截然不同的方式反应。

“First, they will kill some of these neural cells themselves that are responsible for forming part of the brain and, also, it will slow down the growth of these neural progenitor cells if they're not bad yet.”

“首先，这种病毒会杀死形成部分脑体的神经细胞，同时会减缓未变坏神经前体细胞的生长速度。”

They also found that the virus co-opts themselves and uses the cell's ability to reproduce to make copies of itself.

研究人员也发现，寨卡病毒会自主选择，使用细胞的再生能力完成自我复制。

Ming says more work need to be done to prove that the Zika virus is directly responsible for microcephaly.

明恩表示要证明寨卡病毒同小头畸形症存在直接联系还需要很多工作。

That work could involve a similar study using a three-dimensional model that is closer to the way that brain actually develops.

而且可能还需要使用实际更接近于人脑发育相似的3D模型进行相关研究。

The scientists from both universities are now collaborating on another study.

两所大学的科学家们正在协作进行另一项研究。

"Another thing we really would like to do is to see whether we can find ways to block the Zika entry or the action of Zika virus on the cells."

“我们希望做的另一件事情就是，看看是否能找到阻止寨卡病毒进入细胞或对细胞破坏的方法。”

Blocking the virus, or finding a way to keep it from damaging the brain cells would make zika far less threatening than it is now.

如果能找到阻止或破坏脑细胞的方法，将极大降低寨卡病毒的威胁。