VOA慢速英语--澳洲科学家:发现致命毒蛛,毒液可以挽救心脏病

Australian researchers say a treatment found in the venom¹ of one of the world's deadliest spiders could save the lives of heart attack victims.

A team from the University of Queensland studied the poison from the Fraser Island funnel²-web spider in eastern Australia. They say the venom contains what could be a life-saving molecule³, or peptide.

The peptide could block so-called death signals sent to cells after a heart attack, when blood flow to the heart is reduced. A reduction in blood flow cuts off oxygen to the heart muscles. This results in a message being sent in the body for heart cells to die.

Scientists have not been able to develop a drug that stops this death signal, even after many years of study. Australian experts have said that is one of the reasons heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death around the world. The World Health Organization estimates that 17.9 million people die each year from diseases of the heart.

Doctor Sarah Scheuer is a researcher at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. She helped lead a study on the spider venom that was recently published in the journal Circulation.

"We are using this special little peptide from a small portion of the funnel web spider venom," she said. "What we found is this peptide is able to help protect the heart where there is a lack of blood supply or blood flow."

She added that the discovery could also help heart transplant patients.

Australian researchers believe the molecule from the spider venom blocks the heart's ability to sense acid after a heart attack. That interferes⁴ with the death message.

The scientists hope the treatment can be used by emergency workers in the future.

The discovery builds on earlier work that found that a small protein in the venom of the Fraser Island funnel-web spider greatly improved patients' recovery from a stroke.

The protein has been tested in human heart cells. The Australian team aims to start research studies in people for both stroke and heart disease within two to three years.

Words in This Story

venom – n. a poison produced by some insects and snakes

transplant – n. a medical operation in which an unhealthy organ is replaced with a healthy one

stroke – n. a sudden problem in the brain that changes the flow of blood and makes a person unable to move part of their body

1 venom   

n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨

参考例句：

• The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
• In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。

2 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

3 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

4 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。