VOA标准英语2011--Helper Serum Boosts Effectiveness of Flu

Helper Serum¹ Boosts Effectiveness of Flu Vaccine²

Vaccines³ against swine and avian flu can be made more effective by the addition of a helper serum known as an adjuvant. The finding from a new study could let vaccine makers⁴ stretch supplies and possibly lower costs when new influenza⁵ strains emerge.
Influenza vaccines are generally effective against a particular strain of the flu. But microbiologist Hana Golding of the U.S Food and Drug Administration says sometimes a new strain emerges suddenly, and there is a scramble⁶ to design and manufacture a new vaccine.
"And you want to really, very quickly, vaccinate⁷ the population, you need all the help you can get," she says.
Vaccines are based on an antigen - the ingredient that actually stimulates⁸ the body's immune response - plus other components⁹.
A new study looked at the effectiveness of one of those other components - an adjuvant called MF59 - in boosting some flu vaccines.
"The MF59 is a class of adjuvant that is called oil-in-water emulsion, which is exactly what it says," Golding says. "This type of adjuvant works by attracting to the site of vaccination¹⁰ competent immune cells, whereby they're creating a local environment to facilitate the immune response."
In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Golding and her colleagues showed that adding MF59 to vaccines for H1N1 swine flu and for avian flu increased the immune response in various age groups.
One advantage of adding an adjuvant to a vaccine is that it may produce an equally effective dose using less antigen - the key ingredient that may be scarce or expensive in an emerging pandemic.
"If you have more efficient processing of a certain amount of vaccine, you don't need as much to get the same level of immune response. And if you can use less amount of vaccine per dose, then you can clearly have a much larger coverage¹¹."

1 serum   

n.浆液，血清，乳浆

参考例句：

• The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
• Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质，共11种，称为补体。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

6 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

7 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

8 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

10 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

11 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。