VOA标准英语2012--Scientists Provide Template for Developing New Anti-malarial Drug
时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(一月)
Scientists Provide Template for Developing New Anti-malarial Drug
A team of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, spent six years trying to understand the structure and function of a protein essential to the survival of Plasmodium falciparum. That's the single-celled protozoan that lives inside mosquitos and is responsible for the most lethal 2 form of malaria 1. The microscopic 3 parasite 4 needs the protein, an enzyme 5 called PMT, to make its cell membranes 6, and it cannot survive without it.
Dr. Joseph Jez, who led the research team, says cracking the code of PMT's design is like finding malaria's fatal weakness:
"If you can target the protein and basically kill the activity of the protein, you shut down the production of building blocks for membranes which will then make the organism die off, or slow down the progression," said Jez.
Jez and his colleagues used a complex and painstaking 7 method called protein crystallization to view PMT's molecular 8 structure in three dimensions. He says the method was critical to their study.
"If you can understand what the molecules 9 look like in three dimensions, you can start to design or develop pharmaceuticals 10 that target it specifically," Jez noted 11. "The uniqueness of it is that this is a new potential anti-parasitic 12 target for Plasmodium and also in terms of nematodes or worms, which are parasites 13 as well."
Jez adds that because Plasmodium PMT is NOT found in human cells, any drug that targets the protein could be safely administered to humans.
Dr. Neeraj Mistry is managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. He says the research is an important step toward powerful and safe new drugs to fight the worldwide malaria plague:
"It opens the door to developing new drugs that specifically affect the parasite - will not affect the host - that will not have severe side effects - will only affect the parasite," Mistry noted. "Which means that upon identification of that pathway, we might be able to come up with a unique drug that actually affects that malaria parasite."
The work of identifying compounds that target the Plasmodium PMT is just beginning. But the Washington University research provides new hope not only for new anti-malarial drugs, but for compounds that can destroy a variety of disease-causing parasitic worms as well as weedy plants that all depend on the same PMT protein.
- 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。
- A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
- She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。
- It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
- A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。
- The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
- I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。
- Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度，酶分子将会展开。
- An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。
- The waste material is placed in cells with permeable membranes. 废液置于有渗透膜的槽中。 来自辞典例句
- The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a system of intracellular membranes. 肌浆网属于细胞内膜系统。 来自辞典例句
- She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
- Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。
- The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
- For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。
- The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
- Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。
- the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
- The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
- Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
- By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。