Mosquitoes (蚊子) carry malaria (疟疾), which kills thousands of people each year. Now some researchers are trying to use genetic engineering (基因工程) to make them into partners in the fight against the disease.
For years, public health officials have tried to limit the disease by controlling mosquito populations. “But that approach is short-term,” says Anthony James, a professor of biology and genetics at the University of California, Irvine, “because mosquitoes are very tough little insects, and their populations can quickly increase.”
Therefore, James and his colleagues want to try a different approach: making mosquitoes themselves into malaria-fighting warriors (勇士), which is completely different from traditional ways of controlling malaria.
To understand how it works, it helps to understand the life cycle of malaria. The malaria pathogen (病原体) is a parasite (寄生虫) that grow inside humans. It’s passed via mosquitoes that move from person to person, sucking blood. “If we can make the mosquitoes difficult for the pathogens to survive, we can wipe out the disease,” he says. But making mosquitoes uninviting to malaria is a Herculean task.
To solve the problem, the team used a gene-editing technique called CRISPR. They stated with genes from mice, whose immune systems (免疫系统) do fight human malaria, engineered those genes, and then gave them to the mosquitoes.
It turned out the gene-edited mosquitoes worked very well. They reduced the number of parasites in the mosquito before they were passed to a human host.
James’ team are now working on planning a field trial, which he hopes could be done on an island or in another isolated location.
A.Mosquitoes can reproduce quickly. |
B.Mosquitoes can be easily controlled. |
C.Mosquitoes have killed thousands of people. |
D.Mosquitoes have been used to fight against malaria. |
A.A great comfort. | B.A tough job. | C.A narrow escape. | D.A key factor. |
A.Unconcerned | B.Supporting. | C.Negative. | D.Positive |
A.Preventing Malaria with a New Vaccine |
B.Curing Malaria with Gene-edited Mosquitoes |
C.Limiting Malaria by Controlling Mosquito Populations |
D.Controlling Malaria by Engineering Mosquitoes’ Genes |
Silence provides our mind and body with much-needed rest. It is also beneficial to the brain. If you want to know how to ad the power of silence to your daily life, here are three ways.
From smartphones to laptops and music systems, we spend most of our time online. Although technology has become an important part of our lives, the noise our smart devices cause can be harmful to our wellbeing.
Go out into nature
Spending time in nature can help you get in touch with your inner self, reduce stress and comfort a troubled mind.
You can either do this early in the morning before starting your daily routine or in the evening after finishing your day. Don’t look at your smartphones while spending time in nature. Just be with yourself, and listen to the comforting sounds of birds.
Talk less and listen more
We spend a lot of time talking every day.
A.Practice it for a happy life. |
B.Spend some time offline every day. |
C.A good way is to set aside daily offline time. |
D.And in this way, you can enjoy the beauty of nature. |
E.You do not necessarily have to go to faraway places. |
F.Often we speak without carefully considering our thoughts. |
G.That’s why it’s important to find a place where you can study. |
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A.locking | B.entering | C.designing | D.cleaning |
A.actually | B.entirely | C.fortunately | D.immediately |
A.Assuming | B.Ignoring | C.Expecting | D.Commanding |
A.certainly | B.quietly | C.finally | D.slightly |
A.gave up | B.picked up | C.checked out | D.showed off |
A.heart | B.pressure | C.memory | D.strength |
A.greeted | B.helped | C.saw | D.moved |
A.formal | B.real | C.new | D.popular |
A.confident | B.anxious | C.surprised | D.hopeless |
A.heard | B.spoke | C.shouted | D.smiled |
A.taking in | B.sticking with | C.brightening up | D.waking up |
A.lay | B.rest | C.show | D.ease |
A.caught | B.followed | C.located | D.prevented |
A.kindness | B.talent | C.bravery | D.justice |
A.cheerful | B.safe | C.exciting | D.creative |