四氯乙烷-青冥浩荡不见底
Bananas are often called the
perfect food.
香蕉被称为完美食
物。
They are
nutritious , a good source of all kinds of
vitamins and
minerals.
香蕉营养丰富，饱含各种维生素和矿物质。
They can
help fight depression and ward off muscle
cramps.
香蕉可以帮助治疗郁郁症并防止肌肉痉挛。
They can
lower blood pressure and protect against
heart attacks.
它还能降低血压并预防心脏病发作。
To
most people , bananas taste
great.
对大多数人来说，香蕉甚是
美味的。
They add
natural sweetness to some baked goods and
health drinks.
它们为一些烘培食品以及保健饮品增添了自然甜味。
And bananas come in their own
protective , biodegrable
packaging.
香蕉还拥有具有保护作用以及能够生物降解的表皮。
So , there are many reasons to eat
bananas.
因此，吃香蕉有
很多种理由。
And now there
is another.
而现在出现了另一种理由。
Bananas , it
turns out , have a secret
weapon.
事实证明，香蕉
有一种秘密武器。
And this
cecret weapon could protect against
viruses.
即
可以抵抗病毒
Scientists are
now taking a protein foung in bananas
and turning it into a drug that may
someday fight viral
infections.
科学家们正致力于将香蕉中一种蛋白质转变为对抗病毒感染的药物。
The secret weapon is
called bananas lectin , or
BanLec.
这种秘密武器被称为香蕉凝集素。
BanLec is a
protein that attaches to sugar molecules
and keeps viruses out of
cells.
香蕉凝集素是一种附着于糖分子并防
止病毒进入细胞的蛋白质。
A
virus cannot infect what it cannot
enter.
病毒无法感染
无法进入的目标。
The team of
researchers published their study in
the
journal Cell.
《细胞》杂志上，研究小组发表了他们的研究结果。
In their article , the researchers say it
could be one
of the first antiviral
agents to treat a wide-rang of
viruses.
文章中研究人员指出，它将可能成为第一种治疗广泛病毒的抗病毒剂。
These viruses include HIV , hepatitis and
even the
common flu
virus.
这些病毒包括艾滋病毒、肝炎，甚至是普通流感病毒。
Senior co-
author of the study is David Markovitzat
the University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor.
密歇根大学安娜堡分校的
大卫.马科维茨是这项研究的高级合著者。
He warns that you cannot get the
benefits of
BanLec simply by eating a
bunch of bananas.
他提醒说，光吃
香蕉并不能获得香蕉凝集素的好处。
Stomach acids , he explains , will chew up
the protein
before it has a chance to
fight infections in the
body.
他解释说，这种蛋白质在对抗体内感染之前，有可能已经被胃酸消耗掉了。
BanLec is a modified , or changed ,
protein.
香蕉凝集素是一种
改良过的蛋白质。
Markovita
explains.
马科维茨解释道
。
“Remember , when you are eating the
banana , “
记住，当
你吃香蕉时，
then the
protein which , by the way , is not our
modified protein , it is an actual
protein;
这种蛋白质并非我们改良
过的蛋白质，而是一种真正的蛋白质。
it is probably going to be chewed up
by the
stomach acid.
它可能会被胃酸消化掉。
So , we very much doubt that eating
bananas will
help
you.”
所以我们对吃香蕉会起到作用充满疑虑。”
Markovitz says
researchers investigated the bananas
protein for a very special
use.
马科维茨表示，研究人员研究这种香
蕉蛋白质的一种特殊用途。
Women
could use a type of the protein before sex
to protect them against HIV
infection.
女性可以在性行为之前使用
这种蛋白质来防止艾滋病毒感染。
But the researchers found that the
protein fought dff
a number of
viruses.
但是研究人员发现，这种蛋白质消灭了一些病毒。
Viruses
simply die if they cannot infect
cells.
病毒如果无
法感染细胞就会死亡。
At this point
, Markovitz say , there are no plans to
test the BanLec protein on
humans.
马科维茨表示，目前还没有计
划对香蕉凝集素蛋白质进行人体试验。
He says he and the other researchers
are ambitious ,
meaning they want to be
successful; with this
drug.
他和其
他研究人员都雄心勃勃，也意味着他们希望该种药物能获得成功。
But , Markovitz adds , they also
need to be careful , or
be cautious , to
avoid doing any
harm.
但是马科维茨补充下，他们
也需要小心谨慎，防止造成任何伤害。
It
is early days , he says.
他表示一切还处于初级阶段。
“We are trying to help people with
their health , not
harm
them.“
我们正在试图帮助保护人们的健康而不是伤害他们。
And so
it is good to be cautious about where we
are going.
因此我们需要谨慎行事。
You know , we
are also very ambitious to make
things
work well , but we are not
there.
我们还希望能够取得成
功，但是离成功还有一段距离。
You
know , we are early on still.”
目前仍还是起步阶段.”
It may be early on , but these
researchers may want
to
hurry.
虽然还是早期阶段，但研究人员们希望加快速度。
The world’s
banana supply is currently in serious
trouble.
当前全球香蕉供应正处困境。
A deadly
fungus , now called Tropical Race 4 ,has been
killing banana crops around the world.
一种被称之为“黄叶病热带
第4型”的致命真菌一直在扼杀着世界各地的香蕉作物。
TR4
started in Malaysia in the
1990s.
上世纪90年代，黄叶
病热带第4型首先爆发于马来西亚。
And
in 2003 moved across Southeast Asia and
into
Australia.
随后于2013年席卷整个东南亚，并进入澳大利亚。
Now the fungus has moved
into Africa and is killing
banana crops
in
Mozambique.
目前这种真菌已经蔓延至非洲，并且正在
摧毁莫桑比克的香蕉作物。
Today , bananas are grown in more than
100 countries.
如今超过100个国家种植香蕉。
As of
2013 , many websites rank India as the
world’s
top producer of
bananas.
截至2013年，许多网站将印度列为全球最大
的香蕉生产国。
Bananas are ranked fourth among the
world’s food
crops in monetary
value.
香蕉被列为全球最值钱粮食作物的第四位。
Mozambique
officials say bananas bring in more than
$$70 million per
year.
莫桑比克官员表示，香蕉每年带来超过7千万美元
的收入。
We
Americans eat more bananas than apples and
oranges combined.美国人香蕉食用量超过了苹果与桔子之和。