Voice of America - Special English
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Mutated Gene Protects Against MalariaDEVELOPMENT REPORT û December 10, 2001: Mutated Gene Protects Against Malaria Czas trwania: 3:54 [ pobierz plik - spec0041a1210.mp3 ] This is the VOA Special English Development Report. African and Italian scientists have discovered strong evidence that a changed gene for red blood cells protects against the disease malaria. The changed or mutated gene produces a form of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen to all parts of the body. Afryka±scy i w│oscy naukowcy odkryli mocne dowody na to, ┐e zmieniony gen czerwonych cia│ek krwi chroni przed malari╣. Zmieniony lub zmutowany gen produkuje pewn╣ formΩ hemoglobiny. Hemoglobina jest cz╣steczk╣ w czerwonych cia│kach krwi, kt≤ra transportuje tlen do wszystkich czΩ£ci cia│a. Researchers have found that one in ten people in the west African country of Burkina Faso have the mutated gene, called hemoglobin-C. They hope this discovery could lead to new drugs to fight malaria. As many as five-hundred-million people around the world suffer from the disease each year. Mosquito insects infect people with the malaria parasite. The organism feeds on hemoglobin in human blood. Badacze wykryli, ┐e jedna na dziesiΩµ os≤b w zachodnioafryka±skim kraju Burkina Faso ma zmutowany gen, nazywany hemoglobin╣-C. Maj╣ nadziejΩ, ┐e odkrycie mo┐e przynie£µ nowe leki zwalczaj╣ce malariΩ. Na chorobΩ tΩ cierpi ka┐dego roku nie mniej ni┐ 500 mln ludzi na ca│ym £wiecie. Komary zara┐aj╣ ludzi paso┐ytem malarii. Organizm ten ┐ywi siΩ hemoglobin╣ w ludzkiej krwi. David Modiano of the University of Rome supervised the study of more than four-thousand people in Burkina Faso. He says it is not clear why the mutated gene protects against malaria. But he says the level of protection depends on whether people have one or two copies of the gene. Researchers found that people with one copy of the gene are twenty-six percent less likely to get sick with malaria. Those with two copies -- one from each parent -- have a ninety-three percent reduction in risk. The research was reported in the publication Nature. David Modiano z uniwersytetu w Rzymie nadzorowa│ badanie ponad 4 tys. os≤b w Burkina Faso. M≤wi, ┐e nie jest jasne, dlaczego zmutowany gen chroni przed malari╣. Ale twierdzi, ┐e poziom ochrony zale┐y od tego, czy ludzie maj╣ jeden czy te┐ dwa egzemplarze tego genu. Badacze odkryli, ┐e osoby z jednym egzemplarzem genu s╣ o 26% mniej nara┐one na zachorowanie na malariΩ. U tych z dwoma egzemplarzami - po jednym od ka┐dego z rodzic≤w - ryzyko jest zmniejszone o 93%. O badaniach doniesiono w publikacji Nature. There are other mutant forms of hemoglobin that help protect against malaria. For example, scientists have long known that hemoglobin-S protects Africans from the disease. However, people who carry two copies of the hemoglobin-S gene usually die at a young age from a painful blood disease called sickle cell anemia. Istniej╣ inne zmutowane formy hemoglobiny, kt≤re pomagaj╣ w ochronie przed malari╣. Dla przyk│adu, naukowcy od dawna wiedzieli, ┐e hemoglobina-S chroni Afrykan≤w przed t╣ chorob╣. Jednak ludzie, kt≤rzy maj╣ dwie kopie hemoglobiny-S zwykle umieraj╣ w m│odym wieku z powodu bolesnej choroby krwi nazywanej anemi╣ sierpowat╣. Thomas Wellems is a researcher at the National Institutes of Health near Washington, D-C. Last year, he also discovered that hemoglobin-C protects against the severe form of malaria. The study was carried out in the west African country of Mali. However, Mister Wellems says the Burkina Faso research provides stronger evidence that the hemoglobin-C gene prevents all forms of the disease. Thomas Wellems jest badaczem w Narodowym Instytucie Zdrowia w pobli┐u Waszyngtonu. W ubieg│ym roku on tak┐e odkry│, ┐e hemoglobina-C chroni przed t╣ ostr╣ form╣ malarii. Studium zosta│o przeprowadzone w zachodnioafryka±skim kraju Mali. Jednak p. Wellems twierdzi, ┐e badanie z Burkina Faso dostarcza mocniejszych dowod≤w, ┐e gen hemoglobiny-C chroni przed wszystkimi formami malarii. Doctor Modiano and Mister Wellems agree that scientists need to discover exactly how the mutant forms of hemoglobin protect against malaria. Once this is known, scientists can develop better ways of treating and preventing the disease. Doktor Modiano i p. Wellems zgadzaj╣ siΩ, ┐e naukowcy musz╣ precyzyjnie wykryµ, jak zmutowane formy hemoglobiny chroni╣ przed malari╣. Gdy bΩdzie to wiadome, naukowcy bΩd╣ mogli opracowaµ lepsze sposoby leczenia i zapobiegania tej chorobie. This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. |