研究人員設計出了一種可以在術后快速將身體組織粘合起來的雙面膠帶。這個設計靈感源于蜘蛛在雨中捕獵時分泌的 “膠水”。

文字稿

Getting tissues in the body to form a tight seal is difficult because water on their surface makes them slippery. Sutures or stitches that hold a wound or cut together don't always work well and can lead to infections.

讓身體組織形成緊密的密封是十分困難的，因為它們表面的水分會使組織變得光滑。用來將傷口縫合在一起的縫合針或縫合線并不總是有效，而且可能會導致感染。

Tissue glues which already exist can take several minutes to work and may drip onto other body parts. The scientists from MIT noticed how spiders catch their prey in the rain by secreting a sticky material containing a carbohydrate known as polysaccharides that absorb water from the surface of an insect almost instantaneously, leaving a small, dry patch the glue can then stick to.

已經存在的組織粘合膠需要幾分鐘才能發揮作用，并可能滴到身體的其它部位。來自麻省理工學院的科學家們注意到，蜘蛛在雨中捕捉獵物的方法是靠分泌一種含有帶電多糖的粘性物質，這種物質幾乎可以瞬間從昆蟲表面吸收水分，留下一小塊干燥的表面，從而黏著獵物。

The researchers developed a double-sided tape treated with a type of acid to do the same. They then tried it out on different types of rat and pig tissue, including the lung, small intestine, stomach, liver and skin. They found it worked within about five seconds. The team said that with more research it could be used in place of sutures and even to attach medical devices to organs such as the heart. But they warned there are still several years away from human trials.

研究人員設計了一種有同等功效的雙面膠帶，這種膠帶經酸處理過。研究人員在不同類型的老鼠和豬組織上進行了試驗，包括肺、小腸、胃、肝臟和皮膚。他們發現這種雙面膠帶在五秒鐘內就可以將組織密封起來。這個研究小組表示，隨著更多的研究，這種雙面膠帶可以用來代替縫合線，甚至可以用它把醫療設備固定到心臟等器官上。但他們同時提醒人們，離在人體上試驗雙面膠帶仍需幾年時間。

詞匯

sutures 縫合針
stitches 縫合線
infections 感染
prey 獵物
secreting 分泌
carbohydrate 碳水化合物，糖類
polysaccharides 多糖
instantaneously 即刻地，瞬間地
treated 用……處理過
lung 肺
small intestine 小腸
stomach 胃
liver 肝臟
human trials 人體實驗

閱讀理解：請在讀完上文后，回答下列問題 。

1. What can happen if stitches don’t hold a wound together?

2. How does the polysaccharide that the spider secretes work so that it can stick to its prey?

3. True or false? Researchers have created something that will work in the same way on humans as the spider’s polysaccharide does on its prey.

4. What is one of the possible outcomes of this research?

答案

1. What can happen if stitches don’t hold a wound together?
Sutures or stitches that hold a wound or cut together don't always work well and can lead to infections.

2. How does the polysaccharide that the spider secretes work so that it can stick to its prey?
The polysaccharides absorb water from the surface of an insect almost instantaneously, leaving a small, dry patch the glue can then stick to.

3. True or false? Researchers have created something that will work in the same way on humans as the spider’s polysaccharide does on its prey.
False. Researchers have developed a double sided tape treated with a type of acid to do the same thing but they say they are still several years away from human trials.

4. What is one of the possible outcomes of this research?
The team said that with more research it could be used in place of sutures and even to attach medical devices to organs such as the heart.