研究:青蛙皮肤可对抗超级细菌

　　Scientists have known for years that the skin of frogs is a rich source of chemicals capable of killing bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

　　一直以来，科学家们就知道青蛙的皮肤中含有大量能够杀死细菌、病毒和真菌的化学物质。

　　Researchers have attempted to isolatethose germ-fighting chemicals and make them suitable for development into new antibiotics.

　　研究人员曾试着将这些抗菌的化学物分离出来，使它们适用于新抗生素的研制。

　　Success, however, has been elusivebecause the antibioticstend to be toxic to human cells and certain chemicals in the bloodstream easily destroy them.

　　但结果成功与否还是个未知数，因为这些抗生素往往对人体细胞有害，而且血液中的某些化学物质能够轻易将它们破坏掉。

资料图 科学家们现在正对6000多种青蛙的皮肤分泌物进行甄选

　　Dr Conlon and colleagues have discovered a way to tweak their molecular structure, making them less toxic to human cells but more powerful germ killers.

　　康伦博士和同事发现了一个能改变它们分子结构的办法，使它们对人体细胞的毒性变小，但杀灭细菌的能力更强。

　　Similarly, the scientists also discovered other tweaks that enabled the frog skin secretions to shrug off attack by destructiveenzymes in the blood.

　　科学家们还发现了类似的其他好办法，让青蛙皮肤分泌的物质不会被血液中的酶的所破坏。

　　The scientists are currently screening skin secretions from more than 6,000 species of frogs for antibiotic activity. So far, they have purified and determined the chemical structure of barely 200, leaving a potential bonanzaof antibiotic substances awaiting discovery.

　　科学家们现在正对6000多种青蛙的皮肤分泌物进行甄选，以用于新型抗生素的研究。到目前为止，他们刚刚对200种青蛙的皮肤分泌物进行了提纯并确定化学结构，因此还有一个大量的抗生素的宝藏有待发掘。