VOA慢速英语:Scientists Put Living Human Tissue on Silicon Chip

Testing new drugs for safety and effectiveness is a costly process in the United States. It also can take a lot of time. Some scientists are now designing silicon computer chips that act like human organs. The scientists think they have found a way to make the process faster and more economical.
在美国，测试新药的安全性和有效性是一个昂贵的过程，同时也会耗费许多时间。一些科学家正在设计像人体器官一样运作的计算机硅芯片。这些科学家认为他们已经找到了一种能够让这一过程更加快速经济的方法。

The silicon chips are smaller than a child's hand. Each one has living cells that act and react like a human organ. The chips are being created as part of a program to test the safety of drug compounds. It is called the Tissue Chip for Drug Screening Program.
这种硅芯片比小孩的手还小。每个硅芯片都有很多活细胞，它们像人体器官一样反应。这种芯片被开发出来用于一项测试药物化合物安全性的程序，它被称之为“药物筛选程序的组织芯片”。

It is a project of the US National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, or NCATS. Danilo Tagle is the center's Associate Director. He says a three-dimensional computer chip can be designed to act like a human lung. He describes how such a device would operate.
这是美国国家先进转化科学中心（NCATS）的一个项目。Danilo Tagle是该中心的副主任。他说，科学家能够设计出一种像人肺一样运作的三维计算机芯片。他描述了这类设备会如何运作。

"In that case, it would be cells representing the air sacs, that would be represented on these bioengineered devices and allowing it to breathe and expand, and be able to take in air, take in fluids just like a normal lung would."
“在这种情况下，代表肺泡的细胞将在这一生物工程设备上再现，使得它能够呼吸和扩张，从而像正常的肺一样吸入空气和液体。”

Some computer chips contain very small models of the human digestive system. They copy the real function or duties of the human stomach and intestine, moving when breaking down food.
一些计算机芯片包含非常小的人体消化系统模型。这些模型会模仿人的胃和小肠的真实功能，在分解食物时蠕动。

Drugs are added to the tiny organs for testing through instruments known as micro-tubes. Experiments with the tissue chips have produced more detailed information than tests using animal or cell models.
各种药物被加入到被称为微管的微小器官中进行测试。与使用动物或细胞模型试验相比，使用组织芯片的各类试验已经生成了更详细的信息。

NCATS just announced $17 million in grants to develop an entire human organ system over the next three years.
美国国家先进转化科学中心刚刚宣布拨款1700万美元用于在未来三年开发整套人体器官系统。

Researchers at Columbia University are working on a project that would combine models of the heart, liver and circulatory system. The scientists hope to test how well some drugs work on diseases of the heart and liver.
哥伦比亚大学的研究人员正在进行一个把心脏、肝脏和循环系统的模型相结合的项目。科学家们希望测试一些针对心脏和肝脏疾病的药物疗效如何。

At Harvard University, researchers are developing a tissue chip modeled on the heart and lungs. Together, the heart and lungs are part of the cardiopulmonary system. Both the heart and lungs are targets of some diseases. Many new drugs fail during the testing process because they may damage the heart. The Harvard researchers hope to create a cardiopulmonary system model that acts like a human system, both when it is diseased and in good, working condition.
哈佛大学的研究人员正在开发一种以心脏和肺为蓝本的组织芯片。心脏和肺是心肺系统的一部分，它们都是一些疾病的攻击目标。许多新药在测试过程中就失败了，因为它们可能会损害心脏。哈佛大学的研究人员希望开发一种无论人体系统是患病还是正常，都像人体系统一样运作的心肺系统模型。

Researchers say they can safely test the effects of a drug on different organ systems. They can use the tissue chips to observe a drug's effect on the organ or organs it is designed to target.
研究人员称，他们可以安全地测试某种药物对不同器官系统的影响。他们可以使用组织芯片来观测某种药物对器官或其靶向器官的影响。

Scientists want to make the process of developing drugs simpler. They hope the chips will help them find the safest and most successful drugs before human testing begins.
科学家希望让药物开发过程更为简单。他们希望该芯片能够帮助他们在人体试验开始前找到最安全和最有效的药物。