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Now from the Boston Museum of Science, Sci-tech today, on NECN.
有線新聞波士頓消息，歡迎收看今天的Sci-tech Today。
We are talking about a breakthrough in the battle against heart disease. Harvard and MIT scientists have developed a new technology that requires no surgery: it's called Nanoburrs. And Dr. Brindha Muniappan joins us live from the Museum of Science in Boston and tells us about it. Thanks for being here.
今天我們要聊的是心臟病搶救的新突破。哈佛和麻省理工的科學家們研發出一種不用開刀手術的治療方法：Nanoburrs。老子波士頓科學館的Brindha Muniappan博士將向我們做詳細介紹。
Thanks Beth. It's nice to be here.
謝謝Beth，很高興來到這里。
So explain to us a little bit about what a Nanoburr is?
那么，請向我們解釋一下Nanoburr是什么？
Sure. So a nanoburr is a nanoparticle. So very very tiny particle we can't see with our naked eyes on such a small scale. But these particles have been designed to sort of be like burrs you might find out in nature. So if you are out on a walk for example, maybe you've already encountered some of these burrs stuck to your socks or maybe to your pet. These nanoparticles were designed just like these burrs to stick but to a specific place in our body to damaged heart vessels.
好的。nanoburr其實是納米粒子，一種非常非常小用肉眼無法看到的微小分子。這些分子就像大自然中的細小毛一樣。舉個例子，如果你出門散步，也許就會有一些細小毛刺粘到你的襪子或是你的寵物身上。納米粒子就像是這種毛刺，但是粘到了人類身體一個特殊的部位，引發心血管的病變。
And how are they able to do that?
這些納米粒子是如何做到的呢？
Well, the team of researchers that you mentioned earlier designed the nanoparticles to have a very special protein coding the outside of them. And that protein really just wants to bind to another protein that's only exposed when heart vessels are damaged.
之前你提到過的研究小組的成員將這種納米顆粒設計為含有一種特殊編碼的蛋白質。而這種蛋白質只依附于另一種只存在心血管損傷處的蛋白質。
And so, I have got a little demonstration here. If you imagine that this tube is like a blood vessel, the clear area is a normal tissue and the white area is a site of damage. We would inject the nanoburr and it will bind only to the site of damage. You can do that with multiple nanoburrs. There they stick only to the site of damage. And that's the high technology here.
我在這里能展示出來。如果你想象這根管道是一根血管，透明部分是正常組織，白色部分是受損組織。我們注射的納米粒子會附在受損的白色區域。我們放入多個納米粒子，都會附在白色區域，這就是它的高科技所在之處。
So once the nanoburr attaches to that tissue, how does it help improve the condition of the heart?
一旦納米粒子附著在受損區域，它是如何修復心血管的呢？
Well, the inside of the nanoburr contains medicine. So once the burr is bond to the site of damage, it can very slowly release medicine to treat the site of damage. And that's another improvement of this particular technology: the ability to very slowly release the medicine over 12-14 days.
在Nanoburr中包含有藥物。一旦毛刺附在受傷的血管部位，它就能慢慢釋放出來藥物來治療傷處。這項技術的另一個特殊之處就是釋放速度可以很緩慢，慢至12到14天。
So how is this improvement over conventional treatments for blocked or damaged arteries?
那么，這一發明如何能取代傳統方法治療血栓和血管損傷？
Well, in one way, as I mentioned, there is a slow release of drug. But also, these nanoburrs don't have to be surgically implanted, they can just be injected. And there is a little bit more of an advantage, there is a possibility of using this technology for treating other diseases, including cancer or severe inflammation.
我剛才提到了一點，就是藥物的緩慢釋放。還有一點就是Nanoburrs不用外科手術植入，直接注射即可。還有另一個優點，那就是這項技術還能應用于治療其他疾病，包括癌癥或者嚴重的炎癥。
So a team of scientists at Harvard and MIT developed the technology. Where is it and it's availability to patients?
一只由哈佛和麻省理工科學家組成的小組研發這項技術。而，這項技術對換著來說可行嗎？
Well, this technology unfortunately is still in very early stages. Scientists have done some initial tests in rats in their laboratory.They are hoping to do a bit more tests in animals. Maybe within about five years, they might be able to do some small clinical tests in human patients.
不幸的是，這項技術還處于起步階段。科學家們已經在實驗室用老鼠做一些基礎實驗。他們希望能在動物身上做更多的實驗。也許在五年內，他們可以再人類患者身上做一些臨床試驗。
So it sounds like the idea of this isn't just to treat a heart that has already undergone something like a heart attack but more to prevent it from happening?
因此，這項技術不僅是治療得過心臟病的患者，更是預防心臟明的技術？
Well, it certainly might be used before a heart attack, but it could also be used in conjunction with current treatments like stents that are currently used to keep open a previously blocked artery. So it's possible that there are multiple uses for this technology.
這項技術能用于預防心臟病，但也能同心臟支架，一種使血栓過的心血管保持通暢的治療方式相結合。
Alright, Dr. Brindha Muniappan, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, Beth.
好的，謝謝你，Brindha Muniappan博士。謝謝，Beth。
注：本篇文章英文來自普特論壇，譯文屬可可英語原創，未經允許，請勿轉載。
