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Medical devices like implanted arteries or external dialysis machines keep people alive. But persistent problems exist. Blood flowing through the tubes can form dangerous clots. And bacteria that stick to surfaces could start infections.
像動脈植入機及外部透析機這樣的醫療器械，能使病人存活下來。但一些老問題仍未解決。從管子中流出的血液可能會形成危險的血凝塊。黏在輸血管表面的細菌可能會引發感染性疾病。
Treatment for patients using such devices thus often includes anti-clotting agents such as heparin. But such substances have their own risk: by interfering with clotting, they can cause potentially deadly bleeding.
使用這些器械治療病人時，通常還包括肝素等抗凝劑的使用。但使用這種物質本身就存在風險：干擾凝血，這會導致潛在的致命性出血。
Recently, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University looked to the carnivorous pitcher plant for guidance. The plant’s structure includes wells with surfaces too slippery for insects to crawl out of. Those surfaces inspired the development of a coating so slippery that it prevents blood and bacteria from sticking.
近日，哈佛大學威斯生物啟發工程研究中心的科學家們在肉食性植物豬籠草的身上尋求啟發。該植物的構造中有個瓶狀體，瓶表面非常光滑，以致于落在瓶中的昆蟲無法爬出。它的表面啟發了科學家發明一種涂層，該涂層極其光滑，能夠防止血液凝固，以及細菌黏附。
The team tested the coating on the interiors of tubes and catheters attached to pigs. They demonstrated that the coating did not degrade, and that blood kept flowing without clotting, for eight hours. Blood usually starts to clot in tubes in an hour. The study is in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
研究團隊對該涂層進行了檢測，將涂層管和導管連接到豬的身上。結果表明，該涂層不會被降解，且在八小時內，血液能夠保持流動而不會出現凝血現象。通常，血液在輸血管中停留一小時就會出現凝血。該研究發表在《自然生物技術》雜志上。
The researchers also tested whether a gecko could latch onto the coating with its notoriously sticky footpads. But not even the gecko could get a grip.
科學家還做了一項測驗，看壁虎是否能夠憑借它那著名的粘腳墊行走在上述涂層上。但結果顯示，碰上了該涂層，即使是壁虎也寸步難行啊！
