Some animals apparently can resist cancer by strengthening their immune system in preparation for winter, Johns Hopkins research

admin2011-03-01  35

问题    Some animals apparently can resist cancer by strengthening their immune system in preparation for winter, Johns Hopkins researchers said on Wednesday.
   The scientists said their study is the first to show that the central nervous system, reacting to environmental changes, may spark changes in the body’s immune system that control the growth of tumors.
   They said if that is the ease, a better understanding of how the process works eventually could lead to new cancer treatments.
   Dr. Randy Nelson, an associate professor of psychology at Hopkins, stressed at a meeting of the Society of Neuroscience that further study would be needed to confirm a connection between the length of the day, the animals’ immune system and cancer. More work also would be needed to show that the findings could be applied to human cancer.
   Dr. Faye Austin, an immunologist with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, said: "It’s a very intriguing observation that the length of exposure to light can affect the growth of a tumour. But I think that the draws really need further work to clarify the mechanics."
   But Austin said the findings were surprising and important, only because they open up a new approach for research.
   Studies showed that stress weakened the immune system in animals. They figured that because winter is stressful, the season probably causes exertion (影响) on the immune system.
   The researchers reasoned that animals that compensated by boosting (促进) their immune systems as winter approached would have a better chance of surviving and producing offspring.
   "In the same way that animals have evolved to select the best time to breed, it struck me that animals ought to be able to predict when conditions would be challenging immunologically." Nelson said.
Which statement can be the best title for this article?

选项 A、Dr. Randy Nelson and His New Findings.
B、Animals Resistance to Cancer.
C、Winter and Animals’ Immune System.
D、A Light in the Cancer Darkness.

答案D

解析 文中一、二、三段说明中枢神经系统对环境变化作出反应并导致生物体内免疫系统发生变化,控制肿瘤生长,这给了癌症的治疗以一线曙光。D选项最符合此意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/fAkd777K
0

随机试题
最新回复(0)