首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Last year, when President George W. Bush announced that federal funds could be used to support re search on human embryonic stem
Last year, when President George W. Bush announced that federal funds could be used to support re search on human embryonic stem
admin
2010-07-19
62
问题
Last year, when President George W. Bush announced that federal funds could be used to support re search on human embryonic stem cells, he mandated that only those cell lines that existed at the time would qualify for such support. More than a year later it’s becoming increasingly clear that these existing cell lines are inadequate. Unless more are created, the research slowdown may exact a staggering cost in terms of human suffering.
Since this announcement, the U. S National Institutes of Health has tried to stimulate research on the existing cell lines with new funding and efforts to streamline the initially cumbersome process of obtaining approved cells. However, whether there are 60 cell lines, as originally stated, or nine, as now appear to be available to NIH-funded investigators, the number is not adequate. Given the genetic diversity within the population, scientists need access to new cell lines if they are to come up with the most effective cell therapies.
The issue is partly one of safety. In conducting research with human participants, we must minimize risks. The most effective cell line might not be the safest. When developing a new medicine, a large number of molecules must be screened to find a balance between effectiveness and safety. The same is true with cells: In the context of cell therapy, it will be important to minimize unwanted immune reactions and inflammation. This requires selection from a large number of cell lines to obtain the best match.
It’s clear from experiments with animals that stem--cell therapies can reduce human suffering. Parkinsonian mice have been cured with embryonic stem cells that were programmed to become dopamine-secreting, replacement nerve cells. Soon, cells induced to make insulin in tissue cultures will be used in attempts to treat diabetic mice. Similar successes have been achieved in animal models of spinal cord injury, heart failure and other degenerative disorders. We are at a frontier in medicine where tissues will be re stored in ways that were not imaginable just a few years ago. The ethical issues raised by human-embryo research are profound. The human costs of restricting this research must be taken into account as well. The cost in dollars of delaying new stem-cell research is difficult to estimate. It might measure in the hundreds of billions of dollars, especially if one adds the lost productivity of individuals who must leave work to care for victims of degenerative disorders.
A less obvious, but real, cost is the damage to the fabric of America’s extraordinary culture of inquiry and technical development in biomedical science. Our universities and teaching hospitals are unparalleled. We attract the very best students, scientists and physicians from around the world. But these institutions are fragile. Research and education play key roles in attracting the best physicians. A crippled research enterprise might add an unbearable stress with long-lasting effects on the entire system. If revolutionary new therapies are delayed or outlawed, we could be set back for years, if not decades.
To steer clear of controversy, some investigators will redirect their research. Others will emigrate to countries where such research is allowed and encouraged. Some will drop out entirely. The pall cast over the science community could extend far beyond stem-cell research. Many therapies have emerged from collaboration between government-sponsored researchers and private enterprise. Few of these discoveries would have emerged ii, for instance, recombinant DNA research had been outlawed 30 years ago. We face the same type of decision today with limits placed on human embryonic stem cells.
Safeguards will be necessary. But if we do not proceed embracing the values of objective, open, inquiry with complete sharing of methods and results, the field will be left to less rigorous fringe groups here and abroad. Patients and society will suffer.
The most suitable title for the passage would be ______.
选项
A、The Cell Lines.
B、The Stem-cell Research.
C、The Dangers of Delay.
D、Costs on American Patients.
答案
C
解析
主旨题。开篇首段指出:the research slowdown may exact a staggering cost in terms of human suffering.接下来两段介绍研究停滞的原因,然后说明干细胞疗法对人类的治疗作用。第五段和第六段具体说明该研究停步不前带来的损失,最后对全文进行归纳总结。文中多处出现 slowdown、delay等词,显然文章主题是关于该项研究被推迟所带来的危害,故[C]为答案。[A]是文中细节内容,[B]范围过大,不能概括主题。[D]干扰性较强,但只指出对病人的危害,没有涉及社会,不全面。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/qylO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Inmodernsociety,mostpeopleseemtobelievethatthesocietyisfullofcompetition.Inordertobesuccessful,everyonehas
Peoplearemovingtocitiesindroves.In1950,two-thirdsoftheworld’spopulationlivedinthecountryside.NewYorkwasthen
WhenGermanyinvadedPoland,BritainandFrancedeclaredwaronGermany.ThentheU.S【1】______indebate.Rooseveltaskedc
"Acrowdisnotcompany,andfacesarebutagalleryofpictures,andtalkbutatinklingcymbal,wherethereisnolove."Thea
ThecapitalcityofAustraliais_____.
AfaultlinerunsthelengthofNewZealand,whichmeansthatitoftenhas______.
Itwasnothotthatday,butmanyweresweltering.JuliusStreicher,theJew-baiterofNuremberg,wasthere.Thissadista
A、registeracourseofhalfayear.B、registeratanyhospital.C、registerwithadoctor.D、registerwiththelocalcitycouncil
FivePowerKeysforLeadershipSuccessManypeoplehopetobecomeasuccessfulleader.Infact,thereare5powerkeyswhich
ItwastheEnglishscientist-philosopherFrancisBaconwhosaid,"Knowledgeitselfispower."Thisisanimportantdictum,buti
随机试题
台式卧式铣镗床圆光栅或圆感应同步器检测分度定位机构可实现()定位。
双甲股份有限公司是某省上市公司,该上市公司已发行股份为100万股。以下是在证券交易所发生的几起买卖双甲股票的事件:(1)甲于6月8日10时,在持有该公司股票3万股情况下。购进1万股,同日14时再购进5000股。(2)乙于6月8日14时,在持有该公司股票
简述中国法律体系下的立法程序。
按照国家工程建筑消防技术标准进行消防设计的建筑工程竣工时,必须经()进行消防验收;未经验收或者经验收不合格的,不得投入使用。
某公司2009年12月31日的资产负债表如表1所示。公司2009年的销售收入为100000元,流动资产的周转率为2次,销售净利率为10%,现在还有剩余生产能力,即增加收入不需进行固定资产投资,此外流动资产及流动负债中的应付账款均随销售收入的增加而增加。
当前普遍存在成语乱用、汉字乱精简等不规范现象,对此你有何想法?
协调个人与社会的关系应做到()
有两个关系R和T如下图所示,则由关系R得到关系T的运算是
Youwillhearfiveshortrecordings.Foreachrecording,decidewhatthespeakerismainlytalkingabout.Writeonelett
Moreover,insofarasanyinterpretationofitsauthorcanbemadefromthefiveorsixplaysattributedtohim,theWakefieldM
最新回复
(
0
)