一、听力练习
1.
A. The role of RNA in protein production.
B. The discovery of microRNA and its importance.
C. The history of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
D. The development of cancer treatments.
2.
A. Mutations in human genes that cause cancer.
B. The process of transcription in cells.
C. A new type of genetic material that regulates gene function.
D. The genetic structure of the C. elegans worm.
3.
A. Developing new vaccines for COVID-19.
B. Preventing gene mutations in all organisms.
C. Treating genetic diseases such as cancer.
D. Altering the DNA of multicellular organisms.
二、听力文本
Two Americans have won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of genetic material called microRNA. Victor Ambros is a professor at the University of Massachusetts and Gary Ruvkun is a Harvard University professor. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, a group of 50 professors, decided to award the two for identifying genetic molecules that help control how genes work. The Nobel Assembly said the discovery is “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.” In explaining the importance of the work, the group said it “revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.” RNA takes genetic information from DNA through a process called transcription. RNA then becomes involved in protein production or other activities within the cell. Ambros and Ruvkun found that microRNA, or very short chains of molecules, are needed for normal genetic development. The committee said changes in the way that microRNA functions can lead to major genetic changes, or mutations, over time. Nobel's website said the changes can lead to diseases such as cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. Ambros carried out research that helped lead to the discovery at Harvard University. Ruvkun researched at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. At first, Ambros and Ruvkun were interested in genes that control when genetic developments take place. These developments ensure that different kinds of cells develop at the right time. The scientists studied the genetic material of a one-millimeter-long worm C. elegans which is commonly used for research. They studied two mutant strains of worms that displayed defects in the timing of activation of genetic programs during development. They wanted to identify the mutated genes in the worms and what the genes did. After some time, they finally found that microRNA controlled the mutation. They also believe that this mutation has permitted organisms to change, or evolve, over hundreds of millions of years. Dr. Claire Fletcher is a cancer researcher with Imperial College London. Fletcher said the discovery of microRNA has opened new ways for treating cancer. Fletcher said that microRNA provides genetic instructions that tell cells to make new proteins. “MicroRNA alters how genes in the cell work,” said Fletcher, who is not associated with the Nobel prize. “We can take a microRNA that we know alters the activity of that gene and we can deliver that particular microRNA to cancer cells to stop that mutated gene from having its effect,” Fletcher added. Last year's Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was also awarded for developments related to RNA. Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman were recognized for discoveries that enabled messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines for COVID-19. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is valued at about $1 million. Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Prizes to recognize important discoveries that have aided humanity. Thomas Perlmann is the Secretary-General of the Nobel Committee. He said it took a long time before Ruvkun came to the phone, but he was “happy, when he understood what it was all about.”
Question 1: What is the main idea of the news report?
Question 2: What did Ambros and Ruvkun discover in their research?
Question 3: What potential applications of microRNA are mentioned in the news report?
三、重点词汇
1. genetic: belonging or relating to genes (= parts of the DNA in cells) received by each animal or plant from its parents 基因的;遗传信息的
四、背景知识
北京时间10月7日17时30分许，两位科学家victor ambros和gary ruvkun因发现microrna及其在转录后基因调控中的作用，获得2024年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。 生理学或医学奖是2024年诺贝尔奖公布的第一个奖项，这一荣誉不仅是对科学家卓越贡献的认可，更是人类智慧与探索精神的体现。伴随此奖公布，一年一度的“诺奖周”也正式开启。 时间回溯至1895年，瑞典化学家阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔在其遗嘱中设立了五个奖项，旨在奖励那些“对人类做出最大贡献”的人士。 其中，生理学或医学奖作为最早设立的奖项之一，自1901年起每年颁发一次(曾因一战和二战等原因有9次没有颁发)，到2024年已累计颁发了115次。（背景知识来自于https://sghexport.shobserver.com/html/baijiahao/2024/10/07/1437306.html）
五、参考答案
Question 1: B
Question 2: C
Question 3: C
六、网络翻译
2024年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖授予两位美国科学家，他们因发现一种被称为微小RNA（microRNA）的遗传物质而获奖。维克多·安布罗斯是马萨诸塞大学的教授，盖瑞·鲁夫昆是哈佛大学的教授。卡罗琳斯卡学院的诺贝尔大会，由50名教授组成，决定将该奖项授予两位科学家，表彰他们发现了控制基因运作的遗传分子。诺贝尔大会表示，这一发现“被证明对有机体的发育和功能具有根本性的重要意义。”在解释该研究的重要性时，委员会表示，它“揭示了一种全新的基因调控原理，这一原理对于包括人类在内的多细胞生物至关重要。” RNA通过一个叫做转录的过程，从DNA中提取遗传信息。然后，RNA参与蛋白质的生产或细胞内的其他活动。安布罗斯和鲁夫昆发现，微小RNA是一种非常短的分子链，对于正常的遗传发育至关重要。委员会表示，微小RNA功能的变化可能会导致重大的遗传变化，或者随着时间的推移引发突变。诺贝尔官网表示，这些变化可能导致诸如癌症、糖尿病和自身免疫疾病等疾病。 安布罗斯在哈佛大学进行的研究为这一发现做出了贡献。鲁夫昆则在马萨诸塞州总医院和哈佛医学院进行了相关研究。最初，安布罗斯和鲁夫昆对控制遗传发育时间的基因感兴趣。这些发育确保了不同种类的细胞在正确的时间发育。科学家们研究了一种名为线虫（C. elegans）的1毫米长的蠕虫，这种蠕虫常用于研究。他们研究了两种突变的蠕虫，它们在发育过程中激活遗传程序的时间存在缺陷。他们希望确定这些蠕虫中的突变基因及其功能。经过一段时间的研究，他们最终发现微小RNA控制了这些突变。他们还认为，这种突变在数亿年的时间里允许有机体发生变化或进化。 克莱尔·弗莱彻博士是伦敦帝国理工学院的一名癌症研究人员。她表示，微小RNA的发现为治疗癌症开辟了新的途径。弗莱彻指出，微小RNA提供了指导细胞生成新蛋白质的遗传指令。她说：“微小RNA改变了细胞中基因的工作方式。”弗莱彻还表示：“我们可以使用已知能够改变某个基因活动的微小RNA，将其送入癌细胞中，以阻止该突变基因的影响。” 去年的诺贝尔生理学或医学奖也因与RNA相关的进展而颁发。匈牙利裔美国人卡塔琳·卡里科和美国人德鲁·魏斯曼因发现使COVID-19信使RNA（mRNA）疫苗成为可能的成果而获得认可。诺贝尔生理学或医学奖的奖金约为100万美元。瑞典发明家阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔设立了诺贝尔奖，以表彰对人类做出重要贡献的发现。诺贝尔委员会秘书长托马斯·佩尔曼表示，鲁夫昆花了很长时间才接到电话，但当他明白发生了什么后，他非常“高兴”。
七、版权说明
英文新闻来自于VOA；背景知识来自于国内等多个平台。本平台属于公益平台，未通过转载相关内容获得相关利益。文章不涉及打赏及相关产品推荐等。转载相关中文背景知识出于传递更多信息、方便学生理解相关新闻背景；英文文章及音频所传递的观点与本公众号无关。网络翻译来源于ChatGPT的在线翻译，翻译内容仅供参考。此外，内容删减仅是因为篇幅以及考虑学生接受等目的，不涉及歪曲事实观点及作者相关意见。若有来源标注错误或侵犯了您的合法权益，请与本公众号运营人员进行联系，我们将及时更正、删除，谢谢。 邮箱地址：yangyanchao@mmc.edu.mo
