中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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Scientists are developing a ‘stay sober’ pill which may spare the blushes of those who get drunk too easily, by limiting the effects of alcohol on their brains. |
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If after-work drinks tend to leave you clinging with embarrassment the next morning, help could be at hand. Scientists are developing a ‘stay sober’ pill which may spare the blushes of those who get drunk too easily, by limiting the effects of alcohol on their brains. In a fascinating experiment, mice given the drug did not even get tipsy, despite being fed enough alcohol to make them stumble and fall over. The research paves the way for a tablet that stops people from making fools of themselves on a night out. It could help explain why some drinkers are ‘cheap dates’ who start slurring their words and losing their inhibitions after one glass of wine, while others can knock back glass after glass with few ill effects. The American and Australian scientists who carried out the research focused on the way alcohol affects glial cells, which make up 90 per cent of the brain. They play a crucial role in the immune system, helping to fight infections such as meningitis. In the experiment, shutting off this immune response produced a remarkable effect – it stopped the mice who were given alcohol from getting drunk the British Journal of Pharmacology reported. Not only were the animals’ reflexes far better, they also found it much easier to balance and walk than animals whose brain immune cells were allowed to work normally, the British Journal of Pharmacology reports. University of Adelaide researcher Mark Hutchinson said: ‘When a mouse gets drunk, it is quite similar to a human that’s drunk. It can’t work its motor co-ordination properly. If you stop these immune cells from working, the animals didn’t get drunk.’ The University College London researchers hope it will be on sale over the counter within three years. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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工作之余的酒局讓你第二天早晨很尷尬？還在為此煩惱嗎？別擔心，新研制的“千杯不醉”解酒藥可以幫你擺脫煩惱。 科學家正研制一種“醒酒藥”，可以通過抑制酒精對大腦的影響，幫助那些不勝酒力的人擺脫醉酒的煩惱。 在醉酒實驗中，盡管小白鼠被灌了足夠使它們東倒西歪甚至跌倒的酒量，但由于服用了新型藥物，甚至都沒有搖晃。 該研究為研制解酒藥鋪平了道路，這樣人們再不用擔心節日的夜晚喝醉后出洋相了。 該試驗也幫助人們搞清楚了為什么有些人會不勝酒力，一杯酒下肚后就胡言亂語、無法自控；而還有些人卻連飲數杯后還神態自若。 來自美國和澳大利亞的科學家開展了此項研究，他們的研究重點是占大腦組織90%的神經膠質細胞。 神經膠質細胞對免疫系統而言至關重要，可以幫助抵抗腦膜炎等感染。試驗顯示，關停神經膠質細胞的免疫反應效果顯著，可以防止小白鼠醉酒。研究結果發表在《英國藥理學雜志》上。 科學家還發現，關停免疫反應后，小白鼠不僅看起來沒有醉意，而且比普通小白鼠平衡能力更強，走路更平穩。 阿德萊德大學的研究人員馬克?哈金森說：“小白鼠喝醉和人喝醉很相似，運動協調性會變得很差。如果阻止了免疫細胞的活動，小白鼠就不會醉酒?！?/p> 倫敦大學學院的研究人員希望這種藥物可以在三年內面市。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯：馮明惠） |
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Vocabulary: at hand：soon in time; imminent（即將到來，在手邊） tipsy: unsteady or crooked（不穩的，搖搖晃晃的） night out: 節日的夜晚 cheap date: 省錢約會，經濟約會 glial：神經膠質的 over the counter: 不需醫師處方而賣的，店面交易的，縮寫為OTC |
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