戏说流感那些“H”和“N”事儿.docVIP

戏说流感那些“H”和“N”事儿 　　In biology， you can’t get much simpler than viruses. 　　They stick onto cells， pop open and then dump their genes inside to reproduce. 　　But the naming of viruses isn’t so easy to follow. 　　There’s the new H7N9 spreading through China. And H5N1 is popping up in Southeast Asia. Last summer， H3N2 sickened dozens of people at country fairs. 　　Oh， let’s not forget that 1）pain in the neck H1N1， or the swine flu， which swept through the U.S. in 2009. 　　What 2）in the heck do all these Hs and Ns mean？ H is short for 3）hemagglutinin. And N is short for 4）neuraminidase. More about those in just a moment. 　　But first， we’ve got to cover the 5）ABCs. 　　Influenza comes in three basic types： A， B and C. Those categories tell you a bit about how dangerous the viruses can be. 　　Influenza C causes the mildest disease. Although influenza B can make you just as sick as A， it has never triggered a worldwide 6）pandemic. Those have all come from the influenza A 7）strains. 　　Among other things， influenza A viruses are 8）fashionistas. They cover themselves in an array of accessories. 　　But instead of wearing 9）Dolce and Gabbana， influenza prefers “H N，” aka hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. 　　Hemagglutinin and neuraminidase are little protein 10）spikes on the flu’s surface that help it invade cells. 　　Just like handbags and shoes， the spikes come in a variety of styles. There are 16 versions of hemagglutinin and 9 for neuraminidase. 　　Each flu picks out one style from the N rack and another from the H rack. The new bird flu in China， H7N9， covers itself in H7 and N9， while H1N1 is a bit more low-key and goes only for style No. 1 from each. 　　在生物学里，没有什么比病毒更简单的了。 　　它们粘附在细胞上，（侵入细胞内）脱壳，把自己的基因丢进去，然后分裂繁殖。 　　但是，病毒的命名却没那么容易理解。 　　H7N9这一新型病毒正肆虐中国。H5N1病毒则正在东南亚突然冒出来。去年夏天，H3N2让乡村贸易集市里的很多人感染致病。 　　噢，我们别忘了那让人头疼的H1N1，或者叫猪流感，它曾经在2009年肆虐美国。 　　究竟这些“H”和“N”指的是什么？“H”是血细胞凝集素的简写，而“N”是神经氨酸苷酶的简写。我们稍后再谈这两个家伙。 　　我们首先得来扫扫盲，介绍一些基础知识。 　　流感分为三种基本类型：甲型、乙型和丙型。这些分类让你知道各种病毒对生命的危害程度。 　　丙型流感引发的疾病最温和。尽管乙型流感可能导致与