2021届新高考英语一轮复习阅读理解专项训练（3）健康环保类.docVIP

2021届新高考英语一轮复习阅读理解专项训练（3） 健康环保类 1.From talking robots and video phones to rovers on Mars, technology has become so advanced that the previously impossible seems to occur on a daily basis. And yet – we still have no cure for the common cold. Why can’t we stop the common cold? According to Peter Barlow, a scientist at Edinburgh Napier University in the UK, the main challenge lies in the many different types of cold viruses that are produced by the rhinoviruses (鼻病毒). There are at least 160 types. They mutate (突变) so easily that they quickly become resistant to drugs, or learn to hide from our immune systems. In other words, a single cure isn’t likely to work on every type of cold. However, researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, have found a possible answer. They discovered a protein that the viruses need. Without it, they can’t spread inside your body. To identify the gene which produces the specific protein needed by the viruses, researchers used a gene-editing technique to test all genes in the human genome (基因组) one by one for thousands of cells. These modified (改变的) cells were then exposed to a range of enteroviruses(肠病毒), including the rhinoviruses which cause the common cold. All the viruses were unable to replicate (复制) inside cells without a gene that produces a specific protein, called methyltransferase SETD3. Then, they tested genetically modified mice, which were completely unable to produce the protein. The mice were able to live healthy, normal lives without the protein. “Lacking that gene protected the mice completely from viral infection.” associate professor Jan Carette, from Stanford, told the BBC. “These mice would always die, but they survived and we saw a very strong reduction in viral replication and very strong protection.” Carette said the plan is to find a drug which can temporarily suppress (抑制) the protein, instead of producing genetically modified humans. “We have identified a fantastic target