Scientists in UK have grown a living human “brain”. The team at Aston University created tiny bunch of cells which act like a mini nervous system.
They believe it could help find a cure for worse mental conditions like Parkinson’s disease. Professor Michael Coleman is leading the research program. He explained,“We are aiming to be able to study the human brain at the most basic level, using an actual living human cell system. Cells have to be alive and operating efficiently to enable us to really understand how the brain works.” The experiment involves changing cells from a cancer tumor(肿瘤) and making them behave like brain cells.
Although far from finished, researchers hope the false brain cells will give them a greater understanding of how real brains work. This, in turn, could significantly further research into conditions which affect the brain. Neil Hunt, chief leader of the research group, said,“It is still very early days, but in the future the research could lead to a useful tool for looking into dementia (痴呆).”
The technique could also provide a way to carry on animal test and is being supported by the Humane Research Trust (HRT). The scientists predict that over the next ten years a million people will develop dementia. Professor Coleman believes their findings could change this. He said,“We hope our research will provide scientists with a new and highly relational human experimental model to help them understand the brain better and develop new drugs to control the related disease. However, the biggest challenge at present is that we are greatly short of fund, which will slow our research.”
【改编】UK scientists grow a living human “brain” so as to ________.
A.research into the structure of human brain |
B.take advantage of living human cell system |
C.discover how human brain really functions |
D.distinguish cells from a cancer tumor |
According to Neil Hunt, research into brain cells ________.
A.will get finished as early as possible |
B.will make people discover dementia |
C.will affect the brain growth in many ways |
D.will help to treat some diseases in nerve system |
【改编】What can we conclude from the last paragraph? ______.
A.the technique provided by HRT is immature |
B.animal tests are forbidden by law |
C.a million people suffer from brain diseases |
D.the research program lacks financial support |
【改编】what is the purpose of the text ?________.
A.The text is intended to tell us about a breakthrough in medical research |
B.The text is intended to introduce a research program in human’s brain |
C.The text is intended to introduce the progress of drugs for dementia |
D.The text is intended to tell us about health problem in nerve system |