- With Menthol Cigarette Ban Still Uncertain, American Lung Association Calls for White House to Act ‘Swiftly’ to Save Lives
- Why the ‘Sleepy Girl Mocktail’ Might be a Good Idea, According to Experts
- Gangs, Gunmen, and Cartels Running Amok. As Terror Grips the Streets of Ecuador, Even the Armed Forces Live in Fear
- Tom Hollander Mistakenly Sent Huge ‘Avengers’ Bonus Meant for Fellow British Actor
- Can Autoimmune Diseases Be Cured? Scientists See Hope at Last
- The Race to Supercharge Cancer-fighting T Cells
With Menthol Cigarette Ban Still Uncertain, American Lung Association Calls for White House to Act ‘Swiftly’ to Save Lives
由於薄荷菸禁令仍不確定，美國肺臟協會呼籲白宮「迅速」採取行動拯救生命
Health
The American Lung Association is putting more pressure on the White House to finalize rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in the United States. A scathing edition of the association’s annual State of Tobacco Control report, published Wednesday, calls on the Biden administration to finalize the proposed rules and says that failing to do so will result in more death and disease caused by smoking, especially among historically marginalized Black communities.“Menthol cigarettes make it both easier to start and harder to quit by reducing the harshness of the smoke and cooling the throat,” the report notes. Researchers estimate that a regulation banning menthol cigarettes would save about 654,000 lives over the next 40 years, especially those of Black smokers, who are disproportionately more likely to smoke menthols.
--from CNN
美國肺臟協會(Lung Association)正在向白宮施加更大壓力，要求其敲定規則，終止在美國銷售薄荷菸和調味雪茄。 該協會週三發布的年度《菸草控制狀況報告》措辭嚴厲，呼籲拜登政府要敲定所擬議的規則，並表示，如果不這樣做，將導致更多因抽菸導致的死亡和疾病，特別是在歷史上已被邊緣化的黑人社區。 報告指出：「薄荷菸可以減少煙霧的刺激性並冷卻喉嚨，從而使抽菸變得更容易，戒菸也更困難。」 研究人員估計，禁止薄荷菸的法規將在未來 40 年內挽救約 654,000 人的生命，尤其是黑人抽菸者的生命，因為他們抽薄荷菸的可能性要高得多。
-- 摘錄翻譯自 CNN
Why the ‘Sleepy Girl Mocktail’ Might be a Good Idea, According to Experts
專家表示，為什麼「愛睏女孩無酒精雞尾酒」可能是個好主意
Health
“You need to transition into sleep and definitely come up with your bedtime routine,” he added. Be sure to time this routine right, however, Dasgupta said. Avoid drinking too much before bed or you might spend more time waking up to use the restroom, he said. But timing the increase in melatonin correctly is also key. Dasgupta recommends drinking the mocktail with melatonin about two hours before it’s time to sleep, he said. The sleepy girl mocktail could help by kicking out the evening cocktail (or other alcoholic drink), said Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University. Sure, an evening glass of wine may help you feel like you are getting sleepy, but the evidence shows that alcohol consumption results in poorer quality sleep, said St-Onge, who is also director of the Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition’s Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research.
--from CNN
「你需要過渡到睡眠狀態，並制定出你的睡眠時間表」他補充道。 不過，Dasgupta說，一定要把握好這個時間表。 他說，睡前避免喝太多酒，否則你可能會花更多時間起床去洗手間。 但正確增加褪黑激素的時機也很關鍵。 Dasgupta建議在睡前兩小時左右飲用含有褪黑激素的無酒精雞尾酒。 哥倫比亞大學營養醫學副教授 Marie-Pierre St-Onge 博士說，愛倦女孩無酒精雞尾酒可以幫助戒掉晚上的雞尾酒（或其他酒精飲料）。 哥倫比亞大學人類營養研究所卓越中心之睡眠和晝夜節律研究。主任St-Onge說，當然，晚上喝一杯葡萄酒可能會讓你感到想睡意，但證據顯示，飲酒會導致睡眠品質下降。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
Gangs, Gunmen, and Cartels Running Amok. As Terror Grips the Streets of Ecuador, Even the Armed Forces Live in Fear
幫派、槍手和販毒集團猖獗。 因為在厄瓜多街頭恐怖攻擊，連武裝部隊也生活在恐懼之中
Culture
Camille Gamarra and Diego Gallardo sat in their living room and watched as armed gunmen stormed a local television news studio, taking anchors and staff hostage during the live broadcast. People watching it play out were left stunned, and word quickly spread on social media and through WhatsApp messages of simultaneous attacks that were being carried out through Ecuador’s largest and arguably most violent city, Guayaquil. Suddenly, residents, including Camille and Diego, found themselves seeking a safe place for themselves and their loved ones. The couple’s 10-year-old son was in school across town, and Camille bolted towards her car keys to pick him up. But Diego stopped her. “He told me, ‘If something were to happen to you, our kids and I wouldn’t know how to cope. They need you. Stay here. I’m going,’” Camille recounts, a lost stare in her eyes as tears stream down her face.
-- from CNN
Camille Gamarra和Diego Gallardo坐在客廳裡，看著武裝槍手衝進當地一家電視製作工作室室，在直播中將主播和工作人員劫為人質。 觀看播出的人們都驚呆了，消息很快在社交媒體和 WhatsApp上傳播開來，說厄瓜多爾最大也是最暴力的城市Guayaquil發生了攻擊事件。 突然間，包括Camille和Diego在內的居民發現需要為為自己和親人尋找一個安全的地方。 這對夫婦 10 歲的兒子正在城市另一邊的學校上課，Camille拿著她的車鑰匙想衝去接他，但Diego阻止了她。 「他告訴我，『如果你出了什麼事，我們的孩子和我將不知道如何應對。 他們需要妳。 待在這裡。我去。」Camille回憶道，她的眼睛裡充滿了失落，淚水從她的臉上流下。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
Tom Hollander Mistakenly Sent Huge ‘Avengers’ Bonus Meant for Fellow British Actor
Tom Holland 誤將要給英國演員Tom Holland的「復仇者聯盟」巨額分紅寄給了Tom Hollander
Culture
British actor Tom Hollander knows all too well the trials and tribulations of being the almost-namesake of an incredibly famous fellow actor. In an error to trump all errors, “The White Lotus” actor said he was once mistakenly sent Tom Holland’s first whopping seven-figure “Avengers” box office bonus. On NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” show on Monday, host Meyers said to Hollander, “I feel like it’s almost the elephant in the room. There’s an actor named Tom Holland.” “Oh yeah,” Hollander replied amid an uproar of audience laughter. Meyers asked: “Do people ever make that error?” To which, Hollander jokingly said, “Yes. It’s been very difficult. ‘Cause, you know, I was here first. But he’s enormously famous.”
--from CNN
英國演員Tom Hollander 非常了解作為一位與知名演員幾乎同名的演員所經歷的考驗和磨難。 《The White Lotus》的演員表示，他曾被誤寄了要給另一位Tom Holland的高達七位數的《復仇者聯盟》首輪票房分紅，這是一個超越所有錯誤的錯誤。 週一，在 NBC 的「Late Night with Seth Meyers」節目中，主持人Meyers對Hollander說：「我覺得這是一個很大但無法處理的問題。有一個演員叫Tom Holland。」 「哦，是的」Hollander在觀眾的哄笑聲中回答。 Meyers問道：「人們會犯這樣的錯誤嗎？」 對此，Hollander開玩笑地說：「是的。這非常困難。因為，你知道，我先出道。但他非常有名，比我有名。」
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
Can Autoimmune Diseases Be Cured? Scientists See Hope at Last
自體免疫疾病可以治癒嗎？ 科學家終於看到希望
Sciences
Back in 2001, immunologist Pere Santamaria was exploring a new way to study diabetes. Working in mice, he and his collaborators developed a method that uses iron oxide nanoparticles to track the key immune cells involved in the disorder. But then Santamaria, who is at the University of Calgary in Canada, came up with a bold idea. Maybe he could use these particles as a therapy to target and quiet, or even kill, the cells responsible for driving the disease — those that destroy insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. It seemed like a far-fetched idea, but he decided to try it. “I kept doing experiment after experiment,” he says. Now, more than two decades later, Santamaria’s therapy is on the cusp of being tested in people. It’s not alone. Researchers have been trying for more than 50 years to tame the cells that are responsible for autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis. Most of the approved therapies for these conditions work by suppressing the entire immune response. This often alleviates symptoms but leaves people at elevated risk of infections and cancers. But for decades, immunologists have hoped to restore what’s known as tolerance — the immune system’s ability to ignore antigens that belong in the body while appropriately attacking those that don’t. Other researchers are trying to selectively wipe out the problematic cells, or to introduce suppressive immune cells that have been engineered to target them. One approach that relies on engineered immune cells was used to treat 15 people with lupus or other immune disorders with surprising success. One participant has been symptom-free for more than two and a half years.
--from Nature
早在 2001 年，免疫學家 Pere Santamaria 就在探索研究糖尿病的新方法。 他和他的合作者在小鼠身上進行了研究，開發了一種使用氧化鐵奈米粒子來追蹤與疾病相關的關鍵免疫細胞的方法。 但隨後加拿大Calgary大學的Santamaria提出一個大膽的想法。 也許他可以利用這些粒子作為一種療法，針對導致疾病的細胞，抑制或將之殺死——也就是破壞胰腺中產生胰島素的胰島細胞。 這似乎是一個遙不可及的想法，但他決定嘗試。「我不斷地在做一個又一個的實驗，」他說。 現在，二十多年過去了，Santamaria的療法即將在人體中進行測試。 它並不孤單。 50多年來，研究人員一直在試圖馴服導致第一型糖尿病、紅斑性狼瘡和多發性硬化症等自體免疫疾病的細胞。 大多數針對這些疾病被核准的療法都是透過抑制整個免疫反應來發揮作用。 這通常可以緩解症狀，但會增加人們感染和罹癌的風險。 但幾十年來，免疫學家一直希望恢復所謂的免疫耐受性，即免疫系統忽略體內抗原的能力，同時適當地攻擊那些不屬於體內的抗原。其他研究人員正試圖選擇性地消滅有問題的細胞，或引入經過設計的針對這些細胞的抑制性免疫細胞。 一種依賴工程免疫細胞的方法用於治療 15 名狼瘡或其他免疫疾病患者，取得了驚人的成功。 其中一名參與者已經超過兩年半沒有出現任何症狀。
--摘錄翻譯自Nature
The Race to Supercharge Cancer-fighting T Cells
增強抗癌 T 細胞的競賽
Sciences
Crystal Mackall remembers her scepticism the first time she heard a talk about a way to engineer T cells to recognize and kill cancer. Sitting in the audience at a 1996 meeting in Germany, the paediatric oncologist turned to the person next to her and said: “No way. That’s too crazy.” Today, things are different. “I’ve been humbled,” says Mackall, who now works at Stanford University in California developing such cells to treat brain tumours. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the first modified T cells, called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, to treat a form of leukaemia in 2017. The treatments have become game changers for several cancers. Five similar products have been approved, and more than 20,000 people have received them. A field once driven by a handful of dogged researchers now boasts hundreds of laboratory groups in academia and industry. More than 500 clinical trials are under way, and other approaches are gearing up to jump from lab to clinic as researchers race to refine T-cell designs and extend their capabilities. “This field is going to go way beyond cancer in the years to come,” Mackall predicts.
--from Nature
Crystal Mackall 記得她第一次聽到有關改造 T 細胞識別和殺死癌症的方法時的懷疑態度。 1996 年在德國舉行的一次會議上，這位兒科腫瘤學家坐在觀眾席上，轉向她旁邊的人說：「不可能！這太瘋狂了。」 今天，情況已經有所不同。 「我很謙卑，」Mackall說，他現在在加州史丹佛大學工作，開發這種細胞來治療腦腫瘤。 美國食品藥物管理局於2017 年批准了第一個經過修飾的T 細胞，稱為嵌合抗原受體(CAR)-T 細胞，用於治療一種白血病。這種療法已經改變了多種癌症的治療方法。 已有5款類似產品獲批准， 接受治療人數超過2萬人。 這個曾經由少數頑強的研究人員推動的領域，到現在在學術界和工業界擁有數百個實驗室小組。 超過 500 項臨床試驗正在進行中，隨著研究人員競相改進 T 細胞設計並擴展其功能，其他方法也正準備從實驗室轉移到臨床。 「在未來幾年裡，這個領域將遠遠超出癌症的範疇，」Mackall預測。
--摘錄翻譯自Nature