😈物極必反，否極泰來。
👉👉👉純英視頻拓展——英法邊界貨車急需批量進行新冠檢測
👉👉👉中英對照精讀
🌞What We Know About the New Covid-19 Strain in England
🌞我們所了解的英國新冠新毒株
①Scientists are hurrying to understand why a new strain of the coronavirus that emerged in England in September appears to be spreading far more rapidly than earlier variants.
①與之前的毒株相比，9月突現倫敦的新冠新毒株的傳播速度似乎要快得多，其中原因幾何，科學家正日以繼夜地進行研究。
②The early conclusion is that the virus has mutated[mjuːˈteɪt] to change the so-called spike protein on the surface of the virus, increasing the protein’s ability to cling onto and enter human cells. These changes allow the mutation to spread 70% faster than earlier versions of the virus, early analysis suggests.
②初步結論是：病毒發生了突變，其表面的刺突蛋白發生改變，這種蛋白粘附並進入人體細胞的能力進而增強。初步分析表明，上述變化使病毒變種的傳播速度較之前的毒株加快了70%。
③Three main questions are now being investigated: Is the new variant[ˈveəriənt] more contagious[kənˈteɪdʒəs] , is it more likely to be fatal or cause serious illness, and is it more likely to defeat the body’s immune responses, including those encouraged by vaccines?
③當下的研究焦點有三：新變種是否更具傳染性？是否更易致命或引發嚴重疾病？是否更易破壞人體免疫反應，包括疫苗接種後的免疫反應？
④The provisional[prəˈvɪʒənl] answers to those questions, as outlined by British scientific advisers on Saturday, are yes, no and no.
④英國科學顧問周六表示，目前來看，這些問題暫時的答案是：是、否、否。
⑤Patrick Vallance, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, said the conclusions that the mutation was less dangerous and unlikely to compromise the effectiveness of vaccines were preliminary. He said there were theoretical reasons why the new variant might alter the immune response, though there was no evidence so far that was the case.
⑤英國政府首席科學顧問瓦蘭斯表示，這一變種危險性低、不太可能影響疫苗效果，這僅是初步結論。理論上而言，新變體可能會改變免疫反應，但目前沒有相關事實依據。
⑥「The working assumption is that the vaccine response should be adequate for this virus, but we need to keep vigilant[ˈvɪdʒələnt] about this,」 he said.
⑥他說：「疫苗應足以應對新病毒，但對此我們需要保持警惕。」
👉👉👉中英詞彙積累
🌞Key words
💀strain
n. 類型，品種；壓力；扭傷
💀variant
n. 變體
💀early conclusion
初步結論
💀mutate
v. 變異、突變
💀spike protein
刺突蛋白
💀contagious（infectious）
adj. 具有傳染性的
💀provisional
adj. 臨時的，暫時的
💀compromise
vt. 降低（標準） vi. 妥協，讓步
💀preliminary
adj. 初步的
💀working
adj. 初步的，暫定的；工作的
💀vigilant
adj. 警覺的，警惕的，警戒的
👉👉👉 純英延展
Here’s What You Need To Know About England’s New Covid-19 Variant
A new strain of Covid-19 called B.1.1.7 has been uncovered in the U.K. and is making headlines. Here’s what’s known about it so far.
On December 14, the U.K.’s health secretary Matt Hancock told politicians that a 「new variant」 of Covid-19 had been discovered in London and the southeast of England where cases had been rising dramatically. Less than a week later, Hancock declared the new variant 「out of control」 and said it accounted for nearly two thirds of cases in London. The affected areas were plunged into newly invented 「tier 4」 restrictions, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson said are 「broadly equivalent」 to the harsh restrictions of earlier national lockdowns.
Public health officials have warned that the spread of this variant, which is called 「B.1.1.7,」 is cause for alarm and could indicate a more transmissible form of the virus. Many are wondering whether it could mean a more deadly virus, too, or a mutant capable of evading the vaccines that are just starting to be approved. While scientists try to answer these questions, over 40 countries have cut off travel ties with the U.K. to prevent its spread.
Here’s what you need to know.
Viral mutation is normal
Mutation is a vital and necessary feature of biology. This means it is normal for viruses to change as they spread through a population. Covid-19 is no exception to this rule and researchers have already been able to identify over 12,000 different mutations by analyzing the viral genomes from almost 50,000 people around the world.
Most mutations are either harmful to the virus or benign. This means they will likely have no effect on the virus's behavior. But some mutations can confer changes, such as greater transmissibility, that can make people sicker or allow the virus to evade the body’s immune system. It’s mutations like these that cause scientists and public health officials to worry to worry.
It’s also worth noting that one reason scientists are aware of this strain is that the U.K. has committed a lot of resources to studying the genomics of the virus in ways that other countries have not. In other words, there may be similar strains in other countries, but we simply don’t know about them because nobody’s looking there.
Not much data about this new strain has been released yet
Scientists initially started paying attention to this variant in December, just before Hancock sounded the alarm in Parliament. It has since been found in samples collected from patients as early as September. Hancock says there is 「nothing to suggest」 that the mutant would cause more serious disease or allow the variant to evade vaccines, though it does appear to be capable of spreading more easily.
Right now, though, it’s not clear if the virus is more dangerous or even more transmissible. Surprisingly little data has been made public given the magnitude of the claims politicians are making, especially in light of the predictable economic and political consequences of announcing an 「out of control」 version of Covid-19. In a statement containing expert reactions to Hancock’s announcement, Dr. Lucy van Dorp, a researcher at University College London’s Genetics Institute, described the communications about the new strain as 「frustrating」 for scientists when trying to evaluate the threat. In the same statement,, Professor Martin Hibberd, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said it is 「too early to say how important」 the new variant is.
An early analysis by the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium shows the variant to have an unusually large number of mutations, a number of which could potentially alter the way the virus spreads. Some of these are linked to the virus』 spike protein, which is instrumental in allowing it to reproduce and spread and is the target of many leading vaccines currently in development, including those by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech currently being rolled out across the U.S.
What data there is suggests the virus is more contagious than previous strains
According to a report by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, preliminary analysis in the U.K. suggests that this variant is significantly more contagious than others. It has gone from apparent obscurity to being the dominant variant in London and the south-east of England in a relatively short period of time. However, more research will be needed to determine this with certainty. That’s because, as Hibberd noted in his statement, the prevalence could just be the 「result of chance events.」
Christian Drosten, a leading German virologist, echoed this sentiment in an interview with German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, and said the data was still unclear. He said the U.K. government’s claims about how contagious the virus is still needs to be confirmed by British scientists, adding: 「The question is: is this virus being boosted by a coming new wave in the region concerned, or is this virus responsible for creating this wave in the first place? That’s an important difference.」
That said, the early evidence appears to be pointing towards the bleak conclusion that this variant is significantly more infectious than other strains of the virus. Professor Paul Hunter from the Norwich School of Medicine in the U.K. said in the experts』 statement that 「the reports on the transmissibility of the new variant are even more depressing than I had anticipated.」
A more contagious version of Covid-19 is cause for concern even if it doesn’t cause more severe disease
While it’s too early to tell the magnitude of the threat B.1.1.7 poses, experts are rightfully concerned. Even if the variant does not make Covid-19 a more deadly illness, a more transmissible variant will mean more people getting sick and more people dying. The virus will be much harder to contain and control and will likely require harsher lockdown measures to keep under control.
But it is important to remember that this is still Covid-19 and not something entirely new. 「Of course we should all be concerned about the emergence of a new and distinct variant,」 Mark Harris, a professor of virology at the University of Leeds said in a statement. 「However, it is important to point out that it is still the same virus, causing the same disease.」
Current vaccines will likely still protect against B.1.1.7
It looks unlikely that the new variant will be able to evade the protection given by current Covid-19 vaccines. Leading manufacturers have said they are confident that their vaccines remain effective against the mutant, though BioNTech, Pfizer and Moderna all announced Tuesday that they are testing their shots to confirm this. This process could take weeks.
In the unlikely event that the new variant is able to evade the protection given by current Covid-19 vaccines, manufacturers will return to the development stage. This isn’t uncommon in the vaccine field, and scientists must return to the drawing board every year for rapidly-mutating viruses like the ones that cause the flu.
That said, the technology used to create the two vaccines currently approved in the U.S. could speed up this process. Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are all using a new type of technology for vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA). Unlike many other vaccines which rely on weakened or dead viruses that must be grown in vast quantities, this molecule can simply be tweaked as needed and put back into the vaccine. 「mRNA is fantastic because you can just swap a new strain and run with it,」 Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, told Forbes last month. BioNTech’s CEO Ugur Sahin said in an interview with the Associated Press that he believes this could be done in just six weeks, though regulatory approval would likely take much longer.
So far, B.1.1.7 appears to be mostly contained in the U.K.
The variant is spreading rapidly across the U.K. In addition to London and the southeast of England, samples have now been found elsewhere in England, south Wales and the city of Glasgow in Scotland.
Over 40 countries have already restricted travel from the U.K. in an attempt to stop the variant spreading. In spite of this, it has already been detected in numerous countries around the world, including Australia, Denmark, Italy, Iceland and the Netherlands. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades, said in an interview with ABC News that he would 「not be surprised at all if it is already」 in the States. 「You really need to assume that it’s here already,」 he said, adding that he did not picture the U.S. instituting a travel ban of its own.
Read more
YLYK 201222《中國嫦娥五號任務結束，攜月球樣本返回地球》 （科技 總213）YLYK 201018《蘋果發布四款iPhone12新機型，步入5G技術「新時代」》（科技 總183）YLYK 200823《毫無嗅覺的調香師》（科技 總156）