Man Receives World’s First Eye Transplant

Man Receives World’s First Eye Transplant

男子接受世界首例眼球移植

【原文听力】

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　　By Gregory Stachel

　　13 November 2023

　　A small body of water in Hawaii has turned such a bright pink it could have been used as a set for the movie Barbie. But the unusual color-changing event has some experts concerned.

　　Scientists say extreme dry weather, or drought, may be the reason for the color. For now, they are warning people not to enter the body of water, called a pond, and not drink from it.

　　Workers at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Maui have been watching the pink water since October 30.

　　"I just got a report from somebody that was walking on the beach, and they called me up like, ‘There's something weird going on over here,'" said Bret Wolfe, who leads the refuge.

　　Wolfe was concerned the bright pink could be a sign of an event called an algae bloom. An algae bloom happens when simple plants called algae grow out of control and cause harmful effects on humans and animals.

　　But lab tests found harmful algae was not causing the color. So investigators started looking at an organism called halobacteria as a possible cause.

　　Halobacteria are a kind of single-celled organism that do well in bodies of water with high levels of salt. The amount of salt inside the Kealia Pond area is currently greater than 70 parts per thousand, which is twice the amount of salt in seawater. Wolfe said the lab will need to perform DNA research in an effort to identify the organism.

　　Researchers feel that Maui's drought is likely adding to the situation. Normally, another body of water called Waikapu Stream feeds into the pond and raises water levels there. But Wolfe said that has not happened in a long time.

　　When it rains, water flows from Waikapu Stream into the pond and then into the wider area that is now pink. This reduces the amount of salt and could possibly change the water's color.

　　"That might be what makes it go away," Wolfe said.

　　None of the workers, or even some volunteers who have been around for 70 years, have seen the pond this color before. It has been through periods of drought and has had high amounts of salt before. But Wolfe is not sure why the color has changed now.

　　Visitors have come to the area after photos of the pink pond appeared on social media.

　　Wolfe said he would love to have visitors come to learn about local aims to protect nature. He joked, "But no, they're here to see the pink water."

　　He understands everyone's interest. "If that's what gets them there, it's OK," he said.

　　The wildlife area is a wetland that protects endangered birds like the Hawaiian stilt and the Hawaiian coot. It also protects birds that are traveling to warmer areas in the winter.

　　The water does not appear to be harming the birds, Wolfe said.

　　As a protected area, people are not supposed to enter the pond or let their animals in the water. But officials have issued a special warning for people not to enter the water or eat any fish caught there.

　　I'm Gregory Stachel.

　　Audrey McAvoy reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：丹·弗里德尔

　　2023年11月13日

　　纽约市的一家医院最近表示，它已成功进行了世界上第一例眼球移植手术，而且病人恢复得很好。

　　纽约大学朗格健康中心表示，它在去年5月进行了这次手术。

　　医院官员表示，要知道46岁的病人阿隆·詹姆斯是否能用新眼睛看见东西还需要一段时间。但是，移植手术本身进行得很顺利，眼睛看起来很健康。

　　詹姆斯是阿肯色州温泉城的一名电工。2021年他在工作时被活电线击中脸部。詹姆斯受到了严重的伤害，差点丧命。他的脸部和一只手臂严重受损。由于伤害导致的疼痛，医生们移除了詹姆斯的左眼。

　　詹姆斯接受了多次手术，包括面部移植。康复过程非常艰难，他不得不通过管子呼吸和进食。

　　医生们认为，如果他们能给他一个捐赠者的眼睛，他的脸部会看起来更好。

　　詹姆斯说他不能眨眼，也不能移动眼睛。但他说感觉很好。

　　"我现在开始有感觉了，"詹姆斯说，并补充说，"你必须从某个地方开始。"

　　他希望医生们能从他的手术中学到一些东西，以帮助下一个人。

　　眼部手术包括角膜移植——眼前的透明组织——是常见的。它们可以治疗一些类型的视力丧失。但是移植整个眼球——包括其血液供应和视神经系统——是全新的。有些人称之为“登月计划”，这是一种有可能带来巨大利润但成功机会很小的活动。成功的眼球移植可能帮助医生治愈失明。

　　爱德华多·罗德里格斯博士领导了移植团队。他说：“我们并不声称我们将恢复视力……但我毫无疑问，我们离这个目标更近了一步。”

　　有些外科医生认为手术不会顺利。他们担心新眼会失去液体，看起来像一颗干葡萄，或者葡萄干。

　　但是，当罗德里格斯上个月检查詹姆斯的新眼时，发现它充满了液体，看起来和他出生时的眼睛一样好。而且，没有新器官排斥的迹象。

　　斯坦福大学的杰弗里·戈尔德堡博士长期研究眼球移植的想法。他称纽约大学的手术是过去使用动物进行移植尝试的“验证”。

　　戈尔德堡说，下一步是再生眼球的视神经。他指出，动物研究正在朝这个努力取得进展。

　　这次眼球移植是首次尝试。但詹姆斯的另一项重大手术是面部移植，这仍然很罕见。他的手术是美国进行的第19例。

　　詹姆斯的新眼来自一个30多岁的捐赠者，他在去世时捐赠了自己的眼睛。这位捐赠者还为其他三个人提供了他们所需的器官。

　　詹姆斯的手术持续了21个小时。医生们将捐赠者的主要视神经与詹姆斯的视神经残余部分连接起来。医生们还添加了干细胞，试图帮助修复神经。

　　詹姆斯无法睁开新的眼睛，他戴着覆盖物来保护它。但上个月他说他感觉到了一些感觉，这表明神经正在生长。他还说，当罗德里格斯检查他的新眼睛时，他能感觉到医生的触摸。

　　瓦伊德希·德达尼亚是纽约大学的一位眼科医生，也在与詹姆斯一起工作。她说，新的眼睛似乎有一种特殊的细胞，叫做光感受器，它们将光转化为电信号。当视神经将这些信号发送到大脑时，视觉就会发生。

　　到目前为止，神经还没有完全愈合，但医生们对它的进展感到惊讶。史蒂文·加莱塔是纽约大学的神经学系主任。他说，只有时间才能告诉我们詹姆斯的神经是否能够恢复到足以恢复视力的程度。

　　病人本人也同意这个观点。

　　"我们只是一天一天地过，"詹姆斯说。

　　我是丹·弗里德尔。

　　丹·弗里德尔根据美联社的报道为英语学习改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词汇：

　　patient –n. 病人，医生看诊的人

　　sensation –n. 当你被触摸时，神经提供的感觉

　　blindness –n.无法看见的状况

　　validation –n. 当一个行动因其结果或意义得到批准时