Surgeons in Spain have successfully carried out the world’s first organ transplant using new stem cell technology. Some people are calling it the greatest medical breakthrough so far this century.
But what are stem cells? As we know, most cells in our bodies are designed to serve specific purposes – for example, a liver cell develops to work in the liver and cannot become a heart cell. But stem cells are different. They are very young, and in the laboratory scientists can grow them into different types of cell.
Claudia Castillo needed a new windpipe after getting a serious disease. Scientists from the University of Bristol in the UK took a donor windpipe, or trachea, from someone who had recently died. They used strong chemicals to remove the donor’s cells, leaving a tissue scaffold(组织支架). This was refilled with cells from Ms Castillo’s windpipe, and stem cells from her bone. After four days the cells had grown sufficiently for the windpipe to be transplanted into Ms Castillo.
Currently, transplant patients have to take drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent their bodies rejecting the new organs. These drugs can have bad side-effects, and do not always prevent rejection. But by using Ms Castillo’s own cells, doctors were able to trick her body into thinking the new windpipe was her own organ. Five months on, Claudia Castillo is in perfect health.
This ground-breaking procedure could be used in other transplant operations in the future. Scientists also believe stem cells might be used to treat Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, burns and so on.
However, stem cell research is extremely controversial. The most effective stem cells do not come from adults but from embryos created in laboratories and which are just a few days old. Many people have religious or ethical objections to growing embryos, even if they can be used to cure diseases.
小题1:This transplant is considered the greatest medical breakthrough because _________.
A．this is the first organ transplant in the whole world
B．the patient is in perfect health after the operation
C．it is the first success with new stem cell technology
D．the stem cells are from an embryo developed in a lab小题2:Stem cells are different from the other ceils in the way that __________.
A．they are grown in the lab only
B．they can grow into different types of cell
C．they are designed for a specific purpose
D．they can work in the liver not in the heart小题3:What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
A．How Claudia survived in the operation
B．How to remove the cells from the donor’s organ
C．Why stem cells are needed in the transplant
D．How the windpipe is transplanted小题4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Human bodies always reject transplanted organs even with their own cells
B．The donor’s cells had to be removed because they were unhealthy
C．The transplanted organ was refilled with the stem cells only
D．Claudia will not have to take drugs to prevent rejection.小题5:Which word can best describe the scientists’ attitude towards the stem cell technology?
A．controversial
B．confident
C．conservative (保守的)
D．critical
