以蜘蛛网为灵感的双面胶带可粘合伤口 Double-sided sticky tape to heal wounds丨随身英语

13

1-2020

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研究人员设计出了一种可以在术后快速将身体组织粘合起来的双面胶带。这个设计灵感源于蜘蛛在雨中捕猎时分泌的 “胶水”。

Getting tissues in the body to form a tight seal is difficult because water on their surface makes them slippery. Sutures or stitches that hold a wound or cut together don't always work well and can lead to infections.

Tissue glues which already exist can take several minutes to work and may drip onto other body parts. The scientists from MIT noticed how spiders catch their prey in the rain by secreting a sticky material containing a carbohydrate known as polysaccharides that absorb water from the surface of an insect almost instantaneously, leaving a small, dry patch the glue can then stick to.

The researchers developed a double-sided tape treated with a type of acid to do the same. They then tried it out on different types of rat and pig tissue, including the lung, small intestine, stomach, liver and skin. They found it worked within about five seconds. 

The team said that with more research it could be used in place of sutures and even to attach medical devices to organs such as the heart. But they warned there are still several years away from human trials.

词汇表

sutures

缝合针

stitches

 缝合线

infections 

感染

prey 

猎物

secreting 

分泌

carbohydrate 

碳水化合物，糖类

polysaccharides

 多糖

instantaneously

 即刻地，瞬间地

treated

 用……处理过

lung 

肺

small intestine 

小肠

stomach

 胃

liver 

肝脏

human trials 

人体实验

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