重大發現! 黃金納米粒有助於對抗癌症!

Tiny flecks of gold could be used in the fight against cancer, new research has suggested.

一項最新研究表明，微小的黃金粒子可以用於治療癌症。

Scientists at Edinburgh University have just completed a study which shows the precious metal increased the effectiveness of drugs used to treat lung cancer cells.

來自英國愛丁堡大學的科學家剛剛完成了一項研究，證明這種貴金屬能增強治療肺癌細胞藥物的效果。

Minute fragments, known as gold nanoparticles, were encased in a chemical device by the research team.

黃金納米粒子被研究人員嵌入了一種化學裝置。

While this has not yet been tested on humans, it is hoped such a device could one day be used to reduce side effects of current chemotherapy treatments by precisely targeting diseased cells without damaging healthy tissue.

雖然該療法還沒有在人體上得到驗證，但有一天，人們希望這種裝置能夠精確作用於病變細胞而不損傷健康組織，它有望減少化療手段所產生的副作用。

Gold is a safe chemical element and has the ability to accelerate, or catalyse, chemical reactions.

金作爲一種安全的化學元素，還能夠加速化學反應。

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh discovered properties of the metal that allow these catalytic abilities to be accessed in living things without any side effects.

愛丁堡大學的研究人員發現了金的一些特性，使其催化功能在不產生任何副作用的情況下被用於活體。

The device was shown to be effective after being implanted in the brain of a zebrafish, suggesting it can be used in living animals.

這種裝置被植入斑馬魚的大腦後被證實是有效的，以此證明了它可以被用於動物活體。

Dr Asier Unciti-Broceta, from the University of Edinburgh's CRUK Edinburgh Centre, said: "We have discovered new properties of gold that were previously unknown and our findings suggest that the metal could be used to release drugs inside tumours very safely.

英國癌症研究所愛丁堡中心的阿西埃·溫西蒂·布羅切塔博士介紹說：“我們發現了以前所未知的金的新特性，我們的發現表明可以通過這種金屬安全地在腫瘤內部釋放藥物。”

"There is still work to do before we can use this on patients, but this study is a step forward. We hope that a similar device in humans could one day be implanted by surgeons to activate chemotherapy directly in tumours and reduce harmful effects to healthy organs."

“在我們可以用這個方法治療病人之前，還有很多工作要做，但這項研究是向前邁出的一大步。我們希望，有朝一日，外科醫生可以在人類體內植入一個類似的設備，直接激活腫瘤，並減少對健康器官的有害影響。”