Anti-SARS medicine discovered
Edited by Shen Yang


People reading anti-SARS information on a bulletin board.

Scientists conducting research in eastern China have found that a medicine used to treat schizophrenia is effective in treating patients with the deadly SARS virus.

Chinese and European scientists in eastern Hangzhou City found that cinanserin, used to treat mental illness since the 1970s, can inhibit the coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Xinhua News Agency said last Sunday.

The drug was identified as the only ready-to-use medicine among 15 possible anti-SARS remedies recommended by scientists participating in the Sino-European Project on SARS Diagnostics and Antivirals (SEPSDA), Xinhua said.

"The finding means that cinanserin could be directly prescribed to prevent SARS or to treat SARS patients if the fatal epidemic makes a comeback," said Peter Kristensen, an academic from Denmark's University of Aarhus.

The 14 other possible remedies have to go through lengthy animal tests before being used to treat human patients, said Kristensen, a participant of the three-year SEPSDA program.

The program is funded by the European Union and involves eight Chinese and European institutions. Launched in 2004, it aims to find 50 chemical compounds to treat SARS.

Scientists working for the program also confirmed last Sunday the finding of two homologous SARS coronaviruses in animals from The Netherlands and Hong Kong respectively.

Both the newly found viruses and the formerly detected SARS virus were variations of an ancient virus, which had been in animals for ages but remained unidentified, said Rolf Hilgenfeld, a professor from Germany's University of Luebeck.

The German scholar said other latent coronaviruses could pose similar dangers to human beings, just as the SARS virus did.

"People should closely monitor such viruses and their variations to effectively prevent them from endangering humans," said Hilgenfeld.

SARS triggered a global health crisis after emerging in China's southern Guangdong Province in November 2002, causing nearly 800 deaths worldwide, including 349 in China.

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	World's first curved clock 西铁城研制出世界首个可弯曲钟表 Japan's Citizen Watch researcher Yasushi Kaneko displays the world's first curved clock, utilizing an electronic paper display, a next generation display with low power consumption, and a thin, light and flexible like paper. Developed by E-Ink of the US at the company's laboratory in Tokorozawa, suburban Tokyo, Citizen Watch is expecting to commercialize its product later this year.
	Twins' get-together 700对双胞胎齐聚德国双生大会 Pairs of twins form up in the shape of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate for a family picture, June 18, on a sports field in Berlin. Approximately 700 pairs of twins came together for the one-day meeting.
	Australian contortionist 澳大利亚街头上演"软骨功" Contortionist Emma Tunbridge folds herself into a clear plastic box 41 centimeters square in a Sydney shopping mall, June 19. Turnbridge uses the professional name Bendy Em during her street shows.
	Fancy hat 英国皇家赛马会奇特帽子成新宠 The Royal Racing week starts at York in Great Britain, June 14. Seen in the picture is a lady with an elaborately decorated hat.
	Living chess game 真人象棋表演引人驻足 Members of the Vasas dance group perform during a rehearsal for the Checkmate Castle performance at the St. George square in the Castle of Buda, in Budapest, Hungary, June 16. The group replays well-known chess games using real people as chess pieces.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"I'm not going to have happen to me what happened to my older sister or my parents. We want to see if we can resolve these issues now before we start hating each other."
"我可不想重蹈我姐或是我父母的覆辙. 我们想趁彼此还没有互相憎恨的时候弄清楚我们能不能解决这些问题."
More cohabiting couples in their 20's and 30's seek counseling to avoid plunging into marriage's pitfalls.
--越来越多20-30岁之间的同居男女热衷于婚姻咨询服务, 以免落入婚姻的陷阱.

"I'm not sure that people are being counseled on really how big of a risk they are taking."
"我不清楚人们是否真正认识到他们冒的险有多大. "
American homeowners have made a trillion-dollar bet that mortgage rates will remain low, but economists worry that the bet could turn bad.
--美国的业主们投下亿万美元因为他们相信房贷利率将保持低水平, 但是经济学家担心他们会押错宝.

"During these summer months when it is very, very, warm and we are pressed very close together whatever extent people can practice personal hygiene would help us."
"当夏天天气非常非常热、人们又站得很近的时候, 大家最好还是注意一下个人卫生, 这对大家都有好处."
Tim O'Toole, managing director of London Underground, is asking passengers to be considerate of others stuck in the same sweltering carriages during summer months, without the benefit of air conditioning.
--伦敦地铁的常务负责人提姆·奥图尔呼吁乘客在夏季乘坐没有空调的伦敦地铁时, 应顾及其他乘客的感受.

"When you apply this chocolate mask, the skin glows."
"当你敷上这种巧克力面膜的时候, 皮肤就会很有光泽."
Dark chocolate has a new reputation as a health food and beauty aid, showing up in products that promise to soften skin and smooth wrinkles.
--黑巧克力又有了新功能: 健康食品和美容帮手. 它开始被用于一些美容产品中, 据说能软化皮肤、抚平皱纹.

Vocabulary
schizophrenia 精神分裂症
cinanserin 肉桂硫胺
coronavirus 冠状病毒
remedy 治疗法
epidemic 流行病
homologous 同源的
latent 潜伏的
fancy 奇特的