離開
進入中英對照讀新聞》Costa Rican sloth antibiotics offer hope for human medicine哥斯大黎加樹懶抗生素為人類藥物帶來希望
哥斯大黎加樹懶的皮毛似乎藏有能夠產生抗生素的細菌。（法新社）
◎林雨萱
The fur of Costa Rican sloths appears to harbor antibiotic-producing bacteria that scientists hope may hold a solution to the growing problem of "superbugs" resistant to humanity’s dwindling arsenal of drugs.
哥斯大黎加樹懶的毛皮似乎藏有產生抗生素的細菌，科學家希望這可能是對人類日益減少的有效藥物庫存具有抗藥性的「超級細菌」問題的一個解決辦法。
"If you look at the sloth’s fur, you see movement: you see moths, you see different types of insects... a very extensive habitat," Max Chavarria, a researcher at the University of Costa Rica, told AFP.
哥斯大黎加大學學者馬克思．查瓦里拉告訴法新社：「要是你仔細檢查樹懶毛皮，會看到有東西在移動：飛蛾、各種昆蟲…一個非常廣大的棲地。」
"Obviously when there is co-existence of many types of organisms, there must also be systems that control them," he said.
他說：「顯然當許多種生物並存的時候，必定有系統控制它們。」
They found the possible existence of antibiotic-producing bacteria that "makes it possible to control the proliferation of potentially pathogenic bacteria... or inhibit other competitors" such as fungi, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.
根據「環境微生物學」期刊刊登的研究，他們發現，可能存在產生抗生素的細菌，進而控制潛在病原菌增生，或是抑制在其他競爭者，例如真菌。
新聞辭典
harbor：動詞，攜帶（細菌）；懷有。例句：Peggy harbors no regrets.（佩琪心中無悔。）
dwindle：動詞，減少。例句：The numbers of wild hedgehogs is dwindling.（野生刺蝟的數量正在減少。）
