1 . PRACTITIONERS

3 . Reasonable people should not have blind faith in the medical profession.     1     We have to check out the medicine we take. We have to ask for second and even third opinions. We must do some research. We have to use our common sense and be informed about our health care.

While it is true that modern Western medicine has risks, we shouldn’t reject it totally.     2     Most people who get good medical care are healthier and live longer.

If this is the case why has “alternative” health care become so popular in North America and Europe? Often the fear of surgery motivates people to look for these alternatives. Many people think that these treatments will help even when the situation seems hopeless to Western doctors.     3     Surgeons perform dangerous surgery, but natural healers (治疗师) do not seem to give dangerous treatments. People don’t think alternative care would kill anyone by mistake.     4     No one wants to go to a doctor in a cold hospital clinic. Since some doctors don’t have a nice “bedside manner”, people like the attention they get from alternative healers.

    5     All doctors and healers are human beings who can make mistakes. They can miss things and waste valuable time. No matter what happens, we have to think about all of the different options. Remember, there are millions of patients who are alive and well today because of “conventional” Western medicine.

During the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, athletes from around the world have been exploring acupuncture (针灸). a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This practice     1     (be) an important part of Chinese healthcare system for centuries.

TCM, which includes acupuncture, herbal therapy, massage, Tai Chi, and Qigong remains     2     essential component of China’s medical system and has gained increasing     3     (recognize) on a global scale. Not only is it popular among the Chinese population, but it is also gaining interest in Western societies,     4     has led to increased investments in professional TCM services.

While China places significant emphasis     5     the integration of TCM with modern biomedicine, it is also becoming more popular worldwide. Although some medical professionals are     6     (doubt) about the far-reaching effects of TCM, the practice     7     (accept) as a fundamental aspect of global healthcare.

TCM has been recognized for the potential benefits, particularly when     8     (use) alongside with modern medicine, which has resulted in its increasing integration into modern healthcare systems. Despite its ancient Chinese origins, TCM’s principles and practices have a global influence currently, with experts     9     (offer) their special skills across the world.

As research into TCM continues to advance and more individuals embrace it for their healthcare needs, the field is     10     (definite) to grow.

8 . Researchers from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, and the University Hospital Zurich have made a significant breakthrough in the field of precision medicine. They have developed a machine learning approach known as CellOT that can predict how individual cells react to specific treatments. This development promises more accurate diagnoses and therapeutics, particularly in the fight against cancer.

Precision medicine, which aims to find the most effective drug combination and dosage (剂量) based on individual patient characteristics, has been a critical goal in the battle against cancer. Central to this is understanding how individual cells respond to treatment, a challenge that the research team from Zurich has tackled head-on with their innovative method.

CellOT is a groundbreaking approach that identifies the distinct reactions individual cells within a larger population can have to a drug. The average response of a cell population often does not capture the full complexity of how certain tumor cells survive or develop resistance to drugs. CellOT addresses this by predicting the effects of perturbations (扰动) on cells, paving the way for more effective and personalized cancer treatments.

Perturbations are changes caused by chemical, physical, or genetic influences, such as the effects of drugs on cancer cells. By understanding which cells respond to a drug and identifying the traits of resistant cells, researchers can develop new treatment strategies that prevent cell growth or cause pathogenic (致病的) cells to die.

For CellOT, the researchers use novel machine learning algorithms and train these with both data from unperturbed cells and data from cells that changed after a perturbation response. In the process, the algorithm learns how cellular perturbation reactions arise, how they progress, and the likely phenotypes (显性类型) of altered cell states.

The study, published in Nature Methods, shows that CellOT is not just effective for cancer cells. It can also be used on other pathogenic cells involved in autoimmune diseases like lupus erythematosus (红斑狼疮), indicating its potential in advancing treatments for various diseases.

A key innovation of CellOT is its predictive ability. By evaluating existing cell measurement data, and thus expanding the knowledge of cellular perturbation reactions, CellOT can predict how individual cells will respond to perturbations that have not been measured in the laboratory. This capability opens up new avenues for targeted and personalized treatments.

While CellOT holds immense promise, comprehensive clinical trials are still required before the approach can be used in a hospital setting. Nevertheless, the development of this method marks a significant step towards a more nuanced (细腻的) understanding of individual cell responses to drugs. It fuels the hope for more effective cancer treatments and advances in precision medicine.

9 . Researchers have developed a material made of collagen protein (胶原蛋白) from pig’s skin, which resembles the human cornea (眼角膜) and restored vision to 20 people. The promising result of the trial brings hope to people suffering from corneal blindness.

An estimated 12.7 million people around the world are blind due to their corneas being damaged or diseased. Their only way of regaining vision is to receive a transplanted cornea from a human donor. But just one in 70 patients receives a cornea transplant. Furthermore, most of them live in low and middle-income countries in which access to treatments is very limited.

To avoid the above disadvantages of traditional cornea treatment, the researchers used collagen protein from pig’s skin. “It is possible to develop a biomaterial that meets all the criteria for being used as human implants (移植物), which can be mass-produced and reach more people with vision problems,” said Professor Neil Lagali. While donated corneas must be used within two weeks, the bioengineered corneas can be stored for up to two years before use. The pig skin used is a byproduct of the food industry, making it easy to access.

The researchers have also developed a new surgical method for treating the disease. No stitches (缝针) are needed with this new method. In a pilot study, 14 of the 20 participants were blind before the operation. After two years, all of the patients regained their sight. Three of the Indian participants who had been blind had perfect vision after the operation.

The researchers also want to study whether the technology can be used to treat more eye diseases, and whether the implant can be adapted to the individual for even greater effectiveness.

10 . A brain implant allowed people with head injuries to function again. The deep brain stimulation implant, developed by researchers at Stanford University, aims to boost activity between the regions responsible for consciousness learning, memory, thinking and problem solving.

During the early trial, five people with brain injuries reported they were able to concentrate, read, remember and drive properly. The trial proved so effective that researchers had trouble completing the final stage, which was to switch off the device for three random participants after two of the patients declined.

Gina Arata, a trial participant, said, “I couldn’t remember anything. My left foot dropped, so I’d trip over things all the time. I was always in car accidents. Since the implant, I haven’t had any speeding tickets. I don’t trip anymore. I can remember how much money is in my bank account.”

Researchers selected patients for the trial who had recovered from comas (昏迷) with brain systems believed to be still well preserved, but not functioning as well as previously. “In these patients, those pathways are largely complete, but everything has been down-regulated (下降),” said Dr Jaimie Henderson, a professor of neurosurgery. “It’s as if the lights had been darkened and there just wasn’t enough electricity to turn them back up.” The researchers hoped that precise electrical stimulation of specific areas could turn the “lights” back up, and created a virtual model of each participant’s brain so they could trial stimulation at different locations ahead of surgery.

Guided by the theory, Dr Henderson implanted the device in the five participants who had sustained injuries between three and 18 years earlier. After allowing the device to bed-in for two weeks, the participants spent 90 days with it turned on for 12 hours a day. At the end of the 90-day treatment period, the participants had improved their mental processing speeds by an average of 32 percent.

“This is a pioneering moment,” said Dr Nicholas Schiff, co-senior author of the study. “Our goal now is to try to take the systematic steps to make this a therapy (疗法). This is enough of a signal for us to make every effort.”