文本选自：The Guardian（卫报）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：Immortal cells: Henrietta Lacks’ family settle lawsuit over HeLa tissue harvested in 1950s
原文发布时间：2 Aug. 2023
Immortal cells: Henrietta Lacks' family settle lawsuit over HeLa tissue harvested in 1950s
Laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific has settled a lawsuit brought by the estate of Henrietta Lacks, a long-deceased cancer victim whose "immortal" cells have lived on to fuel biomedical research for decades, lawyers for the estate have said. The story of Lacks, a young African American woman who died in Baltimore in 1951, was made famous in Rebecca Skloot's 2010 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which became a movie in 2017 featuring Oprah Winfrey.
The HeLa cell line, the first to survive and reproduce indefinitely in lab conditions, has been cultivated in vast quantities and used in a range of medical research worldwide, including to test the polio vaccine, research the effects of radiation on human cells, and develop a treatment for sickle-cell anaemia. The tissue sample that became the HeLa cell line was cut from Lacks' cervix at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore without her knowledge during surgery to treat her cervical cancer. Lacks died of the disease at age 31. Since then, it is estimated, 50m tonnes of her cells have been produced.
Lacks' estate sued Thermo Fisher in Baltimore federal court in 2021, asserting her family had "not seen a dime" of money that Thermo Fisher made from cultivating the HeLa line of cells that originated from tissue taken without Lacks' consent during a medical procedure in 1951. The terms of the agreement were confidential. Thermo Fisher and the estate's attorneys, Ben Crump and Chris Seeger, said in a statement that they were pleased with the settlement.
不朽的细胞：亨丽埃塔·拉克斯的家人解决了20世纪50年代海拉组织的诉讼
本篇外刊涉及考研词汇62个，具体内容可在页面下方【文件下载】区下载哦~
精听党背景导读
通常情况下，正常的人体细胞分裂50~60次就结束了自己的一生，那么人体便只能迎来衰老和死亡。这其实非常容易理解，把人体比作一台精密仪器，各个零部件的使用寿命是有限的，到达极限后就是失灵出故障，这台仪器最终也就无法再运作使用了。
不过，有一种变异的细胞却能够实现无限分裂与繁殖，那便是臭名远扬的癌细胞。存在于人类DNA上的端粒酶在每一次分裂之后都会减少，而癌细胞拥有较多且始终处于活跃状态的端粒酶，从而致使癌细胞实现无限增殖。
文本选自：The Guardian（卫报）作者：Unknown原文标题：Immortal cells: Henrietta Lacks’ family settle lawsuit over HeLa tissue harvested in 1950s原文发布时间：2 Aug. 2023关键词：海拉细胞系 遗产 诉讼
精听党带着问题听
1.“不朽细胞”用英语可以怎么表达？2. 如何理解段二中的“cervical cancer”？3. 拉克斯的家人获得了多少赔偿？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Immortal cells: Henrietta Lacks’ family settle lawsuit over HeLa tissue harvested in 1950s
不朽的细胞：亨丽埃塔·拉克斯的家人解决了20世纪50年代海拉组织的诉讼
immortal adj. 不朽的；1. The legend of the immortal phoenix has been passed down for generations. 不朽的凤凰传说一代代流传下来。
settle vt. 解决；1. They managed to settle their differences through mediation. 他们通过调解解决了分歧。
lawsuit n. 诉讼；1. He filed a lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination. 他因被公司非法解雇而对公司提起诉讼。
harvest vt. 采集（人体的细胞或组织，以供医学实验等）；1. She had her eggs harvested and frozen for her own future use. 她的卵子已经采集下来，冷冻后以备她将来使用。
段一
Laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific has settled a lawsuit brought by the estate of Henrietta Lacks, a long-deceased cancer victim whose “immortal” cells have lived on to fuel biomedical research for decades, lawyers for the estate have said. The story of Lacks, a young African American woman who died in Baltimore in 1951, was made famous in Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which became a movie in 2017 featuring Oprah Winfrey.
laboratory equipment 实验室设备；1. The laboratory equipment needs to be calibrated regularly. 实验室设备需要定期校准。
estate n. 遗产；1. She inherited a large estate from her grandfather. 她从祖父那里继承了一大笔遗产。
victim n. 受害者；（面对不幸事件或虐待时的）无助者，患病者；1. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. 受害者被送往医院治疗。
fuel vt. 刺激；1. His words only fueled her anger. 他的话只会刺激她的愤怒。
biomedical research 生物医学研究；1. Biomedical research has led to many breakthroughs in medicine. 生物医学研究在医学领域取得了许多突破。
decade n. 十年；1. She has been working in the industry for over a decade. 她在这个行业工作了十多年。
feature vt. 放映，上演；担任主演；
参考译文
遗产律师说，实验室设备制造商赛默飞世尔科学公司已经解决了因亨丽埃塔·拉克斯的遗产而提起的诉讼。拉克斯是一名去世已久的癌症患者，其“不朽”的细胞数十年来一直在推动生物医学研究。拉克斯是一名年轻的非洲裔美国女性，1951年在巴尔的摩去世，她的故事因丽贝卡·斯克鲁特2010年出版的《亨丽埃塔·拉克斯不朽的生命》一书而闻名，并于2017年被改编成电影，由奥普拉·温弗瑞主演。
段二
The HeLa cell line, the first to survive and reproduce indefinitely in lab conditions, has been cultivated in vast quantities and used in a range of medical research worldwide, including to test the polio vaccine, research the effects of radiation on human cells, and develop a treatment for sickle-cell anaemia. The tissue sample that became the HeLa cell line was cut from Lacks’ cervix at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore without her knowledge during surgery to treat her cervical cancer. Lacks died of the disease at age 31. Since then, it is estimated, 50m tonnes of her cells have been produced.
cell line 细胞系；1. The cell line was used in cancer research. 这个细胞系被用于癌症研究。
survive vi. 存活；1. Only a few plants survived the drought. 只有少数植物在干旱中存活下来。
reproduce vi. 繁殖；1. The bacteria can reproduce rapidly under the right conditions. 在适当的条件下，细菌能迅速繁殖。
indefinitely adv. 无限期地；1. The project has been postponed indefinitely. 该项目已无限期推迟。
lab conditions 实验室条件；1. The experiment was conducted under strict lab conditions. 实验在严格的实验室条件下进行。
cultivate vt. 培养；1. They cultivated a new strain of rice that is more resistant to disease. 他们培养了一种更抗病的新水稻品种。
vast adj. 巨大的；1. The vast desert stretched out before them. 巨大的沙漠在他们面前展开。
quantity n. 数量；1. The quantity of goods produced has increased significantly. 生产的商品数量显著增加。
radiation n. 辐射，放射线；辐射的热（或能量等）；放射疗法；
sickle-cell anaemia 镰刀状细胞贫血；镰状细胞贫血；
cervix n. 子宫颈；颈部；
cervical cancer 宫颈癌；
参考译文
海拉细胞系是第一个在实验室条件下无限期存活和繁殖的细胞系，已被大量培养并用于世界各地的一系列医学研究，包括测试脊髓灰质炎疫苗、研究辐射对人体细胞的影响以及开发镰状细胞贫血的治疗方法。成为海拉细胞系的组织样本是在巴尔的摩约翰霍普金斯医院，拉克斯治疗宫颈癌的手术中，在拉克斯不知情的情况下从她的宫颈上切除的。拉克斯在31岁时死于这种疾病。据估计，从那时起，拉克斯的细胞已经产生了5000万吨。
段三
Lacks’ estate sued Thermo Fisher in Baltimore federal court in 2021, asserting her family had “not seen a dime” of money that Thermo Fisher made from cultivating the HeLa line of cells that originated from tissue taken without Lacks’ consent during a medical procedure in 1951. The terms of the agreement were confidential. Thermo Fisher and the estate’s attorneys, Ben Crump and Chris Seeger, said in a statement that they were pleased with the settlement.
sue vt. 起诉；1. She decided to sue her employer for discrimination. 她决定起诉雇主歧视。
assert vt. 断言；1. He asserted his innocence throughout the trial. 他在整个审判过程中都坚称自己无罪。
dime n. 一角硬币；1. He doesn’t have a dime to his name. 他一文不名。
consent n. 同意；1. She gave her consent for the surgery. 她同意手术。
confidential adj. 机密的；1. The information is confidential and cannot be disclosed. 这些信息是机密的，不能披露。
参考译文
拉克斯的遗产律师于2021年在巴尔的摩联邦法院起诉赛默飞世尔，声称她的家人“没有看到”赛默飞世尔赚到的一分钱，这些钱来自于培养海拉细胞系，而海拉细胞系源于一种人体组织，该人体组织于1951年未经拉克斯同意，在医疗过程中被医生提取。协议的条款是保密的。赛默飞世尔的律师本·克伦普和拉克斯的遗产律师克里斯·西格在一份声明中表示，他们对这份协议感到满意。
精听党每日单词
immortal
/ɪˈmɔːrtl/ adj. 不朽的；
settle
/ˈsetl/ vt. 解决；
lawsuit
/ˈlɔːsuːt/ n. 诉讼；
harvest
/ˈhɑːrvɪst/ vt. 采集（人体的细胞或组织，以供医学实验等）；
feature
/ˈfiːtʃər/ vt. 放映，上演；担任主演；
laboratory equipment
实验室设备；
estate
/ɪˈsteɪt/ n. 遗产；
victim
/ˈvɪktɪm/ n. 受害者；（面对不幸事件或虐待时的）无助者，患病者；
fuel
/ˈfjuːəl/ vt. 刺激；
biomedical research
生物医学研究；
decade
/ˈdekeɪd/ n. 十年；
cell line
细胞系；
survive
/sərˈvaɪv/ vi. 存活；
reproduce
/ˌriːprəˈduːs/ vi. 繁殖；
indefinitely
/ɪnˈdefɪnətli/ adv. 无限期地；
lab conditions
实验室条件；
cultivate
/ˈkʌltɪveɪt/ vt. 培养；
vast
/væst/ adj. 巨大的；
quantity
/ˈkwɑːntəti/ n. 数量；
radiation
/ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃn/ n. 辐射，放射线；辐射的热（或能量等）；放射疗法；
sickle-cell anaemia
镰刀状细胞贫血；镰状细胞贫血；
cervix
/ˈsɜːrvɪks/ n. 子宫颈；颈部；
cervical cancer
宫颈癌；
sue
/suː/ vt. 起诉；
assert
/əˈsɜːrt/ vt. 断言；
dime
/daɪm/ n. 一角硬币；
consent
/kənˈsent/ n. 同意；
confidential
/ˌkɑːnfɪˈdenʃl/ adj. 机密的；
精听党文化拓展
海拉的英文Hela正是以亨丽埃塔·拉克斯（Henrietta Lacks）姓名的前两个字母命名，直到20世纪70年代，公众才得知了“细胞之母”拉克斯的真名，人们此前错误地以为“海拉细胞系”是以“海伦·莱恩”或“海伦·拉森”之类的名称命名的。
“海拉细胞”自诞生后便渐渐成为生物学研究中使用最广泛的人类细胞系，它的科研意义十分重大，对过去半个世纪的众多生物医学研究突破都至关重要。
例如，乔纳斯·索尔克在1954年用它们开发了脊髓灰质炎疫苗；20世纪80年代，艾滋病研究学者用它们来识别和分离人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)；近年来，“海拉细胞”在“组学”革命中也起到了非凡的作用，促进基因组学到转录组学、蛋白质组学的转变。
此前，学界已经发表了大约70000项涉及使用“海拉细胞”的研究，尤其是免疫学领域，“海拉细胞”得到了广泛应用。最近至少有两项被授予诺贝尔医学奖的研究项目涉及到“海拉细胞”，一项是关于人乳头瘤病毒与宫颈癌之间的联系，另一项是端粒酶在防止染色体降解方面发挥的作用。
有了“海拉细胞”，科学家们第一次能够直接对体外的人体组织进行科研测试。在美苏冷战期间，太空竞赛一度进行得轰轰烈烈，“海拉细胞”甚至被送往太空，科学家们想要看看零重力下的细胞会发生什么变化，以揭示零重力对人体细胞的影响。
除此之外，“海拉细胞”还被用于研究核弹爆炸后辐射对细胞产生的影响，它们甚至被美容行业用来测试新化妆品的潜在副作用。世界各地的生物医学研究人员都把“海拉细胞”用于研究细胞分裂时的基因突变、发现潜在的癌症治疗方法以及开发感染性疾病的治疗方法。从那时起，许多科研里程碑都使用了“海拉细胞”进行实验，包括克隆、基因定位和体外受精。
精听党每日美句
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
尽你所能，用你所拥有的，在你所在的地方。