Saving Bugs To Find New Drugs – IELTS Reading Cam 14

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Đề bài chi tiết

Saving Bugs to Find New Drugs

1. More drugs than you might think are derived from, or inspired by, compounds found in living things. Looking to nature for the soothing and curing of our ailments is nothing new – we have been doing it for tens of thousands of years. You only have to look at other primates – such as the capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes to deter mosquitoes or the chimpanzees who use noxious forest plants to rid themselves of intestinal parasites – to realise that our ancient ancestors too probably had a basic grasp of medicine.
2. Pharmaceutical science and chemistry built on these ancient foundations and perfected the extraction, characterization, modification and testing of these natural products. Then, for a while, modern pharmaceutical science moved its focus away from nature and into the laboratory, designing chemical compounds from scratch. The main cause of this shift is that although there are plenty of promising chemical compounds in nature, finding them is far from easy. Securing sufficient numbers of the organism in question, isolating and characterizing the compounds of interest, and producing large quantities of these compounds are all significant hurdles.
3. Laboratory-based drug discovery has achieved varying levels of success, something which has now prompted the development of new approaches focusing once again on natural products. With the ability to mine genomes for useful compounds, it is now evident that we have barely scratched the surface of nature’s molecular diversity. This realization, together with several looming health crises, such as antibiotic resistance, has put bioprospecting – the search for useful compounds in nature – firmly back on the map.
4. Insects are the undisputed masters of the terrestrial domain, where the occupy every possible niche. Consequently, they have a bewildering array of interactions with other organisms, something which has driven the evolution of an enormous range of very interesting compounds for defensive and offensive purposes. Their remarkable diversity exceeds that of every other group of animals on the planet combined. Yet even though insects are far and away the most diverse animals in existence, their potential as sources of therapeutic compounds is yet to be realised.
5. From the tiny proportion of insects that have been investigated, several promising compounds have been identified. For example, alloferon, an antimicrobial compound produced by blow fly larvae, is used as an antiviral and antitumor agent in South Korea and Russia. The larvae of a few other insect species are being investigated for the potent antimicrobial compounds they produce. Meanwhile, a compound from the venom of the wasp Polybia paulista has potential in cancer treatment.
6. Why is it that insects have received relatively little attention in bioprospecting? Firstly, there are so many insects that, without some manner of targeted approach, investigating this huge variety of species is a daunting task. Secondly, insects are generally very small, and the glands inside them that secrete potentially useful compounds are smaller still. This can make it difficult to obtain sufficient quantities of the compound for subsequent testing. Thirdly, although we consider insects to be everywhere, the reality of this ubiquity is vast numbers of a few extremely common species. Many insect species are infrequently encountered and very difficult to rear in captivity, which, again, can leave us with insufficient material to work with.
7. My colleagues and I at Aberystwyth University in the UK have developed an approach in which we use our knowledge of ecology as a guide to target our efforts. The creatures that particularly interest us are the many insects that secrete powerful poison for subduing prey and keeping it fresh for future consumption. There are even more insects that are masters of exploiting filthy habitats, such as faeces and carcasses, where they are regularly challenged by thousands of micro-organisms. These insects have many antimicrobial compounds for dealing with pathogenic bacteria and fungi, suggesting that there is certainly potential to find many compounds that can serve as or inspire new antibiotics.
8. Although natural history knowledge points us in the right direction, it doesn’t solve the problems associated with obtaining useful compounds from insects. Fortunately, it is now possible to snip out the stretches of the insect’s DNA that carry the codes for the interesting compounds and insert them into cell lines that allow larger quantities to be produced. And although the road from isolating and characterizing compounds with desirable qualities to developing a commercial product is very long and full of pitfalls, the variety of successful animal-derived pharmaceuticals on the market demonstrates there is a precedent here that is worth exploring.
9. With every bit of wilderness that disappears, we deprive ourselves of potential medicines. As much as I’d love to help develop a groundbreaking insect-derived medicine, my main motivation for looking at insects in this way is conservation. I sincerely believe that all species, however small and seemingly insignificant, have a right to exist for their own sake. If we can shine a light on the darker recesses of nature’s medicine cabinet, exploring the useful chemistry of the most diverse animals on the planet, I believe we can make people think differently about the value of nature.

QUESTION 14-20: The Reading Passage has nine paragraphs, A-I. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-l, in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

14. Mention of factors driving a renewed interest in natural medicinal compounds.
15. How recent technological advances have made insect research easier
16. Examples of animals which use medicinal substances from nature
17. Reasons why it is challenging to use insects in drug research
18. Reference to how interest in drug research may benefit wildlife
19. A reason why nature-based medicines fell out of favour for a period
20. An example of an insect-derived medicine in use at the moment

QUESTION 21-22: Choose TWO letters, A-E. Write the correct letters in boxes 8-9 on your answer sheet. Which TWO of the following make insects interesting for drug research?

1. The huge number of individual insects in the world
2. The variety of substances insects have developed to protect themselves
3. The potential to extract and make use of insects’ genetic codes
4. The similarities between different species of insect
5. The manageable size of most insects

21. ……….……….

22. ……….……….

QUESTION 23-26: Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.

Research at Aberystwyth University

Ross Piper and fellow zoologists at Aberystwyth University are using their expertise in 23……….. when undertaking bioprospecting with insects. They are especially interested in the compounds that insects produce to overpower and preserve their 24……….. They are also interested in compounds which insects use to protect themselves from pathogenic bacteria and fungi found in their 25……………. Piper hopes that these substances will be useful in the development of drugs such as 26…………..

Saving bugs to find new drugs IELTS reading answer

Bảng dưới đây trình bày đáp án chính xác của 13 câu hỏi IELTS Reading bên trên:

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Giải thích saving bugs to find new drugs IELTS reading answers

Dưới đây là phần giải thích chi tiết cho những đáp án trên.

Giải thích câu 14-20 đề saving bugs to find new drugs

14. C 

Mention of factors driving a renewed interest in natural medicinal compounds. (Đề cập đến các yếu tố thúc đẩy sự quan tâm trở lại đối với các hợp chất dược liệu tự nhiên.)

Laboratory-based drug discovery has achieved varying levels of success, something which has now prompted the development of new approaches focusing once again (renewed interest) on natural products. (Khám phá thuốc dựa trên phòng thí nghiệm đã đạt được những mức độ thành công khác nhau, điều này đã dẫn đến sự phát triển của các phương pháp mới tập trung trở lại vào các sản phẩm tự nhiên.)

15. H

How recent technological advances have made insect research easier. (Cách mà các tiến bộ công nghệ gần đây đã làm cho nghiên cứu về côn trùng trở nên dễ dàng hơn.)

Fortunately, it is now possible to snip out the stretches of the insect’s DNA (technological advances) that carry the codes for the interesting compounds and insert them into cell lines that allow larger quantities to be produced. (May mắn thay, bây giờ có thể cắt bỏ các đoạn DNA của côn trùng mang mã cho các hợp chất thú vị và chèn chúng vào các dòng tế bào cho phép sản xuất số lượng lớn hơn.)

16. A

Examples of animals which use medicinal substances from nature. (Ví dụ về các loài động vật sử dụng các chất dược liệu từ thiên nhiên.)

the capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes to deter mosquitoes or the chimpanzees who use noxious forest plants to rid themselves of intestinal parasites (những con khỉ capuchin chà xát mình bằng những con rết tiết ra độc tố để đuổi muỗi hoặc những con tinh tinh sử dụng các loại cây trong rừng có độc để loại bỏ ký sinh trùng trong ruột)

17. F

Reasons why it is challenging to use insects in drug research. (Lý do tại sao việc sử dụng côn trùng trong nghiên cứu thuốc lại gặp khó khăn.) 

Đoạn F liệt kê ra 3 lý do, đánh dấu bằng các từ “Firstly”, “Secondly”, “Thirdly”. 3 lý do gồm việc nghiên cứu quá nhiều loài là việc làm nản chí; không thể chiết đủ lượng cần thiết; những loài côn trùng cần cho nghiên cứu rất khó gặp và khó tìm.

18. I

Reference to how interest in drug research may benefit wildlife. (Đề cập đến cách mà sự quan tâm đến nghiên cứu thuốc có thể mang lại lợi ích cho động vật hoang dã.)

As much as I’d love to help develop a groundbreaking insect-derived medicine, my main motivation for looking at insects in this way is conservation. (Tôi rất muốn giúp phát triển một loại thuốc đột phá từ côn trùng, động lực chính của tôi khi nhìn nhận côn trùng theo cách này là bảo tồn.)

19. B

A reason why nature-based medicines fell out of favour for a period. (Một lý do tại sao thuốc dựa trên thiên nhiên đã mất đi sự ưa chuộng trong một thời gian.)

finding them is far from easy (việc tìm kiếm những loài côn trùng này không hề dễ dàng)

20. E

An example of an insect-derived medicine in use at the moment. (Một ví dụ về thuốc có nguồn gốc từ côn trùng đang được sử dụng hiện nay.)

Alloferon, an antimicrobial compound produced by blow fly larvae, is used as an antiviral and antitumor agent in South Korea and Russia. (Alloferon, một hợp chất kháng khuẩn được sản xuất bởi ấu trùng ruồi trâu, được sử dụng như một tác nhân kháng virus và chống u ở Hàn Quốc và Nga.)

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Giải thích chi tiết câu 21-22

Đoạn D: 

21. the evolution of an enormous range of very interesting compounds for defensive and offensive purposes. (sự tiến hóa của một loạt các hợp chất rất thú vị cho mục đích phòng vệ và tấn công.)

22. their potential as sources of therapeutic compounds is yet to be realised. (tiềm năng của chúng như nguồn cung cấp các hợp chất trị liệu vẫn chưa được khai thác.)

Giải thích chi tiết câu 23-26

23. ecology

Đoạn G.

use our knowledge of ecology = using their expertise in ecology 

24. prey

Đoạn G.

secrete powerful poison (= compounds) for subduing (= overpower) prey and keeping it fresh for future consumption (= preserve)

25. habitats

Đoạn G.

filthy habitats (môi trường sống bẩn thỉu) = nơi chứa thousands of micro-organisms (hàng ngàn vi sinh vật)

They are also interested in compounds which insects use to protect themselves from pathogenic bacteria and fungi (thousands of micro-organisms) found in their habitats.

26. antibiotics

Đoạn G. inspire new antibiotics = the development of drugs such as antibiotics

Trên đây là phần tổng hợp giải đáp chi tiết nội dung bài đọc saving bugs to find new drugs. Nếu bạn học còn câu hỏi nào khác, hãy liên hệ ngay với Ôn Luyện nhé! 

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