2014-02-17
414
Read and translate the text.
Health and environmental concerns
Unit XIII
1. Practice the following words:
Consequence ['konsikwəns], odor ['oudə], oxidative [a:ksi'deitiv], chromosome ['krəuməsəum], disease [di'zi;z], asbestos [æs'bestəs], lung [lΛŋ].
2. Study the vocabulary list:
unintended – непреднамеренный
consequences – последствия
bacteriostatic – бактериостатический
beneficial – полезный
to induce – побуждать, вызывать
oxidative – окислительный
chromosome – хромосома
cancer – рак
disease – болезнь
aging – старение
neurological – неврологический
asbestos – асбест
mesothelioma – мезотелиома
lungs – легкие
to inhale – вдыхать
Some of the recently developed nanoparticle products may have unintended consequences. Researchers have discovered that silver nanoparticles used in socks only to reduce foot odor are being released in the wash with possible negative consequences. Silver nanoparticles, which are bacteriostatic, may then destroy beneficial bacteria which are important for breaking down organic matter in waste treatment plants or farms.
A study at the University of Rochester found that when rats breathed in nanoparticles, the particles settled in the brain and lungs, which led to significant increases in biomarkers for inflammation and stress response. A study in China indicated that nanoparticles induce skin aging through oxidative stress in hairless mice.
A two-year study at UCLA's School of Public Health found lab mice consuming nano-titanium dioxide showed DNA and chromosome damage to a degree "linked to all the big killers of man, namely cancer, heart disease, neurological disease and aging".
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A major study published more recently in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes – a poster child for the “nanotechnology revolution” – could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities. Anthony Seaton of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland, who contributed to the article on carbon nanotubes said "We know that some of them probably have the potential to cause mesothelioma. So those sorts of materials need to be handled very carefully." In the absence of specific nano-regulation forthcoming from governments, Paull and Lyons (2008) have called for an exclusion of engineered nanoparticles from organic food. A newspaper article reports that workers in a paint factory developed serious lung disease and nanoparticles were found in their lungs.
4. Compare two columns of words and find Russian equivalents (from the right column) to the following English words (from the left one):
| 1. иметь непреднамеренные последствия | a) to develop serious lung disease |
| 2. использовать бактериостатические серебряные наночастицы | b) to induce skin aging |
| 3. уничтожать полезные бактерии | c) to have unintended consequences |
| 4. вызывать старение кожи | d) to use bacteriostatic silver nanoparticles |
| 5. вдыхать достаточное количество асбеста | e) to find nanoparticles in lungs |
| 6. развивать заболевания легких | f) to inhale in sufficient quantities of asbestos |
| 7. находить наночастицы в легких | g) to destroy beneficial bacteria |
5. Say whether the following statements are true or false:
1) Recently developed nanoparticle products always have positive consequences.
2) Breathing in nanoparticles leads to significant increases in biomarkers for inflammation and stress response among rats.
3) Lab mice consuming nano-titanium dioxide leads to cancer.
4) Some forms of carbon nanotubes may cause mesothelioma.
5) Workers in a paint factory usually suffer from lung disease and nanoparticles are found in their lungs.
6. Answer the questions:
1) What consequences may recently developed nanoparticle products have?
2) What bacteria may silver nanoparticles destroy?
3) Which diseases may lab mice consuming nano-titanium dioxide cause?
4) Why carbon nanotubes need to be handled very carefully?
