有些细菌已经发展得非常顽强，无法用抗生素杀死。医学专家称之为抗生素耐药细菌。
The World Health Organization says antibiotic-resistant bacteria are one of the biggest threats to human health. But, researchers now say they may have found a way to fight them.
世卫组织表示，抗生素耐药细菌是人类健康最大的威胁之一。但是，研究人员现在自称找到了对付它们的办法。
A team of researchers from three universities is working on a cell-killing "machine" that is too small for the human eye to see.
来自三所大学的研究人员正在开发一种细胞杀灭机器，它小到肉眼无法看到。
"We want to be bacteria's worst nightmare."
“我们想要成为细菌的噩梦。”
That was James Tour, a member of the team. Tour is a chemistry professor at Rice University in Houston. He is also a professor of materials science and nanoengineering and computer science.
这是研究团队成员詹姆斯·图尔的原话。图尔是莱斯大学的一名化学教授。他也是材料学、纳米工程和计算机科学教授。
In addition to Rice University, the researchers come from Durham University in Britain and North Carolina State University.
除了莱斯大学，还有来自英国杜伦大学和北卡罗来纳州立大学的研究人员。
The team is experimenting with very small nanomachines that can drill into a cell and kill it. These "machines" are really single molecules that can rotate about three million times a second when near-infrared light shines on them.
该团队正在试验一种非常微小的纳米机器，它可以钻入细胞里并消灭它。这些“机器”实质上是单分子，当近红外光照射到它们身上时，它们可以每秒旋转3百万次。
Tour said harmful bacteria cannot defeat this kind of weapon by changing and growing stronger.
图尔表示，有害细菌无法通过变异和强化来抵挡这种武器。
"We may have found something that the cell could never build a resistance to."
他说：“我们可能已经找到了一些细胞无法抵挡的东西。”
The team's work is based on the Nobel-prize winning designs of other scientists. In 2016, three researchers received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating the first nanomachines.
该团队的研究是基于其他科学家获得诺贝尔奖的设计。2016年，3名研究人员因为创造了第一台纳米机器获得了诺贝尔化学奖。
But the team's cell-killing nanomachines are much smaller. About 50,000 of them can fit across the width of a human hair. In comparison, only about 50 cells can fit in that amount of space.
但是该团队的细胞杀灭纳米机器要小得多。大约5万个纳米机器才相当于一根头发的直径，而50个细胞就能占据着么大的空间。
The nanomachines could also be effective against another serious health problem: cancer.
这种纳米机器还能有效对抗另一个严重的健康问题，那就是癌症。
Cancer killer
癌症杀手
The machines can drill into cancer cells, causing the cells' center to break into pieces.
该机器可以钻入癌细胞，然后导致这种细胞的中心分裂成碎片。
Tour said the team has tried four different kinds of cancer cells, and the nanomachines killed all of them.
图尔表示，该团队已经尝试了4种不同类型的癌细胞，纳米机器杀死了全部癌细胞。
The team carried out the tests on two kinds of human breast cancer cells, cancerous skin cells and pancreatic cancer cells.
该团队对两种人乳腺癌细胞，以及皮肤癌细胞和胰腺癌细胞进行了试验。
The way it works is that a peptide, another kind of molecule, is added to the nano-drill. That peptide recognizes a diseased cell and attaches the nanomachine to it. Then, a special light activates the machine which drills into and kills the cell.
其工作原理是将另一种分子肽附加到这种纳米“钻头”上。这种肽识别出患病细胞，并将纳米机器附着于其上。然后用一台特殊的灯激活这种机器，它就会钻入并杀死患病细胞。
Tour said many nanomachines work together against the diseased cells.
图尔表示，很多纳米机器联合起来一起对付患病细胞。
"Generally, it's not just one nanomachine, it's, it's 50, and each cell is going to get 50 holes drilled in it."
他说：“一般来说不会只有一个纳米机器，而是有50个，每个细胞上就会被钻上50个洞。”
The nanomachines can fight cancer cells in the mouth, upper and lower gastrointestinal areas, bladder and other body parts where light can be shined to start the engines, Tour said.
图尔表示，这种纳米机器可以对付口腔、上下胃肠道区域、膀胱以及其它身体部位的癌细胞。这些部位光可以照到以便启动纳米机器。
It would only take a few minutes to kill cancer cells with nanomachines, Tour added. He noted that radiation and chemotherapy take much longer.
图尔还说，用纳米机器杀死癌细胞只需要几分钟时间。他提到了放疗和化疗都需要更长时间。
In addition to killing bacteria and cancer cells, nanomachines might be used to kill fat cells when placed onto the skin with a gel. Tour said, when you pass the bright light over the problem areas, the machines attack the fat cells.
除了杀死细菌和癌细胞，当用凝胶将纳米机器置于皮肤之上时，它还可用于杀死脂肪细胞。图尔表示，当灯光照到问题区域时，这种机器就会攻击脂肪细胞。
Test on animals to begin this year
今年开始动物试验
Researchers have only worked with nanomachines in the laboratory. They say using this technology in studies on humans is still some time away. Later this year, researchers will start testing nanomachines on bacterial skin infections on live animals.
研究人员还只在实验室中使用过纳米机器。他们说距离在人类研究中应用这种机器尚需时日。今年晚些时候，研究人员将会开始对活体动物的细菌性皮肤感染试验这种纳米机器。
As research continues, one problem scientists will have to solve is how to get the light deep into some parts of the body. This would permit the engines to fight bacteria or cancers far below the surface of tissue.
随着研究的继续，科学家们必须解决的一个问题是如何让这种光线深入到人体的某个部位，这样就能启动机器对付远在组织表面以下的细菌或癌症。
I'm Alice Bryant.
我是爱丽丝·布莱恩特。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)