Last week, speakers at a program in Washington discussed using nanotechnology(纳米技术)to improve health care in developing countrie

Last week, speakers at a program in Washington discussed using nanotechnology(纳米技术)to improve health care in developing countries.
    Peter Singer at the University of Toronto says that a nanotechnology called quantum dots(量子点)could be used to(36)confirm cases of malaria(疟疾). He says it could offer a better way than the(37)conventional process of looking at a person’s blood under a(38)microscope. In poor countries, this process is often not(39)employed. As a result, sick people may get treated for malaria even if they do not have it. Such misuses of medicines can lead to drug(40)resistance. Quantum dots are particles that give off light when(41)activated. Researchers are studying ways to program them to identify diseases by lighting up in the presence of a targeted molecule.
    Experts say nanotechnology shows a(42)promise not just for diagnosing diseases, but also for treating them. Piotr Grodzinski of the National Institute of Health talked about how nanotechnology could make drugs more(43)effective. He talked about cancer drugs already developed with nanotechnology. He says(44)if a drug can target a cancer locally in the body, then much less of it might be needed, and that means lower side effects.
    Andrew Maynard is the chief scientist for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnology at the Woodrow Wilson center.(45)He pointed out that Brazil, India, China and South Africa are currently doing nanotechnology research that could help poor countries. But he also noted that there is some risk in suing nano-materials. He says nanometer-sized particles behave differently in the body and in environment compared to larger particles.(46)Experts say more investment in research is needed to understand these risks more thoroughly.