藥物延緩老年癡呆大腦衰退

　　7月27日BBC聽力：藥物延緩老年癡呆癥大腦闌珊

　　Hello, I'm Jerry Smit with the BBC news.

　　A new research has been published today on a drugthat could slow the pace of brain decline in peoplewith Alzheimer's. The disease affects tens of millionsof people worldwide. Scientists hope the drug,Solanezumab, might be more effective than previously thought. James Gallagher reports.

　　Solanezumab was the great hope of dementia research. It targets the deformed proteins thatbuild up in the brain during Alzheimer‘s disease. Trials of the drug seemingly ended in failure in2012. But when the US company Eli Lily looked more closely at the data, there were hints itcould be working for patients in the earliest stages of the disease. Those people have continuedto take the drugs, and we will find out how they have progressed at the Alzheimer’s AssociationInternational Conference in Washington later today.

　　The US police investigating the death of a black woman in custody in Texas have released videofootage of the arrest. The video recorded by a police camera shows the woman Sandra Blandbeing stopped after failing to signal when changing lane. After the initial argument, she getsout of the car. Then they both move out of sight. But the audio indicates the confrontationbecomes physical. Breaks in continuation suggest the video was edited. A coroner says Ms.Bland hanged herself in jail 3 days later. Her family is demanding an independent inquiry.

　　A powerful bomb explosion in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 50 people mostlycivilians, 30 more were injured. Reports say the suicide attacker was targeting the police, but italso hit a busy market. There was no immediate admission of responsibility. Separately, in thesouthern province of Uruzgan, the Taliban is reported to have killed a tribal leader and hung hisbody from a pole.

　　The United States says it’s killed a senior Al-Qaeda militant in an airstrike in Syria. A Pentagonstatement said Muhsin aL-Fadhli was targeted while in a vehicle near the town of Sarmada onJuly the 8th. He described him as the leader of the Khorasan Group which was sent by Al-Qaedafrom Pakistan to Syria to plot attacks against the West. x has more details.

　　The information we have, not just on the strike but also on the Khorasan Group as a whole, isbasically what the Americans have been saying about this group. It first came to globalattention when the Americans first started striking in Syria, and they say basically theKhorasan is the part of Al-Qaeda that focuses on external operations mainly attacking Americaand its allies outside Syria, and that sets the part, for example, from Jabhat al-Nusra which isthe Al-Qaeda branch in Syria focus on fighting the Syrian regime.

　　World news from the BBC.

　　Reports from Turkey say 2 policemen have been killed in the southeastern town of Ceylanpinar.It’s not clear who carried out the attack. It took place 2 days after 32 activists were killed in asuicide bombing in nearby Suruc.

　　The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to rally support within his Syriza party ahead ofa second vote in Parliament on reforms needed as part of the planned bail-out. He told officialsthat the people of Greece had pinned their hopes on remaining within the euro zone. Parliamentin Athens is due to vote on banking reform and changes to the civil justice system.

　　The Church of England will consecrate its third most senior female bishop at CanterburyCathedral later today. Rachel Treweek, a former speech therapist will become the Bishop of theGloucester. She'll be the first woman to lead a diocese and have a seat in the House of Lords.Bishop Treweek said it would be a immense privilege.

　　'That feels quite daunting, but again what an immense privilege to be able to use my voice inthe Lords. This is not something that I ever imagined to be able to as a follower of Christ in theHouse of Lords.'

　　The Supreme Court in Pakistan has suspended the death sentence for a Christian womanconvicted of blasphemy and agreed to hear her appeal. Asia Bibi was convicted for insultingthe Prophet Muhammad. She denies the charge, saying the Muslim women who accused herwere acting on a personal grudge. Pakistan has never executed anyone for blasphemy.

　　Researchers in Britain say they’ve discovered manuscript fragments in their archive collectionwhich could be the world’s oldest examples of the Koran. Carbon testing on the fragmentssuggests they date from the 7th century. The researchers from the University of Birminghamsay the writer of the manuscript could have met the Prophet Muhammad or heard him preach.

　　BBC News.

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