Unit 5. New Explorations in Food and Medicine.
Part 1. Warming up.
A. Keywords.

transplant surgeon, chemotherapy, glaucoma, writing, acupuncture.
Vocabulary.

Parkinson's disease, adrenal, gland, implant, qi, yang, yin, primary channel, meridian, crisscross, anesthesia.
A1. You're going to hear five short news items, work out the summaries.
1. The world's leading transplant surgeon, Dr.Christopher Bernard, has carried out one of the most difficult brain tissue transplants yet attempted.
The South African surgeon has succeeded in transplanting tissues into the human brain, in what is thought to be the first operation of its kind.
The surgery was performed a week ago on a patient suffering from Parkinson's disease.
A portion of the patient's adrenal gland was implanted into a part of the patient's brain, an operation which has previously been performed only on rats and monkeys.
2. Approximately a third of all people develop cancer at one point in their lives.
Chemotherapy has its limitations, but it is one of the major treatment options.
Some American scientists have discovered they can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy by inhibiting a natural defense mechanism employed by cancer cells.
3. Glaucoma is responsible for blindness in an estimated 67 million people around the world.
Until now, treatments have focused exclusively on the eyes.
But that may change in the next few years, following the discovery that glaucoma involves the death of brain cells.
4. New research shows that the simple act of writing down thoughts about a stressful event can help people with chronical illnesses improve their health.
This is the first study to show that writing can result in clinically meaningful outcomes for chronically ill patients.
The study adds to the growing amount of scientific literature suggesting that meeting patients' psychological needs produces physical health benefits.
5. Traditional Chinese medicine says that the good health is associated with the balance of qi.
Qi can be hindered or helped by yang and yin.
According to traditional theory, the goal of acupuncture is to promote the flow of qi by keeping yin and yang in balance.
And this is done by inserting needles at various points along primary channels and meridians that crisscross the body.
One of the key benefits of acupuncture is that it has few, if any, side effects, and that when used with standard drug treatment, in anesthesia.
For example, it allows physicians to cut back on medication, delivering the same level of benefit with fewer negative effects.