Cancer is one of the most serious threats to our health nowadays. We turn pale at the mention of it. How－ever, have you ever heard that the first cancer patient was not a human being but the bully in this world at that time — the dinosaur?
　　 Recently, American scientists gave a test to 97 hadrosaurs’ fossil samples with the X-rays scanner. To their surprise, they found 29 tumors. There were some cytamas on vessels which looked much like those of human beings.
　　 Why did dinosaurs have cancer? The researchers in－ferred that this was involved with the food the dinosaurs had. Hadrosaurs ate conifer’s leaves mainly which con－tain lots of carcinogens. What’s more, hadrosaurs are ho－moeothermic animals, which makes it possible that they were attacked by the increase of disease.
　　 The researchers were much excited about the result because exploring the causes of the tumors in these ex－tinct animals is so important for guarding against and curing cancers in human society.
　　
　　癌症是目前威胁人类健康的几大杀手之一，人们谈“癌”色变。可是，你知道吗？最早的癌症患者却是当时称霸地球的恐龙。
　　 日前，美国的科学家用X射线扫描仪检测了97具鸭嘴龙化石标本，结果令人吃惊，竟然有29处肿瘤。这些肿瘤是血管外皮细胞瘤，其形状与人类的血管外皮细胞瘤非常相似。
　　 恐龙为何会得癌症？研究人员推测这与它们吃的食物有关，鸭嘴龙以针叶类树木为食，这些植物中致癌物含量较高。另外，可以确定鸭嘴龙是恒温动物，这也增大了它们患癌症的几率。
　　 结果令研究人员很兴奋，因为探究野生动物和已经灭绝动物体内肿瘤形成的原因，有助于人类癌症的预防和治疗。
　　拉拉 摘译自Discover