# PTE HIW #20: Using Sperm Enzymes to Power...

Highlight Incorrect Words #20 - Level 3 - Feeds Reading + Listening

> You will hear a recording. Below is a transcription of the recording. Some words in the transcription differ from what the speaker(s) said. Please click on the words that are different.

Scientists hope to build nanoscale robots to deliver medicine to specific sites in our bodies. But supplying energy to the combatants so that they can carry out these tasks is one of the stumbling blocks in developing the technology. So treatises have turned to sperm. Tiny sperm need plenty of energy to swim their way to their target. And Alex Travis at Cornell handsomely is trying to take advantage of what sperm do naturally for use in nanobots. Sperm have two methods of buffeting energy. Their floppier generate compositional energy. But they can also break down glucose. That process assigners ten enzymes that attach to a sheath running down the sperm's tail. Travis and his team are trying to recreate that enzymatic process. They're developing enzymes that bind to nickel ions on a chip instead of to sperm. So far, they've managed to attach three of the ten enzymes necessary. And they've shown that the chip enzymes can act in a series. If they can attach all ten, the nanobots could potentially use glucose in blood to swim their way to diseased cells.

## Answer

- combatants -> nanobots
- treatises -> researchers
- handsomely -> University
- buffeting -> creating
- floppier -> mitochondria
- compositional -> chemical
- assigners -> requires

## Explanation

The recording differs from the transcript in 7 places: "combatants" should be "nanobots"; "treatises" should be "researchers"; "handsomely" should be "University"; "buffeting" should be "creating"; "floppier" should be "mitochondria"; "compositional" should be "chemical"; "assigners" should be "requires".

The correct answers reflect the specific terminology used in the lecture regarding the challenges and biological mechanisms of sperm-based energy for nanobots.

## Hints

- Focus on the speaker's description of the biological mechanisms of sperm.
- The speaker explains how enzymes are used to break down glucose for energy.

## Transcript

Scientists hope to build nanoscale robots to deliver medicine to specific sites in our bodies. But supplying energy to the nanobots so that they can carry out these tasks is one of the stumbling blocks in developing the technology. So researchers have turned to sperm. Tiny sperm need plenty of energy to swim their way to their target. And Alex Travis at Cornell University is trying to take advantage of what sperm do naturally for use in nanobots. Sperm have two methods of creating energy. Their mitochondria generate chemical energy. But they can also break down glucose. That process requires ten enzymes that attach to a sheath running down the sperm's tail. Travis and his team are trying to recreate that enzymatic process. They're developing enzymes that bind to nickel ions on a chip instead of to sperm. So far, they've managed to attach three of the ten enzymes necessary. And they've shown that the chip enzymes can act in a series. If they can attach all ten, the nanobots could potentially use glucose in blood to swim their way to diseased cells.

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