Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb form.

A team of Kolkata scientists ……………. (came / come / have come / had come) up with a homegrown remedy against thalassaemia, a condition in which red blood cells …………… (are degenerating /degenerate / have degenerated / degenerated). The wheat extract they developed ……………. (slow / slows / have slowed / had slowed) down degeneration of red blood cells, …………. (reduce / reduces / reduced / have reduced) the need for blood transfusion and thereby increases longevity. The finding ……………… (has published / has been published / was published) in American journal of Haematology, and doctors ……………….. (have hailed / hailed / hail) it as a significant breakthrough against a disease without cure. People with thalassaemia ………… (does not / do not / has not / have not) produce enough hemoglobin. Consequently, red blood cells …………….. (are dying / die / died) out quickly and the patient …………… (need / needs / is needing / has needed) frequent blood transfusions.

Answers

A team of Kolkata scientists have come up with a homegrown remedy against thalassaemia, a condition in which red blood cells degenerate. The wheat extract they developed slows down degeneration of red blood cells, reduces the need for blood transfusion and thereby increases longevity. The finding has been published in American journal of Haematology, and doctors have hailed it as a significant breakthrough against a disease without cure. People with thalassaemia do not produce enough hemoglobin. Consequently, red blood cells die out quickly and the patient needs frequent blood transfusions.