美國科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)長壽基因

 By analyzing the DNA of the world's oldest people, Boston University scientists said Thursday they have discovered a genetic signature of longevity. They expect soon to offer a test that could let people learn whether they have the constitution to live to a very old age.
美國波士頓大學(xué)(Boston University)的科學(xué)家們周四說，通過分析世界一些最長壽者的DNA，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了長壽的基因標(biāo)志。這些科學(xué)家預(yù)計不久后就能推出一種檢測服務(wù)，讓人知道自己是否具有能夠長壽的基因構(gòu)造。

The researchers, who studied more than 1,000 people over the age of 100, identified a set of 150 unique genetic markers that,

一位美國長壽老人在慶祝她的112歲生日。

taken together, are linked to extreme longevity. They acknowledged they didn't know all the genes involved, nor their exact function in extending old age.
科研人員說，他們研究了1,000多位百歲以上老人，識別出150個獨特的遺傳標(biāo)記，它們都與超長壽有關(guān)。這些科學(xué)家承認(rèn)，他們對識別出的長壽基因并不全都了解，也不知道這些基因在延長人的壽命方面究竟是如何發(fā)揮作用的。

'This is an extremely complex trait that involves many processes,' said lead researcher Paola Sebastiani, a biostatistician at BU's School of Public Health. Even so, 'we can compute your specific predisposition to exceptional longevity.'
牽頭進行這項研究的生物統(tǒng)計學(xué)家薩巴斯蒂亞尼(Paola Sebastiani)說，這是一種特別復(fù)雜的特性，涉及許多過程。這位就職于波士頓大學(xué)公共衛(wèi)生學(xué)院的科學(xué)家說，盡管如此，我們還是能夠計算出你在長壽方面的素質(zhì)傾向。

The researchers said they had no plans to patent the technique or profit from it. Instead, they expect to make a free test kit available on the Internet later this month to foster longevity research.
這些研究人員說，他們不計劃給這項技術(shù)申請專利，也不想以它牟利。相反，他們想本月晚些時候在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上推出一項免費的長壽基因檢測服務(wù)，以推動長壽研究。

The test might reveal more than some people would like to know, the BU scientists warned. Genetic testing often reveals tantalizing but incomplete information, and it is sometimes difficult to know how to respond. People with genes for extreme longevity could face a series of difficult decisions about their careers, retirement savings, insurance coverage, medical treatments and marriages in old age.
波士頓大學(xué)的這些科學(xué)家們提醒說，有人可能會從這項檢測中了解到一些自己本不愿知道的東西?；驕y試經(jīng)常揭示出一些讓人心急但又不完備的信息，人有時也難以知道如何對這些信息作出回應(yīng)。檢測出擁有長壽基因的人有可能要面臨一系列有關(guān)自己今后生涯的困難決定，如怎樣規(guī)劃退休儲蓄、選擇何種保險，如何處理醫(yī)療及老年婚姻問題。

'I don't think people are ready for this from a social point of view,' said BU geriatrician Thomas Perls, the other lead researcher. 'But I don't think that will stop companies from trying to market this.'
一同牽頭進行這項研究的波士頓大學(xué)老年病學(xué)專家皮爾斯(Thomas Perls)說，他不認(rèn)為人們已從一個特殊的視角為此做好了準(zhǔn)備，但他也不認(rèn)為這會阻止企業(yè)推廣這項技術(shù)。

Scientists have long sought to crack the genetic code of healthy aging. On average, people in developed countries can expect to live between 80 and 85 years, largely as a result of improvements in diet and public health. But the oldest of the old -- the 'wellderly' -- live two to three decades longer, often free of mental and physical ailments.
科學(xué)家們一直在尋求破解健康長壽的基因密碼。發(fā)達國家的人平均預(yù)期壽命能達到80到85歲，這很大程度上應(yīng)歸功于飲食和公共衛(wèi)生狀況的改善。但那些健康長壽者的壽命比平均壽命能多出20到30年，這些年長者常常既無精神方面也無身體方面的毛病。

The oldest person alive today is 116 years old, according to the Los Angeles Gerontology Group. The oldest person on record lived to be 122.
洛杉磯老年醫(yī)學(xué)會(Los Angeles Gerontology Group)提供的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，目前依然健在的最年長者是116歲。人類有記錄的最長壽命是122歲。

No one knows the complete prescription for a healthy long life. But genes that help control cellular responses to famine, drought and other survival stresses may play a key role in staving off the diseases and chronic ailments of aging, research suggests.
沒入知道健康長壽的全部秘訣。但研究結(jié)果暗示，那些對細胞應(yīng)對饑荒、旱災(zāi)和其他生存壓力有調(diào)節(jié)作用的基因，在防止人類患病以及患上老年慢性病方面可以起到重要作用。

The free test will be available through a public website maintained by the New England Centenarian Study. But to take the test, people will have to provide their own complete genome -- which currently can cost thousands of dollars from gene-sequencing companies.
新英格蘭百歲老人研究中心(New England Centenarian Study)負(fù)責(zé)維護的一個公共網(wǎng)站將提供上述免費基因檢測。但接受這一檢測者需提供自己全部的基因組數(shù)據(jù)，目前可以花數(shù)千美元到基因測序公司得到這些數(shù)據(jù)。