手机APP下载

您现在的位置: 首页 > 在线广播 > 科学美国人 > 科学美国人健康系列 > 正文

科学美国人60秒:尼安德特人基因对现代人的影响

来源:可可英语 编辑:aimee   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet
  


扫描二维码可进行跟读训练
  下载MP3到电脑  [F8键暂停/播放]   批量下载MP3到手机
x)]1sRx@ZZwt,

9fihbge|w.bLWXF0

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.
Fifty thousand years ago, Homo sapiens weren't the only game in town. We were just one of several species of hominids roaming the Earth, like the Neandertals in Eurasia. And when our sapiens ancestors came in contact with them, they sometimes hooked up. Which means many people today of Eurasian descent still carry copies of Neandertal genes. But what do those genes do?
Researchers tried to answer that question by examining the modern human genome. And they found that, on average, Neandertal versions of genes are not active as much as their modern human counterparts in the brain—and the testicles. Meaning Neandertal variants have less influence there. Possibly, researchers say, because those tissues underwent significant changes since what became modern humans and Neandertals diverged 700,000 years ago.

Fm(qSAplzf

尼安德特人假想图.jpg

3OZb#;s-dG[

"Really, our results show that Neandertal sequences that are present in modern humans aren't just silent remnants of hybridization that occurred 50,000 years ago, but they really have widespread measurable impacts on gene expression to this day." Rajiv McCoy, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Washington. In other words, genes we got from Neandertals play roles in the activation of various other of our genes, leading to the production of different kinds of proteins.
The study is in the journal Cell.
It also turns out that, for one gene in particular, if you carry the Neandertal mutation, "you have slightly lower risk of schizophrenia. And you also have slightly increased height on average."
The Neandertals left their mark on lots of modern human traits, in addition to schizophrenia and height. But McCoy says, keep in mind: "These are complex traits. And they're controlled by thousands of different genes, and we're measuring statistically significant effects." Neandertals are long gone—but some of their genes live on.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

G3ciZRs*dOVDmc#I

,XONCZwA9rOOieak

t1c!%vL,N,)+Nzs1;U*bpJPMVybEi]*j(I81(QPBs5M

重点单词   查看全部解释    
mutation [mju:'teiʃən]

想一想再看

n. 变化,转变,母音变化

 
genome ['dʒi:nəum]

想一想再看

n. [生]基因组;[生]染色体组

联想记忆
species ['spi:ʃiz]

想一想再看

n. (单复同)物种,种类

 
fiction ['fikʃən]

想一想再看

n. 虚构,杜撰,小说

联想记忆
addition [ə'diʃən]

想一想再看

n. 增加,附加物,加法

联想记忆
cell [sel]

想一想再看

n. 细胞,电池,小组,小房间,单人牢房,(蜂房的)巢室

 
gene [dʒi:n]

想一想再看

n. 基因

联想记忆
particular [pə'tikjulə]

想一想再看

adj. 特殊的,特别的,特定的,挑剔的
n.

联想记忆
evolutionary [.i:və'lu:ʃnəri]

想一想再看

adj. 进化的,发展的,演变的

 
controlled [kən'trəuld]

想一想再看

adj. 受约束的;克制的;受控制的 v. 控制;指挥;

 

发布评论我来说2句

    最新文章

    可可英语官方微信(微信号:ikekenet)

    每天向大家推送短小精悍的英语学习资料.

    添加方式1.扫描上方可可官方微信二维码。
    添加方式2.搜索微信号ikekenet添加即可。