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Scientists have pinpointed one reason why people living in isolated villages in Greece may enjoy long and healthy lives.
日前，科学家们查明了居住在希腊偏远的村庄的人们可以健康长寿的一个原因。
They found a new genetic variant, common among villagers, which appears to protect the heart by lowering levels of "bad" fats and cholesterol.
他们发现了一种新的、在村民中常见的遗传变异，这种变异似乎通过降低“坏”脂肪和胆固醇的水平，以保护心脏。
Despite a diet rich in animal fat, the people of Mylopotamos in northern Crete do not suffer from cardiovascular disease. And they really love their cheese.
尽管饮食中含有丰富的动物脂肪，但住在克利特北部的买诺斯人却不会患心血管疾病。而且，他们真的很喜欢当地的奶酪。
The villagers do get type 2 diabetes at the same rate as the general Greek population, but they don't seem to suffer from the usual consequences, such as diabetic kidney disease.
村民确实与希腊一般人民一样有可能患2型糖尿病，但似乎并没有导致像肾病这样常见的并发症。
Was there something in the villagers' genetic make-up that protected their hearts against disease?
在村民的遗传基因中有什么可以保护他们的心脏免受疾病吗？
Their research, published in Nature Communications, identified a new genetic variant which has heart-protecting qualities.
在《自然通讯》上发表的研究发现了一种具有保护心脏的功能的新遗传变异体。
Out of thousands of Europeans who have undergone genome sequencing, only one other person in Italy possesses this variant, the researchers said.
研究人员表示，在欧洲进行的成千上万的基因组测序中，只有意大利的一个人拥有这种变体。
To solve the puzzle, they sequenced the entire genome of 250 villagers.
为了搞清楚为什么，他们对250个村民的整个基因组进行了排序。
Then they used the results to get a more detailed view of more than 3,000 villagers who had already been through genotyping (a shortcut to acquiring some genetic information).
然后，他们利用这些结果，对已经通过基因型分析（基因型分析是获取一些遗传信息的捷径）的3000多名村民进行了更详细的了解。
This discovery isn't a reason to go out and eat your weight in animal fat and cheese. That wouldn't be recommended at all - because the rest of us don't possess this genetic variant.
这个发现不会成为吃动物脂肪和奶酪的一个理由。我们其他人不拥有这种遗传变异，所以这也没什么好推荐的。
But scientists say they can use their discovery to work out which genetic variants play a role in causing complex diseases.
但是科学家们表示，他们可以利用这些发现找出什么样的遗传变异会在患上复杂疾病的机理中发挥作用。
This can give clues as to why some people develop heart disease and some don't.
这可以为说明为什么有些人会得心脏病，而有些人不会提供一些线索。
