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科学美国人60秒 SSS 牙齿讲述黑死病基因故事

时间:2020-08-12 05:44:22

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science, I'm Susanne Bard1.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列,我是苏珊娜·巴德。

The Black Death. Also known as the Great Plague, it spread across Europe between 1346 and 1353 and brought a swift but very painful demise2 to up to 60 percent of the population—perhaps 200 million people in all.

黑死病。其也被称为大瘟疫,曾于1346年到1353年之间在欧洲蔓延,导致欧洲高达60%的人口迅速但痛苦地死亡,死亡总人数可能达到2亿人。

A bacterium3 called Yersinia pestis causes the plague. It's transmitted to humans by fleas4. The insects hitched5 rides on the black rats that flourished along trade routes, aiding the spread of the plague.

这场瘟疫由一种名为鼠疫杆菌的细菌引发。这种细菌通过跳蚤传染给人类。跳蚤寄生于在贸易线上繁衍生息的黑鼠身上,助长了瘟疫的传播。

"The Black Death was part of a larger pandemic that occurred in Europe and in the nearby regions between the 14th and 18th centuries. And it is, by many, considered to have been the most deadly of the three pandemics of plague that have occurred throughout our history."

“黑死病是14至18世纪在欧洲及附近地区爆发的更大规模的流行病的一部分。许多人认为这是人类历史上三次大瘟疫中最致命的一次。”

Paleogeneticist Maria Spyrou of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

马克斯·普朗克人类历史科学研究所的古遗传学家玛丽亚·斯派尤说到。

"By analyzing7 ancient DNA8 from past pandemics and coupling that together with archeological and also historical evidence, we can really begin to build the history of those pandemics in great detail."

“通过分析过去所爆发大流行病的古代DNA,并结合考古和历史证据,我们可以真正开始极为详细地构建这些大流行病的历史。”

Spyrou and her team of disease detectives teamed up with archaeologists, looking for clues to the plague's arrival in Europe and its subsequent pattern of dispersal. Visiting old cemeteries9 across the continent, they sampled DNA from people who had likely succumbed10 to the plague—specifically, from their teeth.

斯派尤及其疾病检测团队与考古学家合作,寻找鼠疫抵达欧洲及后续传播模式的线索。他们走访了欧洲大陆各处的古老墓地,从可能感染鼠疫的人身上提取了DNA样本,准确地说,是从牙齿上提取样本。

"During a person's lifetime, the teeth have many blood vessels11 that are going through them, and they are sort of encapsulating any bacteria or viruses that may have affected12 the blood of this individual during their lifetime. And therefore, what we think is that by sampling those teeth, we have increased chances of really capturing the DNA of blood-borne pathogens like Yersinia pestis."

“在人的一生中,有许多血管会经过牙齿,这些血管包裹着任何可能在一生中影响这个人血液的细菌或病毒。因此,我们认为通过对牙齿采样,我们就增加了真正捕获鼠疫杆菌等血源性病原体DNA的机会。”

The researchers then reconstructed the genomes of the plague bacteria from different sites. Based on the location of the most ancestral strain of bacteria, they think the pathogen most likely first arrived in eastern Europe before spreading rapidly across the rest of the continent. But as it dispersed13, Spyrou says, it picked up just a single genetic6 mutation14.

然后,研究人员从不同位置重建了鼠疫细菌的基因组。根据最古老菌株的位置,他们认为病原体很有可能最先到达东欧,然后蔓延至欧洲大陆其他地方。但斯派尤表示,随着病菌的扩散,其只发生过一次基因突变。

"So in other words, what we think we're finding here is that the Black Death in Europe was caused by a single clone. So a single strain."

“换句话说,我们认为我们的发现是,欧洲黑死病由单克隆引起。也就是由单一菌株引发。”

The finding suggests that the plague was introduced to Europe just one time. Only later in the pandemic did the pathogen diversify15, creating local reservoirs of infectious agents across Europe. The study appears in the journal Nature Communications.

这项发现表明,鼠疫只在欧洲传播了一次。在这场疫情后期,病原体才开始多样化,导致欧洲各地形成传染源的局部储存宿主。这项研究发表在《自然通讯》期刊上。

Spyrou says the strain of Yersinia pestis that set off the Black Death is now itself extinct. But its legacy16 is a sobering reminder17 of how a single microorganism can bring an entire continent to its knees.

斯派尤表示,引发黑死病的鼠疫杆菌现在已经灭绝。但其造成的后果却在警醒我们:单一微生物如何令整个大陆屈服。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Susanne Bard.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是苏珊娜·巴德。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bard QPCyM     
n.吟游诗人
参考例句:
  • I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神!
  • I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。
2 demise Cmazg     
n.死亡;v.让渡,遗赠,转让
参考例句:
  • He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标,但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
  • The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。
3 bacterium BN7zE     
n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌
参考例句:
  • The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
  • A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。
4 fleas dac6b8c15c1e78d1bf73d8963e2e82d0     
n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 );爱财如命;没好气地(拒绝某人的要求)
参考例句:
  • The dog has fleas. 这条狗有跳蚤。
  • Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤,做事不可匆忙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 hitched fc65ed4d8ef2e272cfe190bf8919d2d2     
(免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上
参考例句:
  • They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
  • We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。
6 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
7 analyzing be408cc8d92ec310bb6260bc127c162b     
v.分析;分析( analyze的现在分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析n.分析
参考例句:
  • Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据,暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
  • He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然,他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句
8 DNA 4u3z1l     
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
参考例句:
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
9 cemeteries 4418ae69fd74a98b3e6957ca2df1f686     
n.(非教堂的)墓地,公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里,邻近墓地的地方,时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句
10 succumbed 625a9b57aef7b895b965fdca2019ba63     
不再抵抗(诱惑、疾病、攻击等)( succumb的过去式和过去分词 ); 屈从; 被压垮; 死
参考例句:
  • The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
  • After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后,该城终于屈服了。
11 vessels fc9307c2593b522954eadb3ee6c57480     
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人
参考例句:
  • The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
13 dispersed b24c637ca8e58669bce3496236c839fa     
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的
参考例句:
  • The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
  • After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后,孩子们四散回家了。
14 mutation t1PyM     
n.变化,变异,转变
参考例句:
  • People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
  • So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止,严格来讲,讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。
15 diversify m8gyt     
v.(使)不同,(使)变得多样化
参考例句:
  • Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
  • Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。
16 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
17 reminder WkzzTb     
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示
参考例句:
  • I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
  • It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。

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