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This Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin. This will just take a minute.

They say that older folks benefit from spending time with young people. And that’s not just an excuse to stick grandma at the kids’ table at Thanksgiving. Now scientists have found that, even in insects, seniors live longer when they socialize with the young. The researchers were studying fruit flies that, because of a particular mutation¹, have a drastically reduced lifespan. When those mutants live together in a Big Brother style fly dormitory they only last an average of 9 days. But the scientists found that when they allowed older mutants to share space with hip², young, wild-type flies, they survived nearly twice as long. The results appear in the May 27th issue of the Proceedings³ of the National Academy of Sciences. Old mutants who roomed with spry regular flies also dealt better with stress than their friends who bunked⁴ in the Mutant Only dorm. They withstood being overheated, dusted with paraquat, even shaken violently twice a day. By studying these flies, the researchers hope to identify any molecules⁵ responsible for this youth-associated lifespan extension. Then grandma won’t actually have to sit with the kiddies. She could pop a pill and stay spry while hanging with her peeps.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin.

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收听单词发音

1 mutation
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。

2 hip
n.臀部，髋；屋脊
参考例句：
The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

3 proceedings
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
参考例句：
He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。 to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

4 bunked
v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的过去式和过去分词 )；空话，废话
参考例句：
He bunked with a friend for the night. 他和一个朋友同睡一张床过夜。来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 We bunked in an old barn. 我们将就着睡在旧谷仓里。来自辞典例句

5 molecules
分子( molecule的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。 Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。