万物简史 第600期:生命的物质(26)

This is clearly a pity in one important sense, for if you had individual genes¹ that determined² height or propensity³ to diabetes⁴ or to baldness or any other distinguishing trait, then it would be easy — comparatively easy anyway — to isolate⁵ and tinker with them. Unfortunately, thirty-five thousand genes functioning independently is not nearly enough to produce the kind of physical complexity⁶ that makes a satisfactory human being. Genes clearly therefore must cooperate.

在一个重要意义上，这显然是一件憾事，因为如果你具有个别决定身高、糖尿病或谢顶倾向或其他任何明显特征的基因，你就可以很容易地——反正相对容易地——将它们加以隔离并根治。不幸的是，3.5万个基因如果独立工作远远不足以制造比一个令人满意的复杂人体。很明显，基因必须彼此协同工作。

A few disorders⁷ — hemophilia, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and cystic fibrosis, for example — are caused by lone⁸ dysfunctional genes, but as a rule disruptive genes are weeded out by natural selection long before they can become permanently⁹ troublesome to a species or population. For the most part our fate and comfort — and even our eye color — are determined not by individual genes but by complexes of genes working in alliance. That's why it is so hard to work out how it all fits together and why we won't be producing designer babies anytime soon.

有一些身心失调的病症，比如血友病、帕金森综合征、杭廷顿斯舞蹈病以及囊性纤维变性——是由个别机能不良的基因引起的，但是一般来说，远在它们变得足以对物种或人类造成永久性的麻烦之前，依照自然选择的规律，它们就被淘汰掉了。令人欣慰的是，我们的命运在很大程度上——即便是我们眼惰的颜色——不是由个别基因决定的，而是各种各样的基因通力协作的结果。因此，对手为什么我们总是很难了解它们彼此是怎样形成为一个整体的，以及为什么我们不能在短期内培育出我们所预先设计的婴儿，也就不难理解了。

In fact, the more we have learned in recent years the more complicated matters have tended to become. Even thinking, it turns out, affects the ways genes work. How fast a man's beard grows, for instance, is partly a function of how much he thinks about sex (because thinking about sex produces a testosterone surge).

实际上，我们对近年来的研究结果了解得越多，我们不明了的事情也就越多。实验证明，即便是意念也会对基因的工作方式产生影响。比如，一个男人的胡须长得多快，某种程度上取决于他在多大程度上想到了与性有关的事情（因为想到与性有关的事情会产生大量睾丸素糖）。

1 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。

4 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

6 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

7 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。