英语听力精选进阶版 14310

Study shows how genes¹ shape face

Summary

25 October 2013

Scientists are starting to understand how our genes influence the way we look. A study with mice has shown that small changes to their DNA² could alter the shape of their face. The findings are published in the journal Science.

Reporter:

Rebecca Morelle

Report

This study helps to explain how one person's face can look so different from another's. Scientists have identified thousands of sequences in our DNA that influence our appearance as we develop in the womb.

By looking at mice, they found that removing some of this genetic³ material subtly altered the rodent's appearance. In some, the modified DNA led to a longer or shorter skull⁴, while others had wider or narrower faces. The researchers say that although the work was carried out on animals, the human face is likely to develop in the same way.

Dr Axel Visel, from the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory in California led the study.

"We are trying to find out how the instructions for building the human face are embedded⁵ in the human DNA, so somewhere in there, there must be that blueprint⁶ that defines what our face looks like."

The researchers say understanding this complex process could also help to reveal how facial birth defects - such as cleft⁷ lips and palates - arise.

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 DNA   

(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。

3 genetic   

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。

4 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

5 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

6 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

7 cleft   

n.裂缝；adj.裂开的

参考例句：

• I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
• He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。