万万没想到：让人年轻2岁的秘诀竟然是它！

 　　Scientists say they have made a leap in knowing why some people retain their youthful looks while others age badly.

　　科学家称他们已经在探究为什么有的人青春长驻而另一些人逐年老去这一问题上取得突破性进展。

　　They found the first part of human DNA¹ - the genetic³ code - that seems to affect how old people look to others. The mutations, reported in the journal Current Biology, were in the genetic instructions for protecting the body from UV radiation. But these can also lead to red hair, and experts caution the findings may be confused by eye, skin or hair colour.

　　他们发现人类DNA——基因密码——的第一部分似乎会影响一个人在别人眼里看起来有多老。据《当代生物学》杂志报道，遗传指令会发生变化，保护身体免受紫外线辐射的伤害。但这些变化同时会导致头发变红，而且专家警告说研究结果会受到瞳色、肤色或发色的影响。

　　万万没想到：让人年轻2岁的秘诀竟然是它！

　　The study into "perceived age" was organised by the Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and Unilever. Images of the make-up free "naked-face" of 2,693 people were independently assessed to see what age people thought they looked. This was compared with their true age. The next stage of the research was to scour⁴ the 2,693 people's DNA to find any differences or mutations that were more common in those who looked younger than they really were.

　　荷兰伊拉斯姆斯医学中心和联合利华共同组织了本次针对“外表年龄”的研究。试验中分别评估了2693位完全没有化妆的“裸脸”人员照片，看人们认为照片里的人有多大年龄，再将评估结果与他们的真实年龄进行比照。试验的下一个步骤是检测这2693个人的DNA，探究那些看起来比实际年龄更显年轻的人有什么共同之处，找到他们的基因与别人相比有什么不同特点或变异之处。

　　All the evidence pointed⁵ to the MC1R gene² - it is critical for making melanin, which affects skin pigmentation and protects against UV radiation from the Sun. But the gene comes in many different forms, or variants⁶, many of which cause red hair - hence the nickname "the ginger⁷ gene". The study suggested some variants of the gene led to people looking, on average, two years younger than those with other forms of MC1R.

　　所有的研究结果都指向了MC1R基因——这种基因在生成黑色素时非常关键，会影响皮肤的色素沉着，保护皮肤免遭阳光紫外线辐射的伤害。然而，这种基因有多种存在形式或者变体，其中许多变体还会导致头发变红——因此它又被称作“活力基因”。研究发现，这种基因的某些变体与其它存在形式的MC1R相比，能让人看上去平均年轻两岁。

　　Prof Ian Jackson, from the UK Medical Research Council's Human Genetics Unit, said the study was interesting, but had not found the fountain of youth. He said: "MC1R is the major gene involved in red hair and pale skin, and what they're trying to say is it's got an impact on making you look slightly younger that isn't to do with paler skin, but I'm not so sure."

　　来自英国医学研究委员会人类基因研究小组的伊恩·杰克逊教授说这份研究很有趣，但还没有找到青春之泉。他说：“MC1R是和红头发、浅肤色相关的主要基因，但研究想表明的是MC1R基因能让你看起来略微年轻一点，而不是让你的皮肤更白一点，但我对此不太确定。”

　　More research is planned, but Dr Gunn hopes the findings will eventually lead to a product to make people look younger. However, it is far from clear whether it will be possible to lower someone's "perceived age".

　　更多研究已纳入计划之中，但甘恩博士希望研究结果是最终能研制出一种让人们看起来更年轻的产品。然而，对于有没有可能降低一个人的“外表年龄”，一切尚不明了。

1 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。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

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 scour   

v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷

参考例句：

• Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
• We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

7 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。