Researchers at Boston University have identified a kind of genetic signature in people who are likely to live to age 100 or older. The technique may also help doctors predict whether you're likely to get a disease, decades before the symptoms show up.
波士顿大学的研究人员在可望活过百岁的人身上分辩出一种基因特征。这种技术也可能有助于医生提前几十年，就预知你会不会患什么疾病。
Living a long, healthy life tends to run in families. If your grandparents and parents lived into their 90s and remained relatively healthy until the end, there's a pretty good chance you will, too.
健康长寿通常和家族有关。如果你的祖父母和父母都活到90岁以上，而且身体一直相当健康，你很可能也会这样。
So it's pretty clear genetics plays some role in longevity.
所以，长寿显然有遗传因素。
In this study, the research team developed a new statistical way of analyzing the genetic code of people who had reached age 100 as compared with people who had a more typical lifespan. Tom Perls, who heads the New England Centenarian Study, explains what they found.
波士顿大学“新英格兰百龄老人研究”小组使用一种新的统计方式，将百岁老人的基因密码与寿命一般的人进行比对分析。
"We discovered 150 or so genetic markers that can highly predict whether or not a person has the genetic propensity to live to extreme old age."
研究小组负责人汤姆·珀尔斯说：“我们发现了大约150种基因标记，这些基因标记能够准确预测一个人有没有特别长寿的遗传倾向。”
Using just that large number of genetic markers, the team was able to predict in almost four out of five cases whether a person would live to be 100.
通过这许多基因标记，研究小组能够预测一个人是否能活到百岁，准确率几乎达到百分之80。
Perls says the key to successfully predicting long life was the sophisticated statistical analysis of many different gene variations that each played some role.
珀尔斯说，成功预测长寿与否的关键，在于精密地统计分析具有不同作用的基因种类。
"And that's what this method does - it captures the complexity of the puzzle and the interaction of all these genes together to produce exceptional longevity."
“我们的方法就是抓住谜团中的复杂部分，分析所有这些基因间的互动如何导致长寿。”
Perls and his colleagues publish their study in the online edition of the journal Science.
珀尔斯和他的同事们将研究报告发表在科学杂志的网路版上。
The Boston University researcher says this kind of analysis could play a role, not just in predicting who will live longest, but in actually helping people live longer and healthier lives.
波士顿大学的这位专家说，这种方法不仅可以用来预测谁活得最长，还能帮助人们活得更健康，更长寿。
In an interview via Skype, Tom Perls said the same technique used to predict long life may also be used to predict whether a person might eventually develop certain diseases. He gave the example of Alzheimer's Disease as one in which genetics plays a role.
珀尔斯接受采访时说，预测长寿的技术也可以用来预测一个人未来会不会得某种疾病。他举例说，老年痴呆就是一种受到遗传因素影响的疾病。
"And we think that this methodology can very much be used to capture the bunch of genes that are playing an important role in one's susceptibility to that disease," he said. "And the same can be true, perhaps, for looking at adult-onset diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, or stroke. Again, where I think there is at least a moderate impact from genetic variation."
他说：“我们认为这种方法很可以用来发现那些使人们容易患上某种疾病的重要遗传因子。同样地，也可以用来预测成人糖尿病、心血管疾病或中风的风险。”
As the cost of the needed genetic tests continues to decline, he predicts doctors will be able to screen patients for diseases they may not develop until later in life, and recommend ways to avoid them.
由于遗传因子试验的成本持续下降，珀尔斯预测，医生们将能够为病人筛检出在生命后期才会患上的疾病，并且建议预防的方法。 |