2022年经济学人 为什么大象很少患癌症？(2)

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The first step in quality control is evaded¹, and the last steps -- repair or self-destruct -- are never reached.

逃避质量控制的第一步，而最后一步--修复或自毁--永远也达不到。

Most animals play host to but one type of p53.

大多数动物只有一种类型的p53。

So the discovery last year that elephants have 20, each subtly different, drew the attention of Dr Karakostis and his colleagues.

因此，去年发现大象有20种p53，每头大象略有不同，引起了卡拉科斯蒂斯博士和他的同事的注意。

Maybe the p53s provide one another with anti-cancer backup.

也许p53为彼此提供了抗癌的支援。

But how?

但如何做到呢？

They suspected that mdm2 was involved.

他们怀疑与MDM2有关。

Perhaps all those slightly different p53s latch² onto it in slightly different ways.

也许所有这些略有不同的p53以略有不同的方式锁定在它上面。

It would be less likely, the idea goes, that cancer cells’ trickery could work in 20 altered arrangements.

这种想法认为，癌细胞的诡计不太可能在20种改变的排列中发挥作用。

If any failed, the chain of repair would still be triggered.

如果其中任何一个失败，修复链仍将被触发。

First the team took to their computers.

首先，团队开始使用他们的电脑模拟。

Extensive simulations of precisely³ how mdm2 binds⁴ at the molecular⁵ level to this plethora⁶ of p53s indicated their hunch⁷ might be right.

对MDM2如何在分子水平上与大量的p53结合的广泛模拟表明，他们的预感可能是正确的。

A trip to the laboratory, to study that binding⁸ in a dish, only confirmed things further.

去一趟实验室，在培养皿中研究这种结合，可能会进一步证实这一点。

Cancer cells might have defences clever enough to smooth the route to one kind of binding -- but not, it is now assumed, 20 of them.

癌细胞可能具有足够聪明的防御机制，能够使一种结合途径变得顺畅 --但现在人们认为，不是20种。

Peto's paradox⁹ lives on, however.

然而，皮托的悖论仍然存在。

Why have humans not evolved this variegated¹⁰ gang of anti-cancer proteins, or indeed the different suite¹¹ of cellular¹² protections enjoyed by blue whales, if they would confer such a clear-cut survival benefit?

如果能够带来如此明确的生存益处，为什么人类没有进化出这种五花八门的抗癌蛋白质，还是蓝鲸享有的不同的细胞保护呢？

Alas¹³, a common refrain in matters scientific: more research is needed.

唉，在科学问题上有一个常见的问题：需要更多的研究。

But that is not to say this work is without potential relevance¹⁴ to humans.

但这并不是说这项工作与人类没有潜在的相关性。

Work reported in 2016 revealed that genetically¹⁵ engineering mice to have a few extra copies of p53 enhanced their cells’ ability to detect and repair dna¹⁶ damage.

2016年的研究报告显示，通过基因工程使小鼠拥有额外的几个p53，提高了它们的细胞检测和修复DNA损伤的能力。

This latest work suggests something many managers are belatedly finding out: success comes not just with a bigger team, but a more diverse one.

这项最新研究表明，许多管理者可以从中获得启发：成功不仅来自更大的团队，而且来自更多元化的团队。

1 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

2 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

6 plethora   

n.过量，过剩

参考例句：

• Java comes with a plethora of ready-made types.Java配套提供了数量众多的现成类型。
• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market.大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。

7 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

10 variegated   

adj.斑驳的，杂色的

参考例句：

• This plant has beautifully variegated leaves.这种植物的叶子色彩斑驳，非常美丽。
• We're going to grow a variegated ivy up the back of the house.我们打算在房子后面种一棵杂色常春藤。

11 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

12 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

13 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

14 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

15 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

16 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。