时差N小时 科学家找出长毛象基因组上取得重大进展

Scientists say they have reconstructed around half of the genome of the woolly mammoth¹, a species that became extinct at the end of the last Ice Age some 11,000 years ago.The sequence comes from DNA² in hair snipped³ from two woolly mammoths whose bodies have been preserved in Siberian permafrost for tens of thousands of years. Important gaps in the picture remain, but even so, enough data is there to make a comparison between the woolly mammoth and its closest living relative, the elephant, they said.

科学家们说他们已经对长毛象的半数基因组重新进行组合。长毛象在冰河世纪末期，也就是一万一千年以前就开始灭绝。基因组序来源于两只长毛象身上剪下的毛发。这两只长毛象遗体保存在西伯利亚永久冻土地带已有数万年。 科学家们说，基因组序里有重要的遗漏，即使是如此，仍有足够的数据将长毛象和其近亲大象进行对比。

The two species are so similar that their DNA differs by just 0.6 percent, or about half the differences between humans and chimps⁴. The team made a first breakthrough last year by using mammoth hair to extract mitochondrial DNA, genetic⁵ material that is inherited from the female line. The hair technique marks a giant's step forward compared to the previous method, which consisted of teasing DNA out of the remains⁶ of frozen bone marrow⁷.

长毛象和大象很相似，它们基因的差别只有百分之0.6，这个数字差不多是人类与黑猩猩基因差别的一半。 在去年这个团队通过从长毛象毛发中提取线粒状基因研究获得了第一次突破。这种线粒状基因物质是从雌性链体上遗传下来的。 相比之前的方法，这种从毛发里提取基因的技术标志着一大进步。这一技术包括梳理重组冰冻的长毛象骨头里的DNA。

Rebuilding the mammoth's genetic code has fired speculation⁸ that scientists may one day revive this species and other Ice Age beasts on the lines of the Hollywood movie "Jurassic Park." Researchers say it should one day be theoretically possible to replicate⁹ a mammoth by taking the elephant's genome, stripping out the code that is specific to the elephant and replacing it with code specific to the mammoth.

重组长毛象的基因密码引发了一种猜测，科学家可能在某一天使长毛象和其他冰河时代的动物苏醒，就像上映的电影“侏罗纪公园” 那样。研究者还说，理论上可以通过提取大象的基因，剥离特定的大象基因密码，注入特定的长毛象基因密码来复制长毛象，这一天有可能会到来。

1 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

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 snipped   

v.剪( snip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He snipped off the corner of the packet. 他将包的一角剪了下来。 来自辞典例句
• The police officer snipped the tape and untied the hostage. 警方把胶带剪断，松绑了人质。 来自互联网

4 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

8 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

9 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。