SSS 2012-08-14
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(八)月
英语课
Five-hundred years ago, a 15-year-old Incan girl was sacrificed, along with two other children. Her mummy has now revealed that she had an active lung infection at her death. Because a technique called shotgun proteomics has been used to determine whether someone was actually suffering from a disease rather than just carrying it. The report appears in the journal PLoS ONE. [Angelique Corthals et al., Detecting the Immune System Response of a 500-Year-Old Inca Mummy]
Previous research into ancient diseases has used DNA 1 analysis to determine the presence of pathogens. But with DNA, there's no way to tell latent infections from the full-blown, misery-inducing ones.
Researchers analyzed 2 protein samples from the mummies of two of the slain 3 children. The girl's proteins indicated an immune response to bacteria, perhaps a pathogen related to tuberculosis 4. Other evidence, such as mucus under her nose and lung abnormalities, strengthened the diagnosis 5. The seven-year-old boy, on the other hand, showed no signs of infection.
This is the first time the technique has been used. It’s a small sample, but further development of shotgun proteomics has the potential to improve our understanding of ancient disease, as well as assisting in tomorrow’s forensic 6 investigations 7.
1 DNA
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
- 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 analyzed
v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析
- The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 slain
杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)
- The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
- His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。
4 tuberculosis
n.结核病，肺结核
- People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
- Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。
5 diagnosis
n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断
- His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
- The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。
6 forensic
adj.法庭的，雄辩的
- The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
- The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。
7 investigations
（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究
- His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
- He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。