经济学人88:压力和老化 一个态度问题

 　　Science and Technology Stress and ageing A question of attitude

　　科技 压力和老化 一个态度问题

　　The link between chronic¹ stress and a marker of old age is being disentangled

　　科学家发现了长期压力与一个衰老标志间的联系

　　TELOMERES are to chromosomes³ what plastic caps are to shoelaces—they stop them fraying⁴ at the ends.

　　端粒（染色体终端）之于染色体，如同塑料帽之于鞋带——它们阻止了其末端的磨损。

　　Unlike shoelaces, though, chromosomes replicate⁵ themselves from time to time as the cells they are in divide.

　　和鞋带不同的是，随着它们所在细胞的分裂，染色体可以不断进行复制。

　　This shortens the telomere and, after 50-70 such divisions (a number known as the Hayflick limit, after its discoverer),

　　这种复制过程使端粒不断缩短，并且，在经过50到70次的细胞分裂后（这个分裂数目称之为海弗利克界限，因海弗利克的发现而得名），

　　a chromosome² can grow no shorter and the cell it is in can divide no more.

　　染色体的缩短达到极限，细胞分裂活动也从此终止。

　　That provides a backstop against cancer. The rapidly dividing cells in a tumour⁶ soon hit the Hayflick limit and the process is brought to a screeching⁷ halt.

　　这一机制有助于对抗癌症。快速分裂的细胞不久就会到达其海弗利克界限，使得该过程能够急刹车。这是个好现象。

　　Which is a good thing. The bad thing is that reaching the limit is one of the markers of old age.

　　不利之处则是，细胞到达复制次数的极限是老化的标志之一。

　　You do not want it to happen too quickly, particularly in tissues that have to do a lot of dividing in order to work properly, such as those in the immune system.

　　人们不想让这个过程发生的太快，尤其对于那些需要不断分裂才能够得以正常运作的组织而言，例如免疫系统组织。

　　It has been known for some time that chronic stress (caring for a child with a protracted⁸ illness, for example) causes premature⁹ shortening of the telomeres.

　　人们已经得知，长期的压力（例如，照料一个疾病迁延不愈的儿童）可以使端粒的缩短提前发生。

　　What has not been clear is whether this is a one-way trip, with each stressful period turning the telomeric ratchet irreversibly.

　　然而人们对于该过程是否单向进行（即压力时期对端粒的改变作用不可逆转）尚不明确。

　　This week, though, at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida, a group of researchers led by Edward Nelson of the University of California, Irvine, showed that it isn't.

　　然而，本周在美国癌症研究学会于佛罗里达州奥兰多召开的会议上，加州大学尔文分校由爱德华?尼尔森领导的研究团队发现，这一过程是可逆的。

　　Their research suggests that stress management not only stops telomeres from shortening, it actually promotes their repair.

　　他们指出，抗压力训练不仅可以组织端粒缩短，也可以促进其修复。

　　Dr Nelson drew this welcome conclusion from a previous study that measured the impact of telephone counselling on women who had been treated for cervical cancer.

　　尼尔森博士通过对接受宫颈癌治疗的妇女电话咨询影响作用的研究，得出了这一可喜的结论。

　　The study found that such counselling worked, both mentally and physically¹⁰.

　　他们之前的研究发现，咨询在心理和生理上都产生了作用。

　　Women who had been counselled reported that the quality of their lives had improved, compared with those of a control group who had not been counselled.

　　接受咨询的妇女报告其生活质量得到提高（与未接受咨询的对照组相比）。

　　They also showed improvements in the strength of their immune systems.

　　她们还显示出免疫系统功能的增强。

　　Given those benefits, Dr Nelson wondered if he could find others, and he re-examined the participants' samples to look at the lengths of the telomeres in their white blood cells (red cells have no nuclei¹¹, and therefore no chromosomes).

　　由于咨询的上述益处，尼尔森博士想知道该研究是否能有更多的发现。他重新检查了被试的血液样本，试图获得白细胞端粒长度的信息（红细胞没有细胞核，因此没有染色体）。

　　What he found surprised him. Not only did counselling stop telomere shrinkage, it actually promoted telomere growth.

　　研究发现令他十分惊讶：咨询不仅阻止了端粒的缩短，同时促进了端粒的生长。

　　Those women for whom counselling had worked (ie, those who reported a decrease in emotional stress) had longer telomeres at the end than they did at the beginning.

　　那些报告咨询产生效果的妇女（例如，报告情绪压力降低）其咨询后的端粒长度大于咨询前。

　　Their Hayflick countdowns were being reset¹².

　　她们的海弗利克倒计时得到了重新的设置。

　　A single such result must, of course, be treated with caution.

　　当然，我们应该谨慎看待单个研究的结论。

　　But another study reported at the meeting, by Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco (who shared the Nobel prize for the discovery of the enzyme¹³ that repairs telomeres), gave some support.

　　但该会议上另一个来自加州大学旧金山分校伊丽莎白?布莱克本（她由于发现了端粒的修复酶而与其他研究者共同获得诺贝尔奖）的报告也给出了一些支持证据。

　　This showed that exercise has a similar effect to counselling on the telomeres of the stressed.

　　她们发现锻炼和咨询对压力个体的端粒有相似的作用。

　　If Dr Nelson's work is successfully replicated¹⁴, it will shine more light on the ill-understood relationship between the health of the mind and the health of the body.

　　如果尼尔森博士的研究得到成功的重复，将会为理解神秘复杂的身心健康关系点燃新的希望。

　　For, as he points out, nothing actually changed in the lives of the women in question.

　　就像他所指出的那样，这些妇女的生活没有任何变化。

　　They still had cancer, albeit¹⁵ under treatment, and they were still under stress. Nothing, that is, except their attitude.

　　尽管接受治疗，她们仍身患癌症，并处于压力之中。唯一改变的，就是她们的态度。

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

3 chromosomes   

n.染色体( chromosome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chromosomes also determine the sex of animals. 染色体也决定动物的性别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Each of four chromosomes divide longitudinally. 四种染色体的每一种都沿着纵向分裂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 fraying   

v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
• Support for the leader was fraying at the edges. 对这位领导人的支持已经开始瓦解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 tumour   

n.(tumor)(肿)瘤，肿块

参考例句：

• The surgeons operated on her for a tumour.外科医生为她施行了肿瘤切除手术。
• The tumour constricts the nerves.肿瘤压迫神经。

7 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

8 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 nuclei   

n.核

参考例句：

• To free electrons, something has to make them whirl fast enough to break away from their nuclei. 为了释放电子，必须使电子高速旋转而足以摆脱原子核的束缚。
• Energy is released by the fission of atomic nuclei. 能量是由原子核分裂释放出来的。

12 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

13 enzyme   

n.酵素，酶

参考例句：

• Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度，酶分子将会展开。
• An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。

14 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。

15 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。