科学家发现基因决定人们对咖啡的需求

 　　Whether a cup of java will leave you craving¹ more could be chalked up to your genes³.

　　一杯咖啡是否会使你上瘾也许是由你的基因决定的。

　　People with a newly identified genetic⁴ variant⁵ in their DNA⁶, called PDSS2, may be inclined to drink fewer cups of coffee than others, according to a small study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

　　根据发布在《科学报告杂志》上的一项小研究显示：有这种新发现的遗传变异PDSS2基因的人，可能会倾向于比其他人喝更少的咖啡。

　　"I actually was very surprised to find a new gene² for coffee consumption," said Nicola Pirastu, a chancellor's research fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Usher⁷ Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, and lead author of the study.

　　爱丁堡大学厄舍学院人口健康科学和信息学研究员，同时他也是这篇研究的主撰写人的尼古拉·皮拉斯图表示：“能找到关于咖啡消费量的新基因真的使我非常惊讶。”

　　科学家发现基因决定人们对咖啡的需求

　　"We believe that this PDSS2 genetic variant is impacting coffee drinking through the regulation of the speed at which caffeine is metabolized," he said. "It has been observed before that higher levels of PDSS2 inhibits⁸ the expression of the genes metabolizing caffeine and thus the speed at which caffeine is degraded."

　　他说道：“我们认为这种携带PDSS2基因突变是通过咖啡因的常规新陈代谢速度来影响咖啡的饮用量的，我们观察到这种现象是在人体释放更多的PDSS2来抑制咖啡因的代谢之前，因此咖啡因的代谢由此减慢。”

　　About 64% of American adults drink at least one cup of coffee a day, according to a 2015 Gallup poll.

　　根据2015年的盖洛普调查显示，约有64%的美国成年人每天至少要喝一杯咖啡。

　　For the new study, researchers analyzed⁹ medical and genetic data on 370 people from a small village in southern Italy, and 843 people from six villages in northeast Italy.

　　在这项新的研究中，研究者们分析了受调查者的医学和遗传数据，其中370人来自意大利南部的一个小村庄，843人来自意大利北部六个不同的村庄。

　　The researchers discovered that people with the PDSS2 variant reported consuming fewer cups of coffee than people without the variant.

　　研究者发现，体内携带PDSS2基因突变的人会比没有携带这种基因突变的人少喝很多咖啡。

　　When the researchers replicated¹⁰ the study with a group of 1,731 study participants from the Netherlands, they noticed similar results.

　　当研究者们在荷兰对1731名研究对象重复这项研究的时候，他们得出了相似的结果。

　　"This variant is very common, and around 50% of the European population has either one or two copies of it," Pirastu said. "More research is needed to determine the variant's prevalence in other populations as well as to clarify its biological link with caffeine."

　　皮拉斯图说：“这种基因突变很常见，欧洲人口中大约有50%的人有一或两种PDSS2的基因副本。我们需要更多的研究来判定这种记忆变体在其他人口中的广泛性，同时弄清楚这种变体与咖啡因在生物学上的联系。”

1 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

4 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。

5 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

6 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。

7 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

8 inhibits   

阻止，抑制( inhibit的第三人称单数 )； 使拘束，使尴尬

参考例句：

• A small manufacturing sector inhibits growth in the economy. 制造业规模太小有碍经济增长。
• His bad English inhibits him from speaking freely. 他英语学得不好，这使他不能表达自如。

9 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

参考例句：

• 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》

10 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。