研究:10年后有望用眼药防近视

    A gene¹ that causes shortsightedness has been pinpointed² by British scientists, paving the way for eye drops that could make glasses history. Within just ten years, a drug that prevents short-sightedness or stops it in its tracks could be in widespread use。
    The latest research, by an international team led by experts at King's College London (KCL)， offers hope to millions。
    To find the gene, the first to be linked to short-sightedness, or myopia, the researchers compared the DNA³ of more than 4,000 British twins. Twins are often used in such studies because it is easier to distinguish the different effects of nature and nurture⁴. They then confirmed their results by studying the genetics of another 13,000 British, Dutch and Australian individuals。
    KCL researcher Pirro Hysi, the study's lead author, said: "We have known for many years that the most important risk factor for being short-sighted is having parents who are shortsighted and for the first time we are identifying genes⁵ that may be involved in passing on this susceptibility."Chris Hammond, also of KCL, said: "Myopia, or shortsightedness, is the most common eye problem, affecting over a third of adults in the UK. People who are extremely short-sighted carry significant risks of future vision loss. The retina can peel away from the back of the eye like wallpaper off a wall.""While we believe that environmental risk factors such as a lot of close work and lack of outdoor activity are implicated⁶, we have not previously⁷ understood how people become short-sighted. ""We hope that by understanding the mechanisms⁸ we can stop children from becoming shortsighted and stop short-sighted children from becoming more short-sighted."A second study, by Dutch researchers, identified a second short- sightedness gene. Ultimately, there could be dozens behind the condition。
    Drugs that counter their effect and stop the eyeball from overgrowing could be available in just a decade, said Hammond. Other options include gene therapy - injecting "healthy" genes into the eye。
    Although the eye drops would not help adults who are already short-sighted, they could be of huge benefit to their children。
    However, today's youngsters can take some simple steps to try to discourage shortsightedness. Terri Young of Duke University said: "People need to go outside and look at the horizon. Today's near work forces our eyes to be constantly in tension to focus on reading papers and watching monitors."

1 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。

2 pinpointed   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的过去式和过去分词 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice. 他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。
• Computers pinpointed where the shells were coming from. 计算机确定了炮弹发射的位置。

3 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。

4 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

5 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

6 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》