美国科学家发现长寿基因

 By analyzing the DNA of the world's oldest people, Boston University scientists said Thursday they have discovered a genetic signature of longevity. They expect soon to offer a test that could let people learn whether they have the constitution to live to a very old age.
美国波士顿大学(Boston University)的科学家们周四说，通过分析世界一些最长寿者的DNA，他们发现了长寿的基因标志。这些科学家预计不久后就能推出一种检测服务，让人知道自己是否具有能够长寿的基因构造。

The researchers, who studied more than 1,000 people over the age of 100, identified a set of 150 unique genetic markers that,

一位美国长寿老人在庆祝她的112岁生日。

taken together, are linked to extreme longevity. They acknowledged they didn't know all the genes involved, nor their exact function in extending old age.
科研人员说，他们研究了1,000多位百岁以上老人，识别出150个独特的遗传标记，它们都与超长寿有关。这些科学家承认，他们对识别出的长寿基因并不全都了解，也不知道这些基因在延长人的寿命方面究竟是如何发挥作用的。

'This is an extremely complex trait that involves many processes,' said lead researcher Paola Sebastiani, a biostatistician at BU's School of Public Health. Even so, 'we can compute your specific predisposition to exceptional longevity.'
牵头进行这项研究的生物统计学家萨巴斯蒂亚尼(Paola Sebastiani)说，这是一种特别复杂的特性，涉及许多过程。这位就职于波士顿大学公共卫生学院的科学家说，尽管如此，我们还是能够计算出你在长寿方面的素质倾向。

The researchers said they had no plans to patent the technique or profit from it. Instead, they expect to make a free test kit available on the Internet later this month to foster longevity research.
这些研究人员说，他们不计划给这项技术申请专利，也不想以它牟利。相反，他们想本月晚些时候在互联网上推出一项免费的长寿基因检测服务，以推动长寿研究。

The test might reveal more than some people would like to know, the BU scientists warned. Genetic testing often reveals tantalizing but incomplete information, and it is sometimes difficult to know how to respond. People with genes for extreme longevity could face a series of difficult decisions about their careers, retirement savings, insurance coverage, medical treatments and marriages in old age.
波士顿大学的这些科学家们提醒说，有人可能会从这项检测中了解到一些自己本不愿知道的东西。基因测试经常揭示出一些让人心急但又不完备的信息，人有时也难以知道如何对这些信息作出回应。检测出拥有长寿基因的人有可能要面临一系列有关自己今后生涯的困难决定，如怎样规划退休储蓄、选择何种保险，如何处理医疗及老年婚姻问题。

'I don't think people are ready for this from a social point of view,' said BU geriatrician Thomas Perls, the other lead researcher. 'But I don't think that will stop companies from trying to market this.'
一同牵头进行这项研究的波士顿大学老年病学专家皮尔斯(Thomas Perls)说，他不认为人们已从一个特殊的视角为此做好了准备，但他也不认为这会阻止企业推广这项技术。

Scientists have long sought to crack the genetic code of healthy aging. On average, people in developed countries can expect to live between 80 and 85 years, largely as a result of improvements in diet and public health. But the oldest of the old -- the 'wellderly' -- live two to three decades longer, often free of mental and physical ailments.
科学家们一直在寻求破解健康长寿的基因密码。发达国家的人平均预期寿命能达到80到85岁，这很大程度上应归功于饮食和公共卫生状况的改善。但那些健康长寿者的寿命比平均寿命能多出20到30年，这些年长者常常既无精神方面也无身体方面的毛病。

The oldest person alive today is 116 years old, according to the Los Angeles Gerontology Group. The oldest person on record lived to be 122.
洛杉矶老年医学会(Los Angeles Gerontology Group)提供的数据显示，目前依然健在的最年长者是116岁。人类有记录的最长寿命是122岁。

No one knows the complete prescription for a healthy long life. But genes that help control cellular responses to famine, drought and other survival stresses may play a key role in staving off the diseases and chronic ailments of aging, research suggests.
没入知道健康长寿的全部秘诀。但研究结果暗示，那些对细胞应对饥荒、旱灾和其他生存压力有调节作用的基因，在防止人类患病以及患上老年慢性病方面可以起到重要作用。

The free test will be available through a public website maintained by the New England Centenarian Study. But to take the test, people will have to provide their own complete genome -- which currently can cost thousands of dollars from gene-sequencing companies.
新英格兰百岁老人研究中心(New England Centenarian Study)负责维护的一个公共网站将提供上述免费基因检测。但接受这一检测者需提供自己全部的基因组数据，目前可以花数千美元到基因测序公司得到这些数据。