万花筒 2008-04-09&-4-10 爱抽烟，是基因的错

It’s one of the greatest medical mysteries. Why does a person who never smoked a single cigarette end up with lung cancer? While another person who smokes for decades remains¹ cancer-free. The answer may be buried deep inside our genetic³ make-up.

 Three separate teams of researchers found a genetic variation that increases the risk of lung cancer. One team of researchers found that if you have the variant⁴ and smoke, you are also more likely to smoke more cigarettes a day than a smoker⁵ without the variant. Is this a gene² that makes you smoke?

 This gene doesn’t make you more likely to begin to smoke, but if you smoke, you smoke more.

 The authors of the study disagree whether the increased risk of lung cancer is because those with the gene variation may smoke more or if it's the genetic variation itself that leads to cancer. This study is so important because we are going to be able to understand those genetic differences. And in the future then, we can do a better job of preventing those from starting to smoke and helping⁶ those who started to smoke to quit.

 Further studies of the variant could unravel⁷ more mysteries like why some people's attempt to kick the habit always ends up in smoke. For Good Morning America, Sharon Alfonce ABC news, New York.

 In a flash, be the first to know what’s coming up on Good Morning America tomorrow with the GMA Daily Flash e-mail. All the great insider details you wanna know from GMA. Go to abcnews.com, click the GMA page, and sign up for the daily flash. And you can even enter to win the weekly GMA Flash gift bag, giveaway. Sign up now.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 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。

4 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。

5 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。