国家地理 你的医疗未来(1)

I would never have met Harriett were it not for our mutual¹ friend, Linda. I'm a physician in Northern California; Harriett's a communications executive in New York City. Linda co-founded an online personal genomics company, to which Harriett and I each sent our genetic³ information for analysis.

若不是因为我们的共同朋友琳达，我永远不会认识哈里特。我是北加州的医师，而哈里特是纽约市一家通信公司的主管。琳达与友人合资创办了一家在线个人基因组公司，哈里特和我分别把自己的遗传信息寄给这家公司分析。

Linda introduced us after she saw that Harriett and I had something in common: a rare type of mitochondrial DNA⁴, which meant we were distantly related. It turns out that we also share that genealogy⁵ with a prehistoric⁶ celebrity⁷: ?tzi the Iceman, whose 5,300-year-old frozen corpse⁸ was discovered in the Alps in 1991. For fun, I even started a Facebook group for people with the same DNA variant⁹ as ?tzi and Harriett and me.

我们是经琳达介绍才认识的，因为琳达发现哈里特和我有个共通点：一种罕见的粒线体DNA，这表示我们是远亲。结果表明，我们还与一位史前名人--奥兹冰人--有着相同的系谱。1991年，人们在阿尔卑斯山发现了这一冰封了5300年的尸体。为了好玩，我甚至为跟我和哈里特拥有相同DNA变异的人成立了脸书社团。

I tell this story to make a point. Harriett and I met over a feat¹⁰ of biomedical science -- mass-market, low-cost gene² analysis -- that once was unimaginable and now is commonplace. The convergence of digital technologies and social platforms made it possible for us to learn our genotypes and share what we found out with the online universe.

我讲这个故事是为了说明一个观点。哈里特和我会相识，是因为生物医学的一项成就--针对大众市场的低成本基因检测。这样的基因检测在过去是难以想象的，现在却不足为奇。数字科技与社交平台的融合，让我们有可能知道自己的基因型，并且与网络世界分享我们的发现。

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

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 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。

5 genealogy   

n.家系，宗谱

参考例句：

• He had sat and repeated his family's genealogy to her,twenty minutes of nonstop names.他坐下又给她细数了一遍他家族的家谱，20分钟内说出了一连串的名字。
• He was proficient in all questions of genealogy.他非常精通所有家谱的问题。

6 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

9 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。

10 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。