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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky. This will just take a minute.

Pregnant women shouldn't drink. It's become gospel, because of the danger of fetal alcohol spectrum¹ disorder². Alcohol can disturb the normal development of a fetus³, leading to a lifetime of learning disabilities and social problems. But the percentage of children born with the disorder has remained constant, despite the warnings. And not all fetuses⁴ of drinking mothers suffer.

Now research with rats has shown why some fetuses are naturally protected. Which could lead to ways to protect the vulnerable ones. The work is in the FASEB Journal.

The key is a gene⁵ called Dio3, which governs the levels of thyroid hormone⁶ in the brain. If mom passes on a normal Dio3, no problem. And a male fetus that inherits a problem Dio3 variation from mom but a normal Dio3 from dad should be okay. But alcohol can stop dad's normal Dio3 gene from working. Now mom's bad Dio3 allows the brain to be flooded with thyroid hormone, damaging the hippocampus.

The hope is that gene screening could ID women whose fetuses would be at-risk, and that dietary supplements or drugs could block alcohol's effect. And keep a child from suffering from a parent's addiction⁷.

Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm Steve Mirsky.

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收听单词发音

1 spectrum
n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列
参考例句：
This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。 We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 disorder
n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调
参考例句：
When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。 It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 fetus
n.胎，胎儿
参考例句：
In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。 No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

4 fetuses
n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )
参考例句：
DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。来自互联网 Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。来自互联网

5 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。

6 hormone
n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌
参考例句：
Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

7 addiction
n.上瘾入迷，嗜好
参考例句：
He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。 Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。