The Ghost In Your Genes - 14 基因外遗传现象

The impact of a famine being captured by the genes² in the eggs and sperm³, and a memory of this event was being carried forward to affect the grandchildren, generations later.

We are changing the view of what inheritance is, if you can't in life, in ordinary development and living, separate out the gene¹ from the environmental effect that are so intertwined.

Pembrey and Bygren's work showed clearly that what our grandparents ate could affect our health. Increasingly, it appeared as if all sorts of environmental events were capable of affecting the genes. And in Washington state, Mike Skinner stumbled on some results with profound implications. He triggered an effect with commonly used pesticides⁴ and fungicides. He exposed a pregnant rat with the high dose of one of these pesticides, and then looked for effects in her offspring.

And so I treated the animals, the pregnant mother, with these compounds, and then we started seeing between six months to a year, a whole host of other diseases that we didn't expect. And this ranged between tumors, such as breast and skin tumors, prostate disease, er, kidney disease, er, and immune dysfunction.

He bred these rats to see if the effects persisted into subsequent generations.

The next step was for us to go to the next generation and go to the third generation. All and the same disease still occurred. So after we did several repeats and got the third generation showing it, then a fourth generation, we thought back and realized that the phenomenon was real. We started seeing these major diseases occur in approximately 85 percent of all the animals of every single generation.

His discoveries were a revelation.

We knew that if an individual was exposed to an environmental toxin⁵ that they can get a disease they potential. The new phenomenon is that the environmental toxin no longer affects just the individual exposed, but through two or three generations down the line. I knew that epigenetics existed. I knew that it was a controlling factor for DNA⁶ activity whether the genes are silenced or not. Um, but to say that epigenetics would have a major role in disease development, so I'd had no concept for that. The fact that this could have a such huge impact and could explain a whole host of things we couldn't explain before, took a while to actually sink in.

The exposure of a single animal to a toxin was causing a whole range of diseases in almost every individual of the following generations. And because epigenetic effects have been observed in humans, this may have implications for us too.

Er, what this means then is what your grandmother was exposed to when she was pregnant could cause a disease in you, even though you didn't have an exposure, and you are gonna pass it onto your great grandchildren.

New Words & Phrases:

intertwine: If two or more things are intertwined or intertwine, they are closely connected with each other in many ways. 纠缠;编结

fungicide: A fungicide is a chemical that can be used to kill fungus⁷ or to prevent it from growing. 杀真菌剂

prostate : The prostate or the prostate gland⁸ is an organ in the body of male mammals which is situated⁹ at the neck of the bladder and produces a liquid which forms part of semen. 【解】前列腺(的)

sink in: When a statement or fact sinks in, you finally understand or realize it fully¹⁰. 被理解;被理会;被听进去

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 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

3 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

4 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

6 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。

7 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

8 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

9 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。