SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Oldest Evidence of Jesus? / Mapping Ge

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - November 12, 2002: Oldest Evidence of Jesus? / Mapping Genes² that Cause
Disease / 2002 World Health Report

VOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Bob Doughty³ with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments

in science. Today, we tell about an ancient stone box that may be the oldest evidence of Jesus. We tell about an
effort to create a new human genome map to identify genes that cause disease. And we tell about the latest World
Health Report.

((THEME))
VOICE ONE:

Religious experts are excited about the discovery of what may be the oldest historic
evidence of Jesus and the beginnings of the Christian⁴ religion. It is a small stone box that
may have held the bones of a man said to be Jesus’
brother James.

The box is called an ossuary (OSH-oo-ar-y). Two-thousand years ago, Jews used ossuaries
to hold the remains⁵ of their dead. This box now belongs to a private collector in Israel. The
owner purchased it from a dealer⁶ who said the box was found in an ancient burial area in
Jerusalem. The box contains a message written in Aramaic, a language spoken in the
Middle East two-thousand years ago. The writing says “James, son of Joseph, brother of
Jesus.
”

VOICE TWO:

Andre Lemaire is a researcher and expert on ancient languages at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. He examined the
ossuary and wrote a study about it. The study was published in the Biblical Archeology Review. Herschel Shanks
is publisher of the magazine. He says chemical tests done on the stone box show that the writing is as old as the
box itself.

Mister Shanks says the writing must have been on the box when it was first used two-thousand years ago. Mister
Shanks also says tests have failed to find any metal particles on the writing. He says this shows the words
probably were not made with a modern tool.

VOICE ONE:

James is identified as Jesus’
brother in the Christian holy book, the Bible. Two-thousand years ago, the name
James was common in Jerusalem. So were the names Jesus and Joseph. Andre Lemaire considered the rate at
which the three names appear in existing records from that time. He estimates there could have been no more
than twenty men in Jerusalem named James who had fathers named Joseph and brothers named Jesus.

Mister Lemaire and Mister Shanks say it was common for an ossuary to include the name of the dead person’s
father. But they say there are only two reasons to include the name of the dead person’s brother as well. One
reason was if the brother was responsible for the burial. However, the James noted⁷ in the Bible was killed thirty
years after Jesus was executed. The other reason to include a brother’s name on the ossuary was if the brother
was an extremely important person.

VOICE TWO:

Not all experts believe that the ossuary is a direct link to the man whom Christians⁸ believe is the son of God.


Some people criticized the Biblical Archeology Review for publishing a study that involves an object that was
stolen from a burial place. Other experts question the shape of some of the letters and the spelling of some of the
names on the ossuary.

The ossuary will be shown to the public for the first time at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada
starting November sixteenth. Museum officials say the ancient box was damaged while it was being transported
from Israel to Toronto. But they say the ossuary was expected to be repaired in time for the exhibition.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

International scientists have joined forces to create a new kind of map of all the
genes of the human body. The effort is called the International HapMap Project. The
project will compare genetic⁹ differences among individuals. Experts hope the
project will lead to identifying genes responsible for diseases like cancer and
diabetes¹⁰. They believe it will help tell why some people get these diseases while
others do not.

The research will cost about one-hundred-million dollars. Project scientists estimate
the work will take about three years.

VOICE TWO:

Fifteen research teams will begin the map after studying the genes of people of four ethnic¹¹ groups. They are
Japanese, Han Chinese, the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Americans of northern and western European ancestry¹².
The researchers will examine blood from as many as four-hundred people. Project scientists are from government
agencies, universities, nonprofit research laboratories and private companies. The researchers come from Japan,
China, Britain, Canada and the United States. The United States National Institutes of Health is providing thirty-
nine million dollars. That is the largest part of the research money for the project.

VOICE ONE:

The scientists are developing their work from recent findings about the human genome. Last year, researchers at
the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, made an important discovery about genetic material called
D-N-A.

They learned that, over time, people pass their D-N-A to their children in large, unchanged blocks. These blocks
of D-N-A are called haplotypes (HAP-lo-types). Earlier, scientists had thought D-N-A became mixed as each set
of parents had children. The goal of the new genetic map is to show where the haplotypes appear throughout the
human genome.

The International HapMap Project will also depend on the results of the Human Genome Project. Scientists
produced a map of all human genes two years ago. But this human genome did not identify the genes that cause
diseases.

VOICE TWO:

Some genetic research has resulted in identifying a single gene¹ responsible for a disease. For example, scientists
found the gene that causes cystic fibrosis, a disease that affects a person’s lungs and other organs. The disease
cannot be cured. People who suspect they carry this gene may now be tested for its presence.

However, researchers say most common diseases do not result from a single gene but are thought to be caused by
several genes acting¹³ together. These conditions include Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis¹⁴, cancer, diabetes, and a
mental disease called schizophrenia. Scientists believe environmental influences also are linked to these diseases.

VOICE ONE:

Francis Collins is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of
Health. He said the HapMap would provide a powerful tool to help doctors understand the influence of genes on


common illnesses.

However, some experts express less hope for the project. Some reject the description of the haplotypes in the
human genome. Others do not believe that studying haplotypes will find genes that cause diseases.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

The life expectancy¹⁵ of people around the world could increase by five to ten years if action against common
health risks is taken. This is one of the findings in this year’s World Health Report released recently by the
World Health Organization. The report is called “Reducing Risks, Promoting Life.
”

Researchers found that ten major threats to good health are common around the world. The chief of the World
Health Organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, called them the ten leading killers¹⁶. They include unsafe sex, poor
nutrition, high blood pressure, use of tobacco and alcohol, unsafe water and unclean living conditions. Also
included are high levels of dangerous fat in the blood, indoor smoke from solid fuels, a lack of iron in the body
and too much body weight, or obesity¹⁷. Together, these ten health risks make up forty percent of the fifty-sixmillion deaths worldwide each year.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Brundtland called for reducing the ten main health risks by twenty-five percent within ten years. If this
were done, life expectancy in industrial countries could increase by ten years. In developing countries, it could
increase by five years.

Currently, the number of life years lost because of these health risks differs around the world. Doctor Brundtland
says the differences these health risks create between rich and poor nations are shocking. For example, about one-
hundred-seventy-million children in poor countries are underweight. They do not weigh enough because they do
not get enough food. However, more than one-thousand-million adults around the world are too fat. Most of these
people live in rich, industrial countries.

((THEME))

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by George Grow, Jerilyn Watson and Jill Moss¹⁸. It was
produced by George Grow. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of
America.)

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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 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 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。

6 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

9 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。

10 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

15 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

16 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

17 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

18 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。