VOA标准英语2008年-Breakthrough in Autism Research

By Carol Pearson
Washington
14 January 2008
 

For years autism has baffled researchers and devastated¹ families. Autism typically appears in the first three years of life. Symptoms include problems with communication, difficulty forming relationships and the development of strong obsessions². The disability can be extremely mild or so severe it causes profound mental retardation³ or lack of ability to socialize. Now three separate studies, researching completely different theories, all ended up focusing on genetic⁵ factors involved with autism. VOA's Carol Pearson has more.

The autism studies focused on the genes⁶ related to speech since delays in learning to speak are symptoms of the disorder⁷.

Doctors in Massachusetts found rare genetic abnormalities on chromosome⁸ 16 that are 100 times more common among people with autism. Dr. David Miller⁹ says, "We think that this chromosome 16 region may have some genes that are very important in brain development, and when changes happen in those genes, it may be the cause of many cases of autism."

However, most people with autism do not have this mutation¹⁰, which means many other genes may be involved. Doctors from Johns Hopkins University found a different gene⁴ -- one called CNTNAP2 -- chromosome seven -- which increases the risk of autism when this gene is mutated.

Researchers say this gene mutation is inherited from mothers. Doctors have long suspected a genetic link with autism. Dr. Marie Savard explains. "It's a very strong genetic link. If you have, for example, identical twins, one has autism. There's up to a 90 percent chance that the second twin will have it."

Researchers at both Johns Hopkins University and the University of Illinois studied families with two or more autistic children. The Gaston family includes autistic triplets.

 

They found a single change in chromosome seven made children more vulnerable to developing autism. "Finding these genetic regions could be a target for some type of therapy," Dr. Miller said.

The researchers do not know the cause of autism, but they say that once they uncover the genetic links to the disorder they may be able to treat it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says one out of every 150 babies born in the United States are affected¹¹ by autism.

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 obsessions   

n.使人痴迷的人（或物）( obsession的名词复数 )；着魔；困扰

参考例句：

• 95% of patients know their obsessions are irrational. 95％的病人都知道他们的痴迷是不理智的。 来自辞典例句
• Too often you get caught in your own obsessions. 所以你时常会沉迷在某个电影里。 来自互联网

3 retardation   

n.智力迟钝，精神发育迟缓

参考例句：

• Asbestos reinforcement confers excellent flame retardation properties on a composite. 石棉增强材料使复合材料具有优异的防火性能。
• The theory confirms the increase in the retardation effect with decrease in particle size. 理论证实，随着颗粒尺寸的减小，这一减速效应将增大。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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

7 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。

8 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。