VOA慢速英語:我們到底來自哪里？(雙語)

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Where Do We Come From?

我們到底來自哪里?

From VOA Learning English, this is Science in the News.

這里是美國之音慢速英語科學(xué)新聞報道。

Would you like to know where your ancestors came from? British and American scientists may have found answers for you. They have developed a new algorithm to study deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA -- the building blocks of life.

你想知道你的祖先來自哪里嗎?英國和美國的科學(xué)家可能已經(jīng)為你找到答案。他們已經(jīng)開發(fā)出一種新的算法來研究脫氧核糖核酸，也稱DNA——生命的基石。

The algorithm is a step-by-step operation for solving problems. It is called “Geographic Population Structure,” or GPS. The report was prepared by researchers from the University of Sheffield in England, and the University of Southern California. It was published in the journal Nature Communications.

該算法是一種解決問題的逐步運算，被稱為“地理人口結(jié)構(gòu)”，簡稱GPS。這份研究報告是由英國謝菲爾德大學(xué)和南加州大學(xué)的研究人員完成的，被發(fā)表在《自然通訊》雜志上。

The researchers say GPS can find a village or tribe where genes became mixed as far back as 1,000 years ago, during population movements or invasions. At such times, people from groups that were separated earlier came together and had children.

研究人員稱，GPS可以找到遠(yuǎn)在1000多年前的村莊或部落里人，在人口流動和侵略過程中，他們的基因是從什么地方開始混合的。在那個時候，來自不同群體的人們，早早的離開各自的群體而生活在一起，并且生了孩子。

The British and American scientists tested their algorithm by studying genetic information from 200 individuals. The people were from 10 villages on the Italian island of Sardinia. GPS correctly placed 25 percent of the people directly in their villages. Most of the other individuals were placed within 50kilometers of their villages. A test involving more than 20 islands in the Pacific Ocean produced similar results. In all, 98 percent of the information proved correct.

英國和美國的科學(xué)家通過研究200個人的基因信息，檢測了他們的算法。這些人來自意大利撒丁島的10個村莊。GPS算法直接正確擺放了總?cè)藬?shù)中25%的人的位置。大多數(shù)的其他個體被放置在距離他們村莊50公里以內(nèi)的地區(qū)范圍內(nèi)。在太平洋20多個島的測試也產(chǎn)生了類似的結(jié)果?？傊C明了該算法算出的98%的信息都是正確的。

The scientists say the new method may be important not only for learning about ancestors, but also for health reasons. They say that knowing one’s genetic code may show what conditions and sicknesses may be likely to affect a person.

科學(xué)家稱，新方法不僅對學(xué)習(xí)研究祖先很重要，而且對研究健康問題也很重要。他們稱，知道一個人的遺傳密碼可能會顯示什么情況和疾病可能對這個人產(chǎn)生影響。

But valuable as it may prove to be, there are more-traditional ways that people can learn about their ancestry. Some families pass information about family history to the next generation. In turn, those children pass the information on to their children.

但是無論如何它可以證明的價值是，這里存在可以了解他們祖先的更傳統(tǒng)的方式。一些家庭會傳遞家族歷史信息給下一代。依次，他們的孩子也會傳遞這些信息給他們的下一代。

And some people have their DNA studied through what is called bio-geographical sequencing. This method places people correctly within about700 kilometers in Europe. But the rate of success is much lower in other parts of the world.

還有一些人通過叫做“生物地理排序”的方法來研究他們的DNA，這種方法可以將人們正確的放置在歐洲700公里以內(nèi)的地方，但是成功的幾率要比世界其他地方低得多。

This story was narrated by Anna Matteo and Christopher Cruise.

由安娜·馬泰奧和克里斯多夫為您報道。

[page]聽力原文[/page]

Where Do We Come From?

From VOA Learning English, this is Science in the News.

Would you like to know where your ancestors came from? British and American scientists may have found answers for you. They have developed a new algorithm to study deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA -- the building blocks of life.

The algorithm is a step-by-step operation for solving problems. It is called “Geographic Population Structure,” or GPS. The report was prepared by researchers from the University of Sheffield in England, and the University of Southern California. It was published in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers say GPS can find a village or tribe where genes became mixed as far back as 1,000 years ago, during population movements or invasions. At such times, people from groups that were separated earlier came together and had children.

The British and American scientists tested their algorithm by studying genetic information from 200 individuals. The people were from 10 villages on the Italian island of Sardinia. GPS correctly placed 25 percent of the people directly in their villages. Most of the other individuals were placed within 50kilometers of their villages. A test involving more than 20 islands in the Pacific Ocean produced similar results. In all, 98 percent of the information proved correct.

The scientists say the new method may be important not only for learning about ancestors, but also for health reasons. They say that knowing one’s genetic code may show what conditions and sicknesses may be likely to affect a person.

But valuable as it may prove to be, there are more-traditional ways that people can learn about their ancestry. Some families pass information about family history to the next generation. In turn, those children pass the information on to their children.

And some people have their DNA studied through what is called bio-geographical sequencing. This method places people correctly within about700 kilometers in Europe. But the rate of success is much lower in other parts of the world.

This story was narrated by Anna Matteo and Christopher Cruise.