時差N小時:東方的狗 The origin of dogs

Have you ever taken a good look at your dog andwondered, where did this creature come from?

你是否曾仔細觀察過你的狗狗,迫切想知道汪星人這種生物到底來自哪里?

Sure, you know your dog came from the localshelter or a pet store, but what about before that?

當然,你清楚它們是來自當?shù)乇茈y所或?qū)櫸锷痰?但是在這之前呢?

If you were able to trace your dog's lineage back toits origins, what would you find?

如果你能夠跟蹤狗狗的血統(tǒng)回到它的起源,你會有何發(fā)現(xiàn)?

Until recently, scientists believed that domestic dogs originated in the Middle East.

直到最近,科學家們相信國內(nèi)的狗起源于中東地區(qū)。

But reports suggest that almost all domestic dogs began in East Asia as the offspring of threelineages.

但報告顯示,幾乎所有國內(nèi)的狗都是東亞血統(tǒng)三代之后。Virtually all domesticated dogs in the UnitedStates descend from dogs brought over by ancient people that crossed the Bering land bridgefrom Asia to North America.

幾乎所有美國家養(yǎng)的狗狗都是從亞洲到北美穿過白令海峽大陸橋的古代人們帶過來繁衍生息下來的子孫。

Although the New World had a healthy wolf population that might have given rise to a NewWorld strain of domesticated dogs, by and large these ancient immigrants stuck with the dogsof Asian origin.

雖然新世界繁殖良好的狼可能會為國內(nèi)狗狗帶來新的壓力,但總的來說,這些古代移民無法擺脫自己的亞裔血統(tǒng)。

How, you may wonder, have scientists come to these conclusions?

怎么樣,你是不是會覺得奇怪,科學家哪來的這些結(jié)論?

The same way forensic specialists increasingly solve crimes-through DNA evidence.

這就如同法醫(yī)專家通過DNA證據(jù)破案一樣。

Since mitochondria are cellular elements passed from mother to pup, mitochondrial DNAreadily reveal genetic footprints stretching back into prehistoric times.

線粒體是通過狗母親傳遞的細胞元素,線粒體DNA揭示伸展回到史前時代的遺傳印記。

Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. collected DNA samples fromthe remains of ancient Old World dogs, ancient New World dogs, and ancient New World wolves.

華盛頓特區(qū)史密森學會的科學家們從古老舊世界的狗狗,古代新世界及古代的狼的遺體中收集DNA樣本。

Test showed decisively that the New World dogs were genetically more similar to Old Worlddogs than to New World wolves, effectively proving that the dogs we save from local sheltersoriginally hail from the far East rather than the woods of North America.

試驗表明新世界狗狗的基因相比新世界的狼更類似于舊世界,這有力的證明我們從當?shù)乇茈y所中救助的狗狗最初來自遠東而非北美的森林。