ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cynthia Kenyon - Biochemist, geneticist
When it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans.

Why you should listen

Cynthia Kenyon is revolutionizing our understanding of aging. As an expert in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California at San Francisco, she is particularly interested in the influence that genetics have on age-related diseases (from cancer to heart failure) in living things.

Her biggest breakthrough was figuring out that there’s a “universal hormonal control for aging”: carbohydrate intake, which can have a dramatic effect on how two critical genes behave, reducing insulin production and boosting repair and renovation activities. So far, her theory has proved true for worms, mice, rats, and monkeys — and she suspects it applies to humans, too.

By studying aging, Kenyon believes that she and other scientists (many of whom have successfully duplicated her experiments) will be able to pinpoint the molecules responsible for the onset of age-related diseases in people and prevent them. She’s co-founded a drug-development company called Elixir Pharmaceuticals to do just that.

She says: "The link between aging and age-related disease suggests an entirely new way to combat many diseases all at once; namely, by going after their greatest risk factor: aging itself."

More profile about the speaker
Cynthia Kenyon | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Cynthia Kenyon: Experiments that hint of longer lives

辛西娅·肯尼娅:昭示长寿的实验

Filmed:
1,030,469 views

什么控制着衰老?生物化学家辛西娅·肯尼娅找到了一个变异基因,可以使秀丽隐杆线虫的寿命延长一倍。这项发现和其他发现一起,昭示出我们也许有一天能够显著延长人类青年期的寿命。
- Biochemist, geneticist
When it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Have you ever wanted to stay young年轻 a little longer
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大家有没有想过要年轻再久一点
00:18
and put off aging老化?
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延缓衰老呢?
00:20
This is a dream梦想 of the ages年龄.
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这是很久以来的梦想了
00:23
But scientists科学家们 have for a long time
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不过科学家以前一直认为
00:25
thought this just was never going to be possible可能.
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这大概根本永远不可能
00:27
They thought you just wear穿 out, there's nothing you can do about it --
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他们认为每个人就是慢慢被消耗这个事实没办法改变
00:30
kind of like an old shoe.
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就像被磨损的旧鞋子
00:32
But if you look in nature性质,
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不过转而观察大自然的话
00:34
you see that different不同 kinds of animals动物
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我们发现不同种的动物
00:36
can have really different不同 lifespans寿命.
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寿命差异可以非常之大
00:38
Now these animals动物 are different不同 from one another另一个,
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这些动物彼此不一样
00:40
because they have different不同 genes基因.
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是因为它们有不同的基因
00:42
So that suggests提示
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这就启发我们
00:44
that somewhere某处 in these genes基因, somewhere某处 in the DNA脱氧核糖核酸,
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在这些基因里的某个地方,在DNA里面
00:46
are genes基因 for aging老化,
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有控制衰老的基因
00:48
genes基因 that allow允许 them to have different不同 lifespans寿命.
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让动物们有不同的寿命期
00:50
So if there are genes基因 like that,
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所以有这样的基因
00:52
then you can imagine想像 that,
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我们就能想像到
00:54
if you could change更改 one of the genes基因 in an experiment实验,
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如果我们通过实验改变一个基因
00:56
an aging老化 gene基因,
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那个衰老基因
00:58
maybe you could slow down aging老化 and extend延伸 lifespan寿命.
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说不定就可以延缓衰老,延长寿命
01:01
And if you could do that, then you could find the genes基因 for aging老化.
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如果这样做了,就可以找到那些衰老基因
01:04
And if they exist存在 and you can find them,
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如果这些衰老基因真的存在并且能找到
01:06
then maybe one could eventually终于 do something about it.
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那也许有人就能对它做点什么
01:09
So we've我们已经 set out to look for genes基因 that control控制 aging老化.
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所以我们就开始寻找那些控制衰老的基因
01:12
And we didn't study研究 any of these animals动物.
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不过我们没有研究刚才那些动物
01:15
Instead代替, we studied研究 a little, tiny, round回合 worm called C. elegans线虫,
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而是研究一种小小圆圆的蠕虫,叫做秀丽隐杆线虫
01:18
which哪一个 is just about the size尺寸 of a comma逗号 in a sentence句子.
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大小刚好和句子里面逗号的大小差不多
01:21
And we were really optimistic乐观 that we could find something
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我们很有信心能找到相关的基因
01:24
because there had been a report报告 of a long-lived长寿命 mutant突变体.
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因为曾经有种长寿变异的个体记录在案
01:27
So we started开始 to change更改 genes基因 at random随机,
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所以我们就随机改变线虫的基因
01:29
looking for long-lived长寿命 animals动物.
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寻找长寿的那些
01:31
And we were very lucky幸运 to find
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结果我们很幸运地发现
01:33
that mutations突变 that damage损伤 one single gene基因 called daf-daf-2
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损坏单个基因daf-2的这种变异
01:37
doubled翻倍 the lifespan寿命 of the little worm.
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能让这种小虫的寿命翻倍
01:40
So you can see in black黑色, after a month --
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所以能看到这条黑色曲线,一个月以后--
01:42
they're very short-lived短命; that's why we like to study研究 them
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这些线虫的寿命很短,这就是为什么我们用它们来做
01:44
for studies学习 of aging老化 --
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寿命的研究--
01:46
in black黑色, after a month, the normal正常 worms蠕虫 are all dead.
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黑色曲线表示一个月以后,正常线虫都死亡了
01:49
But at that time,
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但是同时
01:51
most of the mutant突变体 worms蠕虫 are still alive.
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大部分变异线虫还活着
01:53
And it isn't until直到 twice两次 as long
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直到又过了同样长的时间
01:55
that they're all dead.
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它们才死亡
01:57
And now I want to show显示 what they actually其实 look like in this movie电影 here.
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现在我来用视频演示线虫真正是什么样子
02:00
So the first thing you're going to see
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首先这里看到的
02:02
is the normal正常 worm
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是正常的线虫
02:04
when it's about college学院 student学生 age年龄 -- a young年轻 adult成人.
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大概在我们大学生的年龄--青年人的年龄
02:07
It's quite相当 a cute可爱 little fellow同伴.
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很可爱的小家伙
02:10
And next下一个 you're going to see the long-lived长寿命 mutant突变体 when it's young年轻.
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下面你将看到年轻的长寿变异体
02:13
So this animal动物 is going to live生活 twice两次 as long.
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它会活到正常线虫两倍的年龄
02:15
Is it miserable? It doesn't seem似乎 to be.
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很可怜吧?其实不是
02:17
It's active活性. You can't tell the difference区别 really.
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它相当活跃,和正常线虫几乎看不出区别
02:20
And they can be completely全然 fertile --
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而且它们也有繁殖能力--
02:22
have the same相同 number of progeny子孙 as the normal正常 worms蠕虫 do.
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后代的数目可以和正常线虫的一样多
02:24
Now get out your handkerchiefs手帕 here.
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现在准备拿出手绢来擦眼泪吧
02:26
You're going to see, in just two weeks,
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你会看到,就在仅仅两周之后
02:28
the normal正常 worms蠕虫 are old.
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正常的线虫就老了
02:30
You can see the little head moving移动 down at the bottom底部 there.
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可以看见它的头在屏幕下面,在动
02:33
But everything else其他 is just lying说谎 there.
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但是其它部位就只是躺在那儿不动
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The animal's动物 clearly明确地 in the nursing看护 home.
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它显然已经在老人院了
02:37
And if you look at the tissues组织 of the animal动物, they're starting开始 to deteriorate恶化.
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再看它的身体组织,能看到已经老化了
02:40
You know, even if you've never seen看到 one of these little C. elegans线虫 --
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你看,就算从来没见过秀丽隐杆线虫--
02:42
which哪一个 probably大概 most of you haven't没有 seen看到 one --
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多数人应该是没见过--
02:44
you can tell they're old -- isn't that interesting有趣?
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你就知道它们老了--这不是很有意思吗?
02:47
So there's something about aging老化 that's kind of universal普遍.
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衰老这件事是有普世性的
02:50
And now here is the daf-daf-2 mutant突变体.
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现在这个是daf-2变异体
02:53
One gene基因 is changed out of 20,000, and look at it.
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20000个基因里只改变了一个,看
02:55
It's the same相同 age年龄, but it's not in the nursing看护 home;
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年龄是一样的,但是它不在养老院里
02:58
it's going skiing滑雪.
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它看起来在滑雪
03:01
This is what's really cool: it's aging老化 more slowly慢慢地.
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这就是最酷的地方:它衰老得更慢
03:04
It takes this worm two days
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达到正常线虫衰老一天的程度
03:06
to age年龄 as much as the normal正常 worm ages年龄 in one day.
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它们需要两天时间
03:08
And when I tell people about this,
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而我告诉其他人这件事的时候
03:10
they tend趋向 to think of maybe an 80 or 90 year-old person
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他们认为也许这就像一个八九十岁的人
03:14
who looks容貌 really good for being存在 90 or 80.
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看起来身体仍然硬朗一样
03:16
But it's really more like this:
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但是其实更像这样:
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let's say you're a 30 year-old guy -- or in your 30s --
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如果你是个30岁、30多岁的单身汉
03:21
and you're a bachelor单身汉 and you're dating约会 people.
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你去和别人约会
03:23
And you meet遇到 someone有人 you really like, you get to know her.
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然后你见到了一个中意的女孩,想多了解她
03:26
And you're in a restaurant餐厅, and you say, "Well how old are you?"
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在饭桌上,你问她,“你多大了?”
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She says, "I'm 60."
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她说,“我60岁”
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That's what it's like. And you would never know.
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就像这样。你根本不知道
03:33
You would never know, until直到 she told you.
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根本不知道她有多大,要不是她告诉你的话
03:35
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:39
Okay.
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好了
03:41
So what is the daf-daf-2 gene基因?
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那么daf-2基因到底是什么?
03:43
Well as you know, genes基因, which哪一个 are part部分 of the DNA脱氧核糖核酸,
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正如大家所知,基因是DNA的一部分
03:45
they're instructions说明 to make a protein蛋白 that does something.
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它们是经编码的指令,用于制造特定功能的蛋白质
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And the daf-daf-2 gene基因
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而daf-2基因的编码
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encodes编码 a hormone激素 receptor接收器.
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对应了一类激素受体
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So what you see in the picture图片 there
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图片上可以看到的是一个细胞
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is a cell细胞 with a hormone激素 receptor接收器 in red
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以及红色的激素受体
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punching冲孔 through通过 the edge边缘 of the cell细胞.
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插在细胞的边缘
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So part部分 of it is like a baseball棒球 glove手套.
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受体的一部分就像棒球手套
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Part部分 of it's on the outside,
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外面的部分伸出去
04:02
and it's catching the hormone激素 as it comes by in green绿色.
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当绿色的激素靠近的时候抓住这个激素
04:04
And the other part部分 is on the inside
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另外的部分在细胞内
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where it sends发送 signals信号 into the cell细胞.
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向细胞传递信号
04:08
Okay, so what is the daf-daf-2 receptor接收器
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好了,那daf-2受体向细胞里
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telling告诉 the inside of the cell细胞?
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传了什么样的信号?
04:12
I just told you that, if you make a mutation突变 in the daf-daf-2 gene基因 cell细胞,
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我刚刚说过,如果突变细胞里的daf-2基因
04:15
that you get a receptor接收器 that doesn't work as well;
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就能得到一个功能不太给力的受体
04:17
the animal动物 lives生活 longer.
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并且动物的寿命变长
04:19
So that means手段 that the normal正常 function功能 of this hormone激素 receptor接收器
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这就意味着这个激素受体的正常功能
04:22
is to speed速度 up aging老化.
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是加速衰老
04:24
That's what that arrow箭头 means手段.
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就是图上箭头的意思
04:26
It speeds速度 up aging老化. It makes品牌 it go faster更快.
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总之会让衰老来得更快
04:28
So it's like the animal动物 has the grim严峻 reaper收割者 inside of itself本身,
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就好像动物的身体里有个死神
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speeding超速 up aging老化.
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一直在加速衰老
04:32
So this is altogether really, really interesting有趣.
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总之这个结论就非常有趣了
04:35
It says that aging老化 is subject学科 to control控制 by the genes基因,
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结论就是,衰老是受基因控制的
04:38
and specifically特别 by hormones激素.
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具体讲是受激素控制的
04:41
So what kind of hormones激素 are these?
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这些激素又是什么样的激素呢?
04:43
There's lots of hormones激素. There's testosterone睾酮, adrenalin肾上腺素.
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有很多种激素,比如睾酮和肾上腺素
04:45
You know about a lot of them.
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你肯定知道很多
04:47
These hormones激素 are similar类似
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这些激素和我们
04:49
to hormones激素 that we have in our bodies身体.
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身体里的激素差不多
04:51
The daf-daf-2 hormone激素 receptor接收器
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daf-2激素受体
04:53
is very similar类似 to the receptor接收器
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与胰岛素和IGF-1的受体
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for the hormone激素 insulin胰岛素 and IGF-IGF-1.
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非常像
04:58
Now you've all heard听说 of at least最小 insulin胰岛素.
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至少大家都听说过胰岛素
05:00
Insulin胰岛素 is a hormone激素 that promotes促进 the uptake摄取 of nutrients营养成分
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胰岛素是一种激素,在饭后促进
05:03
into your tissues组织 after you eat a meal膳食.
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身体的组织吸收营养
05:05
And the hormone激素 IGF-IGF-1 promotes促进 growth发展.
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而IGF-1这种激素促进生长
05:08
So these functions功能 were known已知 for these hormones激素 for a long time,
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这些激素的功能是我们长久以来就知道的
05:11
but our studies学习 suggested建议
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但是我们的研究似乎暗示
05:13
that maybe they had a third第三 function功能 that nobody没有人 knew知道 about --
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有可能有第三种我们未知的功能--
05:15
maybe they also affect影响 aging老化.
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或许也能影响衰老
05:17
And it's looking like that's the case案件.
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而且看起来似乎的确是这样
05:19
So after we made制作 our discoveries发现 with little C. elegans线虫,
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所以在我们对秀丽隐杆线虫的小发现之后
05:22
people who worked工作 on other kinds of animals动物
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研究其他动物的研究员提出问题
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started开始 asking, if we made制作 the same相同 daf-daf-2 mutation突变,
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如果在其他动物身上造成同样的daf-2变异
05:27
the hormone激素 receptor接收器 mutation突变, in other animals动物,
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也就是激素受体变异
05:30
will they live生活 longer?
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它们也会更长寿吗?
05:32
And that is the case案件 in flies苍蝇.
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在苍蝇身上,是的
05:34
If you change更改 this hormone激素 pathway in flies苍蝇, they live生活 longer.
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如果改变苍蝇体内这种激素的传递方式,它们就会长寿
05:37
And also in mice老鼠 -- and mice老鼠 are mammals哺乳动物 like us.
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在老鼠身上也一样--而老鼠是像我们一样的哺乳动物
05:40
So it's an ancient pathway,
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所以其实这是一个古老原始的传递方式
05:42
because it must必须 have arisen兴起 a long time ago in evolution演化
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一定在很久以前的进化进程中就出现了
05:44
such这样 that it still works作品 in all these animals动物.
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这样才会让所有动物身上都有这样的效应
05:47
And also, the common共同 precursor先导 also gave rise上升 to people.
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而且,这些共同的实验前兆也引向到人类的衰老问题上
05:50
So maybe it's working加工 in people the same相同 way.
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所以或许在人类中也同样适用
05:52
And there are hints提示 of this.
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确实有迹象表明这点
05:54
So for example, there was one study研究 that was doneDONE
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比如,曾有人针对纽约市
05:56
in a population人口 of Ashkenazi德系 Jews犹太人 in New York纽约 City.
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阿什肯纳兹犹太人做了研究
05:59
And just like any population人口,
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和其他人群一样
06:01
most of the people live生活 to be about 70 or 80,
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大多数人活到70或80岁
06:04
but some live生活 to be 90 or 100.
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但是有的人活到了90或100岁
06:06
And what they found发现
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研究人员发现
06:08
was that people who lived生活 to 90 or 100
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活到90或100岁的人
06:11
were more likely容易 to have daf-daf-2 mutations突变 --
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更有可能有daf-2变异--
06:14
that is, changes变化 in the gene基因
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也就是说,编码了IGF-1受体
06:16
that encodes编码 the receptor接收器 for IGF-IGF-1.
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的那段基因产生了变异
06:18
And these changes变化 made制作 the gene基因 not act法案 as well
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这些变异让基因行为与正常基因相比
06:23
as the normal正常 gene基因 would have acted行动.
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效果更弱一些
06:25
It damaged破损 the gene基因.
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相当于基因受损了
06:27
So those are hints提示
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所以这些迹象
06:29
suggesting提示 that humans人类 are susceptible易感
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表明人类对于控制衰老的激素
06:31
to the effects效果 of the hormones激素 for aging老化.
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所带来的效果是很敏感的
06:33
So the next下一个 question, of course课程, is:
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所以接下来的问题当然就是
06:35
Is there any effect影响 on age-related年龄相关 disease疾病?
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这对与年龄相关的老龄病有影响吗?
06:38
As you age年龄, you're much more likely容易
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因为当年龄变老的时候,我们就更可能
06:40
to get cancer癌症, Alzheimer's老年痴呆症 disease疾病,
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患上癌症,老年痴呆症
06:42
heart disease疾病, all sorts排序 of diseases疾病.
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心脏病,等等一系列的疾病
06:44
It turns out that these long-lived长寿命 mutants突变体
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结果这些长寿的变异体
06:46
are more resistant to all these diseases疾病.
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对于这些疾病更有抵抗能力
06:48
They hardly几乎不 get cancer癌症,
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他们几乎不得癌症
06:50
and when they do it's not as severe严重.
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就算得了,也并不如本来应该的那样严重
06:52
So it's really interesting有趣, and it makes品牌 sense in a way,
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所以这很有趣,而且这样想来确实有道理
06:54
that they're still young年轻,
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他们的身体还年轻
06:56
so why would they be getting得到 diseases疾病 of aging老化 until直到 their old?
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所以为什么只有到老年,他们会得衰老的一些疾病
07:00
So it suggests提示
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这就启发我们
07:02
that, if we could have a therapeutic治疗 or a pill to take
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如果有疗法或者药片
07:05
to replicate复制 some of these effects效果 in humans人类,
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来对人体复制这些减缓衰老的效应
07:07
maybe we would have a way
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也许我们就有办法
07:09
of combating打击 lots of different不同 age-related年龄相关 diseases疾病
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一下子抵抗所有种类的
07:11
all at once一旦.
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老龄病
07:13
So how can a hormone激素 ultimately最终 affect影响 the rate of aging老化?
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那么,激素到底是怎样影响衰老的速度呢?
07:15
How could that work?
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原理是什么呢?
07:17
Well it turns out that in the daf-daf-2 mutants突变体,
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原来在daf-2变异体中
07:20
a whole整个 lot of genes基因 are switched交换的 on in the DNA脱氧核糖核酸
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有大量的基因被转变到DNA里面
07:23
that encode编码 proteins蛋白质 that protect保护 the cells细胞 and the tissues组织,
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蛋白质编码保护细胞和组织
07:26
and repair修理 damage损伤.
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和修复损坏基因的功能
07:28
And the way that they're switched交换的 on
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同时基因被转变的途径
07:31
is by a gene基因 regulator调节器 protein蛋白 called FOXOFOXO.
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是被一个基因调节器的蛋白质叫FOXO
07:34
So in a daf-daf-2 mutant突变体 --
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所以在daf 2 的变异体中
07:36
you see that I have the X drawn here through通过 the receptor接收器.
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你可以看到这个X 型绘制图的受体
07:38
The receptor接收器 isn't working加工 as well.
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这个受体也运转得不怎么好
07:40
Under those conditions条件, the FOXOFOXO protein蛋白 in blue蓝色
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在这些条件下,蓝颜色的FOXO蛋白质
07:43
has gone走了 into the nucleus --
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已经转移到核心里面了
07:45
that little compartment隔室 there in the middle中间 of the cell细胞 --
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这个小小的隔室在细胞的最中间
07:47
and it's sitting坐在 down on a gene基因 binding捆绑 to it.
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同时也坐落在基因的粘合物上
07:49
You see one gene基因. There are lots of genes基因 actually其实 that bind捆绑 on FOXOFOXO.
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你看到一个基因。这里有大量的基因实际上捆绑在FOXO上
07:51
And it's just sitting坐在 on one of them.
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并且坐落在它们其中的一个上面
07:53
So FOXOFOXO turns on a lot of genes基因.
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所以FOXO开启着大量的基因
07:55
And the genes基因 it turns on includes包括 antioxidant抗氧化剂 genes基因,
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同时这些基因也开启着抗氧化的基因
07:58
genes基因 I call carrot-giver胡萝卜送礼者 genes基因,
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这些基因我称呼它为胡萝卜者基因
08:00
whose谁的 protein蛋白 products制品
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这些蛋白质产物
08:02
actually其实 help other proteins蛋白质 to function功能 well --
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实际上帮助其他的蛋白质的机能运转顺畅
08:04
to fold correctly正确地 and function功能 correctly正确地.
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同时也帮助蛋白质融合和运转准确
08:06
And it can also escort护送 them to the garbage垃圾 cans of the cell细胞
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同时也给它们护航到细胞中的垃圾场
08:09
and recycle回收 them if they're damaged破损.
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并且回收被损坏的蛋白质
08:11
DNA脱氧核糖核酸 repair修理 genes基因
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DNA修复基因
08:13
are more active活性 in these animals动物.
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在这些动物身上更活跃
08:15
And the immune免疫的 system系统 is more active活性.
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免疫系统也更活跃
08:17
And many许多 of these different不同 genes基因, we've我们已经 shown显示,
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我们展示的许多这些不同基因
08:20
actually其实 contribute有助于 to the long lifespan寿命 of the daf-daf-2 mutant突变体.
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实际上都作用于daf 2变异体的延长寿命
08:23
So it's really interesting有趣.
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所以这是很有趣的
08:25
These animals动物 have within them
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带有这些基因的动物
08:27
the latent capacity容量 to live生活 much longer than they normally一般 do.
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比起普通的有活得更久的潜力
08:30
They have the ability能力
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它们有能力
08:32
to protect保护 themselves他们自己 from many许多 kinds of damage损伤,
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保护自身免于很多的伤害
08:34
which哪一个 we think makes品牌 them live生活 longer.
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我们认为这使得它们活得更长
08:37
So what about the normal正常 worm?
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那关于正常线虫呢
08:39
Well when the daf-daf-2 receptor接收器 is active活性,
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当daf-2受体是活跃的
08:42
then it triggers触发器 a series系列 of events事件
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它引发了一系列
08:44
that prevent避免 FOXOFOXO
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来阻止FOXO
08:46
from getting得到 into the nucleus where the DNA脱氧核糖核酸 is.
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进入到DNA所处的中心
08:49
So it can't turn the genes基因 on.
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所以基因不能激活
08:51
That's how it works作品. That's why we don't see the long lifespan寿命,
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这就是运作的方式。也就是我们看不到延长寿命的原因
08:53
until直到 we have the daf-daf-2 mutant突变体.
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除非有daf 2变异体
08:55
But what good is this for the worm?
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但对线虫来说有什么好处吗
08:57
Well we think that insulin胰岛素 and IGF-IGF-1 hormones激素
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胰岛素和IGF-1激素
09:00
are hormones激素 that are particularly尤其 active活性
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是特别活跃
09:02
under favorable有利 conditions条件 -- in the good times --
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在有利条件下--好的时机下--
09:04
when food餐饮 is plentiful丰富 and there's not a lot of stress强调 in the environment环境.
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当食物是充足的,没有很多压力的环境下
09:07
Then they promote促进 the uptake摄取 of nutrients营养成分.
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然后它们促使营养品的产生
09:09
You can store商店 the food餐饮, use it for energy能源,
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可以储存食物,用它来补能量
09:12
grow增长, etc等等.
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成长等
09:14
But what we think is that, under conditions条件 of stress强调,
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但我们认为在压力条件下
09:17
the levels水平 of these hormones激素 drop下降 --
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这些激素水平会下降
09:19
for example, having limited有限 food餐饮 supply供应.
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例如在有限的食物供给时
09:22
And that, we think,
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我们认为那
09:24
is registered注册 by the animal动物 as a danger危险 signal信号,
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对于动物而言是个危险信号
09:26
a signal信号 that things are not okay
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预示什么不对头
09:28
and that it should roll out its protective保护的 capacity容量.
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它们的保护功能就开启了
09:31
So it activates激活 FOXOFOXO, FOXOFOXO goes to the DNA脱氧核糖核酸,
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所以它激活了FOXO,FOXO进入DNA
09:34
and that triggers触发器 the expression表达 of these genes基因
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引发这些基因显现
09:36
that improves提高 the ability能力 of the cell细胞
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来带动细胞能力
09:38
to protect保护 itself本身 and repair修理 itself本身.
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从而保护和修复自身
09:40
And that's why we think the animals动物 live生活 longer.
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这是我们认为动物活长久的原因
09:42
So you can think of FOXOFOXO
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你可以想象FOXO
09:44
as being存在 like a building建造 superintendent所长.
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为一个大楼的看门人
09:47
So maybe he's a little bit lazy,
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或许他有点懒
09:49
but he's there, he's taking服用 care关心 of the building建造.
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但他在那儿掌管着大楼
09:51
But it's deteriorating恶化.
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但这是不好的
09:53
And then suddenly突然, he learns获悉 that there's going to be a hurricane飓风.
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突然,他了解到将有一场飓风
09:56
So he doesn't actually其实 do anything himself他自己.
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所以他自己实际不做任何事
09:58
He gets得到 on the telephone电话 --
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但他打起电话--
10:00
just like FOXOFOXO gets得到 on the DNA脱氧核糖核酸 --
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就像FOXO进入到DNA--
10:02
and he calls电话 up
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他打电话给
10:04
the roofer盖屋顶, the window窗口 person,
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修屋顶的人,修窗户的人
10:06
the painter画家, the floor地板 person.
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油漆工,修地板的人
10:09
And they all come and they fortify强化 the house.
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他们都来了,加固了房屋。
10:11
And then the hurricane飓风 comes through通过,
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然后飓风穿过
10:13
and the house is in much better condition条件 than it would normally一般 have been in.
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房屋比起它原本的要更加稳固
10:15
And not only that, it can also just last longer,
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不但如此,它也可以很久矗立不倒
10:18
even if there isn't a hurricane飓风.
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甚至不是飓风来临
10:20
So that's the concept概念 here
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所以这的概念
10:22
for how we think this life extension延期 ability能力 exists存在.
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就类似我们认为生命延长力的发生情形
10:26
Now the really cool thing about FOXOFOXO
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关于FOXO真正有趣的
10:28
is that there are different不同 forms形式 of it.
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是有不同种的FOXO
10:30
We all have FOXOFOXO genes基因,
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我们大家都有FOXO基因
10:33
but we don't all have exactly究竟 the same相同 form形成 of the FOXOFOXO gene基因.
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但我们不是完全拥有同一种FOXO基因
10:36
Just like we all have eyes眼睛,
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如同我们都有眼睛
10:38
but some of us have blue蓝色 eyes眼睛 and some of us have brown棕色 eyes眼睛.
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但有些人是蓝色的眼睛,有些是棕色的
10:41
And there are certain某些 forms形式 of the FOXOFOXO gene基因
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我们发现活到90或者100岁人里
10:44
that have found发现 to be more frequently经常 present当下
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最常有的
10:46
in people who live生活 to be 90 or 100.
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某种FOXO基因
10:48
And that's the case案件 all over the world世界,
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这是遍布全球的例子
10:50
as you can see from these stars明星.
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正如大家看到的这些星星
10:52
And each one of these stars明星 represents代表 a population人口
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每一个星星代表一个人群
10:54
where scientists科学家们 have asked,
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科学家曾问过
10:56
"Okay, are there differences分歧 in the type类型 of FOXOFOXO genes基因
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“好吧,在这些活得非常久人群里
10:58
among其中 people who live生活 a really long time?" and there are.
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FOXO基因有什么不同吗?” 是的
11:01
We don't know the details细节 of how this works作品,
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我们不知道这起作用的细节
11:03
but we do know then
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但我们知道
11:05
that FOXOFOXO genes基因 can impact碰撞
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这FOXO基因能影响
11:07
the lifespan寿命 of people.
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人们的寿命
11:09
And that means手段 that, maybe if we tweak it a little bit,
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这意味着或许如果我们调试一下基因
11:12
we can increase增加 the health健康 and longevity长寿 of people.
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我们可以增加人们的寿命和保健功能
11:16
So this is really exciting扣人心弦 to me.
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所以这对我而言很兴奋
11:18
A FOXOFOXO is a protein蛋白 that we found发现 in these little, round回合 worms蠕虫
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我们在这些小圆形线虫发现的FOXO是种蛋白质
11:20
to affect影响 lifespan寿命,
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它影响寿命
11:22
and here it affects影响 lifespan寿命 in people.
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它也影响人们的寿命
11:24
So we've我们已经 been trying in our lab实验室 now
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所以现在我们一直在我们实验室
11:26
to develop发展 drugs毒品
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研发药物
11:28
that will activate启用 this FOXOFOXO cell细胞
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它会激活这种FOXO细胞
11:30
using运用 human人的 cells细胞 now
288
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现使用人类细胞
11:32
in order订购 to try and come up with drugs毒品
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为了试药
11:34
that will delay延迟 aging老化 and age-related年龄相关 diseases疾病.
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用药来延缓衰老和老龄引发的疾病
11:37
And I'm really optimistic乐观 that this is going to work.
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这会行得通,我对此非常乐观
11:40
There are lots of different不同 proteins蛋白质 that are known已知 to affect影响 aging老化.
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延缓衰老所熟知的有许多不同蛋白质
11:43
And for at least最小 one of them, there is a drug药物.
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至少它们中的之一就是药物
11:46
There's one called TORTOR, which哪一个 is another另一个 nutrient养分 sensor传感器,
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有种叫TOR,它是另一种营养传感器
11:48
like the insulin胰岛素 pathway.
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如同胰岛素传递
11:50
And mutations突变 that damage损伤 the TORTOR gene基因 --
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毁坏TOR基因的变异体
11:52
just like the daf-daf-2 mutations突变 --
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如同daf 2变异体--
11:54
extend延伸 lifespan寿命 in worms蠕虫
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延长线虫
11:56
and flies苍蝇 and mice老鼠.
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苍蝇和老鼠的寿命
11:59
But in this case案件, there's already已经 a drug药物 called rapamycin雷帕霉素
300
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但在这情况下,已经有种药叫纳巴霉素
12:01
that binds结合 to the TORTOR protein蛋白
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和TOR蛋白质联系在一起
12:03
and inhibits抑制 its activity活动.
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抑制它的活性
12:05
And you can take rapamycin雷帕霉素 and give it to a mouse老鼠 --
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你可以拿纳巴霉素,给老鼠试试--
12:08
even when it's pretty漂亮 old, like age年龄 60 for a human人的,
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甚至当它非常老,如同60岁的老人
12:10
that old for a mouse老鼠 --
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那么老的一只老鼠--
12:12
if you give the mouse老鼠 rapamycin雷帕霉素,
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如果给老鼠纳巴霉素
12:14
it will live生活 longer.
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它会活得久点
12:16
Now I don't want you all to go out taking服用 rapamycin雷帕霉素.
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现我不想让大家都去吃纳巴霉素
12:18
It is a drug药物 for people,
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它是适应于人类的药
12:20
but the reason原因 is it suppresses禁止显示 the immune免疫的 system系统.
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但原因是它会抵制免疫系统
12:23
So people take it to prevent避免 organ器官 transplants移植 from being存在 rejected拒绝.
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所以人们吃了它会因排斥而不能器官移植
12:27
So this may可能 not be the perfect完善 drug药物
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所以这或许不是种完美的药物
12:29
for staying young年轻 longer.
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来永葆青春
12:31
But still, here in the year 2011,
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但这还是2011年
12:34
there's a drug药物 that you can give to mice老鼠 at a pretty漂亮 old age年龄
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就是这种药,你能把它给非常老的老鼠
12:36
that will extend延伸 their lifespan寿命,
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它会延长它们的寿命
12:38
which哪一个 comes out of this science科学
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这科学试验
12:40
that's been doneDONE in all these different不同 animals动物.
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已经试用于所有这些不同动物身上
12:42
So I'm really optimistic乐观,
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所以我非常乐观
12:44
and I think it won't惯于 be too long, I hope希望,
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我认为我希望,它会不久
12:46
before this age-old古老 dream梦想 begins开始 to come true真正.
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这个延缓衰老梦想早日实现
12:49
Thank you.
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谢谢
12:51
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
13:00
Matt马特 Ridley雷德利: Thank you, Cynthia辛西娅.
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马特·瑞德里:谢谢,辛西娅
13:03
Let me get this straight直行.
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让我直说
13:05
Although虽然 you're looking for a drug药物
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尽管你在找寻一种药
13:07
that can solve解决 aging老化
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它能解决
13:09
in old men男人 like me,
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像我一样老人的衰老问题
13:12
what you could do now pretty漂亮 well in the lab实验室,
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几乎在实验室你能做什么
13:15
if you were allowed允许 ethically道德,
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如果你在道德上被准许
13:17
is start开始 a human人的 life from scratch
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从人类生命开始
13:20
with altered改变 genes基因 that would make it live生活 for a lot longer?
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改变基因就能使得人们生命更长久吗
13:23
CKCK: Ah, so the kinds of drugs毒品 I was talking about
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辛西娅·肯尼娅:我刚在讲这些药
13:26
would not change更改 the genes基因,
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不是改变基因
13:28
they would just bind捆绑 to the protein蛋白 itself本身
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它们只会联系到蛋白质本身
13:31
and change更改 its activity活动.
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改变它的活性
13:33
So if you stop taking服用 the drug药物, the protein蛋白 would go back to normal正常.
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所以如果你停止服药,蛋白质会返回到平常
13:36
You could change更改 the genes基因 in principle原理.
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原则上你可以改变基因
13:39
There isn't the technology技术 to do that.
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还没有科技这样做
13:41
But I don't think that's a good idea理念.
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但我也认为这不是个好主意
13:43
And the reason原因 is
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理由是
13:45
that these hormones激素,
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这些激素
13:47
like the insulin胰岛素 and the IGFIGF hormones激素 and the TORTOR pathway,
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就像胰岛素和IGF-1激素和TOR传递
13:50
they're essential必要.
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它们是最基本的
13:52
If you knock them out completely全然, then you're very sick生病.
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假若你完全没有它们,随后你就病得很重
13:55
So it might威力 be that you would just have to fine tune it very carefully小心
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所以可能只会非常小心地调试它们
13:58
to get the benefits好处 without getting得到 any problems问题.
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在没有什么意外情况下使它们起作用
14:01
And I think that's much better,
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我想这会更好
14:03
that kind of control控制 would be much better as a drug药物.
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这种调试就像用药一样会更好
14:05
And also, there are other ways方法 of activating激活 FOXOFOXO
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当然,也有其他方法激活FOXO
14:08
that don't even involve涉及 insulin胰岛素 or IGF-IGF-1
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甚至不需要胰岛素和IGF-1激素
14:10
that might威力 even be safer更安全.
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这甚至会更加安全
14:12
MR先生: I wasn't suggesting提示 that I was going to go and do it, but ...
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马特·瑞德里:我不是建议我要去试试,但是
14:15
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
14:19
There's a phenomenon现象 which哪一个 you have written书面 about and spoken about,
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你曾写过和讲过一种现象
14:23
which哪一个 is a negligible微不足道 senescence衰老.
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它是一种可忽略的衰老
14:26
There are some creatures生物 on this planet行星 already已经
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在这星球上已经有些生物
14:28
that don't really do aging老化.
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它们不会衰老
14:31
Just move移动 to one side for us, if you would.
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那让我们从另一面来说,假若可行的话
14:34
CKCK: There are. There are some animals动物 that don't seem似乎 to age年龄.
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辛西娅·肯尼娅:是的,有些动物好像不会衰老
14:37
For example, there are some tortoises called Blanding's布兰丁的 turtles海龟.
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例如,有种叫布兰丁的龟
14:41
And they grow增长 to be about this size尺寸.
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它们生长到约这种尺寸
14:43
And they've他们已经 been tagged标记, and they've他们已经 been found发现 to be 70 years年份 old.
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它们被标记,我们发现它们是70岁
14:46
And when you look at these 70 year-old turtles海龟,
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当看着这些70岁龟
14:48
you can't tell the difference区别, just by looking,
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你不能只从相貌看出区别
14:51
between之间 those turtles海龟 and 20 year-old turtles海龟.
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在这些70岁龟和20岁龟之间
14:53
And the 70 year-old ones那些,
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70岁龟
14:55
actually其实 they're better at scouting侦察 out the good nesting嵌套 places地方,
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事实上能更好地探出安巢的好地方
14:58
and they also have more progeny子孙 every一切 year.
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它们每年也有更多的后代
15:01
And there are other examples例子 of these kinds of animals动物,
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还有其它这种动物
15:04
like turns, certain某些 kinds of birds鸟类 are like this.
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像是某种鸟类就好比这个
15:07
And nobody没有人 knows知道 if they really can live生活 forever永远,
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没人知道它们真的能永世活着
15:09
or what keeps保持 them from aging老化.
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或者是什么使得它们不衰老
15:11
It's not clear明确.
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这都不清楚
15:13
If you look at birds鸟类, which哪一个 live生活 a long time,
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如果你看看鸟类,那些活很长的
15:16
cells细胞 from the birds鸟类 tend趋向 to be more resistant
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这些鸟的细胞趋于更能抵制
15:19
to a lot of different不同 environmental环境的 stresses应力
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许多不同种的环境压力
15:21
like high temperature温度
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比如高温
15:23
or hydrogen peroxide过氧化物, things like that.
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或过氧化氢,像这类似的
15:25
And our long-lived长寿命 mutants突变体 are too.
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我们长寿变异体也是如此
15:27
They're more resistant to these kinds of stresses应力.
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它们更能抵制这些压力
15:29
So it could be that the pathways途径 that I've been talking about,
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所以这可能是我所说的传递
15:32
which哪一个 are set to run really quickly很快 in the worm,
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它在线虫身上设定和运转得非常快
15:35
have a different不同 normal正常 set point
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有一个不同标准设定点
15:38
in something like a bird, so that a bird can live生活 a lot longer.
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如同鸟身上的那种,以至于鸟类能活很久
15:41
And maybe they're even set really differently不同
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或许它们甚至在动物中设定得非常不同
15:43
in animals动物 with no senescence衰老 at all -- but we don't know.
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一点都没有衰老--但我们不得而知
15:46
MR先生: But what you're talking about here
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马特·瑞德里:但你这儿所谈到的
15:48
is not extending扩展 human人的 lifespan寿命
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不是通过预防死亡
15:51
by preventing防止 death死亡,
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来延长人类寿命
15:53
so much as extending扩展 human人的 youthspanyouthspan.
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如同延长人类青春期一样
15:55
CKCK: Yes, that's right.
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辛西娅·肯尼娅:是的,是这样
15:57
It's more like, say, if you were a dog.
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这更像是,如果比作狗
15:59
You notice注意 that you're getting得到 old, and you look at your human人的
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你发觉你在变老,你看看人类
16:01
and you think, "Why isn't this human人的 getting得到 old?"
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你想,“为什么这人不变老?”
16:03
They're not getting得到 old in the dog's小狗 lifespan寿命.
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在狗的一生,人们没有变老
16:05
It's more like that.
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这更像这种情况
16:07
But now we're the human人的 looking out and imagining想象 a different不同 human人的.
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但现在我们是人类看着和想象着一个不同的人
16:11
MR先生: Thank you very much indeed确实, Cynthia辛西娅 Kenyon肯扬.
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马特·瑞德里:的确十分感谢,辛西娅·肯尼娅
16:14
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Angelia King
Reviewed by Vivian Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cynthia Kenyon - Biochemist, geneticist
When it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans.

Why you should listen

Cynthia Kenyon is revolutionizing our understanding of aging. As an expert in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California at San Francisco, she is particularly interested in the influence that genetics have on age-related diseases (from cancer to heart failure) in living things.

Her biggest breakthrough was figuring out that there’s a “universal hormonal control for aging”: carbohydrate intake, which can have a dramatic effect on how two critical genes behave, reducing insulin production and boosting repair and renovation activities. So far, her theory has proved true for worms, mice, rats, and monkeys — and she suspects it applies to humans, too.

By studying aging, Kenyon believes that she and other scientists (many of whom have successfully duplicated her experiments) will be able to pinpoint the molecules responsible for the onset of age-related diseases in people and prevent them. She’s co-founded a drug-development company called Elixir Pharmaceuticals to do just that.

She says: "The link between aging and age-related disease suggests an entirely new way to combat many diseases all at once; namely, by going after their greatest risk factor: aging itself."

More profile about the speaker
Cynthia Kenyon | Speaker | TED.com