科学美国人60秒 SSS Protein Test Could Complement Crime Scene DNA Analysis
时间：2019-01-20 作者：英语课 分类：2016年Scientific American(九)月
DNA 1 analysis is a staple 2 of crime scenes—and crime shows, like HBO's The Night of or the old standby, CSI:
"We just need to get this to the DNA lab, confirm it's the victim's blood. And then, case closed."
And it's not just for crime: DNA sequencing also helps determine our relationship to Neandertals, and our primate 3 cousins.
Problem is, DNA's a relatively 4 fragile molecule—it doesn't last forever. What's more sturdy is protein. So now researchers have come up with a way to use protein in a similar way to DNA: to link an individual to a piece of evidence or to determine ethnic 5 background.
The protein source these scientists studied was human hair, from 76 individuals of European-American, African-American and Kenyan descent. And they determined 6 that the variation of a couple hundred proteins in a person's hair could be enough to single her out from a group of one million individuals.
The way it works is that proteins are made according to the instructions in DNA. So one individual's genetic 7 variations can result in slightly different proteins being made, compared to another individual. And by determining the protein composition, the scientists can then extrapolate info about the DNA. The results are in the journal PLoS ONE. [Glendon J. Parker et al., Demonstration 8 of Protein-Based Human Identification Using the Hair Shaft 9 Proteome]
The researchers say the technique still is not ready for prime-time—ideally the process needs to be more sensitive, to avoid consuming valuable crime scene or archaeological samples in the analysis. And the statistics behind the technique need to be validated 10. But someday, they say, it could come within a hair of DNA analysis.
—Christopher Intagliata
- DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
- Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
- Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
- Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。
- 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
- The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。
- The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
- The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
- 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。
- I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
- He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
- 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。
- His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
- He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
- He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
- This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。