VOA慢速英語：研究人員利用大腦細(xì)胞控制小白鼠的衰老過程

Researchers Use Brain Cells to Control Aging in Mice

研究人員利用大腦細(xì)胞控制小白鼠的衰老過程

It is a question people have been asking for—well-- ages. Is there a way to turn back the aging process?

這是人們一直在追問的一個問題 - 衰老。有沒有辦法扭轉(zhuǎn)衰老過程呢?

For centuries, people have been looking for a "fountain of youth." The idea is that if you find a magical fountain, and drink from its waters, you will not age.

幾個世紀(jì)以來，人們一直在尋找“不老泉。”其觀點(diǎn)是，如果你找到一處神奇的泉水，喝了這里的水，你就不會變老。

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León searched for waters with magical powers in the early 1500s. But what he found instead is the American state of Florida.

西班牙探險家胡安·龐塞·德萊昂(Juan Ponce de León)在16世紀(jì)初尋找具有魔力的水。但是他卻發(fā)現(xiàn)了美國佛羅里達(dá)州。

Researchers in New York did not find an actual fountain of youth, but they may have found a way to turn back the aging process. It appears the answer may be hidden right between your eyes, in an area called the hypothalamus.

紐約的研究人員并沒有找到真正的不老泉，但是他們可能已經(jīng)找到了一種扭轉(zhuǎn)衰老過程的辦法。看起來答案可能就藏在你的兩眼之間一處被稱為下丘腦的地方。

The hypothalamus is part of your brain. It controls important activities within the body. They include growth, reproduction and the way we process food.

下丘腦是人類大腦的一部分。它控制著身體的一些重要活動，例如生長、繁殖以及如何處理食物。

Researchers at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that hypothalamus neural stem cells also influence how fast aging takes place in the body.

紐約愛因斯坦醫(yī)學(xué)院的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，下丘腦的神經(jīng)干細(xì)胞還會影響身體的衰老速度。

What are stem cells? They are simple cells that can develop into specialized cells, like blood or skin cells. Stem cells can also repair damaged tissues and organs.

什么是干細(xì)胞?它們是一些可以發(fā)育成血液和皮膚細(xì)胞等特殊細(xì)胞的簡單細(xì)胞。干細(xì)胞還能修復(fù)受損的組織和器官。

Dongsheng Cai is a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was the lead researcher in a study on aging in mice. He and his team reported their findings in the journal Nature.

蔡東升是愛因斯坦醫(yī)學(xué)院的一名教授。他是這項針對老鼠衰老的研究的首席研究員。他和他的團(tuán)隊在《自然》雜志上報告了他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Cai explains what they found.

蔡教授解釋了他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

"Aging speed is controlled, can be controlled by a particular place in the body, which is the hypothalamus. And it can be controlled by a particular type of cells, which are hypothalamus stem cells. I think these findings are quite interesting, potentially even remarkable."

他說：“衰老速度受到了身體中一個特定位置也就是下丘腦的控制。它可以通過一種特定類型的細(xì)胞來控制，這些細(xì)胞就是下丘腦干細(xì)胞。我認(rèn)為這些發(fā)現(xiàn)非常有趣，甚至可能是意義非凡的。”

He adds that when the hypothalamus starts aging, so does the body.

他補(bǔ)充說，當(dāng)下丘腦開始衰老時，身體也跟著衰老。

"So when hypothalamus function is in decline, particularly the loss of hypothalamus stem cells, and this protection against the aging development is lost, it eventually leads to aging."

“所以當(dāng)下丘腦功能下降，特別是失去下丘腦干細(xì)胞時，這種對抗衰老的保護(hù)就失去了，它最終會導(dǎo)致衰老。”

Using this information, the researchers began trying to activate, or energize, the hypothalamus in laboratory mice. They did this by injecting the animals with stem cells.

利用這些信息，研究人員開始嘗試激活實驗室小白鼠的下丘腦。他們通過給這種動物注射干細(xì)胞來實現(xiàn)這個目的。

Later, the researchers examined tissues and tested for changes in behavior. They looked for changes in the strength and coordination of the animals' muscles. They also studied the social behavior and cognitive ability of the mice.

隨后，研究人員檢查了小白鼠的組織，并檢測了它的行為變化。他們研究了這種動物的肌肉力量和協(xié)調(diào)的變化，還研究了它的社會行為和認(rèn)知能力。

The researchers say the results show that the treatment slowed aging in the animals.

研究人員表示，研究結(jié)果表明，這種治療延緩了小鼠的衰老。

Cai says injecting middle-aged mice with stem cells from younger mice helped the older animals live longer.

蔡教授表示，給中年小白鼠注射來自年輕小白鼠的干細(xì)胞有助于這只年齡更大的小白鼠活得更久。

"When we injected the hypothalamus stem cells, which were derived from young mice, we injected them to the middle-aged mice and that was, in fact, to slow down aging. So the mouse aged slowly and they also have increased their lifespan, which is longevity."

“當(dāng)我們給中年小白鼠注射了來自年輕小白鼠的下丘腦干細(xì)胞時，實際上就延緩了它的衰老。因此這只老鼠緩慢地衰老，它們的壽命變長了，這就是長壽。”

But these results were just from studying mice in a laboratory. If the mice can live longer, does that mean people could have longer lives? The next step is to see if the anti-aging effects also work in human beings.

但是這些結(jié)果只是來自研究實驗室小白鼠。如果這種小白鼠可以活得更久，是否意味著人類也能長壽呢?研究的下一步就是看看這種抗衰老作用是否也適用于人類。

"If we can translate what we have seen in animals to humans, I think humans, they can function better during later ages, later stage of aging."

“如果我們能將這些在動物身上的發(fā)現(xiàn)轉(zhuǎn)化到人類身上，我認(rèn)為人類在老年時期可以更好地發(fā)揮作用。”

Cai and his team say their studies may have other benefits. They say the findings could lead to new ways to help doctors identify and treat any number of age-related health issues.

蔡教授及其團(tuán)隊表示，他們的研究可能還有其它益處。他們表示，研究結(jié)果可能導(dǎo)致產(chǎn)生新的辦法，來幫助醫(yī)生診斷和治療許多跟年齡相關(guān)的健康問題。

I'm Anne Ball.

安妮·波爾報道。