2015年職稱英語考試衛(wèi)生類C級閱讀復習(8)

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　　2015年職稱英語考試衛(wèi)生類C級閱讀復習

　　A Gay Biologist

　　Molecular biologist Dean Hammer has blue eyes, light brown hair and a good sense of humor. He smokes cigarettes, spends long hours in an old laboratory at the US National Institute of Health, and in his free time climbs up cliffs and points his skis down steep slopes. He also happens to be openly, matter-of-factly gay.

　　What is it that makes Hammer who he is? What, for that matter, accounts for the talents and traits that make up anyone’s personality? Hammer is not content merely to ask such questions; he is trying to answer them as well. A pioneer in the field of molecular psychology, Hammer is exploring the role genes play in governing the very core of our individuality. To a remarkable extent, his work on what might be called the gay, thrill-seeking and quit-smoking genes reflects how own genetic predispositions.

　　That work, which has appeared mostly in scientific journals, has been gathered into an accessible and quite readable form in Hammer’s creative new book, Living with Our Genes. “you have about as much choice in some aspect of your personality.” Hamer and co-author Peter Copeland write in the introductory chapter, “as you do in the shape of your nose or the size of your feet.”

　　Until recently, research into behavioral genetics was dominated by psychiatrists and psychologists, who based their most compelling conclusions about the importance of genes on studies of identical twins. For example, psychologist Michael Bailey of Northwestern University famously demonstrated that if one identical twin is gay, there is about a 50% likelihood that the other will be too. Seven years ago, Hamer picked up where the twin studies left off, homing in on specific strips of DNA that appear to influence everything from mood to sexual orientation.

　　Hamer switched to behavioral genetics from basic research, after receiving his doctorate from Harvard, he spent more than a decade studying the biochemistry of a protein that cells use to metabolize heavy metals like copper and zinc. As he was about to turn 40, however, Hamer suddenly realized he had learned as much about the protein as he cared to. “Frankly, I was bored, “he remembers, “and ready for something new.”

　　Homosexual behavior, in particular, seemed ripe for exploration because few scientists had dared tackle such an emotionally and politically charged subject. “I’m gay,” Hamer says with a shrug, “but that was not a major motivation. It was more of a question of intellectual curiosity―and the fact that no one else was doing this sort of research”

　　同性戀生物學家

　　分子生物學家帝恩?哈默長著一雙藍眼睛，一頭淺棕色的頭發(fā)，并且很有幽默感。他抽香煙，把大量的時間都用在了美國國家衛(wèi)生研究院的一間舊實驗室里，閑暇時，他攀巖和滑雪。他恰巧還是公開的、確確實實的同性戀者。

　　究竟什么使哈默成為他現(xiàn)在這個樣子?究竟什么才能解釋構成一個人個性的天資和特點呢?哈默不僅僅滿足于提出這些問題他還要盡量回答它們。作為一名分子心理學領域的先驅，哈默在探索基因在決定我們的個性核心中所起的作用。在很大程度上，他對那些可稱之為同性戀的，引起興奮的和戒煙的基因的研究反映了癖性是自身遺傳的。

　　他的研究成果，原來主要刊登在科學期刊上，現(xiàn)已被收集在哈默的一本新書中，書名為《基因在生活中》，該書的形式易懂，且具有可讀性?！霸谀阈愿竦哪承┓矫婺阋部勺孕羞x擇，正如同你可以選擇鼻子的形狀或腳的大小一樣，”哈默和本書的另一位作者彼得?考布蘭在前言中這么說。

　　一直到最近，對行為遺傳學的研究主要是由精神病學家和心理學家進行的。他們有關基因的重要性的結論是以對同狼雙胞胎的研究為基礎的。比如西北大學的精神病學家邁克?貝利的一個著名的論證是如果同卵雙胞胎中的一個是同性戀者，另一個是同性戀的可能性為50%。七年前，哈默繼續(xù)對雙胞胎進行了研究，這次研究的中心是看來能影響從人的情緒到性傾家蕩產(chǎn)向的一切方面的特定的脫氧核糖核酸帶。

　　哈默從基礎研究轉向了行為基因學。在哈佛大學獲得了博士學位后，他花了十多年的時間研究蛋白質(zhì)的生物化學性，這些蛋白質(zhì)是細胞用來代謝重金屬，如銅和鋅的。當他年近40歲時，他卻突然意識到他已了解他想了解的關于這種蛋白質(zhì)的一切情況。他回憶道：“坦率地說，我套倦了，我想試點新的東西。”

　　現(xiàn)在，研究同性戀行為的時機已成熟了，因為過去很少有科學家敢涉足一個情感上和政治上負荷都很重的課題?！拔沂峭詰僬撸惫柭柤缯f，“但這并不是主要的動機。這是因為知識分子的好奇心，事實上從沒有人從事過這種研究?！?/P>