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Spit Analysis Reveals Hocker's Age
口水揭秘你的年齡

Saliva contains many useful components. Lubricants. Enzymes for breaking down food. And now, compounds that can reveal a person’s age. That’s according to a study in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
唾液中含有很多的有用成分：潤滑劑，分解食物的生化酶。而現(xiàn)在，發(fā)表在《公共科學圖書館·綜合》期刊上的一項研究表明，這些成分還可以揭示一個人的年齡。

During normal development, DNA in your body gets what’s called methylated. Small chemicals called methyl groups bind to the DNA, helping to determine which genes become active. But the patterns of methylation change as we grow older. Which was a clue that measuring methylation might give away age.
在正常的發(fā)育過程中，我們體內的DNA漸漸被甲基化[注1]。一些稱為甲基的小化合物編進DNA中，用來決定哪些基因被激活。但是甲基化形式會隨著我們的長大而改變。因此甲基測試也會泄露我們的年齡。

The researchers studied DNA in saliva contributed by 34 pairs of male identical twins, ages 21 to 55. They found 88 sites on the men’s DNA where the amount of methylation correlated with their ages. The scientists next verified that finding in 60 men and women, ages 18 to 70.
研究人員對34對21至55歲男性同卵雙胞胎唾液中的DNA進行分析。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)男性DNA上有88個地方的甲基數(shù)量與他們的年齡有關。于是科學家們接下來在18至70歲的60位男性和女性中去驗證。

Then they narrowed in on two genes that had the strongest age-related correlation. And using just that data, they found that they could estimate the ages of their saliva contributors to within five years.
接著他們鎖定在兩組與年紀最為相關的基因上。利用這組數(shù)據(jù)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)可以根據(jù)唾液來估計他們的年齡，誤差在5歲之內。

This technique might help in crime scene investigations—recovered saliva could tell the age of a perpetrator. So if you’re worried about anyone knowing how old you are, be careful where you spit.
這項技術在犯罪現(xiàn)場調查中可能會起到作用---被發(fā)現(xiàn)的唾液可以判斷犯罪人員的年齡。所以，如果你擔心別人知道你的年紀的話，噴口水的時候就要小心咯~

—Cynthia Graber

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