如何在有生之年治愈衰老？：英语精读讲义

Health is the most valuable thing we have in life,

健康是我们生命中最宝贵的东西，

but we tend to forget that until we lose it. 短語搭配

但我们往往直到失去时才会意识到。

We're living longer than ever before, 語法

我们的寿命比以往任何时候都要长，

which is great.

这固然很好。

But an unforeseen consequence of this is that we also spend 短語搭配

但随之而来的一个不可预见的后果是，我们生命中

a larger and larger portion of our lives being sick. 語法

有越来越大的一部分时间是在生病中度过的。

Getting old currently means spending more time in pain.

目前，变老意味着我们要花更多的时间忍受痛苦。

So scientists are trying to shift the attention of the medical community 短語搭配

因此，科学家们正试图将医学界的注意力

from optimizing life spans to optimizing health spans, 用詞

从优化寿命长度转移到优化健康寿命，

the part of our lives during which we're disease-free.

即我们生命中无病无痛的那段时光。

To do this,

为了做到这一点，

we need to attack the root cause of almost all bodily defects, 短語搭配

我们需要直击几乎所有身体缺陷的根源，

aging itself.

也就是衰老本身。

Unbeknown to most people, 用詞

大多数人不知道的是，

the science of aging has made enormous progress in the last few years

衰老科学在过去几年里取得了巨大的进展，

with human trials about to begin in the near future. 語法

并且在不久的将来即将开始人体试验。

Let's look at three examples of discoveries that might benefit people who are alive right now.

让我们来看三个可能造福当代人的科学发现。

One, senescent cells.

第一，衰老细胞。

Your cells have an expiration date. 習語

你的细胞是有保质期的。

Each time one of your cells divides,

你的细胞每分裂一次，

it copies its chromosomes.

就会复制一次它的染色体。

Because of the way this works,

由于这种运作方式，

they lose a tiny bit of DNA at the ends.

染色体末端会丢失一点点DNA。

This could be catastrophic,

这可能是灾难性的，

so to protect themselves,

所以为了自我保护，

we have long segments of DNA called telomeres that sort of act like the stiff bits at the end of shoelaces. 表達脈絡

我们有被称为端粒的长段DNA，它们就像鞋带末端的硬塑料头。

But they shrink with every cell division.

但每次细胞分裂它们都会缩短。

In some cells,

在某些细胞中，

after a number of divisions,

经过一定次数的分裂后，

the telomeres are gone and the cell becomes a zombie, 習語

端粒消失了，细胞变成了一个“僵尸”，

a senescent cell.

即衰老细胞。

Senescent cells stay around and don't die. 短語動詞

衰老细胞会一直存在且不会死亡。

The older you get, 語法

你越老，

the more of them there are inside you.

你体内的衰老细胞就越多。

They harm tissue around them and are linked to many diseases that accompany old age, 短語搭配

它们会损害周围的组织，并与许多伴随衰老的疾病有关，

like diabetes and kidney failure.

比如糖尿病和肾功能衰竭。

But what if you could kill them off? 講解

但如果你能把它们杀光呢？

Scientists genetically engineered mice so that they could destroy their senescent cells as they pleased. 習語

科学家们对小鼠进行了基因改造，使它们能够随意破坏自己的衰老细胞。

Older mice without senescent cells were more active.

没有衰老细胞的老年小鼠变得更活跃了。

Their hearts and kidneys worked better,

它们的心脏和肾脏功能更好了，

and they were less prone to cancer. 短語搭配

而且更不容易患上癌症。

Overall,

总的来说，

they lived up to 30% longer and in better health than average mice. 用詞

它们的寿命比普通小鼠长了30%，而且更健康。

Since we can't genetically engineer all of the cells in the human body,

既然我们不能对人体内的所有细胞进行基因改造，

we need to find another way to get rid of our senescent cells. 短語動詞

我们就需要找到另一种方法来清除我们的衰老细胞。

But how do we kill them without harming healthy cells? 語法

但是，我们如何在不伤害健康细胞的情况下杀死它们呢？

Most cells in the body commit a programmed cell suicide when they're damaged. 用詞

身体里的大多数细胞在受损时会进行程序性自杀。

But senescent cells don't.

但衰老细胞不会。

It turns out that they underproduce a protein that tells them when it's time to die. 表達脈絡

事实证明，它们未能产生足够的能指示其何时该死亡的蛋白质。

So,

于是，

in a late 2016 study,

在2016年末的一项研究中，

mice were given an injection of this protein.

小鼠被注射了这种蛋白质。

It killed 80% of all their senescent cells while causing almost no harm to healthy cells. 語法

它杀死了小鼠体内80%的衰老细胞，同时几乎没有对健康细胞造成任何伤害。

The treated mice became generally healthier and even regrew lost hair.

接受治疗的小鼠整体变得更健康了，甚至还重新长出了脱落的毛发。

As a result, 表達脈絡

结果就是，

there are a number of new companies looking at treatments involving senescent cells,

许多新公司开始着眼于涉及衰老细胞的疗法，

and the first human trials will start soon.

首批人体试验很快就会开始。

Two, NAD+.

第二，NAD+。

Cells are made from hundreds of millions of parts.

细胞是由数亿个部件组成的。

They're the structures, machines, messages,

它们是结构、机器、信使，

and the catalysts that make reactions happen.

以及促成反应发生的催化剂。

All these parts constantly need to be destroyed, cleaned up, and rebuilt. 語法

所有这些部件不断需要被破坏、清理和重建。

As we age,

随着我们变老，

this process becomes less effective,

这个过程变得不再那么有效，

and so parts become crumpled, bunched up, or are removed slower.

所以这些部件变得干瘪、挤成一团，或者被清除的速度变慢了。

Or they are no longer produced in the quantities we need. 語法

甚至它们不再按我们需要的数量产生。

One of these parts is NAD+,

这些部件中的一种就是NAD+，

a coenzyme that tells our cells to look after themselves. 短語動詞

一种告诉我们细胞要照顾好自己的辅酶。

At age 50,

到了50岁时，

we only have about half as much in our bodies as we do at age 20. 語法

我们体内的NAD+水平只有20岁时的一半左右。

Lower amounts of it are linked to a whole bunch of diseases 用詞

它数量的减少与一大堆疾病有关，

from skin cancer to Alzheimer's,

从皮肤癌到阿尔茨海默症、

cardiovascular disease, and multiple sclerosis.

心血管疾病，以及多发性硬化症。

But NAD+ can't enter cells,

但NAD+无法进入细胞，

so we can't get it as a pill.

所以我们不能直接把它做成药丸吃下去。

But scientists noticed that other more flexible substances could enter cells

不过科学家注意到，其他更灵活的物质可以进入细胞，

and would then turn into NAD+ inside. 短語動詞

然后在细胞内部转化为NAD+。

In 2016,

在2016年，

multiple trials on mice showed that they boosted the multiplication of skin, brain, and muscle stem cells.

对小鼠进行的多项试验表明，它们促进了皮肤、大脑和肌肉干细胞的繁殖。

They were rejuvenated,

它们恢复了活力，

had a higher ability to repair their DNA,

修复DNA的能力提高了，

and had a slightly increased lifespan.

寿命也略微增加了。

This even got NASA interested, 語法

这甚至引起了NASA的兴趣，

which is looking for a way to minimize the DNA damage

他们正在寻找一种方法，以尽量减少在火星任务中

astronauts would be exposed to from cosmic radiation on Mars missions. 短語搭配

宇宙辐射可能对宇航员造成的DNA损伤。

There are human trials being planned right now,

目前正在计划进行人体试验，

but it's too soon to say if this will boost our healthspan or even lifespan. 語氣意圖

但现在就断言这是否会延长我们的健康寿命甚至寿命还为时尚早。

But NAD+ is a serious candidate and could become the first human anti-aging pill. 短語搭配

不过NAD+是一个极具潜力的候选对象，有可能成为第一种人类抗衰老药丸。

Three, stem cells.

第三，干细胞。

Stem cells are like cell blueprints that sit at various places in the body 表達脈絡

干细胞就像细胞的蓝图，位于身体的各个部位，

and copy themselves to produce a steady flow of fresh young cells. 短語搭配

它们通过复制自己来持续不断地产生新鲜年轻的细胞。

But they decline as we age, 表達脈絡

但随着我们衰老，它们也在减少，

and so we decline too.

所以我们也跟着衰老了。

Without new parts,

没有了新的部件，

human bodies break.

人体就会垮掉。

In mice,

在小鼠身上，

scientists observed that as the stem cells in their brains disappeared,

科学家观察到，当它们大脑里的干细胞消失时，

they started to develop diseases.

它们就开始生病。

So they took stem cells from baby mice brains

于是，他们从小鼠幼崽的大脑中提取了干细胞，

and injected them directly into the brains of middle-aged mice.

然后直接注射到了中年小鼠的大脑中。

More specifically,

具体来说，

the hypothalamus,

是注射到了下丘脑，

a part that's involved in regulating a lot of bodily functions. 短語搭配

这是一个参与调节许多身体功能的部位。

The fresh stem cells reinvigorated older brain cells

新鲜的干细胞使老化的大脑细胞重新焕发了活力，

by secreting micro RNAs that regulated their metabolism. 語法

方式是分泌能够调节其代谢的微小RNA。

After 4 months,

4个月后，

brain and muscles worked better than those of untreated mice, 語法

它们的大脑和肌肉功能比未接受治疗的小鼠更好，

and on average, 短語搭配

并且平均而言，

they lived 10% longer.

它们多活了10%。

Another study took stem cells from mice embryos

另一项研究从老鼠胚胎中提取了干细胞，

and injected them directly into the hearts of older mice.

并直接注射到老年老鼠的心脏中。

As a consequence,

结果，

they had improved heart function,

它们的心脏功能得到了改善，

could exercise 20% longer,

运动时间可以延长20%，

and weirdly enough, 語氣意圖

而且奇怪的是，

their hair regrew faster.

它们的毛发重新生长的速度变快了。

What all of this tells us is that there is not a single magic bullet with which to cure aging. 講解

所有这些告诉我们，并没有治愈衰老的单一灵丹妙药。

It requires a complex array of different therapies. 短語搭配

它需要一系列复杂多样的疗法。

We can kill off senescent cells to clear away the junk, 習語

我们可以杀死衰老细胞来清除垃圾，

give ourselves fresh new stem cells to fill the gap, 習語

给我们自己注入新鲜的新干细胞来填补空白，

all while regulating the metabolism of the other cells using medication. 語法

同时使用药物来调节其他细胞的新陈代谢。

This video comes with a big caveat. 短語搭配

这个视频带有一个很大的免责声明。

After all, 表達脈絡

毕竟，

these studies have been carried out on mice. 短語動詞

这些研究都是在老鼠身上进行的。

There's no guarantee the same therapies would work in us to the same extent, 語氣意圖

无法保证同样的疗法在人类身上也能达到同等的效果，

but they are proof of concepts. 用詞

但它们是概念验证。

To learn more about how we can modify our own healthspan, 語法

要了解更多关于如何改变我们自身健康寿命的知识，

we need human trials.

我们需要进行人体试验。

We've only covered a tiny part of the research that's being done right now,

我们刚才提到的只是目前正在进行的研究的一小部分，

and only scratched the surface of these ideas. 習語

而且仅仅触及了这些理念的皮毛。

The field of healthspan extension needs more attention and funding.

延长健康寿命的领域需要更多的关注和资金。

If it gets it, 語法

如果它能得到支持，

all of us might enjoy growing old without pain.

我们所有人都有可能在没有痛苦的情况下面对衰老。

If you now want to support the research on aging directly,

如果你现在想直接支持抗衰老的研究，

you can do so at lifespan.io,

你可以通过lifespan.io来实现，

a community of people actively supporting the scientists working to cure aging.

这是一个积极支持致力于治愈衰老的科学家的社区。

Check them out to learn about the latest advances

去看看他们，了解最新进展，

and visit their blog or group on Facebook.

也可以访问他们的博客或脸书群组。

The lifespan team also kindly supported the creation of this video

lifespan团队也慷慨地支持了这个视频的制作，

with a donation and their expertise.

提供了捐款和他们的专业知识。

If you want to help us make more of our videos,

如果你想帮助我们制作更多的视频，

you can do so on patreon.com.

你可以在patreon.com上支持我们。