墨尔本PTE素材库——Protein Test Could Complement Crime Scene DNA Analysis

墨尔本PTE素材库——Protein Test Could Complement Crime Scene DNA Analysis

中文批注

不知道对于DNA的第一印象是什么？是HBO里的犯罪类剧集？还是医学里的运用？如今，研究人员可以通过头发等，DNA的线索，和1百万中的一个人联系起来。听起来是不是很厉害呢？

这段音频内容并不是特别难，但其中生词不少，而且都是有关DNA方面的。所以….同学们可要勤做积累呀~澳大利亚语言学院会定期整理更新墨尔本PTE素材库，让大家在做题之余，复习之余，还能有不少听力和口语的素材可以练习、学习，不同的话题，不同的相关词汇，不同的英语表达，这样才能真正的提升大家的英语水平哦~

【key vocabulary】

A staple of 主要的

Come up with a way 想出一个办法

DNA sequencing DNA排序

Fragile 易碎的

Molecule 小颗粒

Sturdy 坚定的，强健的

Protein composition 蛋白质构成

Extrapolate 外推，推断

Prime-time 黄金时段

Archaeological 考古学的

Full Transcript

Researchers determined that the variation of a couple hundred proteins in a person’s hair could be enough to single her out from one million individuals. Christopher Intagliata reports.

DNA analysis is a staple 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 cousins.

Problem is, DNA’s a relatively 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 background.

The protein source these scientists studied was human hair, from 76 individuals of European-American, African-American and Kenyan descent. And they determined 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 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 of Protein-Based Human Identification Using the Hair Shaft 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. But someday, they say, it could come within a hair of DNA analysis.

(Source:http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/protein-test-could-complement-crime-scene-dna-analysis/)