“生理年龄”检测，是智商税吗？
“生理年龄”检测，是智商税吗？
林禹智
难度：CSE7
课程导读
永葆青春，一直是人类永恒的向往。近年来，“生理年龄”这个概念越来越火，生物科技公司争相推出有关检测产品，价格不菲。据称，基于多项身体指标检测的“生理年龄”，比起基于生日来计算的自然年龄，能更准确地测量一个人的“青春值”。到底什么是“生理年龄”？我们真的可以检测“生理年龄”并对它加以利用吗？一起来听今天的讲解。
本文封面图片来自www.newscientist.com，如有版权问题，请联系删除。
本篇课程首发于2024年1月4日
英文原文
What's Your 'Biological Age'?
你的“生理年龄”是多少岁?
By Dana G. Smith
If you've ever been to a high school reunion, you know that some people seem to age faster than others. Twenty-five years after graduation, one classmate can appear a decade younger than the rest, another a decade older. Scientists are working to quantify this phenomenon and put a number to a person's "biological age" by looking at their cellular health instead of how many years they've been alive.
如果你曾经参加过高中同学聚会，你就会知道有些人似乎比其他人老得更快一些。毕业25年后，一个同学有可能看起来比其他同学年轻10岁，另一个同学则有可能看起来比其他同学老10岁。科学家们正在努力量化这一现象，并给一个人的“生理年龄”设定一个数字，依据是观察一个人的细胞健康状况，而不是他们活了多少年。
Researchers define biological age as "the accumulation of damage we can measure in our body". That damage comes from natural aging, as well as from our environment and behaviors.
研究人员将生理年龄定义为“我们体内可测量损伤的累积值”。这种损伤既来自自然衰老，也来自我们的环境和行为方式。
Several companies now sell tests for around $300 to calculate your biological age by analyzing your blood or saliva and comparing changes in your epigenome to population averages.
目前已有几家公司以300美元左右的价格售卖生理年龄检测产品。他们测量生理年龄的方式是，分析你的血液或唾液，并将你的表观基因组变化与人群平均水平进行比较。
But experts caution that epigenetic clocks can't actually tell you much about your own health. That's because they were designed to assess large groups of people, not individuals. Consequently, their results can be unreliable.
但专家警告说，表观遗传时钟（epigenetic clock）实际上并不能揭示太多你的健康信息。这是因为它们是被设计出来对人群进行整体评估的，而不是针对个体评估。因此，它们的结果可能并不可靠。
Another problem with the tests is that it's unclear what to do with the results. Scientists don't know how to reverse someone's biological age — or whether that's even possible.
测试的另一个问题是对于如何利用测试结果尚无定论。科学家们尚不知道如何逆转一个人的生理年龄，甚至不知道这是否有可能。
"Expanding access and using more frequent testing to optimize health seems fairly reasonable to me," Dr. Poganik, an instructor at Harvard Medical School who researches biological aging said. But, "any claims of accurate, individual-level determination of biological age should be approached with caution."
哈佛大学医学院生物衰老领域的讲师波加尼克博士（Dr. Poganik）说:“通过更多样的手段、更频繁的检测来改善健康状况，在我看来是相当合理的。”但是，“任何宣称可以精准测定个人生理年龄的言论，都应该谨慎对待。”
生词好句
1.biological age
生理年龄，指一个人的生理指标或生物学指标所反映出的年龄。
拓展:
chronological age 时钟年龄，实际年龄
psychological age，心理年龄反映的是一个人心理特征和认知能力所处的阶段。
Although her biological age is 60, my mom's psychological age seems much younger due to her energetic and optimistic outlook on life.
尽管我母亲的生理年龄是60岁，但由于她对生活的充满活力和乐观的态度，她的心理年龄看起来要年轻得多。
2.reunion
英 [ˌriːˈjuːnjən]美 [ˌriːˈjuːnjən]
n. 重聚
拓展:
alumni reunion/gathering 大学校友聚会
3.age
英 [eɪdʒ]美 [eɪdʒ]
v. 衰老
拓展:
Age like fine wine.
一个人或事物像陈年佳酿一样，随着时间流逝反而变得更好，更有价值。
Fan Wei, as an actor, has aged like fine wine, becoming more versatile and acclaimed with each passing year.
作为一名演员，范伟就像陈年佳酿一样——随着岁月流逝，他变得越发多才多艺，获得的赞誉也越来越多了。
start to show one's age 开始显露出年龄增长的迹象
This previously unparalleled pop star is starting to show his age, with more grey hair and wrinkles, despite the efforts to stay fit.
尽管付出很多努力来保持身材，这位一时风头无两的流行巨星开始显露出年龄的痕迹：头发渐白，皱纹增加。
4.quantify
英 [ˈkwɒntɪfaɪ]美 [ˈkwɑːntəfaɪ]
v. 量化
拓展:
quantity n. 数量
quantitative adj. 量化的
quantitative easing，量化宽松，指美联储通过购买大量金融资产来增加市场上的货币供应量，来提升经济活力。
5.cellular health
细胞的健康状况，主要指细胞结构和功能的完整程度。
拓展:
细胞自噬（autophagy），细胞的自我维护机制。在该过程中一些损坏的蛋白或细胞器被双层膜结构的自噬小泡包裹后，送入溶酶体（动物）或液泡（酵母和植物）中进行降解并得以循环利用，这个过程有助于延缓衰老。
6.define ... as ...
把……定义为……
拓展:
Experts define aging of the skin as a process of the gradual reduction in collagen production.
专家把皮肤的衰老定义为胶原蛋白产量逐渐减少的过程。
同义表达：characterise ... as ...
7.accumulation
英 [əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃn]美 [əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃn]
n. 逐渐增加，聚集
拓展:
同义词：buildup, aggregation
8.That damage comes from natural aging …
拓展:
身体的损伤受三重因素影响（threefold impact） ，本句话也可以这样表达：The impact on aging is threefold, encompassing natural aging, environmental factors, and behavioral aspects.
自然衰老，环境因素和行为这三重因素共同影响着衰老。
9.epigenome
英 [epɪˈdʒiːnəʊm]美 [epɪˈdʒiːnəʊm]
n. 表观基因组，属于表观遗传学（epigenetics）的一个重要概念。它是细胞内各种表观遗传标记的集合，这些标记起到调控基因表达的作用，但不会改变DNA序列。
10.assess
英 [əˈses]美 [əˈses]
v. 评估
拓展:
assessment n. 综合评估
11.test
英 [test]美 [test]
n. 测试，测验
12.… what to do with …
如何处理，如何应对
拓展:
I don't know what to do with this new tool.
我不知道如何使用这个新工具。
The northern ice city didn't know what to do with the sudden influx of a large number of tourists.
这座北方冰城对于突然涌入的大批游客感到无所适从。
13.be approached with caution
处理某事时应持谨慎态度（approach something with caution）
拓展:
Experts recommend that we approach the use of shock therapy in economics with caution due to its potential risks and unpredictable outcomes.
专家建议，我们应谨慎对待经济上的"休克疗法"，因为其风险和不可预测的结果。
林禹智
难度：CSE7
课程导读
永葆青春，一直是人类永恒的向往。近年来，“生理年龄”这个概念越来越火，生物科技公司争相推出有关检测产品，价格不菲。据称，基于多项身体指标检测的“生理年龄”，比起基于生日来计算的自然年龄，能更准确地测量一个人的“青春值”。到底什么是“生理年龄”？我们真的可以检测“生理年龄”并对它加以利用吗？一起来听今天的讲解。
本文封面图片来自www.newscientist.com，如有版权问题，请联系删除。
本篇课程首发于2024年1月4日
英文原文
What's Your 'Biological Age'?
你的“生理年龄”是多少岁?
By Dana G. Smith
If you've ever been to a high school reunion, you know that some people seem to age faster than others. Twenty-five years after graduation, one classmate can appear a decade younger than the rest, another a decade older. Scientists are working to quantify this phenomenon and put a number to a person's "biological age" by looking at their cellular health instead of how many years they've been alive.
如果你曾经参加过高中同学聚会，你就会知道有些人似乎比其他人老得更快一些。毕业25年后，一个同学有可能看起来比其他同学年轻10岁，另一个同学则有可能看起来比其他同学老10岁。科学家们正在努力量化这一现象，并给一个人的“生理年龄”设定一个数字，依据是观察一个人的细胞健康状况，而不是他们活了多少年。
Researchers define biological age as "the accumulation of damage we can measure in our body". That damage comes from natural aging, as well as from our environment and behaviors.
研究人员将生理年龄定义为“我们体内可测量损伤的累积值”。这种损伤既来自自然衰老，也来自我们的环境和行为方式。
Several companies now sell tests for around $300 to calculate your biological age by analyzing your blood or saliva and comparing changes in your epigenome to population averages.
目前已有几家公司以300美元左右的价格售卖生理年龄检测产品。他们测量生理年龄的方式是，分析你的血液或唾液，并将你的表观基因组变化与人群平均水平进行比较。
But experts caution that epigenetic clocks can't actually tell you much about your own health. That's because they were designed to assess large groups of people, not individuals. Consequently, their results can be unreliable.
但专家警告说，表观遗传时钟（epigenetic clock）实际上并不能揭示太多你的健康信息。这是因为它们是被设计出来对人群进行整体评估的，而不是针对个体评估。因此，它们的结果可能并不可靠。
Another problem with the tests is that it's unclear what to do with the results. Scientists don't know how to reverse someone's biological age — or whether that's even possible.
测试的另一个问题是对于如何利用测试结果尚无定论。科学家们尚不知道如何逆转一个人的生理年龄，甚至不知道这是否有可能。
"Expanding access and using more frequent testing to optimize health seems fairly reasonable to me," Dr. Poganik, an instructor at Harvard Medical School who researches biological aging said. But, "any claims of accurate, individual-level determination of biological age should be approached with caution."
哈佛大学医学院生物衰老领域的讲师波加尼克博士（Dr. Poganik）说:“通过更多样的手段、更频繁的检测来改善健康状况，在我看来是相当合理的。”但是，“任何宣称可以精准测定个人生理年龄的言论，都应该谨慎对待。”
生词好句
1.biological age
生理年龄，指一个人的生理指标或生物学指标所反映出的年龄。
拓展:
chronological age 时钟年龄，实际年龄
psychological age，心理年龄反映的是一个人心理特征和认知能力所处的阶段。
Although her biological age is 60, my mom's psychological age seems much younger due to her energetic and optimistic outlook on life.
尽管我母亲的生理年龄是60岁，但由于她对生活的充满活力和乐观的态度，她的心理年龄看起来要年轻得多。
2.reunion
英 [ˌriːˈjuːnjən]美 [ˌriːˈjuːnjən]
n. 重聚
拓展:
alumni reunion/gathering 大学校友聚会
3.age
英 [eɪdʒ]美 [eɪdʒ]
v. 衰老
拓展:
Age like fine wine.
一个人或事物像陈年佳酿一样，随着时间流逝反而变得更好，更有价值。
Fan Wei, as an actor, has aged like fine wine, becoming more versatile and acclaimed with each passing year.
作为一名演员，范伟就像陈年佳酿一样——随着岁月流逝，他变得越发多才多艺，获得的赞誉也越来越多了。
start to show one's age 开始显露出年龄增长的迹象
This previously unparalleled pop star is starting to show his age, with more grey hair and wrinkles, despite the efforts to stay fit.
尽管付出很多努力来保持身材，这位一时风头无两的流行巨星开始显露出年龄的痕迹：头发渐白，皱纹增加。
4.quantify
英 [ˈkwɒntɪfaɪ]美 [ˈkwɑːntəfaɪ]
v. 量化
拓展:
quantity n. 数量
quantitative adj. 量化的
quantitative easing，量化宽松，指美联储通过购买大量金融资产来增加市场上的货币供应量，来提升经济活力。
5.cellular health
细胞的健康状况，主要指细胞结构和功能的完整程度。
拓展:
细胞自噬（autophagy），细胞的自我维护机制。在该过程中一些损坏的蛋白或细胞器被双层膜结构的自噬小泡包裹后，送入溶酶体（动物）或液泡（酵母和植物）中进行降解并得以循环利用，这个过程有助于延缓衰老。
6.define ... as ...
把……定义为……
拓展:
Experts define aging of the skin as a process of the gradual reduction in collagen production.
专家把皮肤的衰老定义为胶原蛋白产量逐渐减少的过程。
同义表达：characterise ... as ...
7.accumulation
英 [əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃn]美 [əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃn]
n. 逐渐增加，聚集
拓展:
同义词：buildup, aggregation
8.That damage comes from natural aging …
拓展:
身体的损伤受三重因素影响（threefold impact） ，本句话也可以这样表达：The impact on aging is threefold, encompassing natural aging, environmental factors, and behavioral aspects.
自然衰老，环境因素和行为这三重因素共同影响着衰老。
9.epigenome
英 [epɪˈdʒiːnəʊm]美 [epɪˈdʒiːnəʊm]
n. 表观基因组，属于表观遗传学（epigenetics）的一个重要概念。它是细胞内各种表观遗传标记的集合，这些标记起到调控基因表达的作用，但不会改变DNA序列。
10.assess
英 [əˈses]美 [əˈses]
v. 评估
拓展:
assessment n. 综合评估
11.test
英 [test]美 [test]
n. 测试，测验
12.… what to do with …
如何处理，如何应对
拓展:
I don't know what to do with this new tool.
我不知道如何使用这个新工具。
The northern ice city didn't know what to do with the sudden influx of a large number of tourists.
这座北方冰城对于突然涌入的大批游客感到无所适从。
13.be approached with caution
处理某事时应持谨慎态度（approach something with caution）
拓展:
Experts recommend that we approach the use of shock therapy in economics with caution due to its potential risks and unpredictable outcomes.
专家建议，我们应谨慎对待经济上的"休克疗法"，因为其风险和不可预测的结果。
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