瑞典科学家因对早期人类的研究而获得诺贝尔医学奖
Swedish Scientist Wins Nobel Prize in Medicine for Research on Early Humans
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for his discoveries on human evolution. His work shows how our immune system works differently from our long-ago ancestors, the Nobel group said.
New methods
Pääbo has led the development of new methods that permit researchers to compare the genes of modern humans, also known as Homo sapiens, and that of some human relatives, like the Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Scientists first found Neanderthal bones in the mid-19th century. But looking at their genetic code, or DNA, helps them fully understand the links between species. Pääbo studies the time when modern humans and Neanderthals went separate ways as a species. That was around 800,000 years ago.
Anna Wedell is chair of the Nobel Committee. She said, “Pääbo and his team also surprisingly found that gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of co-existence.”
This movement of genes between ancient human species affects how the immune system of modern humans reacts to infections, such as the coronavirus. People outside Africa have 1-2 percent of Neanderthal genes.
Discovery of a new human species
Pääbo and his team also recovered some DNA from a tiny finger bone found in a cave in Siberia. This led to the recognition of a new species of ancient humans they called Denisovans.
Wedell described this as “a sensational discovery.” With that information, researchers showed Neanderthals and Denisovans to be related groups. They split from each other around 600,000 years ago. Denisovan genes have been found in up to 6 percent of modern humans in Asia and Southeast Asia.
“By mixing with them after migrating out of Africa, Homo sapiens picked up sequences that improved their chances to survive in their new environments,” said Wedell. For example, Tibetans share a gene with Denisovans that helps them live in high mountain areas.
Nils-Göran Larsson is a Nobel Assembly member. He told the Associated Press, “Svante Pääbo has discovered the genetic makeup of our closest relatives. And the small differences between these extinct human forms and us as humans today will provide important insight into our body functions and how our brain has developed and so forth.”
Pääbo was surprised to learn of his win on Monday. He thought something had been broken in his summer house when he got the call from the Nobel committee.
Father and son both Nobel winners
Pääbo, 67, did his work at the University of Munich and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Pääbo is the son of Sune Bergstrom, who won the Nobel prize in medicine in 1982. The Nobel Foundation says this is the eighth time that the son or daughter of a Nobel prizewinner also won a Nobel Prize.
David Reich is a geneticist at Harvard Medical School. He said by recognizing that DNA can be preserved for tens of thousands of years ― and developing ways to recover it ― Pääbo and his team created a completely new way to answer questions about our past. Their work, he added, led to “explosive growth” of ancient DNA studies.
Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou is a professor of paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. She said the award draws attention to the importance of understanding human evolution to gain insights about human health, such as COVID infections, today.
The medicine prize begins a week of Nobel Prize announcements. The prizes carry a cash award of nearly $900,000.
I’m Jill Robbins.
VOCABULARY
1. sensational adj. causing great surprise, excitement, or interest 轰动的；引起哗然的
2. extinct adj. (of a type of plant, animal, etc. 某种植物或动物等) no longer in existence 不再存在的；已灭绝的；绝种的。例如：an extinct species 已灭绝的物种
3. anthropology n. the study of the human race, especially of its origins, development, customs and beliefs 人类学
4. paleoanthropology n. 古人类学
QUESTIONS
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for his discoveries on (Q1) _____________________. His work shows how our immune system works differently from our long-ago ancestors, the Nobel group said.
New methods
Pääbo has led the development of (Q2) __________________that permit researchers to compare the genes of modern humans, also known as Homo sapiens, and that of some human relatives, like the Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Scientists first found Neanderthal (Q3) ____________________ in the mid-19th century. But looking at their genetic code, or DNA, helps them fully understand the links between species. Pääbo studies the time when modern humans and Neanderthals went separate ways as a species. That was around 800,000 years ago.
Anna Wedell is chair of the Nobel Committee. She said, “Pääbo and his team also surprisingly found that (Q4) __________________ had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of co-existence.”
This movement of genes between ancient human species affects how the immune system of modern humans reacts to (Q5) ___________________, such as the coronavirus. People outside Africa have 1-2 percent of Neanderthal genes.
Discovery of a new human species
Pääbo and his team also recovered some DNA from a tiny finger bone found in a cave in Siberia. This led to the recognition of a new species of ancient humans they called Denisovans.
Wedell described this as “a (Q6) __________________discovery.” With that information, researchers showed Neanderthals and Denisovans to be related groups. They split from each other around 600,000 years ago. Denisovan genes have been found in up to 6 percent of modern humans in Asia and Southeast Asia.
“By mixing with them after migrating out of Africa, Homo sapiens picked up sequences that improved their chances to survive in their new environments,” said Wedell. For example, Tibetans share a gene with Denisovans that helps them live in high mountain areas.
Nils-Göran Larsson is a Nobel Assembly member. He told the Associated Press, “Svante Pääbo has discovered the genetic makeup of our closest relatives. And the small differences between these (Q7) ___________________ human forms and us as humans today will provide important insight into our body functions and how our brain has developed and so forth.”
Pääbo was surprised to learn of his win on Monday. He thought something had been broken in his summer house when he got the call from the Nobel committee.
Father and son both Nobel winners
Pääbo, 67, did his work at the University of Munich and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Pääbo is the son of Sune Bergstrom, who won the Nobel prize in (Q8) _________________ in 1982. The Nobel Foundation says this is the eighth time that the son or daughter of a Nobel prizewinner also won a Nobel Prize.
David Reich is a (Q9) ______________________ at Harvard Medical School. He said by recognizing that DNA can be preserved for tens of thousands of years ― and developing ways to recover it ― Pääbo and his team created a completely new way to answer questions about our past. Their work, he added, led to “explosive growth” of ancient DNA studies.
Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou is a professor of paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. She said the award draws attention to the importance of understanding human evolution to gain insights about human health, such as COVID infections, today.
The medicine prize begins a week of Nobel Prize announcements. The prizes carry a (Q10) _________ award of nearly $900,000.
I’m Jill Robbins.
KEY
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for his discoveries on (Q1) human evolution. His work shows how our immune system works differently from our long-ago ancestors, the Nobel group said.
New methods
Pääbo has led the development of (Q2) new methods that permit researchers to compare the genes of modern humans, also known as Homo sapiens, and that of some human relatives, like the Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Scientists first found Neanderthal (Q3) bones in the mid-19th century. But looking at their genetic code, or DNA, helps them fully understand the links between species. Pääbo studies the time when modern humans and Neanderthals went separate ways as a species. That was around 800,000 years ago.
Anna Wedell is chair of the Nobel Committee. She said, “Pääbo and his team also surprisingly found that (Q4) gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of co-existence.”
This movement of genes between ancient human species affects how the immune system of modern humans reacts to (Q5) infections, such as the coronavirus. People outside Africa have 1-2 percent of Neanderthal genes.
Discovery of a new human species
Pääbo and his team also recovered some DNA from a tiny finger bone found in a cave in Siberia. This led to the recognition of a new species of ancient humans they called Denisovans.
Wedell described this as “a (Q6) sensational discovery.” With that information, researchers showed Neanderthals and Denisovans to be related groups. They split from each other around 600,000 years ago. Denisovan genes have been found in up to 6 percent of modern humans in Asia and Southeast Asia.
“By mixing with them after migrating out of Africa, Homo sapiens picked up sequences that improved their chances to survive in their new environments,” said Wedell. For example, Tibetans share a gene with Denisovans that helps them live in high mountain areas.
Nils-Göran Larsson is a Nobel Assembly member. He told the Associated Press, “Svante Pääbo has discovered the genetic makeup of our closest relatives. And the small differences between these (Q7) extinct human forms and us as humans today will provide important insight into our body functions and how our brain has developed and so forth.”
Pääbo was surprised to learn of his win on Monday. He thought something had been broken in his summer house when he got the call from the Nobel committee.
Father and son both Nobel winners
Pääbo, 67, did his work at the University of Munich and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Pääbo is the son of Sune Bergstrom, who won the Nobel prize in (Q8) medicine in 1982. The Nobel Foundation says this is the eighth time that the son or daughter of a Nobel prizewinner also won a Nobel Prize.
David Reich is a (Q9) geneticist at Harvard Medical School. He said by recognizing that DNA can be preserved for tens of thousands of years ― and developing ways to recover it ― Pääbo and his team created a completely new way to answer questions about our past. Their work, he added, led to “explosive growth” of ancient DNA studies.
Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou is a professor of paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. She said the award draws attention to the importance of understanding human evolution to gain insights about human health, such as COVID infections, today.
The medicine prize begins a week of Nobel Prize announcements. The prizes carry a (Q10) cash award of nearly $900,000.
I’m Jill Robbins.
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