一詞日曆：爲什麼女人的免疫病比男人多？
robust
[rə(ʊ)'bʌst]
adj. 強健的；堅實的，穩固的
圖片來源：視覺中國
Newresearch on mice has found a possible explanation for why autoimmune diseases are more common in females, and it has to do with their extra X chromosome.
對老鼠進行的一項新研究或許解釋了自身免疫性疾病在女性中更常見的原因，而這可能與她們的另一條X染色體有關。
Amongst animals, females generally tend to have stronger and morerobustimmune systems. While this can help them to cope better with vaccines and infections, it can also cause an overactive immune response.
在動物中，雌性往往有更強大的免疫系統。雖然這可以幫助她們更好地應對疫苗和感染，但也可能會導致過度的免疫反應。
This means females are much more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases. In fact, women are two to three times more likely than males to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), and nine times more likely to develop lupus.
這意味着女性更容易患上自身免疫性疾病。事實上，女性患多發性硬化症的概率是男性的兩到三倍，而患狼瘡的概率是男性的九倍。
Exactly why this discrepancy exists remains a mystery. Clear biological differences between the sexes usually boil down to hormones, chromosomes, or some combination of both. But while the role of testosterone, estrogen and progesterone in autoimmunity have been reasonably well explored, the part that X and Y chromosomes play remains far more murky.
存在這種差異的確切原因仍然是個謎。兩性之間明顯的生物學差異通常可歸結爲荷爾蒙、染色體或兩者的某種結合。雖然人們已經對睾酮、雌激素和黃體酮在自身免疫中的作用進行了適度的探索，但X染色體和Y染色體的作用依然不明。
This is quite the oversight, considering that X chromosomes carry several immune-related genes, and females have two of them, one from the mother and one from the father. In comparison, males just have one X chromosome, from their mother.
考慮到X染色體攜帶有與免疫相關的基因，而女性有兩條分別來自母親和父親的X染色體，而男性只有一條來自母親的X染色體，這是一個相當大的疏忽。
Based on their work in mouse models, researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) now think this extra X chromosome females get from the father brings a significant contribution to autoimmune issues.
如今加州大學洛杉磯分校的研究人員基於對小鼠的研究，認爲女性從父親那裏獲得的另外一條X染色體會對其自身免疫問題產生重要影響。
今日詞彙
robust
[rə(ʊ)'bʌst]
adj. 強健的；堅實的，穩固的
He was always the robust one, physically strong and mentally sharp.
他一向是個強健的人，身體強壯、頭腦敏銳。
Although Europe shows signs of recovery, there are plenty of reasons to fear it will not be a robust one.
儘管歐洲顯現出復甦的跡象，但仍有很多理由讓人擔憂這樣的復甦不會是強勁的。
