爲什麼有些人看着顯老? 科學家發現罪魁基因!大綱

It's no secret that good genes can explain why some people age well. But researchers said last Thursday they have identified a specific gene variant that can make people look about two years older than their actual age.

衆所周知，有些人看起來比較年輕的原因是擁有優良的基因。但研究人員在上週四表示，他們鑑定出一種特殊的基因變異，能使人們看起來比實際年齡要老兩歲。

Scientists already know that the gene in question, known as MC1R, is responsible for producing red hair and pale skin, according to the report in the journal Current Biology. But now they have identified a variation in this gene that seems to age people faster.

據《當代生物學》期刊報道，科學家們已經認識到這種被稱爲MC1R的基因會導致頭髮發紅、皮膚蒼白。但是現在，他們在這種基因裏發現了能使人們老得更快的變異。

"For the first time, a gene has been found that explains in part why some people look older and others younger for their age," said researcher Manfred Kayser of Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

荷蘭鹿特丹市伊拉斯謨大學醫學中心的研究員曼弗雷德·凱瑟爾說：“我們第一次發現，基因可以在一定程度上解釋爲什麼有些人顯老，而有些人顯年輕，”

Previous research has shown that a person's genes and environmental factors contribute equally to how old a person looks. Perceived age is also important because it can be linked to a person's actual health and their risk of dying prematurely, other research has suggested.

此前的研究表明，一個人看起來的年齡是由基因和環境因素共同導致的。其他研究已經表明，外表年齡也是非常重要的，它能夠反映一個人的實際健康狀況和過早死亡的風險。

For the current study, scientists examined the genomes of more than 2,600 elderly Dutch Europeans "for DNA variants associated with differences in perceived facial age and wrinkling as estimated from digital facial images," the report said. "The strongest hits for perceived facial age were for DNA variants in the MC1R gene."

在當前的研究中，科學家們對2600多個荷蘭老人的基因組進行了檢測。報告指出，科學家們發現，人們實際的面部年齡以及數字面部圖像中起皺情況的不同，都與DNA變異有關。“實際面部年齡最顯老的是擁有MC1R基因變體的那些人。”

Researchers said they were able to confirm their finding in two other large European studies. The influence of the MC1R gene variant was not swayed by age, sex, skin color, or sun damage.

研究人員表示，他們的發現也得到了另外兩項更大型歐洲研究所的證實。MC1R基因變異的影響不會隨着年齡、性別、皮膚顏色和曬傷而有所改變。