夜貓子還是早起的鳥兒？基因來定奪
A new study suggests morning people are born, not made.
一項新的研究表明，早睡早起是與生俱來的特質，不是後天養成的。
Here's some good news for all you night owls desperately trying to get better at mornings - new research suggests that it's not your fault that you can't string a sentence together before 9am. You may simply be genetically predisposed to being more productive at night-time.
好消息！還在爲晨起打不起精神抓狂的夜貓子們，新的研究表明，9點前連話都說不完整不怪你們啦，或許就是基因決定了你們晚上效率更高。
After investigating the genomes of fruit flies, researchers from the University of Leicester in the UK have identified nearly 80 genes that are linked to a preference for either 'morningness' or 'eveningness'. And although that may sound pretty unrelated to your own body clock, the team showed that most of these genes are found in mammals, too.
在調查了果蠅的基因染色體組後，英國萊斯特大學的研究人員鑑別出了80種和喜歡“早起早睡”或是“晚起晚睡”相關的基因。儘管這聽起來和生物鐘不甚相關，研究團隊表明這些基因也大都可以在哺乳動物身上找到。
Previous research has demonstrated that most people find they're most productive either early in the day or late at night - a preference that's known as a 'chronotype'. And while a lot of studies have looked into the effects of this chronotype, there hasn't been much investigation into what actually causes these differences, up until now.
先前的研究證實大多數人都發覺自己不是在早晨就是晚上效率最高，這種對時間早晚的傾向性就是“睡眠類型”。儘管已有很多關於這種睡眠類型效應的研究，但是，到目前爲止，究竟是什麼導致了這些差異卻鮮有人研究。
"In this new study, we have used fruit flies （Drosophila melanogaster), whose gene clocks are very similar to a human's, to get a first insight into the molecular basis of ‘morningness/eveningness’ preference," explained team member Eran Tauber in a press release. "Because this genetic system is so similar between insects and humans, there is a good chance that some of the genes that we have identified in flies, would be also important for diurnal preference in humans."
“這項新研究，我們選用生物鐘和人類十分接近的（黃猩猩）果蠅，以初步洞察其偏好‘早起還是晚起’的分子基礎，”研究隊員埃蘭·圖博在新聞發佈會上解釋道。“因爲昆蟲和人類的遺傳體系非常相似，一些我們在果蠅裏發現的基因很有可能對人類傾向白天起到重要作用。”
As part of their research, the team identified two different fly strains that were at their most active either in the morning, or the evening, and they then compared and contrasted their genes. They found nearly 80 genes that appear to be linked to the flies' chronotypes, but interestingly, these genes aren't ones that are known to regulate our body ead, they're involved in a range of molecular pathways.
這項研究中，隊員們還鑑別出不是早晨特活躍就是夜晚特活躍的兩類果蠅，然後比較、對比了兩類果蠅的基因。研究人員發現，將近80種基因似乎和果蠅的“睡眠類型”相關。有意思的是，這些基因並不控制我們的生物鐘。相反，這些基因和一系列分子途徑有關。
The ultimate goal is to find potential targets for treatments that could help people overcome their evening or morning chronotype. While that sounds a little extreme, it could help prevent a range of disorders, such as obesity and depression, which have been linked to a lifestyle that's out of whack with your body clock.
最終目的是要找到潛在治療目標，以幫助人們克服晚睡或早起的睡眠類型。儘管這聽着有點兒極端，但還是能起到預防疾病的作用，像肥胖症、憂鬱症等一系列病症，都是由於生物鐘和生活方式不協調所致。
"The rhythm of life is such that for many people the economic or social call to start a new day comes hours before the endogenous call from the body clock. This creates a clock dysfunction that is not only reflected in temporal disorientation and sleep problems, but also in conditions such as obesity, mental illness, cardiovascular disease and cancer," said Taubler.
“生活節奏就是這樣的，大多數人都是生物鐘還沒醒，就因爲經濟壓力或是社會因素開始一天的生活。這樣引發的生物鐘紊亂問題，不僅影響時間概念和睡眠質量，還會引發肥胖症、精神病、心血管疾病和癌症，”圖博如是說。
While I'm not sure I'm ready for medication to help turn me into a morning person just yet, I kind of love the fact that researchers are finally revealing that, biologically, not everyone can function on a 9 to 5 schedule.
雖然我也不大確定自己是不是做好了接受藥物治療的準備，好把自己變成早睡早起的人。不過我還是蠻開心的，研究人員終於揭示了真相，從生物學上講，不是每個人都能朝九晚五且保持好狀態的。
