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上期划线句答案
And the findings, released in a new report by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), warn that if the trend continues, up to five billion people could live in drylands by the century's end — causing soils to deplete, water resources to dwindle, and vital ecosystems to collapse.
这些发现发表在联合国防治沙漠化公约的最新报告中，报告警告称，如果这一趋势继续下去，到本世纪末，可能有多达50亿人将生活在干旱地区——这将导致土壤枯竭、水资源短缺，并使重要生态系统崩溃。
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本期内容
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双语阅读
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The progress of a human being through life might be thought of as a mostly gradual succession of changes from the ovum to the grave. But if you wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and wonder when you suddenly grew so much older, you may not be imagining things. Snyder and his colleagues have been investigating the biology of aging to better understand what changes occur and how, in order to better mitigate and treat these ailments. To this end, they have been tracking a group of 108 adults, who have been donating biological samples every few months over several years.
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Using the samples from their cohort, the researchers have been tracking different kinds of biomolecules. The different molecules studied include RNA, proteins, lipids, and gut, skin, nasal, and oral microbiome taxa, for a total of 135,239 biological features. Each participant submitted an average of 47 samples over 626 days, with the longest-serving participant submitting 367 samples. This wealth of data resulted in more than 246 billion data points, which the researchers then processed, looking for patterns in the changes.
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Several previous studies have found non-linear changes in molecular abundances that can be linked to aging in rats and humans. Studies of fruit flies, mice, and zebrafish have also pointed to a stepwise aging process in those species. Snyder and his colleagues noticed that there's a very clear change in the abundance of many different kinds of molecules in the human body at two distinct stages.
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Around 81 percent of all the molecules they studied showed changes during one or both of these stages. Changes peaked in the mid-40s, and again in the early 60s, with slightly different profiles. The mid-40s peak showed changes in molecules related to the metabolism of lipids, caffeine, and alcohol, as well as cardiovascular disease, and dysfunctions in skin and muscle.
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The early 60s peak was associated with carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, cardiovascular disease, skin and muscle, immune regulation, and kidney function. The first peak, the mid-40s, is typically when women start undergoing menopause or perimenopause, but the researchers ruled this out as a main factor: men, too, also underwent significant molecular changes at the same age.
本文节选自：Science Alert
发布时间：2024.11.20
作者：Michelle Starr
原文标题：Study Finds Humans Age Faster at 2 Sharp Peaks – Here's When They Hit
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写作句总结
This wealth of data resulted in more than 246 billion data points, which the researchers then processed, looking for patterns in the changes.
结构：This wealth of data resulted in more than … data points, which the researchers then processed, looking for patterns in the changes….
这些庞大的数据产生了超过…个数据点，研究人员随后对这些数据进行了处理，试图寻找变化的规律…
例句：This wealth of data resulted in more than 200 billion data points, which the researchers then processed, looking for patterns in the changes and deeper connections.
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阅读理解题
What is the primary goal of the research described in the text?
A) To identify the specific causes of menopause in women.
B) To track the effects of caffeine and alcohol on the human body.
C) To study the progression of cardiovascular disease.
D) To understand the molecular changes associated with aging.
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全文概括
Researchers tracked 135,239 biological features from 108 adults over several years to study aging at a molecular level. They discovered two distinct periods of significant molecular change, one peaking in the mid-40s and the other in the early 60s. These changes affected a wide range of molecules and bodily functions, including metabolism, cardiovascular health, and immune regulation. The study suggests a non-linear, stepwise process of aging in humans, similar to observations in other species. This research could lead to better understanding and treatment of age-related diseases.
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