2019.01.02

周三 Wednesday

mutation?/mju:tei??n/?

n. 變異

Hongyacha,?a new type of wild tea plant from the mountains of southern China, contains little or no caffeine, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
根據(jù)一篇發(fā)布在《農(nóng)業(yè)與食品化學(xué)期刊》上的研究，一種在中國南方山區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)的新品種野生茶，只含很少的咖啡因，有的甚至不含；這種茶被稱為洪崖茶。

“Hongyacha?is a wild tea plant only distributed in the narrow mountain area at altitudes of 2,300-3,300 feet (700-1,000 m) of several neighboring villages in the southern region of Fujian Province,” said lead author Dr. Liang Chen from China’s Tea Research Institute and colleagues.
該論文的主要作者是來自中國茶葉研究所的Liang Chen博士，Chen博士及其同事說：“洪崖茶這種野生茶樹只在福建省南方山區(qū)很窄的一個村落帶附近生長，海拔700-1000米?！?/div>

“Local?people believe that drinking this tea can reduce internal heat, cure colds, and heal stomach pains, etc.”
“當(dāng)?shù)厝讼嘈藕冗@種茶能夠去內(nèi)熱、治療感冒、治胃痛等等。”

“However,?given its narrow and special distribution, detailed information about hongyacha is lacking.”
“不過，受限于它狹窄且特殊的生長區(qū)域，現(xiàn)在有關(guān)洪崖茶的詳細信息還比較少?！?/div>

In?the new study, Dr. Chen and co-authors characterized the chemical components of hongyacha by using high-performance liquid chromatography.
在新的研究中，Chen博士與其他幾位聯(lián)合作者運用高性能的色譜分析法確定了洪崖茶的化學(xué)成分。

They?found that buds and leaves of hongyacha contain several potentially health-promoting compounds and virtually no caffeine.
他們發(fā)現(xiàn)洪崖茶的芽和葉含有多種可能對健康有益的化合物，并且?guī)缀醪缓Х纫颉?/div>

Digging?deeper, the team found that hongyacha has a?mutation?in the gene encoding the enzyme tea caffeine synthase, which promotes caffeine production in most tea plants.
在更深入的研究之后，團隊發(fā)現(xiàn)洪崖茶的一個基因發(fā)生了變異，這個基因正是編碼茶葉咖啡因合成酶的基因，在大部分茶種種這個基因都會促進茶樹分泌咖啡因。

“Naturally?low-caffeine hongyacha could possibly become a popular drink because of its distinct composition and unique health benefits,” the scientists said.
這些科學(xué)家們說：“考慮到它獨特的成分和保健功效，洪崖茶這種天然的低咖啡因茶或許能成為一種流行的飲品?！?/div>

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今日詞匯

mutation?/mju:tei??n/?

n. 變異

?

這個詞指的是生物學(xué)上的“基因變異”。

The mutation that causes blue eyes reduces pigment concentration.
創(chuàng)造藍色眼睛的那種基因變異會降低色素的濃度。

發(fā)生變異的個體叫做?mutant

New species are merely mutants of earlier ones.
新物種不過是以前物種的變異體。

它們的動詞原形是mutate

同樣可以表示基因的“變異”：

Virus has the ability to mutate into new forms.
病毒有變異成新形態(tài)的能力。

此外，它也可以表示廣義上的“變化”：

Overnight, the gossip begins to mutate into headlines.
一些之間，流言開始變成頭條了。

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