长寿是很多人的愿望，从古至今寻访长寿秘方的人大有人在。秦始皇当年派徐福出海采仙药，野史也曾记载唐太宗是死于长生不老丹药......
歌中唱道：“我真的还想再活五百年！”貌似喊出了很多人的心声，但是500年真的太过奢侈啦！如果可以活到200岁你要不要考虑下？？？
接下来双语君就带你去看看最新的研究吧，也许活个200岁真的不是梦! 但也不要盲目乐观啦，活个200岁麻烦也蛮多滴。
因为科学家们得出一些令人大为吃惊的结论——比如许多传统的生活方式都不存在了。
好几代人都活在世上，所以家族和家庭观念越来越淡，婚姻制度会慢慢消亡，人们过的是同居生活，在长达200年的一生中，每隔几年就会换一下同居伙伴。
The secrets of living to 200 years old
Many animals have already found ways to delay death. Their clues might help us all enjoy longer and healthier lives.
很多哺乳动物都找到了延迟死亡的办法。它们的启示，或许可以帮助我们大家享受更长、更健康的生命。
120 years ago, a group of Alaskan whalers attempted to tame an ocean giant – a male bowhead whale, the second largest mammal on Earth.
120年前，一群美国阿拉斯加的捕鲸人，试图驯服一头海洋鱼霸——雄性弓头鲸——地球上第二大的哺乳动物。
The whalers were armed with the latest technology – a “bomb lance”, fired with gun-powder on impact to pierce through the thick whale blubber.
捕鲸人配备了当时的最新技术——用火药发射的“炸弹长矛”。凭借撞击力，炸弹长矛可以穿透厚厚的鲸鱼脂肪。
Yet it was not enough to conquer the whale. Three fragments of the lance caught in its side, but it pulled away and escaped with little more than a surface wound.
但是，居然未能降服这头鲸鱼。长矛的3块碎片扎进了鲸鱼一侧，但鲸鱼得以脱逃，不过是受了点皮肉之伤而已。
The whale would continue to roam free for another 120 years, until 2007, when a group of Inupiat hunters finally caught the beast. They even found fragments of the original lance still embedded in the whale’s blubber.
这头大鲸居然继续自由自在地漫游了120年，直到2007年，一群因纽皮特猎户终于逮住了这只“巨兽”。他们甚至还发现，当年那支“炸弹长矛”的碎片，依然嵌入在弓头鲸的脂肪里。
According to many estimates, these whales live at least 150 years, and perhaps as long as 210.
根据种种估计，这些鲸鱼至少可以活到150岁，也许可以活到210岁。
Apart from slightly leathery skin, a bit of excess blubber, and its battle scars, they show remarkably few ill-effects of long life.
除了稍显皮革似的的皮肤、脂肪有点过剩、以及它们的“战斗伤疤”以外，这些大鲸的长寿对它们产生的不良作用少得惊人。
And that has made them of keen interest to doctors studying ageing.
这让研究衰老的医生，对它们兴趣盎然。
“They are living in the wild, without going to the doctor or any of the perks of human society. So they must be naturally protected from age-related diseases.”
“它们生活在野外，并没有看医生、或其它的人类福利。所以，肯定是有自然保护，让它们不患老年疾病。”
Researchers saw notable changes on a gene called ERCC1 in the bowhead whale.
研究人员看到，这头弓头鲸的基因ERCC1有显著变易。
This gene is known to code for a molecular toolkit that can patch up small areas of damage to the genome. It seems likely that the bowhead’s mutation makes it efficient at preventing the build-up of harmful mutations that cause cancer.
这一基因，已知是缝合基因组小面积损伤的分子工具盒的代码。看起来，很可能的情况是，弓头鲸的基因变异让它有效防止可致癌症的有害基因变异的堆积。
The team also found changes to a gene called PCNA, which is involved in cell proliferation. This single change could promote healthier cell growth without the damage that comes with age.
研究小组还发现了基因PCNA的变异。这一基因是参与细胞繁殖的。仅此一项变异，就可促成更加健康的细胞生长，且不会有伴随年龄而来的损伤。
These insights offer a first glimpse at the whale’s secrets to longevity. Together, the results provide a “longevity signature”.
这些研究成果，让我们对鲸鱼的长寿秘诀，瞥见了第一眼。综合观之，这些研究结果共同构成了“长寿特质”。
There are many potential ways that these findings might improve medical treatments. Gladyshev at Harvard suggests that we could see whether diet or exercise programmes could help to shift the body to match the longevity signature of the whale.
有很多潜在的方法，或可让研究结果改善人类的医疗方案。哈佛大学的格拉底舍夫提出，我们可以看一看饮食或锻炼能否改变身体，令之与鲸鱼的长寿特征相匹配。
Alternatively, we can try to grow human tissue with some of the mutations seen in the bowhead whale.
另有一法，我们可以试一试用弓头鲸中看到的一些变异培育人体组织。
“If we change human proteins to resemble it, we can see if it improves DNA repair.” “And I’d like to take bowhead whale genes and put them in mice to see if they live longer.”
“如果我们改变人类蛋白，令其与弓头鲸的变异相像，我们就可以看看培育出来的人类组织能不能改善基因的修复。”“我还想把弓头鲸基因移植到白鼠身上，看看白鼠能否活得更长。”
Gene therapy could allow us to benefit from the helpful mutations that took millions of years to evolve. The next hurdle will be to find a way to create the same changes in the enormously complex human body, perhaps with drugs that mimic the effects of the genes.
基因治疗可以让我们受益于数百万年进化所得的有益变异。下一个障碍，就是找到某个办法，在又大又复杂的人体创造出相同的变异——也许要用到模仿基因变异效果的药物。
The ultimate goal is to program the body so that cancers cannot form in the first place.
最后的目标，是要确保人体内癌症无从发生。
mammal ['mæməl] n. [脊椎] 哺乳动物
blubber ['blʌbə] n. 鲸脂；鲸油 vt. 大声哭泣
roam [rəum] vi. 闲逛；漫步；徘徊；流浪
remarkable [ri'mɑ:kəbl] adj. 显著的；值得注意的
toolkit ['tuːlkɪt] n. 工具包，工具箱
longevity [lɔn'dʒevəti] n. 长寿，长命 寿命；长期供职；资(历)深，高年资
hurdle ['hə:dl] n. (跨栏赛跑用)栏架；围栏；树篱； 困难；障碍；难关
（编辑：何娜）
