中文导读 人老了记性会慢慢变差，这几乎人人都有体会，但记忆为什么会消退，科学家知道得并不多。文章介绍香港大学团队在《细胞》上发表的一项果蝇研究：先说明主角 Orb2——它属于常被和阿尔茨海默病联系在一起的“淀粉样蛋白”，却是一种帮助形成长期记忆的“好”蛋白；再交代研究规模，六年、约 1000 万只果蝇、八个年龄阶段；接着说明发现：随着果蝇变老，Orb2 的形态逐渐从“好用”的类型转向效果较差的类型，时间上与记忆问题同时出现；随后介绍关键实验——增加 Funes 让老果蝇记忆改善，增加作用相反的蛋白让年轻果蝇记忆变差；最后用 That is the main limit 收尾，强调果蝇不等于人，目前也没有任何药物得到验证。阅读时可留意 may、suggests、still has to be shown 等词如何给结论划定边界。
正文 Most people notice that their memory slowly gets a little worse as they grow older . Scientists know a lot about how memories are made , but much less about why they fade . A new study of fruit flies , published in the journal Cell suggests that part of the answer may lie in the changing shape of a single protein
本段译文 大多数人都会发现，随着年龄增长，自己的记忆力会慢慢变差一点。科学家对记忆如何形成了解很多，但对记忆为什么会消退却知之甚少。一项发表在《细胞》（Cell）期刊上的果蝇新研究表明，部分答案可能在于某一种蛋白质形状的变化。
The protein is called Orb 2. It belongs to a group known as amyloids . Many people link amyloids with Alzheimer’s disease , because harmful amyloids can build up in the brain . However , Orb 2 is a helpful amyloid . In fruit flies , it is needed to form and keep long-term memories Humans have a similar protein called CPEB 3.
本段译文 这种蛋白质叫 Orb2，属于一类被称为淀粉样蛋白的物质。许多人把淀粉样蛋白和阿尔茨海默病联系在一起，因为有害的淀粉样蛋白会在大脑中堆积。然而，Orb2 是一种有益的淀粉样蛋白。在果蝇体内，形成并保持长期记忆都需要它。人类也有一种类似的蛋白质，叫 CPEB3。
The study was led by Rub én Herv ás , a Spanish scientist who heads a research group at the University of Hong Kong . His team worked with researchers in Spain . For six years , they studied the brains of about 10 million fruit flies at eight different ages , from one day after hatching to 35 days , which is old age for a fly . The authors say they know of no other study of this size in the field .
本段译文 这项研究由西班牙科学家鲁本·埃尔瓦斯（Rubén Hervás）领导，他在香港大学主持一个研究小组。他的团队与西班牙的研究人员合作。六年间，他们研究了约 1000 万只果蝇在八个不同年龄的大脑，从孵化后第一天到第 35 天——对果蝇来说那已是老年。作者表示，据他们所知，该领域还没有其他研究达到这样的规模。
Instead of looking at one moment , the team followed Orb 2 across the whole life of the flies . They found that its shape slowly changed . Young flies mostly had forms of Orb 2 that helped brain cells make the proteins needed for memory . In older flies , other forms became more common . These forms did that job less well , and they appeared at about the same time as memory problems .
本段译文 研究团队没有只观察某一个时刻，而是在果蝇的整个生命过程中追踪 Orb2。他们发现，它的形状会慢慢改变。年轻果蝇体内的 Orb2 大多是能帮助脑细胞制造记忆所需蛋白质的形态。在较老的果蝇体内，其他形态变得更常见。这些形态完成这项工作的效果较差，而且它们出现的时间与记忆问题出现的时间大致相同。
Next , the researchers tested two other proteins that help Orb 2 fold into its shape . One of them , named Funes after a man in a story by Jorge Luis Borges who could forget nothing , had a strong effect . When old flies made more Funes , their Orb 2 returned to younger forms , and their memory improved . When young flies made more of a protein with the opposite job , their memory became worse .
本段译文 接下来，研究人员测试了另外两种帮助 Orb2 折叠成型的蛋白质。其中一种名叫 Funes，取自豪尔赫·路易斯·博尔赫斯小说中一个什么都忘不掉的人，它的作用很明显。当老年果蝇制造更多 Funes 时，它们的 Orb2 恢复为较年轻的形态，记忆也有所改善。当年轻果蝇制造更多一种作用相反的蛋白质时，它们的记忆变差了。
Herv ás said the findings show how “the machinery of memory “ is quietly changed until it works less well . Jos é Javier Lucas , a scientist who was not involved , called the work very important but said it still has to be shown in humans
本段译文 埃尔瓦斯说，这些发现显示了“记忆的机器”如何被悄悄改变，直到它运转得不那么好。未参与这项研究的科学家何塞·哈维尔·卢卡斯（José Javier Lucas）认为这项工作非常重要，但表示它仍需在人身上得到证明。
That is the main limit of the study . Flies are not people , and no medicine has been tested . Herv ás has now received a grant of one million euros from the Hong Kong government to find out whether the same changes happen in human brains
本段译文 这正是这项研究的主要局限。果蝇不是人，而且还没有任何药物经过测试。埃尔瓦斯目前已获得香港特区政府 100 万欧元的资助，用来查明人类大脑中是否也会发生同样的变化。
新闻来源