嬰兒期的親密接觸，會在數(shù)年后改變他們的基因

The amount of close and comforting contact that young infants get doesn't just keep them warm, snug, and loved.

幼兒獲得的親密和舒適的接觸,不僅能讓他們保持溫暖、舒適和被愛。

A 2017 study says it can actually affect babies at the molecular level, and the effects can last for years.

2017年的一項研究表明，它實際上會在分子水平上影響嬰兒，這種影響可能持續(xù)數(shù)年。

Based on the study, babies who get less physical contact and are more distressed at a young age, end up with changes in molecular processes that affect gene expression.

根據(jù)這項研究，那些身體接觸較少、在幼年時更痛苦的嬰兒，最終會改變影響基因表達的分子過程。

The team from the University of British Columbia in Canada emphasises that it's still very early days for this research, and it's not clear exactly what's causing the change.

加拿大不列顛哥倫比亞大學(university of british columbia)的研究小組強調(diào)，這項研究還處于起步階段，目前還不清楚究竟是什么導致了這種變化。

But it could give scientists some useful insights into how touching affects the epigenome - the biochemical changes that influence gene expression in the body.

但這可能會讓科學家們對觸摸如何影響表觀基因組——影響體內(nèi)基因表達的生化變化——有一些有用的了解。

During the study, parents of 94 babies were asked to keep diaries of their touching and cuddling habits from five weeks after birth, as well as logging the behaviour of the infants – sleeping, crying, and so on.

在這項研究中，94名嬰兒的父母被要求從出生后5周開始記錄他們的撫摸和擁抱習慣，并記錄嬰兒的行為——睡覺、哭泣等等。

Four-and-a-half years later, DNA swabs were taken of the kids to analyse a biochemical modification called DNA methylation.

四年半后，研究人員提取了這些孩子的DNA樣本，分析了一種名為DNA甲基化的生化修飾。

It's an epigenetic mechanism in which some parts of the chromosome are tagged with small carbon and hydrogen molecules, often changing how genes function and affecting their expression.

這是一種表觀遺傳機制，染色體的某些部分被小碳和氫分子標記，經(jīng)常改變基因的功能并影響它們的表達。

The researchers found DNA methylation differences between "high-contact" children and "low-contact" children at five specific DNA sites, two of which were within genes: one related to the immune system, and one to the metabolic system.

研究人員在5個特定的DNA位點發(fā)現(xiàn)了“高接觸”兒童和“低接觸”兒童之間的DNA甲基化差異，其中兩個位于基因內(nèi)：一個與免疫系統(tǒng)有關(guān)，另一個與代謝系統(tǒng)有關(guān)。

DNA methylation also acts as a marker for normal biological development and the processes that go along with it, and it can be influenced by external, environmental factors as well.

DNA甲基化也是正常生物發(fā)育及其相關(guān)過程的一個標志，它也會受到外部環(huán)境因素的影響。

Then there was the epigenetic age, the biological ageing of blood and tissue. This marker was lower than expected in the kids who hadn't had much contact as babies, and had experienced more distress in their early years, compared with their actual age.

然后是表觀遺傳年齡，血液和組織的生物老化。與他們的實際年齡相比，那些在嬰兒時期沒有太多接觸，并且在早年經(jīng)歷過更多痛苦的孩子，這一指標低于預(yù)期。

"In children, we think slower epigenetic ageing could reflect less favourable developmental progress," said one of the team, Michael Kobor.

“在兒童中，我們認為表觀遺傳老化的減緩可能反映出發(fā)育進程的不利影響。”研究小組的一位成員邁克爾·科博爾說。

Gaps between epigenetic age and chronological age have been linked to health problems in the past, but again it's too soon to draw those kind of conclusions: the scientists readily admit they don't yet know how this will affect the kids later in life.

在過去，表觀遺傳年齡和實際年齡之間的差距與健康問題有關(guān)，但現(xiàn)在得出這樣的結(jié)論還為時過早:科學家們欣然承認，他們還不知道這將如何影響孩子以后的生活。

"We plan to follow up on whether the 'biological immaturity' we saw in these children carries broad implications for their health, especially their psychological development," said one of the researchers, Sarah Moore.

研究人員之一莎拉·摩爾(Sarah Moore)說:“我們計劃對這些孩子的‘生理不成熟’是否會對他們的健康產(chǎn)生廣泛影響，尤其是對他們的心理發(fā)展。”

"If further research confirms this initial finding, it will underscore the importance of providing physical contact, especially for distressed infants."

“如果進一步的研究證實了這一最初的發(fā)現(xiàn)，它將強調(diào)身體接觸的重要性，尤其是對痛苦的嬰兒。”