首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"Is the environment making us fat?" That is the intriguing question posed by Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irv
"Is the environment making us fat?" That is the intriguing question posed by Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irv
admin
2017-03-15
143
问题
"Is the environment making us fat?" That is the intriguing question posed by Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irvine. His research into endocrine disrupters—chemical compounds that interfere with the body’s normal processing of hormones such as oestrogen—has led him to conclude that some of them may well encourage obesity.
The notion of such "obesogens", as Dr. Blumberg calls them, is controversial. Some insist that diet and exercise (or, rather, the lack thereof) are the simpler explanations for obesity, with perhaps a dash of genetic predisposition thrown in. However, a panel of experts convened at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting argued that those factors are insufficient to explain the dramatic increase in obesity seen across the world since 1980. Caloric intake and exercise levels have not altered enough to explain the difference, the scientists maintained, and human genes cannot have changed in such a short time.
Some environmental-health experts suspect that fetal exposure to nasties found in everyday plastics might be the underlying explanation of the recent obesity trend. John Peterson Meyers of Environmental Health Sciences, an advocacy group, observes that a number of synthetic chemicals widely found in the environment have been shown to alter the activity of genes, even when they are present at extremely low concentrations. This disruptive effect has not been fully appreciated, he argues, because safety trials on these substances have concentrated on the risks posed by high concentrations rather than low ones.
Research on animals seems to bolster this hypothesis. Retha Newbold of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a government agency in America, points to diethylstilbestrol (DES) as an example. This drug, the first orally absorbable synthetic oestrogen, was given to pregnant women in the 1950s to help them avoid miscarriage. The drug fell out of favour when it transpired that children exposed to it ended up with damaged reproductive organs. Ms. Newbold has now discovered that early DES exposure also leads to obesity in adult mice. As her experiments controlled for both diet and exercise, she thinks fetal exposure to the drug must play a role in the fattening that was evident later in life. How this happens is unclear, but she speculates that the compound may interfere with the body’s ability to deal with glucose in the blood.
Other synthetic hormones and endocrine disrupters common in the modern world seem to have a similar impact, and not just in the womb. A study of Japanese women has suggested a link between obesity and adult exposure to bisphenol-A, a component of plastic bottles. Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri has investigated the impact of early exposure to this compound. His work on laboratory animals showed that fetal exposure to bisphenol-A led to obesity and cancer. Dr. vom Saal says that new research should be done to clarify the role of "perinatal programming of obesity".
Plastics are not the only potential culprits. Dr. Blumberg has identified tributyl tin, which is found not only in PVC plastics but also in fungicides. Tributyl tin is part of a larger group of chemicals known as organo-tins, which combine tin and hydrocarbons; the link with obesity was discovered only relatively recently. Dr. Blumberg believes the compound interferes with the body’s normal fat-formation process, and puts its fat-storage mechanism on overdrive, plumping up the person.
Dr. Meyers claims this amounts to "a revolution unfolding in environmental-health sciences". Perhaps. It is possible that the long-marginalised scientists of the environmental-health field are right, and that these endocrine disrupters do play a part in explaining the ongoing trends in obesity. However, as the more cautious of them admit, that cannot be verified until the animal experiments are scaled up to proper, long-term human studies which can verify their hypothesis. Until then, it is probably best to go easy on the pizza—and work out at the gym.
What does the last sentence imply?
选项
A、Diet and exercise can help us prevent excessive weight gain.
B、We should keep away from harmful chemicals.
C、The theory of Dr. Blumberg has not been utterly verified.
D、Dr. Blumberg and his team are cautious.
答案
C
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/J5SO777K
本试题收录于:
NAETI高级口译笔试题库外语翻译证书(NAETI)分类
0
NAETI高级口译笔试
外语翻译证书(NAETI)
相关试题推荐
AlthoughtherearemanyskillfulBraillereaders,thousandsofotherblindpeoplefinditdifficulttolearnthatsystemTheyar
Workersandconsumershaveadirectinterestindevelopinglaborprocessesthatwillnotdestroythehealthofthosedirectlyin
Theenvironmentisnotjustaboutanimals’rightsoraesthetics.Itisthebasisofhumansocietyandthemeanstofulfilloura
Thedaythissmalltowntolditsresidentstostopdrinkingthewater,lifeonGlendaleBoulevardturnedfromquiettoalarm
女士们、先生们:我非常高兴能利用英中贸协年会的机会向英国工商界朋友们致以诚挚的问候。多年来,英中贸协一直关心和支持中英关系发展,是堪称两国友好交流的桥梁和互利合作的纽带。在此,我谨对英中贸协及诸位长期为促进中英经贸合作所做的不懈努力和杰出贡献表示
IamverypleasedtowelcomesomanyofyoutothisGlobalCompactSummit.Thisisthelargestandhighest-levelgatheringofle
尊敬的赵洪祝书记、周强书记和各位中方省长,尊敬的葛瑞格尔州长和各位美国州长,尊敬的李小林会长、霍马茨副国务卿,各位来宾,女士们、先生们:很高兴出席中美省州长对话。首先,我代表外交部和杨洁篪外长对此次对话成功举行表示热烈祝贺。长期以来,中美地方间合
Whichwaristhispassagetomarktheanniversaryof?
A、Weshouldadopta4-yeartermforthedirectorsandchairman.B、Thetermofthedirectorsandchairmanwillbedecidedinfour
A、Designingfashionitemsforseveralcompanies.B、Modelingforaworld-famousItaliancompany.C、WorkingasanemployeeforFer
随机试题
A/用于治疗耐青霉素金黄色葡萄球菌引起的严重感染B/对铜绿假单胞菌有杀灭作用,且不易产生耐药性C/用于治疗沙眼、结膜炎等眼部感染D/可影响儿童骨、牙生长E/是急、慢性金黄色葡萄球菌性骨髓炎的首选药磺胺醋酰钠
初产妇,孕39周,临产15h,阴道流水2h,查LOA,胎心150次/分钟,宫口开7cm,S-2,入院后3h复查,宫缩50"/3',宫口扩张及先露下降无进展,阴道检查:矢状缝在左斜径上,小囟门在4~5点处(仰卧位)。下列诊断何项正确
一患者发生了单侧颞下颌关节的真性强直,其面部不对称表现的一般规律应该是
患儿,男,6岁。患轻度室间隔缺损,尚未治疗。现因龋齿需拔牙。医生在拔牙前给予抗生素,其目的是预防
下列说法不正确的是:()
橄榄球和拳击等碰撞类运动从长远来看能够对脑部造成损伤,这已是不争的事实。现在,轮到审视足球了。越来越多的证据显示,力度过大的头球会对球员的脑部造成损伤。以下哪项如果为真,最能加强题干观点?
证明:方程xa=1nx(a<0)在(0,+∞)内有且仅有一个根.
【B1】【B6】
AccordingtoAlanGreenspan,whichpartofthemarketcouldspreadtoothersectorsoftheeconomy?
A、Theyfigureitoutbythemselves.B、Theyrelyonothers’opinions.C、Theymakemorefriends.D、Theyovercomeobstacles.A
最新回复
(
0
)