《中英對照讀新聞》Mummy’s not our daddy, says ’Iceman’ study 木乃伊不是我們的祖先，「冰人」研究顯示

◎魏國金

Gene scientists delving into the 5,300-year-old remains of Oetzi the Iceman, the mysterious mummified man found high in the Alps, say he most likely has no modern-day relatives.

基因科學家深入研究已有5,300年歷史，在阿爾卑斯山高山上被發現的神秘木乃伊「冰人奧茨」遺體後，宣布他非常可能沒有現代的親戚（譯按：與現代人無血緣關係）。

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Italian and British experts looked into the mitochondrial DNA -- genetic material handed on down the maternal line -- teased from Oetzi’s body at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

義大利與英國專家仔細檢視他身上取下的粒線體DNA，這種粒線體DNA是只在母系血緣間傳遞的基因物質。冰人奧茨的屍身現存於義大利波札諾的「南塔羅考古學博物館」。

Mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA） is very stable, changing only gradually as it is handed down the generations, which means it is an excellent yardstick for genealogy.

粒線體DNA非常穩定，就算世代傳遞也只會緩慢改變，因此可以成為絕佳的血緣判斷標準。

Oetzi’s mtDNA belonged to a broad genetic category called K1, which is still common in Europe today, the investigators reported on Thursday.

冰人奧茨的粒線體DNA屬於被稱為「K1」的大範圍基因分類，現在歐洲還有很多人屬於K1分類，研究人員週四表示。

However, modern Europeans today belong to three sub-lineages of K1, whereas Oetzi’s sub-lineage has most probably petered out.

但是，現今的現代歐洲人屬於「K1」的3種次分支，而冰人奧茨的次分支大概已經都滅亡了。

新聞辭典

delve into：片語，探究、鑽研，如delve into the unknown（探究未知）。

hand down：片語，把…傳下去。The book has been handed down since my grandma. （這本書從祖母開始傳下來。）

peter out：片語，（逐漸）減少、耗盡。His interest petered out.（他越來越提不起興致。）