【正文】 remarkable discoveries. One of them jumps right off the book39。s cover: a color map of the world39。s genetic variation has Africa at one end of the range and Australia at the other.Because Australia39。s native people and black Africans share such superficial characteristics as skin color and body shape, they were widely assumed to be closely related. But their genes tell a different story. Of all humans, Australians are most distant from the Africans and most closely resemble their neighbors, the Southeast Asians. What the eye sees as racial differences — between Europeans and Africans, for example — are mainly a way to adapt to climate as humans move from one continent to another.The same map, in bination with ancient human bones, confirms that Africa was the birthplace of humanity and thus the starting point of the original human movements. Those findings, plus thegreat genetic distance between presentday Africans and nonAfricans, indicate that the split from the African branch is the oldest on the human family tree. 盡管有困難，科學(xué)家們還是取得了一些引人注目的發(fā)現(xiàn)。其中之一就醒目地印在此書封面上：人類基因變異彩圖表明，非洲與澳洲分別位于變化范圍的兩端。因?yàn)榘闹尥林头侵藓谌酥g有一些共同的外表特征，如膚色、體型等，所以被普遍認(rèn)為有密切的親緣關(guān)系。但是他們的基因卻表明并非如此。在所有人種中，澳洲人與非洲人的關(guān)系最遠(yuǎn)，而與其鄰居?xùn)|南亞人非常接近。我們所看到的人種差異，例如歐洲人與非洲人的差異，主要是人類從一個(gè)大陸向另一個(gè)大陸遷徙時(shí)為適應(yīng)氣候所產(chǎn)生的。結(jié)合對(duì)遠(yuǎn)古人骨的研究，這一圖譜證實(shí)了非洲是人類的誕生地，因而也是人類遷徙的始發(fā)地。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)，再加上現(xiàn)代非洲人與非非洲人之間的巨大基因差異，說(shuō)明了從非洲種群開(kāi)始的分支是人類家譜上最早的分支。The genetic maps also shed new light on the origins of populations that have long puzzled scientists. Example: the Khoisan people of southern Africa. Many scientists consider the Khoisan a distinct race of very ancient origin. The unique character of the clicking sounds in their language has persuaded some researchers that the Khoisan people are directly descended from the most primitive human ancestors. But their genes beg to differ. They show that the Khoisan may be a very ancient mix of west Asians and black Africans. A genetic trail visible on the maps shows that the breeding ground for this mixed population probably lies in Ethiopia or the Middle East. 這一基因分布圖譜對(duì)長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)困繞著科學(xué)家的人種起源問(wèn)題也做出了新的解釋。南部非洲的科伊桑人就是一個(gè)例子。很多科學(xué)家認(rèn)為科伊桑人是一個(gè)獨(dú)立的非常古老的人種。他們語(yǔ)言中那種獨(dú)特的短促而清脆的聲音使得一些研究者認(rèn)為科伊桑人是最原始的人類祖先的直系后裔。然而他們的基因卻表明情況并非如此?；蜓芯勘砻骺埔辽Ｈ丝赡苁枪糯鱽喨伺c非洲黑人的混血。圖譜上顯示的遺傳軌跡表明這一混血人種的發(fā)源地可能在埃塞俄比亞或中東地區(qū)。The most distinctive members of the European branch of the human tree are the Basques of France and Spain. They show unusual patterns for several genes, including the highest rate of a rare blood type. Their language is of unknown origin and cannot be placed within any standard classification. And the fact that they live in a region next to famous caves which contain vivid paintings from Europe39。s early humans, leads CavalliSforza to the following conclusion: The Basques are extremely likely to be the most direct relatives of the CroMagnon people, among the first modern humans in Europe. All Europeans are thought to be a mixed population, with 65% Asian and 35% African genes. 法國(guó)和西班牙的巴斯克人是人類家譜圖上歐洲人分支的最特殊的成員。他們有幾組少見(jiàn)的基因類型，包括一種罕見(jiàn)血型的發(fā)生率在巴斯克人中也是最高的。他們的語(yǔ)言起源不明，也無(wú)法被歸入任何標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的類別。他們居住的地區(qū)緊挨著發(fā)現(xiàn)早期歐洲人壁畫的幾個(gè)著名的洞穴這一事實(shí)使卡瓦里?斯福爾扎得出這樣的結(jié)論：“在歐洲最早的近代人中，巴斯克人極有可能與克羅馬努人關(guān)系最直接?！比藗冋J(rèn)為所有的歐洲人都是混合人種，有65%的亞洲人基因，35%的非洲人基因。In addition to telling us about our origins, genetic information is also the latest raw material of the medical industry, which hopes to use human DNA to build specialized proteins that may have some value as diseasefighting drugs. Activists for native populations fear that the scientists could exploit these peoples: genetic material taken from blood samples could be used for mercial purposes without adequate payment made to the groups that provide the DNA. 除了揭示人種的起源以外，基因信息對(duì)醫(yī)學(xué)界來(lái)說(shuō)也是最新資料。醫(yī)學(xué)界希望能用人類脫氧核糖核酸（DNA）制成特別的蛋白質(zhì)，這些蛋白質(zhì)可能具有某種抗病藥物的價(jià)值。保護(hù)土著人權(quán)益的活動(dòng)家們擔(dān)心科學(xué)家可能會(huì)利用土著人：從當(dāng)?shù)厝搜獦又刑崛〉幕蛭镔|(zhì)可被用于商業(yè)目的，而DNA 提供者卻不會(huì)獲得足夠的報(bào)酬。CavalliSforza stresses that his mission is not just scientific but social as well. The study39。s ultimate aim, he says, is to weaken conventional notions of race that cause racial prejudice. It is a goal that he hopes will be weled among native peoples who have long struggled for the same end. 卡瓦里?斯福爾扎強(qiáng)調(diào)，他的工作不僅有科學(xué)意義，而且也有社會(huì)意義。他說(shuō)研究的最終目的是“削弱”造成種族偏見(jiàn)的“傳統(tǒng)的種族觀念”。他希望這一目的會(huì)得到一直為同樣目的進(jìn)行抗?fàn)幍耐林褡宓慕?