高中英语外刊阅读60篇（2022第六期）

多亏了家庭DNA测试工具，我们现在有了前所未有的大量关于我们自己基因的 信息。但是所有这些信息对我们有什么影响呢?仅仅是对你的基因风险有更多的了解 就能改变它们吗? 本文节选自：Scientific American In quantum mechanics, there is a pervasive theory known as the“observer effect,”which states that the act of observing a phenomenon (usually by making some kind of measurement) necessarily changes that phenomenon. In other words, just by being there and having an interest in the outcome, we affect that outcome. While the explanations behind the observer’s influence in quantum mechanics come down to the measuring instrument and not the observer’s conscious mind, we also see strong evidence for the pla‐ cebo effect in medicine: a patient’s condition can improve if they just believe they are receiving an effec‐ tive treatment. And those beneficial effects can happen even if the patient is not actually receiving that treatment or if the treatment doesn’t actually work. If our minds truly do have power over our surroundings and our bodies, what does having all of this genetic information do to us? Does simply knowing more about our own physiology change it? A recent study on exercise and obesity suggests that the answer is yes. Those who were told they were at low genetic risk for obesity produced 2.5 times more of the full‐ ness hormone and claimed to feel fuller despite eating the same meal as they had one week prior. Those 01 基因测试的结果，是否能改变生理机能 Introduction 第一篇 1 英语外刊阅读 who were told they were genetically predisposed toward lower endurance did worse on their treadmill test than they had prior to receiving that information: they showed lower lung capacity and quit sooner. Thus, having information about our genetic risk can lead to improvements in our physiology (as was true for the eaters of the study), but it can also put us at a disadvantage (as with the poor exercise per‐ formers). So we certainly need to be wary of incorrect genetic information. But as the Stanford study shows, even if the genetic information we receive is correct, how we receive it is also