Hemoglobin血红蛋白
Carries oxygen in your blood给全身运送氧气
From DNA to you — genetics basics for briefing readers从DNA到你 — 给简报读者的遗传学入门
Jump chapters with the sticky chips below, or search. Educational only — no product ads.用下方粘性章节芯片跳转,或搜索。纯科普,不含产品广告。
This tutorial adds context for reading health news. It does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For symptoms, emergencies, and care decisions, see a qualified clinician.本教程帮助理解健康新闻中的遗传学背景,不能替代医生的诊断、建议或治疗。出现症状、急症或需要诊疗时,请及时就医。
Narrated companion videos for the Knowledge 101 chapters — same tutorial as the slide content below. Play in-page or download for offline viewing.知识入门各章的旁白配套视频——与下方幻灯内容同一教程。可页内播放,也可下载离线观看。

Almost every cell in your body carries a full copy of the instructions for building you.你身体里几乎每一个细胞,都带着一份完整的“建造你”的说明书。
DNA is a very long molecule shaped like a spiral ladder, called a double helix. The two rails hold it together. The rungs carry the message.DNA是一条很长的分子,形状像螺旋形的梯子,叫做“双螺旋”。两条扶手把它连在一起,中间的横档承载着信息。
A always pairs with T, and C always pairs with G. The order of the letters is the instruction, like words in a sentence.A总是和T配对,C总是和G配对。字母的排列顺序就是指令,就像句子里的字词。


DNA is packed into chromosomes. A gene is one stretch of DNA that holds one instruction.DNA被打包成染色体。基因是DNA上的一段,承载一条指令。
The control room of the cell. It keeps your DNA safe — one very long DNA thread, coiled up tightly.细胞里的“控制室”,负责保管你的DNA——一条很长的DNA细线,紧紧地盘绕在一起。
One stretch of DNA = one recipe. Humans have about 20,000 genes.一段DNA=一道“菜谱”。人类大约有2万个基因。
In each pair, one chromosome comes from the mother and one from the father. Pair 23 sets sex: XX typically for female, XY typically for male.每一对中,一条来自母亲,一条来自父亲。第23对决定性别:XX通常为女性,XY通常为男性。


A gene is a recipe. A protein is the finished dish, and proteins do almost every job in your body.基因是菜谱,蛋白质是做好的菜。你身体里几乎所有的工作,都由蛋白质完成。
In the nucleus, the gene is copied into a message called mRNA.在细胞核里,基因被抄写成一段信息,叫做mRNA。
A ribosome reads the message and links amino acids into a chain.核糖体读取这段信息,把氨基酸一个个连成长链。
The chain folds up. Now it is a working protein.长链折叠起来,就成了能干活的蛋白质。
Carries oxygen in your blood给全身运送氧气
Builds your hair and nails构成头发和指甲
Break down the food you eat分解吃下的食物
Catch germs that get in抓住入侵的病菌


Cells team up into tissues, tissues into organs, and your organs keep you alive every second.细胞组成组织,组织组成器官,而器官每一秒都在维持你的生命。
86 billion nerve cells that control everything you do860亿个神经细胞,指挥你的一切活动
100,000 beats a day, sending blood to every cell每天跳动约10万次,把血液送到每个细胞
9 meters of tube that turns food into fuel约9米长的管道,把食物变成能量
If the brain or heart stops, cells start to die within minutes. Without digestion, every cell runs out of fuel.大脑或心脏一旦停止工作,细胞几分钟内就开始死亡。没有消化系统,每个细胞都会失去能量来源。

Every cell carries the same DNA. What makes a cell a nerve cell or a muscle cell is which genes it switches on.每个细胞都带着同样的DNA。一个细胞成为神经细胞还是肌肉细胞,取决于它开启了哪些基因。
Turns on the hemoglobin gene → makes hemoglobin → carries oxygen开启血红蛋白基因 → 合成血红蛋白 → 运送氧气
Turns on nerve-signal genes → makes signal proteins → sends messages开启神经信号基因 → 合成信号蛋白 → 传递信息
Turns on muscle-fiber genes → makes actin and myosin → contracts and pulls开启肌纤维基因 → 合成肌动蛋白和肌球蛋白 → 收缩发力
Turns on the keratin gene → makes keratin → forms a tough barrier开启角蛋白基因 → 合成角蛋白 → 形成坚韧的屏障
Some housekeeping genes stay on in every cell; each cell type then adds its own specialty genes.一些“日常维护”基因在所有细胞中都开启;每种细胞再开启自己特有的基因。


Each parent passes on a random half of their chromosomes. Together they make one complete new set.父母各自随机传下一半染色体,合在一起组成一套完整的新染色体。
For each of the 23 pairs, chance decides which chromosome goes into an egg or sperm — like a coin flip. Mother 46 → egg 23; father 46 → sperm 23.23对染色体中的每一对,由哪一条进入卵子或精子完全是随机的,就像抛硬币。母亲46→卵子23;父亲46→精子23。
They join into one cell with 46 chromosomes. That cell divides again and again to build the baby.它们结合成一个含46条染色体的细胞。这个细胞不断分裂,发育成宝宝。
Each parent can make over 8 million combinations, so brothers and sisters are alike but not the same.每位父母都能产生800多万种组合,所以兄弟姐妹相像,却不完全一样。
Nearly all diseases involve genes, but only a few thousand are caused by genes alone. Sorted by how much genes matter, diseases fall into three groups.几乎所有疾病都与基因有关,但只有几千种完全由基因引起。按基因所起作用的大小,疾病可以分成三组。
72% of the 6,000+ known rare diseases are genetic. About 300 million people (≈4 in 100) live with a rare disease. One faulty gene or chromosome is usually enough. Examples: sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome.已知罕见病(共6000多种)中72%是遗传性的。约3亿人(约占4%)患有罕见病。通常一个出错的基因或一条异常染色体就足以致病。例如:镰状细胞病、囊性纤维化、唐氏综合征。
About 40% of 560 common conditions show a clear inherited part. 3 in 4 deaths worldwide come from this group. Many genes each add a little; lifestyle and environment add the rest. Examples: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, most cancers.在统计的560种常见疾病中,约40%有明显的遗传成分。全球死亡的3/4来自这一组。许多基因各自增加一点风险,其余来自生活方式和环境。例如:心脏病、2型糖尿病、大多数癌症。
1 in 4 deaths worldwide come from this group. A germ, an injury, or a lack of food is the trigger. Genes still affect how hard it hits you. Examples: flu, tuberculosis, road injuries.全球死亡的1/4来自这一组。病菌、外伤或缺乏食物是直接诱因,但基因仍会影响病情轻重。例如:流感、结核病、交通事故伤害。
No official count sorts every disease this way. These are the best available estimates from public-health and rare-disease sources.目前没有官方统计按这种方式给所有疾病分类。以上是现有最可靠的估计,来自公共卫生与罕见病相关来源。

Choosing drugs by genes is common already. Gene repair started with rare diseases and is reaching common ones.按基因选药已经很普遍;修复基因的疗法从罕见病起步,如今正走向常见病。
Test first, then choose the medicine. 99.5% of people carry a gene variant that may change how at least one drug works; testing first can cut side effects by about 30%.先检测,再选药。99.5%的人携带至少一种可能影响药效的基因变异;先做检测再用药,副作用可减少约30%。
Aimed at the tumor's own DNA change. 13.6% of US cancer patients were eligible for one by 2020, up from 5.1% in 2006.针对肿瘤自身的DNA变化。截至2020年,13.6%的美国癌症患者符合靶向药使用条件(2006年仅为5.1%)。
A message telling cells what to make. Billions of vaccine doses shipped in under a year for one product class; 37 RNA therapies approved and 1,330 more in development.告诉细胞该合成什么的“信息”。一类疫苗不到一年发货量达数十亿剂;已有37种RNA疗法获批,另有1330种在研。
Adds a working copy of a gene. 46 therapies approved worldwide; cancer cell therapies have treated tens of thousands of patients across makers. About eight new approvals in a recent nine-month stretch — roughly one a month.补上一份正常工作的基因。全球已获批46种;抗癌细胞疗法已惠及数万名患者(跨多家研发机构)。最近约9个月新增约8种获批,约每月一种。
Rewrites the DNA letter itself. 500+ patients on the first approved treatment for inherited blood disorders. Next focus includes heart disease: one infusion about halved “bad” cholesterol in early trials.直接改写DNA上的字母。首个获批疗法已用于500多名遗传性血液病患者。下一步包括心脏病:早期试验中,一次输注让“坏”胆固醇下降约一半。
A guided tool finds the faulty letter, cuts it out, and the correct one goes in. Early trials can switch off a cholesterol gene with one infusion, aiming to prevent heart attacks.向导工具找到出错的字母,把它剪掉,再换上正确的字母。早期试验可通过一次输注关闭与胆固醇有关的基因,目标是预防心肌梗死。

More genetics and more systems biology: genes are the parts list; systems biology shows how the parts work together.更多遗传学,也更多系统生物学:基因是“零件清单”,系统生物学研究零件如何协同工作。
The instructions you were born with与生俱来的说明书
Which genes are switched on now此刻哪些基因处于开启状态
The workers doing the jobs干活的“工人”
The body's chemistry right now身体此刻的化学反应
The microbes living in and on you生活在你体内和体表的微生物
Food, sleep, air, stress饮食、睡眠、空气、压力
Today it helps mainly at medical moments. As testing gets cheaper, it becomes a routine part of your health record.现在,它主要在就医的关键时刻发挥作用。随着检测越来越便宜,它将成为健康档案的常规内容。
About 1 in 300 US babies screened is found to have a condition that early treatment can help.接受筛查的美国新生儿中,约每300人有1人被查出疾病,及早治疗可以改善结果。
1 in 5 people have high lipoprotein(a), a heart risk set about 90% by genes. Only about 1% of US adults have been tested.约1/5的人脂蛋白(a)偏高,这种心脏风险约90%由基因决定。美国成年人中只有约1%做过检测。
99.5% of people carry a variant that may change how at least one drug works for them.99.5%的人携带至少一种可能影响药效的基因变异。
In one study, adding a blood test for tumor DNA to standard screening found about 6.5 times more cancers.一项研究中,在常规筛查之外加做血液肿瘤DNA检测,癌症检出量约为原来的6.5倍。
72% of rare diseases are genetic, and about 70% of them begin in childhood.72%的罕见病是遗传性的,其中约70%在儿童期发病。
Newborn screening, prenatal testing, tumor DNA assays and pharmacogenetics are delivered through doctors, hospitals and public-health programs — not consumer ads.新生儿筛查、产前检测、肿瘤DNA检测和用药基因检测,已经通过医生、医院和公共卫生项目进入日常医疗,而不是消费广告。
Hospitals are built to treat illness. Understanding and steering your health also depends on life outside them.医院的职责是治病。要真正了解并掌握自己的健康,还要靠医院之外的功夫。
Genome, test results and family history together, in your hands.把基因组、检查结果和家族病史放在一起,掌握在自己手里。
Test once and share what matters with relatives.检测一次,并把重要的结果告诉家人。
Blood pressure, weight, sleep and activity across 8,760 hours a year.血压、体重、睡眠和运动:一年有8760个小时。
A short visit goes further when you arrive prepared.有备而来,短短几分钟的门诊也能更有收获。
All of this adds to medical care and does not replace it: for symptoms, emergencies and treatment, see a doctor.以上做法是对医疗的补充,而不是替代:出现症状、遇到急症或需要治疗时,请及时就医。

Reliable genetic information needs precise, proven technology. Here is what exists, and how to judge who offers it.可靠的基因信息离不开精准、经过验证的技术。这里介绍有哪些技术,以及怎样判断提供者。
Do both partners carry the same hidden variant?夫妻双方是否携带同一种隐藏的变异?
The baby's DNA, read from the mother's blood.从母亲的血液中读取胎儿的DNA。
Finds treatable conditions in the first days.在出生后最初几天发现可治疗的疾病。
One genome, re-read as new questions arise.一份基因组,有新问题时可以反复解读。
Earlier detection and tracking of treatment.更早发现,并跟踪治疗效果。
Prenatal testing must find the baby's DNA — about 1 piece in 10 of the DNA in the mother's blood — and still be right.产前检测要从母亲血液的DNA中找出只占约十分之一的胎儿DNA,而且结果必须准确。
Regulators' lists of approved tests · Guidelines from medical societies · Published, peer-reviewed studies · Hospital genetics or prenatal diagnosis departments.监管部门公布的获批检测目录 · 医学专业学会的指南 · 公开发表、经同行评议的研究 · 医院的遗传科或产前诊断中心。

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) screens the baby from the mother's blood. Few genetic tests demand more precision.无创产前检测(NIPT)只用母亲的一管血来筛查胎儿,是对精度要求最高的基因检测之一。
The result guides a pregnancy, so errors must be rare. Labs must separate a small fetal signal from a much larger maternal background.结果关系到一次妊娠,所以几乎不容出错。实验室必须从远大于胎儿信号的母体背景中把胎儿DNA区分开。
Count everything: sequence random pieces from every chromosome and count them. Targeted sequencing: read thousands of chosen spots very deeply, using a fraction of the data. That depth helps separate the baby's DNA from the mother's and can reach smaller changes, even single genes.全部计数:对所有染色体的随机片段测序并计数。靶向测序:对选定的数千个位点做深度测序,所需数据量只是前者的一小部分。足够的深度有助于把胎儿的DNA与母亲的区分开,还能发现更小的变化,甚至单个基因的问题。
Clinical labs that offer targeted NIPT typically: (1) pull cell-free DNA from a maternal blood draw; (2) enrich or amplify selected chromosome regions or SNP sites; (3) sequence those sites at high depth; (4) statistically compare fetal vs maternal fractions and flag aneuploidy or selected microdeletion / single-gene signals. Accreditation (for example NMPA registration in China, or CLIA/CAP in the US), published validation cohorts, and clear reporting of test limits matter more than any brand label. This page names no commercial products.提供靶向NIPT的临床实验室通常会:(1)从母亲血样中提取游离DNA;(2)富集或扩增选定的染色体区域或SNP位点;(3)对这些位点做高深度测序;(4)用统计学方法比较胎儿与母体片段比例,提示非整倍体或选定的微缺失 / 单基因信号。资质认证(如中国的NMPA注册、美国的CLIA/CAP)、公开发表的验证队列,以及清楚说明检测局限,比任何品牌名称更重要。本页不列举任何商业产品。
NIPT is a screening test, not a diagnosis: a high-risk result must be confirmed by a diagnostic test before any decision.NIPT是筛查,不是诊断:高风险结果在做任何决定之前,必须通过诊断性检查确认。


Inherited DNA is shared within a family and stays the same for life, so an early family record keeps paying back.遗传的DNA在家人之间共享,而且终身不变,所以一份及早建立的家庭档案会长期受益。
Study three generations together. Grandparents' later-life illnesses reveal family risks decades ahead.三代人一起研究。祖辈晚年得过的病,能提前几十年提示家族中存在哪些风险。
Inherited DNA does not change, so the first reading serves every later decision.遗传的DNA不会改变,第一次读取的结果,今后每个决定都用得上。
Identify risk before symptoms, monitor changes against a baseline, and plan together. For children, guidance generally favors testing for conditions that can be acted on in childhood; other results can wait until they can choose.在出现症状前识别风险,对照基线监测变化,全家共同行动。对儿童做检测需要慎重:专业指南通常建议,童年期只检测那些在童年期就能干预的疾病,其他结果可以等孩子长大后自己决定。
The cost is now small next to what is at stake, and the value grows with time and with every relative tested.与可能的收益相比,现在的费用已经不高;而且时间越长、检测的家人越多,价值越大。
For healthy people, genome testing is usually paid for privately, and so is the follow-up: extra screening, specialist advice, family planning.健康人做全基因组检测通常需要自费,后续措施也是如此:加强筛查、专家咨询、生育规划。
Most results are reassuring, not dramatic, and a clear result does not rule out disease. Use accredited labs and genetic counseling, and check privacy and insurance rules.多数结果是让人安心的,而不是惊人的发现;结果正常也不能排除患病可能。请选择有资质的实验室和遗传咨询,并了解所在地的隐私与保险规定。