关于好奇的问题 2025-09-01
《Science》125周年纪念特刊上发表的文章《125》中这样说：对于塑造科学的未来，问题比答案更重要。
The choice reflects our belief that questions are more important than answers in shaping the future of science.
Can we predict how proteins will fold?
我们能预测蛋白质如何折叠吗？
Out of a near infinitude of possible ways to fold, a protein picks one in just tens of microseconds. The same task takes 30 years of computer time.
在几乎无数种可能的折叠方式中，一种蛋白质在几十微秒内就能选择一种。同样的任务需要30年的计算机时间。
AlphaFold
我感兴趣的问题：
Will there ever be a tree of life that systematists can agree on?
有没有一棵生命之树，系统论者能够达成一致？
Despite better morphological, molecular, and statistical methods, researchers' trees don't agree. Expect greater, but not complete, consensus.
尽管有更好的形态学、分子学和统计学方法，研究人员的研究结果并不一致。
How do proteins find their partners?
蛋白质如何找到它们的伴侣？
Protein-protein interactions are at the heart of life. To understand how partners come together in precise orientations in seconds, researchers need to know more about the cell's biochemistry and structural organization.
蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用是生命的核心。为了了解伴侣是如何在几秒钟内以精确的方向走到一起的，研究人员需要更多地了解细胞的[生物化学]和结构组织。
What enables cellular components to copy themselves independent of DNA?
是什么使细胞成分独立于 DNA 自我复制？
Centrosomes, which help pull apart paired chromosomes, and other organelles replicate on their own time, without DNA's guidance. This independence still defies explanation.
中心体，帮助分离成对染色体，和其他细胞器一样，在没有DNA指导的前提下自行复制。这种独立性仍然难以解释。
Why are some genomes really big and others quite compact?
为什么有些基因组真的很大而有些却很紧凑？
The pufferfish genome is 400 million bases; one lungfish's is 133 billion bases long. Repetitive and duplicated DNA don't explain why this and other size differences exist.
河豚鱼的基因组有4亿个碱基，而[肺鱼]的基因组有1330亿个碱基。重复和复制的 DNA 并不总能解释为什么基因间存在这么巨大的差异。
What is all that “junk” doing in our genomes?
那些“垃圾”在我们的基因组里干什么？
DNA between genes is proving important for genome function and the evolution of new species. Comparative sequencing, microarray studies, and lab work are helping genomicists find a multitude of genetic gems amid the junk.
基因之间的 DNA 对于基因组功能和新物种的进化具有重要意义。比较测序、[微阵列]研究和实验室工作正在帮助[基因组学]家在垃圾中发现大量的遗传宝石。
How can genome changes other than mutations be inherited?
除了突变以外，基因组变化如何被遗传？
Researchers are finding ever more examples of this process, called epigenetics, but they can't explain what causes and preserves the changes.
研究人员发现了越来越多的这一过程的例子，称为[表观遗传学]，但他们不能解释什么原因和保存的变化。
What is the biological root of sexual orientation?
性取向的生物学根源是什么？
Much of the “environmental” contribution to homosexuality may occur before birth in the form of prenatal hormones, so answering this question will require more than just the hunt for “gay genes.”
许多“环境因素”对同性恋的影响可能在出生前以产前激素的形式出现，因此要回答这个问题，需要的不仅仅是寻找“同性恋基因”
How many species are there on Earth?
地球上有多少物种？
Count all the stars in the sky? Impossible. Count all the species on Earth? Ditto. But the biodiversity crisis demands that we try.
数天上的星星？不可能。数一数地球上所有的物种？彼此彼此。但[生物多样性]危机要求我们尝试。
What is a species?
什么是物种？
A “simple” concept that's been muddied by evolutionary data; a clear definition may be a long time in coming.
一个“简单”的概念已经被进化数据搞糊涂了; 一个明确的定义可能还需要很长时间。
Why does lateral transfer occur in so many species and how?
为什么[横向迁移]会发生在这么多的物种中，又是如何发生的呢？
Once considered rare, gene swapping, particularly among microbes, is proving quite common. But why and how genes are so mobile—and the effect on fitness—remains to be determined.
基因交换，尤其是微生物之间的基因交换，一度被认为是罕见的，但现在却被证明是相当普遍的。但基因为何以及如何变化如此之大，以及对健康的影响，仍有待确定。
How did flowers evolve?
花是如何进化的？
Darwin called this question an “abominable mystery.” Flowers arose in the cycads and conifers, but the details of their evolution remain obscure.
达尔文称这个问题为“令人憎恶的谜团”花出现在苏铁和针叶树，但它们的进化细节仍然模糊不清。
- Why are some genomes so big and others very small?
为什么有些基因组非常大而另一些却很小？ - How do organisms evolve?
有机体是如何进化的？ - Why were there species explosions and mass extinction?
为什么会发生物种大爆发和大灭绝？ - How are biomolecules organized in cells to function orderly and effectively?
细胞内的生物分子是如何组织从而有序有效发挥作用的？
Nature Genetics：康乐团队系统解码飞蝗染色质修饰调控网络
Chromatin dynamics of a large-sized genome provides insights into polyphenism and X0 dosage compensation of locusts
蝗虫的特征是基因组大小大、多态性和 X0 性别决定系统。在这里，我们为沙漠和迁徙蝗虫生成了染色体水平基因组，并为后者生成了全面的染色质图谱。我们发现基因组增大与扩展内含子区域中增强子数量的增加有关。为了探索扩展增强子的功能，我们确定了一种导致独居蝗虫和群居蝗虫行为差异的远端增强子。在 X0 性别系统中，H4K16ac 富集和 H4K20me1 耗竭在雄性体细胞中保持平衡的 X 连锁表达。值得注意的是，距离依赖性 H4K16ac 富集在基因间区域逐渐减少，揭示了大基因组中特殊的剂量补偿机制。此外，距离依赖性 H4K16ac 导致最近从常染色体易位的 X 连锁基因的剂量补偿进化滞后。因此，扩展的内含子和基因间区域在大基因组中形成了独特的染色质调控景观。
