研究發現 自閉症或因繼承父親基因突變
Three separate studies, all published in the journal Nature, have identified several gene mutations, many inherited from fathers, that may play a role in autism.
近日，《自然》雜誌上發表的三項獨立研究發現，若干從父親那裏繼承來的基因突變可能導致自閉症。
There's no one gene that causes autism, but several genetic mutations increase the risk of getting autism, James Sutcliffe, co-author of one study said.
其中一項研究的合著者詹姆斯·薩克利夫稱，原本沒有任何基因會引發自閉症，然而多個基因突變增加了患自閉症的風險。
The genes are likely inherited through the paternal line because as a man ages, his sperm cells are constantly dividing, providing more opportunity for mutations.
引發自閉症的基因很可能傳承自父系，隨着男性變老，其精子將持續分化從而增加了基因突變的機率。
While women, are born with all of the egg cells they will have for life.
而女性一生所有的卵子生之即來。
Each study found multitudes of mutated genes in autistic children.
每項研究都發現患自閉症的兒童帶有大量的突變基因。
Diagnosing autism by the gene mutations is still a long way off, and future research will focus on identifying other mutations that could play a role, researchers said.
研究人員表示，通過基因突變來診斷自閉症尚需假以時日，未來的研究將以識別其他可能導致自閉症的突變爲主。
