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Some research suggests that famine might actually affect future offspring as well.
一些研究表明，饥荒实际上也可能影响未来的后代。
Studies of the Great Chinese Famine, which occurred from 1959 to 1961, killed tens of millions of people, found that children of people who exposed to the famine were more likely to have high blood sugar, obesity and cognitive difficulties.
对发生在1959年至1961年、造成数千万人死亡的中国大饥荒的研究发现，遭受饥荒的人生下的孩子更有可能患有高血糖、肥胖和认知障碍这样的疾病。
Funny story—I have to get tested for diabetes because I’m Bengali—and some academics have argued that the famines due to policies imposed by the British Raj led to something called the “starvation gene.”
这是个有趣的故事——因为我是孟加拉人，所以我必须去做糖尿病检查——一些学者认为，英国统治时期实施的政策导致了饥荒，进而造成了一种叫做“饥饿基因”的产生。
So that's the idea that your body is more likely to hold onto fat.
基本上，携带这种基因的人的身体更容易储存脂肪。
We do know that South Asians—particularly Bengalis—have a higher risk of diabetes, cardiac disease and other metabolic conditions.
我们知道，南亚人，尤其是孟加拉人，患糖尿病、心脏病和其他代谢疾病的风险更高。
Oh wow, that’s really fascinating—and awful. But I didn't know that.
真有趣，但也真的可怕。不过我不知道这个现象。
Some research has actually hinted that the effects of being exposed to hunger could actually affect the third generation—a so-called “grandchild effect.”
一些研究实际上暗示，暴露在饥饿中的影响实际上会影响到第三代人，即所谓的“孙辈效应”。
But this is where it gets a little hairy. Because epigenetic marks are specifically wiped out every generation, and it’s not totally clear how the changes would be passed down.
这就是它的可怕之处。由于表观遗传标记会在一代代人中消失，因此尚不完全清楚这些变化将如何传递下去。
So the thing like the marks get wiped out every generation？
表观遗传标记会在一代代人中消失吗？
Yeah, but it’s possible that any epigenetic changes in subsequent generations are simply due to the fact that if a female baby was exposed to famine in the womb, her ovaries and eggs would also be exposed, so her own babies might eventually have similar impacts.
对，但后代的任何表观遗传变化都可能仅仅是因为这样一个事实导致的: 如果一个女婴在子宫里遭受饥荒，那么她的卵巢和卵子也会受到影响，因此她的子女最终可能会受到类似的影响。
OK, so does that mean that would be passed through the maternal line.
饥荒会通过母系遗传。
That’s correct, according to these researchers—but other researchers actually disagree.
根据这些研究人员的说法，通过母系遗传的说法是正确的，但其他研究人员不这么认为。
So there’s still some contention about whether epigenetic markers are being fully wiped out—not to get too much in the weeds.
关于表观遗传标记是否被完全清除仍然存在一些争论。
I mean that's really interesting to know because I guess we don't fully know this point, right?
我的意思是，知道这一点真的很有趣, 因为我想我们并没有完全了解这一点，对吧?
Yeah, yeah, it's still so open to debate.
是啊，是啊，这还有待商榷。
Right now, I know researchers are saying it’s going to be difficult to track the full intergenerational effects of famine—especially in Gaza.
就目前而言，研究人员表示很难追踪饥荒的代际影响，尤其是在加沙地区。
Absolutely. As Aryeh Stein, a professor of global health and epidemiology at Emory University, put it: “With famine, you get social breakdowns. So it gets incredibly difficult to maintain the records to identify who was exposed.”
没错，正如埃默里大学全球健康与流行病学教授阿里耶·斯坦所说: “饥荒会导致社会崩溃。因此，为确定哪些人暴露在饥荒中而去保存记录的工作变得异常困难。”
Science, Quickly is produced by Jeff DelViscio, Tulika Bose and Timmy Broderick.
《科学快播》由杰夫·德尔维西奥、图里卡·博斯和蒂米·布罗德里克制作。
Our show is edited by Elah Feder and Alexa Lim. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
我们的节目由埃拉·费德和亚历克莎·林编辑。我们的主题音乐是由多米尼克·史密斯创作的。
Don’t forget to subscribe to Science, Quickly wherever you get your podcasts.
无论你在哪里收听我们的播客，不要忘记订阅《科学快播》。
For more in-depth science news and features, go to ScientificAmerican.com.
想要深入了解科学新闻和专题报道，请访问ScientificAmerican.com。
And if you like the show, give us a rating or review!
如果你喜欢我们的节目，请给我们评分、留言!
For Scientific American’s Science, Quickly, I’m Tanya Lewis. I’m Tulika Bose. See you next time!
感谢收听《科学美国人》的科学快播系列栏目，我是坦尼娅·刘易斯。我是图丽卡·博斯。下期节目见!
