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Some researchers theorize that criminal biology is different, with the tendency to break the law encoded in the offender's DNA.
一些研究者发现罪犯的生物机能与常人不同，他们的DNA编码有打乱的趋势。
To say that someone is "born bad" is a gross overstatement, but scientists have suggested that some people are genetically at risk of becoming offenders.
我们总觉得"某人生出来就注定是坏蛋"这种观点言过其实，但科学家表示某些人的确很有成为一代罪犯的潜质。
10.Some People May Be Unable To Reform
10.有些人可能永远也无法改过自新
Researchers have been studying the anterior cingulate cortex in the brains of prisoners to predict if and how long it will be until they commit another crime.
研究人员通过研究罪犯大脑的前扣带皮层，可以预测出他们是否会承认，以及花多长时间承认他们犯下的另一宗罪。
Before being released on parole or probation, 96 male prisoners were given MRI scans in which their impulsive behavior was tested.
96名男子在释放或缓刑期间，将接受核磁共振 （MRI）扫描，以检测他们感性的行为举止。
They watched a screen and were given less than one second to press a button when an "X" appeared but not when a "K" appeared.
他们被要求盯着屏幕，并在一秒钟之内做出反应：当屏幕上出现"X"而不是"K"的时候按下按键。
"X" appeared the majority of the time, so they had to exhibit self-control to stop themselves from pressing the button when "K" appeared.
大部分时候屏幕上都会出现"X"，所以他们必须控制住自己当出现"K"的时候不去按键。
The result was that criminals often pressed the button when "K" appeared, implying that they were more impulsive than the average person. The part of their brain responsible for controlling impulsive behavior may have been deficient.
研究结果显示，罪犯们总是在"K"出现时也情不自禁地按键，这表明他们比一般人更容易感情用事。他们大脑中控制人感性行为的部分也许有所缺陷。
After three years, the study found that criminals with the least amount of activity in their anterior cingulate cortex were more likely to commit a crime during that time.
三年后，研究发现大脑前扣带皮层最不活跃的那批罪犯更容易在释放期间承认罪行。
The level of brain activity also correlated to the amount of time before the criminal became a reoffender.
大脑的活跃度同样也与罪犯离下次再犯的间隔时间相关。
Although the researchers found that the activity in this area of the brain correlated with recidivism, they could not determine why this happened. Impulsiveness could be the reason, but the anterior cingulate cortex could also be calculating how likely the prisoners were to make an error when pressing the button.
研究者尽管知其然，却不知其所以然。大脑活跃度与累犯有联系的原因可能是源于罪犯感性大于理性，但大脑前扣带皮层也可计算出罪犯按键时犯错的可能性。
Scientists cautioned against drawing any conclusions from this type of statistical analysis.
因此，科学家警告说，切忌仅因这些统计分析就妄下定论。
9.Some People Could Be Born Criminals
9.有些人天生就是罪犯
In the late 1960s, the WHO started a project to closely follow about 1,800 children on Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean.
六十年代末，世界卫生组织（WHO）建立了一个项目，以印度洋毛里求斯的近1800名儿童为研究对象。
Researchers have been using that data to predict whether a child will grow up to be a criminal.
研究人员通过分析这些数据来预测这些孩子长大后是否会成为罪犯。
Their research showed that children from Mauritius with slower heart rates and reduced skin responses when annoyed by loud tones or challenging questions tended to have criminal records when they got older.
研究表明，这些来自毛里求斯的孩子如果当受到高声呵斥或咄咄逼人时心率较慢，皮肤相应的收缩也较迟钝的话，那他们长大后很有可能成为罪犯。
Fifteen-year-olds with this pattern tended to have criminal records by age 29. Three-year-olds who displayed the pattern were usually more aggressive than other children five years later.
表现出这些特质的 15岁少年，一般到了29岁就会有犯罪记录；而有这些特质的3岁孩童，5年后也会出落得比其他孩子更具攻击性。
When sets of twins were tested, identical twins showed more similar traits than nonidentical ones.
当研究目光投向双胞胎时，个性相似的双胞胎的共同点比个性相异的双胞胎要多得多。
This suggests that genetics played a stronger role than environmental factors because each set of twins was raised in the same household.
每对双胞胎都是在同样的家庭环境下长大的，因此我们可以得出结论：基因的作用远大于后天环境。
According to the theory, criminals are insensitive to fear. A loud noise raises the heart rate and puts the body in a state of alert, which is what the skin sensors pick up.
根据这一理论，罪犯们鲜少有"恐惧"这种情绪。一般来说，高亢的声音会导致人心率加快，身体机能也会拉响警报，起一身的鸡皮疙瘩。
But children who were not alarmed also didn't react to punishment when they misbehaved. In the same way, they didn't react to distress in other people.
而对此反应淡漠的儿童，他们面对自己行为不端带来的惩戒时仍不为所动。同样的道理，他人的不幸也激不起他们一星半点的反应。
The theory is that the pattern builds as they age, resulting in criminal behavior.
该理论声称，人们小时候的这些特质会引领着他们长大后走上违法犯罪的道路。
However, the researchers caution that environment is a significant factor in whether a child becomes a criminal.
然而，研究人员表示，后天环境也是决定一个孩子是否会成为罪犯的一个重要因素。
8.A Lot Of Crime Was Caused By Lead
8.很多犯罪由铅引起
Exposure to lead during pregnancy may cause infants to have reduced head sizes, headaches, lower IQs, and aggressive or dysfunctional behavior. It also reduces the gray matter in the brain responsible for activities like impulse control and thinking.
孕妇怀孕期间接触铅会导致婴儿头变小、头痛、低智商、表现出好斗或不正常的行为。同时，铅还会减少大脑中负责控制神经冲动和思维等活动的灰质。
Scientists calculated the amounts of lead in the environment for different years and compared that to the rates of violent crime during those years.
科学家计算了不同年份里环境中的含铅量，并把得出的数据与这些年的暴力犯罪率进行比较。
They concluded that a higher amount of lead corresponded to a rise in violent crime two decades later. Still, correlation does not imply causation, so more research was needed.
他们得出的结论是，含铅量的增加对应了二十年后暴力犯罪的增加。然而，两者相关联并不表示两者具有因果关系，所以还需要更多的研究。
Researchers tried to determine if the removal of lead from US gasoline in the 1970s could be linked to crime in the 1990s. Gathering lead data from each state, they plotted crime rates in each area.
研究人员试图确定：去除1970年代美国汽油里的铅，是否能与 1990年代的犯罪有联系。他们从每个州收集含铅量的相关数据，并绘制每个地方犯罪率的图表。
In those states with early or sharp declines in lead, there was a corresponding drop in violent crime 20 years later and vice versa.
在这些州，由于含铅量早期或急剧降低，20年后，暴力犯罪也相应减少，反之亦然。
The lead causation theory has its supporters, with some claiming that 90 percent of the crime rate in the 20th century can be traced to lead.
有些人支持铅导致犯罪的理论，声称20世纪90%的犯罪率可以查出是由铅所致。
However, others are skeptical, citing a lack of evidence. Supporters argue that there can never be direct evidence because no one is going to purposely poison children with lead.
然而，其他人则持怀疑态度，理由是缺乏证据。支持者认为，永远不可能有直接证据，因为没有人会故意用铅毒害儿童。
