科學家發現：長痘痘的人老得慢
還在爲痘痘而煩惱？這裏可不是要推薦什麼祛痘產品給你，而是要告訴你一個好消息：科學家研究發現，長痘痘的人老得慢。長“青春痘”的人在步入中年後將更青春。
If your teenage son or daughter is blighted by acne, they can take heart.
如果你那處在青春期的兒子女兒正飽受粉刺痤瘡的摧殘，那麼是時候振作起來了。
For while they may feel greasy and unattractive at the moment, by middle age they will be the envy of their peers.
因爲儘管這一陣子他們可能會覺得皮膚油油的毫無魅力，但步入中年後同齡人就該羨慕他們了。
British research shows that acne sufferers’ cells have built-in protection against ageing that is likely to keep them looking younger than their years.
英國研究發現，長痘痘的人細胞中有天然的抗衰老屏障，可能使他們看起來比實際年齡小。
So while their former classmates bemoan the appearance of crow’s feet and other wrinkles and crinkles, their skin is more likely to maintain a youthful lustre.
所以，當他們的老同學爲出現魚尾紋哀嘆不已、臉上涌現層層皺紋時，這些長痘痘的人更有可能還保留着年輕時的光澤。
The suggestion comes from King’s College London researchers who studied tiny structures called telomeres.
這一結論來自倫敦大學國王學院的研究員，他們研究了一種叫做端粒的微小構造。
These are caps on the ends of chromosomes that protect the DNA in them from damage, much like caps on shoelaces prevent fraying. Thought of as tiny biological clocks, telomeres get shorter as we age and eventually become so short that cells die.
這是染色體末端的帽子，保護內部的DNA不受破壞，就像鞋帶頭上的繩花讓鞋帶不散毛。端粒被認爲是微小的生物鐘，它會隨着人變老而越來越短，達到最短之時細胞也就死亡了。
Previous studies have found men and women with long telomeres tend to be biologically younger than those of the same age but with shorter ones. All in all, telomeres are considered so important that the scientists who discovered them seven years ago were awarded a Nobel Prize for medicine.
之前已研究發現，端粒長的男人和女人一般比端粒短的同齡人生理上更爲年輕。一言以蔽之，端粒十分重要，七年前發現端粒的科學家還因此獲得了諾貝爾醫學獎。
The King’s College study measured the telomeres in the white blood cells of more than 1,200 twins, a quarter of whom had suffered from acne.
國王學院的研究測量了1200多對雙胞胎白血球內的端粒長度，其中受粉刺困擾的人佔四分之一。
Telomeres were significantly longer in those who had a spotty adolescence, even when factors such as age were taken into account.
即便考慮了年齡等因素的影響，這些青春期長過痘的人端粒明顯更長。
A second experiment looking at skin samples showed that a cluster of genes involved in cell death was less active in acne sufferers.
第二個實驗觀察了一些皮膚樣本，發現長痘者體內的一組造成細胞死亡的基因活躍度較低。
Dermatologists have long noted that the skin of acne patients seems to age more slowly, with wrinkles and thinning appearing much later.
皮膚病學家早就指出粉刺患者的皮膚看起來老得慢，皮膚變薄、長皺紋來得更晚些。
It was thought excessive oil production contributed to their Peter Pan looks, but the rest of the biology was unknown.
據認爲是過多的油脂分泌造就了這些人彼得•潘式的不老容顏，但其他生物學原因還不得而知。
Previous research from the same university has suggested adults with lots of moles may also look younger for longer. The latest study is reported in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
這所大學早前的研究顯示，長有很多痣的成年人可能也會青春常駐。上文提到的最新研究發表在了《皮膚病學雜誌》上。
Longer telomeres also tend to signal stronger bones and a less frail old age, meaning dealing with spots may have more than one silver lining.
端粒長通常也意味着骨頭更強壯，這樣的人到了老年體質也不會太弱。這樣看來長痘長痣的人還真有可能是福氣多多。
All of the study participants were women but the finding is also likely to apply to men who suffered from acne as teenagers.
參與研究的對象均爲女性，但研究結果可能對青春期長痘的男性也同樣適用。
