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Whatever led bats to tolerate certain deadly viruses, a number of researchers are searching for genetic insights.
不論是什么原因導致蝙蝠能夠耐受特定致命病毒，不少研究人員都在尋找基因中的線索。
Several immunity-related bat genes have been identified, and some have been experimentally transferred to other species, where they provide the same benefits.
目前已發現幾個與免疫相關的蝙蝠基因，其中有些基因已在實驗中轉移到其他物種，結果發現可提供相同的效益。
For instance, lab mice engineered with a bat gene showed resistance to bat influenza.
例如，實驗室小鼠通過基因工程獲得蝙蝠基因后，對蝙蝠流感產生了抵抗力。
Beyond bat flu, researchers wonder if there is an immunological advantage that all bats have, that works with viruses in general, or if disease resistance depends on the species and its history of exposure to specific viruses.
除了蝙蝠流感外，研究人員想知道是否存在所有蝙蝠都擁有的免疫優勢，對一般病毒都有效，抑或疾病抵抗力取決于蝙蝠物種及對特定病毒的接觸史。
Some species are reservoir hosts, meaning viruses live within the animal without causing disease.
有些蝙蝠是儲備宿主，代表病毒可在它們體內存活卻不會導致疾病。
Presumably, a reservoir host would have a different reaction than a related species that is not usually exposed to the virus.
儲備宿主對病毒的反應，大概會與通常不接觸這種病毒的親緣種有所差異。
Ebola is a classic example. It is devastating to humans and some other mammals, and most scientists suspect that bats are the natural reservoir.
埃博拉就是一個典型例子。這種病毒會對人類和其他一些哺乳動物造成嚴重的傷害，而多數科學家懷疑蝙蝠是儲備宿主。
Some bat species show evidence of exposure when their blood is sampled, while others do not.
有些蝙蝠物種的血液檢測顯示曾接觸埃博拉的證據，有些蝙蝠則不然。
In Uganda, a team of U.S. and Ugandan scientists is using detailed tests of gene activity to find out precisely how different bats respond to Ebola (or, more specifically, to a noninfectious fragment of Ebola virus).
在烏千達，由美國和烏干達科學家組成的團隊正在利用詳細的基因活性檢測，精準找出不同種蝙蝠對埃博拉的反應（更具體來說，是對無感染性埃博拉病毒片段的反應）。
"Bats are extraordinary and amazing," said Bucknell University's DeeAnn Reeder, the team leader. "I want to understand how the heck they do all the things that they do, and their immune system is a piece of that. They're exceptionally good at managing those pathogens to avoid illness themselves."
團隊帶頭人是巴克內爾大學的蒂安·瑞德，她說：“蝙蝠既特別又神奇。我想了解它們到底為什么能做到這些事，而它們的免疫系統就是其中一環。它們非常擅長應對病原體，避免自己生病。”
She and her Bucknell colleague Ken Field and Imran Ejotre at Muni University are trapping and immunizing bats with Ebola proteins in hopes of seeking exactly how the immune systems of different species cope with a viruslike threat.
她和同樣來自巴克內爾大學的肯·菲爾德、來自慕尼大學的伊姆蘭·埃喬特正在捕捉蝙蝠，并使用埃博拉蛋白質為蝙蝠進行免疫接種，希望了解不同種蝙蝠的免疫系統如何應對類病毒威脅。
One species that Reeder and her colleagues are studying is the little epauletted fruit bat.
瑞德和同事正在研究的物種之一是小頸囊果蝠。
Researchers have found signs of exposure to Ebola viruses in this species and its relatives, suggesting that they may have coevolved with these viruses.
研究人員已在這種蝙蝠及親緣種體內發現接觸埃博拉病毒的跡象，表示它們可能與這些病毒共同演化。
That could mean they have a greater ability to tolerate infection.
這可能代表它們耐受感染的能力更強。
Another species, the green house bat, shows no indication of living with Ebola.
另一種物種，溫室蝙蝠，沒有跡象表明與埃博拉病毒一起生活。
Researchers sample the blood and tissue of immunized bats, as well as control groups, to see which genes are active, and how active, after a first injection and a booster shot.
研究人員給予第一次注射和一次追加劑之后，對經過免疫接種的蝙蝠及對照組探集血液和組織，以檢查哪一組的基因呈活性狀態，以及活性程度高低。
For the bats that seemed to have coevolved with some pathogens, Field said, "these viruses do not kill these bats. They don't even make them sick."
菲爾德說，對于似乎已經與某些病原體共同演化的蝙蝠，“病毒不會殺死這些蝙蝠，甚至不會讓它們生病。”
Comparison with other bat species could pinpoint the immune strategies of resistant bats.
與其他種蝙蝠進行比較，將有助于確認具抵抗力蝙蝠的免疫策略。
Then the question with an enormous payoff is whether human biology could be manipulated to act in the same way.
如此產生了一個可以帶來巨大回報的問題：能不能操縱人類的生物機制來發揮相同作用呢？
For instance, during the COVID pandemic, one of the things doctors noted in ill patients was a cytokine storm, a burst of proteins that caused such severe inflammation that patients died.
舉例來說，在COVID-19疫情期間，醫生在患者身上注意到的其中一項特征是細胞激素風暴，也就是蛋白質劇增而引發嚴重發炎，導致患者死亡。
What if scientists could find a way to mimic the immune systems of bats with a drug?
要是科學家找到利用藥物來模仿蝙蝠免疫系統的方法，會怎么樣？
For the scientists who study and love them, bats are not only scientific treasures but also living beings that are at once so like us -- with their hand wings, warm blood, and live birth -- and yet irresistibly alien.
對于研究蝙蝠且熱愛蝙蝠的科學家而言，蝙蝠不僅是科學瑰寶，也對是既與我們十分相像（因為它們擁有翼手，而且是溫血和胎生動物），又與我們大相徑庭的生物。
Inevitably, students of bats become protectors of bats.
研究蝙蝠的人無可避免會成為保護蝙蝠的人。
Tigga Kingston at Texas Tech University, who studies Southeast Asian bats and is deeply involved in bat conservation research, said that despite the great evolutionary successes of bats, they may have many vulnerabilities.
德州理工大學的緹嘉·金斯頓研究東南亞蝙蝠，而且積極參與蝙蝠保育研究，她說，蝙蝠盡管在演化上十分成功，但有許多弱點。
For instance, though they may seem like flying mice, rodents breed early and often, having multiple litters a year.
例如，雖然它們看起來像會飛的老鼠，但嚙齒動物在很年輕時就開始繁殖，且繁殖頻率很高，一年能生下好幾胎。
Bats start reproducing later than rodents, in their second or even third year, and have one offspring a year on average. Naturally, not all of those survive.
而蝙蝠開始繁殖的時間比嚙齒動物晚，是在出生第二年甚至第三年才開始，而且平均一年只生一只后代。當然，不是所有后代都成功存活。
"As a consequence," Kingston said, "anything that disturbs their populations is difficult for them to recover from." More than 200 species around the world are listed as threatened.
金斯頓說：“因此，任何干擾蝙蝠族群的因素都讓它們難以恢復族群數量。”全球有超過200種蝙蝠被列為受威脅物種。
