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Most of us have had the same experience.
大多數人都有過這樣的經歷，
We see a big, red tomato in the grocery store, take it home for our salad, and find out that it tastes like cardboard.
從商店里挑選出又大又紅的番茄回去做沙拉，然后一嘗，味同嚼蠟。
You might think that the tomato is sub-par because it's been picked before it ripened, or shipped across the country.
你可能認為買回的番茄味道不好是因為它沒有成熟就被摘下，或者是運輸過久的原因。
Those things can be true, but scientists have found another reason why modern tomatoes have little or no taste.
這的確是一部分原因，然而科學家們發現現今的番茄不好吃還有其它原因，
It's in their genes.
那就是它們的基因問題。
The problem began with old fashioned or heirloom tomatoes.
這個問題要追溯到從前的天然番茄，
They didn't ripen consistently.
它們并不總能完全長熟，
Someareas would be red, while other areas, usually near the stem, would be white or green.
番茄的有些部分是紅的，而其它地方，尤其是靠近莖蒂的地方，往往是白色或綠色的。
About seventy years ago, tomato breeders accidentally discovered a variety that turned red uniformly.
大約70年以前，番茄種植者們偶然間發現一種全紅的番茄品種，
Consumers liked the way the tomatoes looked, and companies that made ketchup and tomato sauce could make better looking products.
不僅消費者們喜歡這種模樣的番茄，番茄醬制造公司也能生產出賣相更好的產品，
The trouble was, red did not equal tasty.
然而問題也出現了，看起來好看并不代表它的口感好。
While experimenting with weed genes that turned tomatoes dark green, geneticists accidentally discovered one of the reasons why today's tomatoes lack taste.
基因學家在對使番茄呈墨綠色的基因進行實驗的過程中，意外發現了現今西紅柿乏味的另外一大原因。
Modern tomatoes are light green before they turn uniformly red.
現在的西紅柿在全部變紅之前是呈淺綠色的，
Surprisingly, the mutation that gives tomatoes uniform red color actually disables some of the ripening genes.
令人驚奇的是，讓番茄變紅的變異卻恰恰抑制了成熟基因的作用。
Those genes allow the fruit to make its own sugar which makes the tomato sweeter.
而成熟基因可以使水果產生糖分，從而使番茄變甜，
The genes also increase the amount of carotenoid pigments,which give tomatoes the red color.
同時產生更多的類胡蘿卜素，使番茄變紅。
When researchers turned the ripening genes back on, their experimental tomatoes had twenty percent more sugar and up to thirty percent more carotenoids.
當研究者們嘗試著將成熟基因恢復到原有數量后，他們的實驗番茄中所含的糖分增加了20%，類胡蘿卜素提高了30%。
Unfortunately, regulations prohibited researchers from tasting their experimental fruits, but youcan try eating heirloom tomatoes.
遺憾的是，由于法規的原因，研究者們無法品嘗自己的實驗番茄，不過你們可以試著嘗嘗那些純天然的番茄。
They aren't as pretty looking, but are tastier.
它們不中看，但是很好吃。
