科学家最近在一个意想不到的地方发现了古代疾病的痕迹：一本有着1000年历史的福音书的页面中。
Scientists recently discovered traces of an ancient disease in an unlikely place: the pages of a 1,000-year-old gospel book.
这一发现以《约克福音书》（York Gospels）为核心，由都柏林大学（UCD）于9月初宣布。
The discovery, which centered on the York Gospels, was announced by University College Dublin (UCD) in early September.
在最近发表于《科学进展》（Science Advances）杂志的一项研究中，都柏林大学的研究人员利用保存在手稿和动物遗骸中的古DNA，追踪了羊痘病毒数千年的演变过程。
In a study recently published in Science Advances, UCD researchers traced thousands of years of evolution of the sheeppox virus using ancient DNA preserved in manuscripts and animal remains.
此前被认为“平淡无奇”的受损残片，竟是荷马史诗《奥德赛》历史中的罕见片段。据该大学称，这种高度传染性的疾病会影响绵羊，但目前尚无感染人类的记录。研究人员在用于制作羊皮纸的动物皮中检测到了该病毒的DNA。
DAMAGED FRAGMENT DEEMED 'UNREMARKABLE' TURNS OUT TO BE RARE PIECE OF HOMER'S 'ODYSSEY' HISTORY The highly contagious disease affects sheep but is not known to infect humans. Researchers detected its DNA in the animal skins used to make parchment, according to the university.
《约克福音书》由盎格鲁-撒克逊抄写员于公元900年代末在坎特伯雷书写，后来被带到约克大教堂，并在那里保存了数百年。
The York Gospels were written in Canterbury in the late 900s by Anglo-Saxon scribes and were later brought to York Minster — where they've been housed for centuries.
出乎意料的是，研究人员在由小牛皮和山羊皮制成的羊皮纸上发现了羊痘病毒的痕迹，这表明当时可能存在跨物种感染，或是在羊皮纸制作过程中发生了污染。
Unexpectedly, researchers found traces of sheeppox virus on parchment made from calfskin and goatskin, suggesting either cross-species infections or contamination during the parchment-making process.
通过将这些手稿与从青铜时代绵羊牙齿中提取的DNA进行对比，研究人员发现羊痘困扰牲畜已超过3700年。
Comparing the manuscripts with DNA recovered from Bronze Age sheep teeth, researchers found that sheeppox has plagued livestock for over 3,700 years.
基督教最伟大的圣徒之一的失传布道文在1600年后被发现。都柏林大学在声明中将《约克福音书》描述为一个“生物时间胶囊”，它将该病毒的证据保存了数百年。
LOST SERMONS FROM ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S GREATEST SAINTS DISCOVERED AFTER 1,600 YEARS In a statement, UCD described the York Gospels as a "biological time capsule" that preserved evidence of the virus for centuries.
该大学表示：“这项研究揭示了羊痘威胁牲畜的历史已超过3700年。”
"The research reveals that sheeppox has threatened livestock for more than 3,700 years," the university said.
“与其他骨骼材料不同，牙齿可以保存数千年的感染遗传证据，为过去的疫情提供了宝贵的记录。”羊痘可以在羊群中迅速传播并可能致命，尤其是对幼年动物而言，这使得疫情对依赖畜牧业的社区构成了潜在的严重威胁。
"Unlike other skeletal material, teeth can preserve genetic evidence of infection over thousands of years, providing a valuable record of past outbreaks." Sheeppox can spread rapidly through flocks and can be deadly, particularly for young animals — making outbreaks a potentially serious threat to livestock-dependent communities.
都柏林大学（UCD）表示：“羊痘是一种传染性极强的疾病，传播速度极快，能在短时间内感染羊群中的大部分个体。”
"A highly contagious disease, sheeppox spreads rapidly and can affect large portions of a flock in a short time," UCD said.
专家在埃及木乃伊上发现荷马史诗《伊利亚特》片段，这一史无前例的发现令学界震惊。“这种疾病之所以特别危险，是因为它会导致极高的死亡率，尤其是在幼畜中，而且会通过损害羊毛、肉类和奶制品的产量，从而大幅降低生产力。”都柏林大学博士候选人、该研究的主要作者路易斯·洛特（Louis L'Hôte）向校方表示，这一发现表明羊皮纸可以保存数世纪之久的动物病原体DNA痕迹。
EXPERTS STUNNED AFTER UNCOVERING HOMER'S 'ILIAD' ON EGYPTIAN MUMMY IN UNPRECEDENTED FIND "The disease is particularly dangerous because it can cause very high mortality rates, especially in young animals, and dramatically reduce productivity by damaging wool, meat and milk yields." Louis L'Hôte, a Ph.D. candidate at UCD who was the lead author of the study, told university officials that the discovery shows parchment can preserve traces of animal pathogen DNA for centuries.
“世界各地的档案馆和图书馆中，可能也保存着过去动物疾病爆发的遗传痕迹，”洛特说。
"It is possible that archives and libraries around the world also contain the genetic traces of disease outbreaks in animals in the past," said L'Hôte.
“这些基因组有助于我们了解这些病原体是如何进化的，以及它们如何影响了过去的社会——例如羊痘病毒，我们的研究表明，它至少在三千五百年来一直影响着欧亚大陆的羊群。”洛特补充说，这种病原体至今仍构成威胁，研究其古老的DNA可以帮助研究人员更好地了解如何根除它。
"These genomes help us understand how these pathogens evolved and how they affected past societies — such as sheeppox virus, which we show has been affecting Eurasian sheep herds for at least three-and-a-half millennia." CLICK HERE TO L'Hôte added that the pathogen remains a threat today — and that studying its ancient DNA could help researchers better understand how to eradicate it.
“世界各地的人们仍在与这种病原体作斗争——目前希腊正爆发羊痘疫情，造成了巨大的经济损失，”他说。
"People around the world are still fighting against this pathogen — there is currently an outbreak of sheeppox in Greece, causing much economic damage," he said.
“我们发现，与天花病毒不同，羊痘病毒的基因组在过去几千年里非常稳定，”他补充道。
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS "We find that unlike the smallpox virus, the sheeppox virus genome was very stable over the last few millennia," he added.
“这可能意味着在此之前的基因变化对于羊痘病毒如何进化以感染宿主至关重要，这或许能帮助我们在未来对抗这种病原体，”他补充说。福克斯新闻数字频道已联系洛特，寻求进一步的评论和见解。
"This might mean that genetic changes before this point were very important to how the sheeppox virus evolved to infect its host, which may help us fight the pathogen in the future," he added. Fox News Digital reached out to L'Hôte for further comment and insight.
越来越多的古代DNA发现为几个世纪前困扰人类和动物的疾病提供了新的视角。
A growing number of ancient DNA discoveries have shed new light on diseases that afflicted humans and animals centuries ago.
今年早些时候，科学家在拥有数百年历史的智利木乃伊中发现了天花病毒的DNA，这为该疾病在早期殖民时期出现在南美洲这一地区提供了首个证据。
Earlier this year, scientists discovered smallpox DNA in centuries-old Chilean mummies — providing the first evidence of the disease in that part of South America during the early colonial period.
在耶鲁大学，研究人员分析了一位16世纪意大利统治者的古DNA，并发现了其死于疟疾的证据，这有助于解开围绕他突然死亡的数百年谜团。
At Yale, researchers analyzed ancient DNA from a 16th-century Italian ruler and found evidence that he died of malaria, helping resolve a centuries-old mystery surrounding his sudden death.