狗为什么对人类友善 - 原因尽在基因中
Why dogs are friendly - it's written in their genes
狗为什么对人类友善 - 原因尽在基因中
Some wolves are more sociable than others。
有些狼比其它的更喜欢和人打交道。
Being friendly is in dogs' nature and could be key to how they came to share our lives, say US scientists.
美国科学家说, 友善是狗的天性，这个天性很可能就是他们能够我们共同生活的原因。
Dogs evolved from wolves tens of thousands of years ago.
狗是在数万年前从狼进化而来的。
During this time, certain genes that make dogs particularly gregarious have been selected for, according to research.
根据研究，在这数万年的演变中，一些让狗特别合群的基因被筛选出来。
This may give dogs their distinctive personalities, including a craving for human company.
这或许给狗了它独特的个性，包括对人类陪伴的渴望。
"Our finding of genetic variation in both dogs and wolves provides a possible insight into animal personality, and may even suggest similar genes may have roles in other domestic species (maybe cats even)," said Dr Bridgett vonHoldt of Princeton University.
普林斯顿大学的Bridgett vonHoldt博士说: “我们发现狗和狼的遗传变异，为了解动物的个性提供了有用的信息，这个遗传变异甚至可能暗示类似的基因可能在其他家养物种(甚至是猫)中起了重要的作用。
The researchers studied the behaviour of domestic dogs, and grey wolves living in captivity. They carried out a number of tests of the animals' skills at problem-solving and sociability.
研究人员对家养狗、圈养中的灰狼的行为以及生活进行了研究。他们对动物的解决问题和社交的能力进行了一系列的测试。
Captive wolves gave humans only brief attention。
在驯养环境下的狼只给人类短暂的关注
These showed that wolves were as good as dogs at solving problems, such as retrieving pieces of sausage from a plastic lunchbox.
实验表明狼在解决问题时和狗一样出色，比如从午餐盒中取出香肠。
Dogs, however, were much more friendly. They spent more time greeting human strangers and gazing at them, while wolves were somewhat aloof.
但是，狗却更友好。他们用更多的时间和陌生人（人类）打招呼，凝视着他们，而狼则相对冷漠。
DNA tests found a link between certain genetic changes and behaviours such as attentiveness to strangers or picking up on social cues.
DNA测试发现了某些基因变化和行为之间的联系，比如对陌生人的关注、或在社交活动中领会暗示的能力。
Similar changes in humans are associated with a rare genetic syndrome, where people are highly sociable.
在人类中我们也有类似的变化。这种变化与一种罕见的遗传性症状有关，这样的人非常善于交际。
Dr Elaine Ostrander of the National Institutes of Health, who was not connected with the study, said the information would be useful in studying human disease.
美国国家卫生研究所的Elaine Ostrander博士说,这一信息对研究人类疾病相当有帮助。
Wolves playing at Yellowstone。
狼在美国黄石公园戏耍
"This exciting observation highlights the utility of the dog as a genetic system informative for studies of human disease, as it shows how minor variants in critical genes in dogs result in major syndromic effects in humans," she said.
她说: “这一令人兴奋的观察突显了狗作为一种基因系统的效用，它为人类疾病的研究提供了信息，它所显示的狗在关键基因中的一个微小变异，对人类来说却导致了一个重大的症状。
Dogs were domesticated from wolves between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.
2万和4万年前，狼被驯化、家养成为狗。
This process began when wolves that were tolerant of humans sneaked into hunter gatherer camps to feed on food scraps.
这一过程开始于那些对人类容忍度较高的狼开始潜入最早期人类的捕猎采集的营地，并以食物残渣为生。
Over the course of history, wolves were eventually tamed and became the dogs we know today, which come in all shapes and sizes.
在这样的历史过程中，狼最终被驯服了，成为我们今天所知道的、各种形状和大小都很不同的狗 。
The finding of genetic changes linked to sociability in dogs shows how their friendly behaviour might have evolved.
狗的基因变化和其社交能力有关，这个发现表明了他们和人类友好的行为是如何进化而来的。
"This could easily play into the story then of how these wolves leave descendants that are also 'friendlier' than others, setting the path for domestication," said Dr vonHoldt.
vonHoldt博士说:“这个发现很容易令我们了解到，为什么这些狼繁衍出的后代比其它狼的后代对人更”友善“，令驯化的铺陈自然呈现。“
The research is published in the journal, Science Advances.
这个研究发表在《科学进展》杂志上。
来源：本文原载于“充满阳光的房间”微信公众号，为该公众号的原创作品，转载已获得授权。
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