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Whatever led bats to tolerate certain deadly viruses, a number of researchers are searching for genetic insights.
不论是什么原因导致蝙蝠能够耐受特定致命病毒，不少研究人员都在寻找基因中的线索。
Several immunity-related bat genes have been identified, and some have been experimentally transferred to other species, where they provide the same benefits.
目前已发现几个与免疫相关的蝙蝠基因，其中有些基因已在实验中转移到其他物种，结果发现可提供相同的效益。
For instance, lab mice engineered with a bat gene showed resistance to bat influenza.
例如，实验室小鼠通过基因工程获得蝙蝠基因后，对蝙蝠流感产生了抵抗力。
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，研究人员想知道是否存在所有蝙蝠都拥有的免疫优势，对一般病毒都有效，抑或疾病抵抗力取决于蝙蝠物种及对特定病毒的接触史。
Some species are reservoir hosts, meaning viruses live within the animal without causing disease.
有些蝙蝠是储备宿主，代表病毒可在它们体内存活却不会导致疾病。
Presumably, a reservoir host would have a different reaction than a related species that is not usually exposed to the virus.
储备宿主对病毒的反应，大概会与通常不接触这种病毒的亲缘种有所差异。
Ebola is a classic example. It is devastating to humans and some other mammals, and most scientists suspect that bats are the natural reservoir.
埃博拉就是一个典型例子。这种病毒会对人类和其他一些哺乳动物造成严重的伤害，而多数科学家怀疑蝙蝠是储备宿主。
Some bat species show evidence of exposure when their blood is sampled, while others do not.
有些蝙蝠物种的血液检测显示曾接触埃博拉的证据，有些蝙蝠则不然。
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).
在乌千达，由美国和乌干达科学家组成的团队正在利用详细的基因活性检测，精准找出不同种蝙蝠对埃博拉的反应（更具体来说，是对无感染性埃博拉病毒片段的反应）。
"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."
团队带头人是巴克内尔大学的蒂安·瑞德，她说：“蝙蝠既特别又神奇。我想了解它们到底为什么能做到这些事，而它们的免疫系统就是其中一环。它们非常擅长应对病原体，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.
她和同样来自巴克内尔大学的肯·菲尔德、来自慕尼大学的伊姆兰·埃乔特正在捕捉蝙蝠，并使用埃博拉蛋白质为蝙蝠进行免疫接种，希望了解不同种蝙蝠的免疫系统如何应对类病毒威胁。
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种之一是小颈囊果蝠。
Researchers have found signs of exposure to Ebola viruses in this species and its relatives, suggesting that they may have coevolved with these viruses.
研究人员已在这种蝙蝠及亲缘种体内发现接触埃博拉病毒的迹象，表示它们可能与这些病毒共同演化。
That could mean they have a greater ability to tolerate infection.
这可能代表它们耐受感染的能力更强。
Another species, the green house bat, shows no indication of living with Ebola.
另一种物种，温室蝙蝠，没有迹象表明与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.
研究人员给予第一次注射和一次追加剂之后，对经过免疫接种的蝙蝠及对照组探集血液和组织，以检查哪一组的基因呈活性状态，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."
菲尔德说，对于似乎已经与某些病原体共同演化的蝙蝠，“病毒不会杀死这些蝙蝠，甚至不会让它们生病。”
Comparison with other bat species could pinpoint the immune strategies of resistant bats.
与其他种蝙蝠进行比较，将有助于确认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.
如此产生了一个可以带来巨大回报的问题：能不能操纵人类的生物机制来发挥相同作用呢？
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.
举例来说，在COVID-19疫情期间，医生在患者身上注意到的其中一项特征是细胞激素风暴，也就是蛋白质剧增而引发严重发炎，导致患者死亡。
What if scientists could find a way to mimic the immune systems of bats with a drug?
要是科学家找到利用药物来模仿蝙蝠免疫系统的方法，会怎么样？
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.
对于研究蝙蝠且热爱蝙蝠的科学家而言，蝙蝠不仅是科学瑰宝，也对是既与我们十分相像（因为它们拥有翼手，而且是温血和胎生动物），又与我们大相径庭的生物。
Inevitably, students of bats become protectors of bats.
研究蝙蝠的人无可避免会成为保护蝙蝠的人。
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.
德州理工大学的缇嘉·金斯顿研究东南亚蝙蝠，而且积极参与蝙蝠保育研究，她说，蝙蝠尽管在演化上十分成功，但有许多弱点。
For instance, though they may seem like flying mice, rodents breed early and often, having multiple litters a year.
例如，虽然它们看起来像会飞的老鼠，但啮齿动物在很年轻时就开始繁殖，且繁殖频率很高，一年能生下好几胎。
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.
而蝙蝠开始繁殖的时间比啮齿动物晚，是在出生第二年甚至第三年才开始，而且平均一年只生一只后代。当然，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.
金斯顿说：“因此，任何干扰蝙蝠族群的因素都让它们难以恢复族群数量。”全球有超过200种蝙蝠被列为受威胁物种。
