Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.
Virusi v tebi
Viruses in you
Written by Urša Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate
Raziskovalci nevidnega sveta mikroorganizmov človeško telo vedno bolj razumejo kot ekosistem različnih organizmov.
Researchers of the invisible world of microorganisms increasingly understand the human body as an ecosystem of various organisms.
Kot recimo v gozdu domujejo različne vrste živali in rastlin, je tudi naše telo dom različnih bakterij in virusov.
Just as a forest is home to different species of animals and plants, our body is also home to various bacteria and viruses.
Raziskovalci najbolj poznajo bakterije v črevesju. Vedno več pozornosti posvečajo tudi virusom. Po zadnjih ocenah jih je v našem telesu veliko več kot bakterij. Velike večine jih sploh še ne poznamo, saj so ti tako zelo različni.
Researchers know the bacteria in the gut best. They are also paying more and more attention to viruses. According to the latest estimates, there are many more of them in our body than bacteria. We don't even know the vast majority of them yet, because they are so very different.
Celoten nabor virusov imenujemo virom. Od človeka do človeka se ta virom zelo razlikuje, pa tudi ljudje iz različnih delov sveta imajo zelo različne virome zaradi različnih prehranjevalnih in higienskih navad.
The whole set of viruses is called a virome. This virome varies greatly from person to person, and people from different parts of the world also have very different viromes due to different eating and hygiene habits.
Znanstveniki so izolirali različne ostanke virusnih genov iz blata dvojčkov in njune matere. Ugotovili so, da so bili njihovi virusi zelo različni virusi, pa tudi, da imajo zdravi ljudje v telesu ogromno virusov.
Scientists have isolated various remnants of viral genes from the faeces of the twins and their mother. They found that their viruses were very different viruses, and also that healthy people have a huge amount of viruses in their bodies.
Številni virusi nam pomagajo pri prebavi hrane. V debelem črevesju recimo bakteriofagi – virusi bakterij – uravnavajo številčnost bakterij. Tako varujejo naše telo pred okužbo.
Many viruses help us digest food. In the large intestine, for example, bacteriophages – bacterial viruses – regulate the amount of bacteria. This protects our body from infection.
Virusi ne živijo le v debelem črevesju. Svojo sled so pustili tudi na naših genih. Pred 25 milijoni let se je v genom višjih primatov vrinil retro virus.
Viruses don’t just live in the colon. They also left their mark on our genes. Twenty-five million years ago, a retrovirus entered the genome of higher primates.
Ta je povzročil razvoj novega organa pri samicah. Med nosečnostjo se od tedaj v maternici razvije placenta, ki omogoča preskrbo zarodka s hrano.
This led to the development of a new organ in females. During pregnancy, the placenta develops in the uterus, which allows the fetus to be supplied with food
Nova lastnost je zmanjšala smrtnost zarodkov in za vrsto predstavljala tako veliko prednost, da se je virus v našem genomu ohranil do danes.
This new trait reduced embryo mortality and was such a huge advantage for the species that the virus has survived in our genome to this day.
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