科学家欲借基因测序破解尼斯湖水怪之谜
For hundreds of years, visitors to Scotland's Loch Ness have described seeing a creature that some people believe lives deep in the lake.
自从有游客描述过在苏格兰尼斯湖发现水怪后，百年来人们一直认为水怪就居住在水底。But now the story of "Nessie" -- the Loch Ness Monster -- may have no place to hide.
但是现在，这个关于“尼西”（尼斯湖水怪）的故事可能出现转折，尼斯湖水怪可能藏不住了。A New Zealand scientist is leading an international team to the lake next month. They plan to take some of the water and study genetic material from the lake to see what species live there.
一个由新西兰科学家领导的国际团队，将于下个月入驻尼斯湖，通过检测该区域水样本中含有的基因材料来分析什么生物在这里居住过。
Neil Gemmell is a professor at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The 51-year-old researcher says he does not believe all the stories about Nessie.
尼尔·格默尔是新西兰达尼丁大学的教授。这名51岁的研究者称，他不相信尼西的故事。But he said he wants to take people on an interesting trip and communicate some science to them along the way.
但是他表示，自己想要带着人们踏上这个有趣之旅，并通过探索过程向人们传送一些科学知识。One of the more unusual theories is that Nessie is a long-necked dinosaur that somehow survived after other dinosaurs died out. Another theory is that the creature is actually a large fish, such as a sturgeon or giant catfish.
最不寻常的一种说法是尼西是一只没有灭绝的长脖子恐龙。另外一种说法是，这种水怪是一条大鱼，比如鲟或者巨大的鲶鱼。
Many people believe the claims of sightings are tricks or can be explained by trees floating in the water or strong winds.
很多人相信关于目睹水怪的传言是假的，很可能是被水流或风吹动的树造成的。Gemmell said that when creatures move in water, they leave behind small pieces of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is found in the cells of all animals and plants. It carries their genetic information. DNA comes from their skin, hair and waste fluids.
格默尔称，在水里移动的生物会留下小块的脱氧核苷酸（DNA），动植物细胞上的DNA携带了遗传信息。DNA来自于动植物的皮肤、毛发和口水。The New Zealand researcher said his team will take water from different points around the lake and at different depths. After removing the organic material, they will take the DNA, and sequence it by using technology created for the human genome project.
新西兰研究员称研究团队将在湖的不同地点及深度取水，然后移除杂质，并采用人类基因组计划的技术提取DNA并编织序列。Gemmell said the results of his team's DNA tests will then be compared against all known species. He said they should have answers by the end of the year.
格默尔表示，他的团队的DNA检测结果会与所有已知物种相比对。他们可能会在今年年底揭晓答案。
