科学家揭秘蟑螂何以成为打不死的'小强'

Scientists have discovered why cockroaches love filthy conditions and what makes them so hard to kill — and apparently, it's all in their DNA.

科学家们已经发现了为什么蟑螂喜欢肮脏的环境，以及是什么使得它们如此难以被杀灭--很明显，原因都存在于它们的DNA中。

Researchers say they have identified specific genes which allow the critters to do anything from eating toxic food to regrowing limbs.

研究人员称，他们已经发现了一些特定的基因，这些基因可以让这些生物从吃有毒食物到再生四肢，无所不能。

Shuai Zhan, of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology in Shanghai, says the American cockroach has one of the largest genomes known to exist among insects.

上海植物生理生态研究所的詹帅表示，美国蟑螂的基因组是昆虫中已知的最大基因组之一。

The omnivorous scavenger is ones of the largest insect species to live in such close proximity to humans, but also has the exact same number of genes as us — that's 20,000 in all.

这种杂食性的食腐动物是与人类近距离生活的最大昆虫物种之一，但也有和我们一样的基因数量--总共是2万个。

After studying their DNA, Zhan discovered cockroaches have genes which allow them to sense smells from food, especially fermented food.

在研究了它们的DNA后，詹帅发现蟑螂拥有能让它们感知食物气味的基因，特别是发酵食物的味道。

They also have genes to combat infections, which makes roaches resilient to dirty living conditions and others allowing them to grow back broken limbs.

另外，它们还有对抗感染的基因，这使得蟑螂能够适应肮脏的生存环境，而其他基因则能让它们再生断肢。

Scientists last year discovered that female cockroaches don't need a male partner as they can reproduce for years without mating.

科学家们于去年发现，雌性蟑螂不需要雄性伴侣，因为它们可以在不交配的情况下自行繁衍很多年。