[(Title)] Scientists have discovered a new gene in your immune system and they want you to help name it

A team of Australian researchers has discovered a new gene with a critical role in the immune system and they are launching a public appeal to help name it.

一个澳大利亚研究人员小组已经发现了一种在免疫系统中发挥关键作用的新基因，他们发起了公众的号召力来帮助对它进行命名。

CSIRO researcher Cameron Stewart said studying the gene — currently called C6orf106 or "C6" — could lead to new treatments for cancer, influenza and autoimmune diseases.

CSIRO的研究人员卡梅伦·斯图尔特说，研究这个基因——目前被称为C6orf106或“C6”——这可能会导致癌症、流感和自身免疫性疾病的新治疗。

According to Dr Stewart and his colleagues, the gene probably evolved more than 500 million years ago in organisms much simpler than humans.

斯图尔特博士和他的同事们表示，这种基因可能在比人类更简单的生物体内进化超过5亿年。

"We found the gene by studying viruses," he said.

他说：“我们通过研究病毒找到该基因。”

"Viruses can't replicate on their own, they need host genes in order to do that.”

病毒不能自己复制，它们需要宿主基因才能复制。”

"So we performed a comprehensive screening looking through the entire genome to identify human molecules that are important for virus growth."

"所以我们通过整个基因组进行了全面的筛选，以确定对病毒生长至关重要的人类分子。”

The process took about three years, working in a high containment facility.

这一过程花了大约三年的时间，在一个高度密封的隔离设施中工作。

Dr Stewart and his colleagues published their findings in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in May and, because they identified the function of a gene that had not been studied before, they have the right to name it.

斯图尔特博士和他的同事们于五月在《生物化学杂志》上发表了他们的发现，并且由于他们确定了一个以前没有研究的基因的功能，他们有权命名它。

This week they launched a new website where the public can nominate suggestions.

本周，他们推出了一个新的网站，让公众可以提出建议。

Dr Stewart said he was going into the process with his eyes open and knew it was just a matter of time before Genie McGeneface gets tossed up.

斯图尔特博士说，他的看着自己进入这个过程，并且知道在GenieMcGenealy被提出只是时间问题。

"I don't mind it, funny suggestions would be great," he said.

“我不介意，有趣的建议会很好，”他说。

"There is a body that does make the final decision so I don't think Genie McGeneface is going to get up, but let's see how many votes it gets in the first place."

“有一个机构将做最后的决定，所以我不认为Genie McGeneface会被采取，但先看看有多少选票。

The CSIRO said the newly identified gene played a crucial role in regulating the body's immune response to infection and disease.

CSIRO说，新识别的基因在调节身体对感染和疾病的免疫反应方面发挥了至关重要的作用。

The hope is the discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for a variety of serious diseases.

希望这项新发现能引导出治疗各种严重疾病的新疗法。

Rebecca Ambrose is a former CSIRO researcher — now based at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research — who co-authored the report on the discovery.

丽贝卡·安博罗斯(Rebecca Ambrose)是前CSIRO研究员，目前在哈德森医学研究院工作，她联合撰写了研究发现报告。

She said there was still much work to do when it came to understanding human genes.

她说，了解人类基因还有很多工作要做。

"Even though the human genome was first fully sequenced in 2003, there are still thousands of genes that we know very little about," she said.

她说：“尽管人类基因组于2003年首次完全测序，但仍有数千个我们对之了解甚少。

"It's exciting to consider that C6 has existed for more than 500 million years, preserved and passed down from simple organisms all the way to humans. But only now are we gaining insights into its importance."

“令人振奋的是，C6已经存在了5亿多年，从简单的有机物中保存并传递给人类，但直到现在，我们才意识到它的重要性。

Dr Stewart echoed those sentiments and said it was an encouraging moment for his team, who work with some of the deadliest diseases on the planet.

斯图尔特博士赞同这些观点，并说这是一个令人鼓舞的时刻，他的团队正在对付地球上一些最致命的疾病。

"It is a high-containment lab and we do a lot of diagnostics work for very serious diseases, viral diseases that don't have any cures and can infect humans," he said.

他说：“这是一个高遏制实验室，我们做了大量的诊断工作，以治疗非常严重的疾病，病毒性疾病，这些疾病没有任何疗法，并可以传染给人类。

"The idea of getting to name a gene or being the first one to discover its function, especially an important gene like this with roles in cancer and autoimmunity, it's very fulfilling and it's one of the reasons scientists love their job."

“获得基因名或第一个发现其功能的基因，特别是像在癌症和自身免疫方面扮演角色的重要基因，这个想法很有成就，这也是科学家热爱自己工作的原因之一。”