科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)：支配雄性倉鼠具有交配欲望的化學(xué)物質(zhì)與促使人類進(jìn)入青春期的化學(xué)物質(zhì)相同,。
印第安那州立大學(xué)的Greg Demas和他的同事們發(fā)現(xiàn)縮氨酸轉(zhuǎn)移抑制素控制著西伯利亞倉鼠(Phodopus sungorus)的生育，這種倉鼠只在夏季繁殖,。在冬季,，雄性倉鼠則改變了體色，縮回性腺,、沒有性欲,。而轉(zhuǎn)移抑制素也是促使人類進(jìn)入青春期的關(guān)鍵因素之一。
研究人員們將一組試驗(yàn)用雄性倉鼠暴露于類似于漫長(zhǎng)的夏季氣候長(zhǎng)達(dá)八周,，而另外一組則暴露于短暫的,、類似于冬天的氣候。接著,，Demas和他的科研小組檢測(cè)了與倉鼠生殖行為有關(guān)的大腦部分的轉(zhuǎn)移抑制素含量,。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)：那些暴露于夏季條件的倉鼠明顯地比那些暴露于人造冬季條件的倉鼠生殖欲望活躍、而且轉(zhuǎn)移抑制素含量也更高,?？茖W(xué)家們還發(fā)現(xiàn)給那些“沉浸”于冬季的倉鼠注射轉(zhuǎn)移抑制素也會(huì)喚起它們的性欲。
該項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在1月22日的《新科學(xué)家》雜志上。 （ Newscientist）
部分英文原文：
Chemical trigger for reproduction
Male hamsters' urge to mate is switched on by the same chemical that triggers puberty in humans.
Greg Demas at Indiana University in Bloomington and his colleagues found that the peptide kisspeptin is involved in switching fertility on and off in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus), which only breed in summer. In winter, male hamsters change colour, their gonads retract and they have no libido. Kisspeptin is one of the triggers for human puberty (New Scientist, 22 July 2006, p 34).
One group of male hamsters was exposed to eight weeks of long, summer-like days and another group to short, winter-like days. Demas and his team then measured the amount of kisspeptin in a part of the brain involved in reproductive behaviour.
Those animals that had been exposed to long days were reproductively active and had significantly more kisspeptin than those that had been through an artificial winter. An injection of kisspeptin was also enough to relaunch fertility in the "winter" hamsters (Endocrinology, DOI: 10.1210/en.2006-1249).
