Another paper from 2018 looked at the genes that code for opsin in 154 modern mammals.

另一篇2018年的论文研究了154种现代哺乳动物中编码的基因。

Opsins are light-sensitive proteins that help translate light into an electrochemical signal the brain can interpret.

是感光质，有助于将光线转化为大脑可以解读的电化学信号。

If you ask Megan Porter, a lot of it comes down to genes that encode proteins called opsins.

如果询问梅根·波特，很大一部分原因归结于编码为的质的基因。

The opsin gene for our green-sensitive visual pigment was duplicated, and the second version evolved to be more red-sensitive.

我们绿色敏感色素的光敏基因发生了复制，复制的第二个版本逐渐进化为对红色更加敏感。

And then looking for which parts glow in the right color, we can figure out where each opsin is being expressed, where the protein is located.

随后， 通过寻部位发出正确的颜色光芒，我们就能确定每种的表达位置，即质所在之处。

These researchers found that all mammals have lost a number of genes that code for certain opsin proteins, indicating that mammal eyes are adapted to low-light conditions.

这研究人员发现， 所有哺乳动物都失去了一编码特定的基因，这表明哺乳动物的眼睛适应了低光照条件。

The way that animals achieve color vision is to have different copies of this opsin gene, and those variations then are what produce proteins that are sensitive to different colors of light.

动物实现色觉的方式在于拥有这个基因的不同副本，而这变异正是产生对不同光色敏感的质的原因。

But some species became sensitive to red when their green-sensitive opsin gene was accidentally duplicated in the genome, and the new copy started to evolve, shifting its sensitivity to longer wavelengths.

但在某物种中， 当它们网膜中对绿色敏感的基因在基因组中意外复制后，新复制的基因开始进化，逐渐将其敏感性转向更长的波长， 从而使这物种对红色产生了感知能力。

So when we were able to put those opsins, the light-sensitive proteins, inside of these neuropods, and now when we turn the light on to shut off these cells very rapidly, we found something very interesting.

所以当我们把这光敏放入这神经足细胞内时，现在当我们打开灯光迅速关闭这细胞时，我们发现了一非常有趣的东西。