細菌如何統治你的身體——微生物群系：英語精讀講義

Microbes are everywhere.

微生物無處不在。

On your phone,

你的手機上，

in your water bottle,

你的水壺裡，

on your hands before you wash them,

洗手前你的手上，

on your hands after you wash them,

洗手後你的手上，

and literally everywhere else on top of you too.

以及你身體上的任何地方。

Microbes are omnipresent at any moment

微生物隨時隨地都在，

and there is nothing we can do about it.

我們對此無能為力。

So millions of years ago,

所以在數百萬年前，

we made a pact. 慣用語

我們達成了一項契約。

We give them shelter and food

我們為它們提供住所和食物，

and in turn they work for us. 片語搭配

作為回報，它們為我們工作。

But the more we learn about this partnership, 文法

但隨著我們對這種合作關係了解得越多，

the more it looks like a Cold War. 文化背景

它就越像是一場冷戰。

Inside our mother's womb,

在母親的子宮裡，

humans start out sterile. 片語動詞

人類起初是無菌的。

When we're born and traveling through the birth canal, 文化背景

當我們出生並穿過產道時，

billions of our mother's bacteria cover every single part of our bodies.

母親體內數十億的細菌覆蓋了我們身體的每一個角落。

This is an essential part of human health.

這是人類健康的重要組成部分。

Children born via C-section have a higher rate of asthma,

透過剖腹產出生的孩子患氣喘、

immune diseases,

免疫系統疾病、

and even leukemia.

甚至白血病的比例更高。

So our bodies do not only accept the invasion of microorganisms, 表達脈絡

因此，我們的身體不僅接受微生物的入侵，

they welcome it.

甚至是歡迎它們的。

Over millions of years,

經過數百萬年，

we co-evolved to make the best of our relationship. 慣用語

我們共同演化，以使這種關係發揮最大的作用。

Mother's milk, for example,

例如，母乳

contains special sugars that are meant to feed and support certain groups of microbes, 文法

含有特殊的糖分，旨在餵養和支持某些微生物群體，

work as a decoy for others, 片語搭配

充當其他微生物的誘餌，

and help to modulate the immune system.

並幫助調節免疫系統。

It takes up to 2 years until a healthy microbe community has formed.

形成一個健康的微生物群落可能需要長達兩年的時間。

Every human has their own unique microbiome

每個人都有自己獨特的微生物組，

made up of bacteria, 片語動詞

由細菌、

viruses, fungi, and other organisms.

病毒、真菌和其他生物組成。

We have three categories of guests on and in our bodies.

我們的體表和體內有三類「客人」。

One,

第一，

quiet passengers that do their own thing and are politely ignored. 慣用語

安靜的乘客，它們做自己的事，並被禮貌地無視。

By being there,

僅僅是它們的存在，

they take up space and keep more aggressive intruders in check. 慣用語

就佔據了空間，並抑制了更具侵略性的入侵者。

Two,

第二，

guests that harm us,

傷害我們的客人，

but with whom we've learned to live. 文法

但我們已經學會了與之共存。

For example,

例如，

bacteria that literally create acid that melts our teeth if we don't brush enough.

如果我們刷牙不夠，就會產生酸液腐蝕我們牙齒的細菌。

They want to take up as much space as they can

它們想佔據盡可能多的空間，

and we don't want them to.

而我們不希望它們這樣做。

But we can't get rid of them entirely. 片語動詞

但我們無法完全擺脫它們。

Three,

第三，

friendly fellows that our bodies want to have around.

我們的身體希望擁有的友好夥伴。

Most of them are a community of 380,000 billion bacteria

它們中的大多數是一個由38萬億個細菌組成的群落，

from up to 5,000 different species that live in our gut.

來自多達5000種不同的物種，生活在我們的腸道中。

These gut microorganisms help us digest food and pull additional calories from things we can't digest ourselves.

這些腸道微生物幫助我們消化食物，並從我們自己無法消化的東西中提取額外的熱量。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

our gut is also the perfect point of attack for intruders, 慣用語

我們的腸道也是入侵者完美的攻擊點，

so it's guarded by an aggressive army,

因此它由一支好鬥的軍隊守衛，

our immune system.

即我們的免疫系統。

To survive here,

為了在這裡生存，

our microbiome co-evolved with us to be able to communicate with our body.

我們的微生物組與我們共同演化，以便能夠與我們的身體進行交流。

The most important part of that is to ask the immune system to not kill them.

其中最重要的一點就是要求免疫系統不要殺死它們。

But they also have a real motivation to keep our gut healthy,

但它們也有真正的動機保持我們的腸道健康，

so some of them produce messenger substances that help to educate the immune system 表達脈絡

因此其中一些會產生有助於教育免疫系統的信使物質，

and others stimulate the gut cells to regenerate faster.

而另一些則刺激腸道細胞更快地再生。

But over the last few years,

但在過去幾年裡，

evidence has emerged that the influence of our gut microbiome goes much, 講解

已經有證據表明，我們的腸道微生物組的影響要深遠得多，

much further.

深遠得多。

It might even talk directly to our brain.

它甚至可能直接與我們的大腦對話。

We've observed a few curious things.

我們觀察到了一些奇特的現象。

90% of our body's serotonin, 文法

我們體內90%的血清素，

an important messenger substance for nerve cells,

這是一種神經細胞的重要信使物質，

is produced in the gut.

是在腸道中產生的。

Some scientists think the microbiome does this to communicate with the vagus nerve,

一些科學家認為微生物組這樣做是為了與迷走神經進行交流，

the information highway of our nervous system. 慣用語

即我們神經系統的資訊高速公路。

Other examples are bacteria that stimulate immune cells in the gut,

其他例子包括刺激腸道內免疫細胞的細菌，

so they send a kind of alarm signal to the brain.

因此它們向大腦發送一種警報信號。

Here it activates immune cells that help the brain recover from injuries.

在這裡，它激活了幫助大腦從損傷中恢復的免疫細胞。

Since the brain decides what we eat,

既然大腦決定我們吃什麼，

the microbiome is interested in a healthy brain.

微生物組對擁有一個健康的大腦很感興趣。

A new field of science is opening up here

一個新的科學領域正在這裡開啟，

and we're just on the verge of understanding how these complex systems inside our bodies interact. 慣用語

我們才剛剛開始理解我們體內這些複雜系統是如何相互作用的。

But we are starting to see how much our microbiome actually influences us and our behavior. 文法

但我們開始看到微生物組到底在多大程度上影響著我們和我們的行為。

Take depression, for example. 表達脈絡

以憂鬱症為例。

Healthy rats fed microbes from the guts of depressed people

餵食憂鬱症患者腸道微生物的健康老鼠

began showing anxiety-like behavior and symptoms that look like depression. 用詞

開始表現出類似焦慮的行為和看起來像憂鬱症的症狀。

And in early 2017,

在2017年初，

a study linked the microbiome to intelligence 片語搭配

一項研究將微生物組與智力聯繫起來，

by connecting a certain setup of bacteria in newborns

透過將新生兒中特定的細菌組合

with better motor and language skills.

與更好的運動和語言技能聯繫在一起。

But it might also influence our daily lives.

但它也可能影響我們的日常生活。

Tests with fruit flies showed that their microbiome influenced what kind of food they craved.

對果蠅的測試表明，牠們的微生物組影響了牠們對哪種食物的渴望。

This could mean your microbes are able to tell your brain which food it should get them,

這可能意味著你的微生物能夠告訴你的大腦應該給它們提供什麼食物，

although this is not a one-way street. 慣用語

儘管這不是單向的。

The seed for our microbiome comes from our mother, 慣用語

我們微生物組的種子來自我們的母親，

but how it develops and changes is determined by what we eat.

但它是如何發展和變化的取決於我們吃什麼。

The organisms in our gut feed on different things. 片語動詞

我們腸道中的生物以不同的東西為食。

Some like fibers and leafy greens,

有的喜歡纖維和綠葉蔬菜，

others go for sugars and starches, 片語動詞

有的偏好糖和澱粉，

and some love greasy fries and butter.

還有一些喜歡油膩的薯條和奶油。

Our gut is like a garden 慣用語

我們的腸道就像一個花園，

in which we constantly decide what will grow and blossom.

我們不斷決定其中會有什麼生長和開花。

If we eat healthily, 文法

如果我們吃得健康，

we breed bacteria that like healthy food.

我們就會培養出喜歡健康食物的細菌。

If we eat a lot of fast food,

如果我們吃很多速食，

then we breed fast food-loving bacteria.

那麼我們就會培養出喜歡速食的細菌。

Life is hard,

生活很艱難，

so we can get trapped in a vicious circle. 慣用語

所以我們可能會陷入惡性循環。

You have a stressful time

你度過了一段充滿壓力的時間，

and eat lots of burgers and fries and pizza.

吃了很多漢堡、薯條和披薩。

This is awesome for fast food bacteria.

這對速食細菌來說簡直太棒了。

They multiply and multiply

它們不斷繁殖，

and take up space from vegetable-loving bacteria.

並搶占了喜歡蔬菜的細菌的空間。

But even worse,

但更糟糕的是，

they send signals to the brain to continue what it's doing.

它們會向大腦發送信號，讓它繼續現在的行為。

This makes you want more fast food, 表達脈絡

這讓你想吃更多的速食，

which breeds more fast food bacteria,

從而培養出更多喜歡速食的細菌，

which makes you crave fast food,

這又讓你極度渴望速食，

and so on.

如此循環往復。

This kind of self-reinforcing cycle could play a huge role in obesity. 講解

這種自我強化的循環可能在肥胖中起著巨大的作用。

But it's important to stress that you can fight this process 表達脈絡

但必須強調的是，你可以對抗這個過程，

and reverse it by eating healthily and breeding more good bacteria. 文法

並透過健康飲食和培養更多有益細菌來逆轉它。

Beyond weight gain,

除了體重增加，

our microbiome has also been linked to other serious diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and cancer. 片語搭配

我們的微生物組也與其他嚴重疾病（如自閉症、精神分裂症和癌症）有關聯。

One of the earliest symptoms of Parkinson's is actually gut problems.

實際上，帕金森氏症最早的症狀之一就是腸道問題。

If your body is overrun with bacteria that harm you, 片語動詞

如果你的身體被傷害你的細菌所占據，

there is often only one solution.

通常只有一種解決方法。

You bring in an army of good guys.

引入一支好細菌組成的軍隊。

That's very easy.

這非常簡單。

You just transplant some healthy poop. 文化背景

你只需移植一些健康的便便。

You do that by literally transferring poop from a healthy person 文法

你透過實實在在地把健康人的便便轉移到

into your gut.

你的腸道中來實現。

This method is already used to cure diarrhea that's caused when C. difficile bacteria 文化背景

這種方法已經被用來治療由困難梭狀芽孢桿菌

take over a gut microbiome. 片語動詞

佔領腸道微生物組時引起的腹瀉。

But we just don't know enough about the complex interplay at work here yet. 片語搭配

但我們對這裡起作用的複雜相互作用了解得還不夠。

For example,

例如，

a transplant from an overweight donor cured a woman's diarrhea,

一次來自超重捐獻者的移植治癒了一名婦女的腹瀉，

but contributed to her obesity down the line. 慣用語

但隨後導致了她的肥胖。

This caused some waves 慣用語

這引起了一些轟動，

and another study tried to reverse the effect.

另一項研究試圖扭轉這種效果。

Poop transplants from slim people to obese ones

從瘦子到胖子的便便移植

gave them a more diverse microbiome

給他們帶來了更多樣化的微生物組，

and made them less sensitive to insulin, 用詞

並使他們對胰島素不那麼敏感，

both things that also happen when people lose weight.

這兩件事也是人們減肥時會發生的情況。

We need to do a lot more science

我們需要進行更多的科學研究，

to really understand how our microbes make us healthy or sick.

才能真正了解我們的微生物是如何讓我們健康或生病的。

But whether we like it or not, 慣用語

但不管我們喜不喜歡，

we need our microbiome and it needs us.

我們需要我們的微生物組，而它也需要我們。

We'll never have our bodies to ourselves, 慣用語

我們永遠無法獨自擁有我們的身體，

but we have gained a powerful ally 表達脈絡

但我們獲得了一個強大的盟友，

if we can just keep the peace.

只要我們能保持和平。