雷人觀點：恐龍滅絕新說

Dinosaurs were most likely killed off because they never got a good night's sleep, scientists have claimed.
科學家們宣稱，恐龍滅絕的原因很可能是它們沒有好好睡上一覺。

Giant meteorites from outer space, fire storms, tidal waves and an ice age have all been suggested by expects to explain the demise of dinosaurs. However, the latest theory to explain their reptilian claims they did not survive because their reptilian sleeping patterns meant their brains did not learn new skills properly.
專家們曾提出各種各樣的假設來解釋恐龍的滅絕，從外太空的巨型隕石，風暴性大火，潮汐以至冰期不一而足。然而最新的研究表明恐龍滅絕師因為它們那種爬行動物的睡眠方式無法讓它們的大腦有效地掌握新的技能。

Unlike mammals and birds, reptiles are unable to experience slow wave sleep, the type of sleep believed to be responsible for boosting memories, especially those connected to performing new tasks. As a result, reptiles are much more limited in the type of complex behavior they can experience than other animals such as mammals and birds.
跟哺乳動物和鳥類不同，爬行動物沒有慢波睡眠，此種睡眠據(jù)信能增強記憶，尤其是增強那種與新任務相關的記憶。這樣一來，相對哺乳動物和鳥類，爬行動物所能實行的復雜行為的類型就相對有限了。

The implication of new research by Niels Rattenborg, of the Max Planck Institute for ornithology in Germany, is that the inability of dinosaurs--which are ancestors of modern-day reptiles--to experience slow wave sleep may have been one of the reasons why they became extinct. Slow wave--or deep wave leads to enhancements in both learning and physical performance. It effectively shuts down the parts of the brain that have learned new skills and allows this learning to become consolidated without interruption.
這一新發(fā)現(xiàn)來自德國馬克斯·普朗克鳥類研究所的尼爾斯·拉騰伯格，其隱含意義在于缺乏慢波睡眠的能力是恐龍—現(xiàn)在爬行動物的祖先—滅絕的原因之一。慢波睡眠—也就是深度睡眠—能同時增強學習能力和體力。它能有效地關閉大腦中那些習得了新技能的部分，由此使大腦不受干擾地消化吸收新的知識。

Without this crucial ability it could be that, when the earth experienced huge climatic changes towards the end of the era of the dinosaurs, they were unable to pick up sufficient new tricks to learn their way out of extinction.
恐龍缺乏這種至關重要的能力，這可能意味著，在恐龍時期末期地球氣候發(fā)生巨變的時候，它們無法學到足夠的新技能，因此也就無法逃脫滅絕的厄運。