時(shí)差N小時(shí):有用的闌尾

Dear a moment of science: I used to think that theappendix is useless, but now I'm hearing that the appendix actually does serve a purpose. So,which is it?

親愛(ài)的科學(xué)時(shí)刻：以前我覺(jué)得闌尾是無(wú)用的，但最近我聽(tīng)說(shuō)闌尾實(shí)際上也有用途。那么，哪種說(shuō)法是對(duì)的。

Yale: Great question. It's true that for a long time scientists thought that the appendix didn'treally serve a purpose. But a few years ago a study showed that the appendix in fact plays animportant role. It's a sort of hangout for useful bacteria needed to help us digest food. After abad case of diarrhea, when most of the bacteria in our guts is washed out, the appendix sendsa fresh batch in to take over.

雅艾爾：這個(gè)問(wèn)題好。的確，很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間以來(lái)，科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為闌尾沒(méi)有什么用途。但幾年前的一項(xiàng)研究顯示闌尾其實(shí)扮演著重要的角色。消化道里有益細(xì)菌是闌尾的?？?。腹瀉嚴(yán)重時(shí)，我們體內(nèi)大多數(shù)細(xì)菌會(huì)被沖走，闌尾則為消化道輸送一批新的消化細(xì)菌。

Don: Right. And not only that, but a more recent study has found that the appendix has along and storied history. It's been around in animals including kangaroos, rodents and apes forat least eighty million years. In other words, it's fairly common in nature.

唐：對(duì)。不僅如此，一項(xiàng)近期的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)闌尾有一段漫長(zhǎng)而頗負(fù)盛名的歷史。在袋鼠、啃齒動(dòng)物以及猿等動(dòng)物身上流傳了至少八千萬(wàn)年。換句話說(shuō)，在自然界中這是很普遍存在的。

Yale: Now, it's true that in developed countries with modern sanitation, the human appendixhas less to do than it once did. In those places, where diarrhea isn't a major problem, theappendix isn't called upon all the time to do its thing. That's why when people in the UnitedStates and other developed countries have their appendix removed, they don't seem to missit.

雅艾爾：現(xiàn)在，發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家具有現(xiàn)代的衛(wèi)生設(shè)備，人類闌尾的作用就大不如從前了。在這些地區(qū)，腹瀉并不是嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題，闌尾并不總是能發(fā)揮作用。這就是為什么在美國(guó)和其它發(fā)達(dá)城市，人們會(huì)切除闌尾，且并不留念它。

Don: But in places where drinking water and sanitation aren't as safe, the appendix plays alarger role in keeping people healthy.

唐：但是在那些飲水和衛(wèi)生條件差的地方，闌尾在保護(hù)人類健康方面起著重要的作用。