60秒科学:Bacteria on the Skin You're In

Have you ever said, “I know it like the back of my hand”? Well, how well do you know the back of your hand? Or the back of your knee? Or behind your ears? Probably not as well as scientists at the National Institutes of Health who just completed a survey of the bacteria that live on the skin at various parts of the body. They found that different sites harbor different bugs², results published in the May 29th issue of the journal Science.

The skin, they point out, is a large ecosystem³ that includes a variety of ecological⁴ niches⁵. Your moist armpit is like a tropical rainforest, whereas, not far away, your forearm is as smooth and dry as a desert. So the scientists took samples from 20 different body regions in 10 volunteers. And found that the microbes in your armpit are more like those in someone else’s armpit than the ones on your own forearm.

Dry skin showed the greatest diversity with an average of 44 different species found on the forearm. While the least diverse mix, with only 19 species, lives aft of your ears. So science-savvy moms: don’t worry about washing behind the ears. Instead, bug¹ your brood to give those grubby forearms a good scrubbing.

—Karen Hopkin

 

1 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

2 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

4 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

5 niches   

壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）

参考例句：

• Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
• In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。