中国科学家发现肥胖“秘密”

 　　Chinese scientists discover gut¹ bacteria linked with obesity²

　　Obesity could be caused by bacterial³ infection rather than eating too much, exercising too little or genetics, according to a study that could have profound implications for public health systems, the pharmaceutical⁴ industry and food manufacturers.

　　一项研究显示，肥胖可能由细菌感染引发，而不是过度饮食、锻炼太少或者是遗传因素，这可能对公共健康体系、医药行业以及食品制造业产生深远的影响。

　　The discovery in China followed an eight-year search by scientists across the world to explain the link between gut bacteria and obesity.

　　在世界各地科学家研究了8年之后，中国的这一发现解释了肠道细菌和肥胖之间的联系。

　　Researchers in Shanghai identified the human bacteria linked with obesity, fed it to mice and compared their weight gain with rodents⁵ without the bacteria. The latter did not become obese⁶ despite being fed a high-fat diet and being prevented from exercising.

　　上海的研究者找到了与肥胖有关的人类细菌，并将其喂给老鼠，将它们的体重增加与没有喂细菌的老鼠进行比较。尽管后者得到高脂肪食物喂食，并被阻止锻炼，却没有出现肥胖症状。

　　“This is a very important phenomenon,” said Professor Liping Zhao, who with a team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University carried out the research. “It is the last missing piece of evidence bacteria causes obesity.”

　　开展这一研究的上海交通大学研究团队的赵立平教授说：“这是一个非常重要的现象。这是证明细菌导致肥胖的最后一个此前缺失的证据。”

　　Other academics not linked to the project were quick to seize on its potential implications.

　　与该项目没有联系的其他学者，很快对潜在影响发表了评论。

　　Dr David Weinkove, lecturer in biological sciences at Durham University, said: “If obesity is caused by bacteria, it could be infectious and picked up from some unknown environmental factor, or a parent. It might not be behavioural after all.” Dr Weinkove said Dr Zhao’s research paved a way to intervene in obesity and could allow drugs to be developed for treatment.

　　杜伦大学(Durham University)生物学讲师戴维?文考夫(David Weinkove)教授说：“如果肥胖是由细菌导致的，那么它可能是传染性的，可能来自一些不明环境因素，或者来自父母。到头来它可能与行为无关。”文考夫认为，赵教授的研究为肥胖介入治疗开辟了道路，可能开发出药物来进行治疗。

　　The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology.

　　这项研究发表在同行评议的《国际微生物生态学会杂志》(Journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology)上。

1 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

2 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

3 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

4 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

5 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

6 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。