關於人類身體的11項重大科學發現

1. Hundreds of genes spring to life after you die - and they keep functioning for up to four days. Together with an unexplained case in March that recorded brain activity in a corpse up to 10 minutes after death, we're starting to realise that death as we know it still retains some strange signs of life.

在你死後，數以百計的基因會突然活躍起來，而且還會繼續活動長達4天。3月份的一個實例表明，在人死後，屍體的大腦還會活動長達10分鐘，連同這個無法解釋的實例，我們開始意識到我們所瞭解的死亡依然保有一些奇怪的生命跡象。

2. Livers grow by almost half during waking hours. New research suggests that livers have the capacity to grow by almost 50 percent during the day, before shrinking back to their original size at night. They are the only organ we know of that oscillate this way.

在你醒着的時候，肝可以擴大將近一半。新的研究指出，在白天的時候，肝有能力擴大近50%，然後在夜間則會縮回到原始尺寸。肝是我們所知道到的唯一一個可以這樣變化的器官。

3. The root cause of eczema has finally been identified. Scientists have tracked down a series of proteins and molecular pathways that lead to this insufferable skin problem, revealing that the protein filaggrin isn't the sole culprit we thought it was.

溼疹的根本原因最終得到確認。科學家查到了一系列蛋白質和分子引起這種令人難以忍受的皮膚問題的途徑，並指出絲聚合蛋白並非唯一的禍首，而我們過去卻是這樣認爲的。

4. We were wrong - the testes are connected to the immune system after all. Researchers have discovered a "very small door" that allows the testes to send one-way signals to the immune system, and it could explain why some men struggle with infertility, and why certain cancer vaccines keep failing.

我們錯了——最終睾丸還是與免疫系統有關聯的。研究人員發現了“一扇非常小的門”使睾丸可以向免疫系統發送單向信號，這解釋了爲什麼一些男性會被不孕症所困擾，也解釋了某些癌症疫苗一直失敗的原因。

5. The causes of hair loss and greying are linked, and for the first time, scientists have identified the cells responsible.

脫髮和頭髮變白的原因是相關的，科學家首次確認了對此負有責任的細胞。

6. A brand new human organ has been classified. Researchers have given the nod to the mesentery - an organ that's been hiding in plain sight in our digestive system this whole time. But that's only half the story, because we're still not sure exactly what it does.

一種全新的器官被歸類了。研究人員同意爲腸繫膜歸類，這種器官顯然一直隱藏在我們的消化系統中。但這只是其中的一方面，因爲我們還不確定它到底是什麼。

7. An unexpected new lung function has been found. Researchers have found that lungs don't just facilitate respiration - they also play a key role in blood production, with the ability to produce more than 10 million platelets (tiny blood cells) per hour. That equates to the majority of platelets in circulation at any given moment.

肺的一項意外功能被發現了。研究人員發現肺不僅僅能促進呼吸作用，在造血方面也起關鍵作用，肺每小時能製造1000多萬血小板（微小的血細胞），這相當於任何特定時刻循環中的血小板的大多數。

8. Your appendix might not be a useless evolutionary byproduct after all. Unlike your wisdom teeth, your appendix might actually be serving an important biological function - and one that our species isn't ready to give up just yet.

你的闌尾終究可能不是一個無用的進化副產物。你的闌尾不像智齒那樣，事實上它可能發揮着重要的生物學功能，恰好現在人類還沒準備好放棄闌尾的這種功能。

9. The brain literally starts eating itself when it doesn't get enough sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation causes the 'clearing' process that usually happens when we sleep to kick into hyperdrive, prompting the brain to clear a huge amount of neurons and synaptic connections away.

當大腦沒有得到充分休眠時，它確實就開始自噬了。在我們睡覺的時候，“清除”程序通常就會啓動，但長期缺乏睡眠會使該程序處於高速運轉狀態，促使大腦清除大量神經元連接和突觸連接。

10. Neuroscientists have discovered a whole new role for the brain's cerebellum. It's long been assumed that the cerebellum functions largely outside the realm of conscious awareness, coordinating basic physical activities like standing and breathing, but it could actually play a key role in shaping human behaviour.

神經系統科學家發現了小腦的一項全新功能。長期以來人們一直認爲小腦基本上與意識直覺等活動無關，它的主要作用是協調站立、呼吸等基本的身體活動，然而，實際上小腦在影響人類行爲上也發揮着重要作用。

11. Our gut bacteria are messing with us in ways we could never have imagined. New research has revealed that neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's might actually start out in the gut, rather than the brain, and there's mounting evidence that the human microbiome could be to blame for chronic fatigue syndrome. With gut bacteria showing signs of controlling our appetite, changing our brain structure, and triggering brain lesions that could lead to strokes, our tiny passengers are a force to be reckoned with.

腸道細菌正以我們想像不到的方式干擾着我們。新的研究指出，像帕金森綜合症等神經退行性疾病實際上可能始於腸道，而不是大腦。越來越多的證據顯示，慢性疲勞綜合徵可能要歸咎於人體內的微生物羣系。隨着腸道細菌顯示出控制食慾以及改變大腦結構的跡象，而且有引起大腦損傷而導致中風的表現，我們的這個小過客（腸道細菌）有着不容忽視的力量。