经济学人: 孤独症 (1)

 Autism affects people's social behaviour and communication, and may impair¹ their ability to learn things. All this is well known. 孤独症会影响人们的社会行为和沟通，也可能会损害患者学习事物的能力。这些都是众所周知的。

Less familiar to most, though, are the gastrointestinal problems associated with the condition. 多数人所不熟悉的是和这种疾病相关联的胃肠问题。

The intestines³ of children with autism often harbour bacteria different from those in the guts⁵ of the neurotypical. 孤独者儿童的肠道经常藏匿着细菌，而这些细菌和非自闭症人群肠道的那些是不同的。

As a consequence, such people are more than three times as likely as others are to develop serious alimentary⁶ canal disorders⁸ at some point in their lives. 因此，和其他人相比，他们一生中患上严重消化道疾病的可能性是前者的三倍。

Unfortunate though this is, the upset gut⁴ floras⁹ of autistic people are seen by some investigators¹⁰ as the key to the condition and to treating it. 虽然很不幸，但是一些调查人员将孤独症患者的肠道菌群视为该疾病的关键，也是治愈它的关键。

Recent research has shown that altering animals' intestinal² bacteria can have dramatic effects on their nervous systems. 近期研究表明改变动物体内的肠道细菌可以对它们的神经系统有着明显效果。

Ameliorating autism by tinkering with the ecology of the gut might thus be a fruitful line of inquiry¹¹. 通过鼓捣肠道生态学改善孤独者或许是一次富有成效的调查。

A study just published in Neuron suggests that it is. In it, Mauro Costa-Mattioli of Baylor College of Medicine, in Texas, 《Neuron》刚刚刊登了一项研究。在该研究中，德州贝勒医学院的Mauro Costa-Mattioli

and his colleagues demonstrate that introducing a particular bacterium¹² into the guts of mice that display autistic symptoms can abolish some of those symptoms. 以及他的同事证明将一种特别的细菌注入有孤独症症状表现的老鼠的肠道中可以消除它的一些症状。

The bug¹³ in question is Lactobacillus reuteri. It is commonly found in healthy digestive systems and helps regulate acidity¹⁴ levels. 这种疾病的漏洞就是罗伊氏乳杆菌。其普遍存在于健康的消化系统中，并帮助调节酸度。

And it is also easily obtainable for use as a probiotic from health-food shops. 并且作为一种益生菌，很容易在保健食品店中买到。

Dr Costa-Mattioli and his team first reported L. reuteri's effects on autism in 2016, after conducting experiments with obese¹⁵ female mice. Costa-Mattioli博士和他的团队于2016年首次报告了罗伊氏乳杆菌对孤独症的效果，之前他们对过度肥胖的雌性老鼠进行过试验。

These animals have a tendency to give birth to offspring with autistic traits familiar from people—unwillingness¹⁶ to socialise, 这些动物更容易生出患有孤独症特质的后代，有这些特质的人会出现不愿社交、

repetitive behaviour and unwillingness to communicate (in the case of mice, via ultrasonic¹⁷ squeaking). 重复性行为以及不愿交流的行为（而老鼠则是通过超声尖叫表现出来）。

The researchers noted¹⁸ that the guts of both the obese mothers and their young were bereft¹⁹ of L. reuteri. 研究人员注意到肥胖母亲和它们后代的肠道中都没有了罗伊氏乳杆菌。

They wondered what effect transplanting these bugs²⁰ into the animals might have. 他们想知道将这些罗伊氏乳杆菌移植到动物体内会有什么影响

They found, when they did so to the offspring, that the youngsters' autism-like traits vanished. 他们发现，当他们将罗伊氏乳杆菌移植到后代体内时，它们类似孤独症的特质消失了。

That led to the latest experiments, on mice that have autistic symptoms induced in four other, different ways. Some were genetically²¹ edited to be autistic. 因此才有了近期的试验，以四种其他不同的方式诱发老鼠体内的孤独症症状。一些老鼠是经过基因编辑形成孤独症。

Some were exposed to valproic acid, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder⁷ and migraines that is known to induce autism in fetuses²². 一些是被暴露于丙戊酸中，这种药物被用于治疗躁郁症和偏头痛，已知这种疾病会诱发胎儿的孤独症。

Some had their guts cleared of all bacteria. And some belonged to a strain called BTBR, individuals of which display autism-like traits that have no known cause. 一些是清除掉它们肠道中的所有细菌。一些属于BTBR品系的小老鼠，它们有类似孤独症的特质，但起因未知。

Martina Sgritta, one of Dr Costa-Mattioli's colleagues, analysed the bacteria in the guts of all of these animals. Costa-Mattioli博士的一名同事Martina Sgritta对所有这些动物体内的肠道细菌进行了分析。

 

1 impair   

v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少

参考例句：

• Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
• It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

2 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

3 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 alimentary   

adj.饮食的，营养的

参考例句：

• He had the disease of alimentary canal.他患了消化道疾病。
• This system is mainly a long tube,called the alimentary canal.这一系统主要是一根长管，称作消化道。

7 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

8 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 floras   

n.（某地区或某时期的）植物群，植物区系，植物志( flora的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Floristics is the study of floras, including the preparation of Floras. 植物区系学是研究植物区系的一门学科，其中包括编写植物志。 来自辞典例句
• We shall appreciate this difficulty more clearly, by looking to certain existing faunas and floras. 通过观察某些现存的动物群和植物群，我们就能更清楚地了解这种困难了。 来自辞典例句

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

12 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

13 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。

14 acidity   

n.酸度，酸性

参考例句：

• This plant prefers alkaline soil,though it will readily tolerate some acidity.这种植物在酸性土壤中也能生存，但硷性土壤更加适宜。
• Gastric acidity would not prevent the organism from passing into the gut.胃的酸度不能防止细菌进入肠道。

15 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。

16 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

17 ultrasonic   

adj.超声的；n.超声波

参考例句：

• It was very necessary for people to take type-B ultrasonic inspection regularly.定期进行B超检查是十分必要的。
• Sounds are classified into two kinds: sonic and ultrasonic.声波分为两类，即普通声波与超声波。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 bereft   

adj.被剥夺的

参考例句：

• The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
• She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。

20 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》

21 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

22 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网