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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute?
When your stomach's empty, it pumps out the hormone1 ghrelin, to whet2 your appetite and get your juices flowing. But ghrelin doesn't just make you crave3 a bite. It helps you track it down too—by sharpening your sense of smell. That's according to a study out this week in the Journal of Neuroscience.
First, scientists injected rats with ghrelin, and videotaped their noses. Their sniffers ran on overdrive for several hours following the injection. And the rats could detect fainter scents4, too.
So then the researchers called in nine fasting humans, to see if our sniffing5 powers get a boost from ghrelin. The volunteers took whiffs of various substances—like baby powder, tomatoes and rosemary chicken. And regardless of how appetizing each aroma6 was, the volunteers took deeper whiffs—even of plain air—after getting a shot of ghrelin.
All of which suggests we've evolved a number of tricks to avoid the ultimate game-over: starvation. Because knowing you're famished7 is only half the battle. Actually tracking down that wooly8 mammoth9? That’s what really counts.
Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.
1 hormone | |
n.荷尔蒙,激素,内分泌 | |
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2 whet | |
v.磨快,刺激 | |
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3 crave | |
vt.渴望得到,迫切需要,恳求,请求 | |
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4 scents | |
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉 | |
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5 sniffing | |
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说 | |
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6 aroma | |
n.香气,芬芳,芳香 | |
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7 famished | |
adj.饥饿的 | |
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8 wooly | |
adj.毛茸茸的;糊涂的 | |
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9 mammoth | |
n.长毛象;adj.长毛象似的,巨大的 | |
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