读者文摘:最新医学研究新闻（在线收听）

Why Vegetarians Should Add in B12

为什么素食主义者需要补充维生素B12

In a National Institutes of Health study, vegan and vegetarian participants tended to score higher than meat eaters on a depression-measuring scale.

在一项美国国家卫生研究院的研究中，在一个抑郁测量量表上，纯素食者和素食者的得分往往高于肉食者。

While the results don't prove causality, it wouldn't be surprising if nutritional shortfalls were to blame, the researchers said.

调查人员称，尽管结果没有证明因果关系，但营养不足是罪魁祸首是不会让人感到惊讶的。

In particular, vegetarians and vegans are often low in vitamin B12, and animal products are the only natural source of this nutrient.

特别是，纯素食者和素食者的维生素B12经常处于低水平，动物制品是维生素B12的唯一天然来源。

However, it’s possible to reach the recommended levels by taking supplements or by eating fortified foods such as soy milk and breakfast cereal.

但是，通过食用营养补充品或像豆浆和早餐麦片等强化食品是可以达到维生素B12的推荐水平的。

Air Pollution Can Harm Your Kidneys

空气污染可损伤你的肾脏

Polluted air has long been linked to major health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

长久以来，空气污染一直与心脏病、中风、癌症、哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺病(COPD)等主要健康状况有关。

A new study based on data from nearly 2.5 million people now adds kidney disease to the list.

一项基于250万人数据的新研究现在将肾病加入了该名单。

According to the researchers, the adverse effects increase as pollution levels increase,

据调查者称，随着污染水平提升，不良反应在增加，

but even relatively low amounts of particulate matter (which can include bits of dirt, dust, smoke, and soot)

但是，即使是相对较少的颗粒物（其中包括灰尘，尘土，烟雾，和煤烟），

may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease and ultimately contribute to kidney failure.

也可能增加患慢性肾病的风险，最终会导致肾脏衰竭。

If you live in an area with poor air quality, be on the lookout for early signs of kidney disease.

如果你生活在空气质量不好的地区，请留意肾脏疾病的早期迹象。

They include foamy or bloody urine, itchy skin, puffy eyes, muscle cramps, unusual fatigue, and swollen feet, hands, or ankles.

这些迹象包括，泡沫尿或血尿，皮肤瘙痒，眼睛浮肿，肌肉痉挛，不寻常的疲劳，手脚或踝关节水肿。

New Smart Hearing Aid in the Works

新型智能助听器正在研制中

Researchers at New York's Columbia University Fu Foundation School of Engi-neering and Applied Science are developing a high-tech hearing aid

纽约哥伦比亚大学的傅氏基金工程和应用科学学院的研究人员正在开发一款高科技助听器，

that can help people focus on a single voice in a noisy restaurant or any other setting that's packed with competing and overlapping sounds.

这款助听器可帮助人们在嘈杂的餐馆或任何充满重叠声音的环境中专注于单一的声音。

The hearing aid works by monitoring the brain activity of the user to determine whether he or she is conversing with a specific speaker;

这款助听器工作时是通过监测使用者的脑部活动，来判断使用者是否在和特定的人交谈。

it then automatically picks that person's voice out of a mixed audio feed and amplifies it.

然后，它会自动从混合音频中选择那个人的声音，并将其放大。

In a recent trial, almost all the subjects found the device helpful and wanted to continue using it beyond the test.

在最近的一次实验中，几乎所有的被试者都觉得这个助听器很有用，并且想在实验结束后继续使用它。