VOA慢速英语2017 白天的伤口更易愈合

Daytime Wounds Heal Faster

A new study suggests that the timing¹ of a wound affects the speed at which it heals.

一项新研究表明，受伤的时间点会影响伤口愈合的速度。

Wounds suffered during the day heal around 60 percent faster than those sustained at night.

该研究的工作人员发现，对于白天所受的伤口，皮肤细胞的移动速度会更快，来修复这些伤口。他们的发现成果发表在了《科学转化医学》期刊上。

The study showed how the body’s circadian rhythm controlled the healing of wounds. The circadian rhythm is like a clock or timer. It tells our bodies when to wake up, eat and sleep in a cycle -- a series of activities that repeat themselves day after day. Each cycle lasts about 24 hours.

该研究表明，生理节律控制着伤口的愈合情况。生理节律就像时钟或者定时器一类的东西，可以周期性地告诉机体何时醒来、吃饭、睡觉——这是我们日复一日重复进行的一系列活动。每个周期大约持续24小时。

In the study, researchers found that skin cells moved faster to repair wounds sustained during the day. Their findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

该研究的工作人员发现，对于白天所受的伤口，皮肤细胞的移动速度会更快，来修复这些伤口。他们的发现成果发表在了《科学转化医学》期刊上。

The researchers examined cells, mice, and burn injury databases. Specifically, their investigation² found the following information: Night-time burns - burns suffered between 8 o’clock at night and 8 o’clock the next morning - were 95 percent healed after an average of 28 days.

他们检验了细胞、老鼠、烧伤的数据库。他们发现了如下精确信息：夜间烧伤——晚8点-次日早8点——通常需要28天的时间才可以达到95%的伤口愈合程度。

But after an average of 17 days, daytime burns - burns sustained between 8 o’clock in the morning and 8 at night – were 95 percent healed.

但白天烧伤平均需要17天——早8点-晚8点期间的伤口——就可以达到95%的愈合程度。

In other words, nighttime injuries took an average of 11 days longer to heal.

换句话说，夜间烧伤的伤口平均比白天的伤口要多11天才能愈合。

Circadian Clocks

The scientists say that circadian clocks play an important part in healing. Circadian clocks control many cells in the body and affect many biological processes, including sleeping.

科学家表示，生物钟对愈合起着关键性作用。生物钟控制着机体的许多细胞，并影响着很多生化过程，包括睡觉。

John O'Neill was a co-leader of the study. "This is the first time that the circadian clock within individual cells has been shown to determine how effectively they respond to injuries," he said.

约翰 奥尼尔是该研究的领头人之一。他表示，这是个体细胞内的生物钟第一次展现出他们如何影响伤口的愈合。

O’Neill added "We consistently see about a two-fold difference in wound healing speed between the body clock's day and night. It may be that our bodies have evolved to heal fastest during the day when injuries are more likely to occur."

奥尼尔补充道，我们持续观察到，生物钟在白天和晚上对伤口的愈合速度有两倍之差，这或许是因为我们的机体已经进化为在白天愈合伤口最快，因为白天更容易受伤。

Implications

Wounds are very costly³ to treat. Worldwide, billions of dollars are spent every year on wound-treatment services. In Britain's National Health Services, for example, such services cost around $6.56 billion per year. Experts says the high costs result, in part, from a lack of drugs that speed up the closure of wounds.

治疗伤口的成本高昂。每年全球有数十亿美元是花在治疗伤口的服务商。比如，英国的国民保健服务治疗伤口的成本大概是65.6亿美元/年。专家表示，成本高的部分原因是缺乏加速愈合伤口的药物。

The findings, if confirmed by other studies, could have important implications for surgical⁴ operations and wound-healing medicines.

如果该研究的成果能得到其他研究的证实的话，就会对外科手术和创伤修复医学有重要的启示。

John Blaikley works at Britain's University of Manchester. He said the new study’s findings could help scientists develop better drugs. The findings, he added, could also help doctors understand the best time of day to do a surgery or give medicine.

约翰是英国曼彻斯特大学的工作人员。他表示，这项新研究的发现成果可能会帮助科学家研发更好的药物。他补充道，这些发现成果还可能帮助医生掌握做外科手术或者用药的最好时段。

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

sustain – v. to deal with or experience (something bad or unpleasant)

database – n. a collection of pieces of information that is organized and used on a computer

journal – n. magazine

o’clock – adj. used for showing position of an hour hand on a clock or timer

respond – v. to do something as a reaction to something that has happened or been done?

evolve – v. to change or develop slowly often into a better, more complex, or more advanced state : to develop by a process of evolution?

occur – v. to happen?

two-fold – adj. twice as much or as many

implication – n. a possible future effect or result — usually plural⁵

surgical – adj. of or relating to the process of performing a medical operation

1 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。