人體日常反應的十大奧祕(上)

The human body is an amazing machine that is more complex than any man-made device ever created. While many of the functions it carries out require little explanation, some things it does are more complex. For the most part, people have no idea why their body does these things, but scientists and researchers have investigated them and came up with simple explanations for the baffling everyday functions of our body.

人體是一架不可思議的機器，它可比任何人類發明的機器都要複雜。人體的許多功能都不用過多解釋，但有些東西卻比你想象的要複雜得多。很多時候，人們並不知道身體爲什麼會有這樣的反應，科學家和研究者對此進行了充分調查，最後對我們身體那些令人困惑的日常反應給出了簡單的解釋。

ups

10.打嗝

Everyone has hiccuped at some point in their life. However, the involuntary action usually comes and goes relatively quickly for the vast majority of people, meaning it is more of a nuisance than anything else. Although for some, it can become something of an issue. Charles Osborne, for example, had the hiccups for 68 years.

人的一生總會在某些時刻打嗝。對絕大部分人來說，這種不自主的行爲都是來得快，去得也快，也就是說，這只是一個小小的麻煩事而已。但是，對有些人來說，它可能會變成一個很大的問題。譬如，Charles Osborne已經打了68年的嗝。

Scientists have never been able to completely understand why people hiccup, but they have proposed several theories. One of the most recent ones comes from Daniel Howes. He suggests that the hiccups may have evolved as a way for infants to expel air from the stomach so that they can more effectively suckle milk. The contraction of the diaphragm causes suction that forces air out of the mouth, allowing the infant to burp itself. Howes points to the fact that only mammals—the only type of animals that suckle milk—get hiccups and that they are much more prevalent in the young.

即使是科學家也沒有完全明白人們爲什麼會打嗝，但是他們還是提出了一些理論。最新的研究是由Daniel Howes發表的。他表示，嬰兒打嗝是將胃裏面的空氣驅逐出來的一種方式，以使胃部更有效地吸收母乳。橫膈膜（位於肺和胃之間的肌肉，呼吸時起作用)收縮時產生的壓力迫使空氣從嘴巴中出去，也就形成了嬰兒的打嗝現象。Howes指出，只有哺乳動物——所有的動物中唯一需要喝奶的，纔會打嗝，而且打嗝現象在幼年時更加普遍。

ndix

9.闌尾

The appendix has long been considered an organ that does more harm than good. Its function was a mystery, and it has a tendency to cause serious health problems in a number of people. Appendicitis can lead to severe pain, fever, and even death if it is left untreated after the appendix bursts.

闌尾在很長的時間裏都被認爲是一個害多益少的器官。它的功能簡直就是一個謎，對很多人來說，它時常會造成嚴重的健康問題。闌尾炎會產生劇烈的疼痛、發燒，如果疾病爆發後不經處理，還可能導致死亡。

In 2007, after years of research, researchers finally discovered what's believed to be the actual use of the appendix. Rather than simply being a leftover organ from our evolutionary past, it was an important part of the immune system. According to the research team, the appendix provides a safe haven for bacteria that is needed in the gut. When illness or diseases such as dysentery wipe out the bacteria in the gut, the organ allows the bacteria to reenter the digestive system. It essentially keeps a backup of bacteria needed for the immune system to function.

2007年，經過多年研究，科研人員最終發現闌尾是真的有其實際作用的。它並不是人類進化過程中退化的器官，而是免疫系統中非常重要的組成部分。根據團隊的研究成果，闌尾爲那些對人體腸道有益的微生物提供了一個安全的避風港。身體不適或患疾病時，比如說，腹瀉使腸道中的微生物被洗劫一空時，闌尾就能使那些倖存的微生物重新進入消化系統中。本質上是它保證了免疫系統對微生物的需要能夠及時得到補充。

ling

8.撓癢癢

Every person has experienced being tickled at some point. While it can be pleasant at times, it is usually something that people dislike and try to avoid. This has never stopped people from trying to tickle others, though. That fact, combined with the response to tickling, is something that has perplexed thinkers for thousands of years.

每個人都會在一些時候被撓癢癢。雖然有時候會是件挺好玩的事情，但更多時候人們非常不喜歡它，會盡量避免。但是，這也從來沒有阻止人們去撓別人癢癢。結合人們被撓癢之後的反應，這件事難免讓思想家們困惑了幾千年。

Previously, it had been thought that the reaction might be a panic response, similar to that triggered by a spider crawling on you. But Christine Harris, following numerous experiments, has suggested a more complex answer. According to Harris, tickling may be a system designed to help develop combat points to the fact that close family members or friends usually carry out that tickling in much the same way as play fighting. It causes the recipient to convulse and try to break free as quickly as possible, teaching the victim how to get away from an attacker without actually causing them any harm. Meanwhile, the fact that the recipients laugh and smile when being tickled encourages the tickler to carry on the action and to do it more frequently. This increases the value of the action as it is reinforced multiple times.

之前，發癢被認爲是人體對於恐懼的反應，就如同突然有一隻蜘蛛在你身體上爬行，發癢便一觸即發。但是，Christine Harris在做了大量的實驗後提出了更加複雜的解釋。根據他的想法，發癢可能是人體用來提高戰鬥能力的系統。她指出，當親近的家人或朋友撓癢癢時，都差不多是以一種打鬥遊戲的方式來進行。這會使被撓癢的人身體不自主的震動，並想盡快掙脫束縛，這也就教會了受害者們如何在保證不去傷害他人的前提下逃離攻擊者。同時，被撓癢癢的人會大笑，這也是鼓勵撓癢的人繼續撓癢，並且更加頻繁地做這件事。這也大大增強了這種行爲的價值，因爲多次以後，人們會更加劇烈地去撓癢癢。

kled Fingers And Toes

7.手指和腳趾在水中起皺

Spending a long time in the water will lead to fingers and toes becoming wrinkled. This bodily function has baffled researchers for decades, with very little evidence to say definitively what the cause of the reaction was. A leading theory had been that water caused the skin to swell, leading to the wrinkling effect.

長時間將手和腳浸泡在水中，會使手指和腳趾變得滿是皺紋。這項身體機能困惑了科研者幾十年，沒有什麼決定性的證據能解釋產生這種現象的原因。一種前沿理論認爲，水使皮膚髮生膨脹，從而形成褶皺效果。

Scientists now believe they have come up with the exact reason. According to a number of researchers, the wrinkling is an evolutionary advantage that helps to increase grip in wet conditions. Experiments showed that those with wrinkled fingers and toes get a better grip on wet her study from Newcastle University theorized that the function might have helped our ancestors handle tools in rainy conditions or have steadier footing on a soaked floor, providing an advantage over others who did not get wrinkly fingers and toes from water.

如今，科學家們認爲他們終於找到了準確的原因。根據一批研究者的調查，起皺現象是一種有益的進化結果，它能幫助人體握住表面溼滑的物體。實驗表明，起皺的手指和腳趾能更好地服帖在溼滑的物體上。另外，英國紐卡斯爾大學的研究表明，這種機能利於我們的祖先在下雨的時候握緊工具，也能夠在溼滑的地面上站得更穩，相比較那些在水中手指和腳趾不會起皺的動物而言，我們明顯佔有優勢。

In Your Throat

6.喉嚨哽咽

Ever been really sad and felt a lump in your throat even though you knew for a fact that there's nothing physically there? That's a pretty common occurrence that happens to people when they get bad news or are on the verge of crying.

你是否曾有過因非常傷心而喉嚨哽咽的情況？即使你知道自己的身體明明沒什麼問題。對於人們而言，在聽到壞消息和幾乎要哭出來的時候，這種情況經常發生。

The "lump in the throat" sensation is a consequence of the fight-or-flight response inbuilt in humans, which is induced when a person is put in danger or under intense stress. In these emotional situations, the body pumps blood and oxygen to the brain and muscles to allow it to react faster. This has the added effect of causing the heart to pump harder and for breathing to become more frequent. To facilitate this, vocal chords, known as the "glottis," expand to allow more air to pass through the throat. However, when a person tries to swallow, the glottis need to close. The muscles effectively work against each other, causing the "lump" sensation.

這種"喉嚨哽咽"的感覺是人體"戰鬥或逃跑的反應機制"產生的結果，這種機制使得人在遇到威脅和處於強壓的情況下，就需要立即決定戰鬥或逃跑。在人感到悲傷的情況下，人體會立刻將血液和氧運輸到大腦和肌肉，以便我們能迅速反應。這也使得心臟的鼓動更加劇烈，呼吸動作更加頻繁。爲使這一系列過程順利進行，發音器官，也稱爲"聲門"，會迅速擴大，讓更多的空氣進入咽喉。然而，人們吞嚥的時候，聲門是需要關閉的，所以肌肉會有力地阻止聲門的運動，從而形成"哽咽"的感覺。

翻譯：李瑩 來源：前十網