We often think of bacteria as being bad for us. However, our bodies are actually home to countless bacteria, as well as other tiny organisms, many of which are beneficial. Despite this, new research has discovered that our gut “microbiomes” — all the microorganisms that live inside us—are not as diverse and healthy as they used to be.
Scientists conducted an experiment in which the feces of numerous species of apes and monkeys was collected and analyzed for bacterial DNA. The results were compared with microbiome data from modern human populations. They showed that while apes and monkeys had around 85 kinds of bacteria, humans in cities only had around 55. Humans in rural areas had between 60 and 65 kinds.
Looking at ancient human microbiomes found in fossils helped the researchers pin down when some of these bacteria started to disappear. Many have vanished relatively recently, and the absence of certain gut bacteria in city-dwelling humans suggests that moving into cities has caused our microbiomes to diminish.
photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / 照片：維基共享資源提供
There are several possible reasons for this, including antibiotic use, better hygiene, and stress. Stress and anxiety have a negative impact on gut bacteria, and other studies have shown that people suffer from more stress in cities. The loss of these bacteria has been linked to asthma and several other diseases becoming more widespread. While the ultimate goal for scientists is to get these helpful bacteria back into our systems, the first step for the research team is identifying exactly which kinds are missing.
我們常認為細菌對我們有害。然而，我們的身體實際上是無數細菌以及其他微小生物的家園，而其中許多是有益的。儘管如此，新的研究發現，我們腸道的「微生物組」——所有生活在我們體內的微生物——已經不像從前那樣多樣化和健康了。
科學家們進行了一項實驗，收集了多種猿類及猴子的糞便並分析了細菌DNA。他們將結果與來自現代人口的微生物組數據比較。結果表示猿類和猴子有大約八十五種細菌，但城市中的人類只有大約五十五種。鄉村地區的人類則有六十到六十五種。
研究在化石中發現的古代人類微生物組，有助於研究人員確認這些細菌中的一些何時開始消失。許多細菌在較近的時間才消失，而城市居民中某些腸道細菌的缺乏，暗示著搬進城市導致了我們的微生物組減少。
這有幾項可能的原因，包括抗生素的使用、更良好的衛生條件，還有壓力。壓力及焦慮對腸道細菌有負面影響，而其他研究顯示，人們在城市中承受的壓力更大。這些細菌的喪失與氣喘和其他幾種疾病變得更普遍有關。雖然科學家的最終目標，是讓這些有益的細菌重新回到我們的人體系統中，但研究團隊的第一步，是先準確確認哪些種類缺失了。
MORE INFORMATION
microbiome n. 微生物組
microorganism n. 微生物
feces n. 排泄物（可作單數和複數名詞）
bacterial adj. 細菌的
antibiotic n. 抗生素
hygiene n. 衛生（情況）
asthma n. 氣喘
KEY VOCABULARY
1. diverse adj. 多樣化的；多元的
This school’s student population is quite diverse and includes students from over 30 countries.
這間學校的學生人口相當多元，包含了來自三十多個國家的學生。
2. analyze vt. 分析
The critic analyzes stories to find the author’s meaning in each one.
那位評論家分析故事，以找出每個故事中作者的用意。
3. rural adj. 鄉村的；農村的
Tom left the noise of the city behind when he moved to a rural area.
湯姆搬去鄉村地區時，遠離了城市的喧囂。
4. fossil n. 化石
Henry was surprised to discover a dinosaur fossil when he was digging up the soil in his garden.
亨利在花園挖土時驚訝地發現了恐龍化石。
5. pin down 確認；弄清楚
It took the information technology department workers hours to pin down exactly what the problem with the Internet was.
資訊科技部門的人員們花了幾個小時來確定網路到底出了什麼問題。
6. dwell vi. 居住；棲身
The old witch dwells in a tiny cottage with a roof made of straw.
年老的巫婆居住在一間稻草屋頂的小屋裡。
7. diminish v. 減少；降低
The number of crocodiles in the wild has diminished because of poaching.
因為盜獵，野生鱷魚的數量已經減少了。
8. widespread adj. 普遍的；廣泛的
Although cellphones were originally quite rare, today their use is widespread.
儘管手機最初很少見，但現今它們的使用很廣泛。
9. ultimate adj. 最終的；最後的
The ultimate baseball game of the World Series will be on Wednesday, and I hope my city’s team wins.
世界大賽的最後一場棒球比賽將在週三開打，我希望我所在城市的球隊獲勝。
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