体内微生物影响你的心情？——千真万确！

If anything makes us human it's our minds, thoughts and emotions.

人之所以为人是因为我们的思想，意念和情感。

And yet a controversial new concept is emerging that claims gut bacteria are an invisible hand altering our brains.

不过最近出现了一种新的富有争议的概念认为内部的细菌才是控制我们的大脑的无形的手。

Science is piecing together how the trillions of microbes that live on and in all of us - our microbiome - affect our physical health.

科学研究正试图弄清我们体表和体内的万亿计的微生物—我们的微生物群—是如何影响我们的心理健康的。

But even conditions including depression, autism and neurodegenerative disease are now being linked to these tiny creatures.

不过尽管一些包括抑郁，自闭症和神经退行性疾病跟这些微生物扯上了关系。

We've known for centuries that how we feel affects our gut - just think what happens before an exam or a job interview - but now it is being seen as a two-way street.

百年以来我们已经知道了我们的感觉会影响我们的内脏—想想考试或者面试之前的情形吧—而到了现在，这个过程被看做是双向通道。

Groups of researchers believe they are on the cusp of a revolution that uses "mood microbes" or "psychobiotics" to improve mental health.

有一些研究组认为他们正处在利用“心情微生物”或者“心理生命学”来提升心理健康的前沿。

How could bacteria be altering the brain?

那么细菌是如何影响大脑的呢？

The brain is the most complex object in the known universe so how could it be reacting to bacteria in the gut?

大脑是目前已知宇宙中最为复杂的物体，那么它是如何对内脏里的细菌做出反应的呢？

One route is the vagus nerve, it's an information superhighway connecting the brain and the gut.

其中一条通路就是迷走神经，它是联通大脑和内脏的信息高速公路。

Bacteria break down fibre in the diet into chemicals called short-chain fatty acids, which can have effects throughout the body.

细菌将食物中的纤维分解成一种叫做短链脂肪酸的化学物质，而它可以对全身产生影响。

The microbiome influences the immune system, which has also been implicated in brain disorders.

微生物组对免疫系统有影响，而免疫系统也与大脑紊乱有关。

There is even emerging evidence that gut bugs could be using tiny strips of genetic code called microRNAs to alter how DNA works in nerve cells.

甚至有证据显示内脏寄生虫可以利用小段的叫做微小RNA的基因编码来改变神经细胞中的DNA表达。

There is now a rich vein of research linking germ-free mice with changes in behaviour and even the structure of the brain.

现在已经有很丰富的研究将不含细菌的小白鼠与行为甚至大脑结构的改变联系起来。

But their completely sterile upbringing is nothing like the real world.

不过它们完全无菌的成长环境与真实世界大不相同。

We're constantly coming into contact with microbes in our environment, none of us are germ-free.

我们随时会跟环境中的微生物接触，没有谁是无菌的。

At Cork University Hospital, Prof Ted Dinan is trying to uncover what happens to the microbiome in his depressed patients.

在科克大学医院里，特德.迪南教授正试图揭示那些抑郁患者的微生物群发生了什么变化。

A good rule of thumb is a healthy microbiome is a diverse microbiome, containing a wide variety of different species living all over our bodies.

健康的，良好的微生物群应该是一个多样化的微生物群，包含很多不同品种的微生物居住在我们的身体各处。

Prof Dinan says: "If you compare somebody who is clinically depressed with someone who is healthy, there is a narrowing in the diversity of the microbiota.

迪南教授说：“如果你把临床抑郁患者和健康的人作对比，你会发现前者的微生物多样性变差。”

"I'm not suggesting it is the sole cause of depression, but I do believe for many individuals it does play a role in the genesis of depression."

“我也不是说它是抑郁的唯一成因，但我认为对很多人来说，这在抑郁的形成过程中发挥了重要的作用。”

And he argues some lifestyles that weaken our gut bacteria, such as a diet low in fibre, can make us more vulnerable.

他还认为有一些生活方式会削弱我们体内的细菌，例如低纤维的饮食习惯，会让我们变得更加脆弱。

The microbiome - our second genome - is opening up an entirely new way of doing medicine and its role is being investigated in nearly every disease you can imagine including allergies, cancer and obesity.

微生物群—我们的第二基因组—正开启一种全新的医疗方式，它们在几乎所有你能想到的疾病中作用都正在被进行研究，包括过敏，癌症和肥胖。

I've been struck by how malleable the second genome is and how that is in such start contrast to our own DNA.

我感到震惊的是这个第二基因组的可塑性以及相比于我们的DNA，这个研究才刚起步。

The food we eat, the pets we have, the drugs we take, how we're born… all alter our microbial inhabitants.

我们吃的食物，养的宠物，服用的药物以及出生的方式...所有这些都会改变我们的微生物居民。

And if we're doing that unwittingly, imagine the potential of being able to change our microbiome for the better.

假如我们做这些时都是毫无知觉的，那么请想象一下我们改变自己的微生物群来提升健康的潜能。

Prof Cryan said: "I predict in the next five years when you go to your doctor for your cholesterol testing etc, you'll also get your microbiome assessed.

克莱恩教授说：“我预计在未来的五年里，当你去看医生去测胆固醇等等的时候，你也可以对自己的微生物群进行评估。”

"The microbiome is the fundamental future of personalised medicine."

“微生物群是个性化医疗最重要的未来！”

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