新奇事件簿 研究显示夜班损害健康

A new study suggests working shifts at night can be damaging to one's health. In particular, it increases the risk of several cancers, diabetes¹, mental illnesses, and various heart diseases. Researchers from the Sleep Research Centre at the U.K.'s University of Surrey discovered that many genes³ in the body needed to follow a regular 24-hour cycle, during which the body sleeps at night. If this cycle is broken up, up to 1,500 genes could get damaged, eventually resulting in potentially life-threatening diseases. Professor Derk-Jan Dijk said: "The study has important implications because we now need to discover why these rhythms exist and think about the consequences of that."

一项新的研究称，轮夜班会损害健康。尤其是会增加几种癌症，糖尿病，精神疾病和各种心脏病的风险。来自英国萨里大学睡眠研究中心的研究人员发现人体许多基因需要遵循常规的24小时生物钟，也就是身体在夜间睡觉。如果这种生物钟被打破，多达1500种基因会被损坏，最终导致潜在的威胁生命的疾病。Derk-Jan Dijk教授表示：“这项研究给了我们非常重要的启示，我们需要查明为何这些规律存在，并思考一下因此造成的后果。”

The human body has around 24,000 genes. Many of these switch off if the body does not follow a regular sleeping pattern. This can cause parts of the immune system to become less efficient, making us more susceptible⁴ to illnesses. Study co-author Dr Simon Archer² said: "Over 97 per cent of rhythmic⁵ genes become out-of-sync with mistimed sleep, which really explains why we feel so bad during jet lag or if we have to work irregular shifts." Dr Dijk said that despite the results of the research, it would be difficult for people to change their lifestyles. He explained it was difficult for society to function without people working night shifts, but said people needed to understand the dangers and "mitigate⁶ the impact".

人体大约有2.4万个基因。如果人体没有遵循正常的睡眠模式，许多基因会停止活动。这会导致部分免疫系统效率降低，让我们更容易生病。研究联席作者Simon Archer博士表示：“超过97%的节律基因会和不合时宜的睡眠失去同步，这解释了为何我们在飞行时差或轮班时会感觉这么差。”Dijk博士表示，尽管我们了解到这样的研究结果，然而让人们改变生活方式是非常困难的。他解释说，如果没有人上夜班，社会很难运转，但是他说，人们需要了解夜班带来的危险，尽量减轻其带来的影响。

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

3 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

4 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

5 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

6 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。