Are naked mole rats the strangest mammals? - Thomas Park

翻译人员: Yuntao Li 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

What mammal has the social life of an insect,

什么哺乳动物拥有着 昆虫一样的社群生活，

the cold-bloodedness of a reptile,

爬行动物的冷血，

and the metabolism of a plant?

以及植物一样的新陈代谢？

Bald and buck-toothed, naked mole rats may not be pretty,

光头龅牙的的裸鼹鼠 也许算不上漂亮，

but they’re extraordinary.

但他们确实不同寻常。

With a lifespan of 30 years,

在 30 年的生命周期中，

their peculiar traits have evolved over millions of years

它们特别的特征在长达百万年的时间中不断进化，

to make them uniquely suited to survive harsh conditions,

使得他们以独特的方式 适应恶劣的环境，

especially long periods without oxygen.

特别是长期缺氧的环境。

In the deserts of East Africa, naked mole rats feed on root vegetables.

生活在在东非的沙漠， 裸鼹鼠以植物根部为食。

They dig for the roots with teeth that can move independently, like chopsticks.

它们用像筷子一样，能够 单独移动的牙齿来挖掘根部。

But even with these special teeth,

但是即使有着这样特殊的牙齿

a single naked mole rat doesn’t stand a chance of finding enough food;

一只独居的裸鼹鼠没有 任何机会找到足够的食物；

the roots are large and nutritious, but scattered far and wide.

植物的根部又大又有营养， 但是分布的宽而远。

A large workforce has a much better chance,

唯有大量的劳动力才能有一个更好的机会。

so naked mole rats live in colonies.

所以裸鼹鼠以群落生活。

Similar to ants, bees, and termites, they build giant nests.

跟蚂蚁、蜜蜂以及白蚁相似， 他们建造巨大的巢穴。

Housing up to 300 mole rats,

一个巢穴居住着 最多 300 只裸鼹鼠，

these colonies feature complex underground tunnel systems,

这些群落以地下管道系统为显著特征，

nest chambers,

还有像大厅一样的巢穴，

and community bathrooms.

以及公共厕所。

Also like insects, naked mole rats have a rigid social structure.

跟昆虫还有一个相似之处： 裸鼹鼠遵循严格的社会结构。

The dominant female, the queen,

雌性的支配者，也就是女王，

and two to three males that she chooses,

以及两到三个她选择的雄性，

are the only naked mole rats in the colony who have babies.

是唯一担负生殖功能的群体。

All the other naked mole rats,

其他的裸鼹鼠，

male and female,

无论雄性还是雌性，

are either soldiers, who defend the colony from possible invaders,

要么是士兵，负责防御，

or workers.

要么是工人。

Teams of workers are dispatched to hunt for roots,

工人团队被派往获取食物，

and their harvest feeds the whole colony.

它们的收获供给着整个群落。

Living in a colony helps naked mole rats find enough food,

居住在这样的一个 能够找到充足食物的群落里，

but when so many animals live in the same underground space,

有个问题是大量的动物 同时居住在一个空间里，

oxygen quickly runs out.

氧气很快就会被耗尽。

Mammals need a lot of oxygen;

哺乳动物需要大量的氧气；

we use it to make the energy that fuels everything

我们用氧气来生产能量， 供给所有的活动，

from maintaining our body temperatures

从维持体温，

to our heartbeats

到心跳，

to voluntary movements.

到自主运动。

Without oxygen, we quickly die.

没有氧气，我们很快就会死。

In fact, no other mammal could survive the oxygen depletion

事实上，没有其他任何哺乳动物能够在 裸鼹鼠那种氧气短缺的情况下生存，

experienced in a naked mole rat colony.

Naked mole rats can thrive in low oxygen

裸鼹鼠能在低氧的环境下生长，

in part because they’ve abandoned one of the body functions

部分原因是因为 它们放弃部分身体机能，

that requires the most oxygen:

需要大量氧气的

thermoregulation.

温度调节。

Most mammals are warm-blooded,

大部分哺乳动物都是温血的，

meaning they have to keep their body temperature consistent.

意味着它们要保持体温恒定。

Naked mole rats don’t get enough oxygen to do this.

裸鼹鼠并没有足够的氧气去做这个。

Instead, they’re the only mammals

它们是唯一的哺乳动物，

whose body temperature fluctuates with their environment,

体温随环境温度波动，

making them cold-blooded, like reptiles.

使得它们像爬行动物一样冷血。

They also have a special type of hemoglobin,

他们同时有着一种特殊的血红蛋白，

the molecule in the blood that transports oxygen.

这种分子在血液中负责运输氧气。

Their hemoglobin is much stickier for oxygen than ours

它们的血红蛋白比我们的更加粘，

and can pick oxygen up even when it’s scarce.

能够在氧气很稀薄的情况下 也能进行收集。

In response to a real oxygen emergency,

如果真的遇到了紧急缺氧的情况，

naked mole rats enter a state of suspended animation.

裸鼹鼠就会进入停滞运动状态。

They stop moving,

他们停止运动，

slow their breathing,

减慢呼吸，

and dramatically lower their heart rate.

以及极度降低它们的心率。

This greatly reduces the amount of energy, and therefore oxygen, they need.

这极大地缩减了需要的能量， 进而减少氧气需求。

At the same time, they begin to metabolize fructose, like a plant.

同时，他们开始消化果糖， 就像植物一样。

Fructose is a sugar that can be used to make energy without burning oxygen.

果糖是一种不需要消耗氧气， 但也能产生能量的一种糖。

Usually, mammals metabolize a different sugar called glucose

通常，哺乳动物使用另一种 名叫葡萄糖的糖

that makes more energy than fructose,

来产生能量，而不是果糖。

but glucose only works when oxygen’s available.

但是葡萄糖只有在氧气 存在的情况下能够转化成能量。

Human brain and heart cells have some cellular machinery to use fructose,

人的大脑和心细胞有着 一些细胞消耗果糖的机制，

but not nearly as much as naked mole rats.

但是跟裸鼹鼠就差得很远了。

Naked mole rats are, in fact, the only mammals known to have this ability.

裸鼹鼠实际上是唯一一个 有这种能力的哺乳动物。

While we can hope humans won’t ever need

虽然我们希望人类永远不需要

to exclusively live in underground tunnels,

仅仅住在地下通道，

there are many situations where we would benefit from needing less oxygen.

但是还是有很多我们可以 从需要更少的氧气中获益情况。

During heart attacks and other medical emergencies,

在心脏病突发以及 其他紧急医疗情况时，

people often die or sustain debilitating organ damage from oxygen deprivation.

人们经常因为缺氧而死亡或是器官受损。

Could we replicate the naked mole rat’s use of the fructose pathway

我们能复制裸鼹鼠使用果糖的方法，

for human health?

使得人类的健康也能从中受益吗？

It took millions of years of evolution to bring the behavior of an insect,

裸鼹鼠花了几百万年的时间才将 昆虫的习性，

the temperature regulation of a reptile,

爬行动物的体温调节，

and the energy production of a plant

以及植物的能量生产方式

together in one little mammal,

集为一体。

but maybe, with enough study,

但是也许，通过充足的研究

we can replicate just a few of their wild adaptations.

我们能复制它们的一些野性的适应。