In a study in the journal Science, researchers found that different skin regions harbor very different kinds of bacteria.

    發(fā)表在《科學(xué)》（Science）雜志上的一項研究表明，身體不同的皮膚部位藏有的細(xì)菌種類非常不同。

    Bacteria on the Skin You're In

    Have you ever said, "I know it like the back of my hand"? Well, how well do you know the back of your hand? Or the back of your knee? Or behind your ears? Probably not as well as scientists at the National Institutes of Health who just completed a survey of the bacteria that live on the skin at various parts of the body. They found that different sites harbor different bugs, results published in the May 29th issue of the journal Science.

    The skin, they point out, is a large ecosystem that includes a variety of ecological niches. Your moist armpit is like a tropical rainforest, whereas, not far away, your forearm is as smooth and dry as a desert. So the scientists took samples from 20 different body regions in 10 volunteers. And found that the microbes in your armpit are more like those in someone else's armpit than the ones on your own forearm.

    Dry skin showed the greatest diversity with an average of 44 different species found on the forearm. While the least diverse mix, with only 19 species, lives aft of your ears. So science-savvy moms: don't worry about washing behind the ears. Instead, bug your brood to give those grubby forearms a good scrubbing.

    你皮膚上的細(xì)菌

    你是否曾經(jīng)說過："我知道某事就像我了解我的手背一樣？"那么，你到底有多了解你的手背呢？或者你的膝蓋背部？或者你的耳朵后面？可能你沒有來自美國國家衛(wèi)生研究院（National Institutes of Health）的科學(xué)家們了解地多，這些科學(xué)家們剛剛完成了一項調(diào)查，他們調(diào)查了皮膚上不同部位上的細(xì)菌。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，皮膚不同的部位藏有不同的細(xì)菌。該研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在5月29日的《科學(xué)》（Science）雜志上。

    科學(xué)家們指出，皮膚是一個大的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，這個系統(tǒng)包含有不同的生態(tài)位。你最潮濕的腋窩就像熱帶雨林，而離這個"熱帶雨林"不遠的前臂就像沙漠一樣平整和干燥。因此科學(xué)家們從10名志愿者的20個不同身體部位采集了樣品。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，和你自己前臂上的微生物相比，在你腋窩下的微生物與別人腋窩下的微生物更為相似。

    在前臂上，干燥皮膚顯示出的細(xì)菌種類最多，平均有44種。皮膚上細(xì)菌種類最少的地方在你的耳朵后面，只有19種。怪不得那些有科學(xué)知識的媽媽們說這句話："不用擔(dān)心洗你的耳朵后面。"相反為了除去細(xì)菌，好好擦洗你那臟兮兮的前臂吧！

    Vocabulary:

    Harbor:包含；藏有

    Bacteria:細(xì)菌

    Survey:調(diào)查

    Various:不同的

    Ecosystem:生態(tài)體系

    Ecological:生態(tài)的

    Niche:壁龕；商機；生態(tài)位

    Armpit: 腋窩

    Microbe: 微生物

    Diversity: 多樣性

    Aft: 在后面

    Savvy:有見識的

    Grubby:骯臟的

    Scrub:擦洗