the cold-bloodedness of a reptile,

爬蟲類的冷血、

and the metabolism of a plant?

和植物的新陳代謝？

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

頂上無毛還暴牙的裸鼴鼠或許是不漂亮

but they're extraordinary.

但他們實屬非凡

With a lifespan of 30 years,

裸鼴鼠的平均壽命為 30 歲

their peculiar traits have evolved over millions of years

他們的特質歷經了數百萬年的演化

to make them uniquely suited to survive harsh conditions,

使得他們特別適合存活在嚴厲環境

especially long periods without oxygen.

尤其是長期缺氧的環境

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

在東非沙漠，裸鼴鼠仰賴植物的根而活

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

他們靠著筷子般、可獨立移動的牙齒來挖掘根

But even with these special teeth,

但就算有這些特殊的牙齒

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

單單一隻裸鼴鼠還是不可能找到足夠的食物

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

根又大又營養，但是散播得又廣又遠

A large workforce has a much better chance,

一支工作團隊有較大的優勢

so naked mole rats live in colonies.

所以裸鼴鼠群居

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

類似螞蟻、蜜蜂和白蟻，他們也會建造巨大的巢穴

Housing up to 300 mole rats,

這些巢穴可容納 300 隻裸鼴鼠

these colonies feature complex underground tunnel systems,

其中有複雜的地下隧道系統、

nest chambers,

休息室、

and community bathrooms.

和社區廁所

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

跟昆蟲一樣，裸鼴鼠有硬性的社會結構

The dominant female, the queen,

主宰的雌性，皇后

and two to three males that she chooses,

以及兩三名她選擇的雄性

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

是整個群體中唯獨能繁衍後代的

All the other naked mole rats,

其他所有裸鼴鼠

male and female,

雄性和雌性

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

不是負責防衛、抵禦潛在入侵者的士兵

or workers.

就是工人

Teams of workers are dispatched to hunt for roots,

一組一組的工人被分派去找根

and their harvest feeds the whole colony.

他們的收穫餵養整個群體

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

群居使得裸鼴鼠能夠找到足夠的食物

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

但是當那麼多的動物在同一個地下空間生活時

oxygen quickly runs out.

氧氣很快就沒了

Mammals need a lot of oxygen;

哺乳類需要很多氧氣

we use it to make the energy that fuels everything

我們藉由氧氣製造足夠的能量來完成各類事務

from maintaining our body temperatures

包括維持體溫、

to our heartbeats

維持心跳、

to voluntary movements.

和自主移動

Without oxygen, we quickly die.

沒了氧氣，我們很快就會死亡

In fact, no other mammal could survive the oxygen depletion

事實上，沒有其他哺乳類能夠在裸鼴鼠

experienced in a naked mole rat colony.

如此缺氧的環境中存活

Naked mole rats can thrive in low oxygen

裸鼴鼠之所以能夠在低氧中存活

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

部分是因為他們捨棄了其中一項

that requires the most oxygen:

會消耗大量氧氣的生理功能：

thermoregulation.

體溫調節

Most mammals are warm-blooded,

多數哺乳類是溫血動物

meaning they have to keep their body temperature consistent.

意思是他們必須維持一定的體溫

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

裸鼴鼠並沒有足夠的氧氣能夠做到這件事

Instead, they're the only mammals

他們反而是唯一一種

whose body temperature fluctuates with their environment,

體溫會隨著環境變動的哺乳類

making them cold-blooded, like reptiles.

使得他們就像爬蟲類一樣冷血

They also have a special type of hemoglobin,

他們還有一種特殊的血色素

the molecule in the blood that transports oxygen.

這是一種在血液中運送氧氣的分子

Their hemoglobin is much stickier for oxygen than ours

他們的血色素比我們的都要善於攜帶氧氣

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

能夠在甚至是氧氣稀少的情況下運送氧

In response to a real oxygen emergency,

當遇到真正的氧氣危機時

naked mole rats enter a state of suspended animation.

裸鼴鼠會進入一種靜止動作的狀態

They stop moving,

他們暫停移動

slow their breathing,

減緩呼吸

and dramatically lower their heart rate.

並且巨幅降低心率

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

這麼做可以減少所需的能量，也就降低了所需的氧氣

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

與此同時，他們開始代謝果糖，就像植物一樣

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

果糖是一種不需耗氧就能產生能量的糖類

Usually, mammals metabolize a different sugar called glucose

哺乳動物通常代謝一種不同的糖類，稱作葡萄糖

that makes more energy than fructose,

能夠產生比果糖更多的能量

but glucose only works when oxygen's available.

但前提要是有足夠的氧氣

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

人類腦部和心臟細胞有一些能夠利用果糖的細胞結構

but not nearly as much as naked mole rats.

但並不如裸鼴鼠有的多

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

事實上，裸鼴鼠是唯一一種已知有這種能耐的哺乳動物

While we can hope humans won't ever need

縱然我們可想人類大概永遠不會需要

to exclusively live in underground tunnels,

一輩子居住在地底隧道

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

還是有許多情況下，我們耗氧較少會有好處

During heart attacks and other medical emergencies,

當心臟病發以及其他急診時

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

人們常因著缺氧而死亡或是器官嚴重受損

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

我們是否可以掌握裸鼴鼠利用果糖的技巧

for human health?

將之應用到人類健康方面呢？

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

一隻小小的哺乳動物是經歷了百萬年的演化

the temperature regulation of a reptile,

才有了昆蟲般的習性、

and the energy production of a plant

爬蟲類般的體溫調節

together in one little mammal,

以及植物般的能量製造手法

but maybe, with enough study,

但或許只要研究得夠透徹

we can replicate just a few of their wild adaptations.

我們也能複製一些他們的野外適應技能