今天的文章來自The Guardian，科學家們對於「袋熊便便為何是方形」的問題，又有了新發現。這次的發現，讓之前一些謠言不攻自破。為了一坨shi，大家也是忙壞了。
Headline
Box seat: scientists solve the mystery of why wombats have cube-shaped pooVocabulary
wombat [ˈwɒmbæt] 袋熊
cube-shape 立方體的
poo [puː] 便便
袋熊的便便為何是方形一直都是生物界的謎題，但現在，一項國際研究揭秘了這種奇葩的自然現象。
How wombats produce their cube-shape poo has long been a biological puzzle but now an international study has provided the answer to this unusual natural phenomenon.
Vocabulary
speculation [ˌspekjuˈleɪʃn] 推測
square-shaped 方型的
anus [ˈeɪnəs] 「菊花」
sphincter [ˈsfɪŋktə(r)] 括約肌
faeces [ˈfiːsiːz] 糞便
squeeze [skwiːz] 擠
pelvic bones [ˈpelvɪk] 髖骨
pat into 把…拍成
deposit [dɪˈpɒzɪt] 放置(文中表拉出來後)
曾有人猜測袋熊的菊花括約肌是方形的，所以當便便在髖骨之間受到擠壓時，就成了方形；還有一種無稽之談則是說袋熊拉出便便後，會把它們拍成方形。
There was speculation that wombats had a square-shaped anus sphincter, that the faeces get squeezed between the pelvic bones, as well as the 「complete nonsense」 idea that wombats pat the faeces into shape after they deposit them.
Vocabulary
dissect [dɪˈsekt; daɪˈsekt] 解剖
euthanize [ˈjuːθənaɪz] 使安樂死
intestine [ɪnˈtestɪn] 腸
4年前，專家Carver在解剖一隻遭遇車禍、被安樂死的袋熊時，發現了其腸道最後1米處的方形便便，於是針對便便的研究項目就由此開始了。
The project originated four years ago when Carver was dissecting a euthanised wombat hit by a car and noticed the cubes in the last metre of the wombat’s intestine.
Vocabulary
stiffer [ˈstɪfər] 更硬的
研究小組發現，袋熊腸內肌肉的厚度相差大，有2節較硬區域和2節較軟區域。
The team discovered big changes in the thickness of muscles inside the intestine, varying between two stiffer regions and two more flexible regions.
Vocabulary
rhythmical ['rɪðmɪkəl] 有節奏的
contraction [kənˈtrækʃn] 收縮
「腸道有節奏的收縮有助於立方體尖角的形成」 Carver表示。
「The rhythmical contractions help form the sharp corners of the cubes,」 Carver said.
Vocabulary
preliminary [prɪˈlɪmɪnəri] 初步的
早在2018年，就已經有初步研究了。那時，研究員認為袋熊的腸道中有4處較硬區域和4處較軟區域。但現在的最終結果表示，較硬和較軟的地區分別只有2處。
When preliminary findings were presented in 2018 「at that point researchers believed there were four stiff and four flexible regions,」 he said. 「But what final research has confirmed is that the wombat’s intestine has two stiff and two flexible regions.」
preliminary results/findings/enquiries
初步結果╱發現╱調查
Vocabulary
histology [hɪˈstɒlədʒi] 組織學 (組織學是研究人體微細結構及其相關功能的學科，為解剖學的一個分支。)
CT scan (computed tomography scan)
計算機斷層掃描
faecal [ˈfiːkl] 排洩物的（等於fecal）
distal [ˈdɪstl] 末端的
colon [ˈkəʊlən] 結腸
這之後，澳洲研究者對一隻活體袋熊進行了組織學研究和CT掃描。他們最終認為，肌肉厚度的變化，以及遠端結腸內的糞便物質變幹，才讓袋熊的便便形成了獨特的形狀。
Since 2018, Australian researchers have performed the histology as well as a CT scan upon a live wombat, and concluded that the changes in muscle thickness, in addition to the drying out of the faecal material in the distal colon, produced the distinctive shape.
distal colon包括descending colon(下行結腸)和sigmoid colon(乙狀結腸)。
Vocabulary
roll away 滾走
當被問到為何袋熊有此特點時，Carver解釋道，一種說法是袋熊利用便便強烈的氣味，來與同伴交流，而且方形的便便不容易滾動。
Asked why wombats have this feature, Carver said one theory was that wombats, with their strong sense of smell, communicate with each other via faeces and that the cube shape helps prevent the faeces from rolling away.
Vocabulary
spherical [ˈsferɪkl] 球形的
研究員還發現方形的便便在8度斜坡上，遠沒有圓形便便滾得遠。
The researchers also found that cube-shaped faeces on an eight degree slope rolled far less than spherical-shaped models.
spherical的名詞形式為sphere(球體)，還記得高中幾何學過的球體嗎，再來感受下。
spherical coordinates球面坐標
Vocabulary
highlight 突出; 強調
clinical pathology
[ˈklɪnɪkl] [pəˈθɒlədʒi] 臨床病理學
digestive health [daɪˈdʒestɪv] 消化系統健康
Carver說，這一發現不僅讓人們更加了解袋熊了，同時還提供了一種在軟管中製造立方體的新方法，可用於製造業、臨床病理和消化健康等領域。
As well as the benefits of better understanding wombats themselves, Carver said the discovery highlighted a new way of manufacturing cubes inside a soft tube, which could be applied to other fields including manufacturing, clinical pathology and digestive health.
之前看過很多版本的解釋，今天終於知道了為何袋熊的便便是方形了，感覺奇怪的知識又增加了呢。
文章讀完，恭喜你今天又進步了一點點，給你點個讚！