body clock

Vocabulary:

second nature第二天性；习性   ;at the mercy of任凭…的摆布，完全受…的支配;    constant连续不断的

hormone荷尔蒙，激素;  metabolism新陈代谢;  rhythm（人的生物）节奏，规律;   cogs（齿轮的）嵌齿

pendulums钟摆;    trio三人组;    circadian rhythm昼夜生理节律;   jet lagged有时差感的

out of sync不同步的;    

The secret behind body clock人体生物钟之谜

We spend around a third of our lives like this. Sleeping at night and being active during the day is second nature. That's because we're at the mercy of the constant ticking of clocks inside nearly every cell of our bodies. Our mood, strength, hormone levels, body temperature, metabolism and even the risk of a heart attack all fluctuate in a daily rhythm.

我们一生中大约有三分之一的时间是这样度过的：晚上睡觉、白天活动如同第二天性。这是因为，我们体内几乎每个细胞的时钟都在不停地滴答作响，而我们只能听天由命。我们的情绪、力量、激素水平、体温、新陈代谢甚至是心脏病发作的风险等所有这一切都在日常的生活节奏（日节律）中波动。

This clock is not controlled by cogs and pendulums. Instead, it's the swing in gene activity over 24 hours that keeps our body's time. The US's trio Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young found the genes involved.

这个钟不是由齿轮和摆锤所控制的，而是24小时内基因活动的波动让我们形成了生物钟。美国的三位科学家杰弗瑞·霍尔、迈克尔·罗斯巴什和迈克尔·杨发现了影响生物钟的有关基因。

Dr Michael Hastings, a circadian rhythm scientist in Cambridge, said it took the discovery for the field to be treated seriously.

剑桥大学的昼夜节律（生理节律）科学家迈克尔·哈斯廷斯博士表示，这一发现引起了人们的重视。

Nobody now doubts the importance of our body clocks. Ask someone who is jet lagged or working shifts what it's like to live out of sync with your internal clock.

如今没有人怀疑我们生物钟的重要性，问问哪些倒时差或倒班的人“与自己的生物钟不同步是一种什么样的体验”吧。

Long-term circadian rhythm disruption is linked to a host of diseases, from cancer to type 2 diabetes, but understanding how the body's timepiece works is also unlocking new ideas, like taking medicines at the time of day when they will have the biggest impact on the body.

长期的昼夜节律紊乱与许多疾病有关，包括癌症和2型糖尿病，但了解人体生物钟的工作原理还能打开新思路，比如在一天中药对身体影响最大的时间段服药。