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

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

    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.

    你皮膚上的細菌

    你是否曾經說過："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生研究院（National Institutes of Health）的科學家們了解地多，這些科學家們剛剛完成了一項調查，他們調查了皮膚上不同部位上的細菌。他們發現，皮膚不同的部位藏有不同的細菌。該研究結果發表在5月29日的《科學》（Science）雜志上。

    科學家們指出，皮膚是一個大的生態系統，這個系統包含有不同的生態位。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。他們發現，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菌種類最多，平均有44種。皮膚上細菌種類最少的地方在你的耳朵后面，只有19種。怪不得那些有科學知識的媽媽們說這句話："不用擔心洗你的耳朵后面。"相反為了除去細菌，好好擦洗你那臟兮兮的前臂吧！

    Vocabulary:

    Harbor:包含；藏有

    Bacteria:細菌

    Survey:調查

    Various:不同的

    Ecosystem:生態體系

    Ecological:生態的

    Niche:壁龕；商機；生態位

    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