下面來自出國留學網(wǎng)英語頻道整理的科學美國人60秒：揭秘：螞蟻為何聞起來像藍奶酪，歡迎閱讀。
>>>點擊下載音頻
>>>點擊下載文本
Ant Smells Like Blue Cheese for a Reason
揭秘：螞蟻為何聞起來像藍奶酪
A common response to seeing an ant inside your house is to stomp on it. But if you crush a member of the ant species Tapinoma sessile, you might catch a whiff of a strange smell—a smell that reminds some people of blue cheese, rancid butter or rotten coconut. In fact, the smell is so noticeable that the insect’s common name is the “odorous house ant.” And many people call it the coconut ant.
一般人們在家里看到螞蟻都會狠狠地把它踩在腳下。但是如果你踩死的是一只酸臭蟻，那你就會沾上一點怪味——會讓一些人聯(lián)想到藍奶酪、酸腐的牛油或爛椰子的味道。實際上，正因為這種氣味實在太明顯了，以至于這種螞蟻的俗名都被稱為“香家蟻”。還有許多人叫它“椰子蟻”。
In an effort to figure out why people have these reactions, researchers enlisted visitors at an event called the North Carolina BugFest. One-hundred-forty-three volunteers smelled smushed ants and were asked to identify the scent from four choices: blue cheese, rancid butter, rotten coconut or just other.
為查明人們?yōu)楹螘羞@些反應(yīng)，研究者為“北卡羅來納州蟲子聚會”活動招募來一批志愿者。143名志愿者先聞了聞被踩扁的螞蟻，然后被要求從以下四種味道中識別出該氣味：藍奶酪、酸腐的牛油、爛椰子、其他某種味道。
Although Web sites overwhelmingly call the smell rotten coconut, almost 40 percent of the human judges picked blue cheese and about 25 percent picked rotten coconut. More than 30 percent went with the choice of other.
雖然絕大多數(shù)網(wǎng)站稱這種味道為“爛椰子”味兒，但是志愿者中約有40%選擇了藍奶酪、約25%選擇了爛椰子、30%以上選擇“其他某種味道”。
The scientists then analyzed the chemicals responsible for the ant odor, as well as the smelly chemicals in blue cheese, fresh coconut and coconut buried underground for three days. It turns out that the chemistry of the ants’ scent is indeed similar to that of blue cheese and rotten coconut. But not to fresh coconut. And the researchers note that the Penicillium microbes that turn coconut oil rancid are also involved in the production of blue cheese. The study is in the journal American Entomologist.
研究人員隨后分別分析了負責螞蟻氣味的化學物質(zhì)、負責藍奶酪氣味、新鮮椰子氣味以及埋在地下三天的爛椰子氣味的化學物質(zhì)。事實證明，負責螞蟻氣味的化學物質(zhì)確實與負責藍奶酪和爛椰子氣味的化學物質(zhì)類似，但它與新鮮椰子的不同。研究人員注意到：使椰子油變腐臭的青霉菌，藍奶酪中也有。這項研究發(fā)表于《美國昆蟲學家》。
The researchers also noted that the most common write-in candidate as a description for the ants’ aroma was “cleaning spray.” And one little girl told them that the ants “smelled exactly like her doctor.”
研究人員還指出，關(guān)于這種螞蟻的氣味最常見的暗含描述就是“抗菌清潔噴霧。”甚至有個小女孩告訴他們，這種螞蟻“聞起來像極了她的醫(yī)生。”