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Dear A Moment of Science,
親愛的《科學一科》欄目組：
Why do we sleep?
我們為什么需要睡覺？
I know this question has been debated by scientists and philosophers forcenturies, but are there any hard and fast answers?
我知道科學家們和哲學家們就這個問題爭論了好幾個世紀，但現在有沒有確實的，現成的答案？
Good question!
問得好！
First, it's true that scientists have long pondered the mystery of sleep why we do itand why it's necessary.
首先，科學家們長期以來確實在思考睡眠這一謎題，我們為什么需要睡眠，為什么睡眠十分必要？
We know that going without sleep for too long can seriously damage health, so there's good reason to believe that getting enough sleep is important for our well-being.
我們知道長期失眠會嚴重的危害健康，因此，有必要相信保證睡眠充足對健康很重要。
But exactly how and why that's the case is still an open question.
但失眠為什么會影響健康，又是如何影響的，這個問題仍沒有答案。
Some research, though, may shed a little light on the problem.
一些研究也許可以稍稍解答這個問題。
For instance, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York did a study with mice, and found that during sleep their brains flush out toxins that accumulate during the day.
比如，紐約羅切斯特大學醫學中心的科學家們用老鼠做了一個研究，發現老鼠在睡覺時，他們的大腦會排除白天積累的毒素。
More specifically, the study found that sleep sort of changes the brain's cellular structure.
更確切的說，該研究發現睡眠在某種程度上改變了大腦的細胞結構。
When the mice were asleep or anesthetized, the researchers found that there was more space between their brain cells, allowing a sort of brain plumbing apparatus called the glymphatic system to open wide and allow fluid to flow quickly through the brain.
當老鼠處于睡眠狀態或被麻醉是，研究人員發現，他們大腦細胞之間的空間增大了，使被稱為腦部類淋巴系統的類似排污管道的器官大大的打開，這樣腦脊液就能在大腦中快速的流動。
Other studies have shown that toxic molecules build up in the space between brain cells.
其他的研究表明，有毒分子在腦細胞的間隙中生成。
Researchers at the University of Rochester found that those molecules vanished faster from the brain when the mice were asleep.
羅切斯特大學的研究人員發現，這些分子在老鼠睡覺時從大腦中消失得更快。
So what does this mean?
所以，這意味著什么呢？
Well, it could give scientists new ways to study and potentially treatbrain disorders like Alzheimer's by targeting the glymphatic system and helping it better flush awaybrain toxins.
這意味著通過針對腦部類淋巴系統可以幫助大腦更好的排除腦部毒素，使科學家們有新的方法研究并很有可能治好像老年癡呆癥這樣的大腦疾病。
