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New news is goo news—when it's inside our bones, anyway.
這些膠狀物成了新鮮事兒，這是存在于我們骨骼中的東西。
Because a combination of imaging techniques and modeling has revealed that our bones are filled with a natural chemical goo that's key to the bones' function as support structures.
因為一個成像與模擬技術的混合研究已經為我們揭示出骨骼內部有一種天然的化學膠狀物質，它對于支撐身體的結構發揮著極其重要的作用。
The finding is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
這項研究結果已在《國家科學院研究》雜志上發表。
And it could inform research into the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
并且它還能為關于預防和治療骨質疏松癥的研究提供重要信息。
Bone actually largely consists of tiny crystals of calcium phosphate, and the goo is in fact a combination of the compound citrate and water.
實際上骨骼很大程度上是由細小的磷酸鈣晶體組成的，而這種膠狀物質是復合檸檬酸與水的混合物。
The viscous mixture surrounds the crystals, letting them slide and slip past each other.
這層膠狀物質包裹在骨骼外，使得它們互相之間可以進出。
The resulting flexibility lets bones bend but not break under normal pressure.
這種結果帶來的柔韌性使得骨骼可以在正常壓力下彎曲而不會折斷。
Most of that flexibility had been attributed to the presence of the protein collagen, but the citrate goo appears to play a big role too.
大部分的柔韌性是因為蛋白膠原纖維的作用，但膠狀物質也同樣不可或缺。
Unfortunately, as people age, the goo may begin to seep out.
不幸的是，隨著人們年齡的增長，這種膠狀物質也許會開始出現滲出現象。
The remaining mineral crystals then can fuse together, according to lead researcher Melinda Duer at the University of Cambridge, and the bones become brittle.
根據劍橋大學首席研究員米蘭達杜爾稱，剩下的晶體礦物質會彼此融合導致骨骼變得易折斷。
Keeping the goo in its proper place between the mineral crystals might thus help ward off osteoporosis.
因此在磷酸鈣晶體之間保持適宜適量的膠狀物質也許有助于抵抗骨質疏松癥。
Which would be a bona fide breakthrough.
這真是個突破性的研究結果。
