The Secret Life of Snot 鼻涕的秘密生活
A journey from a simple nuisance to a powerful tool for personalized medicine. 从一种恼人的小麻烦到个性化医疗的强大工具之旅。
A journey from a simple nuisance to a powerful tool for personalized medicine. 从一种恼人的小麻烦到个性化医疗的强大工具之旅。
In Ancient Greece, snot (as phlegm) was considered one of the four "humours" balancing health and personality. An excess was thought to cause illness. While we now know this isn't true, snot has transformed from a misunderstood fluid into a substance of great scientific interest. 在古希腊，鼻涕（作为痰）被认为是平衡健康与性格的四种“体液”之一。过量的痰被认为会导致疾病。虽然我们现在知道这不是真的，但鼻涕已经从一种被误解的液体转变为具有巨大科学价值的物质。
In Sweden, scientists conducted a pilot study inspired by fecal transplants for gut health. They asked 22 adults with chronic rhinosinusitis (blocked nose, hay fever) to introduce snot from healthy partners into their noses for five days. 在瑞典，科学家们受肠道健康粪便移植的启发，进行了一项初步研究。他们让22名患有慢性鼻窦炎（鼻塞、花粉症）的成年人，将来自健康伴侣的鼻涕注入自己的鼻子，持续五天。
The results were remarkable: symptoms like cough and facial pain dropped by almost 40% for up to three months in most patients, with no negative side effects. This pioneering work shows the potential of "re-seeding" the nose with a healthy microbiome. 结果非常显著：在大多数患者中，咳嗽和面部疼痛等症状在长达三个月的时间里下降了近40%，且没有副作用。这项开创性工作展示了用健康的微生物群“重新播种”鼻腔的潜力。
Dr. Jennifer Mulligan, an otolaryngologist, now uses snot as an accurate proxy to understand what's happening inside the body. Previously, she needed invasive surgical tissue biopsies. Now, snot analysis helps pinpoint the culprits driving conditions like chronic rhinosinusitis. 耳鼻喉科医生詹妮弗·马利根博士现在使用鼻涕作为精确的替代物，来了解身体内部的状况。以前，她需要进行侵入性的外科组织活检。现在，鼻涕分析有助于精确定位导致慢性鼻窦炎等疾病的元凶。
This method is faster, cheaper, and can help identify the right treatment quickly, avoiding months of trial and error. Her team also found a vitamin-D nasal spray could help restore smell in people who lost it from smoking-related inflammation. 这种方法更快、更便宜，能迅速确定正确的治疗方案，避免了数月的试错。她的团队还发现，维生素D鼻喷雾剂可以帮助因吸烟引起的炎症而丧失嗅觉的人恢复嗅觉。
"Snot is the future of personalised medicine. I wholeheartedly believe that." - Jennifer Mulligan “鼻涕是个性化医疗的未来。我全心全意地相信这一点。” - 詹妮弗·马利根
Analogy: A snot transplant is like restoring a garden. Imagine your nose is a garden overrun with weeds (harmful bacteria). A transplant introduces healthy seeds and good soil (a healthy microbiome) that grow strong, crowding out the weeds and making the whole garden healthy again! 比喻：鼻涕移植就像修复一个花园。想象你的鼻子是一个长满杂草（有害细菌）的花园。移植手术引入了健康的种子和肥沃的土壤（健康的微生物群），它们茁壮成长，挤走了杂草，让整个花园重焕生机！
This animation shows how good bacteria (green) can enter the nose and push out the bad bacteria (red). 这个动画展示了有益细菌（绿色）如何进入鼻腔并驱逐有害细菌（红色）。
Snot is one of the human body's wonders. This gooey substance is our first line of defense, acting as a barrier between the outside world and our inner one. It moisturizes our nasal passages and, with the help of tiny hairs (cilia), traps intruders like bacteria, viruses, pollen, dirt, and dust. 鼻涕是人体的奇迹之一。这种粘稠的物质是我们的第一道防线，是外部世界与我们内部世界之间的一道屏障。它能湿润我们的鼻腔，并在微小纤毛的帮助下，捕捉细菌、病毒、花粉、灰尘等入侵者。
An adult body produces over 100ml of snot every day! Children are often snottier because their immune systems are learning to deal with new molecules for the first time. 一个成年人每天会产生超过100毫升的鼻涕！孩子们通常鼻涕更多，因为他们的免疫系统正在初次学习如何应对新的分子。
The color and consistency of your snot can tell you what's going on inside your body: 鼻涕的颜色和粘稠度可以告诉你身体内部正在发生什么：
Just like our gut, our snot has a unique microbiome—an ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. This microbiome is intricately linked to the proper functioning of our immune system. Everyone's is unique, affected by age, diet, and location. 就像我们的肠道一样，我们的鼻涕也有一个独特的微生物群——一个由细菌、病毒和真菌组成的生态系统。这个微生物群与我们免疫系统的正常运作紧密相关。每个人的微生物群都是独一无二的，受年龄、饮食和地点的影响。
While protective, snot can also be "hijacked" by pathogens as a vehicle to spread to other people. However, a healthy microbiome helps fend off these invaders. For example, some bacteria's ability to hold onto iron can prevent harmful Staphylococcus bacteria from surviving. 虽然具有保护作用，但鼻涕也可能被病原体“劫持”，成为传播给他人的载体。然而，一个健康的微生物群有助于抵御这些入侵者。例如，某些细菌抓住铁的能力可以阻止有害的葡萄球菌存活。
Analogy: Think of your snot's color as a battle report from inside your nose. The report tells you who is fighting (your immune cells) and how intense the battle is! 比喻：把鼻涕的颜色想象成来自你鼻子内部的一份战况报告。这份报告告诉你谁在战斗（你的免疫细胞）以及战斗有多激烈！
This simple diagram shows what each color means. 这个简单的图示展示了每种颜色代表的含义。
Clear清澈 💧 ➜ 😊 Healthy健康
White白色 🦠 + ⚪️ ➜ 🤔 Immune cells arrive免疫细胞到达
Green绿色 🦠 + 💀⚪️ ➜ 🤧 Fighting hard激烈战斗中
Red红色 💥 + 💧 ➜ 😟 Irritated受刺激