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　　Myth busted: People smell as well as dogs

　　辟谣：谁说人类嗅觉不如狗?科学家说人的嗅觉不比狗差

　　Rutgers University neuroscientist John McGann reviewed research and historical writings he says led to the misconception that human sense of smell is inferior, according to the report in the journal Science.

　　根据《科学》杂志的报告，罗格斯大学神经科学家约翰·麦克甘(John McGann)回顾研究和历史着作，称这些结论导致了人类嗅觉不佳的误解。

　　"For so long people failed to stop and question this claim, even people who study the sense of smell for a living," he said.

　　他说：“因为这么长时间的人们没有停下来质疑这个说法，即使是那些专门研究嗅觉的人也是如此。”

　　"The fact is the sense of smell is just as good in humans as in other mammals, like rodents and dogs."

　　“事实上，与其他哺乳动物，如啮齿动物和狗一样，人类的嗅觉一样好。”

　　Humans have long been believed capable of detecting about 10,000 different odors. In fact, the number is closer to one trillion, McGann said.

　　人类长期以来一直被认为有能力检测到大约10000种不同的气味。实际上，这个数字更接近一万亿，麦克甘说。

　　A 19th-century brain surgeon and anthropologist named Paul Broca provided the origin of the myth about humans’ poor sense of smell, according the Science report said.

　　《科学》报道说，19世纪的脑外科医生和人类学家保罗·布罗卡(Paul Broca)提供了关于人类嗅觉较差的神话起源。

　　In his 1879 writings, Broca cited the smaller volume of humans’ olfactory area in the brain compared to other, larger parts.

　　在他的1879年的著作中，布罗卡将大脑中人体嗅觉面积的体积较小与其他物种的该部分体积更大相比。

　　It meant that humans had free will and didn’t have to rely on smell to survive like dogs and other mammals, he argued.

　　他认为这意味着人类有自由意志，而且不用像狗和其他哺乳动物那样依靠嗅觉来生存。

　　Broca’s theory even influenced the Austrian neurologist and father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, who believed people’s lack of smell makes them more susceptible to mental illness.

　　布罗卡的理论甚至影响了奥地利神经病学家和心理分析之父佛洛依德(Sigmund Freud)，他认为人们缺乏嗅觉使其更容易患精神病。

　　"It has been a long cultural belief that in order to be a reasonable or rational person, you could not be dominated by a sense of smell," McGann said.

　　麦克甘说：“要成为一个合理或理性的人，你不能依赖嗅觉，这成为一个很久远的文化信仰。”

　　"Smell was linked to earthly animalistic tendencies."

　　“嗅觉与地球动物主义倾向有关。”

　　The human olfactory bulb makes up just 0.01 percent of the brain’s volume compared to two percent in mice, McGann said.

　　麦克甘说，人类嗅球只占大脑体积的0.01%，而小鼠嗅球则有2%。

　　But its absolute size in people is actually quite large -- in adults it can reach around two inches (60 millimeters) -- and has a similar number of neurons compared to those of other mammals.

　　但在人脑中的绝对体积实际上是相当大的，在成年人身上，它可以达到约两英寸(60毫米)，与其他哺乳动物相比，神经元数量相似。

　　The difference between humans, dogs and rodents when it comes to sense of smell may come down to different sensitivities to certain odors.

　　人，狗和啮齿动物之间对嗅觉的差异可能在于对某些具体气味的敏感度不同。

　　"We are capable of tracking odor trails, and our behavioral and affective states are influenced by our sense of smell," McGann wrote.

　　麦克甘写道：“我们有能力跟踪气味，我们的行为和情感状态受到我们的嗅觉的影响。”

　　But although humans may be better at sniffing fine wines, dogs are likely to keep excelling at analyzing the various types of urine on offer at the nearest fire hydrant.

　　虽然人类可能更擅长嗅闻上好的葡萄酒，但是狗对于分析消防栓上散发的各种类型的尿液的味道更擅长。

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