不惧高温辐射，微波炉内竟有超百种细菌“安居”（外刊双语引导）

摘要：微波炉内部反射的微波辐射看似会对微生物构成威胁。毕竟，微波炉能够烹饪食物、烧开水。然而，科学家们最近发现，这种常见的家用电器内部竟然有超过100种细菌在“安居乐业”。

Even microwave ovens aren't safe from bacteria.

即使是微波炉也并非细菌的“禁地”。

The microwave radiationbouncing around inside them might seem threatening to microbes. After all, a microwave oven cooks food and boils water. But scientists have just found over 100 strains of bacteria living inside these common appliances.

微波炉内部反射的微波辐射看似会对微生物构成威胁。毕竟，微波炉能够烹饪食物、烧开水。然而，科学家们最近发现，这种常见的家用电器内部竟然有超过100种细菌在“安居乐业”。

Alba Iglesias works at the University of Valencia in Spain. Her team shared the findings in Frontiers in Microbiology. This is the first time that research has shown communities of germs living in microwave ovens.

西班牙瓦伦西亚大学的阿尔巴·伊格莱西亚斯（Alba Iglesias）领导的研究团队在《微生物前沿》上分享了这一发现。这是首次有研究揭示微波炉内部存在细菌群落。

The microbiologists swabbed the insides of 30 microwave ovens. Some came from home kitchens and labs. Others were being used in shared spaces, such as cafeterias. Each swab was transferred to lab dishes, allowing the bacteria to reproduce.

微生物学家对30台微波炉的内部进行了擦拭采样，这些微波炉有的来自家庭厨房和实验室，还有的被放置在共享空间，比如食堂。每个擦拭样本都被转移到实验室的培养皿中，以便让细菌繁殖。

Iglesias's group then analyzed the microbes’ DNA. These analyses showed that most microbes were kinds commonly found on human skin and surfaces that people frequently touch. The microwave ovens in kitchens also hosted Klebsiella and Brevundimonas. These bacteria can cause food poisoning.

伊格莱西亚斯的团队随后对这些微生物的DNA进行了分析。分析结果显示，大多数微生物是常见于人体皮肤以及人们频繁接触的表面的种类。厨房中的微波炉还寄居着克雷伯氏菌和短波单胞菌。这些细菌可能会引发食物中毒。

It's unclear how these microbes survive being bombarded by microwaves, the team says. More work is needed to understand how the microbes have adapted to the ovens' high temps and radiation.

研究团队指出，目前尚不清楚这些微生物是如何在微波的“狂轰滥炸”下存活下来的。还需要进一步的研究来了解它们是如何适应微波炉的高温和辐射环境的。

The microbes in home microwave ovens were the same as those found on countertops and other kitchen surfaces, notes Manuel Porcar. He’s another member of the Valencia team. Some can even make you sick, he says. “One must clean the microwave as much as any other kitchen surface.”

瓦伦西亚团队的另一位成员曼努埃尔·波卡尔（Manuel Porcar）指出，家庭微波炉中的微生物与厨房台面和其他厨房表面发现的微生物是一样的。其中一些甚至可能让你生病。他说：“人们必须像清洁厨房的其他表面一样清洁微波炉。”

Still, he sees no reason to worry about microwave ovens as long as they’re kept clean. They're no worse, he says, than “any other part of a kitchen in contact with food.”

不过，只要保持清洁，他就认为没有必要对微波炉感到担忧。在他看来，微波炉并不比厨房中其他与食物接触的部位更糟糕。