第2213期:Study Explores History of Cockroaches

They are six-legged, hairy home invaders that will not die, no matter how hard you try. 

它们是六足、毛茸茸的家庭入侵者，无论你多么努力，它们都不会死。 

Cockroaches are experts at surviving indoors. But they did not start out that way. 

蟑螂是室内生存的专家。 但他们一开始并不是这样的。 

A recent study uses genetics to examine cockroaches’ spread across the world, from beginnings in southeast Asia to Europe and beyond. The findings cover thousands of years of cockroach history and suggest the pests may have spread across the world by getting a ride with another species: people. 

最近的一项研究利用遗传学来研究蟑螂在世界范围内的传播情况，从最初的东南亚到欧洲及其他地区。 这些发现涵盖了蟑螂数千年的历史，并表明这种害虫可能是通过与另一个物种（人类）搭便车而传播到世界各地的。 

“It’s not just an insect story...It’s an insect and humanity story,” said Stephen Richards of Baylor College of Medicine. Richards was not involved with the study.

“这不仅仅是一个昆虫的故事......这是一个昆虫和人类的故事，”贝勒医学院的斯蒂芬·理查兹说。 理查兹没有参与这项研究。 

Researchers studied the genes of over 280 cockroaches from 17 countries and six continents. They confirmed that the German cockroach — a species found worldwide — has its beginnings in southeast Asia. The creature likely evolved from the Asian cockroach around 2,100 years ago. Scientists have long suspected the German cockroach’s Asian beginnings since similar species still live there. 

研究人员研究了来自六大洲 17 个国家的 280 多种蟑螂的基因。 他们证实德国小蠊——一种在世界范围内发现的物种——起源于东南亚。 这种生物很可能是在大约 2100 年前从亚洲蟑螂进化而来的。 科学家们长期以来一直怀疑德国小蠊起源于亚洲，因为类似的物种仍然生活在那里。

The research appeared recently in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

这项研究最近发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》上。 

The cockroaches then spread around the world on two major paths. They traveled west to the Middle East about 1,200 years ago, perhaps living in soldiers’ food storage containers. And they may have gotten on Dutch and British East India Company trade ships to get to Europe about 270 years ago, the scientists’ findings suggest. 

然后蟑螂通过两条主要路径传播到世界各地。 大约 1200 年前，他们向西来到中东，可能住在士兵的食物储存容器里。 科学家的研究结果表明，他们可能在大约 270 年前搭乘荷兰和英国东印度公司的商船到达欧洲。 

Once the creatures arrived in Europe, inventions like the steam engine and indoor plumbing likely helped the insects travel further and get used to living indoors, where they are most commonly found today. 

这些生物抵达欧洲后，蒸汽机和室内管道等发明很可能帮助这些昆虫走得更远，并习惯了室内生活，而如今它们最常见的地方就是室内。 

Researchers said exploring how cockroaches conquered past environments may lead to better pest control. 

研究人员表示，探索蟑螂如何征服过去的环境可能会有助于更好地控制害虫。 

Modern-day cockroaches are tough to keep away because they evolve quickly to resist pesticides, said the study’s writer Qian Tang of Harvard University. 

该研究的作者、哈佛大学的唐钱表示，现代蟑螂很难被赶走，因为它们进化得很快，能够抵抗杀虫剂。