科学美国人60秒:熊狸的气味闻起来就像奶油爆米花 科学家或揭开其中奥秘

Chances are you've never seen a binturong.

binturong ['bintjuərɔŋ]  n. [动]熊狸

It's a tree-dwelling mammal about the size of a raccoon that's native to Southeast Asia.

dwelling ['dweliŋ]  n. 住处；寓所v. 居住（dwell的现在分词）

mammal ['mæməl]   n. 哺乳动物

raccoon [rə'ku:n]  n. [动]浣熊；浣熊毛皮

native ['neitiv]  adj. 本国的；土著的

But if you've ever been to the movies, you'd be familiar with their scent.
That's because binturongs smell like freshly cooked popcorn.

And now, in a major advance in research connecting animal odors to human recreational venues, researchers know why.

odor ['əudə]

[网启]n. 气味；名声

venues  n. 场地，场馆（venue复数形式）；犯罪现场，发生地点

recreational [,rekri'eiʃənəl, -kri:-]  adj. 娱乐的，消遣的；休养的

In the wild, binturongs, also called bearcats, are thought to spend most of their time alone.

So to communicate with potential mates—or rivals—they leave behind aromatic messages.

rivals  n. 对手（rival的复数）；竞争者v. 竞争（rival的三单形式）

aromatic [,ærəu'mætik]  adj. 芳香的，芬芳的；芳香族的n. 芳香植物；芳香剂

Although to you and me their musk evokes a matinee, to other animals it reads pure binturong.

musk [mʌsk]  n. 麝香；麝香鹿；麝香香味

• go to a matinee 去看日戏

But previous studies of the animals' scent glands failed to find chemicals that could account for the distinctive stank.

Desperate for an answer, the researchers opted to peruse some pee.

distinctive [dis'tiŋktiv]  adj. 有特色的，与众不同的

glands  n. 腺体（gland的复数）

stank [stæŋk]  n. 池塘；水沟；小水坝v. 发出恶臭（stink的过去式）

opted [ɔpt]  vi. 选择

peruse [pə'ru:z]  vt. 详细考察；精读

They ever-so-gently squeezed 33 sedated binturongs at a North Caroline wildlife sanctuary to produce urine for analysis.

squeezed [skwi:z]  vt. 挤；紧握；勒索

sedated [si'deit]  adj. 安静的；沉着的vt. 给…服镇静剂

sanctuary ['sæŋktju'ri, -tʃuə-]  n. 避难所；至圣所；

urine ['juərin]  n. 尿

And they discovered that the samples contained a compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, or 2-AP—which is the very same chemical that lends its distinctive scent to popcorn, as well as to some rice and breads.

The finding is served up in the journal Naturwissenschaften, or The Science of Nature.

Popcorn gets its 2-AP from the Maillard reaction, chemistry that occurs as corn kernels heat up.

美拉德反应(Maillard)

But for bearcats, who don't have access to an air popper, it's probably the bacteria present on their fur or in their intestines that help cook up their signature scent—the researchers confirmed that the animals don't get their 2-AP from their diet, which, in captivity, includes kibbles and mice.

popper ['pɔpə]  n. 服药成瘾者；发出啪声的人或物；爆竹；炮手；爆玉米花机

intestines  n. 肠（intestine的复数）；内脏；下水

cook up 虚构，伪造

in captivity 网络释义 受限制的 圈养

kibble  报错 英 ['kɪb(ə)l]  美 ['kɪbəl] 跟读 口语练习vt. 粗磨；将…磨成粗粒n. 磨成粗粒的食物

When binturongs go wee, they tend to soak their tails and feet, which ensures that they leave behind a trail of odiferous information about their species, sex, and reproductive readiness.

soak [səuk]  vt. 吸收，吸入；沉浸在（工作或学习中）；使……上下湿透vi. 浸泡；渗透

readiness ['redinis]   n. 敏捷，迅速；准备就绪；愿意

Of course, if you find yourself in binturong country, remember: that ain't popcorn you smell.
So don't lick your fingers.