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New news is goo news—when it's inside our bones, anyway.
这些胶状物成了新鲜事儿，这是存在于我们骨骼中的东西。
Because a combination of imaging techniques and modeling has revealed that our bones are filled with a natural chemical goo that's key to the bones' function as support structures.
因为一个成像与模拟技术的混合研究已经为我们揭示出骨骼内部有一种天然的化学胶状物质，它对于支撑身体的结构发挥着极其重要的作用。
The finding is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
这项研究结果已在《国家科学院研究》杂志上发表。
And it could inform research into the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
并且它还能为关于预防和治疗骨质疏松症的研究提供重要信息。
Bone actually largely consists of tiny crystals of calcium phosphate, and the goo is in fact a combination of the compound citrate and water.
实际上骨骼很大程度上是由细小的磷酸钙晶体组成的，而这种胶状物质是复合柠檬酸与水的混合物。
The viscous mixture surrounds the crystals, letting them slide and slip past each other.
这层胶状物质包裹在骨骼外，使得它们互相之间可以进出。
The resulting flexibility lets bones bend but not break under normal pressure.
这种结果带来的柔韧性使得骨骼可以在正常压力下弯曲而不会折断。
Most of that flexibility had been attributed to the presence of the protein collagen, but the citrate goo appears to play a big role too.
大部分的柔韧性是因为蛋白胶原纤维的作用，但胶状物质也同样不可或缺。
Unfortunately, as people age, the goo may begin to seep out.
不幸的是，随着人们年龄的增长，这种胶状物质也许会开始出现渗出现象。
The remaining mineral crystals then can fuse together, according to lead researcher Melinda Duer at the University of Cambridge, and the bones become brittle.
根据剑桥大学首席研究员米兰达杜尔称，剩下的晶体矿物质会彼此融合导致骨骼变得易折断。
Keeping the goo in its proper place between the mineral crystals might thus help ward off osteoporosis.
因此在磷酸钙晶体之间保持适宜适量的胶状物质也许有助于抵抗骨质疏松症。
Which would be a bona fide breakthrough.
这真是个突破性的研究结果。
