Some will no doubt take the news with a pinch of salt.
　　也许有人会对接下来的这条新闻产生疑惑。

　　But researchers claim that salt is addictive in the same way as cigarettes or hard drugs, with the craving triggering the same genes, brain cells and brain connections.
　　不过研究人员声称，我们平时所食用的盐就如同烟草或硬性杜平一样会让人上瘾，因为它们都能刺激相同的基因，激发大脑细胞对此产生渴望和依赖。

　 The finding could help explain why many find it so hard to cut back on salt, despite warnings about dangers to blood pressure and heart health.
　　这想法向或许能解释这样一种现象，再被告知了汇兑血压和心脏产生健康的威胁，不过还是有很多人很难将食物中的盐量降低。

　　For the study, Australian and American scientists kept some mice on low-salt diets and gave others a salt drip.
　　澳大利亚和美国的科学家合力完成了这项实验，他们给一部分的小白鼠低盐的饲料，而另一部分却加大盐分的比重。

　　Activity in the creatures' brains was then compared with that in mice fed normally. They also studied the brains of mice that had been starved of salt for three days and then given salty water to drink freely.
　　然后将这两批进行特殊“饮食”的白鼠的大脑活动与正常“饮食”的白鼠比较。科学家们还研究了已经三天没有食用任何盐分的白鼠的大脑，之后在给它们盐水，让其自由饮用。

　　When the rodents were in need of salt, brain cells made proteins more usually linked to addiction to substances such as heroin, cocaine and nicotine.
　　当白鼠处于对盐有需求的状态时，它们的大脑细胞会产生上瘾的物质，该物质与通常与对海洛因、可卡因、尼古丁的上瘾依赖有关联。