Because it was in the 1950's or so, maybe the late 1940's, that people started to discover lithium, even though it had no natural function, it did do something in our bodies.

因为在二十世纪五十年代左右，可能是四十年代末期，人们开始发现锂，尽管不参与人体的正常生理活动，但是它确实会对我们的身体产生影响。

麻省理工公开课 - 化学原理课程节选

The interest there was what do--can we learn about this because there were populations all over the world starving and scientists wanted to know what was happening physiologically to people and then what was the best way to re-feed them when you got--when they got access to food again?

我们关心的是从这项研究中能学到什么,世界上有很多人还在忍饥挨饿,科学家们想知道,饥饿对人们生理上的影响,以及当饥饿的人重新拥有足够食物的时候,最好的进食方法

耶鲁公开课 - 关于食物的心理学、生物学和政治学课程节选