美国国家公共电台 NPR--Scientists near a breakthrough that could revolutionize human reproduction

Scientists near a breakthrough that could revolutionize human reproduction

Transcript¹

Researchers are inching closer to mass-producing eggs and sperm² in the lab from ordinary human cells. The technique could provide new ways to treat infertility³ but also open a Pandora's box.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We are close to a revolution in the way that human beings reproduce. Scientists are near creating human eggs and sperm in the lab with any one person's genes⁴. What does that mean for humanity? Here's NPR health correspondent Rob Stein.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁵: It's a Wednesday morning at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in downtown Washington, D.C.

ELI ADASHI: Welcome, everybody, to the National Academy of Medicine workshop.

STEIN: Dr. Eli Adashi from Brown University opens the Academy's first gathering⁶ to explore the latest scientific developments and complicated social implications of something known as in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, which involves making human eggs and sperm in the laboratory from any cell in a person's body.

ADASHI: It is on the precipice⁷ of materialization, and IVF will probably never be the same.

STEIN: Japanese scientists describe how they've already done this in mice, coaxing⁸ cells from the tails of adult mice to become what's known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells, and then coaxing those cells to become mouse sperm and eggs. They've even used those sperm and eggs to make embryos⁹ and implanted the embryos into the wombs of female mice, which gave birth to apparently¹⁰ healthy mouse pups. Mitinori Saitou joins the workshop via Zoom¹¹ from Kyoto University.

MITINORI SAITOU: We are in the process of translating these technologies into humans.

STEIN: In fact, Saitou says he's already pretty far down that pathway. He's turned human blood cells into IPS cells and then used them to create very primitive¹² human eggs. Others have created primitive human sperm this way. They're not developed enough to make embryos or babies, but they're working on that.

SAITOU: OK. Thank you very much.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

HUGH TAYLOR: Well, good morning. Welcome to Day No. 2. Let's get started.

STEIN: Dr. Hugh Taylor from Yale University summarizes what the group's learned so far.

TAYLOR: I've been really impressed with all the data that we've seen here today and just how quickly this field is evolving. And it makes me confident that it's not a matter of if this will be available for clinical practice, but just a matter of when.

STEIN: With that, Taylor opens a discussion of how IVG could help people. Andrea Braverman studies infertility at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

ANDREA BRAVERMAN: This obviously could be life-altering for individuals to build that family that they dream of through IVG.

STEIN: Because infertile¹³ women and men could have kids with their own DNA¹⁴ instead of someone else's sperm and eggs. Same goes for women of any age, rendering¹⁵ the biological clock irrelevant¹⁶. But Braverman says that raises lots of questions.

BRAVERMAN: Yes, it's great to be able to not have to worry as a woman that 40 is the cliff we fall off of. But on the other hand, what are the implications for families, for the children that have parents that are older? I always think of freshman¹⁷ move-in day in your 80s.

STEIN: IVG could also let gay and trans couples have babies that are genetically¹⁹ related to both partners. Katherine Kraschel studies reproductive health issues at Yale.

KATHERINE KRASCHEL: We too could point to our children and say, he has your eyes and my nose in a way that is something that I think many queer people covet²⁰.

STEIN: But Kraschel worries that could undermine acceptance of gay people parenting children who aren't genetically related to them through adoption²¹ or by using other people's sperm and eggs.

KRASCHEL: To the extent IVG replaces markets in sperm and eggs, concerns about backsliding, I think, are really warranted.

STEIN: But that's not all. Dr. Paula Amato from the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland points out what she calls solo IVG could allow single people to have unibabies, babies with just one person's genes.

PAULA AMATO: In theory, you could reproduce with yourself, and the, you know, resulting child would be 100% related to you. You could do that if you wanted to.

STEIN: At the same time, the DNA for IVG could come from anywhere a single cell could be found. Hank Greely, a bioethicist at Stanford, raises some of the provocative²² possibilities.

HANK GREELY: Ninety-year-old genetic¹⁸ mothers, 9-year-old genetic mothers, 6-month-old fetuses²³ that become genetic parents, people who have been dead for three years whose cells were saved to become parents.

STEIN: People could even potentially steal the DNA from celebrities²⁴ from, say, a clipping of their hair to make babies.

GREELY: One law we definitely need is to make sure people can't become genetic parents without their knowledge or consent.

STEIN: Throughout the meeting, researchers and bioethicists warn that the ability to create a limitless supply of IVG embryos combined with new gene-editing techniques could turbocharge the power to eradicate²⁵ unwanted genes. That could eradicate genetic diseases but also move designer babies even closer to reality. Amrita Pande is a professor of sociology at the University of Cape²⁶ Town in South Africa.

AMRITA PANDE: The desire to genetically modify the future generation in a hunt for an assumed perfect race, perfect baby, perfect future generation is not science fiction. IVG when used with gene-editing tools like CRISPR should make us all worried.

STEIN: Worried about drives to weed out unwanted traits like blindness and deafness. Now, everyone agrees that IVG is probably years away and may never happen. There are still huge technical hurdles²⁷ and questions about whether this could ever be done safely. But Dr. Peter Marks, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration, tells the group the agency is already exploring the implications of IVG.

PETER MARKS: It's an important technology that we are very interested in helping²⁸ move it forward.

STEIN: But, Marks notes, Congress currently prohibits the FDA from even considering any proposals that would involve genetically manipulated human embryos.

MARKS: This creeps out our attorneys, OK? It makes them feel uncomfortable in this space.

STEIN: But if IVG remains²⁹ off limits in the U.S., Marks and others warn IVG clinics could easily spring up in other countries with looser regulations, creating a new form of medical tourism that raises even more ethical³⁰ worries.

Rob Stein, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: Wow, that's just the beginning of that topic. And Rob will bring us more on the implications of IVG in future reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

3 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

4 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 precipice   

n.悬崖，危急的处境

参考例句：

• The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
• A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。

8 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

9 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

12 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

13 infertile   

adj.不孕的；不肥沃的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• Plants can't grow well in the infertile land.在贫瘠的土地上庄稼长不好。
• Nobody is willing to till this infertile land.这块薄田没有人愿意耕种。

14 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

15 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

16 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

17 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

18 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

19 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

20 covet   

vt.垂涎；贪图(尤指属于他人的东西)

参考例句：

• We do not covet anything from any nation.我们不觊觎任何国家的任何东西。
• Many large companies covet these low-cost acquisition of troubled small companies.许多大公司都觊觎低价收购这些陷入困境的小公司。

21 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

22 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

23 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

24 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

25 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

26 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

27 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

28 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

29 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

30 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。