2023年经济学人 向男性避孕药更进一步(1)

 

    A step towards a pill for men?

    向男性避孕药更进一步？

    How often does locker¹-room talk involve nuanced discussion of the various types of contraceptives available, and the merits and difficulties associated with them all?

    在更衣室中细致谈论各种避孕方式，以及这些避孕方式优缺点的频率有多高？

    In women's locker rooms, the answer is "surprisingly frequently".

    在女更衣室，答案是“谈论非常频繁”。

    In men's, "hardly ever".

    而在男更衣室，“几乎从不谈论”。

    Contraception has long been an overwhelmingly female issue.

    长期以来，避孕一直是“当之无愧”的女性话题。

    At least in part, that is because men have little to discuss.

    在一定程度上，这是因为男性几乎没有什么可讨论的。

    Their choice is between condoms and vasectomy.

    他们的选择不是避孕套就是输精管结扎术。

    Women, by contrast, may pick from a range which includes the Pill, vaginal rings, copper² intrauterine devices, hormonal³ intrauterine devices, contraceptive sponges, cervical caps, spermicides, diaphragms, female condoms and tubal ligation.

    相比之下，女性的选择包括避孕药、阴道避孕环、铜质宫内节育器、含孕激素宫内节育器、避孕海绵、子宫帽、杀精剂、避孕膜、女用安全套和输卵管结扎术。

    For decades, therefore, researchers have hunted for ways to level the playing field by extending men's options.

    因此，几十年来，研究人员一直在寻找为男性提供更多选择，以实现公平竞争的方法。

    But none of the resulting injections, gels and hormonal pills has so far advanced beyond clinical trials.

    但到目前为止，研究的所有注射类药物、凝胶和荷尔蒙药物都没能通过临床试验。

    Jochen Buck⁵ and Lonny Levin, who work at Weill Cornell Medicine, in New York, have now entered a new runner into the race.

    约亨·巴克和朗尼·莱文在纽约威尔·康奈尔医学院工作，现在，他们找到了一名新的参赛者。

    Their candidate, rather than requiring the consistent and long-term application associated with pills and gels, is fast-acting and temporary.

    这名参赛者不像药丸和凝胶一样提供长期持续性效果，而是迅速、短暂地起作用。

    In a paper published in Nature Communications they show that, in mice at least, it works within half an hour, rendering⁶ the animals temporarily infertile⁷ by stopping their sperm⁴ swimming, but with no perceptible changes in their behaviour or sexual performance.

    他们在发表于《自然-通讯》上的论文中表示，在小鼠身上进行试验后发现，药物在半小时内起效，通过阻止精子移动而使动物暂时不育，同时动物的行为或性表现没有明显的变化。

    Importantly, within a day, their fertility returns.

    重要的是，小鼠在一天之内就能恢复生育功能。

    The substance concerned, TDI-11861, belongs to a class of molecules⁹ called soluble¹⁰ adenylyl cyclase (sAC) inhibitors.

    这种名为TDI-11861的物质属于可溶性腺苷酸环化酶(sAC)抑制剂。

    SAC itself is found in nearly every body cell.

    sAC本身几乎存在于所有的体细胞中。

    It is a source of a messenger molecule⁸ called cAMP, and its activity is regulated by bicarbonate ions.

    它是一种名为cAMP的信使分子的来源，其活动受到碳酸氢根离子的调节。

    A preponderance of those ions speeds up the rate at which sAC produces camp.

    大量离子能够加快sAC产生cAMP的速度。

    A dearth¹¹ slows it down.

    而离子的减少会减缓cAMP产生的速度。

1 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

2 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

3 hormonal   

adj.激素的

参考例句：

• Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重，可能是由于激素变化引起的。
• She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。

4 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。

5 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

6 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。

7 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。

8 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

9 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

10 soluble   

adj.可溶的；可以解决的

参考例句：

• These tablets are soluble in water.这些药片可在水中溶解。
• Camphor is soluble in alcohol.樟脑在酒精中可以溶化。

11 dearth   

n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨

参考例句：

• There is a dearth of good children's plays.目前缺少优秀的儿童剧。
• Many people in that country died because of dearth of food.那个国家有许多人因为缺少粮食而死。