科幻片《人獸雜交》中半人半獸的生物很可能將會(huì)成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。近日，日本批準(zhǔn)了創(chuàng)造含有人類細(xì)胞動(dòng)物胚胎的實(shí)驗(yàn)，并且可以讓這些胚胎移植到動(dòng)物體內(nèi)并被足月分娩。預(yù)計(jì)實(shí)驗(yàn)成果將用于人類器官移植。

Japan's government approved a request by scientists to conduct stem-cell experiments to create an animal-human hybrid and allow it to be brought to term.

日本政府近日批準(zhǔn)科學(xué)家開展培育人獸雜交胚胎的干細(xì)胞實(shí)驗(yàn)，并允許其足月分娩。

Japan's science ministry last week gave provisional approval to a proposal from researchers at the University of Tokyo to create animal embryos that contain human cells and transplant them into surrogate animals, Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

據(jù)日本《朝日新聞》報(bào)道，日本文部科學(xué)省上周為東京大學(xué)研究人員的一項(xiàng)研究議題發(fā)出臨時(shí)許可，該研究計(jì)劃培養(yǎng)含有人類細(xì)胞的動(dòng)物胚胎，并將其移植到代孕動(dòng)物體內(nèi)。

surrogate ['s?r?g?t]：adj.替代的，代理的

The study would create a human pancreas in rodents using human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. According to UCLA's Broad Stem Cell Research Center, these are cells that have been reprogrammed back into an embryo-like state and can be used to create virtually any other type of cell.

這項(xiàng)研究將利用人類誘導(dǎo)多能干細(xì)胞（iPS）在嚙齒動(dòng)物體內(nèi)形成人類胰腺。據(jù)加州大學(xué)洛杉磯分校布羅德干細(xì)胞研究中心介紹，這些細(xì)胞已經(jīng)被重新編程回到胚胎狀態(tài)，可以用來創(chuàng)造幾乎任何其他類型的細(xì)胞。

pancreas ['p??kr??s]：n.胰腺

rodents['rodnt]：n.嚙齒動(dòng)物，嚙齒類

reprogram：[ri?'pr??gr?m]：v.為……重編程序。細(xì)胞核重新編程，是將成熟體細(xì)胞重新誘導(dǎo)回早期干細(xì)胞狀態(tài)，以用于發(fā)育成各種類型的細(xì)胞。

Final approval from the ministry is expected next month, according to the British scientific journal Nature.

據(jù)英國科學(xué)雜志《自然》報(bào)道，日本文部科學(xué)省預(yù)計(jì)將于下月正式批準(zhǔn)這一實(shí)驗(yàn)。

According to Asahi, researchers will take fertilized eggs from rodents that have been gene-edited to remove the ability to produce a pancreas themselves. To this, they will add human iPS cells to create hybrid animal-human embryos.

據(jù)《朝日新聞》報(bào)道，研究人員將從經(jīng)過基因編輯的嚙齒動(dòng)物身上提取受精卵，以去除自身發(fā)育胰腺的能力。在此基礎(chǔ)上，他們將添加人類的iPS細(xì)胞來創(chuàng)造人獸雜交胚胎。

These in turn would be implanted into a host animal, in this case a rat or mouse, and allowed to grow.

之后，這些胚胎將被植入宿主動(dòng)物體內(nèi)，在這項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)中是一只老鼠，并得以生長。

According to researchers, the goal of the experiment is to create organs viable for transplant into humans.

據(jù)研究人員稱，這項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)的目標(biāo)是創(chuàng)造出可以移植到人體的器官。

"Finally, we are in a position to start serious studies in this field after 10 years of preparation," said Hiromitsu Nakauchi, a researcher at the Institute of Medical Science of the University of Tokyo, according to Asahi.

據(jù)《朝日新聞》報(bào)道，東京大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)研究所的研究員中內(nèi)啓光說:“經(jīng)過10年的準(zhǔn)備，我們終于可以開始在這一領(lǐng)域進(jìn)行嚴(yán)肅的研究。”

"We don't expect to create human organs immediately, but this allows us to advance our research based upon the know-how we have gained up to this point."

“我們沒有期望能立即制造人體器官，但這讓我們能夠基于目前所掌握的技術(shù)推進(jìn)研究?！?/p>

know-how['n?uhau]：n.訣竅；實(shí)際知識(shí)；專門技能

Japan had previously banned such experiments.

日本此前曾禁止此類實(shí)驗(yàn)。

It reversed its decision in March of this year after consulting with experts.

今年3月，在咨詢了專家后，日本政府改變了決定。

The government has said that experiments like these can take place as long as researchers take steps to prevent the birth of a creature that contains a mix of animal and human genetics.

日本政府曾表示，只要研究人員采取措施防止人獸雜交動(dòng)物的誕生，這樣的實(shí)驗(yàn)就可以進(jìn)行。

Researchers will also monitor the animal-human hybrids once they are born for up to two years and will suspend the experiment if they detect that brains inside the growing animals contain more than 30% human cells, Asahi said.

《朝日新聞》稱，在分娩后，研究人員還將對(duì)人獸雜交動(dòng)物進(jìn)行長達(dá)兩年的監(jiān)測(cè)，如果他們發(fā)現(xiàn)這些發(fā)育中的動(dòng)物大腦中含有超過30%的人類細(xì)胞，將暫停這項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)。

While other countries have experimented on creating human-animal embryos, Japan is now the first country to support experiments that will allow the animals with human cells to come to full term.

雖然其他國家也開展過創(chuàng)造人獸雜交胚胎的實(shí)驗(yàn)，但日本目前是首個(gè)支持這項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)，允許胚胎發(fā)育到足月分娩的國家。

full term：足月，妊娠期滿

Scientists in the US have experimented with pig-human hybrid fetuses and allowed them to develop for three to four weeks before destroying them, as required by US ethics regulations.

根據(jù)美國倫理法規(guī)的要求，美國科學(xué)家對(duì)豬與人的雜交胚胎進(jìn)行了實(shí)驗(yàn)，并讓它們發(fā)育三至四周，然后將其銷毀。

But according to Jun Wu, a biologist at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, only about 1 in 100,000 cells in the fetuses were human.

但據(jù)加州拉荷亞索爾克研究所的生物學(xué)家吳軍（音譯）說，胚胎中只有大約十萬分之一的細(xì)胞是人類細(xì)胞。

In the UK, scientists at King's College London, Newcastle University, and Warwick University created dozens of hybrid embryos that were used to create embryonic stem cells that could potentially treat a wide range of illnesses.

在英國，倫敦國王學(xué)院、紐卡斯?fàn)柎髮W(xué)和華威大學(xué)的科學(xué)家們創(chuàng)造了數(shù)十個(gè)雜交胚胎，用于制造胚胎干細(xì)胞，這些干細(xì)胞有可能治療多種疾病。

Concerns about the ethical implications of such research remain.

人們一直擔(dān)憂這類研究的倫理影響。

Some bioethicists are disturbed by the possibility that human cells implanted into animals may behave unexpectedly, and could affect an animal's brain or cognition.

一些生物倫理學(xué)家擔(dān)心，植入動(dòng)物體內(nèi)的人類細(xì)胞可能會(huì)出現(xiàn)意料之外的反應(yīng)，并可能影響動(dòng)物的大腦或認(rèn)知。

"It is problematic, both ethically and from a safety aspect, to place human iPS cells, which are still capable of transforming into all types of cells, into the fertilized eggs of rats and mice," said Jiro Nudeshima, a researcher specializing in the ethical implications of life science research, according to Asahi.

《朝日新聞》報(bào)道稱，生命科學(xué)研究倫理問題研究員Jiro Nudeshima說：“將仍然能夠轉(zhuǎn)換成所有類型細(xì)胞的人類iPS細(xì)胞植入老鼠的受精卵，這在倫理和安全方面都有問題。”

一些網(wǎng)友也表示并不能接受：

也有一些網(wǎng)友表達(dá)了支持：

Nakauchi, the researcher proposing the experiment, dismissed concerns, saying that his experiments are focused on the creation of specific organs, and not the development of a new species.

提出這一實(shí)驗(yàn)的研究員中內(nèi)啓光反駁了人們的擔(dān)憂，稱他的實(shí)驗(yàn)關(guān)注的是特定器官的創(chuàng)造，而不是新物種的培養(yǎng)。

"We are trying to do targeted organ generation, so the cells go only to the pancreas," he said, according to Nature.

據(jù)《自然》雜志報(bào)道，他說:“我們正在嘗試培育特定的器官，這樣細(xì)胞就只能到達(dá)胰腺?！?/p>

He added that in his previous experiments, the number of human cells inside of a sheep embryo has been extremely small.

他補(bǔ)充說，在他之前的實(shí)驗(yàn)中，綿羊胚胎中的人類細(xì)胞數(shù)量非常少。

"The number of human cells grown in the bodies of sheep is extremely small, like one in thousands or one in tens of thousands," he said, according to Asahi.

據(jù)《朝日新聞》報(bào)道，他說:“綿羊體內(nèi)生長的人體細(xì)胞數(shù)量非常少，只有數(shù)千分之一或數(shù)萬分之一?！?/p>

"At that level, an animal with a human face will never be born," Nakauchi said.

他說：“在這個(gè)水平上，是不會(huì)生出長著人臉的動(dòng)物的?！?/p>

英文來源：內(nèi)幕網(wǎng)

翻譯&編輯：yaning