与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S04E05

Part 3 April 19, 2021, 2:53 p.m.

从干细胞开始制♥作♥一个精细胞
To make a sperm cell from stem cells,
我们做的是先从男性身上取得皮肤细胞
what we've done is we've taken skin cells from men,
将细胞重编码至胚胎细胞
and we've reprogrammed them to embryonic cells
然后使用骨蛋白引导干细胞
and then used bone proteins to direct the stem cells
分化为精细胞系
down the sperm-cell lineage,
这类似于用一个黏土球开始
kind of like starting with a ball of Clay.
我们开始于这个小的黏土球
We start with a small ball of Clay,
尝试让干细胞沿着特定细胞系分化
and we try to get the cells to differentiate along a lineage.
雷妮正处于这个过程之中
Renee is halfway through the process
来激活不育男性的干细胞中
of activating the instructions inside the "Y" Chromosome
Y染色体上的分化命令
of an infertile man's stem cell
这样她就能够制♥造♥出强健的精细胞
so that she can craft from it a healthy, potent sperm cell.
但由于男性有一条X染色体
But since males have an "X" Chromosome,
雷妮认为也可以类似的
Renee believes a similar procedure
获得男性病人的干细胞
could take a male patient's stem cell
并将其转变为卵细胞
and turn it into an egg.
未来某天这是可能的
It is possible that someday,
同性夫妇可以拥有他（她）们自己的孩子
same-sex couples could have their own children,
尤其是男性同性夫妇
especially if the couple is comprised of two men
因为一个男性可以提供卵细胞
because then one of the men could provide the egg
另一个提供精细胞
and the other the sperm.
雷妮认为最终
Renee believes that eventually,
她也能够从一个女人的干细胞中制♥造♥精细胞
she could make sperm cells from a woman's stem cell.
但这是个挑战
But it's a challenge
因为这需要导入形成精♥子♥的指令
because it requires importing sperm-making instructions
而这个指令来自于男性的Y染色体
from the "Y" Chromosome of a man.
现在想象由两位女性组成的
It's a little harder to imagine same-sex couples
同性夫妇能够生育出
that are comprised of two women
她们自己的孩子还比较困难
being able to have their own children at this time
正是因为Y染色体上的
just because of the number of genes
许多基因控制着精♥子♥的形成
that are on the "Y" Chromosome that are required to make sperm,
大约有50到100个基因
probably around 50 or 100.
但这不是不可能的
It's not impossible,
只是未来10年不太可能
but it's just much less likely in the next 10 years or so.
多亏了雷妮和她同事的工作
Thanks to the work of Renee and her colleagues,
古老生物学中的有性生殖
the age-old biology of sexual reproduction
即将发生重大的改变
is about to undergo a momentous change.
通过干细胞繁殖方式
With stem-cell reproduction,
任何两个人类都能够拥有自己的孩子
any two human beings could conceive a child
无论他（她）们的性别和年龄
regardless of their gender or age.
但并不是所有人都认为这是个好主意
But not everyone thinks it's a good idea.
我始终都会惊讶于会有多少人
I'm always surprised how many people --
我的意思是，我对这个有不好的感觉
I mean, I get bad calls about that.
人们——担心世界会被那些
People -- they're so worried about the world being taken over
从培养皿中诞生的人类接管
by people that are now reproducing in a dish.
我认为我们的技术对于
I think that our technology will be wonderful
不育夫妻是福音
for infertile couples,
但我认为具有生育能力的夫妇
but I think couples that are well-able
还是应该通过自然的方法生育后代
to have children naturally will continue to do so.
女性的精细胞和
Let's say a female sperm
男性的卵细胞可能会在实验室中产生
and a male egg could be created in a lab.
任何性别组合的夫妻都可以孕育自己的孩子
Couples in any combination of genders could conceive a child.
但是胎儿仍要经历在女性体内九个月的
But the fetus would still need to spend nine months
生长历程
inside a woman --
除非我们能够在人造子♥宫♥中孕育孩子
unless we could grow our young in an artificial womb.
我们的生命全部起源于同一个地方——一名女性的子♥宫♥
We all began our lives in the same place -- a woman's womb.
这是我们几乎所有人，无知的幸福的九个月
It was nine months of blissful ignorance for most of us
但我们的母亲却不是
but not for our mothers.
如果女性不再需要因怀孕而承受负担呢？
What if women didn't have to carry the burden of pregnancy?
一个人类繁殖中激进的改变已经开始发生了
A radical shift in reproduction is already happening.
海洋生物学家尼克·奥特威刚刚将一个生物
Marine biologist Nick Otway has just brought
以全新的方式带到了这个世界上
living creatures into the world in an completely new way.
我们刚完成了相当奇怪的事情
We've done something that was rather strange,
相当不正常也很有挑战性的事情
rather abnormal, and challenging, too,
想象这会给未来什么样的暗示
to think about what are the implications in the future.
尼克建造了一个机器
Nick has built a machine
可以从中诞生出鲨鱼
that gives birth to living sharks.
我们看到的是一个灰色盒子
We're looking at a gray box,
这实际上是一个
which is actually an artificial uterus.
人造子♥宫♥
We shorten it to an a.U.,
我们开♥发♥设计了这个人造子♥宫♥
and we developed this -- designed it --
并在特定鲨鱼种类中提取胚胎
to actually take embryos out of a particular species of shark
看我们是否能够在人造环境中
and see if we can continue their development
让胚胎持续发育
in an artificial environment.
尼克建造人造子♥宫♥——他的机械子♥宫♥
Nick built his a.U. -- His mechanical womb --
来恢复
to restore the population
极度濒危的沙锥齿鲨的数量
of the critically endangered grey nurse shark.
这是个直接来自于
It was a mission that came straight from the top levels
澳洲政♥府♥高层的任务
of the Australian government.
一个部长给了我一个
One minister actually challenged me
进行育种计划的挑战
to come up with a breeding program.
他说，“好吧，六周之后来见我
He said, "Okay, come back in six weeks,
不要告诉我你做不成。”
and don't tell me you can't do it."
人类几乎已经实现了
Human beings have just about mastered
在人工水缸中使成年鱼类生存于
keeping adult fish alive outside of their natural habitat
它们的自然栖息环境之外
by engineering aquariums.
化学成分平衡，PH实时控制
Chemicals are balanced, pH levels kept in check,
废弃产物清除，按时加入营养物质
waste products cleaned out, and nutrients delivered on schedule.
但使幼年鱼类保持生存
But keeping fish alive that haven't been born yet
则是全新的挑战
is a whole new challenge.
人造子♥宫♥是小型的水缸
The a.U. Is a small aquarium,
你要在其中创造适合鱼类胚胎生长的环境
and so you got to create the environment for the embryos.
它们非常脆弱
They're delicate.
它们有专门的需求
They have specific requirements,
但它们的母亲不会像你的母亲一样提供给你
and the mother is not providing that -- you are.
与成年鱼类不同
Unlike an adult fish,
这些精致鲨鱼胚胎的需要
the needs of delicate shark embryos
会随着生长剧烈变化
drastically change as they grow.
鲨鱼在早期发育需要
Sharks use a complex uterine fluid
复杂成分的子♥宫♥液
early on in development and subsequent --
随后的三个月
three months into development,
它们就变到海洋环境中了
they switch to a seawater environment,
母亲将它们排出到海水中
which mum pumps in the seawater.
所以我们必须了解这种复杂的液体
So we really do need to understand that complex fluid --
其成分以及我们如何在人工环境中
the composition and how we need to maintain it
维持其性质
in an artificial environment,
这在以前是从未做过的
and that's something that's not been done before.
尼克为他的人造子♥宫♥编程
Nick programmed his artificial uterus
来从体液的成分变为海水
to change its chemistry from bodily fluid to seawater
这与鲨鱼母亲生产小鲨鱼的过程一致
in line with a mother shark's natural rhythm.
直接对濒危的沙锥齿鲨进行实验
Experimenting with the severely endangered grey nurse shark
太过冒险
was too risky,
所以尼克选择了人造子♥宫♥的首次实验对象
so Nick calibrated the first run of his artificial womb
一个更常见的种类——须鲨
for a more common species -- the wobbegong shark.
须鲨更容易圈养
Wobbegong sharks are easily handled in captivity
也容易适应圈养环境
and easily maintained in captivity.
我们已经知道它们能够在圈养环境中生育
We already knew that they had actually bred in captivity.
所有的这些表明
All those things meant
我们可以将更小型的动物
that we could actually have a smaller animal
作为模式物种
that we could use as a model species,
当然不能是濒危物种
and, of course, it wasn't critically endangered.
为了使幼年须鲨成长
To grow baby wobbegongs,
尼克从怀孕的雌性体内得到胚胎
Nick harvested the growing embryos from a pregnant female
将它们转移到人造子♥宫♥中
and transferred them to his artificial womb.
他需要持续关注这些尚未出生的幼崽
He kept constant watch over the tiny unborn pups,
准确控制环境保持它们生存
precisely managing the conditions to keep them alive.
我认为非常爱护它们
I think you become attached to these guys.
你从它们的母亲体内将它们取出
They're sort of animals that you've taken away from mum,
你不希望坏事会发生
and you hope that nothing detrimental occurs.
这个过程非常成功
The procedure was a resounding success.