在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

世界首批试管狗宝宝成功诞生

Scientists at Cornell University have proudly presented the first litter of dogs successfully born through in vitro fertilization, or IVF. The breakthrough may help in combating inherited diseases that affect canines¹ as well as humans.

康奈尔大学的科研人员自豪地向世人展示了世界上首批通过试管授精诞生的狗宝宝。这项突破或将有助于科研人员根除许多犬类遗传疾病并研究影响人类的基因疾病。

The litter of seven, born July 10, came from 19 embryos³ implanted in the same female dog. Five are beagles and two are beagle-cocker spaniel mixes.

这些活泼的小狗仔是7月10日出生的一窝七只狗宝宝中的几只。科学家们当初把19个受精卵植入同一只母狗体内，最后降生了这七只狗狗，其中五只是比格猎兔犬(beagle)，2只是比格猎兔犬和西班牙长耳猎犬(cocker spaniel)的混血。

Other animals, as well as humans, have been successfully bred through artificial insemination, but perfecting the process in dogs took decades because of the critical timing⁴ in fertilization of the female dog's eggs.

科学家们已经成功通过人工授精繁育出了包括人类在内的其他动物，但是由于犬类卵子授精时间非常关键，犬类的试管授精培育优化过程花费了数十年的时间。

Previously⁵, only one dog was born from a frozen embryo², in 2012, at the same Cornell University lab.

2012年，康奈尔大学的这个实验室通过冷冻胚胎只繁育出了一只狗。

Scientists say the new success opens the door to saving endangered species of dogs.

科学家们说，新的成功为拯救濒危犬种创造了机会。

“Like the African painted dog," said Dr. Alexander Travis of Cornell. "If we want to breed them in captivity⁶ and we collect, say, their eggs and sperm⁷, we have to be able to do IVF to create new members of that species.”

康奈尔大学的亚历山大·特拉维斯博士说：“比如非洲野狗。如果我们要人工繁育这种狗，有了它们的卵子和精子，我们就可以通过试管授精进行繁育。”

Successfully fertilizing⁸ eggs in the lab could also help eliminate many of the disease traits in dogs.

在实验室里成功给卵子授精也有助于根除许多犬类疾病特征。

“It opens up the possibility that we could identify certain genes¹⁰ that cause disease and then fix those, replace them with a good copy of the gene⁹, before those dogs are even born," Travis said. "So instead of trying to cure disease, we can help prevent it from happening in the first place.”

特拉维斯博士说：“我们有可能确定引发疾病的某种基因，在小狗还没出生前用健康的基因把它们替换掉。所以无须治愈疾病，而是一开始就能预防疾病的发生。”

Cornell scientists say that the complete understanding of in vitro fertilization of dogs will also help unveil the genetic¹¹ basis of some of the more than 350 disorders¹² that humans share with dogs.

康奈尔的科学家们说，全面了解狗的试管授精还有助于解开人类一些疾病的遗传基础，因为人类和犬类有350多种相同的疾病。