VOA慢速英语2019 日本批准在动物体内培育人体器官的试验

Japan Approves Test to Try to Grow Human Organs in Animals

A Japanese researcher says the government has approved experiments that aim to grow human organs in animals.

Scientist Hiromitsu Nakauchi recently confirmed the approval to Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper. Nakauchi leads a research team at the Institute of Medical Science of the University of Tokyo. He also heads a stem cell research center at Stanford University in California.

Nakauchi’s research centers on creating animal embryos¹ that contain human cells. His team sought approval to grow human cells in animal embryos and then implant² them into the uterus of animals.

The goal of the research is to use animals to grow full-grown organs that could be used in human medical treatments. If successful, such organs could fill a great need for humans who need organ replacement³ operations.

However, such experiments have been criticized by some scientists who have expressed concerns over ethics⁴. Until this year, the Japanese government had banned the experimental growth of animal embryos with human cells for longer than 14 days. Officials were concerned that further research could lead to the birth of creatures with a mix of animal and human genes⁵.

But the journal Nature reported Japan’s science ministry⁶ lifted that ban in March. It said the ministry had closely examined the issue and sought expert scientific guidance. That decision permits Nakauchi’s team to grow full organs. Nakauchi will start with an experiment to grow human pancreas organs in animals such as mice and rats, the Asahi Shimbun reports.

“Finally, we are in a position to start serious studies in this field after 10 years of preparation,” Nakauchi told the newspaper. He said the approval in Japan will permit his team to bring forward the research “based upon the know-how⁷ we have gained up to this point.”

But he added: “We don’t expect to create human organs immediately.”

Nature noted⁸ that while human-animal embryos have been created in the United States and elsewhere, they have not yet been fully⁹ brought to term. The U.S. permits this kind of research, Nature reported, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has banned financing for such experiments since 2015.

Nakauchi’s team plans to engineer embryos that are not able to grow their own pancreases. Human stem cells would be added to the embryos in an effort to get them to develop pancreases from the cells. The embryos would then be injected into the animals, with the hope that a human-cell pancreas will grow.

If the experiments are successful, researchers hope to someday grow human-sized organs in larger animals like pigs and sheep.

The Asahi Shimbun reports the new guidelines require researchers to take necessary steps to prevent the birth of a human-animal combination. Nakauchi said these guidelines will be followed, and claimed the experiments are controlled to prevent such research results.

He told Nature his methods will involve “targeted organ generation.” For example, he said the human cells will only be designed to affect the pancreas, not other organs or parts.

Nakauchi added: “The number of human cells grown in the bodies of sheep is extremely small, like one in thousands or one in tens of thousands.” At that level, he said “an animal with a human face will never be born.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

ethics – n. ideas and beliefs about what type of behavior is morally right and wrong

journal – n. a periodical dealing¹⁰ especially with matters of current interest

know-how – n. knowledge of how to do something smoothly¹¹ and efficiently¹²

brought to term – phr. carry out fully; completed

1 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

2 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

5 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

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

12 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。