VOA慢速英语听力：西班牙研究人员试图通过人工子宫来“欺骗自然” Spanish Researchers Aim to 'Trick Nature' with Manufactured Uterus

VOA慢速英语听力：西班牙研究人员试图通过人工子宫来“欺骗自然” Spanish Researchers Aim to 'Trick Nature' with Manufactured Uterus

Researchers in the city of Spanish city of Barcelona are trying to “trick nature” by engineering a uterus from special materials.
西班牙巴塞罗那的研究人员试图通过利用特殊材料制造子宫来“欺骗自然”。

The goal is to use the artificial uterus to protect babies who are born too early and who have not developed enough to survive outside the womb.
其目标是利用人工子宫保护那些早产儿，这些婴儿在出生时尚未发育到足够能够在子宫外生存的程度。

The scientists have tested the artificial uterus with animal fetuses. They were able to keep one fetus alive for 12 days.
科学家们已经在动物胎儿身上测试了人工子宫。他们成功地让一个胎儿存活了12天。

The researchers also created an artificial placenta. The placenta is an organ that develops during pregnancy to provide nutrients to the growing baby in the uterus.
研究人员还制造了一个人工胎盘。胎盘是在妊娠期间发育形成的器官，为子宫中正在生长的胎儿提供营养。

The artificial uterus recreates a protected environment in which the fetus’ organs can continue to develop. It is made of a clear material that the researchers say does not react with tissue.
人工子宫再现了一个受保护的环境，使胎儿的器官能够继续发育。它由一种透明材料制成，研究人员称其不会与组织发生反应。

The artificial uterus is connected to a system that continuously introduces amniotic fluid: a fluid that helps the baby develop in the uterus. The artificial uterus keeps the fetus separated from outside influences but still permits testing and observation.
人工子宫连接到一个连续引入羊水的系统：羊水有助于胎儿在子宫中发育。人工子宫将胎儿与外界影响隔离，但仍允许测试和观察。

Babies born after six months of pregnancy or less are considered extremely premature, or underdeveloped, with a high risk of death or disability. The latest numbers from the World Health Organization show that 900,000 premature babies died around the world in 2019.
妊娠六个月或更短时间后出生的婴儿被认为是极度早产或发育不全，面临着高死亡或残疾风险。世界卫生组织的最新数据显示，2019年全球有90万早产儿死亡。

Eduard Gratacos is head of the project. He told Reuters news service that the researchers are trying to develop a system that permits them to keep a fetus outside its mother but still in fetal conditions. Those conditions include breathing and eating through the umbilical cord, the passage that connects the baby to the placenta. The researchers hope to keep a fetus surrounded by fluid and at a controlled temperature so it can survive and develop.
埃德尔德·格拉塔科斯是该项目的负责人。他告诉路透社，研究人员正在尝试开发一个能够使胎儿在母体之外但仍处于胎儿状态的系统。这些状态包括通过脐带进行呼吸和进食，脐带是连接婴儿与胎盘的通道。研究人员希望让胎儿被液体包围并保持在控制的温度下，以便它能够生存和发育。

Gratacos leads a team of 35 scientists from BCNatal Medical Research Center. The center is linked to two hospitals, the University of Barcelona and the non-profit organization called the La Caixa foundation. It combines experts in maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics.
格拉塔科斯领导着BCNatal医学研究中心的35名科学家团队。该中心与巴塞罗那大学和名为La Caixa基金会的非营利组织以及两家医院有关联。它集合了产科和母婴医学的专家。

The team has studied the manufactured uterus with baby sheep. They also plan to test the system with pigs before proposing human studies in a few years.
该团队已经对人造子宫进行了与小羊的研究。他们还计划在几年后进行猪的实验，然后再提出人类研究计划。

Gratacos said the complex project includes many different specialties of medicine and requires several kinds of engineers. He added, “It's a challenge, it's extremely delicate to achieve this, to trick nature to make this possible.”
格拉塔科斯表示，这个复杂的项目涉及到许多不同的医学专业，并需要多种工程师。他补充说：“这是一个挑战，非常微妙，要欺骗自然使这成为可能。”

There are a few similar projects around the world. One group of scientists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia kept animal fetuses alive for up to 28 days.
全球有几个类似的项目。费城儿童医院的一个科学家团队使动物胎儿存活了长达28天。

Kelly Werner is a professor of baby development at Columbia University in New York City. Werner told the Science Media Centre in Britain that the Spanish team’s results must be completely tested on humans for safety and side effects.
凯利·沃纳是纽约哥伦比亚大学的婴儿发育学教授。沃纳告诉英国科学传媒中心，西班牙团队的研究结果必须在人类身上进行完全的安全性和副作用测试。

Werner said that although it is an interesting development, the manufactured placenta is not meant to replace a natural placenta. She said, “We still should make every effort to support maternal health and decrease risk factors that lead to preterm birth.”
沃纳表示，尽管这是一项有趣的发展，但人工胎盘并不意味着取代自然胎盘。她说：“我们仍应尽一切努力支持母亲健康，减少导致早产的风险因素。”

I’m Gregory Stachel.
我是格里高利·斯塔切尔。

Words in This Story

artificial –adj. manufactured by humans, not natural

trick – v. to deceive (someone)

obstetrics –n. the area of medicine that deals with the care of a mother before, during and after birth, and the process of giving birth to a child

challenge – n. a difficult task or problem

delicate – adj. requiring special care or skill

achieve – v. to get or reach (something) by working hard

maternal – adj. of or relating to a woman who is having a baby

factor – n. something that helps produce or influence a result