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We all know where babies come from.
我们都知道宝宝是怎么来的。
An egg is fertilized by sperm and the resulting zygote needs to be implanted in a uterus so it can grow and divide.
一个卵子和精子受精，结合成的受精卵需要进入子宫才能发育和分裂。
The key here is the union of the gametes:sperm and egg.
这个过程最关键的就是配子，也就是精子和卵子的结合。
This means same-sex partners, or partners who are unable to provide gametes themselves, need to rely on donors.
这意味着同性伴侣或无法自己提供配子的伴侣都要依靠捐赠者才能受孕。
But what if that wasn't the case? What if we could just generate gametes from the partners?
但如果情况并非如此呢？如果我们可以从配偶身上直接获得配子会怎么样呢？
Soon, we might be able to.
或许，这一天已经离我们不远了。
The method is called in-vitro gametogenesis.
从配偶身上直接获取配子的方法被称之为体外配子构成技术(简称IVG)。
It involves converting adult cells into lab-made eggs and sperm cells that can combine to create a zygote.
即通过实验环境将成人细胞转化成可以合成受精卵的卵子和精子细胞。
This could pave the way for two adults of any sex or gender to combine their DNA and produce their own biological offspring.
这一技术或许能够为两个任意性别的成年人完成DNA组合，繁衍自己的后代铺平道路。
The first breakthrough came in 2012 when researchers working with mice
该技术于2012年获得了首次重大突破，当时，研究人员以老鼠为试验品，
successfully reprogrammed skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells.
成功地实现了对皮肤细胞的重新编码，从而使其具有所谓的胚胎干细胞，也称“诱导多能干细胞”的特性。
Then, in the lab, those cells were stimulated to turn from stem cells into sperm or egg cells.
然后，在实验室环境下诱导这些细胞使其从干细胞转变为精子或卵细胞。
And to make sure the eggs were mature, they had to implant them into mouse ovaries.
为了确保卵子成熟，研究人员必须将卵细胞植入实验鼠的卵巢。
But, to make this viable for IVG,
但要使IVG具备这种可行性，
they needed to turn those lab-created cells into mature egg cells OUTSIDE a living mammal.
研究人员还需要在脱离活体哺乳动物的条件下将那些在实验室培养出来的细胞转变为成熟的卵细胞，
which was very complex in itself and finally completed in 2016.
这一技术十分复杂，但终于还是在2016年完成了。
Once they'd figured that out, the team followed basic IVF procedure:
这一难题一攻破，团队就开始循着基本的IVF流程开始合成受精卵了：
the skin-cell-created egg cell was fertilized in the lab,
先在实验环境下对由皮肤细胞诱导出的卵细胞进行受精，
using sperm cells also made from skin cells, completing the full cycle.
使用的精子也来源于皮肤细胞，然后完成整个周期。
The resulting zygotes were implanted in a mouse.
将所得的受精卵植入小鼠体内。
The test saw 26 healthy pups born from the experiment,
该实验诞生了26只健康的幼仔，
and some of those even had babies of their own, showing their genetic material was undamaged.
其中一些甚至还能繁衍出后代，可见他们的基因没有受损。
But, before you get too excited, the process is technically challenging.
然而，大家别太激动，这个过程对技术的要求很高 。
Only 3.5 percent of the embryos created from artificial eggs cells matured into pups
用人造卵细胞结合而成的胚胎能够发育成幼崽的几率只有3.5%
while the cells that were matured inside a mouse had a 60 percent rate of success.
而在小鼠体内发育的细胞的成功率高达60％。
For the moment, this tech hasn't led to human experiments yet.
目前这项技术还没有应用到人体实验方面。
Scientists are working with human induced pluripotent stem cells
目前，科学家们正致力于研究从人体诱导出的多能干细胞
to understand how they work differently than mouse cells when becoming eggs,
转化成卵细胞和老鼠的有何不同，
but there's an added complication:that fertilizing human eggs is forbidden by Japanese ethics guidelines, even for research.
但是还有一个额外的问题：日本的道德标准禁止对诱导卵细胞进行受精，以研究的名义也不行。
Nevertheless, the implications behind this technology are incredible.
不过，这项技术的潜能是无限的。
If scientists can prove this is safe and effective,
如果科学家能够证明这项技术安全有效的，
then someday, couples who can't naturally conceive could gain the ability to become biological parents to a child.
那么终有一天，无法自然怀孕的夫妻也能够有自己的亲生孩子。
And if this sounds futuristic, scary, and unnatural, consider IVF.
如果你觉得这听起来很遥远，很可怕，或是很别扭，那你不妨想想试管授精（简称IVF）。
IVF was scary and unnatural when it was first used, too.
IVF应用之初人们也觉得很可怕，很别扭。
Terms like "test-tube baby" hit the media that are now considered inappropriate or offensive.
像“试管婴儿”这样的术语被媒体公之于众，如今人们则觉得这样做不合适或者带有冒犯性。
These days, no one bats an eye when couples use whatever means they have to conceive,
现在，有夫妇采取他们不得不采取的怀孕措施（即试管受精）时，已经没有人会觉得惊讶了，
and IVG could be the solution for couples that IVF can't help, effectively ending infertility.
而IVG则可能帮助到IVF无法帮助到的那些夫妇成功地为不孕画上句号。
If you're trying to conceive, consider keeping track of your fertility schedule on your very own website using domain.com.
如果你想怀孕，那你不妨考虑一下用domain.com在你的主页上记录你的怀孕日程。
When you buy a domain name from domain.com, you're taking the first steps in creating an identity and vision for your brand.
从domain.com购买一个账号，你就为创建你的专属品牌的资料和愿景迈出了第一步。
No domain extension will help you tell your story like a .com or .net domain name.
而且，该网站的扩展域名不会像.com或者.net那样泄露你的私人信息。
Get 20% off Domain.com's already affordable domain names and web hosting when you use coupon code SEEKER at checkout.
购买该网站可用账号和主机，结账时使用Seeker的优惠券代码，可享八折优惠噢。
For more super cool science news, be sure to subscribe,
了解更多超酷的科学新闻，一定要订阅我们的频道，
curing infertility is important, did you know sperm counts are dropping for men in the West? Find out what we know, here.
治愈不孕很重要，你知道西方男性的精子数量正在下降吗？详情点击这里噢。
Another awesome implication of IVG -- a single person could be the biological parents of a child!
IVG技术还有一个超酷的内涵 - 那就是只用一个人的细胞也可以培养出亲生孩子噢！
