男女通用避孕药即将问世
Dawn of the unisex contraceptive pill?
A contraceptive pill that could be taken by men as well as women could be on the horizon.
一种男女通用的避孕药即将问世.
A breakthrough in the understanding of the biology of sperm could lead to a unisex version of the Pill, US government-funded scientists said.
由政府资助的美国科学家团队近日宣布, 他们在精子生物学领域的研究获得重大突破.以此为基础, 他们可以开发出一种男女通用的避孕药.
They have identified a protein in sperm that gives it the energy it needs to power towards the egg and break its way into it.
他们发现,精子中有一种蛋白质负责提供其游向卵子并与之结合所需的能量.
As the researchers put it, the ABHD2 protein allows the tail to 'crack like a whip' and 'power kick' its way into the egg.
这种名为"ABHD2"的蛋白质能使精子"快马加鞭",冲向卵子.
Therefore, blocking this protein could prevent the sperm from fertilising the egg.
因此,阻止此蛋白质的生成能够避免卵子受精.
Dr Stuart Moss, of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study, said: 'Developing new compounds that block ABHD2 ultimately may yield new contraceptive methods that prevent sperm from research the egg.'
美国国立卫生研究院为此项研究提供了资金.该研究院的斯图尔特·莫斯博士表示："发明一种能够阻碍ABHD2蛋白质生成的新化合物能够阻止精子与卵子的结合,这为避孕提供了一种新方式."
University of California, Berkeley researcher Melissa Miller added: 'What is really cool is that we have an actual target for unisex contraceptive development.'
美国加州大学伯克利分校的研究者梅丽莎·米勒也指出："对于研制男女通用避孕药,我们终于有了一个明确的方向,这是非常棒的."
Theoretically, such a pill could be taken by either sex, allowing men to take a greater share of the burden of contraception.
理论上看,这种避孕药男女皆可服用.这意味着男性也可以承担避孕义务.
Conversely, a drug that enhances the protein may help infertile couples have children of their own, the journal Science reports.
《科学》杂志称,反过来看,如果有药物能够促进ABHD2蛋白质的生成,就能帮助难以生育的夫妇拥有属于自己的孩子.
While women have had access to oral contraceptives for more than half a century, the quest for a male pill has been thwarted by biology.
虽然半个多世纪以来,女性一直可以通过口服避孕药避孕,但人类对于男性避孕药的探索却始终毫无进展.
Whereas a woman normally releases one egg per month, a healthy man makes 1,000 sperm with every heartbeat - and just one is needed for conception.
女性每月排出一枚卵子,而健康男性每秒会释放1000个精子,这其中只有一个能与卵子结合.
