男性避孕藥實現重大新突破

英國科學家在男性避孕藥研發上有了重大突破，未來男性有可能通過口服阻止精子游動的藥丸來達到避孕效果。這可能改變千千萬萬伴侶的性生活。以後不僅女人可以吃避孕藥，連男人都有避孕藥可以吃了！

British scientists have made a breakthrough in the search for a male contraceptive pill which could transform the sex lives of millions of couples.
英國科學家在男性避孕藥方面實現重大突破，將改變數百萬夫婦的性生活。

For decades, researchers have tried to produce a reliable alternative to condoms or a vasectomy, but there has been little progress.
幾十年來，科研人員一直在嘗試能夠替代避孕套和輸精管切除的可靠方法，但收效甚微。

Now UK scientists have found the secret of making men temporarily infertile by switching off sperms ability to swim.
現在終於有英國科學家發現，通過阻斷精子的遊動能力能夠讓男性臨時性不育。

They have made tiny designer compounds which smuggle themselves into sperm, and stop their tails from wiggling.
“他們研製出的微型‘設計合成物’能夠偷偷潛入精子內，阻止精子尾部擺動。

If a sperm can't swim, it has no chance of naturally fertilising a woman's egg.
“如果精子不能遊動，自然就沒有機會與卵細胞結合。

The breakthrough made by British scientists could be the key to rendering men temporarily infertile.
英國科學家的這項突破將開啓使男性暫時性不育的大門。

It might become possible for them to pop a pill that stops their sperm from swimming.
未來男性有可能通過口服阻止精子游動的藥丸來達到避孕效果。

The key advance raises the prospect of a fast-acting pill or a nasal spray that a man could take hours or perhaps just minutes before sex.
這一關鍵性進步使人們有望研製出速效藥丸或鼻用噴霧，男性只需在性生活前幾小時甚至幾分鐘使用即可達到避孕目的。

Researchers believe its effects would wear off within days, meaning he would again be fertile.
研究人員認爲藥效僅會持續幾天時間，幾天後男性將再次恢復生育能力。

By contrast, women are typically advised to stop taking the Pill weeks or even months before trying to conceive.
相比之下，如果女性想恢復生育能力，就必須要在數星期甚至數月前停止服用藥物。

Last night, family planning experts said a reversible male contraceptive could benefit millions of couples where the woman cannot take the Pill for medical reasons.
昨晚，計劃生育專家們稱，可逆的男性避孕藥將造福數百萬由於醫療原因妻子無法服用避孕藥的夫婦。

And it would save men from being trapped into having children they did not want, they added.
此外，這還能夠解救那些不想要孩子卻受到誘騙的男性。

With global sales of contraceptives topping 13 billion a year, the market for a reversible male contraceptive could be huge, but some cast doubt on the idea of a male pill, doubting women will trust men to take it.
鑑於每年避孕藥的全球銷售額高達130億英鎊，可逆的男性避孕藥的市場前景也將相當可觀，但也有些人對男性避孕藥提出質疑，懷疑女性是否會信任由男性服用避孕藥。

Lead researcher Professor John Howl, of Wolverhampton University, last night described how effective their sperm-stopping agent had been in lab tests.
昨晚，伍爾弗漢普頓大學首席研究員約翰•豪爾教授描述了阻礙精子游動的藥劑在實驗室試驗的效果。

He said: "The results are startling and almost instant."
他說：“結果令人相當震驚——藥劑幾乎是即時生效。

When you take healthy sperm and add our compound, within a few minutes the sperm basically cannot move. Male infertility is often the result of poorly moving sperm, called low motility.
將合成物放入健康的精子後，僅不到幾分鐘時間，精子基本就無法動彈。男性不育常常是因爲精子活力低，即“弱精”。

Using this, the Wolverhampton team, together with Portuguese researchers, made a compound called a cell-penetrating peptide, which gets inside sperm and brings them to a standstill.
利用這一點，伍爾弗漢普頓研究團隊與葡萄牙研究人員共同研製出了一種名爲細胞穿透肽的合成物，此合成物能夠進入精子體內，阻止精子游動。

Prof Howl said: "This is a totally unique approach nobody else has ever done this before. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that can influence how human cells work."
豪爾教授說：“這是一種非常獨特的研究方式，此前還沒有人這樣做過。”肽是影響人體細胞功能的氨基酸短鏈。

They occur naturally but biochemists can make synthetic versions.
它既能自然合成，也可通過生物化學家人工合成。

Prof Howl and colleague Dr Sarah Jones first demonstrated that certain cell-penetrating peptides could smuggle themselves inside sperm cells, like a Trojan horse.
豪爾教授和同事薩拉•瓊斯博士最先證明某種“細胞穿透肽”能夠像特洛伊木馬一樣將自己偷運進精子細胞。

Then they joined forces with IVF experts at Aveiro University in Portugal, who had identified the crucial protein responsible for putting the wiggle into sperm tails.
後來，他們與葡萄牙阿威羅大學的生殖專家合作，後者已確認驅動精子尾部擺動的關鍵蛋白質。

The two universities created a bespoke peptide which turns that protein off.
兩所大學共同研製出一種特定的肽，能夠使此蛋白質失去作用。

They tested the approach in the petri dish on bovine and human sperm, with similarly impressive results, and will soon publish their results.
他們將此合成物放入含有牛和人精子的培養皿內進行試驗，結果竟驚人的相似。他們表示將盡快公佈實驗結果。

Prof Howl said they hoped to start live animal tests in two to three years, thanks in part to a 175,000 Portuguese grant.
豪爾教授說他們希望利用葡萄牙資助的17.5萬英鎊，在未來2到3年內進行活體動物實驗。

It typically takes three to five years to bring a new drug to market after animal trials, so the final product could be available as early as 2021. Prof Howl said it was too early to say if the end result would be a pill, a nasal spray or a sub-skin implant, but they were all possibilities.
動物實驗之後還需要3到5年的時間研製新藥並投放市場，因此成品最早或將於2021年面世。豪爾教授表示，最終產品究竟是藥丸，鼻用噴霧還是皮下植入物現在還“言之尚早”，但它們都有可能。

John Guillebaud, emeritus professor of family planning and reproductive health at University College, London, said a reversible male contraceptive would be of enormous benefit to many couples, such as those where the woman cannot take the Pill for medical reasons for instance due to migraine with aura or an increased risk of blood clots.
倫敦大學學院計劃生育和生殖健康名譽教授約翰•基耶博指出，可逆的男性避孕藥對很多夫婦來說會是巨大的福祉，比如有些女性由於患有先兆偏頭痛或會增加血栓風險等醫學原因無法服用避孕藥。