科学家用干细胞创造出人类的肾脏

The artificial organs were created in a laboratory using human amniotic fluid and animal foetal cells.
人工器官可以利用人类的羊水和动物的胚胎细胞在实验室创造出来。

They are currently half a centimetre in length - the same size as kidneys found in an unborn baby.
它们如今只有0.5厘米长——跟未出生婴儿的肾脏一样大。

Scientists at Edinburgh University hope they will grow into full-size organs when transplanted into a human.
爱丁斯堡大学的科学家希望它们植入人体后能长成正常的器官。

The breakthrough could lead to patients creating their own replacement organs without the risk of rejection, a common complication in transplant procedures.
此项突破会促使病人创造出自己的替代器官，而且不会有排斥的风险，这在移植过程中是一种常见的并发症。

Physiologist Jamie Davies, a professor of experimental anatomy at Edinburgh University, said: ''It sounds a bit science fiction-like but it's not.
爱丁斯堡大学试验解剖学教授生理学家Jamie Davies说：“这听起来有点像科幻小说，但是它不是。”

''The idea is to start with human stem cells and end up with a functioning organ.
“该构思是以人类干细胞开始，以器官的正常运作而结束。”

''We have made pretty good progress with that. We can make something that has the complexity of a normal, foetal kidney.''
“我们在这方面已经取得相当大的进步。我们可以创造一个跟正常婴儿的肾脏一样复杂的器官。”

The research team hopes that doctors will eventually be able to collect amniotic fluid, which surrounds the growing embryo in the womb, when a baby is born.
研究小组希望，当一个婴儿出生时，医生最终能够收集子宫周围成长中胚胎的羊水。

This will then be stored by scientists in case that person develops kidney disease later in life. The fluid can then be used to create a matching kidney.
这将由科学家储存起来，以防他在以后患上肾脏疾病。这些羊水可以用来创造一个匹配的肾脏。

(恒星英语学习网原创内容,转载请注明出处!)Creating an organ using a patient's own stem cells solves the problem of having to use powerful immunosuppressant drugs to stop the body rejecting a another person's kidney.
使用病人自己的干细胞创造出的器官解决了由于使用别人的肾脏，不得不用功效强大的免疫抑制剂预防排斥的问题。

Professor Davies said the technology could be ready for use on humans in around 10 years.
Davies教授称该技术将在约10年里运用在人类身上。

He added: ''Freezing a few cells is cost-effective compared with the cost of keeping someone on dialysis for years.
他还说：“对于坚持多年透析的费用，冻结少数细胞相比较划算。”

''If you have got a bunch of stem cells sitting in a test tube, that is a long way from being a beautifully, anatomically organised organ like a kidney, which is quite a complicated structure.
“即使你试管里有一大堆干细胞，但你离拥有一个漂亮地，结构上像肾脏一样复杂的组织器官还很远。”

''So we are working on how you turn cells floating about in liquid into something as precisely arranged as a kidney.''
“我们正在努力研究如何把细胞悬浮液转变成跟肾脏一样精确安排。”

Around 7,000 people in the UK are on the waiting list for a new kidney and demand for organs is increasing.
在英国，大约7000人在等待换肾，需要肾脏的人数不断上升。

The breakthrough will be officially unveiled at Edinburgh's Science Festival this month.
这项突破将于本月在爱丁斯堡大学的科技节上正式公布。

The use of stem-cell technology is seen as a "holy grail", which promises to reduce shortages of several types of organs.
使用干细胞技术被视为一个“圣杯”，它预示着减少几种缺乏的器官类型。

There are currently around 7,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney in the UK.
如今英国大约有7000人等着换肾。

Last week, Japanese scientists grew a retina from stem cells for the first time.
上周，日本科学家第一次用干细胞种植视网膜。

(恒星英语学习网原创内容,转载请注明出处!)