精子生命大赛跑（2009）

which intensifies as the egg draws near.
加剧靠近卵子
One study has shown the scent attracting the sperm smells just
like lily-of-the-valley perfume.
研究表明，吸引精♥子♥的气味像山谷百合香水的气味
The egg basically lays out a red carpet and asks the sperm,
卵子就像是铺上了红地毯邀请精♥子♥
“This way. This is where you want to go.
This is the end of your journey.”
这边请，这里是你们想来的地方，这里是你们旅程的终点站
So, instead of swimming backwards into the uterus,
因此，精♥子♥倒游至子♥宫♥处
they head straight up that fallopian tube right to the egg,
它们直奔输卵管里的卵子
and that’s how that final step of the sperm race is won.
这就是精♥子♥赢的比赛的最后一步
Back in the scaled-up world of our great sperm race,
回到我们伟大精♥子♥赛跑的世界
an egg is finally released,
最后卵子出现了
making its way towards one end of the fallopian tube.
在输卵管的末端
The finish line is tantalisingly close,
诱人的终点线接近
and from here on in,timing is everything.
从现在开始，时间就是一切
精♥子♥生命大赛跑
She has no idea,
她没有想法
but Emily could just be minutes away from being pregnant.
但Emily怀孕可能仅仅是几分钟的路程
Beating incredible odds,
击败了难以想象的困难
Glen’s sperm have fought their way through her body and have reached
Glen的精♥子♥用它们的战斗方式通过她的身体
one of her fallopian tubes where,hopefully, an egg will be waiting.
满怀希望的到了输卵管里卵子等待的地方
Just single figures have made it this far.
仅有几个能够走到这一步
Scaled up to people size,
扩大到人的大小
what happens next?
接下来会发生什么？
Imagine an Olympic freestyle swimming final
想象奥♥运♥会的自♥由♥泳决赛
where the winner gains immortality and the rest are killed.
冠军获得不朽其余的都被杀掉
Scent signals released during ovulation will make the sperm
排卵过程中释放的气味信♥号♥♥会使精♥子♥很活跃
hyperactive, giving them the ability
to actually fertilise the egg,
使它们能够对卵子受精
shedding layers of proteins in a process called capacitation.
精♥子♥脱落蛋白质的过程称为获能
（获能：精♥子♥获得穿透卵子透明带能力的生理过程）
Up until now, they’ve been swimming in quite straight lines,
到目前为止，它们一直游直线
but now their swimming becomes much more erratic.
但是现在它们的路线变得不稳定
That tail beat will give them power
尾部的摆动提供动力
and proportion in order to get through the outer coat of the egg.
为通过卵子的外层提供机会
All of a sudden,they are 100% on target.
现在只有一个目标
They want to find that egg,
找到卵子
they want to penetrate that egg and it is a race to the finish.
穿过卵子，跑到终点
Once they capacitate, sperm die
一旦获能，精♥子♥就会
within just a few hours.So it is no going back.
在几个小时内死亡，这是条不归路
On the sperm-people scale, the egg drifts just a mile or so ahead,
在人形尺度内，卵子大概在一英里范围内
but as our reproductive scientists can testify, the egg’s 24-hour
但我们的生殖学家发现
lifespan will present the sperm with one final, fatal hurdle.
卵子24小时存活寿命将是精♥子♥最后一个致命的阻碍
What needs to be kept in mind
在这场伟大的精♥子♥赛跑中
for this whole great sperm race…
需牢记的东西就是
is timing.
时机
Timing, timing, timing.
时机，时机，时机
The egg has a limited lifetime.
卵子也是有限的寿命
What if the egg arrives a little earlier?
如果卵子早一点到达？
It wants some sperm to be able to capacitate relatively early.
它希望较早的与一些能力较强的精♥子♥结合
What if that egg comes in a few hours from now or another day?
如果卵子在现在或改天的某几个小时内到达
You don’t want all of the sperm to be capacitated
一开始你不希望所有的精♥子♥被获能
at the beginning because they’re going to die.
因为这样很快就死掉
Having arrived hours before the egg,
卵子到达前几小时
these sperm reach the end of the line,
其他精♥子♥已经到了极限
falling into the abyss beyond the fallopian tubes.
死在输卵管里
Behind them, just two heroic sperm remain,
在它们后面，只有两个继续保持
all that survives of a quarter of a billion.
10亿中有四分之一还存活
These two, a Y-chromosome bearing male sperm
这两个，一个是代表男性的Y染色体
and an X chromosome female,left Glen’s testicles 14 hours ago.
一个是代表女性的X染色体，14小时前离开的Glen的睾丸
SCREAMING
DRAMATIC MUSIC
They’ve endured an incredible journey,
它们经历了一次难以置信的旅程
and against overwhelming odds…
打败了所以竞争对手
they’ve got their timing just right.
它们刚好把握时机
At the farthest reaches of Emily’s reproductive system,
到达了Emily生殖系统的最深处
the egg is waiting.
卵子在等待它们
If you or I were a sperm,
如果我或者你是一个精♥子♥
the egg would soar into the sky as high as Nelson’s Column.
卵子就像威尔逊纪念碑一样高高在上
During the great sperm race, there’s been a great attrition of sperm
在这场伟大的精♥子♥赛跑中，精♥子♥数量都在不断减小
from the point of ejaculation through to the fallopian tube.
从射♥精♥到通过输卵管的过程中
Actually at the site of fertilisation when the egg is being fertilised,
实际上，在卵子受精的时候
there may only be one sperm,there may be two or three.
也许是一个精♥子♥受精，也许是2个或者3个
Only very few sperm are actually fighting for that final prize.
只有极少数的精♥子♥取得了最后的胜利
Eventually, one…sperm
最终，一个精♥子♥
will hit the outer coat of the egg.
将到达卵子的外膜处
And this is it, this is the moment they’ve been waiting for.
这就是它们一直期待的那一刻
To secure victory,all this sperm has to do now
为确保胜利，所有精♥子♥都在做的是
is find a way inside.
找到进入的入口
The sperm is carrying this genetic payload for delivery.
精♥子♥是传递基因的有效载体
But that genetic payload has to be able…
但是基因遗传载体必须
to get into the egg.
进入到卵子里面
The way that it gets into the egg is the sperm literally blows its top.
进入的方式是精♥子♥从卵子的顶部
Above the head of the sperm, there is a bag of juices, a bag of enzymes
在精♥子♥的头部，有一包一包的酶
that are really important at this stage of the process.
这是一个非常重要的阶段
By touching an egg, that bag bursts and those enzymes will facilitate
通过接触卵子破裂后释放出酶
the sperm in finally penetrating through the outer coat of the egg.
这些酶将促进精♥子♥穿透卵子外膜
The great sperm race has been won.
伟大的精♥子♥比赛赢了
The victorious male sperm is instantly devoured
胜利的男性精♥子♥瞬间被吞噬
as Glen’s genetic information merges with Emily’s waiting DNA.
Glen的DNA与Emily的DNA融合
You get this elegant dance of male chromosomes and female chromosomes
男性染色体和女性染色体结合在一起
coming together, which will officially announce the fact that
正式表明
that egg is fertilised and that new life has been created and development
卵子受精，创诞生了新的生命
of a new individual has started.
新的起航已经开始
Just 14 hours ago,hundreds of millions of sperm
在14个小时之前，数百万的精♥子♥
embarked on the most incredible adventure in the natural world,
向着世界上最令人难以置信的冒险进发
an adventure that claimed all their lives.
它们的整个旅程都是冒险
So what made that winning sperm special?
那么是什么特别的让这个精♥子♥赢了？
Why did it succeed over billions of others?
为什么成功超过了10亿的同类？
When you think about the odds that any single one of us are here right
当你想想我们现在在这里的任何单一的可能性
now compared to the hundreds and millions of other sperm that in that
与其他数以百万计后射出的精♥子♥相比
ejaculate were left behind, there could have been smarter offspring,
本来可以有更聪明的后代
more handsome, more athletic,better in every way, ones that didn’t
更英俊，更健康，每个方面都更好
make it because they either weren’t in the right place at the right time.
没有成功的原因是没有在正确的时间或者地方
Or they just didn’t find their way through the cervix
或者没有找到正确的方向通过子♥宫♥颈
or the uterilogical junction.
通过子♥宫♥交界处
Or maybe they capacitated too early before the egg got there.
或者也许它们在卵子到达之前就到了
Or maybe they were a little too late to capacitate.
或者它们来迟了
So there’s just a lot of luck involved with it as well
所以参与受精的精♥子♥
as to which sperm is able to fertilise.
有很多运气的成分
Yet one unremarkable sperm,
有可能一个不起眼的精♥子♥
against odds of trillions to one,
打败了数以亿计的精♥子♥
did not die in vain.
赢得了胜利
It has given its life
它给了一个新生命
to start an utterly unique new one.
完全独特的新开始