Every year we lose about 20, 30 species that are gone forever, and using this technology, I think that we can preserve and save those species that have been lost.
每年大约有二三十个物种永久性灭绝,我们彻底失去了它们,利用这项技术,我认为我们可以保护和拯救那些已经消失的物种。
Scientists at the University of Georgia are attempting to use DNA from endangered cats to save them from extinction.
佐治亚大学的科学家们正试图利用濒危猫科动物的DNA拯救它们,而不至于灭绝。
What we're trying to do here is collect skin cells from endangered species and actually turn them into sperm or eggs.
我们尝试收集濒危物种的皮肤细胞并将它们转化为精子或卵子。
The goal is to develop a tiger embryo and artificially inseminate a house cat, which will then give birth to a baby tiger.
他们的目标是培育老虎胚胎,并给家猫人工授精,让它生下一只小老虎。
Because of the extensive knowledge of domestic cats' reproductive systems, the risk of failure is significantly lower than if using a tiger as a surrogate.
由于我们对家猫的繁育系统已有全面的了解,失败的风险会明显比用老虎作为代孕妈妈更低。
We know that we're gonna have a lot of hurdles and so what we wanna do is start off with an animal we know very well, and so we thought cats was a good starting point.
我们知道实验中将遇到很多问题,所以我们想从一种我们非常了解的动物开始试起,因此我们认为猫是一个很好的入手点。

The three-part process of creating an artificial embryo begins with collecting skin cell samples from endangered species.
培养人工胚胎的过程分为三个部分,首先是收集濒危物种的皮肤细胞样本。
We got these samples from Zoo Atlanta.
我们从亚特兰大动物园采集了这些样本。
They collected the biopsies from their Sumatran tiger and their clouded leopard.
他们采集了苏门答腊虎和云豹的活组织切片。
Those skincells are then turned into stem cells, which will later be reprogrammed into sperm and eggs, allowing for the creation of an embryo.
这些皮肤细胞随后被转化为干细胞,这些干细胞随后将被重新编程为精子和卵子,从而创造出胚胎。
Once we have the sperm and eggs, we'll combine them together, we'll get a developing embryo, and then the idea is we're gonna transfer them into a domestic cat,
一旦我们有了精子和卵子,我们就会将它们结合在一起,得到一个发育中的胚胎,然后我们的想法是将把它们移植到一只家猫体内,
and hopefully in a few months, we'll have a number of kittens from that individual.
希望在几个月后,我们能从家猫那里得到一些幼崽。
One of the greatest challenges that the team has faced has been developing the technique to transform skin cells into stem cells, a necessary task that they have yet to accomplish.
团队面临的最大挑战之一是开发将皮肤细胞转化为干细胞的技术,这是他们尚未攻克的一项必需技术。
We are still waiting to make that leap from skin cell to stem cell, and I think we're finally on the doorstep.
我们还在等待实现从皮肤细胞到干细胞的跨越,我想我们就快实现了。
We're ready to go.
我们准备好了。
By collecting and freezing skin cell samples from various animals, scientists are effectively providing a road to bringing back species that may become extinct in the future.
通过采集并冷冻各种动物的皮肤细胞样本,科学家们为挽救濒危动物提供了一条行之有效道路。
In a single tank, you could have a biobank of two, 300 different species and enough individuals in each box where you could use this technology to repopulate lost species.
在一个单独的容器里,你可以有两个生物样本库,每个样本库有300种不同的物种和足够的个体,你可以使用这项技术来重新繁育消失的物种。
I'll never give up essentially, you know, as long as I can keep doing great science and exciting things;
我永远不会放弃,你知道的,只要我能继续做伟大的科学尝试和令人兴奋的事情;
I just really think endangered species are important to conserve, and they're worth the effort.
我真的认为保护濒临灭绝的物种很重要,它们值得我们付出努力。