美国国家公共电台 NPR Sperm Counts Plummet In Western Men, Study Finds

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A wide-ranging study shows that sperm¹ counts are plummeting² throughout the Western world, and scientists don't know why. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein suggests some of the potential reasons.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE³: In Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, "The Handmaid's Tale," the United States has become a dystopian nightmare where the few remaining fertile women are enslaved to make babies. Here's a scene from Hulu's new TV series based on the book.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE HANDMAID'S TALE")

ANN DOWD: (As Aunt Lydia) You girls will serve the leaders and their barren wives. You will bear children for them.

STEIN: Could that really happen? Well, a big, new study takes that idea and flips⁴ it on its head. It's men who might be hurtling towards sterility⁵.

SHANNA SWAN: We should take this very seriously.

STEIN: Shanna Swan is a reproductive epidemiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

SWAN: I think it's a wake-up call.

STEIN: Swan was part of an international team of scientists. They analyzed⁶ 185 studies involving nearly 43,000 men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. And what they found was dramatic.

SWAN: There was a 52 percent decline in sperm concentration and an almost 60 percent decline in the total sperm count in the 39 years we studied.

STEIN: Sperm counts dropped by more than half.

SWAN: I think these are extremely concerning findings.

STEIN: Now the world is nowhere near an epidemic⁷ of infertility⁸, so there's no reason to panic. But there's no sign the nosedive in sperm counts is slowing down. The big question is - why? Well, no one knows. But there are lots of theories. Maybe male babies are being exposed to something in the womb.

SWAN: There's also increasing obesity⁹, which is related to sperm count. There's also stress, which is related to sperm count. So there are a number of factors which you could cluster under the heading of modern lifestyle that could be playing a role in what we're seeing.

STEIN: Whatever the possible cause, other experts agree the findings are alarming. Peter Schlegel is vice¹⁰ president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

PETER SCHLEGEL: Since this is the best study that's ever been done, it is concerning that it suggests such a progressive and dramatic decrease in sperm counts over time. And since we don't know what could be causing it, it's worrisome.

STEIN: But Schlegel stresses that more research is needed to confirm that this drop in sperm counts is real and whether it's happening in other parts of the world, as well. Rob Stein, NPR News.

1 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

2 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

5 sterility   

n.不生育，不结果，贫瘠，消毒，无菌

参考例句：

• A major barrier to interspecific hybridization is sterility in the F1 progeny.种间杂交的主要障碍是F1代的不育性。
• Sterility is some permanent factor preventing procreation.不育是阻碍生殖的一种永久性因素。

6 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

8 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

9 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。