As a SciShow viewer, you can keep building your stem skills with a 30-day free trial and 20% off an annual premium subscription at brilliant.org/scishow.

身為 SciShow 的觀眾，你可以到 brilliant.org/scishow 上獲得 30 天免費試用期和年度高級訂閱方案享 20％ 折扣來不斷提升你的幹細胞技能。

Stem cell research has led to some amazing discoveries and has the potential to treat or even cure some of our deadliest diseases, from diabetes to Alzheimer's.

幹細胞研究已經取得了一些驚人的發現，並且具有治療甚至治愈一些致命疾病的潛力，從糖尿病到阿茲海默症。

But let's face it, where researchers get those stem cells is controversial.

但我們要面對現實的是，研究人員獲取幹細胞的方法有爭議。

Many of the stem cells we use come from embryos, which means the ethics of the practice are hotly debated, and the cells are in limited supply.

我們使用的許多幹細胞來自胚胎，這行為的倫理問題引起了激烈的辯論，而且這些幹細胞供應有限。

So what if we had a more plentiful and less contentious source?

如果我們擁有一個更豐富且不那麼具爭議性的來源，會怎麼樣呢？

Turns out, there's an unexpected place where stem cells are abundant: period blood.

原來，有一個意想不到的地方擁有豐富的幹細胞：經血。

Meaning that statistically, half of you watching this video make the future of medicine every month.

這表示根據統計，觀看這個影片的一半的人每個月都在為醫學的未來做出貢獻。

So let's talk about stem cells.

讓我們來聊聊幹細胞。

What are they and why do they matter so much?

它們是什麼又為什麼如此重要？

Stem cells are the most flexible kind of cells in your body, and as they reproduce, they can differentiate into specific and different kinds of tissues.

幹細胞是身體中最靈活的一種細胞，在其繁殖過程中，它們可以分化為特定且不同種類的組織。

They're kind of like an Eevee; they'll turn into something different based on the environment they're subjected to.

它們有點像伊布，根據它們所處的環境，它們會轉變成不同的形式。

But instead of a Fire Stone, the stem cells get, like, a liver cell stone or something.

不過，這些幹細胞得到的不是火之石，更像是得到了一塊肝臟細胞石頭之類的東西。

These little cells are all the buzz in the world of regenerative medicine, the field focused on healing or replacing tissues that have been damaged by trauma, disease, congenital abnormalities, or even just aging.

這些小細胞在再生醫學領域中引起了廣泛的關注。再生醫學致力於修復或替換因創傷、疾病、先天畸形甚至老化而受損的組織。

Basically, regenerative medicine is the stuff we do to try to help a body heal its own tissues.

基本上，再生醫學是我們試圖幫助身體修復自身組織的方法。

And for a while, the most promising thing we've been able to throw at this problem has been stem cells.

在解決這個問題上，一直以來我們最有希望的方法就是使用幹細胞。

So the hope in stem cell therapies is that you can take your stem cells and turn them into, say, neurons, and then put those healthy cells into someone whose neurons are diseased.

因此，幹細胞療法的期望是，你可以將自己的幹細胞轉化為神經元，然後將這些健康細胞移植到神經元受損的人體內。

Theoretically, embryonic stem cells or ESCs offer the most potential.

理論上，胚胎幹細的潛力最大。

They're so great because of their extreme plasticity.

它們之所以如此優越，是因為它們具有極高的可塑性。

They're able to become any tissue or organ in the body, which makes sense since embryos need to go on to differentiate until all those bits as they grow.

它們能夠轉變為身體中的任何組織或器官，這是有道理的，因為胚胎在生長過程中需要分化形成這些部位。

In practice, however, embryonic stem cells have had limited use because of two major problems.

然而在實際應用中，胚胎幹細胞碰到了兩個主要問題，限制了它們的使用。

First, the ethics of destroying an embryo, even in the name of life-saving research, are still hotly debated.

首先，即使是為了拯救生命的研究，摧毀胚胎的倫理問題仍然備受爭議。

Second, fresh embryonic stem cells are just hard to come by.

其次，新鮮的胚胎幹細胞很難取得。

Most are embryos left over from in vitro fertilization, which means that of the very small pool of IVF embryos to harvest from, science only gets the extras.

大部分胚胎都是體外受精過程中剩餘下來的，這代表科學研究只能利用從極少數的體外受精胚胎中獲取的多餘胚胎。

With this dubious future for embryonic stem cells, the hunt for cells with similar plasticity, more renewable sourcing, and better publicity began.

面對胚胎幹細胞的前景不明朗，人們開始尋找具有類似可塑性、來源更可再生且具有更好公眾形象的細胞。

Enter mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs, cells that are harvested from adults and thus avoid the ethical dilemmas and bad PR of the embryonic ones.

於是間葉幹細胞或稱 MSCs 出現了，這些細胞是從成人身上提取的，因此免除了胚胎幹細胞所面臨的倫理困境和負面的公眾形象。

When it comes to plasticity, not all stem cells are created equal.

在可塑性方面，並非所有的幹細胞都是一樣的。

Embryonic stem cells are valued because they are pluripotent, meaning they can turn into any adult cells, no matter what part or layer of the body that tissue comes from.

胚胎幹細胞之所以受到重視，是因為它們具有多能性，也就是說它們可以轉化為任何成體細胞，無論該組織來自身體的哪個部位或層次。

But not all stem cells are like this.

但並不是所有的幹細胞都是這樣的。

There are some that can only turn into a few kinds of cells, and those less adaptable stem cells just don't have as many potential applications.

有些幹細胞只能分化為少數幾種細胞，而這些較不適應性的幹細胞在潛在的應用方面確實不如多功能性的幹細胞廣泛。

Mesenchymal stem cells aren't pluripotent, but they're pretty darn close.

間葉幹細胞並不是全能性幹細胞，但它們非常接近了。

They can become bone, muscle, blood vessels and connective tissue cells, and even liver cells, which is kind of a huge deal.

它們可以分化為骨骼、肌肉、血管和結締組織細胞，甚至可以分化為肝細胞，這是非常重要的一個特點。

But while mesenchymal stem cells are ethically less complicated and demonstrate similar plasticity to embryonic stem cells, they're not exactly easy to get into your Petri dish.

然而，儘管間葉幹細胞在道德上較為簡單且具有與胚胎幹細胞相似的可塑性，但將它們取得並培養於培養皿中並非易事。

You mostly get them through invasive procedures like bone marrow donation, liposuction, or apheresis, which is blood filtering,

大部分情況下，透過侵入性的手術，例如骨髓捐贈、抽脂或者血漿析離法，也就是血液過濾才能獲得間葉幹細胞，

or at least that was the case until a new source of mesenchymal stem cells was discovered: menstrual fluid.

至少以前是這樣，直到發現了一個新的間葉幹細胞來源：經血。

Scientists had a hunch that the uterus might be utilizing stem cells for its monthly redecorating.

科學家猜測子宮可能在每個月的重建過程中利用幹細胞。

So, in 2007, they collected menstrual fluid, isolated the cells, and got to work testing them to see if they were actually stem cells.

所以在 2007 年，他們收集了經血，分離出其中的細胞，並開始進行測試，來確定這些細胞是否真的是幹細胞。

There are two basic tests that confirm whether a cell is a stem cell or not: can it clone and can it differentiate into other types of cells.

有兩個基本的測試可以確定一個細胞是否為幹細胞：它是否可以進行克隆以及是否可以分化為其他類型的細胞。

The answer to that was yes, on both accounts.

經血在這兩個問題上都可以做到。

The isolated menstrual cells were not only able to double over 68 times, they doubled faster than the mesenchymal stem cells isolated from other body parts.

這些分離出的經血細胞不僅能夠讓細胞量翻倍超過 68 次，而且它們的倍增速度比從其他身體部位分離出的間葉幹細胞更快。

Bone marrow stem cells have been the gold standard for mesenchymal stem cell research, but they take anywhere from two to eight days to double their population.

骨髓幹細胞一直是間葉幹細胞研究的黃金標準，但它們需要花費兩到八天的時間才能使細胞量翻倍。

In contrast to this, the menstrual cells took an average of just over 19 hours to double, which means they can double way faster than bone marrow-derived MSCs.

相較之下，經血幹細胞平均只需 19 個小時多一點的時間就能使細胞量翻倍，這表示它們的翻倍速度遠比骨髓的間葉幹細胞還快。

And this also means they double faster than the mesenchymal stem cells derived from other places like umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue or Wharton's jelly,

這也意味著經血幹細胞的翻倍速度比從其他地方（如臍帶血、脂肪組織或華通氏膠）獲得的間葉幹細胞更快，

a thick gelatinous tissue that cushions the blood vessels of the umbilical cord.

華通氏膠是一種厚厚的明膠狀組織，用於緩衝臍帶的血管。

But while cloning is important, it's only half of what it means to be a stem cell.

但是，儘管克隆很重要，但這還不是完整的幹細胞。

The other half deals with differentiating into many types of tissues, which is that plasticity we've been talking about.

要變成完整的幹細胞跟分化成多種組織的能力，也就是我們一直在談論的可塑性有關。

The plasticity of mesenchymal stem cells can vary, depending on where they're derived from.

幹細胞的可塑性可能因其來源不同而有所變化。

For example, studies suggest that those from the umbilical cord can't differentiate into fat cells and those from the placenta can't become bone cells.

例如，研究表明，來自臍帶的幹細胞無法分化為脂肪細胞，而來自胎盤的幹細胞則無法轉化為骨細胞。

Menstrual stem cells, however, were able to differentiate into all nine different tissue types the researchers tested, developing into everything from neurons and liver cells to fat and bone cells.

然而，經血幹細胞能夠分化為研究人員測試的所有九種組織類型，發展成神經元、肝細胞、脂肪細胞和骨細胞等各種細胞。

So in terms of being stem cells, menstrual MSCs not only meet the criteria but also outperform MSCs derived from other bodily locations.

所以就幹細胞而言，經血的間葉幹細胞不僅符合標準，還優於其他來源的間葉幹細胞。

And it turns out that these overachieving cells can also do a lot of what we want them to do in regenerative medicine too.

而且事實證明，這些卓越的細胞在再生醫學中也能夠實現我們期望的許多功能。

In a 2010 study, researchers simulated stroke conditions in neurons from rats to see how menstrual MSCs might affect outcomes in oxygen-deprived rat neurons.

在 2010 年的一項研究中，研究人員對老鼠的神經元進行了模擬中風的實驗，觀察它們對缺氧神經元的影響。

This involved researchers harvesting human menstrual stem cells then placing them in a media perfect for growing neurons in the hope that they would differentiate into exactly that.

在這項研究中，研究人員收集了人類的經血幹細胞，然後將它們放置在適合生長神經元的培養基中，希望它們能分化成神經元。

They then injected them into the brains of rats who had suffered a stroke.

接著，研究人員將這些幹細胞注射到中風過的老鼠大腦中。

And sure enough, they found that the rats who were given these menstrual stem cells had fewer behavioral and motor deficits than the control group that got no treatment.

果然，他們發現接受經血幹細胞治療的老鼠在行為和運動功能上比未接受治療的對照組表現出較少的缺陷。

And a 2018 study looking at Alzheimer's in mice found that injections of menstrual mesenchymal stem cells into the brain could not only correct learning and memory deficits in diseased mice,

一項於 2018 年對老鼠進行的研究發現，將經血間葉幹細胞注射到大腦中，不僅可以改善患有阿茲海默症的老鼠的學習和記憶缺陷，

but even helped to remove the plaques in their brains.

而且還有助於清除其大腦中的蛋白斑塊。（蛋白斑塊由蛋白質異常沉積而形成，被認為與疾病的發展和神經元損傷有關。）

Researchers have also studied how menstrual stem cells can treat mice with diabetes and found that those stem cells can step in for the pancreas to make insulin.

研究人員還研究了經血幹細胞如何治療患有糖尿病的老鼠，並發現這些幹細胞可以代替胰臟製造胰島素。

Menstrual MSCs have even been used to restore liver function, improve COVID-19 outcomes, reduce inflammation from hernia, meshes, diminish in fertility and accelerate wound healing.

經血的間葉幹細胞甚至已被用於恢復肝臟功能、改善 COVID-19 的影響、減少疝氣的發炎、減輕不孕症問題以及加速傷口癒合。

Plus, surveys show that people are already willing to donate and most perceive their periods more positively, knowing the incredible positive impact their menstrual donation could make.

此外，調查顯示人們已經願意捐贈經血，並且大多數人在了解到到捐贈經血可能帶來的正面影響，對於自己的月經便有了更正面的看法。

But before you show up to the Red Cross with your Diva cup, it's important to note that menstrual fluid donation sites are not widely available yet.

然而，在你拿著月亮杯前往紅十字會之前，有一點需要注意，那就是目前還沒有廣泛提供經血捐贈的地點。

For those of you that are eager beavers, though, there are a few options.

熱切希望捐雞血的人們，你們有幾個選擇。

There's a facility in India that has already begun menstrual blood banking

印度已經有一家機構開始發展經血銀行。

And one company in Florida charges for private menstrual blood banking as well.

而佛羅里達州的一家公司則提供付費的私人經血儲存服務。

There are even some clinical trials in the United States that are enrolling participants to collect menstrual blood during gynecological visits.

在美國，甚至有一些臨床試驗正在招募參與者，在婦科檢查期間收集經血。

Periods are no walk in the park.

經歷月經並不是很輕鬆的事情。

But the next time you find yourself dreading your next visit from Aunt Flo, remember that someday it might be your menstrual fluid that goes on to cure somebody else's Alzheimer's.

但下次當你為下一次月經來臨而感到不悅時，請記住有一天也許正是你的經血將來可以治愈其他人的阿茲海默症。

Researchers are figuring out how to slot something we already have into a space where we're missing solutions.

研究人員正在找出如何將我們已經擁有的東西填補到我們缺乏解決方案的領域中。

And in that way, their work is kind of like an advanced geometry puzzle which you can find plenty of at brilliant.org.

以這種方式，他們的運作有點像一個進階的幾何學問題，而你可以在 brilliant.org 上找到許多這樣的內容。

Brilliant has online courses in math, science and computer science, like their advanced geometry puzzles course.

Brilliant 提供數學、科學和計算機科學等領域的線上課程，例如他們的進階幾何學課程。

That course is a collection of 68 quick and fun puzzles that ask you how hard it is to measure a skyline and see if you're capable of cutting something exactly in half.

該課程是由 68 個快速有趣的謎題組成，問你測量天際線的難度如何，以及是否能夠精確地將某物切成兩半。

To get started, you can head to brilliant.org/scichow or the link in the description down below.

想要開始學習的，你可以前往 brilliant.org/scichow 或下方說明欄中的連結。

You'll get a free 30-day trial and 20% off an annual premium Brilliant subscription by using that link.

使用該連結可以獲得 30 天的免費試用期和年度高級 Brilliant 訂閱享 20％折扣優惠。

Thanks to Brilliant for supporting this SciShow video.

感謝 Brilliant 贊助這支 SciShow 的影片