In fact, there are probably almost as many glia in your brain and nervous system as there are neurons!

事实上，你的大脑和神经系统中的神经胶质细胞可能几乎和神经元一样多！

In these studies, scientists transformed glia cells into neurons that had all the typical features you'd expect.

在这些研究中，科学家将神经胶质细胞转化为具有你所期望的所有典型特征的神经元。

Glia surround neurons and, according to some scientists, may even outnumber them by as many as ten to one.

胶质细胞围绕神经元，据一些科学家称，其数量比可能是十多个神经胶质细胞对一个神经元。

Now, if glia are so important, it might seem unwise to transform some of them into neurons.

如果胶质细胞如此重要，那么将它们中的一些转化为神经元似乎是不明智的。

To name just one example, patterns of activity between neurons are likely influenced by a type of cell called glia.

仅举一个例子，神经元之间的活动模式很可能受到一种称为神经胶质细胞的影响。

Defects in glia function are connected with aging in animals such as fruit flies and mice.

胶质细胞功能缺陷与果蝇和小鼠等动物的衰老有关。

But luckily, new glia are reliably produced throughout adulthood, so swapping a few of them shouldn't pose a long-term problem.

但幸运的是，新的胶质细胞在整个成年期都能可靠地产生，因此更换其中的一些不应构成长期问题。

In experiments on mice, they took a type of cell called a glia cell, and they transformed it into a neuron.

在对老鼠的实验中，他们采用了一种称为神经胶质细胞的细胞，并将其转化为神经元。

In papers published that year, two research groups did just that by using AAV or CRISPR to make a simple genetic edit in glia cells.

在当年发表的论文中，两个研究小组通过使用 AAV 或 CRISPR 在神经胶质细胞中进行简的基因编辑来做到这一点。

And in their studies, scientists were able to convert glia into neurons by decreasing or knocking down the activity of just one small gene family called PTBP.

在他们的研究中，科学家们能够通过减少或抑制一个名为 PTBP 的小基因家族的活动，将神经胶质细胞转化为神经元。