美国有线新闻 CNN 世界首例基因编辑婴儿在中国出生 国内外科学家纷纷谴责

 

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A passionate¹ debate is taking place worldwide over claims that genetically⁴ edited human children were recently born in China.

I'm Carl Azuz. This is CNN 10.

Here's how the debate got started. A Chinese scientist named He Jiankui, he's an associate professor at a Chinese university, announced earlier this week that a pair of twin girls was born this month after their embryos⁵ were altered to make them resistant⁶ to human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.

Their parents, according to Professor He, volunteered for the experiment. The father is believed to carry HIV.

Professor He also appeared to suggest that a third genetically modified baby is possible that the pregnancy⁷ is in the early stages.

How could this be done?

Professor He claims to have used CRISPR, a genetic³ editing tool, to alter the twins' DNA⁸. Researchers say CRISPR makes it possible to change a particular part of someone's genome, or delete a gene² altogether.

But the idea of a genetically edited child is highly controversial. For one thing, some scientists doubt this even happened. The research hasn't been independently confirmed. For another, American biologist and Nobel Prize recipient⁹ David Baltimore says genetic editing is irresponsible until it's proven to be safe and effective, and it hasn't yet. Baltimore also says genetically modifying someone to be resistant to HIV isn't necessary since there are other treatments available for the disease that attacks the immune system.

A group of Chinese scientists spoke¹⁰ out against the research, suggesting that experimenting on a human is unethically and crazy. And there are concerns about the consequences of gene editing. A scientist who helped invent CRISPR says when you change one thing, something else gets changed too, and it's not known yet what kinds of effects this could have on the Chinese twins.

For his part, the associate professor says he's proud of his alleged¹¹ achievement because the parents had, quote, lost hope for life, but now, the father plans to work hard and take care of his wife and two daughters.

1 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

4 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

5 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

6 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为