【英语时差8,16】猴子带来治愈色盲的希望

 D:I feel bad for male squirrel monkeys. Y:What?Why? D:Because they can’t detect the colors red and green–they’re red-green colorblind. Y:Maybe,but scientists at the University of Washington used gene¹ therapy to make squirrel monkeys produce proteins that allow them to see red and green. D:Really?That's awesome²！ Y:It is,actually.Because most scientists assumed that it was impossible to create full color vision in an animal that had never had it. The brain just isn’t wired for it. Or so they thought. But, evidently, that’s not the case. Very soon after the monkeys got the gene they needed to start making the protein for red-green vision, their brains worked to process those colors. D:So it's like their brains were ready and just waiting for the right components³ to click into place. Y:Something like that.But this doesn’t mean that scientists can now fix color blindness in people. D:Why not? Y:Well,monkeys’ brains are different from human brains, for one thing. And, it’s not certain what colors the monkeys are actually seeing. So it’s impossible to tell how the same procedure would work in people, without actually trying it. D:But in any case, I think that the experiment with the monkeys gives scientists some insight into how color vision works, and how its evolved. Y:And you'd be right.And the more we learn, the better chance we’ll have of addressing color blindness in people in the future.

1 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。

2 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

3 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。