经济学人:基因编辑技术的应用、争议和未来(1)

 Leaders 社论

Gene¹ editing 基因编辑

The baby crisperer 婴儿“保险盒”

A Chinese scientist claims to have edited the genomes of two babies 中国科学家声称已成功编辑两名婴儿的基因

Humanity's power to control the four-letter code of life has advanced by leaps and bounds. 人类控制生命四个字母的基因密码的能力突飞猛进。

A new gene-editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9, which was not discovered until 2012, has been the subject of particular excitement. CRISPR-Cas9是一项新的基因编辑技术，于2012年发现，一直是令人瞩目的焦点课题。

It allows DNA² to be edited easily, raising hopes that it could eventually be used to relieve human suffering. 利用这一技术可轻松编辑基因，这让人们燃起最终将其运用至减轻人类痛苦的希望。

This week, however, CRISPR has caused more unease than optimism, because of claims by a Chinese scientist that he edited the genomes of twin girls when they were embryos⁴, as part of IVF treatment. 然而，本周CRISPR却让人忧大于喜，原因是一名中国科学家声称他成功编辑了一对双胞胎女孩的基因，操作是在体外受精过程中，在培育胚胎细胞时进行。

He Jiankui, of the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen—which was not involved in the work—says he edited a gene, CCR5, that allows HIV to infect human cell. 深圳的南方科技大学（该大学并未参与此工作）的贺建奎表示自己编辑了允许HIV感染人类细胞的基因CCR5。

Mr He claims to have created one baby resistant⁵ to HIV infection, and a twin who is not. 贺建奎先生声称创造了一个对HIV病毒有抵抗力的婴儿，而同为双胞胎的另一个婴儿对HIV病毒则没有抵抗力。

(Another woman is apparently⁶ carrying an edited embryo³.) （显然，一名女性孕育了经过编辑的胚胎。）

If reproductive cells were affected⁷, any such modifications⁸ will be passed on to subsequent generations. 如果生殖细胞受到影响，任何这种修饰都将遗传给后代。

There is still uncertainty⁹ over what Mr He has done. 贺建奎的所作所为仍有不确定性。

But it is just a matter of time before someone, somewhere, edits human embryos that are grown into babies. 但是出现编辑过的人工胚胎成长为婴儿之事只是时间问题。

Governments and regulators need to pay heed¹⁰. 政府和监管机构需要注意这一点。

Presume that Mr He’s assertions are truthful¹¹. 假定贺建奎的断言成真。

One day it may make sense to edit an embryo—to cure genetic¹² diseases, say. 也许有一天编辑胚胎是有意义的——比如说，用来治疗遗传疾病。

That day has not arrived. 但这一天还未到来。

The technology is so new that the risks to human subjects cannot possibly justify¹³ the benefits. 这项技术还很新，其益处还不能让人们忽视经过基因编辑后所面临的风险。

Scientists do not fully¹⁴ understand the scope of the unintended damage CRISPR does to DNA elsewhere in the genome or how deactivating¹⁵ CCR5 might leave you vulnerable to other diseases 科学家们并不完全清楚CRISPR对基因组中其他地方的DNA造成的意外损害的范围，也并不完全清楚CCR5的失活是否会导致更容易患上其他疾病

(it may, for instance, make death from flu more likely). （例如，会导致死于流感的可能性加大）。

Mr He’s work appears to have had the scantiest¹⁶ oversight¹⁷ and a vice-minister says it violates regulations. 贺建奎的工作似乎有个大的疏忽，一位副部长称这种做法违反了规定。

Mr He told delegates at a gene-editing conference in Hong Kong this week that he had run the idea for the trial past four people. 在本周于香港举行的基因编辑会议上，贺建奎对与会代表表示，进行基因编辑试验的想法已经过四人同意。

It seems likely that Mr He himself was largely responsible for deciding whether his human experiment was worth the risks. 贺建奎自己似乎在很大程度上要对其人体实验是否值得冒险负责。

It is not clear that the babies'parents gave their informed consent.  目前尚不清楚基因编辑婴儿的父母是否知情同意。

 

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 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。

3 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

4 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

5 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。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

11 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

12 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。

13 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 deactivating   

v.解除动员( deactivate的现在分词 )；使无效；复员；使不活动

参考例句：

• Russia is deactivating some of its deadliest missiles. 俄罗斯正在拆除其一些最危险的导弹。 来自辞典例句
• System restart required. Deactivating weapon systems. 系统需要重新启动。关闭兵器系统。 来自互联网

16 scantiest   

adj.（大小或数量）不足的，勉强够的( scanty的最高级 )

参考例句：

• Barney knew scantiest amount of French and not a syllable of anything else. 巴尼只懂一点点法文，其他外语一个字都不会。 来自互联网
• The thong bikini offered the scantiest coverage yet imagined in the rear of the suit. 这种皮带式比基尼在泳衣的后部提供了可以想像的最少的覆盖。 来自互联网

17 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。