美国国家公共电台 NPR Breaking Taboo, Swedish Scientist Seeks To Edit DNA Of Healthy Human Embryos

Breaking Taboo¹, Swedish Scientist Seeks To Edit DNA² Of Healthy Human Embryos⁴ 

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NPR's learned that a scientist in Sweden is trying something sure to be controversial. He is the first scientist in the world known to be trying to genetically⁸ modify healthy human embryos, which raises many questions about how far this science is going to go. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein is breaking this story.

Hi, Rob.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁹: Hi, Steve. Nice to be here.

INSKEEP: I'm glad you are here. Who is this scientist and what exactly is he trying to do?

STEIN: So his name is Fredrik Lanner. And he's a developmental biologist at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. And he's using a brand new kind of genetic⁷ engineering that allows scientists to make changes in the DNA in human embryos in ways that were never possible before.

INSKEEP: Why does he want to do that?

STEIN: So he wants to do it for basic medical research. He has two goals, really. One is to find new ways to treat infertility¹⁰ and prevent miscarriages¹¹ by understanding the genes¹² that control early human embryonic¹³ development. The second one is to learn more about human embryonic stem cells, which scientists want to use the treat all kinds of incurable¹⁴ diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and blindness and diabetes¹⁵. By understanding the genetics of early embryos, he hopes to help them do that.

INSKEEP: OK. That all sounds great. Why are people so worried about something like this happening?

STEIN: Well, the fear is that somebody might take this further and try to create genetically modified human beings using genetically modified human embryos. And the concern there is that they could make some kind of mistake. I mean, this is new science. They don't really know how well it works. They could accidentally create a new disease that would then be passed down for generations and kind of mess up the human gene⁶ pool for generations.

INSKEEP: This isn't the same way that people do genetically modified plants. We're talking about genetically modified people.

STEIN: Well, that's the fear - is that they could use these techniques to create, someday, genetically modified people. You know, designer babies, where parents pick and choose the traits of their babies - make them taller or stronger or smarter, something like that - we're nowhere near being able to do that. But the concern is that this could open the door to, someday, somebody trying that.

INSKEEP: So NPR's Rob Stein is reporting, again, that a scientist is working with human embryos to modify them for the first time for medical research.

He let you into his lab, first reporter to be in there. What was it like?

STEIN: Yeah, so I traveled to Stockholm, and I went to his lab. And his labs are right upstairs from an IVF clinic. And that's what he's using are leftover¹⁶ embryos from couples who went through IVF to try to have babies. These are very early embryos - only 2 days old, only four cells. And it was fascinating to watch. Everything they were doing was projected onto a monitor and magnified. And you could see these tiny embryos in the dish under the microscope and this tiny little needle piercing the shell of the embryo³ so they can inject this genetic engineering tool I mentioned. Lanner refers to it as kind of a genetic molecular¹⁷ scissor that cuts the DNA in very precise places.

INSKEEP: Wow.

STEIN: Let's listen a little bit as Lanner looks over the shoulder of his assistant as he tries to edit one of these embryos.

FREDRIK LANNER: So now he just injected the second embryo. And you can see the little area there where the solution has been injected. And that's where we would have the scissors.

STEIN: That's how you edit the DNA in a human embryo - that's what you just did. That's how you go about doing it?

LANNER: Yeah, yeah.

INSKEEP: I'm just trying to think of tiny scissors small enough to fit inside one human cell. This is amazing.

STEIN: Yes.

INSKEEP: But what did he say when you raised the ethical¹⁸ concerns that we're talking about here?

STEIN: Lanner said, well, look it - listen, I have no intention of doing any those sci-fi kinds of things that people are worried about. All I want to do is basic research to help women have babies. Let's listen a little bit what Lanner said when I talked to him about these concerns.

LANNER: I think this is something with all new technology - that it has good use and it could have sort of use that is not morally acceptable - right? - and designing babies or making sure you have a blue-eyed baby or something similar. The only way we can sort of prevent that from happening is to have a - good laws regulating this.

STEIN: And in fact, Lanner told me that right now, at least, in Sweden, it would be illegal to try to make a human being from a genetically modified embryo. But that's not the case in all parts of the world. There are countries where it would be legal. And there are other scientists in other parts of the world who are starting to do experiments using genetic modification¹⁹ on human embryos.

INSKEEP: The same way that this man is?

STEIN: Yeah, they do similar kind of basic research right now.

INSKEEP: Rob, thanks very much for bringing us this story.

STEIN: Sure. Great to be here.

1 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

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 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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

9 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

10 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

11 miscarriages   

流产( miscarriage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Miscarriages are usually caused by abnormal chromosome patterns in the fetus. 流产通常是因为胎儿的染色体异常造成的。
• Criminals go unpunishedareconvicted and are miscarriages of justice. 罪犯会逍遥法外，法律会伤及无辜，审判不公时有发生。

12 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

13 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

14 incurable   

adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人

参考例句：

• All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
• He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的，到处蔓延的裙带主义。

15 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

16 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

17 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

18 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

19 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。