美国国家公共电台 NPR Chinese Scientist Says He's First To Create Genetically Modified Babies Using CRISPR

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A Chinese researcher is claiming to have created the world's first genetically¹ edited human babies. According to the scientist, the genes⁴ of two twin girls have been modified to resist HIV infection. That's the virus that causes AIDS. This claim is highly controversial with some scientists denouncing this work as unethical human experimentation⁵. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein joins us now to talk about this. Hi there, Rob.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁶: Oh, hey there, David.

GREENE: All right. Let's start by who the scientist is. And how are we learning about this right now?

STEIN: Yes. So his name is He Jiankui, and he works at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. Right now he's at a meeting in Hong Kong. It's the International Summit on Human Gene³ Editing. And that's where he's making this extraordinary claim.

GREENE: What is the claim? What does he say he's actually done here?

STEIN: Yeah, so he says he's used a powerful new kind of genetic² engineering - it's called CRISPR - to make changes in human embryos⁷ and then use those human embryos to try to make babies. And he even claims, as you said, that he was able to create a pair of twin girls. And they were born a few weeks ago from these genetically modified embryos. And their names are Lulu and Nana. They're supposedly healthy and back home with their parents, Mark and Grace.

GREENE: So how is the scientific community reacting to this moment?

STEIN: Yeah. Well, as you mentioned, this is extremely controversial.

GREENE: Yeah.

STEIN: I mean, a lot of scientists - you know, they think this sort of thing - it may be OK someday to try to prevent a long list of really terrible diseases. But even advocates of editing human DNA⁸ like this are saying, look. This is just way too premature⁹. And we're kind of getting ahead of ourselves here. I talked to, for example, Jennifer Doudna. She's one of the scientists from California who's credited with helping¹⁰ invent CRISPR, this gene-editing technique. And, you know, she's saying that there's a lot of concerns. And a big one is safety, I mean, for any kids that anybody tries to make this way. And so a lot more research is needed to make sure it is safe and it really works. And perhaps even more importantly, scientists say, look. We need a broad societal debate to figure out, like, you know, in what circumstances should we do this? And how should we proceed? And we're far from having that consensus¹¹ on how to modify the human genetic blueprint¹² this way.

GREENE: I mean, a really significant debate because, I mean, this is this is raising the question of, you know, so-called designer babies and opening the door to all sorts of stuff, right?

STEIN: That's right. This is the sort of thing that's long been considered taboo¹³ - you know, genetically modifying human beings in a way that could be passed down for generations. And the big fear, as I said, is safety. You know, if scientists make some kind of mistake, they could, you know, create a new disease that would then be passed down for generations. And, you know, it does open the door to this, you know, kind of scary scenario¹⁴ people call designer babies, where scientists don't do this, you know, for medical reasons but for other reasons - to make taller babies, stronger babies. And that could lead to this - you know, maybe some kind of super race of human beings considered to be genetically superior.

GREENE: But you did say that a lot of scientists think there might be a way to do this in an acceptable way someday in the future. So, I mean, what happens now with this Chinese scientist who says he's done this?

STEIN: Yeah. So the big thing right now is to validate¹⁶, did he really do this?

GREENE: Right.

STEIN: I mean, you know, this sort of thing usually comes out in a scientific journal after being carefully reviewed by other scientists. And this is, you know, a valid¹⁵ line of research that people have been pursuing for a while. But, you know, scientists really first want to know whether this is true. I mean, this would be an historic claim. Some people are comparing this to the birth of the, you know, first IVF baby, Louise Brown. So we need a lot more research to figure out whether this is true. And that this meeting in Hong Kong is going on right now - the purpose of this meeting is to really try to create a scientific consensus for when we should proceed with editing human DNA this way.

GREENE: NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Rob, thanks.

STEIN: Oh, sure. Thanks to be - nice to be here, David.

1 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

2 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。

3 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。

4 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

5 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

6 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。

7 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

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 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

12 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

13 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？

14 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

15 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

16 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。