经济学人:基因编辑技术的应用、争议和未来(2)

 Nor did the procedure fulfil any unmet medical need. 此程序也未能满足任何未知医疗需求。

For the child whose genome was edited to confer resistance, the claimed benefit is protection from a virus that she may never encounter 对于为产生抗性而进行基因编辑的孩子来说，宣称的好处是可以预防有可能一生都遇不到的病毒

(although her father is HIV-positive, his sperm¹ were washed to prevent infection during fertilisation) （尽管他的父亲HIV检测呈阳性，但为防止受精过程的感染其精子已经过清洗），

and for which there is a good, and improving, standard of care. 还有优质并不断提高的护理标准。

If the reports are correct, the second child has been exposed to the potential risks of an edited genome but can still be infected by HIV. 如果报告正确，第二个孩子已经暴露在编辑过的基因组的潜在风险中，但仍然可能感染艾滋病毒。

The idea that one scientist could make the leap towards editing reproductive cells has been condemned², but it has not been ruled out. 一位科学家可在编辑生殖细胞方面取得很大进步的这种观点遭到谴责，但并没有被完全否定。

Even if Mr He turns out to be a fraud, others have the means, the motive³ and the opportunity to do similar work. 即使贺建奎欺诈，其他人还是有方式、有动机、有机会做出类似的事情。

CRISPR is not a complex technology. CRISPR技术并不复杂。

That leads to two responses. 可有两种应对办法。

The first is practical: better oversight⁴ of places such as fertility clinics, where back-room genome-tinkerers may lurk⁵. 第一种针对实际：对生育诊所等可能潜伏着幕后基因修补者的地方加强监管。

That applies not just in China, where Mr He has attracted vocal⁶ condemnation⁷, but also in America, where IVF clinics could use greater regulatory scrutiny⁸. 这不仅适用于贺建奎招致声讨的中国，也适用于试管婴儿诊所还需加大监管审查力度的美国。

The second is proper debate about when gene-editing is warranted. 第二种是适当争论，主要关于基因编辑在何时恰当需要。

Editing the unhealthy cells of those suffering from genetic⁹ diseases such as Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis will alleviate¹⁰ their suffering. 编辑那些患有杜氏肌营养不良和囊性纤维化等遗传疾病的人的不健康细胞将减轻患者痛苦。

It is less clear when it is necessary to edit embryos¹¹, but Mr He’s experiment obviously fails the test. 何时需要编辑胚胎还不清楚，但贺建奎的实验显然未经测试。

Fertility treatments already screen embryos for unwanted genes¹². 生育治疗已经在筛选多余的基因。

It may even be that editing will one day be used on embryos to enhance genomes (to make people cleverer, say), rather than to cure disease. 甚至可能某天，编辑技术将为增强基因（比如让人变得更聪明）而用于胚胎，而非治疗疾病。

But that requires regulators, policymakers, scientists and civil society to think through deep ethical¹³ questions. 但这需要监管机构、政策制定者、科学家和公民社会深入思考伦理问题。

Work is already under way to develop principles for editing reproductive cells. 编辑生殖细胞的原则制定工作已经开始。

Earlier this year the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a think-tank in Britain, outlined two: that the changes brought about by gene-editing should not increase “disadvantage, discrimination or division in society” and that such changes should not harm the welfare of the future person. 今年早些时候，英国智库纳菲尔德生物伦理委员会概述了以下两点：基因编辑带来的改变不应增加“社会中的劣势、歧视和分裂”，而且这种改变不应损害未来人的福祉。

Such debate was always going to be needed. 这种争辩总是有必要的。

Now it is urgent. 现在已是机不容发。

 

1 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

4 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。

5 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

8 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

9 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。

10 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

11 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

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 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。