新闻周刊:非洲基因对癌症研究很重要(4)（在线收听）

Correcting a Major Tactical Error

修正主要的战术错误

Even before the Human Genome Project was done, Rotimi suspected Africa was being left behind.

罗蒂米甚至在人类基因组计划完成之前，就怀疑非洲被落下了。

In 2002, he was an epidemiologist at the National Human Genome Center at Howard University and led the African branch of a project to collect genomes from around the world to uncover the scope of human genetic variation.

2002年，罗蒂米时任霍华德大学国家人类基因组中心的流行病学家，并担任“全球基因组收集”项目非洲分部负责人，“全球基因组收集”项目旨在揭示人类遗传变异的范围。

Already, African scientists had a limited role, which stung Rotimi.

而非洲科学家的参与有限，这一事实刺痛了罗蒂米。

In 2004, while directing the Genome Center, he became the founding president of the African Society of Human Genetics, an organization formed to address this concern.

2004年，罗蒂米在管理基因组研究中心期间，成为了非洲人类遗传学协会创始人主席，此协会正是致力于研究非洲人类遗传学的机构。

At the group's first meeting, held in Ethiopia in 2006, the lack of participation by Africa—both its DNA and its scientists—in genome research dominated the agenda.

2006年，该协会在埃塞俄比亚举行了首次会议，非洲缺席——非洲DNA和非洲科学家同时缺席——而非洲却是此次会议的主要议程。

A year later, geneticist Francis Collins, who led the Human Genome Project and now directs the National Institutes of Health(NIH), attended the second meeting, held in Cairo, where the concern began morphing into an idea for an Africa-based genome project.

一年后，人类基因组计划领导人、现任美国国立卫生研究院院长、遗传学家弗朗西斯·柯林斯参加了在开罗举行的第二次会议，会上对非洲基因排除在外的担忧开始演变成非洲基因组计划的想法。

Rising rates of cancer on the continent added further urgency.

非洲大陆癌症发病率的上升进一步加剧了这一问题的紧迫性。

The prevalence of breast, prostate and cervical cancers is increasing there, partly due to lower mortality rate for infectious diseases and partly due to a shift toward a Westernized lifestyle.

乳腺癌、前列腺癌和宫颈癌的发病率不断上升，部分原因在于传染病死亡率较低，还有部分原因在于生活方式西化的转变。

Current estimates put Africa's annual cancer incidence at 1.27 million by 2030.

目前估计，到2030年，非洲每年的癌症患者将达到127万。

The problem is compounded by African patients being treated with drugs tested on non-African populations.

而因非洲患者所用的药不是在非洲人群中测试的，患病人数还会再度增加。

Including African DNA in genetic research could ameliorate that issue.

而将非洲DNA纳入基因研究可改善这一问题。

"How can I explain that a tool this robust," Rotimi asked himself, "is just going to pass by Africa in a way that will exacerbate already bad health conditions in this part of the world?"

罗蒂米自问，“我该如何解释，这样一个有力的工具就这样越过非洲，从而加剧非洲已经很糟糕的健康情况？”

The 2009 report exposing the paucity of African DNA in genome studies began spreading the alarm Rotimi had been sounding for years.

2009年的报告揭露了基因组研究中缺乏非洲DNA，并开始宣传罗蒂米多年来一直发出的警告。

The National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the NIH, began monitoring the over-representation of people of European ancestry in these investigations.

美国国立卫生研究院下属的国家人类基因组研究所开始在这些调查中监控欧洲血统人的过度代表性。

"Far too much of the research we've done has been on people who are of most immediate European descent," says Eric Green, who directs the institute.

“我们做的很多研究都是基于最接近欧洲血统的人，”研究院院长埃里克·格林说。

He refers to this bias as "a major tactical error."

他将这种偏颇称为“重大的战术错误”。

That same year, Rotimi took the first steps toward a project that would not only correct that error but also transform a continent of scientists.

同年，罗蒂米为这个项目迈出了第一步，不仅要纠正这个错误，还要改造所有非洲科学家的老观念。

In 2010, the NIH began funding Rotimi’s effort to organize a project focused on African genetics.

2010年，美国国立卫生研究院开始资助罗蒂米组织的非洲遗传学项目。

If the West wouldn't include Africa in its work, he and his colleagues decided, they would do their own studies.

罗蒂米和其同事们决定，如果西方国家不把非洲纳入其工作范围，他们将自己进行研究。

But Rotimi quickly realized that an Africa-centric effort had to do more than collect sequences and catalog SNPs.

但罗蒂米很快意识到，以非洲为中心展开研究不仅是收集序列、分类SNP。

The rare appearance of funding for such research, coupled with the desperate need for better medical care, made practical application of the work a priority.

这类研究罕见地获得了资助，再加上迫切需要更好的医疗服务，实际应用工作因而被放于首位。

And he was haunted by the specter of past research testing medicines and techniques on Africans but never helping them.

但罗蒂米忧心还会像过去一样仅是在非洲人身上测试药和技术，而并不帮助非洲人。

"We needed to be very careful," Rotimi says, "that the money addressed issues that are important to African people."

“我们需要格外谨慎，”罗蒂米说道，“研究此项目的基金对非洲人意义非凡。”