中國“基因編輯嬰兒”打開潘多拉魔盒？
11月26日，中國科學家賀建奎宣布，一對名為露露和娜娜的基因編輯嬰兒于11月在中國誕生，她們出生后即能“天然抵抗艾滋病”。這是世界首例免疫艾滋病的基因編輯嬰兒，研究擬采用 CRISPR-Cas9 技術對胚胎進行編輯，使嬰兒從植入母親子宮之前就獲得了抗擊霍亂、天花或艾滋病的能力。
基因改造人類胚胎是否符合道德及倫理一直是醫(yī)學界一個頗有爭議的議題。賀建奎的研究傳出后受到外界強烈質疑，122名中國科學家當天發(fā)表聯(lián)合聲明，對此表示堅決反對和強烈譴責。賀建奎隸屬的南方科技大學表示，由于生物學院認為他的項目“嚴重違反學術道德和學術規(guī)范”，已在2月份對其實行停薪留職。
霍金在遺作《寫給未來人類的備忘錄》中，曾這樣寫道：富人未來能選擇編輯自己和孩子的 DNA，變成擁有強大記憶力、抗病力、智力和更長壽命的“超人”。屆時未改造人類將無法與之競爭。
本篇課程首發(fā)于2018年11月29日，選自 Daily Express
難度系數(shù)：
無用系數(shù)：
Genetically modified babies in bombshell breakthrough claims scientist
① A Chinese scientist has claimed he helped make the world's first genetically modified human beings: twin girls whose DNA he said he altered.
② The news is likely to spark global outcry, as people question the moral and ethical questions concerning the bombshell experiment.
③ A team at the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen, has been recruiting couples in an effort to create the first gene-edited babies.
④ The team planned to eliminate a gene called CCR5 to make the offspring resistant to HIV, smallpox and cholera.
⑤ They have been using a powerful gene editing tool, CRISPR-cas9, to create "genetically modified" human babies.
⑥ The explosive scientific breakthrough, if verified, would represent the first genetically engineered humans in the history of science.
⑦ However, experiments of this kind are also likely to prove controversial, with some claiming it could lead to a "slippery slope" to so-called "designer babies" and advanced eugenics.
▍話題相關表達
genetically modified /d???net?k?li ?m?d?fa?d/: adj. 轉基因的；基因改造的
DNA: n. 脫氧核糖核酸
alter /??lt?, ɑ?lt?r/: vt. (通常指輕微地) 改動/修改
gene-edited: adj. 基因編輯的
(be) resistant to: 對……有抵抗力的；耐……的
HIV / human immunodeficiency virus: n. 人體免疫缺陷病毒；艾滋病病毒
smallpox /?sm??lp?ks, ?smɑ?lpɑ?ks/: n. 天花
cholera /?k?l?r?, ?kɑ?l?r?/: n. 霍亂
genetically engineered = genetically modified
designer baby: 設計嬰兒
eugenics /ju??d?en?ks/: n. 優(yōu)生學；人種改良學
▍一般生詞好句
bombshell breakthrough: 爆炸性突破
bombshell /?b?m?el, ?bɑ?m?el/: n. 突發(fā)事件，引起震驚的人/事；炸彈
claim /kle?m/: vt. 聲稱
spark /spɑ?k, spɑ?rk/: vt. 引起；引發(fā)
outcry /?a?tkra?/: n. 強烈抗議
recruit /r??kru?t/: vt. 招募；征募
in an effort/attempt to do sth.: 為了……
eliminate /i?l?m?ne?t/: vt. 消滅；淘汰
offspring /??fspr??, ?ɑ?fspr??/: n. 后代；子女
explosive scientific breakthrough: 爆炸性科學突破
verify /?ver?fa?, ?ver?fa?/: vt. 證實；核實
represent /?repr??zent/: vt. 標志著
slippery slope: 災難性的急劇下滑；滑坡效應 (指壞情況或惡習一旦開始很可能變得愈加嚴重)
▍詞匯拓展
1. bombshell /?b?m?el, ?bɑ?m?el/: n. 突發(fā)事件，引起震驚的人/事；炸彈
His resignation is a political bombshell.
他的辭職是政治上的一個爆炸性新聞。
2. 表示“引起；導致”的詞
原文：spark、lead to
補充：stir、cause、trigger off
▍知識拓展
1. 基因編輯
基因編輯技術能夠讓人類對特定 DNA 片段進行消除或者添加
Genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism's DNA. These technologies allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome.
2. CRISPR-Cas9
CRISPR-Cas9 技術能夠讓基因編輯如同我們在電腦上剪切、復制和粘貼資料一樣簡單方便。
Several approaches to genome editing have been developed. A recent one is known as CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9. The CRISPR-Cas9 system has generated a lot of excitement in the scientific community because it is faster, cheaper, more accurate, and more efficient than other existing genome editing methods.
3. 設計嬰兒
設計嬰兒是指為確保小孩具有某些長處或者避免某些缺陷，在出生以前就對他（她）的基因構成進行了選擇的孩子，當前的基因編輯技術已讓設計嬰兒的誕生不再是神話。
優(yōu)點：降低基因疾病和遺傳疾病風險，更優(yōu)質的基因決定更成功的未來，延長自然壽命。
缺點：某些基因的移除可能導致不可預知的風險；設計嬰兒本身沒有自主選擇權，會導致人類個體所謂個性的缺失；只有富人能負擔得起，社會階級分化更加嚴重。
▍責任編輯
李煥、武志琳、章曉丹
