VOA慢速英语--关于基因编辑婴儿的争论仍在继续

Gene¹-edited Babies Debate Continues

Six months ago, a Chinese scientist was widely criticized for helping² make the first gene-edited babies.

Now, new information suggests other people may be interested in doing the same kind of work.

William Hurlbut is a bioethicist at Stanford University in the United States. He told The Associated Press (AP) that a fertility center in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, wrote to scientist He Jiankui by email. Hurlburt said the center wanted training in gene editing and asked He for information on the process.

The Chinese scientist reportedly had often asked the Stanford doctor for advice.

Hurlburt told the AP that He told him he had heard from scientists from more than one country, and families with inherited health problems. He said that they had messaged support and interest in changing the genes³ of human embryos⁵. Hurlbut gave the AP an email he said the Dubai clinic sent to He in December.

It shows “what eagerness there is out there for this technology,” Hurlbut said, and the need “for some sort of enforceable governance” of it.

Other researchers have also heard of people wanting to edit embryos. Jennifer Doudna is with the University of California, Berkeley. She is the co-inventor of the CRISPR gene-editing tool that He used in his research.

Doudna said the reports that others want to edit embryos are “entirely credible⁷.” She said scientists need to work on establishing policies for how and when such work should happen.

She added that the technology is “not ready for clinical use in human embryos.” But, she said, research should continue.

Doudna receives money from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports the AP’s health and science reporting.

Last November, He reported that he had changed the genes of twin girls when they were embryos. He claimed he did this before the girls were born to help them resist possible infection with the AIDS virus.

International standards for gene-editing

Ever since then, scientists and policy leaders have been debating the need for international standards, or controls. Editing embryos’ genes is illegal in many countries because it risks damaging other genes. The changes in the genes also can be passed to future generations. It is unknown how editing one generation will affect the next. Many scientists condemned⁸ He’s work.

Some have also criticized researchers who were thought to have known about, or strongly suspected, what He was doing.

Hurlbut and two other employees at Stanford University were cleared of any wrongdoing. Rice University in Texas is still looking into whether He’s former advisor⁹, Professor Michael Deem, may have been involved.

Hurlbut, said some people have expressed support for He and his research.

“If you call (He) a rogue¹⁰ scientist who did this all by himself, you miss the truth,” Hurlbut said, adding, “then you fail to see what’s wrong” with the way science is governed around the world.

The Chinese scientist has not been seen publicly since shortly after he spoke¹¹ at a conference in Hong Kong in November. The AP’s efforts to reach him by telephone and email were unsuccessful.

He’s claim has yet to appear in a scientific publication, but the babies’ existence seems to have been confirmed by investigators¹² in Guangdong province. According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, investigators said He avoided supervision¹³ of his work and violated research norms out of a desire for publicity¹⁴.

There has been no information on how the two girls are doing. Information is also lacking on the second pregnancy¹⁵ He achieved with a gene-edited embryo⁴. This one is thought to be about seven months along now.

International committees have been formed to look into how to deal with the issue.

I’m Anne Ball.

And I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

gene-edited – adj. genes, containing DNA⁶, that have been changed before being put back in a body

bioethicist – n. a person who studies the ethics¹⁶ and implications of certain biological and medical procedures, technologies and treatments

inherited – adj. to have (a characteristic, disease, etc.) because of the genes that you get from your parents when you are born

eagerness – n. very excited and interested

credible – adj. able to be believed : reasonable to trust or believe

rogue – adj. used to describe something or someone that is different from others in usually a dangerous or harmful way

achieve – v. to get or reach (something) by working hard

clinic - n. a place where people get medical help?

twin – n. ?either one of two babies that are born at the same time to the same mother?

according to – prep as stated, reported, or recorded by (someone or something)

1 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。

2 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。

3 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

4 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。

5 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

6 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。

7 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

8 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。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

14 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

15 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

16 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。