“只能用疯狂形容” 世界首例免疫艾滋病的基因编辑婴儿在中国诞生！

今天上午，世界首例免疫艾滋病的基因编辑婴儿在深圳诞生的消息，引发广泛关注和质疑。

据报道，南方科技大学贺建奎副教授宣布，一对名为露露和娜娜的基因编辑婴儿于11月在中国健康诞生。这对双胞胎的一个基因经过修改，使她们出生后即能天然抵抗艾滋病。

China baby gene editing claim 'dubious'

Significant doubts have emerged about claims from a Chinese scientist that he has helped make the world's first genetically edited babies.

the world's first genetically edited babies 世界首例基因编辑婴儿

Prof He Jiankui says the twin girls, born a few weeks ago, had their DNA altered as embryos to prevent them from contracting HIV.

/ˈɛmbrɪˌəʊ/

表示“胚胎”，英文解释为“an animal or human that has not yet been born, and has just begun to develop”，短语“in embryo”，表示“在胚胎阶段；在萌芽时期”，英文解释为：at a very early stage of development. 举个🌰：

The system already exists in embryo.

该体系已具雏形。

作名词表示“合同，合约”，作动词时可以表示“感染（疾病），患（病）”，英文解释为“If you contract a serious illness, you become ill with it. ”，还可以指“缩小，缩短，（经济、市场等）萎缩”，举个🌰：

The manufacturing economy contracted in October for the sixth consecutive month.

制造业经济到10月份已连续萎缩6个月了。

Blood is only expelled from the heart when it contracts.

心脏收缩时，血液才从心脏射出。

His claims, filmed by Associated Press, are unverified and have sparked outrage from other scientists, who have called the idea monstrous. Such work is banned in most countries. @LearnAndRecord

1）表示“极端错误的；道德败坏的；极不公正的”，英文解释为“very wrong, immoral, or unfair”，举个🌰：

Such monstrous injustice is hard to understand.

如此骇人听闻的枉法不公让人难以理解。

2）表示“丑陋的；骇人的”，英文解释为“unnatural or ugly and frightening”，如：a monstrous shadow 可怕的影子

122位科学家在 @知识分子 发布联合声明，对“首例免疫艾滋病基因编辑婴儿”进行强烈谴责。

声明称，这项所谓研究的生物医学伦理审查形同虚设。此项技术早就可以做，没有任何创新，但是全球的生物医学科学家们不去做、不敢做，就是因为脱靶的不确定性、其他巨大风险以及更重要的伦理。

Future generations

Gene editing could potentially help avoid heritable diseases by deleting or changing troublesome coding in embryos.

此处用的是“heritable diseases”，heritable表示“遗传（疾病或特征），可继承的”，英文解释为“A heritable disease or characteristic can be passed from a parent or grandparent to a child through the genes.”，举个🌰：

Autism is a heritable neurological disorder.

自闭症是一种可遗传的神经系统疾病。

也有说“hereditary disease”，hereditary的英文解释为“(of characteristics or diseases) passed from the genes of a parent to a child, or (of titles and positions in society) passed from parent to a child as a right”，除了指“（特点或疾病）遗传的”，还有”（称号或爵位）世袭的”等意思。

下文即将出现的动词inherit表示“继承”，形容词性：inherited 遗传的；继承权的；通过继承得到的。

But experts worry meddling with the genome of an embryo could cause harm not only to the individual but also future generations that inherit these same changes.

the human genome 人类基因组

1）表示“干预，干涉；管闲事”，英文解释为“to deliberately try to influence or change a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand”，举个🌰：

I don’t like other people meddling in the way I run this store.

我不喜欢别人干涉我怎么管理这家店。

2）表示“胡乱摆弄”，英文解释：to touch something which you should not touch, especially in a careless way that might break it，举个🌰：

You have no right to come in here meddling with my things.

你无权进来乱弄我的东西。

表示“经遗传得到（父母的性格、外貌、品质、特征）”，英文解释为：to have the same character or appearance as your parents，举个🌰：

I inherited my mother's curly hair.

我遗传了母亲的鬈发。

也可以表示“继承（财产）”，英文解释：If you inherit money or property, you receive it from someone who has died. 举个🌰：

He has no son to inherit his land.

他没有儿子来继承他的土地。 @LearnAndRecord

And many countries, including the UK, have laws that prevent the use of genome editing in embryos for assisted reproduction in humans.

assisted reproduction 辅助生殖/辅助生育

Scientists can do gene editing research on discarded IVF embryos, as long as they are destroyed immediately afterwards and not used to make a baby.

in vitro fertilization表示“体外受精”，英文解释为“a process in which a human egg is fertilized outside the woman's body”；

test-tube baby表示“试管婴儿”，英文解释为“a baby that develops from an egg removed from a woman’s body, that is then put back inside the woman to continue developing.”

'Designer babies'

But Prof He, who was educated at Stanford in the US and works from a lab in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, says he used gene-editing tools to make two twin baby girls, known as "Lulu" and "Nana".

In a video, he claims to have eliminated a gene called CCR5 to make the girls resistant to HIV should they ever come into contact with the virus.

表示“有抵抗力的，抵抗…的”，英文解释为“not damaged or affected by something”。

当虚拟条件句中含有 were，had，should，could等动词时，可以将if省略，然后将 were，had，should，could 等词移至句首倒装。

此处的“... should they ever come into contact with the virus”倒装你看明白了吗？-->If they should ever come into contact with the virus.

He says his work is about creating children who would not suffer from diseases, rather than making designer babies with bespoke eye colour or a high IQ.

表示“定做的，定制的”，英文解释为“a bespoke product, especially computer software or a piece of clothing, has been specially made for a particular customer”，如：a bespoke system 定制系统

"I understand my work will be controversial - but I believe families need this technology and I'm willing to take the criticism for them," he says in the video.

'Highly treatable'

However, several organisations, including a hospital, linked to the claim have denied any involvement. And other scientists say if the reports are true, Prof He has gone too far, experimenting on healthy embryos without justification.

'Protected sex'

Prof Julian Savulescu, an expert in ethics at the University of Oxford, said: "If true, this experiment is monstrous. The embryos were healthy - no known diseases.

"Gene editing itself is experimental and is still associated with off-target mutations, capable of causing genetic problems early and later in life, including the development of cancer.

表示“（基因的）变异，突变；（生物体的）变异，突变；突变生物体”，英文解释为“the way in which genes change and produce permanent differences；a permanent change in an organism, or the changed organism itself”。

"There are many effective ways to prevent HIV in healthy individuals - for example, protected sex. And there are effective treatments if one does contract it. This experiment exposes healthy normal children to risks of gene editing for no real necessary benefit."

Scientists say baby gene editing may one day be justifiable, but that more checks and measures are needed before allowing it.

来源：BBC

对此事件，相关各方相继回应：

国家卫健委：手术并未备案。

当事医院：孩子不是我们这里生的。

深圳医学伦理委：已启动对事件涉及伦理问题的调查。

南方科技大学：早已停薪留职，对此不知情。

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