虽然今天的“瓜”多得让吃瓜群众们有点忙不过来,“陈姓歌手吸毒”、“蒋劲夫被逮捕”、“考研克星李雨桐狂发博”...,我们还是把目光聚焦在“科学狂人”贺建奎身上。
「世界首例免疫艾滋病的基因编辑婴儿」事件仍在发酵。经历了前两天的风波之后,今天中午,贺建奎现身第二届人类基因组编辑国际峰会,对自己的“研究”进行报告和回答提问。
问答的最后,主持人问他,“如果这是你的孩子,你会继续这样做吗?”
- If this was going to be your baby, would you have gone ahead with this?
- Okay, It's a ..., that's good ... So if it was my baby, may have, ... the same situation, I would try it first.
Chinese scientist He Jiankui defends 'world's first gene-edited babies'
A Chinese scientist who claims to have created the world's first genetically edited babies has defended his work.
defend
此处表示“为…辩护,为…辩白,为…辩解”,英文解释为“to use arguments to protect something or someone from criticism, or to prove that something is right”,举个🌰:
Students should be ready to explain and defend their views.
学生应该勇于为自己的观点进行解释和辩护。
Speaking at a genome summit in Hong Kong, He Jiankui said he was "proud" of altering the genes of twin girls so they cannot contract HIV.
在回答提问过程中,他提到了一个具体例子时,确实用了“proud”一词,表示非常“骄傲”。
Pro. He: ... Also, for this specific case, I feel ... feel proud actually, ...
Many scientists have condemned his announcement, with one labelling it monstrous. Such gene-editing work is banned in most countries.
monstrous
在第一天的报道中就出现了这个词,这里再回顾一下:
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
Prof He confirmed the university was not aware, adding he had funded the experiment by himself.
演讲开始,他首先对实验数据泄露表示道歉,同时他感谢了自己的大学,称“我的大学对我的这一研究并不知情”。
What has the scientist claimed?
On Wednesday, Prof He spoke at the Human Genome Editing Summit at the University of Hong Kong for the first time about his work since the uproar.
uproar
表示“喧嚣;吵闹;骚动”,英文解释为“a lot of noise or angry protest about something”,如:in an uproar 一片哗然,喧嚣,躁动
He revealed that the twin girls - known as "Lulu" and "Nana" - were "born normal and healthy", adding that there were plans to monitor the twins over the next 18 years.
He explained that eight couples - comprised of HIV-positive fathers and HIV-negative mothers - had signed up voluntarily for the experiment; one couple later dropped out.
他提到,原本一共有八对夫妇志愿参与这一项目,其中一对在中途退出。除已经诞生的双胞胎之外,还有一位参与者可能已经怀孕。
He also said that "another potential pregnancy" of a gene-edited embryo was in its early stages.
Why is it this controversial?
The Crispr gene editing tool he claims to have used is not new to the scientific world, and was first discovered in 2012.
It works by using "molecular scissors" to alter a very specific strand of DNA - either cutting it out, replacing it or tweaking it.
molecular
/məʊˈlɛkjʊlə/
表示“分子的”,英文解释为“Molecular means relating to or involving molecules.”,如:the molecular structure of fuel 燃料的分子结构。
strand
1)表示“(线、绳、毛发等的)股,缕”,英文解释为“a single thin piece of thread, wire, hair etc”,
举个🌰:
He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
他伸手拂去她脸上的一缕头发。
2)也指“(故事、观点、计划等的)部分”,英文解释为“one of the parts of a story, idea, plan etc”;
在生物遗传学领域里,经常出现,如:单链DNA(single-stranded DNA)、模板链(template strand)、编码链(coding strand)。
tweak
1)表示“扭,拧”,英文解释为“to pull and twist something with a small sudden movement”,举个🌰:
Standing in front of the mirror she tweaked a strand of hair into place.
她站在镜子前,把一缕头发卷好。
2)表示“作小小的改进 、稍稍改进(针对机器、汽车或系统等)”,英文解释为“to make small changes to a machine, vehicle, or system in order to improve the way it works”,举个🌰:
Maybe you should tweak a few sentences before you send in the report.
报告交上去之前,有几个句子你也许应该修改一下。
Gene editing could potentially help avoid heritable diseases by deleting or changing troublesome coding in embryos.
(回顾)遗传病
“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。
"If true, this experiment is monstrous. 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," Prof Julian Savulescu, an ethics expert at the University of Oxford earlier told the BBC.
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