他用AI设计疫苗抢救患癌爱犬

近日，澳大利亚一位无生物医学背景的男子利用AI工具为患晚期肥大细胞瘤的爱犬设计个性化mRNA癌症疫苗，并成功使其肿瘤显著缩小‌，引发科技与医学界的热议。

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🤔️小作业：

1. What can be inferred from Pall Thordarson's statement about the case?

A. He believes the vaccine has completely cured Rosie's cancer.

B. He views the case primarily as a successful business model for pet care.

C. He considers it a proof-of-concept that could accelerate personalized medicine for humans.

D. He argues that the process is too expensive to be democratized.

无注释原文：

An Australian tech entrepreneur used AI to help create the first-ever bespoke cancer vaccine for a dog to treat his beloved pet Rosie

From: FORTUNE

In 2024, Sydney tech entrepreneur Paul Conyngham found out his dog Rosie had cancer. But after attacking the diagnosis with chemotherapy and surgery, the tumors persisted and Rosie got sicker.

So he turned to AI and eventually developed a custom mRNA cancer vaccine with the help of Australian scientists. Most of Rosie's tumors have shrunk, and the dog is back chasing rabbits.

OpenAI's ChatGPT suggested immunotherapy and directed Conyngham to the University of New South Wales Ramaciotti Center for Genomics, according to a report in the Australian.

While Conyngham doesn't have a background in medicine, he is an electrical and computing engineer who cofounded Core Intelligence Technologies. He was also a director for the Data Science and AI Association of Australia.

After reaching out to university, he convinced researchers there to help him and paid UNSW for Rosie's genomic sequencing. Then he started digging into the DNA.

“I went to ChatGPT and came up with a plan on how to do this,” Conyngham told the Australian.

He also used AlphaFold, an AI tool from Google's DeepMind, to find mutated proteins that could be potential targets for treatment. While an immunotherapy treatment that looked like a good fit for Rosie was identified, the drugmaker wouldn't provide it.

Then nanomedicine pioneer Pall Thordarson, director of UNSW's RNA Institute, stepped in and used Conyngham's data to develop a bespoke mRNA vaccine in less than two months.

“This is the first time a personalized cancer vaccine has been designed for a dog,” he told the Australian. “This is still at the frontier of where cancer immunotherapeutics are—and ultimately, we're going to use this for helping humans. What Rosie is teaching us is that personalized medicine can be very effective, and done in a time-sensitive manner, with mRNA technology.”

Rosie got her first injection of the cancer treatment this past December, then received a booster in February. Most of her tumors have already shrunk dramatically. And while they haven't disappeared, Rosie's health has improved.

In a thread on X Saturday, Thordarson said Rosie's story demonstrates that technology can “democratize” the process of designing cancer vaccines.

He cautioned that Rosie may not be cured as some tumors haven't responded to the vaccine, though it bought her more time. Still, Conyngham will take it.

“In December she had low energy because the tumors were creating a huge burden for her,” he told the Australian. “Six weeks post-treatment, I was at the dog park when she spotted a rabbit and jumped the fence to chase it. I'm under no illusion that this is a cure, but I do believe this ­treatment has bought Rosie significantly more time and quality of life.”

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译，仅供参考

含注释全文：

An Australian tech entrepreneur used AI to help create the first-ever bespoke cancer vaccine for a dog to treat his beloved pet Rosie

From: FORTUNE

In 2024, Sydney tech entrepreneur Paul Conyngham found out his dog Rosie had cancer. But after attacking the diagnosis with chemotherapy and surgery, the tumors persisted and Rosie got sicker.

2024年，悉尼科技企业家保罗·康宁汉（Paul Conyngham）发现他的爱犬罗茜（Rosie）罹患癌症。然而，在尝试了化疗和手术后，肿瘤依然顽固不化，小狗的病情反而加重了。

entrepreneur /ˌɒn.trə.prəˈnɜːr/ 表示“（尤指涉及风险的）企业家，创业者”，英文解释为“someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves seeing a new opportunity”举个🌰：He was one of the entrepreneurs of the 80s who made their money in property. 他是80年代靠做房地产生意赚钱起家的企业家之一。

chemotherapy /ˌkiː.məʊˈθer.ə.pi/ 表示“化学疗法，化疗”，英文解释为“the treatment of diseases using chemicals”举个🌰：Chemotherapy is often used in the treatment of cancer. 化疗常用于治疗癌症。

📍词根“chemo-”来自希腊语“chemia”，意味着“化学”，“-therapy”来自“therapeia”，意味着“治疗”。整体表示使用化学药物进行的“治疗”。近义词：drug treatment（药物治疗），同根词：chemical（化学的），常用短语：undergo chemotherapy（接受化疗）

美式 tumor 英式 tumour /ˈtʃuː.mər/ 表示“肿瘤；肿块”，英文解释为“a mass of diseased cells that might become a lump or cause illness”

persist /pəˈsɪst/ 1）表示“继续存在（发生）；持续；存留”，英文解释为“If something bad persists, it continues to exist or happen”举个🌰：If the pain persists, you must see a doctor. 如果一直痛，你就必须去看医生了。

2）表示“坚持；执意”，英文解释为“to continue to do something, although this is difficult, or other people oppose it”举个🌰：‘I don't think it's right,’ He persisted. “我认为那不对。”他坚持说道。

So he turned to AI and eventually developed a custom mRNA cancer vaccine with the help of Australian scientists. Most of Rosie's tumors have shrunk, and the dog is back chasing rabbits.

于是，他转而求助于人工智能，并最终在澳大利亚科学家的协助下，研制出一种定制化的mRNA癌症疫苗。如今，小狗的大部分肿瘤已经缩小，还能活蹦乱跳地追赶兔子了。

shrink /ʃrɪŋk/ 表示“（使）缩小，（使）变小”，英文解释为“to become smaller, or to make something smaller”举个🌰：Your sweater will shrink if you wash it at too high a temperature. 用温度过高的水洗毛衣，毛衣会缩水。

OpenAI's ChatGPT suggested immunotherapy and directed Conyngham to the University of New South Wales Ramaciotti Center for Genomics, according to a report in the Australian.

据《澳大利亚人报》报道，OpenAI的ChatGPT向他推荐了免疫疗法，并指引他联系新南威尔士大学的拉马乔蒂基因组学中心。

immunotherapy /ˌɪm.jə.nəʊˈθe.rə.pi/ 表示“免疫治疗”，英文解释为“treatment that improves ability of the immune system to fight disease”举个🌰：Immunotherapy with interferons may be used in patients with infections that are very difficult to treat. 使用干扰素的免疫治疗可以用在感染难以治愈的病人身上。

While Conyngham doesn't have a background in medicine, he is an electrical and computing engineer who cofounded Core Intelligence Technologies. He was also a director for the Data Science and AI Association of Australia.

尽管康宁汉没有医学背景，但他是一名电气与计算机工程师，并且是核心智能技术公司（Core Intelligence Technologies）的联合创始人。此外，他还担任澳大利亚数据科学与人工智能协会（Data Science and AI Association of Australia）的理事。

After reaching out to university, he convinced researchers there to help him and paid UNSW for Rosie's genomic sequencing. Then he started digging into the DNA.

联系上该大学后，他说服了那里的研究人员提供帮助，并自费请新南威尔士大学为小狗进行了基因组测序。随后，他便一头扎进了对DNA数据的分析中。

convince /kənˈvɪns/ 表示“说服；使相信；使信服”，英文解释为“to persuade someone or make someone certain”举个🌰：He managed to convince the jury of his innocence. 他使陪审团相信他是无辜的。

genomic sequencing表示“基因组测序”，它是一项可以破译生物体（包括人类、动物、植物或微生物）完整DNA密码的技术。

genomic /dʒɪˈnoʊ.mɪk/ 表示“基因组的”，英文解释为“relating to the complete set of genetic material of a human, animal, plant, or other living thing”举个🌰：Human genomic DNA was analyzed. 对人类基因组DNA进行了分析。

“I went to ChatGPT and came up with a plan on how to do this,” Conyngham told the Australian.

“我向ChatGPT求助，并制定了一个具体的实施方案，”康宁汉告诉《澳大利亚人报》。

He also used AlphaFold, an AI tool from Google's DeepMind, to find mutated proteins that could be potential targets for treatment. While an immunotherapy treatment that looked like a good fit for Rosie was identified, the drugmaker wouldn't provide it.

他还利用谷歌（Google）旗下DeepMind公司的人工智能工具AlphaFold，来寻找可能作为治疗靶点的突变蛋白质。尽管找到了一种看似非常适合小狗的免疫疗法，但制药公司却拒绝提供该药物。

mutated作形容词，表示“突变的”，mutate /mjuːˈteɪt/ 表示“（遗传物质等）变异，突变”，英文解释为“to develop new physical characteristics because of a permanent change in the genes. These changes can happen naturally or can be produced by the use of chemicals or radiation.”举个🌰：These bacteria have mutated into forms that are resistant to certain drugs. 这些细菌已发生变异，对某些药物产生了抗药性。

Then nanomedicine pioneer Pall Thordarson, director of UNSW's RNA Institute, stepped in and used Conyngham's data to develop a bespoke mRNA vaccine in less than two months.

这时，新南威尔士大学RNA研究所所长、纳米医学领域的先驱帕尔·索达森（Pall Thordarson）伸出援手。他利用康宁汉提供的数据，在不到两个月的时间里，成功研制出了一种量身定制的mRNA疫苗。

bespoke /bɪˈspəʊk/ 表示“定做的；定制的”，英文解释为“specially made for a particular person”如：a bespoke suit 定做的西服。

“This is the first time a personalized cancer vaccine has been designed for a dog,” he told the Australian. “This is still at the frontier of where cancer immunotherapeutics are—and ultimately, we're going to use this for helping humans. What Rosie is teaching us is that personalized medicine can be very effective, and done in a time-sensitive manner, with mRNA technology.”

他告诉《澳大利亚人报》：“这是首次为小狗设计个性化癌症疫苗。这仍处于癌症免疫疗法的最前沿领域，而我们的最终目标是用它来帮助人类。小狗的案例告诉我们，利用mRNA技术，个性化疗法非常有效，并且能够快速实现。”

Rosie got her first injection of the cancer treatment this past December, then received a booster in February. Most of her tumors have already shrunk dramatically. And while they haven't disappeared, Rosie's health has improved.

小狗在去年12月接受了第一次疫苗注射，随后在今年2月接种了加强针。如今，小狗的大部分肿瘤已经显著缩小。虽然肿瘤尚未完全消失，但其健康状况已大为好转。

boost /buːst/ 可以作名词也可以作动词，表示“改善；提高；增强；推动”，英文解释为“to improve or increase something”举个🌰：The theatre managed to boost its audiences by cutting ticket prices. 剧院设法通过降低票价来增加观众数量。

📍“佩洛西有病还是先治病吧”文中提到be boosted，get boosted用来指打了加强针（疫苗），也有说booster shot/booster dose.

In a thread on X Saturday, Thordarson said Rosie's story demonstrates that technology can “democratize” the process of designing cancer vaccines.

在周六发布于X平台的帖子中，索达森表示，小狗的故事证明了技术能够让癌症疫苗的设计过程变得更加“平民化”。

thread /θred/ 1）作名词，表示“（互联网上的）帖子，话题”，英文解释为“a connected group of pieces of writing on the internet, where people are talking about a particular subject”举个🌰：I was so glad to find this thread, and to know that lots of people have the same problem as me! 我很高兴看到这张帖子，发现很多人也有我同样的问题！

2）表示“线”，英文解释为“(a length of) a very thin fibre”如：needle and thread 针线；或者表示“（光、烟等）线状物，线状体”，英文解释为“a long, thin line of something such as light or smoke”举个🌰：A thin thread of light made its way through the curtains. 一缕光线透过帘子照进来。

）作动词，表示“穿线于；使穿过”，英文解释为“to put something long and thin such as string or thread through a narrow hole or into a small space”如：to thread a needle 穿针；

4）表示“穿成串；串在一起”，英文解释为“to join two or more objects together by passing sth long and thin through them”如：to thread beads (onto a string) （在绳子上）把珠子串起来。

5）表示“思路；贯穿的主线”，英文解释为“The thread of a book, discussion, speech, etc. is its story or the way that it develops, one part connecting with another”举个🌰：One of the main threads of the film is the development of the relationship between the boy and his uncle. 电影的一条主线是男孩和他叔叔之间关系的发展。

He cautioned that Rosie may not be cured as some tumors haven't responded to the vaccine, though it bought her more time. Still, Conyngham will take it.

他也谨慎地指出，小狗可能无法完全治愈，因为部分肿瘤对疫苗没有反应，但治疗确实为小狗争取了更多时间。即便如此，康宁汉也对此结果感到欣慰。

caution /ˈkɔː.ʃən/ 作名词，表示“谨慎，小心，慎重”，英文解释为“great care and attention”举个🌰：We need to proceed with/exercise caution (= be careful in taking action, making decisions, etc.) 我们必须谨慎行事。

作动词，表示“告诫，提醒”，英文解释为“to warn someone”举个🌰：The newspaper cautioned its readers against buying shares without getting good advice first. 报纸告诫读者事先没有获得好的建议，不要购买股票。

“In December she had low energy because the tumors were creating a huge burden for her,” he told the Australian. “Six weeks post-treatment, I was at the dog park when she spotted a rabbit and jumped the fence to chase it. I'm under no illusion that this is a cure, but I do believe this ­treatment has bought Rosie significantly more time and quality of life.”

他告诉《澳大利亚人报》：“去年12月时，小狗因肿瘤缠身而萎靡不振。治疗六周后，我带它去小狗公园，它看到一只兔子，竟然跳过围栏追了上去。我当然不敢奢望这能完全治愈，但我坚信，这次治疗为它换来了更多有活力的时光。”

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