科学家首次精确编辑人类胚胎基因
LearnAndRecord约 12 分钟🤔️小作业：
1. What does the author imply about the future of base editing in human embryos?
A. It will replace all other gene-editing methods within a year.
B. It is likely to be used for both medical and non-medical purposes.
C. It has been proven completely safe in the study.
D. It will only be used to treat sickle cell anemia.
无注释原文：
In a First, Scientists Precisely Edit Human Embryo Genes
From: The New York Times
Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an achievement that could open the way to babies engineered with particular characteristics.
The prospect has fueled controversy for years. On the one hand, the technology might one day enable parents to safely repair disease-causing mutations in embryos. But it might also be used to select desired traits — a practice that some ethicists have argued is nothing short of eugenics.
Dieter Egli, a geneticist at Columbia University who led the research, called for a public conversation about the pros and cons of altering embryonic DNA. “As a scientist, you can provide the data for discussion, but then essentially there you stop and let others take over,” he said.
With a newer technology called base editing, Dr. Egli and his colleagues were able to meticulously replace individual genetic letters in sequences of DNA without causing the damage often observed with an earlier form of gene editing, CRISPR.
Dr. Egli cautioned that the research left unanswered many questions about harmful side effects. “We’re not saying this is going to be used tomorrow in the clinics,” he said.
Dr. Egli and his colleagues posted their study online. The research is under review for publication in a scientific journal.
The possibility of editing the DNA of human embryos became a matter of serious debate more than a decade ago, after the invention of CRISPR.
In 2012, scientists discovered how to create customized molecules that could snip out a targeted segment of DNA. CRISPR quickly became a standard tool for scientists — a cheap, easy way to discover how genes function by tweaking the genome.
A number of medical companies sprang up, seeking to use the technology to treat hereditary diseases. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved a CRISPR-based treatment for sickle cell anemia.
But scientists knew it was not perfect. In some cells, CRISPR molecules failed to find their targets in DNA, or sometimes snipped out the wrong genetic bits.
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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考
含注释全文：
In a First, Scientists Precisely Edit Human Embryo Genes
From: The New York Times
Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an achievement that could open the way to babies engineered with particular characteristics.
哥伦比亚大学科学家以前所未有的精确度编辑了早期人类胚胎的DNA，这一成果可能为培育具有特定特征的“定制婴儿”打开大门。
embryo
embryo /ˈem.bri.əʊ/ 表示“胚，胚胎”，英文解释为“an animal that is developing either in its mother's womb or in an egg, or a plant that is developing in a seed”举个🌰：Between the eighth week of development and birth a human embryo is called a foetus. 从发育第8周到出生这段时间，人类的胚胎被称作胎儿。
unprecedented
unprecedented /ʌnˈpres.ɪ.den.tɪd/ 表示“史无前例的，空前的；绝无仅有的”，英文解释为“never having happened or existed in the past”举个🌰：This century has witnessed environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale. 环境在本世纪遭到了空前的破坏。
词源和词根：un-是“不”的意思，precedented来自拉丁语的praecedere，意为“走在前面”。派生词：unprecedentedly，常用短语：unprecedented event 空前的事件。
🎬电影《星运里的错》（The Fault in Our Stars）中的台词提到：You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are. 你太忙于做自己 都没有意识到自己是那么的令人心动。
The prospect has fueled controversy for years. On the one hand, the technology might one day enable parents to safely repair disease-causing mutations in embryos. But it might also be used to select desired traits — a practice that some ethicists have argued is nothing short of eugenics.
这一前景多年来一直存有争议。一方面，该技术未来可能让父母安全修复胚胎中导致疾病的突变；但另一方面，它也可能被用于选择理想特征，一些伦理学家认为这种做法无异于优生学。
prospect
prospect /ˈprɒs.pekt/ 1）表示“（发生好事情的）可能，可能性，机会”，英文解释为“the possibility that something good might happen in the future”举个🌰：Is there any prospect of the weather improving? 天气有可能好转吗？
2）表示“前景；展望；设想”，英文解释为“the possibility of being successful, especially at work”举个🌰：She's hoping the course will improve her career prospects. 她希望这门课能改善自己的职业前景。
3）表示“有前途的候选人”，英文解释为“the idea of something that will or might happen in the future”举个🌰：We'll be interviewing four more prospects for the jobs this afternoon. 今天下午我们要再面试4个有希望得到这些职位的应聘者。
fuel
表示“加剧；增加；加强；刺激；激起”，英文解释为“To fuel a situation means to make it become worse or more intense.”如：to fuel speculation/rumours/fears 引起猜测/谣传/恐惧，举个🌰：The result will inevitably fuel speculation about his future. 该结果将不可避免地加剧人们对他的前途的猜测。
controversy
controversy /ˈkɒn.trə.vɜː.si/ 表示“争议；争论；争辩”，英文解释为“a lot of disagreement or argument about something, usually because it affects or is important to many people”举个🌰：There was a big controversy surrounding / over the use of drugs in athletics. 体育界对使用违禁药物争议很大。
mutation
表示“（生物物种的）变异，突变”，英文解释为“a process in which the genetic material of a person, a plant or an animal changes in structure when it is passed on to children, etc., causing different physical characteristics to develop; a change of this kind”如：cells affected by mutation 受到突变影响的细胞。
trait
trait /treɪt/ 表示“（个人的）特征，特性，品质”，英文解释为“a particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behaviour”举个🌰：His sense of humour is one of his better traits. 具有幽默感是他更讨人喜欢的特点之一。
ethicist
ethicist /ˈeθ.ɪ.sɪst/ 表示“伦理学家”，英文解释为“a person who specializes in ethics (= the study of what is morally right and what is not)”
eugenics
eugenics /juːˈdʒen.ɪks/ 表示“优生学；人种改良学”，英文解释为“the idea that it is possible to improve humans by allowing only particular people to produce children, which most people now do not accept or support because of the idea's connection with racist and Nazi theories and actions”
Dieter Egli, a geneticist at Columbia University who led the research, called for a public conversation about the pros and cons of altering embryonic DNA. “As a scientist, you can provide the data for discussion, but then essentially there you stop and let others take over,” he said.
领导这项研究的哥伦比亚大学遗传学家迪特尔·埃利呼吁就修改胚胎DNA的利弊展开公众讨论。“作为科学家，我可以提供讨论所需的数据，但之后基本上就该停下来，让其他人接手，”他说。
geneticist
geneticist /dʒəˈnet.ɪ.sɪst/ 表示“遗传学家”，英文解释为“a person who studies genetics”
pros and cons
表示“（尤指正在考虑做的事情的）优缺点”，英文解释为“the advantages and disadvantages of something, especially something that you are considering doing”举个🌰：We're just weighing up the pros and cons of moving to a bigger house. 我们正在权衡搬进大房子里住的利弊。
embryonic
embryonic /ˌem.briˈɒn.ɪk/ 1）表示“胚的，胚胎的”，英文解释为“relating to an embryo”
2）表示“萌芽期的；刚起步的；未成熟的”，英文解释为“starting to develop”举个🌰：The project is still at an embryonic stage. 这个项目仍处于刚起步阶段。
With a newer technology called base editing, Dr. Egli and his colleagues were able to meticulously replace individual genetic letters in sequences of DNA without causing the damage often observed with an earlier form of gene editing, CRISPR.
埃利及其同事使用一种被称为碱基编辑的新技术对DNA序列中的单个遗传字母进行精确替换，不会造成早期基因编辑技术CRISPR常有的那种损伤。
meticulously
meticulously /məˈtɪk.jə.ləs.li/ 表示“细致地；一丝不苟地；拘泥地；小心翼翼地”，英文解释为“in a way that shows great care and attention to detail”
Dr. Egli cautioned that the research left unanswered many questions about harmful side effects. “We're not saying this is going to be used tomorrow in the clinics,” he said.
埃利警告称，该研究仍有很多关于有害副作用的问题尚未解答。“我们并不是说这项技术明天就能用于临床，”他说。
caution
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。
Dr. Egli and his colleagues posted their study online. The research is under review for publication in a scientific journal.
埃利及其同事已将研究论文发布在网上。该研究目前正在接受科学期刊的同行评审。
The possibility of editing the DNA of human embryos became a matter of serious debate more than a decade ago, after the invention of CRISPR.
编辑人类胚胎DNA的可能性在CRISPR技术发明十多年前就已成为严肃辩论的话题。
In 2012, scientists discovered how to create customized molecules that could snip out a targeted segment of DNA. CRISPR quickly became a standard tool for scientists — a cheap, easy way to discover how genes function by tweaking the genome.
2012年，科学家发现可以制造定制分子来切除DNA中特定的片段。CRISPR迅速成为科学家的标准工具——一种廉价、简便的通过修改基因组来研究基因功能的方法。
molecule
molecule /ˈmɒl.ɪ.kjuːl/ 表示“分子”，英文解释为“the smallest unit, consisting of a group of atoms, into which a substance can be divided without a change in its chemical nature”举个🌰：A molecule of water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. 水分子由两个氢原子和一个氧原子构成。
形容词性：
📍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。
snip
snip /snɪp/ 表示“剪，剪断”，英文解释为“to cut something with scissors, usually with small, quick cuts”举个🌰：Have you seen the scissors? I want to snip off this loose thread. 你看到剪刀了吗？我想把这根松了的线剪掉。
tweak
可以作名词，也可以作动词，表示“稍稍调整（机器、系统等）；稍稍改进”，英文解释为“to make slight changes to a machine, system, etc. to improve it”举个🌰：I think you'll have to tweak these figures a little before you show them to the boss. 我想你得略微改动一下这些数字再让老板过目。
📍此前在浴霸能不能？欲罢不能！一文中讲述苹果发布的新版Apple Watch Series 5仅仅相对上一个版本没有太大更新时就提到：The Apple Watch Series 5 features a slightly tweaked design. Apple Watch Series 5的设计略有调整。
genome
genome /ˈdʒiː.noʊm/ 表示“基因组，染色体组”，英文解释为“the complete set of genetic material of a human, animal, plant, or other living thing”
A number of medical companies sprang up, seeking to use the technology to treat hereditary diseases. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved a CRISPR-based treatment for sickle cell anemia.
多家医疗公司应运而生，试图利用该技术治疗遗传性疾病。2023年，美国食品和药物管理局批准了一种基于CRISPR的疗法，用于治疗镰状细胞贫血。
spring up
表示“突然出现；涌现”，英文解释为“to start to exist suddenly”举个🌰：Thousands of new businesses have sprung up in the past couple of years. 过去几年里数千家新企业如雨后春笋般涌现出来。
hereditary
hereditary /hɪˈred.ɪ.tər.i/ 表示“（特点或疾病）遗传的；（称号或爵位）世袭的”，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”如：a hereditary disease 遗传性疾病。
But scientists knew it was not perfect. In some cells, CRISPR molecules failed to find their targets in DNA, or sometimes snipped out the wrong genetic bits.
但科学家们知道它并不完美。在某些细胞中，CRISPR分子无法找到目标DNA，有时还会切错遗传片段。
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