評論
打印
Leaders
社論
Gene editing
基因編輯
The baby crisperer
嬰兒“保險盒”
A Chinese scientist claims to have edited the genomes of two babies
中國科學家聲稱已成功編輯兩名嬰兒的基因
Humanity’s power to control the four-letter code of life has advanced by leaps and bounds. A new gene-editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9, which was not discovered until 2012, has been the subject of particular excitement. It allows DNA to be edited easily, raising hopes that it could eventually be used to relieve human suffering. This week, however, CRISPR has caused more unease than optimism, because of claims by a Chinese scientist that he edited the genomes of twin girls when they were embryos, as part of IVF treatment.
人類控制生命四個字母的基因密碼的能力突飛猛進。CRISPR-Cas9是一項新的基因編輯技術，于2012年發現，一直是令人矚目的焦點課題。利用這一技術可輕松編輯基因，這讓人們燃起最終將其運用至減輕人類痛苦的希望。然而，本周CRISPR卻讓人憂大于喜，原因是一名中國科學家聲稱他成功編輯了一對雙胞胎女孩的基因，操作是在體外受精過程中，在培育胚胎細胞時進行。
He Jiankui, of the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen—which was not involved in the work—says he edited a gene, CCR5, that allows HIV to infect human cell. Mr He claims to have created one baby resistant to HIV infection, and a twin who is not. (Another woman is apparently carrying an edited embryo.) If reproductive cells were affected, any such modifications will be passed on to subsequent generations. There is still uncertainty over what Mr He has done. But it is just a matter of time before someone, somewhere, edits human embryos that are grown into babies. Governments and regulators need to pay heed.
深圳的南方科技大學（該大學并未參與此工作）的賀建奎表示自己編輯了允許HIV感染人類細胞的基因CCR5。賀建奎先生聲稱創造了一個對HIV病毒有抵抗力的嬰兒，而同為雙胞胎的另一個嬰兒對HIV病毒則沒有抵抗力。（顯然，一名婦女孕育了經過編輯的胚胎。）如果生殖細胞受到影響，任何這種修飾都將遺傳給后代。賀建奎的所作所為仍有不確定性。但是出現編輯過的人工胚胎成長為嬰兒之事只是時間問題。政府和監管機構需要注意這一點。
Presume that Mr He’s assertions are truthful. One day it may make sense to edit an embryo—to cure genetic diseases, say. That day has not arrived. The technology is so new that the risks to human subjects cannot possibly justify the benefits. Scientists do not fully understand the scope of the unintended damage CRISPR does to DNA elsewhere in the genome or how deactivating CCR5 might leave you vulnerable to other diseases (it may, for instance, make death from flu more likely).
假定賀建奎的斷言成真。也許有一天編輯胚胎是有意義的——比如說，用來治療遺傳疾病。但這一天還未到來。這項技術還很新，其益處還不能讓人們忽視經過基因編輯后所面臨的風險。科學家們并不完全清楚CRISPR對基因組中其他地方的DNA造成的意外損害的范圍，也并不完全清楚CCR5的失活是否會導致更容易患上其他疾病（例如，會導致死于流感的可能性加大）。
Mr He’s work appears to have had the scantiest oversight and a vice-minister says it violates regulations. Mr He told delegates at a gene-editing conference in Hong Kong this week that he had run the idea for the trial past four people. It seems likely that Mr He himself was largely responsible for deciding whether his human experiment was worth the risks. It is not clear that the babies’ parents gave their informed consent.
賀建奎的工作似乎有個大的疏忽，一位副部長稱這種做法違反了規定。在本周于香港舉行的基因編輯會議上，賀建奎對與會代表表示，進行基因編輯試驗的想法已經過四人同意。賀建奎自己似乎在很大程度上要對其人體實驗是否值得冒險負責。目前尚不清楚基因編輯嬰兒的父母是否知情同意。
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