比爾?蓋茨將斥資400萬美元培育轉基因“殺手蚊”

比爾•蓋茨將斥資400萬美元研發(fā)通過交配減少蚊子數(shù)量的“殺手蚊”。這一大膽嘗試旨在遏制瘧疾等疾病的傳播，因為一些致命疾病常通過受感染的蚊子叮咬傳染。

Tech mogul Bill Gates will use funds from his own charity organization to eradicate malaria "within a generation." (REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker)

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is pouring $4 million into a project to create killer mosquitoes that destroy each other through sex.

微軟創(chuàng)始人比爾•蓋茨將投資400萬美元(約合2654萬元人民幣)，用以培育能夠在交配中殺死對方的“殺手蚊”。

It's a bold bid to curb malaria, a deadly disease typically transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

這是控制瘧疾的大膽嘗試。瘧疾是一種致命疾病，通常通過受感染的蚊子叮咬傳播。

Tech mogul Gates will use funds from his own charity organization – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – to eradicate malaria "within a generation."

科技巨頭蓋茨將利用其慈善機構比爾和梅琳達•蓋茨基金會的資金，在“一代”之內根除瘧疾。

The plan is to create genetically modified male mosquitoes that mate with their female counterparts in the wild.

該計劃將培育出轉基因雄蚊，而這些雄蚊將會在自然條件下和雌蚊交配。

Only female mosquitoes bite, so Gates' army of gene-engineered male mosquitoes would be safe to humans.

只有雌蚊會叮咬人類，所以這一項目培育的眾多轉基因雄蚊不會危及人類。

What's important is that these male mosquitoes contain a self-limiting gene that gets passed onto female mates.

重要的是，這些雄蚊有一種自限基因，交配時能夠傳播到雌蚊體內。

When the females give birth, their offspring will die before adulthood thanks to the gene.

雌蚊產(chǎn)卵時，她們的后代將會因為攜帶這種基因而夭折。

Mosquitoes only start biting people once they're adults, so given enough time, the danger of blood-sucking female mosquitoes could be eradicated.

蚊子只會在成年之后叮咬人類，只要時間足夠，來自吸血雌蚊的危險就可以根除。

This means it would be possible to stem the spread of malaria through mosquito bites.

這就意味著人類有可能通過阻斷蚊蟲叮咬控制瘧疾傳播。

They're developed by a UK company called Oxitec, which has dubbed the creations "Friendly Mosquitos" — although their female mates may disagree.

英國公司Oxitec負責培育這些雄蚊，該公司稱之為“友好蚊”，不過，雌蚊們可能不這么想。

Oxitec has already created gene-engineered mosquitoes to deal with the Zika virus.

Oxitec公司已經(jīng)培育出對付寨卡病毒的轉基因蚊子。

In some areas, the wild populations of Aedes aegypti (the mosquito that carries Zika) have been reduced by 90 percent.

在一些地區(qū)，埃及伊蚊(攜帶寨卡病毒的蚊子)的野生種群數(shù)量已經(jīng)減少了90%。

But the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquitoes require a new genetically modified breed to mate with.

但是攜帶瘧疾病毒的瘧蚊需要一種新的轉基因蚊子來交配。

Oxitec's killer sex mosquitoes are expected to be ready for trials by the end of 2020.

Oxitec公司的交配殺手蚊有望在2020年底之前接受實驗。

However, not everyone is happy about the prospect of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes being used to prematurely terminate their offspring.

然而，并不是每個人都看好用轉基因蚊子使后代夭折這個方法的前景。

Oxitec's work has been heavily criticized by Friends of the Earth, a charity dedicated to protect the environment.

環(huán)境保護慈善機構“地球之友”嚴厲批評了Oxitec公司的研究。

Back in 2012, Friends of the Earth's Eric Hoffman said: "Trials of its mosquitoes must not move forward in the absence of comprehensive and impartial reviews of the environmental, human health and ethical risks."

2012年，“地球之友”的埃里克-霍夫曼說：“在沒有全面、公正地審查環(huán)境、人類健康和道德風險的情況下，Oxitec公司的蚊子實驗絕不能進一步推進。”

In a statement at the time, Friends of the Earth said: "The GM mosquitoes are intended to reduce the wild population by mating with naturally occurring mosquitoes and producing progeny which don’t survive, thus reducing the population and therefore the transmission of the tropical disease dengue fever.

“地球之友”當時發(fā)聲明說：“通過與自然發(fā)育的雌蚊交配產(chǎn)生無法存活的后代，減少野生種群，從而減少蚊子數(shù)量，減少熱帶疾病登革熱的傳播，這就是培育轉基因蚊子的目的。”

"The company has been widely criticized for putting its commercial interests ahead of public and environmental safety.

“該公司因將其商業(yè)利益置于公眾和環(huán)境安全之上而廣受批評。”

"Its first releases of GM mosquitoes took place controversially in the Cayman Islands, where there is no biosafety law or regulation.

“該公司將第一批轉基因蚊子投放在了沒有生物安全法律或法規(guī)的開曼群島，這一做法頗具爭議。”

"Oxitec staff have been closely involved in developing risk assessment guidelines for GM insects worldwide, leading to concerns about lack of independent scrutiny and conflict of interest."

“Oxitec公司的員工密切參與了全球轉基因昆蟲風險評估指南的制定，因此有審查不夠獨立、存在利益沖突之嫌。”

But Bill Gates is a longtime supporter of Oxitec's work.

但比爾•蓋茨一直支持Oxitec公司的研究。

Back in 2010, he gave approximately $4.9 million to Oxitec to help fund early work on killer mosquito projects.

早在2010年，他就向Oxitec公司資助大約490萬美元，用于“殺手蚊”項目的早期研發(fā)。

He has extensively funded work on eradicating malaria, a disease that kills around 440,000 people every year.

他廣泛資助了消滅瘧疾的研究工作，全球每年大約有44萬人死于瘧疾。

Complications that threaten human life include swelling of the blood vessels in the brain, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, organ failure (of the kidneys, liver or spleen), anemia, and low blood sugar.

腦血管腫脹、肺部積液、器官衰竭(腎、肝、脾)、貧血和低血糖等瘧疾并發(fā)癥都可危及人類生命。