VOA慢速英語:Scientists For The First Time Create Human Stem Cells Through Cloning

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

American scientists have for the first time taken stem cells from human embryos that are genetic copies of living people. The goal is to create better treatments for disease. But the work has rasied ethical concerns about making genetic copies or cloning.

美國科學家首次從基因復制的人體胚胎中提取出干細胞，其目標是為了創(chuàng)造更好的治療辦法。但這項成果引發(fā)了關于基因復制或克隆的倫理擔憂。

Cloning a human being is illegal in more than twelve states. Most scientists have rejected it, but some medical researchers are performing what is called "therapeutic cloning" to try to fight disease. Still, that method is banned in seven states.

克隆人類在美國12個以上的州是非法的。多數(shù)科學家拒絕克隆人類，但一些醫(yī)學研究人員正在進行所謂的“治療性克隆”來嘗試對抗疾病。不過該方法在美國7個州同樣被禁止。

One state where "therapeutic cloning" is not banned is Oregon, that is where researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland were able to put human DNA into modified human eggs. They produced embryos that were genetically the same as the people who had donated their DNA. The researchers then took stem cells from the embryos, these cells are called "master cells". Scientists know how to use chemicals to cause master cells to develop into any tissue in the body.

俄勒岡州是未禁止“治療性克隆”的州之一。該州波特蘭市的俄勒岡健康與科學大學的研究人員能夠將人類DNA植入經(jīng)過改良的人類卵子中，由此制成的人類胚胎和捐助DNA者在遺傳基因上相一致。研究人員隨后從胚胎中提取干細胞，這些細胞被稱為“萬能細胞(或母細胞)”?？茖W家們懂得如何利用化學物質使萬能細胞發(fā)育成任何人體組織。

The idea is that doctors could use tissue created this way to replaced diseased organs. The new body tissue would be a genetically match of the person receiving it, and there would be no danger that the patient's body would reject the new tissue which can happen with normal transplants.

這種想法是醫(yī)生能夠使用這種途徑制成的人體組織來替代病變器官。這種新的人體組織和接受移植者在遺傳基因上相匹配，不會發(fā)生病人身體抗拒新組織的危險，而正常移植往往會存在這種風險。

Shoukhrat Mitalipov led the organ study, which involved more than twenty researchers. The scientists believed the stem cells could give doctors a new way to treat Parkinson's disease - a degenerative movement disorder. Scientists believe they could use this genetic material or DNA from a skin cell of someone with Parkinson's disease to create a personalized treatment.

肖克萊特·米塔利普夫(Shoukhrat Mitalipov)領導了俄勒岡州的這項研究，該研究包括20多名研究人員。科學家們認為干細胞能為醫(yī)生治療帕金森病提供一種新的途徑。帕金森病是一種退行性運動障礙?？茖W家認為他們能這種夠使用來自帕金森病患者皮膚細胞的遺傳物質或DNA創(chuàng)造一種個性化治療方案。

Alta Charo is a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin Law School, she believes it is too soon to say, whether the use of embryonic stem cells for personalized medicine would become common. Scientists could in fact find other less controversial sources of stem cells, however, she supports the use of stem cells to treat disease.

阿爾塔·沙羅(Alta Charo)是威斯康辛大學法學院的一名生物倫理學家。她認為使用胚胎干細胞進行個性化治療是否會成為普遍尚不好說。科學家們其實可以找到其它爭議性較少的干細胞來源。但她支持使用干細胞來治療疾病。

"I think that would argue for using them, I think there are moral obligation to people who are here among us, who are sick and in need. Trans-political concerns and a public relations, and perception problems around the very * first two or three days worth of development of an embryo-like entity."

她說，“我認為利用它會引發(fā)爭論，我認為我們和對此有需要的患者有一種道義上的責任，以及圍繞前兩三天胚胎實體發(fā)育的跨政治的關注，公關活動，和觀念問題。”

The research on the cloning of human embryos to harvest stem cells was published in the journal "Cell".