比尔．盖茨将斥资400万美元培育转基因“杀手蚊”

比尔•盖茨将斥资400万美元研发通过交配减少蚊子数量的“杀手蚊”。这一大胆尝试旨在遏制疟疾等疾病的传播，因为一些致命疾病常通过受感染的蚊子叮咬传染。 

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

微软创始人比尔•盖茨将投资400万美元（约合2654万元人民币），用以培育能够在交配中杀死对方的“杀手蚊”。

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

这是控制疟疾的大胆尝试。疟疾是一种致命疾病，通常通过受感染的蚊子叮咬传播。

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

科技巨头盖茨将利用其慈善机构比尔和梅琳达•盖茨基金会的资金，在“一代”之内根除疟疾。

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

该计划将培育出转基因雄蚊，而这些雄蚊将会在自然条件下和雌蚊交配。

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

只有雌蚊会叮咬人类，所以这一项目培育的众多转基因雄蚊不会危及人类。

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

重要的是，这些雄蚊有一种自限基因，交配时能够传播到雌蚊体内。

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

雌蚊产卵时，她们的后代将会因为携带这种基因而夭折。

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

蚊子只会在成年之后叮咬人类，只要时间足够，来自吸血雌蚊的危险就可以根除。

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

这就意味着人类有可能通过阻断蚊虫叮咬控制疟疾传播。

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

英国公司Oxitec负责培育这些雄蚊，该公司称之为“友好蚊”，不过，雌蚊们可能不这么想。

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

Oxitec公司已经培育出对付寨卡病毒的转基因蚊子。

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

在一些地区，埃及伊蚊（携带寨卡病毒的蚊子）的野生种群数量已经减少了90%。

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

但是携带疟疾病毒的疟蚊需要一种新的转基因蚊子来交配。

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

Oxitec公司的交配杀手蚊有望在2020年底之前接受实验。

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

然而，并不是每个人都看好用转基因蚊子使后代夭折这个方法的前景。

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

环境保护慈善机构“地球之友”严厉批评了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-霍夫曼说：“在没有全面、公正地审查环境、人类健康和道德风险的情况下，Oxitec公司的蚊子实验绝不能进一步推进。”

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”当时发声明说：“通过与自然发育的雌蚊交配产生无法存活的后代，减少野生种群，从而减少蚊子数量，减少热带疾病登革热的传播，这就是培育转基因蚊子的目的。”

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

“该公司因将其商业利益置于公众和环境安全之上而广受批评。”

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

“该公司将第一批转基因蚊子投放在了没有生物安全法律或法规的开曼群岛，这一做法颇具争议。”

"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公司的员工密切参与了全球转基因昆虫风险评估指南的制定，因此有审查不够独立、存在利益冲突之嫌。”

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

但比尔•盖茨一直支持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公司资助大约490万美元，用于“杀手蚊”项目的早期研发。

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

他广泛资助了消灭疟疾的研究工作，全球每年大约有44万人死于疟疾。

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.

脑血管肿胀、肺部积液、器官衰竭（肾、肝、脾）、贫血和低血糖等疟疾并发症都可危及人类生命。