经济学人下载:基因编辑(2)

Both teams made use of "jumping genes" or transposons (often called selfish genes),
两个团队都利用“跳跃基因”或转座因子（常被称为自私的基因）

which are pieces of DNA that seem to hop around genomes with little more purpose than to proliferate.
它们是DNA的片段，且似乎在基因组间跳跃，除了增殖之外，几乎没有其他目的。

They were thought to do so aimlessly but, in 2017,
它们的跳跃被认为是毫无意义的，但在2017年，

it was discovered that some contained gene-editing systems that were very good at recognising specific DNA sequences.
一些含有基因编辑系统的跳跃基因被发现非常善于识别特定的DNA序列。

These were able to control where the jumping genes landed.
这些能够控制跳跃基因着陆的地点。

That, in turn, led to the idea, says Dr Sternberg, that it might be possible to harness jumping genes in gene editing.
Sternberg博士表示，反过来，这引发了这种想法—或许可以在基因编辑中利用跳跃基因。

Dr Zhang and Dr Sternberg have now demonstrated programmable CRISPR-Cas gene-editing systems
张博士和Sternberg博士现已表明可编辑CRISPR-Cas基因编辑系统

that do just this by harnessing a protein encoded by a jumping gene known as Tn7.
通过利用一种被称为Tn7的跳跃基因编码的蛋白质来做到这一点。

Dr Sternberg says that instead of making a double-stranded cut to DNA, and waiting for the cell to repair itself,
Sternberg博士表示不是对DNA进行双链切割，而是等待细胞自我修复，

in the new system the act of insertion happens at the same time a cut is made.
在新系统中，嵌入动作与切割动作同时发生。

Because the transposon method of gene editing does not need a cell's own repair mechanisms to conduct and make good the edit,
因为基因编辑的转位子方法不需要细胞的自我修复机制就能指导并做好编辑工作，

it offers a mechanism for adding genes into a wider variety of cells.
它为将基因添加至更多种类的细胞提供了一种机制。

This includes neurons and, most critically, cells that are not currently replicating in a suitable way for CRISPR to work.
这包括神经细胞以及更关键的是，目前不能适合CRISPR工作方式进行复制的细胞。

Although the new papers only demonstrate that jumping-gene editing works in bacteria,
虽然新论文仅论证了细菌中跳跃基因的编辑工作，

scientists have high hopes that it might work in human cells.
但科学家对其在人类细胞中的应用抱有很高期待。

The news is welcome in a field where the potential applications in medicine seem to grow by the day.
这一消息在潜在应用日益增长的医学界受到欢迎。

Verve Therapeutics, a biotech firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
马萨诸塞州坎布里奇的一家生物技术公司Verve Therapeutics

recently said that it wanted to use genetic editing to protect patients from coronary heart disease.
近期表示其希望利用基因编辑技术预防冠心病。

CRISPR Therapeutics, based in Zug, Switzerland, wants to edit beta cells, which produce insulin,
位于瑞士楚格的CRISPR Therapeutics希望编辑生产胰岛素的beta细胞，

so that they can be transplanted into diabetics without rejection.
这样它们就可以被移植到糖尿病患者体内而不产生排斥反应。

In all these therapies, regulators will have to assess the risks and benefits.
在所有这些疗法中，监管者将需要评估风险和益处。

That will be easier when small risks of mistakes are set against the benefits of curing a fatal disease.
当错误的小风险与治愈致命疾病的好处相抵消时，这将会更容易。

But if CRISPR is to be used more widely and safely,
但如果CRISPR的用途更加广泛更加安全，

more understanding will be needed of how genetic changes actually relate to differences in how a cell functions.
我们则需要更多的理解基因改变和细胞功能差异的联系。

That effort got a boost this week. Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley,
本周该努力得到了推动。CRISPR-Cas基因编辑的发现者，该领域顶尖科学家

who discovered CRISPR-Cas gene editing and is a leading scientist in the field,
伯克利加利福尼亚大学的Jennifer Doudna

will collaborate with GSK, a drugs firm based in London, to elucidate the basic science of gene editing.
将和位于伦敦的一个药物公司GSK合作阐明基因编辑的基础科学。

The new Laboratory for Genomic Research, based in San Francisco,
Genomic Research的新实验室位于旧金山

is a $67m five-year collaboration that may ultimately be useful for drug development and would-be gene editors
耗资6700万美元，合作期为5年，或许这次合作最终有助于药物开发并帮助潜在的基因编辑者

—whether they seek to make changes to adults or embryos.
—不论他们想改变的是成人还是胚胎。