基因編輯嬰兒爭議發(fā)酵，中國暫停賀建奎科研活動

China said on Thursday that it had suspended the work of a scientist who claims to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies, saying his conduct appeared to be unethical and in violation of Chinese law.

周四，中國表示已暫停一名聲稱創(chuàng)造了世界首例基因編輯嬰兒的科學家的工作，稱其行為不道德，且違反了中國法律。

The scientist, He Jiankui, announced on Monday that he had used the gene-editing technique Crispr to alter embryos, which he implanted in the womb of a woman who gave birth to twin girls this month. At an international conference on Wednesday, he asserted that he was proud of what he had done.

周一，科學家賀建奎宣布，他利用基因編輯技術Crispr改變胚胎，并將其植入了一名女性的子宮，該名女性在本月生下一對雙胞胎女兒。在周三的一個國際會議上，他堅稱為自己所做的一切感到自豪。

Xu Nanping, China’s vice minister of science and technology, said Dr. He’s work was still being investigated. But based on news reports, he said, Dr. He appeared to have “blatantly violated China’s relevant laws and regulations” and broken “the bottom line of morality and ethics that the academic community adheres to,” the state broadcaster China Central Television reported on Thursday.

中國科技部副部長徐南平表示，對賀建奎工作的調查仍在進行中。根據官方的中央電視臺周四報道，他說，這次媒體報道的基因編輯嬰兒事件“公然違反了我國的相關法規(guī)條例”，也突破了“學術界堅守的道德倫理的底線”。

“It is shocking and unacceptable,” Mr. Xu was quoted as saying. “We are resolutely opposed to it.”

這“令人震驚不可接受”，報道援引徐南平的話說，“我們是堅決反對的。”

The suspension follows international condemnation from scientists who maintain that Dr. He’s conduct was unethical. They say there are serious unanswered questions about the safety of embryo editing and a need to make sure that such research is conducted in a transparent, monitored way so the technology is not misused.

在暫停職務之前，國際上的科學家譴責賀建奎的行為不道德。他們表示，胚胎編輯的安全性存在嚴重的未解問題，需要確保以透明、受監(jiān)控的方式進行這類研究，以免這項技術遭到濫用。

Mr. Xu had said earlier that Chinese regulations issued in 2003 permitted gene-editing experiments on embryos for research purposes, but only if they remained viable for no more than 14 days.

徐南平早些時候曾表示，中國監(jiān)管部門在2003年頒布的法規(guī)允許對胚胎進行基因編輯實驗，但前提是這些胚胎的存活時間不超過14天。

On Monday, a group of 122 Chinese scientists issued a statement calling Dr. He’s actions “crazy” and his claims “a huge blow to the global reputation and development of Chinese science.”

周一，122名中國科學家發(fā)表聯(lián)署聲明，稱賀建奎的行為“瘋狂”，他的言論“對于中國科學在全球的聲譽和發(fā)展都是巨大的打擊”。

At the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Dr. He acknowledged that he had not made his university in China aware of the research he was doing. He said he had initially paid for the research himself, then later from his university funding.

在周三于香港召開的第二屆人類基因組編輯國際峰會上，賀建奎承認，他沒有讓他任職的中國大學知道他正在做的這項研究。他表示，最初自己支付了這項研究的費用，后來用的是大學的經費。

Dr. He pushed back against suggestions that he had been secretive about his work, saying that he had presented preliminary aspects of it at conferences and consulted with scientists in the United States and elsewhere. He said he had submitted his research to a scientific journal for review and had not expected to be presenting it at the conference.

賀建奎反駁了有關他對自己的工作守口如瓶的說法，指出他曾在各種會議上展示過初步的研究成果，并咨詢了來自美國和其他地方的科學家。他表示，已經將研究報告提交給了一份科學雜志進行評議，原本沒想到會在本次大會上發(fā)表。

One of many areas of confusion about Dr. He’s research was the status of a possible pregnancy of a second woman he said he had implanted with an edited embryo. On Wednesday, under questioning from scientists after his talk, Dr. He said there had been a second implantation in an early stage.

關于賀建奎的研究，有許多令人困惑的地方，其中之一是他所說的已經植入了被編輯過的胚胎、可能懷孕的第二名女性的情況。周三，在演講結束后，賀建奎接受了科學家的提問，他表示，第二例植入還處在早期階段。

When asked by Robin Lovell-Badge, a professor of genetics and embryology at the Francis Crick Institute in London, whether by early stage Dr. He meant a “chemical pregnancy” or early miscarriage, Dr. He said “yes.”

當被倫敦弗朗西斯·克里克研究所(Francis Crick Institute)的遺傳學和胚胎學教授羅賓·洛維爾-巴奇(Robin Lovell-Badge)問道，他所說的“早期階段”是指“化學妊娠”(即早期流產)嗎，賀建奎回答，“是的”。

On Thursday, however, Dr. Lovell-Badge told reporters that he could not be sure that Dr. He understood that “chemical pregnancy” referred to a pregnancy that was lost.

然而，洛維爾-巴奇在周四告訴記者，他不能確定賀建奎是否理解“化學妊娠”指的就是流產。

“He doesn’t necessarily know what he’s talking about,” Dr. Lovell-Badge said. “We don’t know. He said he confirmed that essentially they’d done the hormone test for whether or not the woman was pregnant. And the answer is yes. But it’s very early, so it could turn into a chemical pregnancy meaning there was a miscarriage. Many embryos fail to survive.”

“他不一定知道自己在說什么，”洛維爾-巴奇說，“我們也不知道。他說他可以證實他們已經做了激素檢測，以確定這名女子是否懷孕。答案是肯定的。但現(xiàn)在為時尚早，所以也可能會變成化學妊娠(意味著流產)。許多胚胎無法存活。”

Dr. He had been scheduled to speak again at the conference on Thursday, but his talk was canceled.

賀建奎原定于在周四的會議上再次發(fā)言，但已被取消。

Dr. Robin Lovell-Badge, who moderated the Wednesday session, said in an email that “it would have been difficult to have sufficient security” for a second talk. He said that Dr. He had decided not to attend after he was told about the security arrangements.

洛維爾-巴奇主持了周三的會議，他在一封電子郵件中說，“很難有足夠的安全措施”保障賀建奎的第二次發(fā)言。他表示，賀建奎在得知安保安排后，決定不再參加。

Dr. Lovell-Badge said Thursday that the organizers had felt it was “important to give Dr. He a platform to present what he had done.”

洛維爾-巴奇周四表示，主辦方認為，“給賀建奎一個展示他所做的事情的平臺很重要。”

“We therefore do not regret at all allowing him to present yesterday, but giving him a second opportunity today might also have been viewed as support for him,” he said. “This is another reason the committee did not want him back today.”

“因此，我們一點也不后悔允許他昨天發(fā)表演講，但今天給他第二次機會也可能被視為對他的支持，”他說，“這也是委員會不希望他今天再次現(xiàn)身的另一個原因。”