科學家培育熒光兔 黑暗中發(fā)綠光
作者：滬江英語
來源：衛(wèi)報
2013-08-20 09:31
As part of an effort to improve treatments for life-threatening illnesses, a team of scientists have created rabbits that glow in the dark.
為了促進研究治療危害人類疾病的方法，近日一組科學家培育出了一種會在黑暗中發(fā)光的熒光兔。
Their efforts produced two rabbits out of a litter of eight that went from being a normal, fluffy white to glowing green in the dark. The rabbits were born at the University of Istanbul as part of a collaboration between scientists from universities in Turkey and Hawaii.
這一窩一共有八只兔子，其中兩只從正常的毛絨絨白兔變成了在黑暗中發(fā)綠光的熒光兔。這兩只兔子是在伊斯坦布爾大學誕生的，由土耳其和夏威夷大學的科學家合作研發(fā)。
The rabbits glow to show that a genetic manipulation technique can work efficiently, though the specific color is more cosmetic than scientific. "The green is not important at all – it's just a marker to show the experiment can be done successfully," said University of Hawaii associate professor Stefan Moisyadi.
這些熒光兔子的成功培育，表明基因操作技術是可行的，盡管這個顏色只是個表象，并不具有多大的科學意義?！熬G色一點都不重要——這只是表明實驗可以成功進行，”夏威夷大學副教授斯特凡·莫伊斯雅迪說。
To produce the glowing effect, researchers injected jellyfish DNA into a mother rabbit's embryos. Those altered embryos were then inserted back into the mother. Similar experiments have resulted in glowing cockroaches and cats.
為了產(chǎn)生這種熒光效果，研究人員在一只母兔的胚胎中注入了水母的DNA，之后再把這些變異的胚胎植回母體。類似的實驗還曾培育出熒光蟑螂和熒光貓。
Eventually, the researchers hope the technique can lead to new ways to produce medicines, Moisyadi said. The rabbits are expected to have the same life span as their non-glowing counterparts, but Moisyadi said he understands people can object to this kind of experimentation involving live animals.
莫伊斯雅迪表示，最終，研究人員希望這項技術可以用于生產(chǎn)藥物。這些兔子的壽命預計將會和普通兔子一樣，但是莫伊斯雅迪說他理解人們可能會反對這種活體動物實驗。
"To the people against, I say: think about, what are the benefits and what are the injuries?" Moisyadi said. "And if the benefits outweigh the injuries, let's go with the benefits."
