文本选自:CNN(美国有线电视新闻网)
作者:Thomas Page
原文标题:100,000 newborn babies will have their genomes sequenced in the UK. It could have big implications for child medicine
原文发布时间:20 Mar. 2023
100,000 newborn babies will have their genomes sequenced in the UK. It could have big implications for child medicine
The UK is set to begin sequencing the genomes of 100,000 newborn babies later this year. It will be the largest study of its kind, mapping the babies' complete set of genetic instructions, with potentially profound implications for child medicine. The £105 million ($126 million) Newborn Genomes Programme will screen for around 200 rare but treatable genetic conditions, with the aim of curtailing untold pain and anxiety for babies and their families, who sometimes struggle to receive a diagnosis through conventional testing. By accelerating the diagnostic process, earlier treatment of infants could prevent many severe conditions from ever developing.
The study would see roughly one in 12 newborn babies in England screened on a voluntary basis over two years. It will operate as an extension of current newborn testing, with the findings intended to inform policymakers, who could pave the way for sequencing to become more commonplace. Nevertheless, the project has raised many longstanding ethical questions around genetics, consent, data privacy, and priorities within infant healthcare.
In the UK, like many other countries, newborn babies are screened for a number of treatable conditions through a small blood spot sample. Also known as the heel prick test, this method has been routine for over 50 years, and today covers nine conditions including sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and inherited metabolic diseases.
英国将对10万名新生儿进行基因组测序。这可能对儿童医学产生重大影响
精听党背景导读
美国有线电视新闻网3月19日称,国民保健制度(NHS)旗下的英格兰基因公司宣布这项新生儿的基因筛查计划,使用全基因组测序手段筛查大约200种罕见但可治疗的遗传病,并进行医疗干预。该计划将覆盖英国未来两年内出生的约1/12的婴儿,预计耗资1.05亿英镑(约合9亿元人民币)。
文本选自:CNN(美国有线电视新闻网)作者:Thomas Page原文标题:100,000 newborn babies will have their genomes sequenced in the UK. It could have big implications for child medicine原文发布时间:20 Mar. 2023关键词:婴儿 基因 测序
精听党带着问题听
1.“基因组测序”用英语可以怎么表达?2. 如何理解第二段中的“consent”?3. 新生儿通常通过什么方法治疗疾病的筛查?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
100,000 newborn babies will have their genomes sequenced in the UK. It could have big implications for child medicine
英国将对10万名新生儿进行基因组测序。这可能对儿童医学产生重大影响
newborn adj. 新生的;初生的;1. a newborn baby 新生儿;
genome n. 基因组,染色体组;1. human genomes 基因组;
sequence vt. 测定(整套基因或分子成分的)序列;1. The human genome has now been sequenced. 人类基因组的序列现已测定。
implication n. 可能的影响(或作用、结果);1. enormous implications 影响很大;2. They failed to consider the wider implications of their actions. 他们没有考虑到他们的行动会产生更广泛的影响。3. the implicationsof these ideas 想法的影响;4. n. 含意;暗指;
Am I alone in recognizing that these two statistics have quite different implications? 难道只有我一个人认识到这两项统计数据的含义截然不同吗?
段一
The UK is set to begin sequencing the genomes of 100,000 newborn babies later this year. It will be the largest study of its kind, mapping the babies' complete set of genetic instructions, with potentially profound implications for child medicine. The £105 million ($126 million) Newborn Genomes Programme will screen for around 200 rare but treatable genetic conditions, with the aim of curtailing untold pain and anxiety for babies and their families, who sometimes struggle to receive a diagnosis through conventional testing. By accelerating the diagnostic process, earlier treatment of infants could prevent many severe conditions from ever developing.
set to 开始认真干…;
map vt. 绘制……的地图;使(基因)在染色体上定位;1. It is a good idea to map out our plan for the trip. 制定出我们的旅行计划是个好主意。
genetic adj. 基因的;遗传学的;1. genetic engineering 基因工程;遗传工程;2. genetic recombination 遗传重组;基因重组;3. Eye colour shows more than your genetic inheritance. 眼睛的颜色显示的不只是你基因的遗传特征。
potentially adv. 可能地,潜在地;
profound adj. 巨大的;深切的;深远的;1. profound condolence 深切哀悼;2. both extensive and profound 博大精深;博大高深;广博高深;3. extensive and profound 博大精深;博大深远;4. Her speech made a profound impact on everyone. 她的演讲对每个人都产生了深远的影响。
screen vt. 筛查;检查;1. They will screen all their candidates. 他们将对所有候选人进行筛选。
treatable adj.(病或伤)可医治的;
curtail vt. 减缩,限制;1. to curtail the number of students 缩减学生数量;2. shorten v. 缩短;减少;
untold adj. 难以形容的(大、恶劣等);1. untold misery/wealth 极度的痛苦;巨额财富;
diagnosis n. 诊断,判断;
conventional adj. 传统的;习惯的;
accelerate vt. (使)加速,加快;1. Growth will accelerate to 2.9 percent next year.明年的增长率将达到2.9%。2. When a moving vehicle accelerates, it goes faster and faster. 当一辆行驶的车辆加速时,它的速度越来越快。3. Suddenly the car accelerated. 突然车加速了。
diagnostic adj. 诊断的;判断的;1. to carry out diagnostic assessments/tests 进行诊断性评估/检查;2. I'll run a diagnostic test to see why it happened. 我会做个诊断测试看看为什么会这样。
ever adv. 永远;
参考译文
英国将于今年晚些时候开始对10万名新生儿的基因组进行测序。这将是同类研究中规模最大的一项,目的是绘制婴儿的完整基因指令,这将对儿童医学有潜在的深远影响。这项耗资1.05亿英镑(1.26亿美元)的新生儿基因组计划将筛查约200种罕见但可治疗的遗传疾病,旨在减少婴儿及其家人难以承受的痛苦和焦虑,他们有时难以通过传统检测得到诊断。通过加快诊断过程,对婴儿进行早期治疗可以防止许多严重疾病的发展。
段二
The study would see roughly one in 12 newborn babies in England screened on a voluntary basis over two years. It will operate as an extension of current newborn testing, with the findings intended to inform policymakers, who could pave the way for sequencing to become more commonplace. Nevertheless, the project has raised many longstanding ethical questions around genetics, consent, data privacy, and priorities within infant healthcare.
roughly adv. 粗略地,大约;
on a … basis 基于…;
voluntary adj. 自愿的;
extension n. 延伸,扩展;1. What's your extension number? 你的分机号码是多少?
intend vt. 计划,打算;准备;1. The article was intended to provoke discussion. 这篇文章旨在引发讨论。2. The book is intended for children. 这本书是为儿童写的。
inform vt. 知会;告知;
policymaker n. 政策制定者;
pave vt.(用砖石)铺(地);1. pave the way(为…)铺平道路,创造条件;
commonplace adj. 平凡的;普通的;普遍的;1. n. 常见的事;平常的事;
nevertheless adv. 然而,不过;
longstanding adj. 长期存在的;长时间的;1. longstanding business relations 长期的业务关系;2. longstanding and well-established 源远流长;
ethical adj. 道德的,伦理的;1. ethical issues 伦理问题;
consent n. 许可,允许;同意;1. He was under the age of consent. 他还没到法定年龄。2. Silence must not always be read as consent. 不要总是将沉默理解为同意。3. The written consent of a parent is required. 需要家长的书面同意。
参考译文
这项研究将在两年的时间里,在自愿的基础上,对英格兰12个新生儿中大约有一个进行筛查。它将作为当前新生儿检测的延伸,研究结果旨在为政策制定者提供信息,他们可以为测序变得更加普遍铺平道路。然而,该项目引发了许多长期存在的关于遗传学、同意、数据隐私和婴儿保健优先事项的伦理问题。
段三
In the UK, like many other countries, newborn babies are screened for a number of treatable conditions through a small blood spot sample. Also known as the heel prick test, this method has been routine for over 50 years, and today covers nine conditions including sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and inherited metabolic diseases.
blood spot sample 血点样本;
prick n. 扎;穿刺;1. the heel prick test 足跟点刺试验;2. n. 笨蛋;
routine adj. 常规的;例行公事的;日常的;
sickle cell disease 镰状细胞病;1. sickle adj. 镰刀型的;
cystic fibrosis 囊性纤维化;1. cystic adj. 囊的;2. Cystic fibrosis is the commonest fatal hereditary disease. 囊性纤维化是最常见的致命遗传性疾病。
inherited metabolic diseases 遗传性代谢性疾病;1. inherited adj.(疾病或特点)遗传的;2. metabolic adj. 新陈代谢的;
People who have inherited a low metabolic rate will gain weight. 遗传了低代谢率的人体重会增加。
参考译文
在英国,和许多其他国家一样,新生儿通过少量血点样本进行多种可治疗疾病的筛查。这种方法也被称为足跟点刺试验,50多年来一直是常规方法,目前已涵盖镰状细胞病、囊性纤维化和遗传性代谢性疾病等九种疾病。
精听党每日单词
newborn
/ˈnuːbɔːrn/ adj. 新生的;初生的;
genome
/ˈdʒiːnoʊm/ n. 基因组,染色体组;
sequence
/ˈsiːkwəns/ vt. 测定(整套基因或分子成分的)序列;
implication
/ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 可能的影响(或作用、结果);
set to
开始认真干…;
map
/mæp/ vt. 绘制……的地图;使(基因)在染色体上定位;
genetic
/dʒəˈnetɪk/ adj. 基因的;遗传学的;
potentially
/pəˈtenʃəli/ adv. 可能地,潜在地;
profound
/prəˈfaʊnd/ adj. 巨大的;深切的;深远的;
screen
/skriːn/ vt. 筛查;检查;
treatable
/ˈtriːtəbl/ adj.(病或伤)可医治的;
curtail
/kɜːrˈteɪl/ vt. 减缩,限制;
untold
/ˌʌnˈtoʊld/ adj. 难以形容的(大、恶劣等);
diagnosis
/ˌdaɪəɡˈnoʊsɪs/ n. 诊断,判断;
conventional
/kənˈvenʃən(ə)l/ adj. 传统的;习惯的;
accelerate
/əkˈseləreɪt/ vt. (使)加速,加快;
diagnostic
/ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑːstɪk/ adj. 诊断的;判断的;
ever
/ˈevər/ adv. 永远;
roughly
/ˈrʌfli/ adv. 粗略地,大约;
on a … basis
基于…;
voluntary
/ˈvɑːlənteri/ adj. 自愿的;
extension
/ɪkˈstenʃ(ə)n/ n. 延伸,扩展;
intend
/ɪnˈtend/ vt. 计划,打算;准备;
inform
/ɪnˈfɔːrm/ vt. 知会;告知;
policymaker
/ˈpɑːləsimeɪkər/ n. 政策制定者;
pave
/peɪv/ vt.(用砖石)铺(地);
commonplace
/ˈkɑːmənpleɪs/ adj. 平凡的;普通的;普遍的;
nevertheless
/ˌnevərðəˈles/ adv. 然而,不过;
longstanding
/ˌlɔːŋˈstændɪŋ/ adj. 长期存在的;长时间的;
ethical
/ˈeθɪk(ə)l/ adj. 道德的,伦理的;
consent
/kənˈsent/ n. 许可,允许;同意;
blood spot sample
血点样本;
prick
/prɪk/ n. 扎;穿刺;
routine
/ruːˈtiːn/ adj. 常规的;例行公事的;日常的;
sickle cell disease
镰状细胞病;
cystic fibrosis
囊性纤维化;
inherited metabolic diseases
遗传性代谢性疾病;
精听党文化拓展
英国的这项最新计划如果顺利启动,将开创全球最大规模的新生儿基因库。上海新华医院儿童心脏中心心血管内科主任陈笋对第一财经记者表示:“基于这样的大规模基因样本,除了可以筛查罕见病,还可以研究不同基因型的远期结果,婴儿的基因测序结果甚至还可以与成年期糖尿病、肿瘤、生活方式、远期死亡等进行关联研究,会有更多更可靠的新发现。”
他表示,目前瑞典等欧洲国家有一些婴儿队列,包括国内也有一些医院早已开展了这方面的研究,但是目前的队列规模都不够大。“大型的长期队列的建立对于临床研究是有意义的,可以更客观地评价治疗、干预的中远期结果,包括药物的作用等。”陈笋对第一财经记者表示。
生殖医学专家、中国科学院院士黄荷凤告诉第一财经记者:“类似的项目需要巨额的资金支持才有可能实现。”
美国基因测序公司因美纳(Illumina)首席科学家David Bentley称,与15年前的第一个全基因组测序相比,目前的全基因组测序价格几乎是过去的千分之一,现在全基因组测序的价格约为200美元。他认为,从长远来看,通过基因组测序进行早期诊断是具有成本效益的。
尽管基因组计划对于罕见病的早诊早治具有积极意义,但英国的婴儿基因图谱项目还是引发了许多长期存在的伦理问题,这些问题涉及遗传学信息、数据隐私和婴儿医疗保健中的优先事项等。
复旦大学生命科学学院教授杨亚军对第一财经记者表示:“英国的这一计划要做起来,首先是要有非常好的运营模式,生物技术公司才可以深度参与进来,并且提供资金方面的支持;另一方面是要与基因样本捐献者达成某种协议,主要体现在知情同意环节的设计,以避免数据隐私方面的问题,使得这些数据能够合法地共享给感兴趣的全球科学家。”
Genomics England的负责人理查德·斯科特(Richard Scott)已经表示,测序的基因组将存入一个安全的数据库,NHS、大学和制药公司的研究人员可以申请访问(在某些情况下需要付费),但也会设置很多限制:例如,不能出于保险或营销目的访问数据。他还希望英国的研究结果对其他国家的卫生系统有用。
精听党每日美句
Snowball's chance in hell. / Water off a duck's back.
雪球进了地狱(希望不大)/鸭背的水珠(马耳东风)
精