又中又英——Chimeras

　　Science knows no limits. Who would have thought people can land on the moon. Yet the US first put two astronauts on the moon in 1969. No one would have thought organ transplants could be possible. Yet in 1954 an American doctor performed the first human-to-human kidney transplant. In 1967 a South African doctor performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. Vaccines normally take years to develop but several countries developed vaccines against the coronavirus in one year. But some medical advances can be considered unethical. The word "unethical" means not morally correct. Using your position as a boss to demand sex from your workers is unethical.Last week, it was reported American and Chinese researchers cooperated to produce the first part-human, part-monkey embryos to see if chimeras can in future supply organs for human transplant. Some scientists support the experiment but others said it was unethical. An embryo used this way means an unborn or unhatched baby in the early stages of development inside the mother. In Greek mythology (ancient stories), a chimera is a creature with a lion's head, goat's body, and a snake's tail. There is, of course, no such creature. But a chimera can also mean something that contains cells or tissues from two or more different species. That's why scientists say an embryo that is part-human part-monkey is a chimera.
　　Some scientists warned the experiment could open Pandora's box which means something that causes many complicated problems because of unwise interference in something. The US-China chimera experiment was not totally successful but the scientists said they learned a lot. Is it unethical to experiment with things critics say are unethical? It is for you to decide. Some may feel mixing the cells and tissues of different species to produce embryos could create a Frankenstein, the name of an 1818 science fiction novel about a scientist who created a person using different parts of other humans. It became a monster. But others may feel chimera experiments can help those who need organ transplants.
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　　科学永无止境。谁又会想到，人可以登陆月球？但在一九六九年，美国就率先派了两个太空人上月球。没有人料想过，器官移植是可能的，但在一九五四年，一位美国医生进行了首次人类肾脏移植；一九六七年，一位南非的医生进行了首宗人类心脏移植手术。一般来说，疫苗需要经过多年的研发才能面世，但好几个国家都在一年之内研发出对抗新冠肺炎的疫苗。可是，某些医疗发展却被认为是unethical——unethical是指不道德的、不合伦理的。利用你作为老板的职权，去要求你的员工提供性服务，这就是不道德的（unethical）。上星期有报道指，美国与中国的研究员合作制造首个半人半猴的胚胎（embryos），看看「喀迈拉」嵌合体（chimeras）将来可否提供器官作人体移植之用。一些科学家支持这个实验，但其他科学家则说这是有违伦理的（unethical）。An embryo在这里是指在母体内仍属初期发育阶段，未出生或未孵化的胚胎。在希腊神话（mythology）中，a chimera是有着狮头、羊身和蛇尾的怪物「喀迈拉」，当然现实中并没有这样的怪物。但a chimera也可以指一个嵌合体，有着两个或以上物种的细胞或组织。因此，科学家会将那个半人半猴的胚胎（embryo）称为「喀迈拉」。
　　一些科学家警告，这个实验会打开潘朵拉盒子（Pandora's box），意即由于愚蠢轻率的干预，惹来了许多复杂的问题与灾祸。这个美中的「喀迈拉」（chimera）实验不完全成功，但科学家说他们从中学习了许多。在一些批评者看为有违伦理（unethical）的事上进行实验，是否不道德（unethical）？这就由你去定夺了。一些人觉得，嵌合与混杂不同物种的细胞和组织去制成胚胎（embryos），会创造出一个Frankenstein来，那是一八一八年科幻小说《科学怪人》的名称，说的是一名科学家用不同人的身体部位，去创造一个人，那却变成一个怪物。然而，亦有另一些人觉得，「喀迈拉」（chimera）实验可以帮助那些需要器官移植的人。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁