Thanks to great strides in fundamental research, biology is becoming ever more programmable. Two recent scientific advances show just how powerful the possibilities could be. The genetic modification of plants is allowing the mechanism of photosynthesis to be tinkered with, as research published in Science on August 18th sets out. This could lead to dramatic improvements in the productivity of plants, and eventually to a second green revolution. Tweaking the genes of people who suffer from fatal incurable diseases, meanwhile, has also had remarkable results. A series of genetic therapies has arrived, or is arriving, in clinics to treat blood cancers, spinal muscular atrophy, haemophilia and sickle-cell disease. The task now is to spread these gains far and wide.?

【1】photosynthesis 光合作用

【2】haemophilia 血友病

由于基礎(chǔ)研究的巨大進步，生物學(xué)正變得更具可編程性。最近的兩項科學(xué)進展顯示了“基因革命”的可能性有多么大。8月18日發(fā)表在《Science》期刊上的一項研究指出，對植物進行基因改造可以修補光合作用機制。這可能會極大地提高植物的產(chǎn)量，并最終引發(fā)第二次綠色革命。與此同時，對患有致命不治之癥的人的基因進行略微調(diào)整也取得了顯著的效果。一系列治療血癌、脊髓性肌肉萎縮、血友病和鐮狀細胞病的基因療法已經(jīng)或即將進入診所。現(xiàn)在的任務(wù)是大范圍推廣這些成果。

The consequences of both advances could be momentous. The genetic modification of crops promises cheaper, more nutritious and more climate-resilient food for a hungry planet. Genetic therapies offer the hope of curing devastating diseases. They also allow for one-time treatments that can be transported to the four corners of the Earth, bringing years, decades or a lifetime of benefits to the seriously and incurably ill. Imagine a cure for aids or sickle-cell disease that could be taken to the continent of Africa or across the Middle East. The accompanying benefits would be similar to the eradication of smallpox.

這兩項進展帶來的影響可能是重大的。轉(zhuǎn)基因作物為饑餓的地球帶來了更便宜、更有營養(yǎng)、更能適應(yīng)氣候變化的糧食。基因療法為治愈毀滅性疾病帶來了希望。它們還使一次性治療成為可能，并運送到世界各地，為嚴重和不治之癥帶來數(shù)年、數(shù)十年或終生的好處。想象一下，艾滋病或鐮狀細胞病的治療方法可以被帶到非洲大陸或整個中東地區(qū)。隨之而來的好處將類似于根除天花。

This tantalising promise has been made possible by a prodigious investment in fundamental research over the years. Basic knowledge of genetics and the functions and structures of proteins has proved to be a motor for discovery across medicine and agriculture. The private sector, to be sure, plays an essential role in the cycle of innovation. But these advances are a reminder that investment by governments and charities is crucial in areas that offer little commercial benefit in the short term, but which in the long term promise to greatly advance well-being. Much of the success in treating rare diseases is a consequence of the efforts of charities, often thanks to fundraising by patients and their families. Research that benefits low-income countries frequently relies on philanthropic donors with deep pockets, such as the Gates Foundation. The investments made in fundamental science today yield the productivity gains of tomorrow.

【1】prodigious 龐大的；驚人的

【2】philanthropic 慈善的

這一誘人的前景是由于多年來對基礎(chǔ)研究的巨大投資而成為可能的。遺傳學(xué)和蛋白質(zhì)的功能和結(jié)構(gòu)的基本知識已被證明是跨醫(yī)學(xué)和農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)現(xiàn)的動力?？梢钥隙ǖ氖?，私營部門在創(chuàng)新周期中發(fā)揮著至關(guān)重要的作用。但這些進步提醒我們，政府和慈善機構(gòu)的投資在短期內(nèi)幾乎沒有商業(yè)效益、但從長遠來看有望大大改善人類福祉的領(lǐng)域至關(guān)重要。治療罕見疾病的成功很大程度上是慈善機構(gòu)努力的結(jié)果，這通常要感謝患者及其家人的籌款。造福低收入國家的研究往往依賴于財力雄厚的慈善捐贈者，比如蓋茨基金會。今天對基礎(chǔ)科學(xué)的投資會帶來明天的生產(chǎn)力收益。

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that these gains will be realised. Gene therapies are a remarkable technical accomplishment. But their current enormous cost—often well over $1m to treat a single person—makes them hard for health-care systems to afford, even when they are reserved for fatal rare genetic diseases. The idea of using them to treat more prevalent conditions looks prohibitively pricey.?

【1】prohibitively 使人望而卻步地

不幸的是，沒有人能保證這些收益能夠變現(xiàn)?；虔煼ㄊ且豁椓瞬黄鸬募夹g(shù)成就。但它們目前的巨額費用（通常治療一個人的費用超過100萬美元）使得醫(yī)療保健系統(tǒng)難以負擔，盡管它們有為致命的罕見遺傳疾病儲備。用它們治療更普遍的疾病的想法看起來非常昂貴。

In the past, novel medicines that started out extremely costly have become cheaper. Monoclonal antibodies, useful laboratory-made proteins, were expensive when they first arrived, before a decade of advances brought them down in price 50-fold, according to Boston Consulting Group. If gene therapy is to live up to its promise, it will need to do even better than this. More efficient photosynthesis, too, will need further investment if it is to be commercialised.

在過去，一開始極其昂貴的新藥物已經(jīng)變得更便宜。據(jù)波士頓咨詢集團稱，單克隆抗體是一種有用的實驗室制造的蛋白質(zhì)，其剛問世時價格昂貴，后來十年的進步使其價格下降了50倍。如果基因療法要實現(xiàn)它的承諾，它需要做得比這更好。更有效的光合作用如果要商業(yè)化，也需要進一步的投資。

The long-term manufacturing costs of a new green revolution will, thankfully, be low; plants make more plants in a way that treatments never can. Gene therapies, however, need innovation to reduce the cost of making them, whether this is in bioreactors or some completely novel way. If they are to become more affordable, new therapies also need to experiment with payment mechanisms, such as charging in instalments or by results. Pooling demand internationally to purchase therapies could help lower prices, too. Here governments, charities and the private sector could usefully work together.

值得慶幸的是，一場新的綠色革命的長期制造成本將會很低；植物可以以一種治療永遠無法做到的方式“生產(chǎn)”更多的植物。然而，基因療法需要創(chuàng)新來降低制造成本，無論是用生物反應(yīng)器還是一些全新的方法。如果想讓這些療法變得更便宜，還需要嘗試支付機制，比如分期付款或按結(jié)果收費。將國際需求集中起來購買療法也有助于降低價格。在這方面，政府、慈善機構(gòu)和私營部門可以進行有益的合作。

Last, regulators also need to be quicker and more understanding of the gains to society from helping these technologies reach their potential. Innovations can languish without appropriate or timely rule-making. The regulation of genetically modified crops has been held back by misinformation campaigns, delaying benefits and raising costs. Likewise, although experimental drugs obviously need scrutiny, regulators should remember that the alternative in otherwise untreatable genetic diseases is often death. Science has made a genetic revolution possible. Now that revolution must flourish.

最后，監(jiān)管機構(gòu)還需要更快、更多地了解幫助這些技術(shù)發(fā)揮潛力對社會的好處。沒有適當或及時的規(guī)則制定，創(chuàng)新就會停滯不前。對轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的監(jiān)管一直被錯誤的信息宣傳活動所阻礙，它拖延了收益并提高了成本。同樣地，盡管實驗性藥物顯然需要仔細審查，但監(jiān)管機構(gòu)應(yīng)該記住，在其他無法治療的遺傳疾病中，替代療法往往是死亡?？茖W(xué)使基因革命成為可能。現(xiàn)在，這場革命必須蓬勃發(fā)展。