De-extinction—The Resurrection1 of Extinct Animals 反灭绝<br/>——复活灭绝动物

De-extinction—The Resurrection1 of Extinct Animals 反灭绝
——复活灭绝动物

2017-02-07鲍勃斯特劳斯郑淑明王敏ByBobStrauss

英语世界 2017年12期

文/鲍勃·斯特劳斯译/郑淑明王敏 By Bob Strauss

De-extinction—The Resurrection1of Extinct Animals 反灭绝
——复活灭绝动物

文/鲍勃·斯特劳斯译/郑淑明王敏 By Bob Strauss

The pros and cons of reintroducing long-extinct mammals,birds and amphibians2amphibian两栖动物。.复活早已灭绝的哺乳动物、鸟类和两栖动物的利弊。

There’s a new buzzword making the rounds of trendy tech conferences and environmental think tanks: deextinction. Thanks to ongoing advances in DNA technology, as well as the ability of scientists to recover soft tissue from fossilized animals, it may soon be possible to breed Tasmanian Tigers3塔斯马尼亚虎，又名袋狼（澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚岛特有的袋类动物）。,Woolly Mammoths and Dodo Birds back into existence, presumably undoing the wrongs that mankind inflicted4inflict使遭受打击，使吃苦头。on these gentle beasts in the first place, hundreds or thousands of years ago.

新潮的科技会议上和环保智囊团中，流行着一个新的时髦术语：反灭绝。借助不断发展的DNA技术，以及从动物化石中恢复软组织的技术，科学家可能很快就培育出塔斯马尼亚虎、猛犸象和渡渡鸟，使这些动物继续生存。科学家这么做恐怕是为了弥补人类数百或数千年前对这些温顺的动物所造成的伤害。

反灭绝技术

[2]我们在讨论支持还是反对反灭绝之前，最好先研究一下这个快速发展的科学现状。反灭绝的关键当然是DNA，它是提供任何特定物种基因“蓝图”的分子。为了复活绝种动物，比如惧狼，科学家需要大量复原这种动物的DNA。这没那么难，因为惧狼在大约一万年前才灭绝，各种惧狼的化石标本存有软组织。

The technology of de-extinction

[2] Before we get into the arguments for and against de-extinction, it’shelpful to look at the current state of this rapidly developing science. The crucial5crucial关键性的。ingredient of de-extinction, of course,is DNA, the molecule6molecule分子。that provides the genetic “blueprint” of any given species.In order to de-extinct, say, a Dire Wolf7Dire Wolf（古生物）惧狼。,scientists would have to recover a sizable chunk of this animal’s DNA, which is not so far-fetched8far-fetched牵强的；不可信的；靠不住的。considering that Canis dirus only went extinct about 10,000 years ago and various fossil specimens have yielded soft tissue.

[3] Wouldn’t we need all of an animal’s DNA in order to bring it back from extinction? No, and that’s the beauty of the de-extinction concept: the Dire Wolf shared enough of its DNA with modern canines9canine犬。that only certain specific genes would be required, not the entire Canis dirus genome10genome基因组。.

[4] The next challenge, of course, would be to find a suitable host to incubate11incubate孵（卵），孵化。a genetically engineered Dire Wolf fetus12fetus胎，胚胎。;presumably, a carefully prepared Great Dane or Grey Wolf13Grey Wolf大灰狼（产于亚欧大陆和北美）。female would fit the bill14fit the bill正合适；正符合要求。. (This is the technique popularly referred to as “cloning,” though it would involve the reconstruction, rather than the duplication, of a given genome.)

[3]复活一种灭绝动物，难道我们不需要获取它所有的DNA吗？不需要，这就是反灭绝理念的美妙之处：惧狼与现代犬科动物共有的DNA足够多，因此我们只需要某些特定的基因，而不是惧狼的整个基因组。

[4]接下来的挑战，当然是找一个合适的受体来孕育经基因工程改造过的惧狼胚胎；或许只有经过精心培育的母大丹狗或母大灰狼才符合要求。（这种技术通常被称为“克隆”，尽管它涉及的是特定基因组的重建，而非复制。）

[5]还有另外一种不那么麻烦的复活方法，就是逆转人们几千年来对动物的驯化过程。换句话说，科学家可以选择性地培育牛群，刺激而非抑制它们的“原始”特征（比如暴躁的性情，而不是温和的性情），就可以培育出非常接近冰河时代的欧洲野牛。人们设想这种技术甚至可以用来“逆培养”犬属动物，使它们变得像祖先大灰狼一样凶猛、不合作。这可能对科学没有多大作用，但肯定会使狗展赛更加有趣。

[5] There is another, less messy way to “de-extinct” a species, and that’s by reversing thousands of years of domestication15domestication驯养（动物）。. In other words, scientists can selectively breed herds of cattle to encourage, rather than suppress16suppress抑制（生长、发展、起作用等）。,“primitive” traits (such as an ornery17ornery脾气暴躁的。rather than a peaceful disposition), the result being a close approximation of an Ice Age Auroch. This technique could conceivably even be used to “de-breed”canines into their feral18feral（动物驯养后脱逃）恢复野性的。, uncooperative Grey Wolf ancestors, which may not do much for science but would certainly make dog shows more interesting.

[6] This, by the way, is the reason virtually no one seriously talks about deextincting animals that have been extinct for millions of years, like dinosaurs or marine reptiles19reptile 爬行动物。. It’s difficult enough to recover viable fragments of DNA from animals that have been extinct for thousands of years; after millions of years, any genetic information will be rendered completely irrecoverable by the fossilization20fossilization石化。process. Jurassic Park aside, don’t expect anyone to clone a Tyrannosaurus Rex in your or your children’s lifetime!

[6]顺便一提，几乎没有人会认真谈论如何复活已经灭绝了几百万年的动物，比如恐龙或海洋爬行动物，这便是原因所在。因为，对于已经灭绝了数千年的动物，要从它们身上复原有繁殖能力的DNA片段是相当困难的；若已灭绝了几百万年，任何遗传信息都会因石化而彻底无法恢复。除了在《侏罗纪公园》中，别指望任何人能在你或你孩子的有生之年克隆出霸王龙！

Arguments in favor of de-extinction

[7] Just because we may, in the near future, be able to de-extinct vanished species, does that mean we should?

支持反灭绝的论据

[7]仅仅因为我们在不久的将来或许有能力复活已消失的物种，是否就意味着我们应该这么做？

[8] Some scientists and philosophers are very bullish21bullish（对未来）有信心的；乐观的。on the prospect, citing the following arguments in its favor:

We can undo humanity’s past mistakes. In the 19th century, Americans who didn’t know any better slaughtered Passenger Pigeons by the millions;generations before, the Tasmanian Tiger was driven to near-extinction by European immigrants to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. Resurrecting these animals, this argument goes, would help reverse a huge historical injustice.

We can learn more about evolution and biology. Any program as ambitious as de-extinction is certain to produce important science, the same way the Apollo moon missions helped usher in the age of the personal computer. We may potentially learn enough about genome manipulation to cure cancer or extend the average human’s life span into the triple digits22digit（0到9的任何一个）数字。.

We can counter the effects of environmental depredation23depredation掠夺；蹂躏；破坏。. An animal species isn’t important only for its own sake; it contributes to a vast web of ecological interrelationships, and makes the entire ecosystem more robust.Resurrecting extinct animals may be just the “therapy” our planet needs in this age of global warming and human overpopulation.

[8]一些科学家和哲学家非常看好这一前景，并援引以下论据：

我们可以弥补人类过去犯下的错误。19世纪，糊涂的美国人屠杀了数以百万计的旅鸽；几代之前，欧洲移民使澳大利亚、新西兰和塔斯马尼亚的塔斯马尼亚虎几近灭绝。支持反灭绝的观点认为，复活这些动物将有助于扭转巨大的历史不公。

我们可以进一步了解进化和生物学。任何像反灭绝这样宏大的计划肯定会催生重要的科学研究，正如阿波罗登月任务促进了个人电脑时代的到来。同样，我们可以对基因组操作进行足够的了解，从而治愈癌症或将人类的平均寿命延长到三位数。

我们可以应对环境破坏所带来的影响。一个物种的重要性不只在于其本身；它还有益于巨大的生态关系网，促使整个生态系统更加强大。当今时代全球变暖、人口过剩，复活灭绝动物可能正是地球所需要的“疗法”。

Arguments against de-extinction

[9] Any new scientific initiative is bound to provoke a critical outcry,which is often a knee-jerk24knee-jerk本能反应的，自动做出反应的。reaction against what critics consider “fantasy”or “bunk25bunk瞎说，废话。”. In the case of de-extinction,though, the naysayers may have a point,as they maintain that:

[10] De-extinction is a PR gimmick26gimmick把戏，噱头。that detracts from real environmental issues. What is the point of resurrecting the Gastric-Brooding Frog when hundreds of amphibian species are on the brink of succumbing to27succumb to屈服，屈从；不再抵抗。the chytrid fungus28chytrid fungus壶菌。? A successful de-extinction may give people the false, and dangerous, impression that scientists have “solved” all of our environmental problems.

[11] A de-extincted creature can only thrive in a suitable habitat. It’s one thing to gestate29gestate孕育。a Saber-Toothed Tiger fetus in a Bengal tiger’s womb30womb子宫。; it’s quite another to reproduce the ecological conditions that existed 100,000 years ago, when these predators31predator 捕食性动物。ruled Pleistocene32Pleistocene更新世（地球上大约两百万年前至一万年前的一段时间，那时地球表面大部分被冰覆盖）。North America. What will these tigers eat, and what will be their impact on existing mammal populations?

反对反灭绝的论据

[9]任何新的科学举措势必会引起强烈的抗议，人们往往下意识地反感批评家所认为的“幻想”或“胡言乱语”。不过，在反灭绝问题上，反对者的观点可能确有道理，他们认为：

[10]反灭绝是一种公关噱头，淡化了真正的环境问题。当数以百计的两栖类动物物种受壶菌威胁濒临灭绝时，复活胃育溪蛙的意义何在？一个成功的反灭绝案例会带给人们一种错误的、危险的想法，即科学家已经“解决”了我们所有的环境问题。

[11]被复活的灭绝生物只能在适宜的栖息地生存。在一只孟加拉虎的子宫里孕育一只剑齿虎胚胎是一回事；但要重现10万年前的生态环境则是另一回事，当时这些剑齿虎作为掠食者统领着更新世时期的北美大陆。那么复活后，这些老虎吃什么？它们会对现有的哺乳动物带来什么影响呢？

[12]究竟为什么有的动物会灭绝，往往都有充分的原因。进化是残酷的，但永远不会错。一万多年前，人类猎杀猛犸象使其灭绝；什么才能使我们避免重蹈覆辙？（如果你认为是“法治”，那么请记住严重濒危的哺乳动物每天都在遭遇非法猎杀，特别是在非洲。）

[12] There’s usually a good reason why an animal went extinct in the first place33in the first place（用于句尾，谈论某事为何或者是否应该做）究竟，到底，当初。. Evolution can be cruel, but it’s never wrong. Human beings hunted Woolly Mammoths to extinction over 10,000 years ago; what’s to keep us from repeating history? (If you say “the rule of law,” bear in mind that seriously endangered mammals are illegally hunted every day, especially in Africa.)

De-extinction: do we have a choice?

[13] In the end, any genuine effort to de-extinct a vanished species will probably have to win the approval of various government and regulatory agencies. Once introduced into the wild,it can be difficult to keep an animal from spreading into unexpected niches and territories—and, as mentioned above, not even the most far-sighted scientist can gauge the environmental impact of a resurrected species.

[14] (What if that herd of Aurochs develops a taste for grain, rather than grass? What if a burgeoning34burgeon急速增长。population of Woolly Mammoths manages to drive the African elephant to extinction?)One can only hope that, if de-extinction goes forward, it will be with a maximal amount of care and planning—and a healthy regard for the law of unintended consequences35意外后果定律，又称墨菲定律。.