“狼心狗肺”可能成为现实

○张军辉

Anything related to GMO(genetically modified organism)will stir a big wave in China.On one hand,some so called experts and government departments do what they can to persuade people to believe that GM food is safe;on the other hand more people don’t buy their story and think of GMO as a disaster.The debate between Fang Zhouzi and Cui Yongyuan made GMO once the hottest and most known phrase.And even the illiterate are talking about it.

GMO is a new technology,especially for Chinese people.When we are worried about the safety of our grain or bean,US researchers have created the most genetically modified animals——37 pigs to help end a shortage of organs for transplant.

The scientists successfully rid those lovely pigs of viruses hiding in their DNA,overcoming one of the big barriers to transplanting pig organs to people.

They admit preventing pig organs from being rejected by the human body remains a huge challenge

But experts said it was a promising and exciting first step.

More than 100,000 people need an organ transplant in the US.There are about 6,500 people on the UK waiting list.

Pigs are particularly promising for xenotransplantation as their organs are a similar size to humans',and the animals can be bred in large numbers.

在中国，任何和转基因沾边的东西都会引起轰动。一方面，一些所谓的专家和政府机构不遗余力地宣传转基因的安全性；另一方面，更多的人拒绝相信，坚持认为转基因就是灾难。方舟子和崔永元关于转基因食品安全性的争论一度让转基因成为最热的词汇，甚至没上过几年学的人都在谈论转基因。

转基因是一项新技术，尤其对中国而言。当我们还在为吃不吃转基因的谷物和大豆喋喋不休时，美国的研究人员“创造”出了“最转基因”的动物——37头转基因猪，希望借此改善人类器官移植缺乏供体的困境。

科学家们首先成功地清除了隐藏在这些可爱小猪DNA里的病毒，为实现人类移植猪器官扫清了一个大障碍。

他们同时承认如何避免人体对猪器官的排异仍然是一个巨大挑战。

但是，专家也说这一步表明前途很光明，令人兴奋。

美国有超过10万的人需要器官移植，而英国在这方面的数字则大约是6500。由于猪和人类的器官尺寸最接近，也适合大规模养殖，让猪成为最适合异种器官移植的动物。

Notes：

GMO，genetically modified organism转基因

Illiterate文盲；读书少的人

Transplant移植

Virus病毒

Organ器官

Xenotransplantation异种器官移植。