Gene Therapy Cures Color-Blind Monkeys

基因疗法治愈色盲松鼠猴 Gene Therapy Cures Color-Blind Monkeys

Now, here’s something you don’t see every day: scientists cure color-blind monkeys. According to a report published online in the journal Nature, researchers have used gene therapy to allow color-blind squirrel monkeys to look at their fruit in a whole new light. 
现在，有的事情你并非每天都能见到：科学家治愈了色盲的猴子。根据《自然》杂志在网上发布的报告，研究者使用基因疗法，使得色盲的松鼠猴在全新的光照之下，能够看见它们的水果。
In one type of squirrel monkey, the males lack a visual pigment called L-opsin. Its absence renders the monkeys color-blind, unable to distinguish reds and green. Most of the females, on the other hand, see in full color. So the scientists got to wondering: what would happen if they gave a boy squirrel monkey the same opsin that girls have. 
有一种松鼠猴，雄性缺乏名为L-视觉蛋白（L-opsin）的视觉色素。这种物质的缺乏造成了松鼠猴的色盲。于是科学家们非常想知道：当他们给雄性松鼠猴注入雌性松鼠猴相同的视觉蛋白时，会发生什么？
Using a harmless virus, the scientists introduced the pigment gene into the eyes of color-blind adults. Lo and behold, about a month later, the monkeys with the new L-opsin gene were able to see hues they’d never seen before. 
科学家们使用一种无害的病毒，给色盲成年松鼠猴的眼睛注入该色素基因。一个月之后，拥有新的L-视觉蛋白的松鼠猴能够看见他们以前从未看见的色调。
The research doesn’t mean we’ll soon be trying the same thing in humans. Because we’re not yet ready to monkey with our own selves that way. But the fact that a fellow primate was able to make and use the new pigments, even though they received the genes as adults, was a real eye-opener.
这项研究并非表明我们不久就会在人类身上尝试相同的事情。因为我们没有准备好以相同的方式模仿相同的事情在我们自己身上。但是事实表明与我们相近的灵长目动物能够制造和使用新的色素，虽然他们是作为成年猴获得该基因的。这实在令人大开眼界。