269 The Cloning Dog
269 克隆狗
“I’ve never met a human worth cloning,” says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from the cramped confines of his lab at Texas A&M University. “It’s a stupid endeavor.” That’s an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two calves and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy later this year-or perhaps not for another five years. It seems the reproductive system of man’s best friend is one of the mysteries of modern science.
得克萨斯州A&M大学的克囊专索马克·威斯特胡辛在他的实验室说：“我从未遇到过值籽试。”这个形容词选得很有意思，说这话的人已经投入数百万美元试图克隆一条名叫“米茜”的13岁的狗。到目前为止，他和他的团队还没有成功，尽管他们已经克隆了两头牛，并期待着不久再克隆一只猫。他们也许能在今年春天就成功克隆米茜——也可能再过5年也成功不了，看来，人类最好的朋友的繁殖机制是现代科学的一个难解之谜。
Westhusin’s experience with cloning animals leaves him vexed by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of canine eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos carrying Missy’s DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted fetuses may be acceptable when you’re dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. “Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous,” he says.
威斯特胡辛克隆动物的经历使他一听到说起人类克隆就反感。在进行米茜项目的3年工作中，他的A&M实验组使用了成千上万的狗的卵子．却只得到了大约一打带有米茜DNA的胚胎。在把这些胚胎移植到代孕母狗的子宫的过程中，没有一个胚胎存活下来。他辩驳说，当你克隆猫或牛时，卵子的耗费和很多自然流产的胎儿都是可以容忍的，但是这种情况若发生在人身上却不行。他说：“克隆的效率极低，而且还很危险。”
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin’s phone at A&M College of Veterinary Medicine has been ringing busily. Cost is no obstacle for customers like Missy’s mysterious owner, who wishes to remain unknown to protect his privacy. He’s plopped down $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.
即使如此，克隆狗仍然是个商业机会，能够带来可观的科学研究报酬。自从1997年克隆羊多利诞生以来，人们纷纷致电威斯特胡辛，希望能够复制他们的猫，狗，牛，马。威斯特胡辛说：“很多人都要克隆他们的宠物，尤其是在价格合理的情况下。”对于米茜的神秘主人来说，他身价数十亿美金，所以费用并不是障碍，迄今他已经为A&M的研究投入了370方美元。
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and super smart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are "both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy".
与一些媒体报道相反，米茜并没有死。狗的主人想要一只跟米茜长得一样的双胞胎，以便在米茜死后这只克隆狗能够延续她的优良品质。据各方面报道，这个供克隆的样本有着健壮的体格，温和的性情和绝顶的聪明等特征。米茜的主人并不指望能复制出上只跟她完全相同的狗。他知道她的克隆体也许没有她的性情。在一项公开声明中，米茜的主人和A&M试验组都说，双方都渴望能研究出克隆的狗与米茜之间会存在哪些差异。
Beside cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature and nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
除了克隆一只好狗之外，这个项目还会为由来已久的关于。先天的本性与后天的教养之争”的老问题提供新思路。这还可能会引发克隆特种营救犬和许多濒临灭绝的动物。
However, Westhusin is cautions about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems. "Why would you ever want to clone humans," Westhusin asks, "when we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?"
但是威斯特胡辛对于他的工作还是非常慎重。他知道，即使他使一条狗怀孕了，如果这条狗生下的后代活下来，就会面临与其他克隆动物出生时所面临的同样的问题，比如心，肺发育不完全以及体重异常等问题。“当我们还没有完全解决克隆动物问题的时候，你怎么会想到要克隆人呢？”威斯特胡辛问道。