As part of an effort to improve treatments for life-threatening illnesses, a team of scientists have created rabbits that glow in the dark.
為了促進(jìn)研究治療危害人類疾病的方法,近日一組科學(xué)家培育出了一種會(huì)在黑暗中發(fā)光的熒光兔。

Their efforts produced two rabbits out of a litter of eight that went from being a normal, fluffy white to glowing green in the dark. The rabbits were born at the University of Istanbul as part of a collaboration between scientists from universities in Turkey and Hawaii.
這一窩一共有八只兔子,其中兩只從正常的毛絨絨白兔變成了在黑暗中發(fā)綠光的熒光兔。這兩只兔子是在伊斯坦布爾大學(xué)誕生的,由土耳其和夏威夷大學(xué)的科學(xué)家合作研發(fā)。

The rabbits glow to show that a genetic manipulation technique can work efficiently, though the specific color is more cosmetic than scientific. "The green is not important at all – it's just a marker to show the experiment can be done successfully," said University of Hawaii associate professor Stefan Moisyadi.
這些熒光兔子的成功培育,表明基因操作技術(shù)是可行的,盡管這個(gè)顏色只是個(gè)表象,并不具有多大的科學(xué)意義?!熬G色一點(diǎn)都不重要——這只是表明實(shí)驗(yàn)可以成功進(jìn)行,”夏威夷大學(xué)副教授斯特凡·莫伊斯雅迪說(shuō)。

To produce the glowing effect, researchers injected jellyfish DNA into a mother rabbit's embryos. Those altered embryos were then inserted back into the mother. Similar experiments have resulted in glowing cockroaches and cats.
為了產(chǎn)生這種熒光效果,研究人員在一只母兔的胚胎中注入了水母的DNA,之后再把這些變異的胚胎植回母體。類似的實(shí)驗(yàn)還曾培育出熒光蟑螂和熒光貓。

Eventually, the researchers hope the technique can lead to new ways to produce medicines, Moisyadi said. The rabbits are expected to have the same life span as their non-glowing counterparts, but Moisyadi said he understands people can object to this kind of experimentation involving live animals.
莫伊斯雅迪表示,最終,研究人員希望這項(xiàng)技術(shù)可以用于生產(chǎn)藥物。這些兔子的壽命預(yù)計(jì)將會(huì)和普通兔子一樣,但是莫伊斯雅迪說(shuō)他理解人們可能會(huì)反對(duì)這種活體動(dòng)物實(shí)驗(yàn)。

"To the people against, I say: think about, what are the benefits and what are the injuries?" Moisyadi said. "And if the benefits outweigh the injuries, let's go with the benefits."
“我想對(duì)反對(duì)的人說(shuō):想一想,好處是什么,壞處又是什么?”莫伊斯雅迪說(shuō)?!叭绻锰幋笥趬奶?,那我們就往好的方面看吧?!?/div>