百科知识视频之煎蛋小学堂39 基因改造能否创造“天才人类”？

Whether you have an IQ of 50 or 150,we all like to feel smart.After all,the minds of intelligent people like Einstein,Tesla or Steven Hawking have no doubt helped to shape the world we live in.So is it feasible that we could genetically improve the intelligence of our entire species?

无论智者或是愚者 人人都爱聪明。毕竟 像爱因斯坦 特斯拉或斯蒂芬。霍金这类智者 毫无疑问 帮助我们重塑世界。那么 我们能通过基因来提升整个人类的智商吗?

DNA is the basic code of life found in every living organism.And this DNA is made up of genes which in turns are made up of four smaller parts,called Nucleus Basis,represented by the letters,ATG and C.In humans,these basis are arranged as 3 billion pairs,which essentially act as a blueprint for everything the cells in your body need to do.

DNA是每个生物体内生命基础。DNA由基因构成 而基因有由 更小的部分 即碱基构成 分别以A T G C表示。人体中 这些基底构成了30亿种组合，它们成为了你身体细胞的一举一动的蓝图。

Literally,all that you are,from the way you look and act,is defined by the organization of these four biological compounds,And scientists have been able to find the connections between the way genes are organized and certain traits you exhibit:from your sex to your eye color,and even,diseases you may develop.It was actually the Human Genome Project,which first began to analyze and map all the genes in the human body.The initial project took over a decade and 3 billion dollars to complete,with teams across the entire globe working together.

或者说 你的一切 无论是外表还是举止，都由这四个生化物的组织构成决定。科学家也已经找到了基因组织和你身上的特质 之间的关系 从你的性别到眼睛的颜色，甚至 你会生什么病。是“人类基因工程”，最先开始分析并测序人体内所有的基因。初期项目耗时十余年 投入了30亿美元，并调动全球的团队共同努力。

Today,with a much smaller team,the same could be accomplished in a few days for only 4000 dollars.And the more sequence of genomes we accumulate,whether be from plants or microbes,or humans,the more we have to compare and contrast the traits we see in the outside with the gene combinations we find on the inside.And that's exactly what the Cogintive Genomics Project hopes to achieve.

今天 更小的团队在几天内就能做到同样的事 只需4000美元。我们积累的染色体组序列越多，无论来自植物或微生物 或人类，我们需要做的比较 即我们所看到的外表特征 与内在基因组合的关系就越多。这就是“认知基因组”计划的目标。

By using over 2000 people with IQs over 150,and plans to bring on 20000 more subjects,researchers at BGI Institute in China are looking at the genetic basis for intelligence.In other words,they are scanning through the DNA of thousands of intelligent people to look for patterns that may be responsible for making them smart in the first place.Of course,this is a much more complicated task than looking for,say,a disease pattern.Tay-sach's and Huntington's Disease are both caused by a single gene mutation,and are easily recognized.

通过研究2000名智商超过150的人，以及计划中额外的20000人，中国北京基因组研究所的研究者们正着眼于智力的基因基础。换句话说 他们在扫描数千名聪明人的DNA 以寻找最初让他们聪明绝顶的基因模式。当然 这比寻找导致疾病的基因模式复杂得多。台-萨氏病 及亨廷顿症都由一条基因变异造成，并很容易被发现。

Hair and eye color,on the other hand,depending on multiple genes interacting,though,with proper analysis,it can still be predicted.But traits like personality or intelligence,are almost certainly the result thousands of genes interacting in unique ways.A patter which scientists have yet to discover.And the truth is,they may never find one.But what happens if they do? I mean,it could be a future of genius babies.With the advantage of vitro fertilization,you might be able to create multiple embryos and scan their DNA.Scientists will then be able to identify which traits are most likely in the embryo based on the genes,allowing parents to essentially choose which baby they most desire.

另外 头发和眼睛的颜色取决于多条基因的相互作用，不过 通过适当分析 仍可被预测。但性格和智力这样的特点，肯定是上千条基因以独特的方式作用的结果。这个模式还有待科学家发现。真相是 他们也许永远也找不到。不过 如果他们发现了呢?我是说 这可能是一个天才儿童的未来。利用试管受精 你甚至能做出 多个胚胎并扫描其DNA。科学家就可找出哪些特质更可能 体现在胚胎中 基于它们的基因，让家长选择自己中意的孩子。

For example,this embryo has a 50% chance of being exceptionally musical,or this one has a 58% chance of having an IQ over 150.In this way,without actually changing the genetic information,but rather screening it,we may actually be able to increase the intelligence of future generation.

比如 这个胚胎有50%的可能性具有音乐天分，这个有58%的可能性智商超过150.通过这种方式 不改变基因信息，而通过扫描 我们也许能 提升后代的智力水平。

But what about you?Could you ever change your genetic makeup to make you smarter,faster or stronger right now?