We often hear of scientists altering the DNA sequences of organisms in order to achieve a desired function.

我們經常聽到科學家改變生物的 DNA 序列，以實現所需的功能。

This may include the production of new proteins, the expression of certain traits, or the emergence of new functions.

這可能包括新蛋白質的產生、某些性狀的表達或新功能的出現。

For instance, in animals, genetic engineers may alter a muscle development gene to increase muscle growth, thus giving us animals with more meat, which could help alleviate world hunger.

例如，在動物身上，基因工程師可能會改變一種肌肉發育基因，以增加肌肉的生長，從而使我們的動物有更多的肉，這有助於緩解世界飢餓。

But exactly how ethical is this? We're changing the very code that postulates everything the body does, and those of other animals too.

但這究竟有多道德呢？我們正在改變假定人體和其他動物一切行為的代碼。

How do the individuals affected by this feel?

受此影響的個人有何感受？

Could genetic engineering be used for more sinister intentions?

基因工程會不會被用於更險惡的目的？

Let's say that you're thinking of having a child.

比方說，您正在考慮要一個孩子。

Imagine going to the hospital and designing that child.

想象一下去醫院設計那個孩子的樣子。

Picking and choosing the traits that you think are desirable, or better than other traits.

挑選你認為可取的特質，或比其他特質更好的特質。

How would you feel if you found out that your genetic traits were chosen by your parents, because they were the desirable traits that your parents wanted you to have?

如果你發現自己的遺傳特徵是由父母選擇的，因為它們是父母希望你擁有的理想特徵，你會作何感想？

With genetic engineering, scenarios like this may become a reality. Many of you may be thinking, isn't this a good thing?

隨著基因工程的發展，這樣的場景可能會成為現實。很多人可能會想，這難道不是一件好事嗎？

With genetic engineering, we can design our children to be perfect, with no genetic defects or other genetic problems.

通過基因工程，我們可以把孩子設計得完美無缺，沒有基因缺陷或其他基因問題。

But this could result in many social problems.

但這可能會導致許多社會問題。

It could create a culture where only certain traits, such as certain hair, skin, or eye color are considered good.

這可能會形成一種文化，只有特定的特徵，如特定的頭髮、皮膚或眼睛顏色，才被認為是好的。

People who've decided against genetic engineering could face discrimination or bullying, because they don't have those desired good traits.

決定反對基因工程的人可能會面臨歧視或欺凌，因為他們沒有那些理想中的優良品質。

Ethical problems arise because somebody is determining how you look based on their own personal opinions.

出現道德問題是因為有人根據自己的個人觀點來決定你的形象。

It causes many problems, as certain people are setting beauty standards for society as a whole. Animals are often a hot topic when it comes to genetic engineering.

它造成了許多問題，因為某些人正在為整個社會制定美的標準。說到基因工程，動物往往是一個熱門話題。

The main issue with genetically engineered animals is that we often only focus on the benefits they have for humans.

基因工程動物的主要問題在於，我們往往只關注它們對人類的益處。

This usually entails more profit from faster growth and development of the animal, more muscle growth, and production of more offspring.

這通常會帶來更多的利潤，因為動物生長髮育更快，肌肉長得更多，也能生產更多的後代。

However, are the welfare of animals taken into account?

然而，動物的福利是否得到了考慮？

How are they treated in captivity?

它們在囚禁中受到怎樣的待遇？

Do they get clean living quarters, ample space to roam around, and a nutritious diet?

它們有乾淨的居住環境、充足的活動空間和營養豐富的食物嗎？

Oftentimes, genetically engineered animals live in horrid conditions that are very detrimental to their health.

很多時候，轉基因動物的生活條件非常惡劣，對它們的健康非常不利。

They are jammed into small living areas with very little, if any, space to freely roam around, and their diet is far from nutritious.

它們被擠在狹小的生活區，幾乎沒有自由活動的空間，飲食也遠非營養豐富。

As if their living conditions are not bad enough, messing around with the genome of animals can lead to unintended side effects, such as increased susceptibility to stress, lameness, and genetic abnormalities, all of which can cause pain to the individual, as well as the mother of that individual. In the past 100 years, half a billion people have died from infectious diseases.

如果說動物的生活條件還不夠糟糕的話，那麼對動物基因組的亂搞可能會導致意想不到的副作用，如增加對壓力的易感性、跛足和基因異常，所有這些都會給個體以及個體的母親帶來痛苦。在過去的 100 年裡，有 5 億人死於傳染病。

Some of these diseases, like Ebola, are extremely deadly.

其中一些疾病，如埃博拉病毒，極其致命。

Once infected, survival rates are slim.

一旦感染，存活率很低。

Others, such as the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, spread very easily.

還有一些疫情，如正在爆發的 COVID-19 疫情，非常容易傳播。

Given the lethality of many of these infections, there is the possibility of turning them into bioweapons, like in World War II, where the Imperial Japanese Army used bioweapons to kill thousands in China.

鑑於許多此類感染的致命性，有可能將其轉化為生物武器，就像第二次世界大戰中，日本皇軍在中國使用生物武器殺死成千上萬的人一樣。

As if biological warfare wasn't crazy enough, with genetic editing, one could construct a pathogen to be more lethal, harder to detect, and easier to spread.

如果說生物戰還不夠瘋狂，那麼通過基因編輯，人們就可以製造出更致命、更難檢測、更易傳播的病原體。

Terrorists could engineer a certain bacteria to be resistant to several kinds of antibiotics.

恐怖分子可以設計某種細菌，使其對多種抗生素產生抗藥性。

Modes of transmission could be expanded, making it easier for a pathogen to spread.

傳播方式可能會擴大，使病原體更容易傳播。

People can engineer a virus to target crucial organs in the body, such as the brain or heart, to increase fatalities.

人們可以設計一種病毒，使其針對人體的關鍵器官，如大腦或心臟，以增加致死率。

The options for death and terror are endless. As genetic engineering becomes more common, people may develop a superiority mindset that humans are entitled to control the evolution of organisms.

死亡和恐怖的選擇是無窮無盡的。隨著基因工程越來越普遍，人們可能會產生一種優越感，認為人類有權控制生物的進化。

It could become normalized for nature to be full of just genetically modified organisms, with everything being a creation of or edited by humans.

大自然中充斥著轉基因生物，一切都由人類創造或編輯，這可能會成為常態。

We may come to view ourselves as the advancers of all life on Earth, thus leading to the notion that humans control and problem-solve the biosphere.

我們可能會將自己視為地球上所有生命的推動者，從而產生人類控制生物圈並解決生物圈問題的觀念。

This way of thinking contradicts directly with the views of environmentalists and animal conservationists, who want to help wild animals survive in their natural habitats.

這種思維方式與環保主義者和動物保護主義者的觀點直接相悖，他們希望幫助野生動物在自然棲息地生存。

However, the superiority mindset of humans leads them to want to genetically edit these animals, so that they may improve their lives.

然而，人類的優越感導致他們想要對這些動物進行基因編輯，從而改善它們的生活。

This means that we are getting in the way of nature and natural selection, which has been happening for billions of years.

這意味著我們正在阻礙自然和自然選擇，而自然和自然選擇已經發生了數十億年。

Despite the fact that people think they are helping, too much meddling in the natural environment may do more harm than good.

儘管人們認為自己是在幫忙，但對自然環境的過多幹預可能弊大於利。

This includes the creation of powerful invasive species that may wipe out native species not fit to fight them off or compete with them.

這包括創造強大的入侵物種，它們可能會消滅不適合與之對抗或競爭的在地物種。

And these concerns have never been more relevant than they are today. Hey, Zach from the YouTube channel Everything Science here.

這些問題從未像今天這樣具有現實意義。嘿，我是YouTube "萬物科學 "頻道的扎克。

It's true that genetic engineering has given rise to problems we've never experienced, like the widespread destruction of natural genetic diversity that helps give rise to superbugs.

誠然，基因工程引發了我們從未經歷過的問題，比如自然基因多樣性遭到廣泛破壞，導致超級細菌的產生。

And whereas before, superbugs really only affected a single species, now, because scientists are inserting genes from one species into dozens of others, it sets the stage for a single powerful bug to be able to wipe out dozens of plant and animal species.

以前，超級細菌實際上隻影響一個物種，而現在，由於科學家將一個物種的基因植入幾十個其他物種，這就為一個強大的蟲子能夠消滅幾十個動植物物種創造了條件。

Even more than that, genetic engineering can create selective pressures to create stronger pathogens, create new deadly allergens, and could end up threatening the food supplies of billions of people around the globe.

不僅如此，基因工程還會產生選擇性壓力，產生更強的病原體，產生新的致命過敏原，最終可能威脅到全球數十億人的食品供應。

To learn more about the harms genetic engineering poses to the food we depend upon, be sure to check out my video after this one.

要進一步瞭解基因工程對我們賴以生存的食物造成的危害，請務必觀看我在本視頻之後的視頻。

Back to you, Scienceverse. Zach is right.

回到你身邊，科學世界扎克說得對

At the end of the day, genetic engineering does have a lot of negative aspects to it.

說到底，基因工程確實有很多負面影響。

However, if done the right way, it could have a lot of benefits.

不過，如果方法得當，也會有很多好處。

Genetically modified bacteria can be used to produce proteins such as insulin or human growth hormone, which can then be given to people suffering from diabetes and dwarfism, respectively.

轉基因細菌可用於生產胰島素或人類生長激素等蛋白質，然後分別提供給糖尿病患者和侏儒症患者。

Genetically modified crops that are resistant to pests can be planted in order to increase yield and end food shortages.

可以種植抗蟲害的轉基因作物，以提高產量，解決糧食短缺問題。

We can change the nucleotide sequence of certain genes in order to stop the harmful effects of a certain disease.

我們可以改變某些基因的核苷酸序列，以阻止某種疾病的有害影響。

As long as we carefully regulate everything, ensure all people and animals are being treated right, and address specific ethical concerns, genetic engineering will help save lives and many world problems, and relieve the pain of those suffering debilitating illnesses.

只要我們認真監管一切，確保所有人和動物都得到正確對待，並解決具體的倫理問題，基因工程將有助於拯救生命和解決許多世界性問題，並減輕那些身患衰弱疾病的人的痛苦。

So, if you want to keep exploring the untapped potential of genetic engineering, be sure to stay tuned for more science videos. www.sciencevideos.com

是以，如果您想繼續探索基因工程尚未開發的潛力，請務必繼續關注更多科學視頻。www.sciencevideos.com。