日本科学家培育出下'金蛋'的母鸡
Japanese scientists have created hens that can lay multi-million pound "golden eggs" containing an expensive protein used to treat serious diseases such as cancer and hepatitis.
日前，日本科学家培育出可以产下价值数百万英镑的“金蛋”的母鸡，这种蛋含有一种可用于治疗癌症、肝炎等重病的昂贵蛋白质。The creation of the so-called "golden eggs" was masterminded by scientists at Japan's Biomedical Research Institute at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
培育这种所谓的“金蛋”的创意来自日本国家先进工业科技研究院生物医学研究所的科学家。The new technology involved scientists using new genome editing technology to create hens that can produce eggs containing high quantities of the protein human interferon beta at a low cost.
这一最新技术需要科学家利用新基因组编辑技术来培育能低成本生产出含有大量人类干扰素β蛋白鸡蛋的母鸡。
The protein quantity in individual eggs ranged from 30 to 60 milligrams, resulting in each egg reportedly being valued as worth between around 408,000 and 2 million pounds a piece.
据报道，每枚鸡蛋中这种蛋白的含量从30到60毫克不等，因此每枚蛋的价值在约40.8万到200万英镑之间。Human interferon beta is a natural anti-viral protein with a hefty price tag which is commonly used as a therapeutic agent for diseases such as cancer and hepatitis.
人类干扰素β是天然的抗病毒蛋白，通常用来治疗癌症、肝炎等疾病，价格高昂。The scientists are currently collaborating with Cosmo Bio, a Japanese reagent maker, to explore the potential commercial production of the hen-based protein.
这些科学家目前正与日本试剂制造商Cosmo Bio合作探索这种依靠母鸡产出的蛋白的商业化生产潜力。Cosmo Bio plans to sell the protein, produced by its own in-house hens, from early next year for research use, with a view to making it commercially available in the future following further tests.
Cosmo Bio计划明年初开始销售该公司内部母鸡生产的蛋白质，主要用于医学研究用途，希望在未来进行测试后能将其商业化。
