The creation of part-human, part-monkey embryo will discomfit many
La création d’une chimère homme-singe fait débat.
Un laboratoire de recherche a récemment créé la première véritable « chimère » de l'histoire : un embryon mi-homme, mi-singe. Si ce dernier a été éliminé bien avant son terme, sa création soulève d'importantes questions éthiques au sein de la communauté scientifique : à quel point pouvons-nous jouer avec la nature sans devenir de véritables « Docteur Frankenstein » ?
Physics is famous for mind-bending ideas. Subatomic particles can be in many places at once. The flow of time depends on how fast you are moving. But because such ideas are confined to the realm of the invisibly tiny or the inhumanly vast, most people regard them as little more than diverting curiosities. 1. mind-bending (très) difficile à concevoir, déroutant (to bend, bent, bent plier) / place endroit / at once en même temps, à la fois, simultanément / flow flux; ici, passage / such ici, de telles / to be confined to ici, relever exclusivement de / realm domaine, univers / invisibly tiny infiniment petit (tiny minuscule) / to regard considérer. 2. Biology also has mind-bending ideas. But since they may concern the everyday world of living bodies, their impact is often felt much more viscerally. One example is “chimeras”, organisms which, a bit like the mythological beast, are formed from cells of two distinct species. Scientists have already produced goat-sheep and mouse-rats. Now a group of American, Chinese and Spanish researchers has reported significant progress in the quest to create chimeras using human cells—in this case, combining them with cells from monkeys to form functioning embryos.
3. It is another example of humanity’s growing power to tinker with the basics of life, a power which makes many people uncomfortable. The work leaves the very idea of a species looking at least a little blurry at the edges. Experiments involving human cells can break deep-seated taboos about human dignity, human exceptionalism and—among the religious—stir up worries about interfering with God’s creation.
4. There are also more practical concerns. The human-monkey embryos were not intended to grow to maturity. But it is right to wonder what might have happened if they had—and what should be done if, or when, someone decides to try. What is the moral and legal status of an organism with one human genome and one non-human one? Mindful of such worries, many places, including America and Britain, tightly regulate what is allowed. Much of the latest work was done in China.
5. Despite those concerns, the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Such research should always be done cautiously, and be properly monitored. But it should also be encouraged, because the rewards it brings could turn out to be significant. Chimeric embryos may offer a way around ethical problems that make experiments on human embryos difficult. That could lead to new treatments for congenital diseases. This particular bit of research was inspired by a desire to grow human organs in the bodies of animals, from where they could eventually be used for transplants. Easing the long-standing worldwide shortage of transplantable organs could save many lives. In America alone, more than 100,000 people are on transplant waiting-lists.
6. The best way to ensure that such research can proceed is to talk about it with the public, not just among scientists and expert regulators. Ethical debates around chimeras have been going on for years, but mostly in scientific journals and academic conferences—places where outsiders rarely venture. Scientists should also work to ensure that international rules are harmonised, to the extent that is possible. Ultimately, they need to convince not just each other but the public, too.
2. body ici, organisme / beast bête (sauvage), créature / cell cellule / species (inv.) espèce(s) / goat-sheep chabin, mouèvre, mouchèvre, musmon (goat chèvre) / to report rapporter, faire état de, annoncer / significant significatif, de taille, considérable / quest quête, recherche / functioning ici, viable.
3. to tinker with jouer avec, modifier / basics ici, essence (génétique) / to make, made, made ici, rendre (fig.), mettre / uncomfortable ici, mal à l'aise / work expérience, recherches / to leave, left, left ici, rendre / very ici, même / to look sembler, paraître / at least ici, ne serait-ce que / blurry flou / at the edges sur les bords, en partie / experiment expérience scientifique / to involve impliquer / to break, broke, broken briser / deep-seated profondément ancré / among parmi, chez / to stir up susciter. 4. concern inquiétude, préoccupation / it is right to wonder on est en droit/il est légitime de se demander / to happen se passer / to be mindful of être conscient de, prendre en considération / tightly ici, strictement / to allow autoriser, permettre / latest dernier en date, plus récent.
5. benefit avantage, bienfait, effet positif / to outweigh peser plus lourd que, dépasser, l'emporter sur / cautiously avec prudence / properly correctement, convenablement / to monitor surveiller, contrôler, encadrer (fig.) / reward récompense; ici, bienfait, effet positif / to turn out to be s'avérer être / to offer a way around offrir une alternative à; ici, permettre d'éviter, résoudre / disease maladie / bit of research recherche, étude, expérience / from where ici, (à partir) desquels / eventually à terme / transplant greffe / to ease soulager, réduire / long-standing ici, qui existe depuis longtemps / worldwide mondial / shortage pénurie, manque.
6. way façon, manière, moyen / to ensure s’assurer que, garantir / to proceed se poursuivre, avancer, progresser / among parmi, entre / around ici, portant sur / to go, went, gone on (se) poursuivre, exister /
journal revue spécialisée / outsider ici, non initié/expert / to venture s'aventurer; ici, participer à / rule ici, loi, législation / to the extent that is possible dans la mesure du/autant que possible / ultimately en fin de compte.