原文标题：The Human Genome Project at 20Epic ambitionThe genomics revolution has transformed biology. Its work is not over yet人类基因组计划完成20周年雄心壮志基因组学革命改变了生物学，它的工作尚未结束 Big scienceYet for genomics to become a part of everyday medicine, the hard work is still ahead大科学 然而，要使基因组学成为日常医学的一部分，仍需努力[Paragraph 1]TWENTY YEARS ago the Human Genome Project (HGP) unveileda mostly complete sequence of the roughly 3bn base pairs of DNA found in every set of human chromosomes. 20年前，人类基因组计划（HGP）公布了每组人类染色体中约30 亿个 DNA 的基本完整序列。The project was chock-full of ego and hype, but also heralded the rapid improvements and dramatically lower costs of sequencing. 该计划充满了自我和炒作，但也预示着测序的快速改进和成本大幅降低。Thisfedthe success of the burgeoningfield of genomics, which has transformed biology and medicine—and still holds plenty of promise.这促进了新兴的基因组学领域的成功，基因组学已经改变了生物学和医学--且还有很多潜力。

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[Paragraph 2]Genomics has added a new dimension to the study of life and evolution. It has helped scientists understand genes and proteins, and how they govern the growth and function of cells. 基因组学为生命和进化的研究增加了一个新的维度。它帮助科学家理解基因和蛋白质，以及它们如何控制细胞的生长和功能。CRISPR gene editing—a way to precisely modify the DNA in cells—gives researchers a handle on cellular function and dysfunction. CRISPR基因编辑——一种精确修改细胞DNA的方法——让研究人员能够处理细胞功能和功能障碍。The first treatments based on gene editing could be approved within a year. 首批基于基因编辑的治疗可能会在一年内获得批准。Plant scientists have acquired ways to create disease- and heat-resistant crops. 植物科学家已经掌握了培育抗病和抗热作物的方法。[Paragraph 3]The era of cheap genome sequencing opened the doors to biology as a data science. 廉价基因组测序时代开启了生物学作为数据科学的大门。The data and findings from the HGP came close to being hidden behind patents. HGP的数据和发现差点就被专利掩盖。Instead they were opened up to the public, which proved crucial—a useful lesson for other big projects. 反而，它们向公众开放很重要——对其他大型项目来说也非常有用。Biologists’ databases now hold the sequences of millions of people and other organisms. 生物学家的数据库现在保存着数百万人和其他生物的序列。This has helped draw links between genes, traits and diseases and also enhanced scientists’ understanding of evolution. 这有助于建立基因、特征和疾病之间的联系，并增强科学家对进化的理解。[Paragraph 4]Most of the revolution’s tangibleeffects have been in medicine. 基因组学革命的大部分实际影响都体现在医学领域。Screening for serious but treatable genetic diseases is already possible. 筛查严重但可治疗的遗传性疾病已经成为可能。Cancer is largely the result of genetics gone awry.Sequencing the genome has become a routine part of treating many tumours. 癌症主要是遗传出错的结果。基因组测序已成为治疗许多肿瘤的常规操作。Doing so allows doctors to work out which mutations the cancer has and therefore which course of treatment is likely to work best. 这些操作可以让医生找出癌症的突变位置，从而确定效果最好的治疗方案。[Paragraph 5]Genomics will increasingly inform doctors’ decisions. 基因组学将越来越多地影响医生的决策。Starting later this year, 100,000 babies in England will have their genomes sequenced and screened for around 200 conditions. 从今年年底开始，英格兰将对10万名婴儿进行基因组测序，并针对200种左右情况进行筛查。Each disease is rare; together, they affect nearly one in 200 children. Early detection means early treatment, and a higher chance of a better outcome. 每种疾病都是罕见病；但总体而言，它们共同影响了将近二百分之一的儿童。早发现意味着早治疗，治愈的几率就更高。The hope is that, in time, the precise variations in many hundreds of locations on a person’s genome will guide doctors. 希望随着时间的推移，一个人基因组上数百个精确变异点将为医生提供指导。They seem likely to become a factor in assessments of whether a patient is likely to develop conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes.他们似乎有可能成为评估患者是否会患上心血管疾病和2型糖尿病等疾病的一项指标。

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Yet for the genomics revolution to realise its potential, plenty more can be done.

然而，要让基因组学革命充分发挥潜力，还有许多工作要做。

Sequencing has fallen in cost from over $50m a genome at the end of the HGP to a few hundred dollars today, but making it even cheaper and more convenient would allow it to be more widely available.

基因组测序的成本已经从HGP2003年结束时的每个基因组的 5000 多万美元下降到今天的几百美元，但价格还可以更低，这样就可以进行更方便且更广泛的应用。

People’s genetic sequences need to be integratedinto their medical records, requiring data infrastructure, digitised records, and the setting of robust security and privacy standards.

人们的基因序列需要整合到他们的病历中，这需要数据基础设施、数字化记录以及强大的安全和隐私标准的设置。

Scientists must also continue to collect more diverse data, beyond those of patients in the rich world. That will help them understand variations in the genome.

科学家还必须继续收集更多样化的数据，而不仅仅是发达国家患者的数据。这将帮助他们理解基因组中的变异。

Some projects, such as the Three Million African Genomes and GenomeAsia 100k, are already under way. 一些项目已在进行中，如300万非洲人基因组计划和10万亚洲人基因组计划。

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The science will need to progress further, too.

科学也需要进一步发展。

Researchers now have a decent understanding of diseases that are affected by single genes.

研究人员现在对受单个基因影响的疾病有了很好的理解。

But they do not yet have a good grasp of how genes interact with each other.

但他们还没有很好地理解基因之间的相互作用。

And much is unclear about theinterplaybetween groups of genes and people’s environments.

关于基因组与人类环境之间的相互作用，还有很多不清楚的地方。

Nature versus nurturewas once a popular debate in genetics but these days is largely seen as a false dichotomy.

先天还是后天曾经是遗传学领域的热门辩论话题，但如今在很大程度上被认为是错误的二极管思维。

With genomes as with much successful research, the more you find out, the more you realise that you do not have the whole story. 同许多成功的研究一样，对于基因组，你发现的越多，你就越意识到你并没有了解全貌。（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量632左右）原文出自：2023年4月15日《The Economist》Leaders版块

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

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【补充资料】（来自于网络）基因组学Genomics是研究生物基因组的组成，组内各基因的精确结构、相互关系及表达调控的科学。该学科提供基因组信息以及相关数据系统利用，试图解决生物，医学，和工业领域的重大问题。基因组学、转录组学、蛋白质组学与代谢组学等一同构成系统生物学的组学（omics）生物技术基础。人类基因组计划The Human Genome Project 是历史上最伟大的科学成就之一。该计划是由一组国际研究人员领导的生物学发现之旅，旨在全面研究一组有机体的所有DNA（称为基因组）。该计划于1990年启动，于2003年完成。它的主要目标是确定人类基因组中的所有基因，并确定它们的序列。这项工作需要开发新技术，例如自动化DNA测序和计算机分析。这项工作还需要大量的协调和合作，以便研究人员可以共享数据和资源。CRISPR基因编辑是一种基于细菌CRISPR-Cas9抗病毒防御系统的分子生物学遗传工程技术，可以修改生物体的基因组。这种技术可以用于治疗遗传性疾病、癌症和其他疾病，也可以用于改善农作物和畜牧业。CRISPR基因编辑技术具有许多优点，例如速度快、成本低、精度高、可重复性好等。但是，它也存在一些问题，例如可能会引起意外的副作用、可能会导致不可预测的后果、可能会导致不可逆转的变化等。GenomeAsia 100K项目成立于2016年，由Macrogen、盆唐首尔大学医院精准医疗中心、新加坡南洋理工大学、印度基因组分析企业MedGenome和美国罗氏集团子公司Genentech等组成，旨在对生活在亚洲的10万人（64个国家或地区的219个群体）的基因组进行测序，在全球公开的亚洲人基因组数据中涵盖最多的亚洲区域和人种。【重点句子】（4个）Genomics has added a new dimension to the study of life and evolution. It has helped scientists understand genes and proteins, and how they govern the growth and function of cells. 基因组学为生命和进化的研究增加了一个新的维度。它帮助科学家理解基因和蛋白质，以及它们如何控制细胞的生长和功能。Genomics will increasingly inform doctors’ decisions. 基因组学将越来越多地影响医生的决策。Nature versus nurture was once a popular debate in genetics but these days is largely seen as a false dichotomy.先天还是后天曾经是遗传学领域的热门辩论话题，但如今在很大程度上被认为是错误的二极管思维。

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