46 What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) After two decades of lab research, gene therapy in humans has been successful in treating everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s to heart disease.
(B) A lot of research in gene therapy has focused on getting a gene to its destination and coaxing it to turn on once inside a cell.
(C) Although research has been done on how gene therapy can help treat serious diseases, such a treatment may cause irreversible side effects and unknown consequences.
(D) Viral vectors like Trojan horses slip genes into target cells undetected.

Gene therapy may be in its infancy, but great hopes for its potential to treat everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s to heart disease are forcing it to grow up fast.

基因療法可能還處於起步階段，但對治療癌症，老年癡呆症，心髒病等所有疾病的潛力寄予厚望，迫使其迅速成長。

After two decades of lab research, gene treatments are increasingly making their way into human clinical trials.

經過二十年的實驗室研究，基因治療越來越多地進入人體臨床試驗階段。

The bulk of research so far has focused on getting a gene to its destination and coaxing it to turn on once inside a cell.

到目前為止，大部分研究都集中在讓基因到達目的地，並哄騙基因在細胞內一旦開啟。

On their own, genes can’t pass through cell membranes, and much effort has been spent to trick cells into accepting foreign genes.

基於它們自身，基因不能穿過細胞膜，並花費了很多精力來誘使細胞接受外來基因。

The most efficient couriers are so-called viral vectors: viruses whose genomes have been swapped out for therapeutic genes.

最有效的信使是所謂的病毒載體：病毒的基因組已被換出治療基因。

Like Trojan horses, they slip genes into target cells undetected. But as scientists are learning, there is no safe way to hijack a virus.

像特洛伊木馬一樣，它們將基因滑入未被發現的靶細胞中。但是，正如科學家們正在學習的那樣，沒有安全的方法來劫持病毒。

The vectors sometimes trigger  immune reactions. And once the genes are inside a cell, there is no way to be sure they will function as intended.

載體有時會引發免疫反應。一旦基因在細胞內，就無法確定它們會如預期般運作。

Case in point: a Paris gene therapy trial to treat SCIDs, or the “bubble boy disease,” restored immune function in nine of 10 patients. But it was later revealed that two of them had developed leukemia.

例如：巴黎基因治療試驗治療SCID或“泡沫男孩疾病”，10例患者中有9例恢復了免疫功能。但後來發現其中兩人發生了白血病。

infancy 'ɪnfənsi 幼年,初期,幼兒期

potential pət'ɛnʃəl 潛在性,可能性,潛力,潛能,勢,位(a.)有潛力的,可能的,潛在的

lab l'æb 實驗室,研究室

clinical kl'ɪnəkəl (a.)臨床的,病房用的

trial tr'ɑɪəl 審判,試驗,艱苦,麻煩事,考驗(a.)嘗試的,試驗性的 

bulk b'ʌlk 大小,體積,大批,大多數(vt.)顯得大,顯得重要 

destination d,ɛstən'eʃən  目的地目的文件,目的單元

coax  k'oks  (vt.)哄,誘騙,慢慢的做好(vi.)哄騙哄騙 

membrane m'ɛmbr,en 薄膜,膜皮,羊皮紙

courier k'ɚiɚ  送快信的,急差,旅行從仆居裏

genome dʒ'in,om 染色體組; 基因組

swap sw'ɑp  以貨易貨(vt.)(vi.)交換,替換,交易 

therapeutic  θ,ɛrəpj'utɪk(a.)治療的,治療學的

hijack h'ɑɪdʒ,æk  (vt.)搶劫,劫持,揩油