The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release gene

游客2024-01-21  8

问题     The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes anytime this year or next, researchers announced Wednesday. It’s a key step in the broader efforts to use bioengineering to eliminate malaria in the region.
    The release, which scientists are hoping to execute this month, will be the first time that any genetically engineered animal is released into the wild in Africa. While these particular mosquitoes won’t have any mutations (变异) related to malaria transmission, researchers are hoping their release, and the work that led up to it, will help improve the perception of the research and trust in the science among regulators and locals alike.
    In Africa, the project’s success depends on more than just the science of genetic engineering. The people who live in the areas where the mosquitoes will be released must give their consent, researchers must staff and maintain labs to work with genetically modified animals, and regulators must accept the new technology. The impending (即将发生的) release of these mosquitoes serves as a stress test for the whole system.
    These mosquitoes, unlike their "gene drive" counterparts, are not intended to have a lasting impact on the insect population. They have something called a "sterile (不育的) male" mutation—none of the male mosquitoes that will be released will be able to have offspring. Nearly all will be male, but less than one percent might be female—which are the only members of the species that bite. If any bite a human, they will not pass on any genetically modified material. All of the modified mosquitoes the group will release are also weaker than natural mosquitoes, so they should die off in a matter of months.
    The scientists also worked hard to address questions about the science behind their efforts—including concerns about whether those "sterile males" might somehow pass on that sterile status to humans. And they even brought in linguists and worked with the village’s residents to develop a standard vocabulary of scientific phrases in Dioula, the local language, which doesn’t have words for ideas like "gene".  [br] What’s the researchers’ expectation concerning their work?

选项 A、They hope it will become successful.
B、They hope it will raise people’s awareness about their work.
C、They hope it will have a lasting influence.
D、They hope it will solve questions in other fields.

答案 B

解析 事实细节题。由题干中的the researchers’expectation定位到第二段第二句后半部分。由定位句可知,研究人员希望它们的释放以及相应的工作将有助于提高监管机构和当地人对研究的认知度和对科学的信任度,即提高对他们工作的认识,故答案为B)。
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