Reports said last week that researchers could be just six months away from producing the world's first artificial meat, using thousands of stem cells bred in a laboratory. Yet there is an even more ghoulish prospect ahead: the idea of eating artificial food made from humans.
This may sound like science fiction, yet a new technique for making gelatin from human DNA is attracting increasing interest from research and industrial circles.
According to a new study by scientists from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology，they have inserted human genes into a strain of yeast to "grow" large amounts of recombinant human gelatin.
Gelatin has a long history of use as a gelling agent by the food industry. It is said human-derived gelatin could become a substitute for some of the 300,000 tons of animal-based gelatin produced annually for desserts, marshmallows, candy and innumerable other products.
There would be safety issues to consider. When an ice-cream parlor in London began selling flavors derived from human breast milk earlier this year, it was soon withdrawn for hygiene reasons.
However, scientists do not believe that the new gelatin product would pose any risk.
"There's a very high degree of similarity between gelatin that comes from a cow, a pig, and a human," explains Dr David Olsen, seniorscientist at FibroGen, which specializes in recombinant gelatins.
"So due to their similarities, I can't see why there would be a health risk to it," Olsen added.
In fact, human-derived gelatin is already in use by the pharmaceutical industry. Human genes are used by pharmaceutical firms in the production of insulin for diabetics, human growth hormone, and erythropoietin, which is used to treat anemia.
The Beijing University scientists believe their method offers many health advantages over animal-derived gelatin. The risk of gelatin transmitting animal-borne diseases such as BSE would be eliminated.



据英国《每日电讯报》9月6日报道，上周，有报道称，再过6个月，研究人员就可以利用从实验室里培育出的数以千计的干细胞来制造世界上第一块人造肉了。但是，眼前这项技术的发展更令人毛骨悚然，即食用来自人体的人造食品。


听起来或许像科幻小说中的场景，然而这项利用人体DNA中制造胶制品的新科技正吸引着越来越多研究界和工业界人士的关注。

由北京大学化学工艺学院的科学家进行的一项新研究显示，他们已经将人体基因导入一种酵母中，使其生产出大量重组的人类明胶。


在食品工业中，明胶作为一种胶凝剂被使用已经有很多年了。据说，由人体制造出的明胶能够代替部分取自动物的、年产量为30万吨的明胶。这些动物胶用于制作甜品、棉花糖、糖果以及其他形形色色的产品。

当然，安全问题也要考虑。今年年初，伦敦开了一家冰淇淋店，销售母乳口味的冰淇淋，而很快这家店就因卫生问题被吊销（营业资格）。


然而，科学家们并不认为这种新的明胶产品会带来任何风险。

大卫•奥尔森博士是人造黏胶纤维方面的资深研究员，专门负责研究重组明胶，他解释说："取自牛和猪体内的明胶和取自人体的极为相似。"

"正是因为他们如此相似，所以我看不出为什么人体明胶就会带来健康风险。" 奥尔森补充说。

事实上，来自人体的明胶已经被用于制药工业。制药公司利用人体基因生产治疗糖尿病的胰岛素、人类生长激素和用于治疗贫血的红细胞生成素。


北京大学的科学家们相信，他们的方法比从动物身上提取明胶更健康。因明胶而传染疯牛病等通过动物传播疾病的风险也消除了。

• artificial [,ɑ:ti´fiʃəl] a.人工的；模拟的 (初中英语单词)
• prospect [´prɔspekt, prəs´pekt] n.景色；境界 v.勘察 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• industrial [in´dʌstriəl] a.工业的，产业的 (初中英语单词)
• chemical [´kemikəl] a.化学的 n.化学制品 (初中英语单词)
• substitute [´sʌbstitju:t] n.代理人 v.代替，取代 (初中英语单词)
• parlor [´pɑ:lə] n.客厅；起居室 (初中英语单词)
• laboratory [lə´bɔrətəri] n.实验室；研究室(所) (高中英语单词)
• fiction [´fikʃən] n.小说；虚构；谎言 (高中英语单词)
• strain [strein] vt.拉紧 vi.拖 n.张力 (高中英语单词)
• annually [´ænjuəli] ad.每年；按年计算 (高中英语单词)
• innumerable [i´nju:mərəbəl] a.无数的，数不清的 (高中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• scientist [´saiəntist] n.(自然)科学家 (高中英语单词)
• gelatin [´dʒelətin] n.胶；动物胶；胶质 (英语四级单词)
• withdrawn [wið´drɔ:n] withdraw过去分词 (英语四级单词)
• hygiene [´haidʒi:n] n.健康法；卫生学 (英语四级单词)
• technique [tek´ni:k] n.技术；技巧；方法 (英语六级单词)