低過敏貓讓愛貓人不再打噴嚏 No-Sneeze Kitties for Cat Lovers Who Have Allergies and $4,000 田思怡譯 加州一家小生物科技公司說，公司準備運交總產值350億美元的寵物產業 聖杯：一隻低過敏的貓咪。明年初，第一批小貓（該公司稱為「生活品味寵物」 ）將來到殷殷企盼的主人家中，這些主人經過仔細篩選，而且已在等候名單上 等了兩年多。 A small California biotech company says it is ready to deliver the Holy Grail of the $35 billion pet industry: a hypoallergenic cat. At the start of next year, the first kittens － which the company calls “lifestyle pets” － will go home to eager owners who have been carefully screened and have been on a waiting list for more than two years. 自從聖地牙哥的這家Allerca公司2004年10月宣布這項計畫後，公司表示 已接到85國人士的詢問，他們想買一種特別繁殖的貓，牠的腺體不會產生一種 引起人類對貓過敏的蛋白質。 Since it announced the project in October 2004, the company, Allerca, of San Diego, says it has received inquiries from people in 85 countries seeking to buy a cat bred so that its glands do not produce the protein responsible for most human cat allergies. 現在訂購的貓，在美國要12到15個月才能送達，歐洲需15到18個月。費 用：4,000美元，而且貓主人必須通過Allerca極嚴苛的篩選測試。 Cats ordered now will take 12 to 15 months for delivery in the United States, 15 to 18 months in Europe. Cost: $4,000. And owners must pass Allerca’s finicky screening tests. 可能的買者要接受訪問，探詢他們的動機和熱情，核准過程好像他們要 領養孩子一樣。 Prospective buyers are interviewed for motivation and warmth, approved as if they were adopting a child. Allerca執行長梅根．楊說：「你不只是買一隻貓，牠可是取代打針吃藥 的醫療裝備。同時，這是活生生的動物，因此，我們產品的福利比顧客優先。 這不是什麼高價手提包，不合意就束之高閣。」 “You’re not just buying a cat; it’s a medical device that replaces shots and pills,” said Megan Young, chief executive of Allerca. “At the same time, this is a living animal, so the well-being of our product comes before our customers. This is not some high-priced handbag that you put back on the shelf if it doesn’t match.” 在美國和歐洲，貓是最普遍的家庭寵物。 In the United States and Europe, cats are the most common household pets. 洛杉磯加州大學臨床醫學教授薛爾頓．史派克特研究低過敏的貓。 Dr. Sheldon Spector, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, studied the hypoallergenic cats. 10位對貓嚴重過敏的志願者對Alleca的貓沒有反應，不過他們對一般的 貓都出現過敏症狀。史派克特說：「這不是已有定論的研究，卻是有趣和 引人入勝的觀念，能真正幫助人。」 Ten volunteers with severe cat allergies showed no reaction to the Allerca cats, though all had symptoms with normal animals. “This is not a definitive study, but it is an interesting and intriguing concept that could really help people,” Dr. Spector said. 他說，現階段，他不會建議買這種貓，因為仍可能有某些人對較不常見的 貓蛋白多少有反應。 For the moment, he said he would not recommend buying the cats because there was still the chance that some people might react to some degree to less-common cat proteins. Allerca篩選數以千計的貓，找出一群擁有改良基因的貓，再用這些貓來 繁殖。因為突變的基因是顯性，因此用來繁殖的貓可以和普通的貓交配，生 下低過敏貓。 Allerca screened thousands of cats to identify a population with the modified gene and then set those cats to breeding. Because the mutant gene is dominant, the breeding cats could be mated with normal cats to produce hypoallergenic kittens. 因此，Allerca的低過敏貓咪忙著生育。楊小姐說，貓咪的生育設施禁止參 觀，而且「位於一個秘密、不對外透露的地點」。 So Allerca’s hypoallergenic cats have been busy reproducing. Their breeding facility cannot be visited and “is at a secret, undisclosed location,” said Ms. Young. 只有少數貓咪曾住在私宅，而且只住幾周。上月，Allerca的公關顧問茱 莉．齊特洛夫斯基在她位於洛杉磯地區的公寓裡養了一隻Allerca的貓「約書 亞」幾周。約書亞曾飛到加州「做些宣傳」。 Only a few of the cats have lived in private homes, and only for a few weeks. Last month, an Allerca public relations consultant, Julie Chytrowsky, kept Joshua, an Allerca cat, for several weeks at her Los Angeles area apartment. Joshua had been flown to California to “do some publicity.” 齊特洛夫斯基說，她通常對貓很容易過敏，但她即便讓約書亞睡在她床 上，也完全沒有過敏症狀。她說：「我已愛上牠，牠是貨真價實的種貓，這麼 說吧，牠是種貓，如假包換。」 Ms. Chytrowsky, who says she is normally quite allergic, had no symptoms even though she al- lowed Joshua to sleep in her bed. “I fell in love with him,” she said. “He is a real stud － well, he is a stud, really.” They look like other cats, but a mutant gene makes this pair less likely to induce allergies. By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL International Herald Tribune 【2006-10-17/聯合報/C7版/教育】 -- 趙客縵胡纓 吳鉤霜雪明 銀鞍照白馬 颯沓如流星 十步殺一人 千里不留行 事了拂衣去 深藏身與名 閒過信陵飲 脫劍膝前橫 將炙啖朱亥 持觴勸侯贏 三盃吐然諾 五嶽倒為輕 眼花耳熱後 意氣素霓生 救趙揮金槌 邯鄲先震驚 千秋二壯士 烜赫大梁城 縱使俠骨香 不慚世上英 誰能書閤下 白首太玄經 李白 俠客行 --

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