今週のHoffmannはHoffmann先生が化学・生命科学を擁護するところを取り上げてみます。
…Yes, some people are scared by these molecular games, as they are by genetic engineering. The range of concern is wide: Even if there are safeguards against letting loose possible new pathogens, even if these molecules save lives or improve our standard of living, what right do we have to tamper with what God gave us, as Shira says?
I do not have a full answer to these concerns, but I would begin a dialogue as follows: We have tampered irreversibly with nature, from the time we became a species, from the moment prehistoric man (the one recently thawed from Tyrolean ice) used a copper axe to modern times, to the ten billion chickens that now share the world with us (how many of them would be on earth if it weren’t for us?). Before us, cataclysmic natural events, as destructive of other species as we are, shaped this world. We did not invent species extinctions. The difference in our transformation of nature is its scale and pace. But there is another difference, the potential for repair. Yes, I am thinking of the Hebrew phrase “tikkun olam”, repair of the world.
There is a human creation (fully as unnatural as all those new molecules)―ethics that makes every chemist think about the consequences, the possible harm, the potential ill use of the new molecules he or she makes. Science of course needs ethics. In fact, I would say that developments in modern science, for instance in “reproductive technology,” have stimulated a revival in ethical thought.
We have no choice but to make these molecules, for curiosity drives us relentlessly. But we have no choice but to worry about what we do. And act upon it…. (42ページ）
safeguards 安全装置 （動詞は、守る、保護する）
pathogen 「パ」そジェン 病原体
tamper 改竄する、いじりまわす
Tyrolean ice チロルの氷河（1991年に発見された”iceman”のことでしょう）
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi
cataclysmic キャタ「クり」スミック 大変動の
“tikkun olam” (ヘブライ語）＝repair of the world はwikipediaに項目があります。
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikkun_olam
それによると、もともとは宗教的ですが、現在ではアメリカやイスラエルで社会運動的な広がりを持っている概念のようです。日本語の「世直し」は正常からずれてしまったものを正しい状態に「戻す」語感がありますが、こちらは
…with the meaning of amending the law in order to keep society well-functioning…. Building a model society and influence other nations in the world… という発展志向のように読めます（私の無理やりの要約です）。この辺りに文化的な秘密がありそうです。日本語の「世直し」の意味の変遷など、話がいくらでも広がりそうですね。
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%96%E7%9B%B4%E3%81%97%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86
amend 修正
diaspora ディアスポラ 「ユダヤ人の四散」のことですが、比ゆ的に外国に移住した人たち（華僑、ブラジルの日本人など）を指すこともあります。
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9D%E3%83%A9
ethics 「エ」しックス 倫理
consequences 「コン」セクエンスィズ 結果
We have no choice but to … ~する以外の選択肢がない
curiosity キュリ「オ」スィティ 好奇心
relentlessly リ「れン」トれスり 容赦なく