对于遗传学而言,一项最根本的任务是研究特定基因的功能,20世纪70年代基因工程的出现促进了该方面的研究,而80年代基因剔除(又称基因打靶)技术的发明则更加快了研究者对基因功能的理解,今天基因剔除小鼠已经成为研究人类多种疾病如癌症、糖尿病和动脉硬化等的模型,是分子遗传学的必备材料。在基因剔除技术发明的过程中,两位科学家成就尤为突出,一是卡佩奇(Mario Renato Capecchi)[1],另一位是奥利弗·史密斯(Oliver Smithies)。 For genetics, one of the most fundamental tasks is to study the function of a particular gene. The advent of genetic engineering in the 1970s contributed to this research, and the invention of gene knockdown (also known as gene targeting) in the 1980s was even more Researchers have accelerated the understanding of gene function. Today, gene knockout mice have become a model for studying various human diseases such as cancer, diabetes and arteriosclerosis, and are essential materials for molecular genetics. In the invention of gene knockout technology, the achievements of the two scientists were particularly prominent. The first was Mario Renato Capecchi [1] and the other was Oliver Smithies.