The operating system of life - George Zaidan and Charles Morton

411,764 views ・ 2013-11-11

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:07
Every chicken was once an egg,
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every oak tree an acorn,
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every frog a tadpole.
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The patch of mold on that old piece of bread
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in the back of your fridge,
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not so long ago that was one, solitary cell.
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Even you were once but a gleam
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in your parents' eyes.
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All these organisms share
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the same basic goal:
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to perpetuate their own existence.
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All lifeforms that we've discovered so far
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stay alive by using
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basically the same rules, materials, and machinery.
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Imagine a factory full of robots.
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These robots have two missions:
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one, keep the factory running,
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and two, when the time is right,
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set up an entirely new factory.
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To do those things,
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they need assembly instructions,
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raw materials,
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plenty of energy,
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a few rules about when to work normally,
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when to work quickly,
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or when to stop,
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and some exchange currencies
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because even robots need to get paid.
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Each factory has a high security office with blueprints
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for all the possible factory configurations
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and complete sets of instructions
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to make all the different types of robots
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a factory could ever need.
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Special robots photocopy these instructions
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and send them off
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to help make the building blocks of more robots.
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Their colleagues assemble those parts
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into still more robots,
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which are transported
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to the right location in the factory
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and given the tools they need to start working.
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Every robot draws energy
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from the central power plant,
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a giant furnace that can burn regular fuel
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but also scrap materials
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if not enough regular fuel is available.
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Certain zones in the factory
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have harsher working conditions,
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so these areas are walled off.
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But the robots inside can at least communicate
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with the rest of the factory
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through specialized portals
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embedded directly into the walls.
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And as you've probably figured out,
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what we're describing here
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is a cell.
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The high security office is the nucleus.
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It stores the blueprints and instructions
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as deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.
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The photocopied instructions are RNA.
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The robots themselves are mostly proteins
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built from amino acids,
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but they'll often use special tools
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that are, or are derived from,
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vitamins and minerals.
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The walls between factory zones
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and around the factory itself
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are mostly made up of lipids,
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a.k.a. fats.
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In most organisms,
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the primary fuel source are sugars,
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but in a pinch,
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fats and proteins can be broken down
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and burned in the furnace as well.
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The portals are membrane proteins
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which allow very specific materials and information
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to pass through the walls at the right times.
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Many interactions between robot proteins
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require some kind of push,
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think robot minimum wage.
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A few small but crucial forms of money
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are transferred between proteins
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to provide this push.
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Electrons, protons, oxygen, and phosphate groups
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are the main chemical currencies,
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and they're kept in small molecular wallets
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or larger tote bags to keep them safe.
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This is biochemistry,
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the study of how every part of the factory
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interacts to keep your life running smoothly
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in the face of extreme challenges.
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Maybe there's too much fuel;
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your body will store the excess as glycogen or fat.
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Maybe there's not enough;
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your body will use up those energy reserves.
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Maybe a virus or bacteria tries to invade;
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your body will mobilize the immune system.
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Maybe you touched something hot or sharp;
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your nerves will let you know so you can stop.
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Maybe it's time to create a new cell
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or a new person.
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Amazingly, oak trees, chickens, frogs,
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and, yes, even you
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share so many of the same
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basic robot and factory designs
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that biochemists can learn a lot
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about all of them
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all at the same time.
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