Curiosity, discovery and gecko feet - Robert Full

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: 小布 陈 校对人员: Jenny Yang

Nearly every one of your science classes

基本上你们每个人上科学课

starts off with the scientific method.

都是从学习科学研究的方法开始的

You recognize this?

你认出来了么

Ask a question,

form a hypothesis,

1.提出问题

2.建立假设

perform an experiment,

3.进行实验

collect data,

4.收集数据

draw conclusions,

5.得出结论

and then memorize a bunch of facts.

最后记住事实

This is really boring!

这真的很无聊！

Science is not a simple recipe in a cookbook,

科学绝不是烹饪书中的简单食谱.

and learning is not memorizing facts for tests.

而且学习也不是为了考试 而去记住知识。

Yet, that is exactly what we do.

但是，我们就是这样做的。

We have to change this!

我们一定要改变！

We have to look at how curiosity can ultimately benefit society

我们需要了解“好奇心” 是如何最终帮助到社会的

by looking towards tomorrow,

通过展望未来，

by going through a path from involvement

通过由积极参与，

to imagination

到想象，

to invention

到发明，

to innovation.

再到创新的一系列过程。

And I'd like to illustrate this by telling you the real story

我想用一个真实的故事来告诉你们，

about how we discovered how geckos stick.

有关于我们如何发现 壁虎是如何粘附的。

First you need to get involved.

第一点，你需要参与进来。

You need to do curiosity-driven research yourself.

你需要让好奇心引导你的研究、

We know that learning by being an active researcher

我们都知道，进行主动的研究

is the best way to learn.

是学习的最佳方法。

Imagine being in my lab

想象你在我的实验室里

and trying to discover how geckos stick.

想要探究壁虎是如何粘附的。

"Here is one of our subjects.

“这是我们的一个项目

This is a crested gecko.

这是一只睫角守宫（有羽冠的壁虎）。

We are going to put the gecko on glass

我们将要把它放在玻璃上，

and we're going to use a high speed camera

再用一台高速照相机

that can capture up to 1,000 pictures in one second.

它每秒可以捕捉1000张画面。

There he goes.

它在动了。

OK, record it.

记录下来。

There's the animal's toes."

这是它的脚趾。”

"So how do their feet stick and unstick so quickly?"

“为什么它们的脚可以在粘住和 松开之间转换这么快？”

How <i>do</i> they do this?

它们是怎么做到的？

We wonder, it's kind of crazy, right?

我们想，这太疯狂了，是不是？

It's hard to believe.

这简直难以置信

Well it turns out, it was already known that the geckos have hairy toes,

现在我们知道了， 这是因为壁虎有长毛的脚趾，

and those hairs are really small compared to your hair,

而且他们的毛比你的头发细小很多，

and the little tips at the end are even smaller.

它们顶端的毛甚至更小。

Well, my student Tanya,

我的学生Tanya，

who is not much older than some of you when she did this,

她做这个研究的时候并不比 你们中的一部分人大多少，

a sophomore undergraduate,

她一名大二学生

tried to figure this out,

想要弄明白这个问题。

and we told that her that in order to do this,

然后我们告诉她：如果你要想做这个

you'd have to measure the force of a single hair.

你需要测量每一根毛发的力量。

Though we kind of only did this jokingly

我们当时是在开玩笑，

because these hairs are so small,

因为他们的毛发实在太小了，

we didn't think it was possible.

我们都觉得这不可能实现。

But Tanya didn't know that,

但是Tanya并不知道。

and she went on to build the simplest,

她由此建造了最简单

most beautiful measurement device ever.

同时最美的测量装置。

Here it is:

就是这个：

she took one of those tiny little hairs

她取下微小毛发中的一根

and put it on to a probe,

把它放在探针上，

and then she began pushing it into the metal beam.

接着她开始推动它到金属横梁上。

Now she was very frustrated for months - it didn't stick.

她有好几个月都很郁闷， 因为那些毛发不能黏附。

But she had figured out she had to orient it

之后她明白了：她需要引导毛发的方向

just like the gecko grabs on,

就像壁虎粘住玻璃一样，

and then it worked!

问题就这么解决了。

And there's the little split ends grabbing the beam in that little window.

这就是毛发的分叉处 抓住窗口上的光线的样子。

And then she did something magical:

她做了一件神奇的事情：

for the first time ever,

史无前例地

she measured the force of a single gecko hair

她测量了单根壁虎毛发的黏附力。

that allowed her to discover

这让她有机会去探索

a completely new way to stick to something,

一个全新的黏附方法,

something no human has ever known before.

没有任何人知道的方法。

They have hairy little toes,

壁虎有多毛的脚趾，

huge numbers of hairs,

大量的毛发

and each hair has the worst case of split ends possible,

而且每一根毛发尾端都有分叉

100 to 1,000 nano-tips that an animal has on one hair,

在一根毛发上有成百到上千个微小分叉

and 2 billion total,

一共二十亿根，

and they don't stick by glue,

它们不是靠胶水黏附，

or by suction,

不是靠它和玻璃之间的吸力，

or by velcro.

也不是尼龙搭扣。

It was discovered that they stick by inter-molecular forces alone,

最终我们发现， 它们通过分子之间的力吸附的

by van der Waals forces,

也就是范德华力。

and you'll learn this in Chemistry and Physics, if you take it.

你在化学或者物理课上应该学过，

如果你选了这两门课的话。

It's unbelievable!

It's a whole new way of thinking about making an adhesive!

这难以置信！

这是一个制造粘合剂的全新思维方式。

Well, this isn't the end of the story,

但这个故事并没有结束，

there are still mysteries.

还有很多未解之谜。

Why are the gecko's feet looking like this?

为什么壁虎的脚看起来这样？

They have bizarre toes and we don't know why.

它们有奇异的脚趾， 我们也不知道为什么。

If you go into a museum and look at each gecko species,

如果你去博物馆观察不同科目的壁虎，

you see they have all different hairs,

你会发现它们有着不同的毛发，

different lengths, and thicknesses, and patterns.

不同的长度，厚度，类型。

Why?

为什么？

I don't know!

我不知道！

But you should come to Berkeley and help me figure this out.

不过你可以来伯克利大学 帮我弄明白，

It's just about right, so, apply.

好，所以，快来申请！

But it's a mystery.

这是一个谜，

There is even more stuff that is unknown.

然而这里还有很多未知的东西。

This tarantula also has hairs

狼蛛也有毛发

and can stick this way, too,

它们也可以黏附，

but recently it was found that they also can secrete silk from their feet,

但是最近的科研显示 它们可以从脚中分泌丝，

not just their behind, like you know they do.

不是你之前了解的那样 由他们的屁股分泌。

And even more recently, my graduate student Ann showed

再近一些，我的学生Ann发现

that all spiders can secrete glue,

所有的蜘蛛可以分泌一种胶

and we know nothing about this glue

我们对这种胶一无所知，

except it was around way before this guy,

唯一知道的就是它比 蜘蛛侠的出现早了很多，

millions of years before.

百万年前就已经存在了。

So don't stop at the discovery,

所以不要停止这个探索

next imagine the possible uses for society.

接着想象这个发现的可能用途。

Here is the first human supported by a gecko-inspired adhesive.

这是第一个由壁虎脚灵感 做出的粘合剂黏住的人类，

This is my former graduate student, Kellar Autumn,

这位是我之前教过的学生， Keller Autumn

who is professor at Lewis and Clark,

现在在刘易斯克拉克学院做教授，

offering his second born child for the test.

奉献出了他的第二个孩子来做试验。

And she's a very good sport about it!

她很支持这项行动！

Now imagine all the things you could make from this,

想象由此发现可以延伸的所有东西，

not only adhesives, but products in sports,

不仅是粘合剂，还有体育用品、

and biomedicine,

technology,

生物医药、

科技、

robotics,

机器人学、

toys,

玩具、

automotive,

汽车、

fashion,

clothes,

时尚、

服装、

and yes, even hair pieces.

当然，还有头发。

I swear to you, we got a call from Michael Jackson's hairdresser

我向你保证，我们接到了 迈克尔·杰克逊的美发师的电话

about hair pieces before he passed away.

这是在他去世之前。

Who would have guessed from studying geckos?!?

谁会想到这是因为我们研究了壁虎。

Next, invent a game-changing technology, device, or product.

之后，创造一个可以改变时代的技术、 设备或者产品。

Like my engineering colleague at Berkeley, Ron Fearing, did

就像我在伯克利的同事Ron Fearing ，

when he made one of the first synthetic, self-cleaning dry adhesives

他发明了最早的自主清洁干燥粘合剂，

after the simplest version that you see in animals.

就是在观察动物之后合成的。

Believe it or not, right now, because of this work,

不管你信不信， 现在，因为这项研究，

you can make your own synthetic gecko nano-tape

你可以做你自己的壁虎合成纳米胶带，

by nano-molding with just a few parts,

通过一部分纳米模具。

and here's the recipe that we can give you.

这个方法我可以告诉你

It's been incredible since we made this discovery

难以置信从我们进行研究

of all the papers and the work

的所有书面工作

and the different ways to make it,

和制造它的不同方法

it's emerging into a billion dollar industry.

它已经形成里一个亿元的大产业

And who would have imagined that it started

但是谁能想到它起源于

because we were curious about how geckos can run up walls.

我们对壁虎能够垂直爬墙的好奇

Next you need to innovate,

之后你需要创新

create a business that ultimately benefits society.

发展成一个能够最终服务于社会的商业形式。

Did you know that there are 6 million people per year that have chronic wounds,

你知道么？每年有六百万人受慢性伤口的折磨

2 million develop an infection,

其中的二百万发生了感染

and infections account for 100,000 hospital deaths?

十万人死于感染

Imagine if you could build a company that could produce

想象一下，如果你成立了一家公司

a gecko-inspired band-aid

生产仿壁虎创口贴

that would remove the pain and suffering.

它可以去除人们的疼痛和折磨

Just a simple invention.

只是一个小发明

If you look at the last three great earthquakes,

最近的三次大地震

over 700,000 people were trapped and lost their lives.

超过七十万人被困住，最终失去了生命

Imagine the company that made a search-and-rescue robot

想象如果有一个公司研发出一台能够寻找施救的机器人

inspired from a gecko

灵感来源于壁虎

that could move anywhere

它来去自如，无孔不入

and quickly find individuals that have been trapped,

并很快地找到被困住的人

that sometimes survive as long as two weeks.

有时这些人他们能够幸存长达两周的时间

There is a gecko-inspired robot, StickyBot,

这就是仿壁虎机器人-粘粘机器人（Sticky Robot)

from the Stanford group,

由斯坦福团队研发的

that can grab on to any surface.

它可以抓住任何表面

Now we ran our own, for TED, Mini Bio-inspired Design Challenge

我们在TED发起微型仿生物设计挑战

to get you to think about these kinds of products.

给每个人思考这类仿壁虎产品的机会

We have a winner.

于是我们产生了一个赢家

Here's the winner.

这是获胜者

The winner came up with this design called StickySeat.

这个获胜者想出了一个名叫粘粘座椅的设计

Really clever.

相当聪明

It's a seat that is not only comfortable,

这个座椅不但舒服

but it aids a seat belt, if you were in an accident,

而且如果出了意外事故，它能够提供安全带

in terms of keeping your seat and moving.

固定你的座位并移动

This is brilliant!

这很棒!

We didn't think about this,

是我们没有想到的

although we might think about patenting it now,

虽然我们想现在想到要用这个去申请专利了

but there is a winner for this,

但这有一个获胜者

and the winner, and you can't,

这个获胜者

you can't make up something like this,

我不是开玩笑啊

the winner's name

获奖者的名字

is Harry.

叫Harry（与hairy发音类似，hairy意为多毛发的）

Where's Harry?

Harry在哪？

Harry, come here, we have a prize for you.

Harry,快过来，这里有你的奖品

Where's Harry?

Harry在哪？

Harry!

Harry!

Come here!

快过来！

We have a crested gecko for you

我们要奖赏你一只睫角守宫

that has very cool hairs on it.

它有很酷的毛发哦

Congratulations for Harry!

祝贺Harry

Excellent job!

做的超棒！

So don't worry, if you missed out on this, it's OK

不要担心如果你错过了这个

because we are doing another design challenge

因为我们发起另一个设计挑战

working with the San Diego Zoo.

和圣地亚哥动物园合作

They're developing a best ideas project in San Diego,

他们在圣地亚哥开展了一个最佳设计项目

but it's going to go national.

不过它很快就可以走向全国

And I'll leave you with a fact that you should keep being curious

我给你们一个诀窍—保持好奇心

because curiosity-based research leads to the biggest benefits,

因为以好奇心为基础的研究才能带来最大的效用

as we showed you in our example,

就像我们例子中展现的那样

and you <i>can</i> make a difference

你能改变世界

<i>now</i>

现在

because like Tanya,

因为就像Tanya

you don't know what can't be done.

你知道一切皆有可能

Thank you.

谢谢（鼓掌！）