How we're using DNA tech to help farmers fight crop diseases | Laura Boykin

Prevoditelj: Neda Vrkic Recezent: Sanda L

I get out of bed for two reasons.

Ustajem iz kreveta radi dva razloga.

One, small-scale family farmers need more food.

Prvi, mali obiteljski poljoprivrednici trebaju više hrane.

It's crazy that in 2019 farmers that feed us are hungry.

Suludo je da su u 2019. poljoprivrednici, koji nas hrane, gladni.

And two, science needs to be more diverse and inclusive.

I drugi, znanost mora biti raznolikija i sveobuhvatnija.

If we're going to solve the toughest challenges on the planet,

Ako ćemo rješavati najteže izazove na planeti,

like food insecurity for the millions living in extreme poverty,

kao nesigurnost oko hrane za milijune koji žive u ekstremnom siromaštvu,

it's going to take all of us.

bit ćemo potrebni svi.

I want to use the latest technology

Želim iskoristiti najnoviju tehnologiju

with the most diverse and inclusive teams on the planet

s najraznolikijim i sveobuhvatnim timovima na planetu

to help farmers have more food.

kako bismo pomogli poljoprivrednicima da imaju više hrane.

I'm a computational biologist.

Ja sam računalna biologinja.

I know -- what is that and how is it going to help end hunger?

Znam - što je to i kako će to zaustaviti glad?

Basically, I like computers and biology

U osnovi, volim računala i biologiju

and somehow, putting that together is a job.

i nekako, stavljajući to zajedno, je posao.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I don't have a story

Nemam priču

of wanting to be a biologist from a young age.

o tome kako sam htjela biti biolog od malih nogu.

The truth is, I played basketball in college.

Istina je, igrala sam košarku na fakultetu.

And part of my financial aid package was I needed a work-study job.

I dio mog paketa financijske pomoći bio je da sam trebala studentski posao.

So one random day,

Tako jednog slučajnog dana,

I wandered to the nearest building to my dorm room.

odšetala sam do zgrade najbliže mojoj studentskoj sobi.

And it just so happens it was the biology building.

I tako se dogodilo da je to bila zgrada biologije.

I went inside and looked at the job board.

Ušla sam unutra i pogledala oglasnu ploču za poslove.

Yes, this is pre-the-internet.

Da, to je prije interneta.

And I saw a three-by-five card

I vidjela sam tri puta pet karticu

advertising a job to work in the herbarium.

koja oglašava posao za rad u herbariju.

I quickly took down the number,

I brzo sam zapisala broj,

because it said "flexible hours,"

jer je pisalo "fleksibilno radno vrijeme,"

and I needed that to work around my basketball schedule.

i to mi je trebalo da uskladim s mojim rasporedom košarke.

I ran to the library to figure out what an herbarium was.

Otrčala sam u knjižnicu da istražim što je herbarij.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And it turns out

I ispada

an herbarium is where they store dead, dried plants.

da u herbarij pohranjuju mrtve, osušene biljke.

I was lucky to land the job.

Imala sam sreće dobiti posao.

So my first scientific job

Dakle, moj prvi znanstveni posao

was gluing dead plants onto paper for hours on end.

bio je lijepljenje mrtvih biljaka na papir satima.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It's so glamorous.

Tako je glamurozno.

This is how I became a computational biologist.

Tako sam postala računalna biologinja.

During that time,

Tijekom tog vremena,

genomics and computing were coming of age.

genomika i računalstvo su napredovali.

And I went on to do my masters

I nastavila sam raditi svoj magisterij

combining biology and computers.

kombinirajući biologiju i računala.

During that time,

Tijekom tog vremena,

radila sam u Los Alamos Nacionalnom laboratoriju

I worked at Los Alamos National Lab

in the theoretical biology and biophysics group.

u grupi teorijske biologije i biofizike.

And it was there I had my first encounter with the supercomputer,

I tamo sam imala svoj prvi susret sa superračunalom,

and my mind was blown.

i ostala sam bez teksta.

With the power of supercomputing,

Sa snagom superračunalstva,

which is basically thousands of connected PCs on steroids,

što su u osnovi tisuće spojenih osobnih računala na steroidima,

we were able to uncover the complexities of influenza and hepatitis C.

bili smo u mogućnosti otkriti složenosti influence i hepatitisa C.

And it was during this time that I saw the power

I bilo je tijekom tog vremena da sam otkrila moć

of using computers and biology combined, for humanity.

kombinirane upotrebe računala i biologije, za čovječanstvo.

And I wanted this to be my career path.

I htjela sam da to bude put moje karijere.

So, since 1999,

Dakle, od 1999. godine

I've spent the majority of my scientific career

većinu svoje znanstvene karijere sam provela

in very high-tech labs,

u tehnološki vrhunskim laboratorijima,

surrounded by really expensive equipment.

okružena veoma skupom opremom.

So many ask me

Tako me mnogi pitaju

how and why do I work for farmers in Africa.

kako i zašto radim za poljoprivrednike u Africi.

Well, because of my computing skills,

Pa, radi mojih računalskih sposobnosti,

in 2013, a team of East African scientists

2013. godine, tim istočnoafričkih znanstvenika

asked me to join the team in the plight to save cassava.

zamolio me da se pridružim timu u stanju spašavanja kasave.

Cassava is a plant whose leaves and roots feed 800 million people globally.

Kasava je biljka čiji listovi i korijenje hrane 800 milijuna ljudi globalno.

And 500 million in East Africa.

I 500 milijuna u istočnoj Africi.

So that's nearly a billion people

Dakle, to je skoro milijarda ljudi

relying on this plant for their daily calories.

koji se oslanjanju na tu biljku za dnevne kalorije.

If a small-scale family farmer has enough cassava,

Ako mala obiteljska poljoprivrednica ima dosta kasave,

she can feed her family

ona može prehraniti svoju obitelj

and she can sell it at the market for important things like school fees,

i može je prodati na tržnici za važne stvari poput školarina,

medical expenses and savings.

liječničke troškove i ušteđevinu.

But cassava is under attack in Africa.

Ali kasava je pod napadom u Africi.

Whiteflies and viruses are devastating cassava.

Bijele muhe i virusi su porazni za kasavu.

Whiteflies are tiny insects

Bijele muhe su sitni insekti

that feed on the leaves of over 600 plants.

koji se hrane lišćem više od 600 biljaka.

They are bad news.

Loša su vijest.

There are many species;

Postoji mnogo vrsta;

they become pesticide resistant;

postanu otporne na pesticide

and they transmit hundreds of plant viruses

i prenose stotine biljnih virusa

that cause cassava brown streak disease

koji uzrokuju na kasavi bolest smeđe pruge

and cassava mosaic disease.

i mozaičnu bolest.

This completely kills the plant.

Ovo potpuno ubija biljku.

And if there's no cassava,

Ako nema kasave,

there's no food or income for millions of people.

nema hrane ili prihoda za milijune ljudi.

It took me one trip to Tanzania

Trebao mi je jedan put u Tanzaniju

to realize that these women need some help.

da shvatim da ove žene trebaju pomoć.

These amazing, strong, small-scale family farmers,

Ovi nevjerojatni, jaki, mali obiteljski poljoprivrednici,

the majority women,

većinom žene,

are doing it rough.

rade teško.

They don't have enough food to feed their families,

Nemaju dovoljno hrane da prehrane svoje obitelji

and it's a real crisis.

i to je prava kriza.

What happens is

Što se događa je

they go out and plant fields of cassava when the rains come.

izađu i sade polja kasave kada dođe kiša.

Nine months later,

Devet mjeseci poslije,

there's nothing, because of these pests and pathogens.

nema ničega, zbog ovih štetočina i patogena.

And I thought to myself,

I pomislih,

how in the world can farmers be hungry?

kako pobogu mogu poljoprivrednici biti gladni?

So I decided to spend some time on the ground

Tako sam odlučila provesti neko vrijeme na tlu

with the farmers and the scientists

s poljoprivrednicima i znanstvenicima

to see if I had any skills that could be helpful.

da vidim imam li bilokakve vještine koje bi mogle pomoći.

The situation on the ground is shocking.

Situacija na tlu je bila šokantna.

The whiteflies have destroyed the leaves that are eaten for protein,

Bijele muhe su uništile listove koji se jedu radi proteina,

and the viruses have destroyed the roots that are eaten for starch.

i virusi su uništili korijenje koje se jede radi škroba.

An entire growing season will pass,

Proći će čitava sezona rasta

and the farmer will lose an entire year of income and food,

i poljoprivrednici će izgubiti cijelu godinu prihoda i hrane,

and the family will suffer a long hunger season.

a obitelj će patiti od duge sezone gladi.

This is completely preventable.

Ovo se može potpuno spriječiti.

If the farmer knew

Ako bi poljoprivrednica znala

what variety of cassava to plant in her field,

koju vrstu kasave posaditi na svom polju,

that was resistant to those viruses and pathogens,

koja je otporna na te viruse i patogene,

they would have more food.

imali bi više hrane.

We have all the technology we need,

Imamo svu tehnologiju koja nam je potrebna,

but the knowledge and the resources

ali znanje i resursi

are not equally distributed around the globe.

nisu jednoliko raspoređeni širom svijeta.

So what I mean specifically is,

Dakle, ono što konkretno mislim je,

the older genomic technologies

starije genomske tehnologije

that have been required to uncover the complexities

koje su bile tražene otkriti složenosti

in these pests and pathogens --

u ovim štetočinama i patogenima -

these technologies were not made for sub-Saharan Africa.

ove tehnologije nisu bile napravljene za podsaharsku Afriku.

They cost upwards of a million dollars;

One koštaju više od milijun dolara;

they require constant power

zahtijevaju stalno napajanje

and specialized human capacity.

i specijalizirani ljudski kapacitet.

These machines are few and far between on the continent,

Ovi uređaji su rijetki na kontinentu,

which is leaving many scientists battling on the front lines no choice

što ostavlja mnoge znanstvenike da se bore na frontovima bez izbora

but to send the samples overseas.

nego da šalju uzorke u inozemstvo.

And when you send the samples overseas,

I kada pošaljete uzorke u inozemstvo,

samples degrade, it costs a lot of money,

uzorci se razgrade, košta puno novca

and trying to get the data back over weak internet

i pokušavati vratiti podatke preko slabog interneta

is nearly impossible.

je gotovo nemoguće.

So sometimes it can take six months to get the results back to the farmer.

Pa ponekad treba šest mjeseci kako bi rezultati došli do poljoprivrednika.

And by then, it's too late.

A do tada je prekasno.

The crop is already gone,

Usjev je već propao,

which results in further poverty and more hunger.

što rezultira daljnjim siromaštvom i više gladi.

We knew we could fix this.

Znali smo da to možemo popraviti.

In 2017,

2017. godine

we had heard of this handheld, portable DNA sequencer

čuli smo za ovaj ručni, prijenosni DNA sekvenator

called an Oxford Nanopore MinION.

zvan Oxford Nanopore MinION.

This was being used in West Africa to fight Ebola.

Ovo se bilo koristilo u zapadnoj Africi u borbi protiv ebole.

So we thought:

Pa smo pomislili:

Why can't we use this in East Africa to help farmers?

zašto to ne možemo koristiti da pomognemo poljoprivrednicima u istočnoj Africi?

So, what we did was we set out to do that.

Dakle, što smo učinili, odlučili smo se na to.

At the time, the technology was very new,

U to vrijeme, tehnologija je bila vrlo nova

and many doubted we could replicate this on the farm.

i mnogi su sumnjali da možemo ovo ponoviti na farmi.

When we set out to do this,

Kad smo se odlučili za to,

one of our "collaborators" in the UK

jedan od naših "suradnika" u UK

told us that we would never get that to work in East Africa,

rekao nam je da nam to nikada neće funkcionirati u istočnoj Africi,

let alone on the farm.

a kamoli na farmi.

So we accepted the challenge.

Pa smo prihvatili izazov.

This person even went so far as to bet us two of the best bottles of champagne

Ta osoba je čak otišla toliko daleko da se kladila s nama

u dvije najbolje boce šampanjca da nam to nikada neće proraditi.

that we would never get that to work.

Two words:

Dvije riječi:

pay up.

plati nam.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Plati nam, jer smo to i učinili.

Pay up, because we did it.

We took the entire high-tech molecular lab

Cijeli visokotehnološki molekularni laboratorij smo odnijeli

to the farmers of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda,

poljoprivrednicima Tanzanije, Kenije i Ugande,

and we called it Tree Lab.

nazvali smo ga Stablo laboratorijem.

So what did we do?

Dakle, što smo napravili?

Well, first of all, we gave ourselves a team name --

Dakle, kao prvo, dali smo sebi timsko ime --

it's called the Cassava Virus Action Project.

zove se Akcijski Projekt Virusa Kasave.

We made a website,

Napravili smo web stranicu,

we gathered support from the genomics and computing communities,

skupili smo podršku genomike i računalnih zajednica,

and away we went to the farmers.

i otišli smo k poljoprivrednicima.

Everything that we need for our Tree Lab

Sve što trebamo za naš Stablo laboratorij

is being carried by the team here.

održava tim ovdje.

All of the molecular and computational requirements needed

Svi molekularni i računalski zahtjevi potrebni

to diagnose sick plants is there.

za dijagnosticiranje oboljelih biljaka su tamo.

And it's actually all on this stage here as well.

I zapravo je sve i na ovoj pozornici ovdje.

We figured if we could get the data closer to the problem,

Skužili smo da ako podatke približimo problemu

and closer to the farmer,

i bliže poljoprivrednici,

the quicker we could tell her what was wrong with her plant.

brže joj možemo reći što nije bilo u redu s njenom biljkom.

And not only tell her what was wrong --

I ne samo joj reći što nije bilo u redu --

give her the solution.

dati joj riješenje.

And the solution is,

I riješenje je

burn the field and plant varieties

spaliti polje i posaditi sorte

that are resistant to the pests and pathogens she has in her field.

koje su otporne na štetočine i patogene koje ima u svom polju.

So the first thing that we did was we had to do a DNA extraction.

Dakle, prvo što smo učinili, morali smo ekstrahirati DNA.

And we used this machine here.

I koristili smo ovaj uređaj ovdje.

It's called a PDQeX,

Zove se PVBeX,

which stands for "Pretty Damn Quick Extraction."

što znači "Poprilično Vraški Brza Ekstrakcija."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I know.

Znam.

My friend Joe is really cool.

Moj prijatelj Joe je stvarno super.

One of the biggest challenges in doing a DNA extraction

Jedan od najvećih izazova u izvođenju ekstrakcije DNA

is it usually requires very expensive equipment,

je što zahtijeva vrlo skupu opremu

and takes hours.

i traje satima.

But with this machine,

Ali ovim uređajem

we've been able to do it in 20 minutes,

uspjeli smo to izvesti u 20 minuta,

at a fraction of the cost.

uz puno manji trošak.

And this runs off of a motorcycle battery.

I pokreće ga baterija za motocikle.

From there, we take the DNA extraction and prepare it into a library,

Odatle, uzmemo DNA ekstrakciju i pripremimo je u knjižnicu,

getting it ready to load on

spremajući je za učitavanje

to this portable, handheld genomic sequencer,

na ovaj prijenosni, ručni sekvencer genoma

which is here,

koji je ovdje,

and then we plug this into a mini supercomputer,

i onda uključimo ovo u mini superračunalo,

which is called a MinIT.

koji se zove MinIT.

And both of these things are plugged into a portable battery pack.

I obje ove stvari su priključene na prijenosni baterijski sustav.

So we were able to eliminate

Tako da smo uspjeli ukloniti

the requirements of main power and internet,

potrebe za glavnom strujom i internetom,

which are two very limiting factors on a small-scale family farm.

koji su dva vrlo ograničavajuća faktora na maloj obiteljskoj farmi.

Analyzing the data quickly can also be a problem.

Brza analiza podataka također može biti problem.

But this is where me being a computational biologist came in handy.

Ali tu je korisno to što sam računalska biologinja.

All that gluing of dead plants,

Sve to lijepljenje mrtvih biljaka,

and all that measuring,

sva ta mjerenja,

and all that computing

svo to računalstvo

finally came in handy in a real-world, real-time way.

napokon je korisno u stvarnom svijetu, u stvarnom vremenu.

I was able to make customized databases

Uspjela sam napraviti prilagođene baze podataka

and we were able to give the farmers results in three hours

i uspjeli smo dati rezultate poljoprivrednicima u tri sata

versus six months.

u usporedbi sa šest mjeseci.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

The farmers were overjoyed.

Poljoprivrednici su bili presretni.

So how do we know that we're having impact?

Pa kako znamo da imamo utjecaja?

Nine moths after our Tree Lab,

Devet mjeseci nakon našeg Stablo laboratorija,

Asha went from having zero tons per hectare

Asha je od imajući nula tona po hektaru

to 40 tons per hectare.

došla do 40 tona po hektaru.

She had enough to feed her family

Imala je dosta da prehrani svoju obitelj

and she was selling it at the market,

i prodavala ju je na tržnici,

and she's now building a house for her family.

a sad gradi kuću za svoju obitelj.

Yeah, so cool.

Da, tako super.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

So how do we scale Tree Lab?

Pa kako procjenjujemo Stablo laboratorij?

The thing is,

Stvar je,

farmers are scaled already in Africa.

poljoprivrednice su već procijenjene u Africi.

These women work in farmer groups,

Ove žene rade u zemljoradničkim skupinama

so helping Asha actually helped 3,000 people in her village,

pa pomažući Ashi zapravo je pomognuto 3,000 ljudi u njenom selu,

because she shared the results and also the solution.

jer je podijelila rezultate i rješenje.

I remember every single farmer I've ever met.

Sjećam se svake poljoprivrednice koju sam upoznala.

Their pain and their joy

Njihova bol i njihova radost urezane su u moja sjećanja.

is engraved in my memories.

Our science is for them.

Naša znanost je za njih.

Tree Lab is our best attempt to help them become more food secure.

Stablo laboratorij je naš najbolji pokušaj

da im pomognemo da budu osigurani hranom.

I never dreamt

Nikada nisam sanjala

that the best science I would ever do in my life

da je najbolja znanost koju ću ikada napraviti u svom životu

would be on that blanket in East Africa,

biti na pokrivaču u istočnoj Africi,

with the highest-tech genomic gadgets.

uz visokotehnološki napredne genomske uređaje.

But our team did dream

Ali naš tim je sanjao

that we could give farmers answers in three hours versus six months,

da možemo poljoprivrednicama dati odgovore u tri sata, a ne u šest mjeseci,

and then we did it.

i tada smo to učinili.

Because that's the power of diversity and inclusion in science.

Jer to je moć raznolikosti i uključivanja u znanost.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

(Cheers)

(Klicanje)