Tal Danino: We can use bacteria to detect cancer (and maybe treat it)

Prevoditelj: Ivan Balić Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

You may not realize this,

Možda niste svjesni toga.

but there are more bacteria in your body than stars in our entire galaxy.

ali bakterija u vašem tijelu ima više nego zvijezda u našoj cijeloj galaksiji

This fascinating universe of bacteria inside of us

Očaravajući svemir bakterija u našem tijelu

is an integral part of our health,

je sastavni dio našeg zdravlja.

and our technology is evolving so rapidly

i naša tehnologija se razvija tako brzo

that today we can program these bacteria like we program computers.

da smo danas u mogućnosti programirati te bakterije kao što programiramo računala

Now, the diagram that you see here,

Dijagram koji vidite ovdje,

I know it looks like some kind of sports play,

Znam da izgleda kao nacrt za neku sportsku igru,

but it is actually a blueprint of the first bacterial program I developed.

ali je zapravo shematski plan prvog bakterijskog programa kojeg sam razvio.

And like writing software, we can print and write DNA

I kao što pišemo software, možemo tiskati i pisati DNA

into different algorithms and programs inside of bacteria.

u različitie algoritme i programe unutar bakterije.

What this program does is produces fluorescent proteins

Ono što ovaj program radi je proizvodnja fluorescentnih

in a rhythmic fashion

proteina na ritmičan način

and generates a small molecule

i proizvodi sitne molekule

that allows bacteria to communicate and synchronize,

koje omogućavaju bakteriji komunikaciju i sinkronizaciju,

as you're seeing in this movie.

kao što vidite u ovom videu.

The growing colony of bacteria that you see here

Rastuća kolonija bakterija koju vidite ovdje

is about the width of a human hair.

širine je ljudske dlake.

Now, what you can't see is that our genetic program

Ono što možete vidjeti jest da naš genetički program

instructs these bacteria to each produce small molecules,

daje uputstva ovim bakterijama da svaka proizvodi sitne molekule

and these molecules travel between the thousands of individual bacteria

i te molekule putuju između tisuća ovih pojedinačnih bakterija.

telling them when to turn on and off.

govoreći im kada da se uključe ili isključe

And the bacteria synchronize quite well at this scale,

I bakterije vrlo dobro sinkroniziraju na ovoj razini,

but because the molecule that synchronizes them together can only travel so fast,

ali zato što molekule koje ih sinkroniziraju zajedno mogu putovati samo

in larger colonies of bacteria, this results in traveling waves

tako brzo u većim kolonijama bakterija, to rezultira pojavom putujućih valova

between bacteria that are far away from each other,

između bakterija koje su međusobno udaljene

and you can see these waves going from right to left across the screen.

i možete vidjeti kako ovi valovi idu zdesna nalijevo preko zaslona.

Now, our genetic program relies on a natural phenomenon

Naš genetički program se oslanja na prirodni fenomen

called quorum sensing,

nazvan kvorum očitavanje

in which bacteria trigger coordinated and sometimes virulent behaviors

kojim bakterija aktivira koordinirane a nekad i zarazna ponašanja

once they reach a critical density.

jednom kad dosegnu kritučnu gustoću.

You can observe quorum sensing in action in this movie,

Možete vidjeti kvorum očitavanje u akciji u ovom videu

where a growing colony of bacteria only begins to glow

gdje rastuća kolonija bakterija tek započinje sjati

once it reaches a high or critical density.

kada dosegne visoku ili kritičnu gustoć.

Our genetic program

Naš genetski program

continues producing these rhythmic patterns of fluorescent proteins

nastavlja proizvoditi te ritmične uzorke fluorescentnih proteina

as the colony grows outwards.

kako kolonija raste prema van.

This particular movie and experiment we call The Supernova,

Ovaj posebni video i eksperiment mi zovemo Supernova,

because it looks like an exploding star.

zato što izgleda poput eksplodirajuće zvijezde.

Now, besides programming these beautiful patterns,

Osim programiranja ovih predivnih uzoraka,

I wondered, what else can we get these bacteria to do?

pitao sam se, što još možemo postići da ove bakterije rade?

And I decided to explore how we can program bacteria

I odlučio sam istražiti kako možemo programirati bakterije

to detect and treat diseases in our bodies like cancer.

da otkrivaju i lijeće u našem tijelu bolesti poput raka

One of the surprising facts about bacteria

Jedna od iznenađujućih činjenica o bakterijama

is that they can naturally grow inside of tumors.

je da one mogu prirodno izrasti unutar tumora.

This happens because typically tumors

To se događa jer su tumori uobičajeno

are areas where the immune system has no access,

područja gdje imunološki sustav nema pristup,

and so bacteria find these tumors

i tako bakterije pronalaze ove tumore

and use them as a safe haven to grow and thrive.

i koriste ih kao raj za rast i napredak.

We started using probiotic bacteria

Počeli smo koristiti probiotičke bakterije

which are safe bacteria that have a health benefit,

koje su sigurne bakterije i koriste zdravlju,

and found that when orally delivered to mice,

i otkrili smo kada ih se oralno da mišu

these probiotics would selectively grow inside of liver tumors.

ovi probiotici selektivno rastu unutar tumora jetre.

We realized that the most convenient way

Shvatili smo da je najpogodniji način za

to highlight the presence of the probiotics,

označiti prisutnost tih probiotika,

and hence, the presence of the tumors,

a samim time i tumora,

was to get these bacteria to produce a signal

je da omogućimo da te bakterije proizvode signal

that would be detectable in the urine,

koji bi bilo moguće otkriti u mokraći,

and so we specifically programmed these probiotics

i tako smo posebno programirali te probiotike

to make a molecule that would change the color of your urine

da naprave molekulu koja mijenja boju vaše mokraće

to indicate the presence of cancer.

da označi prisutnost raka.

We went on to show that this technology

Išli smo dalje kako bi pokazali da bi ova

could sensitively and specifically detect liver cancer,

tehnologija mogla precizno i specifično otkriti rak jetre,

one that is challenging to detect otherwise.

što je inače zahtjevno otkriti.

Now, since these bacteria specifically localize to tumors,

Budući da se ove bakterije posebno vežu uz tumore,

we've been programming them to not only detect cancer

programirali smo ih da osim što otkrivaju rak

but also to treat cancer

da ga i liječe

by producing therapeutic molecules from within the tumor environment

proizvodeći terapeutske molekule iz unutrašnjosti tumora

that shrink the existing tumors,

što smanjuje tumor,

and we've been doing this using quorum sensing programs

i to smo radili koristeći programe kvorum očitovanja

like you saw in the previous movies.

kao što ste vidjeli u prošlim videima.

Altogether, imagine in the future taking a programmed probiotic

Sveukupno, zamislite da u budućnosti uzmemo programirani probiotik

that could detect and treat cancer,

koji bi mogao otkriti i liječiti rak,

or even other diseases.

ili čak druge bolesti.

Our ability to program bacteria

Naša sposobnost da programiramo bakterije

and program life

i programiramo život

opens up new horizons in cancer research,

otvara nove horizonte u istraživanju raka,

and to share this vision, I worked with artist Vik Muniz

i kako bih podijelio ovu viziju, s umjetnikom Vikom Munizom

to create the symbol of the universe,

sam radio na izradi simbola svemira,

made entirely out of bacteria or cancer cells.

napravljenog u potpunosti od bakterija i stanica raka.

Ultimately, my hope is that the beauty and purpose of this microscopic universe

Naposljetku, nadam se da ljepota i svrha ovog mikroskopskog svemira

can inspire new and creative approaches for the future of cancer research.

može inspirirati nove i kreativne pristupe u budućnosti istraživanja raka.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)