Janet Iwasa: How animations can help scientists test a hypothesis

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Senzos Osijek

Take a look at this drawing.

Pogledajte ovaj crtež.

Can you tell what it is?

Možete li reći što je to?

I'm a molecular biologist by training,

Ja sam molekularni biolog u izobrazbi,

and I've seen a lot of these kinds of drawings.

i vidjela sam puno ovakvih crteža.

They're usually referred to as a model figure,

Oni se nazivaju figurama modela,

a drawing that shows how we think

crtež koji prikazuje kako zamišljamo

a cellular or molecular process occurs.

da se odvija stanični ili molekularni proces.

This particular drawing is of a process

Ovaj crtež prikazuje proces

called clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

naziva endocitoza potaknuta klatrinom.

It's a process by which a molecule can get

To je proces kojim molekula može doći

from the outside of the cell to the inside

izvana stanice unutra

by getting captured in a bubble or a vesicle

tako da ju se uhvati u mjehurić

that then gets internalized by the cell.

koji onda prihvati stanica.

There's a problem with this drawing, though,

Postoji problem s ovim crtežom,

and it's mainly in what it doesn't show.

i to u onome što ne prikazuje.

From lots of experiments,

Iz puno eksperimenata,

from lots of different scientists,

od puno različitih znanstvenika,

we know a lot about what these molecules look like,

znamo puno o tome kako te molekule izgledaju,

how they move around in the cell,

kako se kreću u stanici,

and that this is all taking place

i da se sve ovo događa

in an incredibly dynamic environment.

u izuzetno dinamičnom okruženju.

So in collaboration with a clathrin expert Tomas Kirchhausen,

U suradnji sa stručnjakom za klatrin Tomasom Kirchhausen,

we decided to create a new kind of model figure

odlučili smo stvoriti novu figuru modela

that showed all of that.

koja je pokazivala sve to.

So we start outside of the cell.

Pa smo počeli izvan stanice.

Now we're looking inside.

Sada gledamo unutra.

Clathrin are these three-legged molecules

Klatrini su ove tronožne molekule

that can self-assemble into soccer-ball-like shapes.

koje se mogu složiti u oblike poput nogometne lopte.

Through connections with a membrane,

Kroz povezivanje s membranom,

clathrin is able to deform the membrane

klatrin može deformirati membranu

and form this sort of a cup

i napraviti ovakvu šalicu

that forms this sort of a bubble, or a vesicle,

koja se formira u ovaj mjehurić ili šupljine,

that's now capturing some of the proteins

koje sada hvataju neke bjelančevine

that were outside of the cell.

koje su bile izvan stanice.

Proteins are coming in now that basically pinch off this vesicle,

Bjelančevine koje dolaze sada otkinu šupljinu,

making it separate from the rest of the membrane,

odvajajući je od ostatka membrane,

and now clathrin is basically done with its job,

i sada je klatrin završio s poslom,

and so proteins are coming in now —

i bjelančevine dolaze sada —

we've covered them yellow and orange —

pokrili smo ih žutom i narančastom —

that are responsible for taking apart this clathrin cage.

oni su odgovorni za rastavljanje klatrinskog kaveza.

And so all of these proteins can get basically recycled

I sve ove bjelančevine se recikliraju

and used all over again.

i koriste opet iznova.

These processes are too small to be seen directly,

Ovi procesi su isuviše maleni da bi ih se vidjelo direktno

even with the best microscopes,

čak i najboljim mikroskopima,

so animations like this provide a really powerful way

tako da ovakve animcije daju moćan način

of visualizing a hypothesis.

vizualiziranja hipoteze.

Here's another illustration,

Ovdje je još jedna ilustracija,

and this is a drawing of how a researcher might think

i ovo je crtež onoga kako bi istraživač mogao zamišljati

that the HIV virus gets into and out of cells.

da HIV virus ulazi i izlazi iz stanica.

And again, this is a vast oversimplification

I ponovno, ovo je veliko pojednostavljenje

and doesn't begin to show

i ne počinje prikazivati

what we actually know about these processes.

što zapravo znamo o tim procesima.

You might be surprised to know

Možda ćete se iznenaditi

that these simple drawings are the only way

da su ovi jednostavni crteži jedini način

that most biologists visualize their molecular hypotheses.

za većinu biologa da vizualiziraju svoje molekularne hipoteze.

Why?

Zašto?

Because creating movies of processes

Jer stvaranje filmova procesa

as we think they actually occur is really hard.

kako zamišljamo da se odvijaju je stvarno teško.

I spent months in Hollywood learning 3D animation software,

Provela sam mjesece u Hollywoodu učeći 3D animacijski softver,

and I spend months on each animation,

i potrošila sam mjesece na svaku animaciju,

and that's just time that most researchers can't afford.

i to je jednostavno vrijeme koje istraživači nemaju.

The payoffs can be huge, though.

No profit iz toga može biti ogroman.

Molecular animations are unparalleled

Molekularne animacije su besprimjerne

in their ability to convey a great deal of information

u svojoj mogućnosti da prikažu velike količine informacija

to broad audiences with extreme accuracy.

velikoj publici sa ekstremnom točnošću.

And I'm working on a new project now

I radim na novom projektu sada

called "The Science of HIV"

koji se zove "Znanost HIV-a"

where I'll be animating the entire life cycle

gdje ću animirati cijeli životni ciklus

of the HIV virus as accurately as possible

HIV virusa što je točnije moguće

and all in molecular detail.

i sve u molekularnim detaljima.

The animation will feature data

Animacija će sadržavati podatke

from thousands of researchers collected over decades,

tisuće istraživača prikupljenih tijekom desetljeća,

data on what this virus looks like,

podataka o tome kako virus izgleda,

how it's able to infect cells in our body,

kako može zaraziti stanice u našem tijelu,

and how therapeutics are helping to combat infection.

i kako lijekovi pomažu u borbi protiv infekcije.

Over the years, I found that animations

Kroz godine, shvatila sam da animacije

aren't just useful for communicating an idea,

nisu samo korisne za predstavljanje ideje,

but they're also really useful

nego su korisne

for exploring a hypothesis.

i za istraživanje hipoteze.

Biologists for the most part are still using a paper and pencil

Biolozi većinom koriste papir i olovku

to visualize the processes they study,

da vizualiziraju procese koje proučavaju,

and with the data we have now, that's just not good enough anymore.

i sa podatcima koje imamo sada, to više nije dovoljno.

The process of creating an animation

Proces stvaranja animacije

can act as a catalyst that allows researchers

može biti katalizator koji dozvoljava istraživačima

to crystalize and refine their own ideas.

da kristaliziraju i pročiste svoje ideje.

One researcher I worked with

Jedan istržaivač s kojim sam radila

who works on the molecular mechanisms

koji radi na molekularnim mehanizmima

of neurodegenerative diseases

neurodegenerativnih bolesti

came up with experiments that were related

smislio je eksperimente koji su bili povezani

directly to the animation that she and I worked on together,

direktno s animacijom na kojoj smo radili zajedno,

and in this way, animation can feed back into the research process.

i na ovaj način, animacija može dati povratnu informaciju u istraživački proces.

I believe that animation can change biology.

Vjerujem da animacija može izmijeniti biologiju.

It can change the way that we communicate with one another,

Može izmjeniti način na koji komuniciramo jedni s drugima,

how we explore our data

kako istražujemo podatke

and how we teach our students.

i kako podučavamo učenike.

But for that change to happen,

Ali da bi se ta promjena dogodila,

we need more researchers creating animations,

moramo imati više istraživača koji rade animacije,

and toward that end, I brought together a team

i u tom smjeru, sastavila sam tim

of biologists, animators and programmers

biologa, animatora i programera

to create a new, free, open-source software —

koji stvaraju novi, besplatni software otvorenog koda —

we call it Molecular Flipbook —

Zovemo ga Molekularna slikovnica —

that's created just for biologists

koja je kreirana isključivo za biologe

just to create molecular animations.

za stvaranje molekularnih animacija.

From our testing, we've found that it only takes 15 minutes

Iz naših testiranja utvrdili smo da treba 15 minuta

for a biologist who has never touched animation software before

da biolog koji nikad nije vidio software

to create her first molecular animation

stvori prvu molekularnu animaciju

of her own hypothesis.

vlastite hipoteze.

We're also building an online database

Također gradimo online bazu podataka

where anyone can view, download and contribute

gdje svatko može vidjeti, preuzetii i doprinijeti

their own animations.

vlastite animacije.

We're really excited to announce

Uzbuđeni smo jer možemo najaviti

that the beta version of the molecular animation

da je beta verzija alata za

software toolkit will be available for download today.

molekularnu animaciju dostupna za preuzimanje danas.

We are really excited to see what biologists will create with it

Zaista smo uzbuđeni vidjeti što biolozi mogu stvoriti s tim

and what new insights they're able to gain

i kakva će nova otkrića pronaći

from finally being able to animate

kada napokon budu mogli animirati

their own model figures.

vlastite figure modela.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)