Janet Iwasa: How animations can help scientists test a hypothesis

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Dejan Vicai

Take a look at this drawing.

Pogledajte ovaj crtež.

Can you tell what it is?

Znate li šta je to?

I'm a molecular biologist by training,

Po zanimanju sam molekularni biolog

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

i videla sam dosta ovakvih crteža.

They're usually referred to as a model figure,

Obično se nazivaju crtežom modela,

a drawing that shows how we think

to je crtež koji prikazuje kako mislimo

a cellular or molecular process occurs.

da se dešava ćelijski ili molekularni proces.

This particular drawing is of a process

Konkretno ovaj crtež predstavlja proces

called clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

koji se zove endocitoza putem klatrina.

It's a process by which a molecule can get

To je proces putem kog molekul može da dođe

from the outside of the cell to the inside

iz spoljašnjosti u unutrašnjost ćelije

by getting captured in a bubble or a vesicle

tako što se zarobi unutar mehura ili vezikule

that then gets internalized by the cell.

koje onda proguta ćelija.

There's a problem with this drawing, though,

Ipak, postoji problem sa ovim crtežom,

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

a odnosi se uglavnom na to šta on ne prikazuje.

From lots of experiments,

Iz dosta eksperimenata,

from lots of different scientists,

od raznih naučnika,

we know a lot about what these molecules look like,

znamo dosta o tome kako izgledaju ovi molekuli,

how they move around in the cell,

kako se kreću unutar ćelije,

and that this is all taking place

i da se sve ovo dešava

in an incredibly dynamic environment.

u neverovatno dinamičnom okruženju.

So in collaboration with a clathrin expert Tomas Kirchhausen,

U saradnji sa Tomasom Kirhauzenom, stručnjakom za klaritin,

we decided to create a new kind of model figure

odučili smo da stvorimo novu vrstu crteža modela

that showed all of that.

koja bi prikazala sve to.

So we start outside of the cell.

Počinjemo van ćelije.

Now we're looking inside.

Sada gledamo unutra.

Clathrin are these three-legged molecules

Klatrin je ovaj molekul sa tri kraja

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

koji može sam da formira ove oblike fudbalske lopte.

Through connections with a membrane,

Kroz veze sa membranom,

clathrin is able to deform the membrane

klatrin može da deformiše membranu

and form this sort of a cup

i formira ovu šolju

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

koja stvara ovakav mehur ili vezikulu,

that's now capturing some of the proteins

koji sada grabi neke od proteina

that were outside of the cell.

koji su bili van ćelije.

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

Sada dolaze proteini koji bukvalno štipaju ovu vezikulu,

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 zapravo uradio svoj posao

and so proteins are coming in now —

i sada dolaze proteini -

we've covered them yellow and orange —

prekrili smo ih žutom i narandžastom bojom-

that are responsible for taking apart this clathrin cage.

njihova dužnost je rastavljanje ovog klatrinskog kaveza.

And so all of these proteins can get basically recycled

Svi ovi proteini zapravo mogu da se recikliraju

and used all over again.

i koriste ponovo.

These processes are too small to be seen directly,

Ovi procesi su premali da se vide direktno,

even with the best microscopes,

čak i sa najboljim mikroskopima,

so animations like this provide a really powerful way

tako da ovakve animacije daju zaista moćan način

of visualizing a hypothesis.

prikazivanja hipoteze.

Here's another illustration,

Evo još jedne ilustracije,

and this is a drawing of how a researcher might think

ovo je crtež toga kako istraživač misli

that the HIV virus gets into and out of cells.

da virus HIV-a ulazi i izlazi iz ćelija.

And again, this is a vast oversimplification

Još jednom, ovo je veoma pojednostavljeno

and doesn't begin to show

i uopšte ne prikazuje

what we actually know about these processes.

šta zapravo znamo o ovim procesima.

You might be surprised to know

Možda će vas iznenaditi saznanje

that these simple drawings are the only way

da su ovi jednostavni crteži jedini način

that most biologists visualize their molecular hypotheses.

na koji većina biologa prikazuje svoje molekularne hipoteze.

Why?

Zašto?

Because creating movies of processes

Zato što je snimanje filmova o procesima

as we think they actually occur is really hard.

kako mi mislimo da se oni zapravo dešavaju veoma teško.

I spent months in Hollywood learning 3D animation software,

Provela sam više meseci u Holivudu učeći softver za 3D animaciju

and I spend months on each animation,

i provodim mesece na svaku animaciju

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

a to je prosto vreme koje većina istraživača ne može da priušti.

The payoffs can be huge, though.

Ipak, to može odlično da se isplati.

Molecular animations are unparalleled

Molekularne animacije su najbolje

in their ability to convey a great deal of information

po svojoj mogućnosti da prikažu puno informacija

to broad audiences with extreme accuracy.

širokoj publici, i to veoma tačno.

And I'm working on a new project now

Sada radim na novom projektu

called "The Science of HIV"

koji se zove Nauka o HIV-u,

where I'll be animating the entire life cycle

gde ću animirati ceo životni ciklus

of the HIV virus as accurately as possible

virusa HIV-a što je preciznije moguće

and all in molecular detail.

i to sve na nivou molekula.

The animation will feature data

Animacija će sadržati podatke

from thousands of researchers collected over decades,

hiljada istraživača koji su skupljani tokom decenija,

data on what this virus looks like,

podatke o tome kako izgleda virus,

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

kako inficira ćelije unutar naših tela

and how therapeutics are helping to combat infection.

i kako terapeuti pomažu da se borimo protiv infekcije.

Over the years, I found that animations

Tokom godina, otkrila sam da animacije

aren't just useful for communicating an idea,

nisu korisne samo za prenošenje ideje

but they're also really useful

već su i veoma korisne

for exploring a hypothesis.

za istraživanje hipoteze.

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

Biolozi još uvek većinom koriste olovku i papir

to visualize the processes they study,

da prikažu procese koje izučavaju,

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

a sa podacima koje sada imamo, to jednostavno više nije dovoljno dobro.

The process of creating an animation

Proces stvaranja animacije

can act as a catalyst that allows researchers

može da posluži kao katalizator koji istraživačima dozvoljava

to crystalize and refine their own ideas.

da kristališu i usavrše svoje ideje.

One researcher I worked with

Jedna naučnica sa kojom sam radila

who works on the molecular mechanisms

i koja radi na molekularnim mehanizmima

of neurodegenerative diseases

neurodegenerativnih bolesti

came up with experiments that were related

smislila je eksperimente koji su bili povezani

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

direktno sa animacijom na kojoj smo obe radile

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

i na ovaj način, animacija može da se vrati u proces istraživanja.

I believe that animation can change biology.

Verujem da animacija može da izmeni biologiju.

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

Može da izmeni način na koji međusobno komuniciramo,

how we explore our data

kako istražujemo podatke i predajemo

and how we teach our students.

našim studentima.

But for that change to happen,

Ali da bi se desila ta promena,

we need more researchers creating animations,

potrebno nam je još istraživača koji stvaraju animacije,

and toward that end, I brought together a team

i u tu svrhu, skupila sam

of biologists, animators and programmers

tim biologa, animatora i programera

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

da bismo stvorili nov, besplatan softver sa otvorenim izvornim kodom

we call it Molecular Flipbook —

koji zovemo Molekularnim kineografom -

that's created just for biologists

stvoren je samo za biologe

just to create molecular animations.

kako bi stvarali molekularne animacije.

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

Iz našeg testiranja, otkrili smo da je potrebno samo 15 minuta

for a biologist who has never touched animation software before

da biolog koji nikada nije bio u kontaktu sa softverom za animaciju

to create her first molecular animation

stvori svoju prvu molekularnu animaciju

of her own hypothesis.

svoje hipoteze.

We're also building an online database

Takođe pravimo bazu podataka na internetu

where anyone can view, download and contribute

gde svako može da pogleda, preuzme i doprinese

their own animations.

sopstvene animacije.

We're really excited to announce

Uzbuđeni smo što možemo da objavimo

that the beta version of the molecular animation

da će beta verzija kompleta softvera

software toolkit will be available for download today.

za molekularnu animaciju moći da se preuzme od danas.

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

Zaista smo uzbuđeni da vidimo šta će biolozi stvoriti s njim

and what new insights they're able to gain

i koje nove uvide će dobiti iz toga

from finally being able to animate

što će konačno moći da animiraju

their own model figures.

svoje crteže modela.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)