How humans could evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip

翻译人员: Emma Gao 校对人员: Gu Yu

So there are lands few and far between on Earth itself

其实，就连在地球本身，

that are hospitable to humans by any measure,

也存在着一些不适宜人类居住的环境，

but survive we have.

但是我们生存了下来。

Our primitive ancestors, when they found their homes and livelihood endangered,

当我们的祖先发现他们的居住环境 越来越恶劣的时候

they dared to make their way into unfamiliar territories

他们鼓起勇气来到他们不熟悉的陌生环境

in search of better opportunities.

去寻找更宜居的地方。

And as the descendants of these explorers,

作为他们的后代，

we have their nomadic blood coursing through our own veins.

我们血液中流淌着他们无畏的血统。

But at the same time,

可是与此同时，

distracted by our bread and circuses

我们为食物和享乐而分心

and embroiled in the wars that we have waged on each other,

我们被卷入战争，手足相残，

it seems that we have forgotten this desire to explore.

我们好像忘记了我们热衷探索的本性

We, as a species, we're evolved uniquely

作为人类，我们进化的方式非常特殊

for Earth, on Earth, and by Earth,

为了地球上，在地球上，被地球进化着

and so content are we with our living conditions

我们对自己的居住环境非常满意

that we have grown complacent and just too busy

以至于有些自负，

我们忙碌于俗世，

to notice that its resources are finite,

以至于忘记了我们的资源是有限的、

and that our Sun's life is also finite.

太阳的寿命也是有限的。

While Mars and all the movies made in its name

火星本身和所有关于它的电影

have reinvigorated the ethos for space travel,

重新勾起了人类对于星际旅行的畅想，

few of us seem to truly realize that our species' fragile constitution

我们当中的一些人好像已经意识到 很不幸的，我们脆弱的体质

is woefully unprepared for long duration journeys into space.

无法支撑我们做长时间的星际旅行。

Let us take a trek to your local national forest

让我们到附近的国家森林公园中走一走，

for a quick reality check.

来看一下真实的情况。

So just a quick show of hands here:

那么我先来问几个问题：

how many of you think you would be able to survive in this lush wilderness

多少人认为自己可以在这样的 完全野生的环境下

for a few days?

生存好几天？

Well, that's a lot of you.

哇，很多人这么有自信呢

How about a few weeks?

那几周呢？

That's a decent amount.

不少人嘛。

How about a few months?

那几个月呢？

That's pretty good too.

还有很多人嘛

Now, let us imagine that this local national forest

那么，现在让我们再来想象一下， 我们在这个国家森林公园里

experiences an eternal winter.

经历着漫长的冬季

Same questions: how many of you think you would be able to survive for a few days?

同样的问题：多少人认为你可以在 这样的环境下生存很多天？

That's quite a lot.

还是有不少人嘛

How about a few weeks?

那么几周呢？

So for a fun twist, let us imagine that the only source of water available

我们做一个有趣的改变， 想象在这个环境中你只能从

is trapped as frozen blocks miles below the surface.

几英里下的地下冰层中获得水资源。

Soil nutrients are so minimal that no vegetation can be found,

土壤里几乎没有营养物质， 自然也就找不到什么果蔬

and of course hardly any atmosphere exists to speak of.

当然大气层也就近乎不存在。

Such examples are only a few of the many challenges we would face

这些仅仅是我们来到像火星 这样的星球上后

on a planet like Mars.

所要面临的挑战中的几个

So how do we steel ourselves for voyages whose destinations are so far removed

那么我们应当做什么去坚定 自己的信心去到一个

from a tropical vacation?

比起热带小岛差如此多的目的地呢

Will we continuously ship supplies from Planet Earth?

难道我们依旧要从地球运输资源吗？

Build space elevators, or impossible miles of transport belts

建太空电梯，

或者不可能的连接着地球和 未来根据地的超长运输带？

that tether your planet of choice to our home planet?

And how do we grow things like food that grew up on Earth like us?

我们怎样能像在地球一样， 在那里种出我们的食物？

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

其实我有些超前

In our species' journey to find a new home under a new sun,

在我们寻找新太阳系下的新家的旅程中，

we are more likely than not going to be spending much time

我们很有可能会在这个旅程

in the journey itself,

花费很长的时间，

in space,

在太空中，

on a ship, a hermetic flying can,

在向密封的飞行罐头一样的飞船里，

possibly for many generations.

很有可能要度过几十年，几代更迭。

The longest continuous amount of time that any human has spent in space

人类在太空中度过的最长的时间

is in the vicinity of 12 to 14 months.

是差不多12到14个月。

From astronauts' experiences in space,

从宇航员们对于太空飞行的回忆里，

we know that spending time in a microgravity environment

我们了解到，长时间呆在微重力的环境中

means bone loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular problems,

会使人丧失骨密度，肌肉萎缩，引发心血管的问题，

among many other complications

还有很多其他的问题，

that range for the physiological to the psychological.

这些问题有生理的，也有心理的。

And what about macrogravity,

如果我们找到的新家有着

or any other variation in gravitational pull

超重力和重力不均的情况，

of the planet that we find ourselves on?

我们的情况又会怎样呢？

In short, our cosmic voyages will be fraught with dangers

简而言之，我们的星际旅行 将会面临各种危险，

both known and unknown.

包括已知的和未知的。

So far we've been looking to this new piece of mechanical technology

目前我们已经将问题 转向新的工程学发明，

or that great next generation robot

或者是下一代新型机器人

as part of a lineup to ensure our species safe passage in space.

用这些来确保我们人类 可以平安的度过这段旅程

Wonderful as they are, I believe the time has come

尽管这些想法非常棒， 我还是相信

for us to complement these bulky electronic giants

我们可以用大自然已经创造出来的，

with what nature has already invented:

去补足那些笨重的机器，

the microbe,

微生物

a single-celled organism that is itself a self-generating, self-replenishing,

一个单细胞的，自生自养的

living machine.

活着的机器

It requires fairly little to maintain,

不需要提供给它们什么，

offers much flexibility in design

又有大范围的想象空间去设计它们，

and only asks to be carried in a single plastic tube.

并且我们只需要一个简单的塑料盒去运输它们。

The field of study that has enabled us to utilize the capabilities of the microbe

更多关于这方面的知识让我们可以 更好的了解微生物，更好地利用它们，

is known as synthetic biology.

这个领域叫做合成生物学。

It comes from molecular biology, which has given us antibiotics, vaccines

这个领域是微生物学的分支 微生物学就是那个带给我们抗生素，疫苗

and better ways to observe the physiological nuances

并给我们更好的途径

去研究人体细微差别的领域。

of the human body.

Using the tools of synthetic biology,

应用合成生物学的方法，

we can now edit the genes of nearly any organism,

我们几乎可以编辑所有生物的基因

microscopic or not,

微生物或非微生物，

with incredible speed and fidelity.

非常快速并精准。

Given the limitations of our man-made machines,

相比较人造机器带来的局限性，

synthetic biology will be a means for us to engineer not only our food,

合成生物学不仅仅带给我们设计

our fuel and our environment,

食物，燃料和环境的方法，

but also ourselves

也包括设计我们自身，

to compensate for our physical inadequacies

让我们完善个体的不足，

and to ensure our survival in space.

并确保我们能在太空中生存。

To give you an example

让我举一个

of how we can use synthetic biology for space exploration,

关于我们如何应用合成生物技术到 探索宇宙的例子

let us return to the Mars environment.

让我们重新回到火星的环境中，

The Martian soil composition is similar to that of Hawaiian volcanic ash,

火星的土壤和夏威夷火山灰的组成类似

with trace amounts of organic material.

它们都有微量的有机物组成。

Let's say, hypothetically,

所以，不如我们假设一下，

what if martian soil could actually support plant growth

如果火星的土壤不需要应用 地球衍生的营养物质

without using Earth-derived nutrients?

就可以支持植物生长会怎样呢？

The first question we should probably ask is,

我们应该问的第一个问题是，

how would we make our plants cold-tolerant?

我们怎么能让我们的植物忍受寒冷？

Because, on average, the temperature on Mars

原因是，火星上的平均温度

is a very uninviting negative 60 degrees centigrade.

是非常难以忍受的零下60摄氏度。

The next question we should ask is,

下一个问题是，

how do we make our plants drought-tolerant?

我们怎么能让我们的植物忍受干旱？

Considering that most of the water that forms as frost

因为大多数的水都以霜的形式存在

evaporates more quickly than I can say the word "evaporate."

蒸发的速度甚至快过于 我说出“蒸发”这个词。

Well, it turns out we've already done things like this.

其实，我们已经做到以上的这些要求了

By borrowing genes for anti-freeze protein from fish

向鱼借用了他们抗冻的基因，

and genes for drought tolerance from other plants like rice

向水稻借用了他们抗旱的基因，

and then stitching them into the plants that need them,

并把这些基因片段编辑到 我们需要的植物上

we now have plants that can tolerate most droughts and freezes.

我们现在拥有了抗旱抗冻的的植物，

They're known on Earth as GMOs,

在地球上它们被称为GMO

or genetically modified organisms,

或转基因生物，

and we rely on them to feed all the mouths of human civilization.

我们已经用它们来补给人类的需求。

Nature does stuff like this already,

大自然已经在没有我们的帮助下，

without our help.

做出了这样的作品，

We have simply found more precise ways to do it.

我们仅仅是找到了更好的方法去使用它们

So why would we want to change the genetic makeup of plants for space?

那么为什么我们要为了探索宇宙 去改变植物的基因组成呢？

Well, to not do so would mean needing to engineer

是这样的，如果我们不这样做的话， 我们就需要

endless acres of land on an entirely new planet

在一个新星球上建出几英亩的农田

by releasing trillions of gallons of atmospheric gasses

这需要上亿加仑的大气层气体，

and then constructing a giant glass dome to contain it all.

不光如此，我们还需要一个巨大的玻璃圆顶 去覆盖这片农田。

It's an unrealistic engineering enterprise

这是一个不现实的工程计划

that quickly becomes a high-cost cargo transport mission.

也很容易演变成高代价的运输任务。

One of the best ways to ensure

确保我们拥有足够的

that we will have the food supplies and the air that we need

食物和空气供给的最佳方案之一

is to bring with us organisms that have been engineered

就是带着转基因生物和我们一起

to adapt to new and harsh environments.

去适应崭新并艰苦的环境

In essence, using engineered organisms to help us terraform a planet

实质上，在短期和长期中， 转基因生物都可以帮助我们

both in the short and long term.

去使一个星球地球化

These organisms can then also be engineered to make medicine or fuel.

转基因植物同样可以帮助我们 制造药品和燃料

So we can use synthetic biology to bring highly engineered plants with us,

所以我们可以带着高度转基因化的植物 和我们一起

but what else can we do?

但是我们还能做什么呢？

Well, I mentioned earlier that we, as a species,

我已经在之前的演讲中提到了， 人类，作为一个族群，

were evolved uniquely for planet Earth.

在地球上一种奇特的方式进化着。

That fact has not changed much in the last five minutes

这个并没有在你们坐在这里

that you were sitting here and I was standing there.

的五分钟内有什么变化吧

And so, if we were to dump any of us on Mars right this minute,

既然如此，如果要让我们在此时 甩掉我们其中的几个，把他们留在火星上，

even given ample food, water, air

给他们充足的食物，水和空气

and a suit,

还用一身宇航服

we are likely to experience very unpleasant health problems

我们还是会因为地表辐射出的离子射线

from the amount of ionizing radiation that bombards the surface

面临很不舒服的健康问题

of planets like Mars that have little or nonexistent atmosphere.

因为像火星这样的星球几近没有大气层

Unless we plan to stay holed up underground

除非我们计划在来到每个新星球时

for the duration of our stay on every new planet,

躲在地下

we must find better ways of protecting ourselves

我们必须要找到更好的方式来保护自己，

without needing to resort to wearing a suit of armor

甚至不需要求助于

that weighs something equal to your own body weight,

和我们自身一样重的宇航服

or needing to hide behind a wall of lead.

或者躲在一墙铅的后面。

So let us appeal to nature for inspiration.

让我们来到大自然来寻求灵感。

Among the plethora of life here on Earth,

在地球上这些丰富多彩的生物里

there's a subset of organisms known as extremophiles,

存在着一个小团体， 叫做极端微生物

or lovers of extreme living conditions,

如果你们记得高中的生物课

if you'll remember from high school biology.

你应该知道他们还叫做极端环境爱好者，

And among these organisms is a bacterium by the name of Deinococcus radiodurans.

在这些神奇的生物中还存在着 耐辐射奇球菌

It is known to be able to withstand cold, dehydration, vacuum, acid,

它因其耐寒，耐旱，耐真空，耐酸而著名

and, most notably, radiation.

更重要的是，它还耐辐射。

While its radiation tolerance mechanisms are known,

尽管我们了解到它的耐辐射功能，

we have yet to adapt the relevant genes to mammals.

现在的我们还不能将相关基因 作用在哺乳动物身上

To do so is not particularly easy.

想做到这个非常困难。

There are many facets that go into its radiation tolerance,

我们真正能接触到抗辐射基因需要 突破重重难关

and it's not as simple as transferring one gene.

并且也不仅仅是转移一种基因

But given a little bit of human ingenuity

但是考虑到人类的创新能力，

and a little bit of time,

再加上一点点时间

I think to do so is not very hard either.

我认为达成目标也并不是很难。

Even if we borrow just a fraction of its ability to tolerate radiation,

尽管我们只是借用他耐辐射性能 中的一小部分

it would be infinitely better than what we already have,

那也要比我们现在拥有的，

which is just the melanin in our skin.

皮肤中的黑色素， 好很多倍

Using the tools of synthetic biology,

运用基因重组科技，

we can harness Deinococcus radiodurans' ability

我们可以驾驭耐辐射奇球菌的 耐辐射性能

to thrive under otherwise very lethal doses of radiation.

进而可以在拥有致命辐射的 环境下生存繁衍

As difficult as it is to see,

尽管很难发现

homo sapiens, that is humans,

智人，也就是现在的人类，

evolves every day,

每天都在进化

and still continues to evolve.

并且一直持续地在进化。

Thousands of years of human evolution

几千年来人类的进化

has not only given us humans like Tibetans,

不光带给我们人类

who can thrive in low-oxygen conditions,

像西藏人一样在低氧的 条件下生存的能力

but also Argentinians, who can ingest and metabolize arsenic,

还有向阿根廷一样， 消化并新陈代谢

the chemical element that can kill the average human being.

砷这种对于正常人类致命的 化学物质

Every day, the human body evolves by accidental mutations

每天，人类的身体都因为 意外的变化而进化着

that equally accidentally allow certain humans

也以同样几率让一部分人

to persevere in dismal situations.

在不适宜的环境中生存下来

But, and this is a big but,

但是，这是一个很重要的但是

such evolution requires two things that we may not always have,

这种进化需要两种不常见的因素，

or be able to afford,

或者可以说是承受不起的因素，

and they are death and time.

那就是死亡和时间。

In our species' struggle to find our place in the universe,

在我们的种族挣扎着想要在宇宙中 找到一片栖息之地的过程中，

we may not always have the time necessary

我们等不起自然进化带给我们

for the natural evolution of extra functions

更强大的能力

for survival on non-Earth planets.

去生存在另一个星球上。

We're living in what E.O. Wilson has termed the age of gene circumvention,

我们生存在被E.O.威尔逊称为 基因规避的时代。

during which we remedy our genetic defects like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy

如今我们可以改变基因上的瑕疵， 比如囊胞性纤维症或肌肉萎缩症

with temporary external supplements.

用一种暂时性外界供给。

But with every passing day,

一天天过去，

we approach the age of volitional evolution,

我们到达了有意识进化的时期，

a time during which we as a species

在这个时期，我们作为一个种族

will have the capacity to decide for ourselves our own genetic destiny.

将拥有能力去决定我们自身的能力 和先天的命运。

Augmenting the human body with new abilities

用新技术去操作人体的各个组成

is no longer a question of how,

将不再是一个“怎样去做”的问题，

but of when.

而将变成“何时去做”。

Using synthetic biology

运用基因重组科技，

to change the genetic makeup of any living organisms,

去改变每一个生物体的基因组成。

especially our own,

特别是针对我们人体本身，

is not without its moral and ethical quandaries.

将不再被道德或伦理所诟病。

Will engineering ourselves make us less human?

难道设计人体会让我们变得不是人类吗？

But then again, what is humanity

但是再说了，人类是什么？

but star stuff that happens to be conscious?

不过就是碰巧有自主意识的宇宙组成。

Where should human genius direct itself?

人类的天赋又会引领人类到哪里呢？

Surely it is a bit of a waste to sit back and marvel at it.

只在这为一项项科技进步而惊叹 但并不作出实际改变肯定是一种浪费。

How do we use our knowledge

我们该怎样运用我们的智慧

to protect ourselves from the external dangers

用来保护我们自己规避外在的危险？

and then protect ourselves from ourselves?

然后又避免自己成为现在的自己？

I pose these questions

我提出这些疑问

not to engender the fear of science

并不是让大家生出对科学的恐惧，

but to bring to light the many possibilities

却是想让更多人了解

that science has afforded and continues to afford us.

科学已经给我们带来， 并会持续给我们带来的更多的可能性。

We must coalesce as humans to discuss and embrace the solutions

我们应该作为人类联合起来 去讨论并应用那些解决方案，

not only with caution

并不仅仅需要小心，

but also with courage.

还需要勇气。

Mars is a destination,

火星是我们的一个目的地，

but it will not be our last.

但这并不会是我们最后一个目的地。

Our true final frontier is the line we must cross

我们的最终的疆界将是我们跨出

in deciding what we can and should make of our species' improbable intelligence.

决定我们能做什么和 如何使用我们种族无与伦比的智慧。

Space is cold, brutal and unforgiving.

太空是冷酷的，残忍的，毫不留情的。

Our path to the stars will be rife with trials

我们通向其他星球的道路 将会因为我们的数次尝试变得非常普通，

that will bring us to question not only who we are

带给我们新的问题， 不仅仅要问出“我们是谁”

but where we will be going.

“我们的终点在哪里”

The answers will lie in our choice to use or abandon the technology

答案就在我们的选择中， 我们是会使用还是会放弃。

that we have gleaned from life itself,

这项从生命本身拾起的科技，

and it will define us for the remainder of our term in this universe.

它也会决定我们在这宇宙中的生存期限。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）