Craig Venter unveils "synthetic life"

翻译人员: Bo Hu 校对人员: Xu Jiang

We're here today to announce

今天我们在此宣布，

the first synthetic cell,

第一个人造细胞的诞生。

a cell made by

这个细胞的诞生

starting with the digital code in the computer,

开始于计算机上的数字代码

building the chromosome

建造染色体

from four bottles of chemicals,

利用了四瓶化学药剂

assembling that chromosome in yeast,

将那些染色体集中在酵母菌中

transplanting it into

将其转化成为一个

a recipient bacterial cell

受体细菌细胞

and transforming that cell

然后将这个细胞转化成

into a new bacterial species.

一个新的细菌物种。

So this is the first self-replicating species

所以这是在地球上，我们所知的

that we've had on the planet

母体是一台计算机的

whose parent is a computer.

第一个实现自我复制的物种。

It also is the first species

同时，它也是第一个

to have its own website

拥有通过自己的遗传密码

encoded in its genetic code.

所编码的网站的物种。

But we'll talk more about

一会儿我们将更多地

the watermarks in a minute.

讨论水印。

This is a project that had its inception

这个计划最初起源于

15 years ago

15年前

when our team then --

那时我们的团队

we called the institute TIGR --

叫做 TIGR 研究所

was involved in sequencing

我们参加了历史上最早的

the first two genomes in history.

对成对染色体的测序。

We did Haemophilus influenzae

我们对Haemophilus流行感冒病毒做实验

and then the smallest genome of a self-replicating organism,

然后是自我复制组织的最小的染色体，

that of Mycoplasma genitalium.

这些染色体来自生殖支原体

And as soon as

一旦

we had these two sequences

我们得到了这些成对的序列，

we thought, if this is supposed to be the smallest genome

我们想到，这是否是自我复制物种中

of a self-replicating species,

最小的染色体，

could there be even a smaller genome?

是否还有更小的染色体？

Could we understand the basis of cellular life

我们是否能够在基因层次上

at the genetic level?

理解细胞生物的根本？

It's been a 15-year quest

经过15年的探索

just to get to the starting point now

现在才达到了问题的出发点

to be able to answer those questions,

才有可能回答那些问题

because it's very difficult to eliminate

因为要将多个基因从细胞中去除

multiple genes from a cell.

是非常困难的

You can only do them one at a time.

你一次只能去除一个

We decided early on

早先我们决定

that we had to take a synthetic route,

我们必须采取人工合成的手段

even though nobody had been there before,

尽管之前没有人达到这个领域

to see if we could synthesize

看看我们是否能够人造

a bacterial chromosome

一个细菌的染色体

so we could actually vary the gene content

所以事实上我们能够分辨基因的内容

to understand the essential genes for life.

去了解那些对于生命来说最基本的基因。

That started our 15-year quest

这样，我们就开始了15年的探索

to get here.

得到了现在的成果。

But before we did the first experiments,

在我们做第一次实验之前

we actually asked

事实上我们邀请了

Art Caplan's team at the University of Pennsylvania

宾夕法尼亚大学的Art Caplan的团队

to undertake a review

来做一个评估

of what the risks, the challenges,

对于在实验室创造一个新物种的

the ethics around creating new

风险，挑战，

species in the laboratory were

以及道德问题

because it hadn't been done before.

因为在这之前没有人这样做过

They spent about two years

他们花了大约两年

reviewing that independently

独立的评估

and published their results in Science in 1999.

在1999年在Science杂志上发表了他们的结果。

Ham and I took two years off

Ham和我中断了两年的工作

as a side project to sequence the human genome,

去完成一个人类基因组测序工程的一个分支项目

but as soon as that was done

当我们完成那个工作之后

we got back to the task at hand.

我们又立刻回到了这个计划之中。

In 2002, we started

2002年，我们创立了

a new institute,

一个新的研究所

the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives,

一个生物替代能源的研究所

where we set out two goals:

我们为此设立了两个目标

One, to understand

第一，研究

the impact of our technology on the environment,

我们的科技对环境造成的冲击

and how to understand the environment better,

以及如何更好地了解我们环境

and two, to start down this process

第二，开始这项

of making synthetic life

制造人造生命的计划

to understand basic life.

去理解生命的本源。

In 2003,

在2003年

we published our first success.

我们发表了我们最初的成果

So Ham Smith and Clyde Hutchison

Ham Smith 和 Clyde Hutchison

developed some new methods

开发了一些新的方法

for making error-free DNA

在小尺度上

at a small level.

制造没有错误代码的DNA

Our first task was

我们的第一个任务是

a 5,000-letter code bacteriophage,

一个含有5000个密码子的抗菌素代码

a virus that attacks only E. coli.

一种专门攻击大肠杆菌的病毒

So that was

这就是

the phage phi X 174,

φX174 噬菌体

which was chosen for historical reasons.

由于历史原因我们选择了它。

It was the first DNA phage,

它是第一个DNA噬菌体

DNA virus, DNA genome

DNA病毒，DNA染色体

that was actually sequenced.

这些都已经经过了测序

So once we realized

当我们意识到

that we could make 5,000-base pair

我们能够制造5000对长度

viral-sized pieces,

病毒尺寸的片段

we thought, we at least have the means

我们认为，我们至少有这样的方法

then to try and make serially lots of these pieces

然后尝试制造一系列连续的片段

to be able to eventually assemble them together

最终将其连接在一起

to make this mega base chromosome.

来制造这个百万对长度的染色体。

So, substantially larger than

实质上要比

we even thought we would go initially.

我们开始认为所能达到的长度要长

There were several steps to this. There were two sides:

需要很多步骤我们才能达到这一步。这有两方面的问题

We had to solve the chemistry

首先我们需要解决制造

for making large DNA molecules,

大DNA分子中的化学问题

and we had to solve the biological side

另外我们还需解决生物学方面的问题

of how, if we had this new chemical entity,

那就是如果我们有了这些新的化学成分

how would we boot it up, activate it

我们如何启动它，激活它

in a recipient cell.

在受体细胞中

We had two teams working in parallel:

我们有两个小组同时进行工作

one team on the chemistry,

一个小组是化学方面的

and the other on trying to

另一个小组尝试

be able to transplant

移植

entire chromosomes

整个染色体

to get new cells.

到新的细胞

When we started this out, we thought the synthesis would be the biggest problem,

当我们开始工作时，我们认为合成是最大的问题

which is why we chose the smallest genome.

这就是为什么我们选择了最小的染色体

And some of you have noticed that we switched from the smallest genome

可能你们当中的一些人已经发现我们放弃了最小的染色体

to a much larger one.

转而把目标放在了更大的染色体上

And we can walk through the reasons for that,

我们需要解释一下这样做的原因

but basically the small cell

基本上，小的细胞

took on the order of

需要

one to two months to get results from,

一到两个月的时间才能得到结果

whereas the larger, faster-growing cell

然后体积更大的，生长更迅速的细胞

takes only two days.

只需要两天

So there's only so many cycles we could go through

所以一年之内我们只能获得很少的几个周期

in a year at six weeks per cycle.

对于六周为一个周期来说

And you should know that basically

你需要知道，基本上

99, probably 99 percent plus

百分之99，甚至更多的

of our experiments failed.

实验都失败了

So this was a debugging,

所以这更像是在调试

problem-solving scenario from the beginning

从最初的阶段开始解决问题

because there was no recipe

因为我们没有任何可以参照的方法

of how to get there.

关于如何达到目标

So, one of the most important publications we had

我们所发表的最重要的工作之一

was in 2007.

是在2007年

Carole Lartigue led the effort

由Carole Lartigue所领导的

to actually transplant a bacterial chromosome

移植一个细菌的染色体

from one bacteria to another.

从一个细菌体内到另一个

I think philosophically, that was one of the most important papers

我想，从哲学角度上来说，那是我们所完成的

that we've ever done

最为重要的论文之一

because it showed how dynamic life was.

因为它展示了生命是如此有活力。

And we knew, once that worked,

我们知道，一旦这起作用了

that we actually had a chance

我们就事实上有了一个机会

if we could make the synthetic chromosomes

如果我们能够制造人造染色体

to do the same with those.

对其进行同样的移植

We didn't know that it was going to take us

我们最初还不知道这将花费我们

several years more to get there.

数年的时间去完成

In 2008,

在2008年

we reported the complete synthesis

我们公布了完整的人工合成

of the Mycoplasma genitalium genome,

类菌质体生殖基因组

a little over 500,000 letters of genetic code,

略多于五十万对的密码子

but we have not yet succeeded in booting up that chromosome.

但是我没还没有成功的启动这个染色体

We think in part, because of its slow growth

我们认为其中一部分的原因是它生长太慢

and, in part,

另外一部分

cells have all kinds of unique defense mechanisms

是由于细胞有各种各样的独特防御机制

to keep these events from happening.

来阻止这类事件的发生。

It turned out the cell that we were trying to transplant into

最终证明，作为移植目标的细胞

had a nuclease, an enzyme that chews up DNA on its surface,

有一种核酸酶，一种在DNA表面消化它的酶

and was happy to eat

而且非常开心的吃着

the synthetic DNA that we gave it

我们给它的合成DNA

and never got transplantations.

所以从来没有移植成功

But at the time, that was the largest

在当时，那是最大的

molecule of a defined structure

有确定结构的分子

that had been made.

人类所制造的。

And so both sides were progressing,

所以两个方面都有了进展，

but part of the synthesis

但是部分的合成工作

had to be accomplished or was able to be accomplished

必须完成或者能够完成，

using yeast, putting the fragments in yeast

通过使用酵母，将碎片放入酵母菌内

and yeast would assemble these for us.

酵母菌将为我们标记这些碎片

It's an amazing step forward,

这是一个让人惊喜的进步

but we had a problem because now we had

但是我们还有一个问题，因为现在我们

the bacterial chromosomes growing in yeast.

将细菌染色体在酵母体内培养

So in addition to doing the transplant,

所以除了进行移植之外

we had to find out how to get a bacterial chromosome

我们还需要解决如何的问题是如何将细菌染色体

out of the eukaryotic yeast

从酵母菌内取出

into a form where we could transplant it

以便我们能够将其移植

into a recipient cell.

到受体细胞内

So our team developed new techniques

于是我们的团队开发出了一种新的技术

for actually growing, cloning

来培养和克隆

entire bacterial chromosomes in yeast.

整个细菌染色体，在酵母菌内

So we took the same mycoides genome

所以我们采用了与

that Carole had initially transplanted,

Carole最初移植的相同的基因

and we grew that in yeast

我们在酵母菌内培养它

as an artificial chromosome.

把它当作为一个人造的染色体

And we thought this would be a great test bed

我们认为这将是一个非常棒的实验基

for learning how to get chromosomes out of yeast

来学习如何将染色体从酵母菌中取出

and transplant them.

然后移植它们

When we did these experiments, though,

当我们进行这些实验的时候，尽管

we could get the chromosome out of yeast

我们能够将染色体从酵母菌内取出

but it wouldn't transplant and boot up a cell.

但我们不能移植它去启动一个细胞。

That little issue took the team two years to solve.

这个小问题花了研究小组两年的时间来解决。

It turns out, the DNA in the bacterial cell

最终发现，细菌细胞内的DNA

was actually methylated,

事实上是甲基化的

and the methylation protects it from the restriction enzyme,

甲基化阻止限制性酶对细胞起作用，

from digesting the DNA.

消化DNA。

So what we found is if we took the chromosome

我们发现，如果我们将染色体

out of yeast and methylated it,

从酵母菌内取出并且将其甲基化

we could then transplant it.

我们就能移植它了

Further advances came

我们又取得了更大的进步

when the team removed the restriction enzyme genes

当研究小组将限制性酶的基因移除

from the recipient capricolum cell.

从受体细胞内

And once we had done that, now we can take

一旦我们完成了这些，我们就能

naked DNA out of yeast and transplant it.

将裸露的DNA从酵母菌内取出并且移植它

So last fall

所以，今年秋天

when we published the results of that work in Science,

当我们在“科学”杂志上发表我们的成果时

we all became overconfident

我们都变得过于自信了

and were sure we were only

确定我们只有

a few weeks away

几个星期

from being able to now boot up

就能最终成功启动

a chromosome out of yeast.

从酵母菌内取出的染色体

Because of the problems with

因为

Mycoplasma genitalium and its slow growth

类菌质体生殖问题以及它过慢的生长

about a year and a half ago,

大约在一年半以前

we decided to synthesize

我们决定合成

the much larger chromosome, the mycoides chromosome,

更大的染色体，mycoides染色体

knowing that we had the biology worked out on that

我们在生物学方面对

for transplantation.

这样的移植做了足够的准备

And Dan led the team for the synthesis

Dan领导的小组着手合成

of this over one-million-base pair chromosome.

针对超过一百万对长度的染色体

But it turned out it wasn't going to be as simple in the end,

最终证明这不是件简单的工作

and it set us back three months

它将我们的工作又倒回到了三个月

because we had one error

因为我们除了各小错误

out of over a million base pairs in that sequence.

在这个超过一百万对的密码子的序列中

So the team developed new debugging software,

所以研究小组开发了新的调试软件

where we could test each synthetic fragment

通过它我们可以测试每一个合成碎片

to see if it would grow in a background

来看看它是否能在

of wild type DNA.

混乱的DNA环境中生长

And we found that 10 out of the 11

我们发现

100,000-base pair pieces we synthesized

我们合成的十万对长度的片段中有十一分之十的片断

were completely accurate

都完全的准确

and compatible with

相比于

a life-forming sequence.

生命自然形成的序列

We narrowed it down to one fragment;

我们把范围缩小到一个碎片

we sequenced it

然后对其测序

and found just one base pair had been deleted

发现仅仅只有一对密码子被删除

in an essential gene.

在一段重要的基因中。

So accuracy is essential.

这样的精确度是非常有意义的

There's parts of the genome

基因的一些部分

where it cannot tolerate even a single error,

不能忍受任何一个错误

and then there's parts of the genome

然后也有一些部分

where we can put in large blocks of DNA,

我们能够放入大片段的DNA障碍

as we did with the watermarks,

如同我们对标记所做的一样

and it can tolerate all kinds of errors.

它能承受各种错误

So it took about three months to find that error

所以我们花了三个月找到那个错误

and repair it.

然后修复它

And then early one morning, at 6 a.m.

之后的某天早晨六点

we got a text from Dan

我收到了Dan的信息

saying that, now, the first blue colonies existed.

告诉我第一个蓝色殖民地诞生了

So, it's been a long route to get here:

取得这个成果是一个漫长的过程

15 years from the beginning.

从开始到现在15年

We felt

我们感觉到

one of the tenets of this field

这个领域的一条原则是

was to make absolutely certain

必须十分的确定

we could distinguish synthetic DNA

我们能够区分开人造DNA

from natural DNA.

和自然DNA

Early on, when you're working in a new area of science,

早先，当你在一个全新的科学领域展开工作时

you have to think about all the pitfalls

你必须考虑到所有的陷阱

and things that could lead you

以及可能误导你

to believe that you had done something when you hadn't,

在没有获得成果时认为自己取得了成果，

and, even worse, leading others to believe it.

甚至更糟，让别人也这样认为的事例。

So, we thought the worst problem would be

所以我们认为最糟糕的问题是

a single molecule contamination

原本染色体的

of the native chromosome,

单分子污染物

leading us to believe that we actually had

让我们相信我已经

created a synthetic cell,

制造了一个合成细胞

when it would have been just a contaminant.

然而它只是一个污染物。

So early on, we developed the notion

于是，我们改进了我们的想法

of putting in watermarks in the DNA

关于在DNA内放置标记

to absolutely make clear

来确定

that the DNA was synthetic.

DNA是否为合成的。

And the first chromosome we built

在2008年，我们制造了第一个

in 2008 --

染色体

the 500,000-base pair one --

包含五十万对密码子

we simply assigned

我们只是简单的将

the names of the authors of the chromosome

制造着的名字

into the genetic code,

写进了基因密码

but it was using just amino acid

但是它被当作了氨基酸

single letter translations,

单密码子的翻译

which leaves out certain letters of the alphabet.

略去了字母表中固定的几个字母

So the team actually developed a new code

所以研究小组开发了新的密码

within the code within the code.

包含了密码当中的密码

So it's a new code

这是一套新的密码

for interpreting and writing messages in DNA.

来翻译和写入DNA中的信息

Now, mathematicians have been hiding and writing

如今，数学家已经在基因密码内隐藏和写入信息

messages in the genetic code for a long time,

的领域研究了很长时间

but it's clear they were mathematicians and not biologists

但是他们只是数学家而不是生物学家

because, if you write long messages

因为你写入长的信息

with the code that the mathematicians developed,

利用数学家开发的密码

it would more than likely lead to

它更有可能产生

new proteins being synthesized

一个新的蛋白

with unknown functions.

和未知属性。

So the code that Mike Montague and the team developed

Mike Montague和他的研究小组开发的密码

actually puts frequent stop codons,

事实上放入了很多停止符号

so it's a different alphabet

这是一个不同的字母表

but allows us to use

能够让我们使用

the entire English alphabet

完整的英文字母表

with punctuation and numbers.

以及符号和数字

So, there are four major watermarks

有四个主要的标记

all over 1,000 base pairs of genetic code.

在所有一千对基因密码中

The first one actually contains within it

第一个实际上包含了它

this code for interpreting

用来翻译

the rest of the genetic code.

剩下基因密码的密码

So in the remaining information,

所以在剩下的信息中

in the watermarks,

在标记中

contain the names of, I think it's

包含了

46 different authors

46个作者

and key contributors

以及做出关键贡献

to getting the project to this stage.

把这个项目推动到今天的成果的人的名字

And we also built in

我们还写入了一个

a website address

网站的地址

so that if somebody decodes the code

如果有人解码了这些

within the code within the code,

包含在密码本身之内的密码

they can send an email to that address.

他们就能发送电子邮件到那个地址

So it's clearly distinguishable

这与其他物种

from any other species,

有明显的区别

having 46 names in it,

包含46个名字在其中

its own web address.

以及它自己的网站地址

And we added three quotations,

我们还加入了三句引言

because with the first genome

因为在制造第一个基因时

we were criticized for not trying to say something more profound

我们因为没有表达什么有含义的东西而遭到批评

than just signing the work.

只是简单的记录了工作

So we won't give the rest of the code,

我们不会给出剩下的密码

but we will give the three quotations.

但是我们给出这三句引言

The first is,

第一条是

"To live, to err,

“活着就要犯错，

to fall, to triumph

有失败也有成功，

and to recreate life out of life."

从生命中创造出生命"

It's a James Joyce quote.

这是James Joyce所说的

The second quotation is, "See things not as they are,

第二条是“看待事物，不要看他们是什么

but as they might be."

而要看他们可能成为什么“

It's a quote from the "American Prometheus"

这是一句源自《美国普罗米修斯》中的话

book on Robert Oppenheimer.

奥本海默的自传

And the last one is a Richard Feynman quote:

最后一句是Richard Feynman的话

"What I cannot build,

”我所不能制造的东西

I cannot understand."

我都不能理解“

So, because this is as much a philosophical advance

因为这在科学上是一个技术的进步

as a technical advance in science,

同样也是一个哲学的进步

we tried to deal with both the philosophical

我们尝试解决哲学

and the technical side.

与技术两方面的问题

The last thing I want to say before turning it over to questions

我想在开始提问之前说的最后一件事

is that the extensive work

是我们所做的

that we've done --

广泛的工作

asking for ethical review,

征求伦理上的审核

pushing the envelope

将问题推向了

on that side as well as the technical side --

伦理方面而不仅仅是技术的层面

this has been broadly discussed in the scientific community,

这在科学界得到了广泛的讨论

in the policy community

在政治界

and at the highest levels of the federal government.

以及在联邦政府的最高层也都有讨论

Even with this announcement,

甚至关于这个声明

as we did in 2003 --

我们在2003年所做的

that work was funded by the Department of Energy,

这项工作是由能源部提供经费的

so the work was reviewed

所以这项工作要经过

at the level of the White House,

白宫的审核

trying to decide whether to classify the work or publish it.

来决定如何将这项工作归类和公布

And they came down on the side of open publication,

最终他们决定公开发布

which is the right approach --

这是正确的途径

we've briefed the White House,

我们对白宫做了简报

we've briefed members of Congress,

对国会做了简报

we've tried to take and push

我们尝试推动

the policy issues

政治上政策

in parallel with the scientific advances.

与科学上的进步同步

So with that, I would like

那么，我

to open it first to the floor for questions.

下面接受提问。

Yes, in the back.

在后面的那位

Reporter: Could you explain, in layman's terms,

记者：你能用通俗的语言解释一下

how significant a breakthrough this is please?

这个突破到底有多大的意义

Craig Venter: Can we explain how significant this is?

Craig Venter： 需要我们解释它的意义？

I'm not sure we're the ones that should be explaining how significant it is.

我不确定我们能够解释它有多么重大的意义

It's significant to us.

它对我们来说是很有意义的

Perhaps it's a giant philosophical change

也许这是一个重大的哲学观念转变

in how we view life.

关于我们如何看待生命这个问题上

We actually view it as a baby step in terms of,

我们实际上认为这还只是第一步

it's taken us 15 years to be able

我们花了15年才成功的

to do the experiment

做了我们15年前想要做

we wanted to do 15 years ago

的实验

on understanding life at its basic level.

来理解生命最基本的层次

But we actually believe

但是我们相信

this is going to be a very powerful set of tools

这将成为一套非常强大的工具

and we're already starting

而且我们已经开始

in numerous avenues

在各个方面

to use this tool.

利用这个工具

We have, at the Institute,

我们在研究所

ongoing funding now from NIH

现在有国立卫生研究所

in a program with Novartis

在与Novartis一同进行一个项目

to try and use these new

尝试使用这些新的

synthetic DNA tools

合成DNA工具

to perhaps make the flu vaccine

可能制造流感疫苗

that you might get next year.

明年你们就或许就能见到了。

Because instead of taking weeks to months to make these,

因为相比于之前花费数周甚至数月来制造这些

Dan's team can now make these

Dan的研究小组现在能够在

in less than 24 hours.

24小时之内制造出来

So when you see how long it took to get an H1N1 vaccine out,

所以当你们在看制造H1N1疫苗需要多长时间时

we think we can shorten that process

我么想我们可以缩短这个过程

quite substantially.

这是相当有实际价值的

In the vaccine area,

在疫苗领域

Synthetic Genomics and the Institute

合成基因公司以及研究所

are forming a new vaccine company

将成立一个新的疫苗公司

because we think these tools can affect vaccines

因为我们认为这个工具将对疫苗很有作用

to diseases that haven't been possible to date,

对于那些现在来说不可能治愈的疾病

things where the viruses rapidly evolve,

那些病毒快速进化的疾病

such with rhinovirus.

比如鼻病毒

Wouldn't it be nice to have something that actually blocked common colds?

如果有药物将防治普通感冒会不会是件很好的事情？

Or, more importantly, HIV,

或者更重要的，艾滋病毒

where the virus evolves so quickly

这种病毒进化得如此之快

the vaccines that are made today

今天制造的疫苗

can't keep up

都赶不上

with those evolutionary changes.

它们进化的速度

Also, at Synthetic Genomics,

同样，在合成基因公司

we've been working

我们一直在

on major environmental issues.

环境问题上开展工作

I think this latest oil spill in the Gulf

我认为最近的墨西哥湾漏油

is a reminder.

是一个警醒。

We can't see CO2 --

我们看不到二氧化碳

we depend on scientific measurements for it

我们依靠对其科学的测量

and we see the beginning results

看到初步的结果

of having too much of it --

二氧化碳过量了。

but we can see pre-CO2 now

但是我们现在能看到二氧化碳的前身

floating on the waters

漂浮在水面上

and contaminating the beaches in the Gulf.

污染着墨西哥湾的海岸

We need some alternatives

我们需要一些东西来

for oil.

代替石油

We have a program with Exxon Mobile

我们与艾森克美孚公司有一项合作计划

to try and develop new strains of algae

尝试开发新的海藻品种

that can efficiently capture carbon dioxide

能够有效地吸收二氧化碳

from the atmosphere or from concentrated sources,

从大气和浓缩原料中

make new hydrocarbons that can go into their refineries

制造新的碳氢化合物输送进入他们的精炼厂

to make normal gasoline

制造汽油

and diesel fuel out of CO2.

不制造二氧化碳的柴油机燃料

Those are just a couple of the approaches

这只是我们考虑到的一些

and directions that we're taking.

方面和途径

(Applause)

掌声