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

翻译人员: Zhiting Chen 校对人员: Geoff Chen

You may not realize this,

或许你并没有意识到，

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

你身体里的细菌 比银河系中的星星还要多。

This fascinating universe of bacteria inside of us

我们体内这迷人的“细菌宇宙”

is an integral part of our health,

是我们身体健康 不可缺少的组成部分，

and our technology is evolving so rapidly

而高科技的迅速发展

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

允许我们像处理计算机程序一样 处理这些细菌。

Now, the diagram that you see here,

现在，你看到的这张图，

I know it looks like some kind of sports play,

我知道这看起来像是 某种体育运动的示意图，

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

但实际上是我开发的 第一个细菌程序。

And like writing software, we can print and write DNA

就像写软件代码那样， 我们可以依据不同的算法

into different algorithms and programs inside of bacteria.

输出和撰写DNA序列， 并在细菌内部编写程序。

What this program does is produces fluorescent proteins

这个程序做的事情就是 按照一定的节奏

in a rhythmic fashion

生产荧光蛋白，

and generates a small molecule

并生成一个小分子，

that allows bacteria to communicate and synchronize,

让细菌可以彼此联系，实现信息同步，

as you're seeing in this movie.

正如你在这个影片里看到的。

The growing colony of bacteria that you see here

这个成长中的菌落，

is about the width of a human hair.

和人类头发的宽度差不多大小。

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

但你们看不到我们的基因程序如何

instructs these bacteria to each produce small molecules,

指导这些细菌各自产生小分子，

and these molecules travel between the thousands of individual bacteria

这些分子在数千个 细菌个体之间游移，

telling them when to turn on and off.

告诉它们什么时候 开启和关闭相应的功能。

And the bacteria synchronize quite well at this scale,

在这个尺度下， 细菌同步表现得很好，

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

但因为这些让细菌同步的分子 移动速度非常快，

in larger colonies of bacteria, this results in traveling waves

在比较大的菌落里， 将导致在相距较远的细菌个体间

between bacteria that are far away from each other,

产生传导波动，

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

你可以看到这样的波动 从荧幕的右边向左移动。

Now, our genetic program relies on a natural phenomenon

我们的遗传程序依赖于 一种叫做“群体感应”的

called quorum sensing,

自然现象，

in which bacteria trigger coordinated and sometimes virulent behaviors

一旦菌落达到临界密度， 细菌之间就会开始激发相互协调，

once they reach a critical density.

有时甚至会产生致命后果的行为。

You can observe quorum sensing in action in this movie,

在这段视频中， 你能观察到活动中的“群体感应”现象，

where a growing colony of bacteria only begins to glow

成长中的菌落 只有在达到高密度或临界密度的时候

once it reaches a high or critical density.

才会开始发光。

Our genetic program

我们的基因程序

在菌落向外蔓延时， 有节奏地

continues producing these rhythmic patterns of fluorescent proteins

as the colony grows outwards.

持续制造荧光蛋白。

This particular movie and experiment we call The Supernova,

我们称这个特别的影片 和这个实验为“超级新星”，

because it looks like an exploding star.

因为这看起来很像星星大爆炸。

Now, besides programming these beautiful patterns,

除了编译这些美丽的图样外，

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

我开始思考， 我们还能让这些细菌做些什么？

And I decided to explore how we can program bacteria

我决定探索研究 要如何编程细菌

to detect and treat diseases in our bodies like cancer.

去发现和治疗身体内的疾病， 比如癌症。

One of the surprising facts about bacteria

细菌的一个不可思议之处在于，

is that they can naturally grow inside of tumors.

它们可以在肿瘤内部自然地生长。

This happens because typically tumors

这是因为，一般的肿瘤

are areas where the immune system has no access,

是免疫系统涉及不到的区域，

and so bacteria find these tumors

所以当细菌发现这些肿瘤时，

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

会将肿瘤当做避风港， 在其中茁壮成长。

We started using probiotic bacteria

我们开始使用益生菌，

which are safe bacteria that have a health benefit,

它们安全并且对健康有益，

and found that when orally delivered to mice,

随后发现，当老鼠口服益生菌时，

these probiotics would selectively grow inside of liver tumors.

这些益生菌会选择 生长在肝脏的肿瘤里。

We realized that the most convenient way

我们意识到最简便的

to highlight the presence of the probiotics,

标记出益生菌，

and hence, the presence of the tumors,

进而让肿瘤现形的方式，

was to get these bacteria to produce a signal

是让这些益生菌产生

that would be detectable in the urine,

可以在尿液中被检测到的信号，

and so we specifically programmed these probiotics

所以我们特别编译了这些益生菌，

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

让它们产生可以改变 你尿液颜色的分子，

to indicate the presence of cancer.

以此实现癌症的检测。

We went on to show that this technology

我们随后证明了这项技术

对肝癌的检测具有高灵敏度和准确度，

could sensitively and specifically detect liver cancer,

one that is challenging to detect otherwise.

而肝癌很难通过其他方式检测到。

Now, since these bacteria specifically localize to tumors,

既然知道这些细菌能 准确定位肿瘤，

we've been programming them to not only detect cancer

我们又试着实现 不止能检测癌症，

but also to treat cancer

还能治疗癌症的编译，

by producing therapeutic molecules from within the tumor environment

通过从肿瘤内部产生治疗分子，

that shrink the existing tumors,

让现有的肿瘤萎缩，

and we've been doing this using quorum sensing programs

而我们已经在用群体感应程序 来实现这一过程了，

like you saw in the previous movies.

就像之前影片中看到的一样。

Altogether, imagine in the future taking a programmed probiotic

想象一下，未来可以通过 服用这些编译后的细菌

that could detect and treat cancer,

来检测和治疗癌症，

or even other diseases.

甚至是其他疾病。

Our ability to program bacteria

我们能够编译细菌

and program life

以及生命的能力，

opens up new horizons in cancer research,

为癌症研究打开了新的天地，

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

为了分享这个美好的愿景， 我和艺术家 Vik Muniz 合作，

to create the symbol of the universe,

创作了这个完全由细菌和

made entirely out of bacteria or cancer cells.

癌症细胞所组成的宇宙符号。

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

最终，我希望这个美丽的微观世界 和它的存在意义，

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

能够给未来的癌症研究方法 带来新的创意。

Thank you.

谢谢。

（鼓掌）

(Applause)