Paul Rothemund: The astonishing promise of DNA folding

翻译人员: Juyao Dong 校对人员: Yi Wang

So, people argue vigorously about the definition of life.

人们总在激烈的争执生命的定义

They ask if it should have reproduction in it, or metabolism, or evolution.

它是否应该具有生殖,新陈代谢或者进化这些特征

And I don't know the answer to that, so I'm not going to tell you.

我也不知道这个问题的答案,所以我不会和你们说这些

I will say that life involves computation.

我要说的是生命中有计算的过程

So this is a computer program.

这是一个计算机程序

Booted up in a cell, the program would execute,

包含在细胞里,这个程序将来会执行

and it could result in this person;

执行的结果就是诞生了这样一个人

or with a small change, it could result in this person;

或者有些小的变动,它就会造出这样的一个人

or another small change, this person;

又或者有一些其它的变动,就会是这个人

or with a larger change, this dog,

或者是个大一点的变化,也许会变成这只狗

or this tree, or this whale.

或者是这棵树,或是这条鲸鱼

So now, if you take this metaphor

如果你来认真看待

[of] genome as program seriously,

把基因组比成一个程序这样的比喻

you have to consider that Chris Anderson

你得把Chris Anderson (TED的创始人)

is a computer-fabricated artifact, as is Jim Watson,

想成是一样电脑合成的制品,就像Jim Watson(DNA结构的发现者之一)

Craig Venter, as are all of us.

Craig Venter(最早开始研究人类基因组序列的科学家之一) 以及我们每一个人一样.

And in convincing yourself that this metaphor is true,

为了说服你自己这个比喻是真的

there are lots of similarities between genetic programs

如果注意到基因组程序和电脑程序

and computer programs that could help to convince you.

的许多共同点, 那这可以帮助你相信这个比喻

But one, to me, that's most compelling

但最吸引我的一点

is the peculiar sensitivity to small changes

是对微小变化的特殊敏感性

that can make large changes in biological development -- the output.

造就了生物进化中的大的改变

A small mutation can take a two-wing fly

一个很小的变异可以把一个双翅的苍蝇

and make it a four-wing fly.

变成一个四支翅膀的苍蝇

Or it could take a fly and put legs where its antennae should be.

或者也可以把这个苍蝇的腿长在它本该长触角的地方

Or if you're familiar with "The Princess Bride,"

或者,如果你对"公主新娘"这个电影很熟悉的话

it could create a six-fingered man.

小的变异也可能造就一个有六个指头的人

Now, a hallmark of computer programs

现在, 电脑程序的一个重要特点

is just this kind of sensitivity to small changes.

就是可以有像(生物世界里)这样的对微小变化的敏感性

If your bank account's one dollar, and you flip a single bit,

如果你的银行帐户里有一美元, 你只需要把这一位上的数换一下

you could end up with a thousand dollars.

你就能有一千美元

So these small changes are things that I think

所以就是这些小的变化让我想到

that -- they indicate to us that a complicated computation

它们暗示着一个复杂计算过程

in development is underlying these amplified, large changes.

总是暗藏在这些被放大的变化背后

So now, all of this indicates that there are molecular programs underlying biology,

所以,所有这些都在暗示着在生物中隐含着分子程序

and it shows the power of molecular programs -- biology does.

而且生物本身也体现了这些分子程序的强大力量

And what I want to do is write molecular programs,

我想做的是写一些有潜力

potentially to build technology.

发展为技术的分子程序

And there are a lot of people doing this,

而且有很多人也致力于这一方向

a lot of synthetic biologists doing this, like Craig Venter.

有很多合成生物学家在做这些,比如 Craig Venter

And they concentrate on using cells.

他们集中精力在利用细胞上

They're cell-oriented.

是细胞指向的

So my friends, molecular programmers, and I

我的朋友,分子程序师们以及我自己

have a sort of biomolecule-centric approach.

有一套以生物-分子为中心的研究方法

We're interested in using DNA, RNA and protein,

我们想要利用DNA, RNA 以及蛋白质

and building new languages for building things from the bottom up,

为从头开始构建全新的事物创造一种语言

using biomolecules,

利用生物分子

potentially having nothing to do with biology.

我们希望将来能把这些用在生物学以外的其它领域中.

So, these are all the machines in a cell.

细胞中有所有这些"机器"

There's a camera.

这是一部照相机

There's the solar panels of the cell,

这是细胞中的太阳能电池板

some switches that turn your genes on and off,

这是些调控基因的开关

the girders of the cell, motors that move your muscles.

这是细胞的大梁, 和驱动肌肉的马达.

My little group of molecular programmers

我的分子程序研究小组

are trying to refashion all of these parts from DNA.

正在试图从DNA开始重新设计所有这些部件

We're not DNA zealots, but DNA is the cheapest,

我们并不是DNA的狂热爱好者,但DNA是最便宜的

easiest to understand and easy to program material to do this.

最容易理解的, 而且也适合于对其编程从而实现目的的.

And as other things become easier to use --

如果其它的分子变得成容易去利用

maybe protein -- we'll work with those.

例如蛋白质,我们也将会利用的.

If we succeed, what will molecular programming look like?

如果我们成功了,分子编程会是什么样子的呢?

You're going to sit in front of your computer.

你将坐在你的电脑面前

You're going to design something like a cell phone,

你将能设计一些东西,比如手机

and in a high-level language, you'll describe that cell phone.

而且如果你用一种高级语言,你将能描绘这部手机

Then you're going to have a compiler

之后你得有一部编译器

that's going to take that description

这部编译器将会接收这些指令

and it's going to turn it into actual molecules

然后把它变成真正的分子

that can be sent to a synthesizer

这些分子能被送到合成器

and that synthesizer will pack those molecules into a seed.

合成器又能把这些分子组装在一起变成一个种子

And what happens if you water and feed that seed appropriately,

如果你接着给它浇水而且好好栽培它呢?

is it will do a developmental computation,

它会进化成一个计算过程吗?

a molecular computation, and it'll build an electronic computer.

一个分子计算过程,而且建立起一个电子计算机.

And if I haven't revealed my prejudices already,

如果我还没透露我的观点的话

I think that life has been about molecular computers

我认为生命的过程是从分子计算机开始

building electrochemical computers,

建造电子化学的计算机

building electronic computers,

再接着建电子计算机

which together with electrochemical computers

而这些电子计算机和电子化学的计算机

will build new molecular computers,

将会创造出新的分子计算机

which will build new electronic computers, and so forth.

这些新计算机又将会建造新的电子计算机,如此继续下去

And if you buy all of this,

如果你相信所有这些的话

and you think life is about computation, as I do,

而且如果你像我一样相信生命全是关于计算的话

then you look at big questions through the eyes of a computer scientist.

那你就是在用一个计算机科学家的眼光来看一个重要问题

So one big question is, how does a baby know when to stop growing?

一个重要的问题是,婴儿是怎么知道什么时候停止生长的呢?

And for molecular programming,

作为一个分子程序员

the question is how does your cell phone know when to stop growing?

这个问题就相当于,你的手机如果知道什么时候停止生长

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Or how does a computer program know when to stop running?

或者说一个电脑程序如何知道什么时候停止运行

Or more to the point, how do you know if a program will ever stop?

或者更具体点, 你怎么知道一个程序将有可能会停下来

There are other questions like this, too.

当然还有其它类似的问题

One of them is Craig Venter's question.

其中一个就是Cragi Venter的问题

Turns out I think he's actually a computer scientist.

其实我认为他实际上是一个计算机科学家

He asked, how big is the minimal genome

他问,能发展成一个微型生物体

that will give me a functioning microorganism?

的最小基因组需要有多大

How few genes can I use?

我能少用几个基因?

This is exactly analogous to the question,

这个问题其实和,我能写的

what's the smallest program I can write

能实现像微软的Word一样功能的最小的程序有多小

that will act exactly like Microsoft Word?

是很类似的

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And just as he's writing, you know, bacteria that will be smaller,

而且在他研究基因组的时候,你知道,细菌将会变小

he's writing genomes that will work,

他在研究的基因组能发挥功能

we could write smaller programs

我们也能写更小的程序

that would do what Microsoft Word does.

而且让它完成像微软的"Word"的一样的功能

But for molecular programming, our question is,

但对于分子程序来说,我们的问题是

how many molecules do we need to put in that seed to get a cell phone?

我们需要放多少分子到种子里而能让它"长"成一部手机

What's the smallest number we can get away with?

我们需要的最小数量是多少

Now, these are big questions in computer science.

现在,计算科学领域有一个重大的问题

These are all complexity questions,

这些都是复杂的问题

and computer science tells us that these are very hard questions.

而且计算科学家告诉我们这些都是相当困难的问题

Almost -- many of them are impossible.

几乎,或者说大部分都是不可能回答的

But for some tasks, we can start to answer them.

但对于其中的一些,我们可以开始尝试回答

So, I'm going to start asking those questions

所以, 我现在要开始问这些

for the DNA structures I'm going to talk about next.

关于DNA结构的问题了,这也是我下面要讨论的

So, this is normal DNA, what you think of as normal DNA.

在一个正常的DNA里,那种你认为是正常的DNA

It's double-stranded, it's a double helix,

它有两股,是双螺旋

has the As, Ts, Cs and Gs that pair to hold the strands together.

因为有A,T,C,G这些碱基才能把两股维系在一起

And I'm going to draw it like this sometimes,

我下面会用这种方式代表DNA结构

just so I don't scare you.

希望不会吓到你们

We want to look at individual strands and not think about the double helix.

我们只看这两股中的一股,不把它想成是双螺旋

When we synthesize it, it comes single-stranded,

当我们合成的时候,我们先合成单股的

so we can take the blue strand in one tube

这样我们可以在一个试管里合成这股蓝色的

and make an orange strand in the other tube,

而在另一个试管里合成这条橙色的

and they're floppy when they're single-stranded.

它们在单股的时候是松软的

You mix them together and they make a rigid double helix.

但当你把它们混合在一起的时候,他们就形成了稳固的双螺旋

Now for the last 25 years,

在过去的二十五年里

Ned Seeman and a bunch of his descendants

Ned Seeman(纽约大学化学系的一名教授,致力于DNA结构相关的纳米技术的研究)和几个他的学生

have worked very hard and made beautiful three-dimensional structures

一直在辛苦研究,并利用这类DNA单股合在一起的反应

using this kind of reaction of DNA strands coming together.

做出了漂亮的三维结构

But a lot of their approaches, though elegant, take a long time.

他们多数的方法虽然很精致,但需要很长的时间

They can take a couple of years, or it can be difficult to design.

也许会需要两三年的时间,或者会特别难以设计

So I came up with a new method a couple of years ago

所以我几年前想出了这样一个新方法

I call DNA origami

我叫它DNA"折纸"

that's so easy you could do it at home in your kitchen

这是项很简单的技术,你甚至可以在自家的厨房里完成

and design the stuff on a laptop.

并用笔记本电脑设计这些东西

But to do it, you need a long, single strand of DNA,

不过,为了做这些,你需要一个长的单股DNA

which is technically very difficult to get.

而从技术角度讲,这种DNA又很难得到

So, you can go to a natural source.

所以,你可以找一个自然的来源

You can look in this computer-fabricated artifact,

现在来看这个电脑合成的加工品

and he's got a double-stranded genome -- that's no good.

他有一个并不太好的双股的基因组

You look in his intestines. There are billions of bacteria.

来看他的肠子, 有几十亿的细菌

They're no good either.

这也不太妙

Double strand again, but inside them, they're infected with a virus

这确实也是双股的,但在内部,它被病毒感染了

that has a nice, long, single-stranded genome

其内部有一个很好的长长的单股基因组

that we can fold like a piece of paper.

我们可以折叠这个基因组,就像折叠一张纸

And here's how we do it.

以下是我们如何做的

This is part of that genome.

这是基因组的一部分

We add a bunch of short, synthetic DNAs that I call staples.

我们加入一些短小的合成的DNA结构, 我把这些短链叫作 "订书针"

Each one has a left half that binds the long strand in one place,

每一个都有一小段可以和长链在某一个地方结全起来

and a right half that binds it in a different place,

而另一小段可以结合在长链的另一个地方

and brings the long strand together like this.

这样就可以把整个长链改变成这样的结构

The net action of many of these on that long strand

许多这些小DNA和长链结合的总结果就是

is to fold it into something like a rectangle.

把长链折叠成一个类似于长方形的形状

Now, we can't actually take a movie of this process,

目前为止,我们还不能把这一过程拍成电影

but Shawn Douglas at Harvard

但是哈佛大学的Shawn Douglas

has made a nice visualization for us

为我们做了一个很棒的视觉展示

that begins with a long strand and has some short strands in it.

起初的时候有一条长长的链和一些短小的链

And what happens is that we mix these strands together.

然后我们把它们混合在一起

We heat them up, we add a little bit of salt,

之后加热,并加一点盐

we heat them up to almost boiling and cool them down,

把它们加热到几乎到沸腾了,再冷却下来

and as we cool them down,

在冷却的过程中

the short strands bind the long strands

那些短小的链会和长链

and start to form structure.

开始形成结构

And you can see a little bit of double helix forming there.

你能在这看到有一点双螺旋形成了

When you look at DNA origami,

当你看DNA"折纸"的时候

you can see that what it really is,

你能看到它实际上到底是什么

even though you think it's complicated,

即使你认为它是个很复杂的东西

is a bunch of double helices that are parallel to each other,

其实只是一些双螺旋平行排列在一起

and they're held together

它们之所以能组合在一起

by places where short strands go along one helix

是因为有那些短小链一端和一个螺旋结合

and then jump to another one.

同时另一端再和另一处结合

So there's a strand that goes like this, goes along one helix and binds --

所以会有这样的一些链,和一个螺旋并行结合

it jumps to another helix and comes back.

同时又跳到另一条螺旋上再回来

That holds the long strand like this.

这样能把长链组装成这个样子

Now, to show that we could make any shape or pattern

为了展示我们能做成各种我们想要的形状和样式

that we wanted, I tried to make this shape.

我想做这样一个形状

I wanted to fold DNA into something that goes up over the eye,

我想让DNA这样向上越过眼睛

down the nose, up the nose, around the forehead,

到鼻子下面,再回到鼻子上面,绕过额头

back down and end in a little loop like this.

再回到下面,像这样完全一个圈

And so, I thought, if this could work, anything could work.

然后我想如果能做成这个形状,那任何其它形状都可以

So I had the computer program design the short staples to do this.

之后我用电脑程序来设计小的"订书针"来实现这个目标

I ordered them; they came by FedEx.

我订购了这些,联邦快运送来的

I mixed them up, heated them, cooled them down,

把它们混合起来,加热再冷却下来

and I got 50 billion little smiley faces

得到了每滴水中有五百亿个微小

floating around in a single drop of water.

的"笑脸"瓢游着.

And each one of these is just

而且每一个都只有

one-thousandth the width of a human hair, OK?

人类头发的一千之分一那么细.

So, they're all floating around in solution, and to look at them,

它们在水里飘浮着,为了能看清楚

you have to get them on a surface where they stick.

你需要能找到一个表面能让这些"笑脸"粘在上面

So, you pour them out onto a surface

所以,你把它们倒入一个表面上

and they start to stick to that surface,

它们开始粘在这个表面上

and we take a picture using an atomic-force microscope.

我们再用原子显微镜来照张相

It's got a needle, like a record needle,

原子显微镜有一个针,像是个记录针

that goes back and forth over the surface,

在表面上往返运动

bumps up and down, and feels the height of the first surface.

一会上一会下来感觉表面的高低

It feels the DNA origami.

它能感觉到DNA"折纸"

There's the atomic-force microscope working

这里有一个原子显微镜在工作

and you can see that the landing's a little rough.

你能看到表面有一点起伏不平

When you zoom in, they've got, you know,

当你放大来看,这些"笑脸"

weak jaws that flip over their heads

有些下巴与额头重叠在一起

and some of their noses get punched out, but it's pretty good.

有些"笑脸"的鼻子被打了,但总体来说是不错的

You can zoom in and even see the extra little loop,

你能继续放大,看到更小的多出来的小圈

this little nano-goatee.

这些小小的纳米级的山羊胡子

Now, what's great about this is anybody can do this.

现在,这项技术的好处在于任何人都能做到

And so, I got this in the mail about a year after I did this, unsolicited.

我一年前在邮件里收到了别人自发寄来的这样东西

Anyone know what this is? What is it?

有人知道这是什么吗?

It's China, right?

是中国的版图

So, what happened is, a graduate student in China,

事情是这样的,一个中国的研究生

Lulu Qian, did a great job.

钱露露(音译),做了一个很棒的工作

She wrote all her own software

她自己写了程序

to design and built this DNA origami,

来设计并构建这些DNA 折纸

a beautiful rendition of China, which even has Taiwan,

一份十分漂亮的中国版图,还包括台湾

and you can see it's sort of on the world's shortest leash, right?

而且你能看到可能是世界上最短的一条绳子了,是吧?

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So, this works really well

所以这个方法确实很好用

and you can make patterns as well as shapes, OK?

而且除了形状外你还能设计不同的样式

And you can make a map of the Americas and spell DNA with DNA.

你可以做一张美国的地图,并用DNA来拼写"DNA"这个单词

And what's really neat about it --

最精彩的是

well, actually, this all looks like nano-artwork,

这些看上去都像是纳米级的艺术品

but it turns out that nano-artwork

但实际上纳米级的艺术品

is just what you need to make nano-circuits.

其实就是建造纳米级的电路板所需要的东西

So, you can put circuit components on the staples,

所以,你可以把电路板的组件安在这些"订书针"上

like a light bulb and a light switch.

就像一个电灯泡和一个灯的开关

Let the thing assemble, and you'll get some kind of a circuit.

让这些东西组装起来,你就能得到一个电路板

And then you can maybe wash the DNA away and have the circuit left over.

之后可以把DNA洗掉,而就只剩下电路板

So, this is what some colleagues of mine at Caltech did.

这是我在加州理工大学的一些同事们做的工作

They took a DNA origami, organized some carbon nano-tubes,

他们把DNA"折纸",和用有机分子修饰过的碳纳米管

made a little switch, you see here, wired it up,

来组装成小的开关,看这里,把它绕起来

tested it and showed that it is indeed a switch.

测试后发现它真的是一个开关

Now, this is just a single switch

现在它只是单个开关

and you need half a billion for a computer, so we have a long way to go.

你需要五亿个这样的单元来组装电脑,所以我们还有很长的路要走

But this is very promising

但这却是很有前景的

because the origami can organize parts just one-tenth the size

因为这些"折纸"能组装只有普通电脑组件十分之一

of those in a normal computer.

那么大的组件

So it's very promising for making small computers.

所以这项技术是很有前景能组装出小计算机的

Now, I want to get back to that compiler.

现在,我想再回去编译器的话题上

The DNA origami is a proof that that compiler actually works.

DNA"折纸"能证明编译器是真的能工作的

So, you start with something in the computer.

所以,你在电脑里开始了某一项工作

You get a high-level description of the computer program,

你有一个高级的关于电脑程序的说明

a high-level description of the origami.

一个高级的关于"折纸"的说明

You can compile it to molecules, send it to a synthesizer,

你能把这些编译成分子,把它发给组装的人

and it actually works.

而且它还确实可以工作

And it turns out that a company has made a nice program

事实上有个公司发明了一个很好的程序

that's much better than my code, which was kind of ugly,

一个比我的丑陋程序要好得多的程序

and will allow us to do this in a nice,

这个程序能让我们更好的实现设计过程

visual, computer-aided design way.

用一种电脑辅助的视觉设计方法

So, now you can say, all right,

现在,你就能明白

why isn't DNA origami the end of the story?

为什么DNA "折纸"不是一个终结

You have your molecular compiler, you can do whatever you want.

你有分子的编译器,你能用它实现任何你想做的事

The fact is that it does not scale.

问题是它不能大规模生产

So if you want to build a human from DNA origami,

所以如果你想从DNA"折纸"起发展成一个人

the problem is, you need a long strand

问题是,你需要很长的一股DNA

that's 10 trillion trillion bases long.

大概需要有十万亿万亿碱基的DNA链

That's three light years' worth of DNA,

相当于三光年长的DNA

so we're not going to do this.

所以我们不能这么做

We're going to turn to another technology,

我们得用别的技术

called algorithmic self-assembly of tiles.

一种叫作模块的算术自行组装的方法

It was started by Erik Winfree,

这项技术是由Erik Winfree 发明的

and what it does,

这项技术是

it has tiles that are a hundredth the size of a DNA origami.

它有一些大约是DNA"折纸"百分之一长度的模块

You zoom in, there are just four DNA strands

如果你放大来看,那有四股DNA

and they have little single-stranded bits on them

这上面有很小的单股的小片段

that can bind to other tiles, if they match.

如果相互匹配，这些小片段可以和别的模块连接在一起

And we like to draw these tiles as little squares.

我们用小的正方形来代表这些模块

And if you look at their sticky ends, these little DNA bits,

如果你注意到它们的粘性末端,这些小的DNA片段

you can see that they actually form a checkerboard pattern.

你能看到它们能形成一个格子图案

So, these tiles would make a complicated, self-assembling checkerboard.

所以这些小的模块将会自动组装成一个复杂的格子图案

And the point of this, if you didn't catch that,

关键是你可能没有注意到

is that tiles are a kind of molecular program

这些小模块其实类似于分子程序

and they can output patterns.

而且他们能呈现出某种样式

And a really amazing part of this is

最神奇的地方是

that any computer program can be translated

任何电脑程序都能被

into one of these tile programs -- specifically, counting.

转录成这样一些模块程序,更确切地说,计数.

So, you can come up with a set of tiles

你可以准备好一些模块

that when they come together, form a little binary counter

当这些模块被放在一起的时候, 能形成一个二进制的计数器

rather than a checkerboard.

而不只是一个格子图案

So you can read off binary numbers five, six and seven.

你能直接读出二进制的五,六和七

And in order to get these kinds of computations started right,

为了能让这类的计算正确开始

you need some kind of input, a kind of seed.

你需要输入一些东西,类似于一个种子

You can use DNA origami for that.

你可以用DNA"折纸"来当种子

You can encode the number 32

你可以把32编码到

in the right-hand side of a DNA origami,

DNA"折纸"的右手边

and when you add those tiles that count,

然后当你加入那些能计数的模块后

they will start to count -- they will read that 32

它们将开始计数,当它们读到32时

and they'll stop at 32.

他们就能停下来

So, what we've done is we've figured out a way

所以,我们所做的就是找到了一种方法

to have a molecular program know when to stop going.

能让一个分子程序知道什么时候停止生长

It knows when to stop growing because it can count.

它知道什么时候停下来,因为它能计算

It knows how big it is.

它知道已经长了有多大

So, that answers that sort of first question I was talking about.

所以,这就能回答我提出的第一个问题

It doesn't tell us how babies do it, however.

但它还是不能告诉我们婴儿是如何做到这一点的.

So now, we can use this counting to try and get at much bigger things

现在,我们能用这种计数方法来试着做出

than DNA origami could otherwise.

比DNA"折纸"能做到的更大的东西来

Here's the DNA origami, and what we can do

这是一个DNA"折纸",我们能做的是

is we can write 32 on both edges of the DNA origami,

在DNA"折纸"的两条边都写上32

and we can now use our watering can

我们现在能用"洒水壶"来给

and water with tiles, and we can start growing tiles off of that

这些模块"浇水",从这些模块再长出新的模块

and create a square.

来组成一个正方形

The counter serves as a template

计数器就好像是个一模板

to fill in a square in the middle of this thing.

填充在正方形的中央

So, what we've done is we've succeeded

这样,我们就能成功地

in making something much bigger than a DNA origami

利用DNA"折纸"和模块的组合

by combining DNA origami with tiles.

来合成比DNA"折纸"更大许多的东西

And the neat thing about it is, is that it's also reprogrammable.

巧妙的是,它能够重复编写

You can just change a couple of the DNA strands in this binary representation

通过改变二进制代表里的几股DNA

and you'll get 96 rather than 32.

你就能得到一个96而不是32

And if you do that, the origami's the same size,

在这前提下,如果你保持DNA"折纸"的大小不变

but the resulting square that you get is three times bigger.

你就能得到一个比原来大三倍的正方形

So, this sort of recapitulates

简单来概括一下

what I was telling you about development.

我所讲的生长

You have a very sensitive computer program

你有一个很敏感的电脑程序

where small changes -- single, tiny, little mutations --

其中很小的变化, 单个的,很微小的变异

can take something that made one size square

能把一个本来能生产出一个某个尺寸的正方形

and make something very much bigger.

变成生产出一些特别大的东西来

Now, this -- using counting to compute

这种利用计数来计算

and build these kinds of things

并利用这种发展过程来

by this kind of developmental process

构建这种东西的过程

is something that also has bearing on Craig Venter's question.

也是Craig Venter关心的问题

So, you can ask, how many DNA strands are required

所以,如果你问,到底需要多少股DNA

to build a square of a given size?

来建造一个特定大小的正方形?

If we wanted to make a square of size 10, 100 or 1,000,

如果我们想建一个10或者100或者1000那么大的正方形

if we used DNA origami alone,

如果我们只用DNA"折纸"

we would require a number of DNA strands that's the square

我们得需要一个有正方形边长

of the size of that square;

平方那么多股的DNA"折纸"

so we'd need 100, 10,000 or a million DNA strands.

我们就得需要100或者10000甚至1百万股DNA

That's really not affordable.

这个数字实在是太大了

But if we use a little computation --

但如果我们用一点计算的方法

we use origami, plus some tiles that count --

我们用DNA"折纸", 外加一些能计数的模块

then we can get away with using 100, 200 or 300 DNA strands.

那我们只需要100或者200或者300股DNA

And so we can exponentially reduce the number of DNA strands we use,

这样我们就能指数级的减少需要用的DNA

if we use counting, if we use a little bit of computation.

如果我们用一点计算的方法的话.

And so computation is some very powerful way

计算是一种很有效的方法

to reduce the number of molecules you need to build something,

能用来减少为了建造这些东西而需要的分子数量

to reduce the size of the genome that you're building.

也可以减少你建造的基因组的大小

And finally, I'm going to get back to that sort of crazy idea

最后,我还是回到那个

about computers building computers.

有关计算机再建造计算机的疯狂想法

If you look at the square that you build with the origami

看着这个用DNA"折纸"建造的正方形

and some counters growing off it,

和从它长出来的计数器

the pattern that it has is exactly the pattern that you need

它的样式就和你要建一个内存所需要的样式

to make a memory.

是一模一样的

So if you affix some wires and switches to those tiles --

所以如果你在模块上附上一些电线和开关

rather than to the staple strands, you affix them to the tiles --

或者说把它们附在模块上,而不是DNA短链上

then they'll self-assemble the somewhat complicated circuits,

之后他们就能自己组装成有一点复杂的电路

the demultiplexer circuits, that you need to address this memory.

那种你在内存里会需要的解复用器

So you can actually make a complicated circuit

所以你能用一点计算来建一个

using a little bit of computation.

复杂的电路.

It's a molecular computer building an electronic computer.

这是一个分子计算机建电子计算机的过程

Now, you ask me, how far have we gotten down this path?

你也许会问,在这条路上我们已经走了多远?

Experimentally, this is what we've done in the last year.

从实验角度来说,这是我们去年完成的.

Here is a DNA origami rectangle,

这里有一个DNA"折纸"的长方形

and here are some tiles growing from it.

和一些从它长出来的模块.

And you can see how they count.

你能看出来它们是怎么计数的.

One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, 10, 11, 12, 17.

一,二,三,四,五,六,九,十,十一,十二,十七

So it's got some errors, but at least it counts up.

它有错误,但至少能越数越大

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So, it turns out we actually had this idea nine years ago,

实际上,我们九年前就开始有了这一想法

and that's about the time constant for how long it takes

这大约就是做这件事必须得投入的时间

to do these kinds of things, so I think we made a lot of progress.

我觉得我们有很大进步.

We've got ideas about how to fix these errors.

我们现在也有想法去校正这些错误.

And I think in the next five or 10 years,

我认为在未来的五或十年里

we'll make the kind of squares that I described

我们将能做出我刚才形容的那种正方形

and maybe even get to some of those self-assembled circuits.

或者还能做一些那种自我组装的电路.

So now, what do I want you to take away from this talk?

我希望你们今天能从我的讲解里学到什么呢?

I want you to remember that

我希望你们能记住

to create life's very diverse and complex forms,

为了创造出生物体非常多样和复杂的形式

life uses computation to do that.

生物要用计算来实现这一目标.

And the computations that it uses, they're molecular computations,

而且它所用的计算是分子计算形式,

and in order to understand this and get a better handle on it,

为了能理解并更好的利用这一点

as Feynman said, you know,

就像费曼说的,

we need to build something to understand it.

为了理解某样东西,我们得建造一个出来

And so we are going to use molecules and refashion this thing,

我们将用分子,重新设计这些东西

rebuild everything from the bottom up,

并从头开始从新建造每一样东西

using DNA in ways that nature never intended,

用一种自然从未用过的方式

using DNA origami,

用DNA"折纸"

and DNA origami to seed this algorithmic self-assembly.

和DNA"折纸"引导的算法的自我组装.

You know, so this is all very cool,

你知道的,所有这些都很棒

but what I'd like you to take from the talk,

但我希望你们能从这个演讲

hopefully from some of those big questions,

提及的问题当中有所收获

is that this molecular programming isn't just about making gadgets.

这类的分子程序不仅仅是建一些小工具

It's not just making about --

它不仅仅是能造.....

it's making self-assembled cell phones and circuits.

能用来建自我组装的手机和电路

What it's really about is taking computer science

真正关键的是,利用计算科学

and looking at big questions in a new light,

并且用一种新的眼光看待大问题

asking new versions of those big questions

从新的角度来问这些问题

and trying to understand how biology

并且试图理解生物

can make such amazing things. Thank you.

是如何创造这些另人惊奇的事物的. 谢谢.

(Applause)

(掌声)