How Quantum Biology Might Explain Life’s Biggest Questions | Jim Al-Khalili | TED Talks

翻译人员: Claire Yeh 校对人员: Jianan(Tiana) Zhao

I'd like to introduce you to an emerging area of science,

我想给大家介绍一个新兴的科学领域，

one that is still speculative but hugely exciting,

这个领域还处在理论阶段，但也很激动人心，

and certainly one that's growing very rapidly.

当然目前发展也很迅猛。

Quantum biology asks a very simple question:

量子生物学提出了一个非常简单的问题：

Does quantum mechanics --

量子力学——

that weird and wonderful and powerful theory

这是个关于原子和分子的亚原子世界理论，

of the subatomic world of atoms and molecules

一个既神秘又奇妙还很强大的理论，

that underpins so much of modern physics and chemistry --

也是支撑着现代物理学和化学的理论——

also play a role inside the living cell?

那它是否也在活体细胞里起着重要作用呢？

In other words: Are there processes, mechanisms, phenomena

换句话说：在生物体当中，

in living organisms that can only be explained

是否有一些过程、生理反应、现象，

with a helping hand from quantum mechanics?

是只能借助量子力学来解释的呢？

Now, quantum biology isn't new;

其实量子生物学也不算新学科；

it's been around since the early 1930s.

它的历史可追溯至20世纪30年代。

But it's only in the last decade or so that careful experiments --

但是直到十年前左右，才有了周密的实验——

in biochemistry labs, using spectroscopy --

就是在生化实验室，利用光谱仪来做的实验——

have shown very clear, firm evidence that there are certain specific mechanisms

结果给出了非常明确有力的证据，说明确实有某些生理反应

that require quantum mechanics to explain them.

需要通过量子力学来解释。

Quantum biology brings together quantum physicists, biochemists,

量子生物学集合了物理学家、生化学家

molecular biologists -- it's a very interdisciplinary field.

和分子生物学家——是一个极其跨学科的领域。

I come from quantum physics, so I'm a nuclear physicist.

我来自量子物理学领域，是个核物理学家。

I've spent more than three decades

我花了三十多年的时间

trying to get my head around quantum mechanics.

来试图理解量子力学。

One of the founders of quantum mechanics, Niels Bohr,

Niels Bohr，量子力学之父之一，

said, If you're not astonished by it, then you haven't understood it.

说过，谁要是第一次听到量子理论时没有感到震惊，那他一定没听懂。

So I sort of feel happy that I'm still astonished by it.

我还蛮庆幸自己现在还挺震惊的。

That's a good thing.

这是个好事。

But it means I study the very smallest structures in the universe --

这是个好但这也说明我研究的只是这个宇宙最小的结构，

the building blocks of reality.

这个建立现实世界的一砖一瓦。

If we think about the scale of size,

要想知道这个结构的大小，

start with an everyday object like the tennis ball,

那么我们从网球这种日常物品开始吧，

and just go down orders of magnitude in size --

然后将物体按大小将序排列——

from the eye of a needle down to a cell, down to a bacterium, down to an enzyme --

从针眼，到细胞，到细菌，再到酶——

you eventually reach the nano-world.

最后才到纳米世界。

Now, nanotechnology may be a term you've heard of.

你们也许都听过纳米技术这个词。

A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.

一纳米就是十亿分之一米。

My area is the atomic nucleus, which is the tiny dot inside an atom.

我的研究领域是原子核，也就是原子当中的那小个点。

It's even smaller in scale.

它体积比这更小。

This is the domain of quantum mechanics,

这就是量子力学的领域，

and physicists and chemists have had a long time

而物理学家和化学家花了很长的时间

to try and get used to it.

来努力适应这个领域。

Biologists, on the other hand, have got off lightly, in my view.

而生物学家，在我看来，很轻松就避开了它。

They are very happy with their balls-and-sticks models of molecules.

他们很满足于这些分子球棍模型。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The balls are the atoms, the sticks are the bonds between the atoms.

这球指的是原子，棍负责把原子连在一起。

And when they can't build them physically in the lab,

如果在实验室里无法建立起实体的分子模型，

nowadays, they have very powerful computers

现在，他们也可以用强大的电脑

that will simulate a huge molecule.

来建立模拟的巨大分子模型。

This is a protein made up of 100,000 atoms.

这个蛋白质由100,000个原子组成。

It doesn't really require much in the way of quantum mechanics to explain it.

这不怎么需要量子力学来解释。

Quantum mechanics was developed in the 1920s.

量子力学从上世纪20年代开始发展。

It is a set of beautiful and powerful mathematical rules and ideas

这是一套美丽而又强大的数学法则和理念，

that explain the world of the very small.

帮人们理解这个世界最小的结构。

And it's a world that's very different from our everyday world,

这是个和我们日常生活很不一样的世界，

made up of trillions of atoms.

它由数万亿个原子组成。

It's a world built on probability and chance.

这是个建立在机率和概率之上的世界。

It's a fuzzy world.

是个模糊的世界。

It's a world of phantoms,

是个幽灵的世界，

where particles can also behave like spread-out waves.

在这里，粒子们也可表现出散开的波状形态。

If we imagine quantum mechanics or quantum physics, then,

如果我们把量子力学或量子物理学想象成

as the fundamental foundation of reality itself,

现实世界的最根本基础，那么，

then it's not surprising that we say

量子物理学支撑了有机化学，

quantum physics underpins organic chemistry.

这种说法就不足为奇了。

After all, it gives us the rules that tell us

毕竟，它有一套原则，

how the atoms fit together to make organic molecules.

解释了原子如何组合在一起，从而建立起一个有机分子。

Organic chemistry, scaled up in complexity,

有机化学，随着复杂度的增加，

gives us molecular biology, which of course leads to life itself.

又建立了分子生物学，而它又将我们带入生命科学。

So in a way, it's sort of not surprising.

所以，从某个角度来说，这不足为奇。

It's almost trivial.

这算是鸡毛蒜皮了。

You say, "Well, of course life ultimately must depend of quantum mechanics."

你会说，“嗯，生命当然最终要靠量子力学来解释。”

But so does everything else.

但此外的一切也都是如此。

So does all inanimate matter, made up of trillions of atoms.

所有无机物，也都是由数万亿个原子组成的。

Ultimately, there's a quantum level

最后，我们得在量子的层面上

where we have to delve into this weirdness.

来探究这领域的神秘之处。

But in everyday life, we can forget about it.

但在日常生活中，我们会忘记它的神秘感。

Because once you put together trillions of atoms,

因为，当数万亿个原子聚集在一起时，

that quantum weirdness just dissolves away.

量子的神秘感就消失了。

Quantum biology isn't about this.

量子生物学说的不是这个。

Quantum biology isn't this obvious.

量子生物学没这么浅显。

Of course quantum mechanics underpins life at some molecular level.

当然，量子力学在分子水平上支撑着生命。

Quantum biology is about looking for the non-trivial --

量子生物学旨在寻找重要的东西——

the counterintuitive ideas in quantum mechanics --

量子力学当中的反直觉观念——

and to see if they do, indeed, play an important role

然后了解它们是否会在

in describing the processes of life.

描述生命进程中起到重要的作用。

Here is my perfect example of the counterintuitiveness

我有一个完美的例子来解释

of the quantum world.

量子世界的反直觉观念。

This is the quantum skier.

这是个量子滑雪者。

He seems to be intact, he seems to be perfectly healthy,

他看起来很完整，看起来很健康，

and yet, he seems to have gone around both sides of that tree at the same time.

但是，他也好像同时穿过了那棵树的两边。

Well, if you saw tracks like that

嗯，当然，如果你看到这样的滑雪轨迹，

you'd guess it was some sort of stunt, of course.

你可能会觉得这是某种特技。

But in the quantum world, this happens all the time.

但在量子世界里，这无时不刻都会发生。

Particles can multitask, they can be in two places at once.

粒子是可以进行多任务处理的，它们可以同时出现在两个地方。

They can do more than one thing at the same time.

它们在同一时间能执行多项任务。

Particles can behave like spread-out waves.

它们好像散开的涟漪一样。

It's almost like magic.

就好比魔术。

Physicists and chemists have had nearly a century

物理学家和化学家用了近一个世纪

of trying to get used to this weirdness.

来适应这种神秘之物。

I don't blame the biologists

我也不怪生物学家

for not having to or wanting to learn quantum mechanics.

不用或不想学习量子力学。

You see, this weirdness is very delicate;

你们看，这种神秘是很微妙的；

and we physicists work very hard to maintain it in our labs.

我们物理学家在实验室里下了很大功夫来稳定它。

We cool our system down to near absolute zero,

我们把我们的系统冷却到接近绝对零度，

we carry out our experiments in vacuums,

在真空中进行我们的实验，

we try and isolate it from any external disturbance.

我们努力将其从任何外界干扰中分离出来。

That's very different from the warm, messy, noisy environment of a living cell.

那和活体细胞里温暖、凌乱又嘈杂的环境大相径庭。

Biology itself, if you think of molecular biology,

生物学，就分子生物学而言

seems to have done very well in describing all the processes of life

，它似乎在化学——化学反应方面

in terms of chemistry -- chemical reactions.

非常好地阐释了所有的生命进程。

And these are reductionist, deterministic chemical reactions,

而这都是还原论、确定性的化学反应，

showing that, essentially, life is made of the same stuff as everything else,

它们显示，生命的成分说到底和其他事物一样，

and if we can forget about quantum mechanics in the macro world,

而且我们要是可以在宏观世界里忘掉量子力学，

then we should be able to forget about it in biology, as well.

那我们也可以在生物学中忘掉它。

Well, one man begged to differ with this idea.

然而，有个人不同意这个观点。

Erwin Schrödinger, of Schrödinger's Cat fame,

那就是埃尔温·薛定谔，他有个著名的薛定谔猫实验，

was an Austrian physicist.

是个奥地利物理学家。

He was one of the founders of quantum mechanics in the 1920s.

他是20世纪20年代量子力学创始人之一。

In 1944, he wrote a book called "What is Life?"

1944年，他写了本书叫做《生命是什么？》

It was tremendously influential.

这本书影响巨大。

It influenced Francis Crick and James Watson,

它影响了弗朗西斯·克里克和詹姆斯·沃森，

the discoverers of the double-helix structure of DNA.

就是发现DNA双螺旋结构的那两个人。

To paraphrase a description in the book, he says:

在书中，他表达了这样的意思：

At the molecular level, living organisms have a certain order,

在分子水平上，生命体有着某种秩序，

a structure to them that's very different

一种结构，使其和其他随机的热力学原子冲撞

from the random thermodynamic jostling of atoms and molecules

以及一样复杂的无机质分子

in inanimate matter of the same complexity.

有着天壤之别。

In fact, living matter seems to behave in this order, in a structure,

实际上，生命体似乎就是在一个结构中，以这种秩序运转着，

just like inanimate matter cooled down to near absolute zero,

就好像被冷却到近绝对零度的无机质一样，

where quantum effects play a very important role.

量子理论在这里起到了很重要的作用。

There's something special about the structure -- the order --

活体细胞中的这个结构——这个秩序——

inside a living cell.

有着一些特别之处。

So, Schrödinger speculated that maybe quantum mechanics plays a role in life.

所以，薛定谔推测，也许量子力学在生命学当中起到了某些作用。

It's a very speculative, far-reaching idea,

这是个极具推测性的且影响深远的观点，

and it didn't really go very far.

但也没怎么发展下去了。

But as I mentioned at the start,

但正如我一开始说的，

in the last 10 years, there have been experiments emerging,

在过去10年做了些实验，

showing where some of these certain phenomena in biology

实验结果显示生物学中的某些现象

do seem to require quantum mechanics.

确实需要量子力学来解释。

I want to share with you just a few of the exciting ones.

我想和大家分享几个最激动人心的实验。

This is one of the best-known phenomena in the quantum world,

这是量子世界里最有名的现象之一，

quantum tunneling.

叫做量子隧穿。

The box on the left shows the wavelike, spread-out distribution

左边的框里有一个量子实体，它像波一样扩散开来——

of a quantum entity -- a particle, like an electron,

这是个像电子一样的粒子，

which is not a little ball bouncing off a wall.

它和从墙上反弹回来的小球不一样。

It's a wave that has a certain probability of being able to permeate

它是一个波，可以穿过

through a solid wall, like a phantom leaping through to the other side.

一个实心墙，像个幽灵似地从一边穿透到另一边。

You can see a faint smudge of light in the right-hand box.

你在右手边的框里可以看到一些微弱的光斑。

Quantum tunneling suggests that a particle can hit an impenetrable barrier,

量子隧穿表明，一个粒子能够撞上一堵无法穿透的墙，

and yet somehow, as though by magic,

然而却又能像魔术一样，

disappear from one side and reappear on the other.

从墙的一侧消失并出现在另一侧。

The nicest way of explaining it is if you want to throw a ball over a wall,

用最好的方法来解释的话，就是说如果你要把一个球扔到墙的另一侧，

you have to give it enough energy to get over the top of the wall.

那你要给它足够能量让它越过墙顶。

In the quantum world, you don't have to throw it over the wall,

但在量子世界里，你不需要将它从墙顶上扔过去，

you can throw it at the wall, and there's a certain non-zero probability

你只要往墙上扔就好了，然后这个球会在你这侧消失并出现在另一侧，

that it'll disappear on your side, and reappear on the other.

而这个概率为非零。

This isn't speculation, by the way.

这不是推测，顺便提下。

We're happy -- well, "happy" is not the right word --

我们很高兴——额，“高兴”这个词用得不对——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

we are familiar with this.

我们是熟悉这个的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Quantum tunneling takes place all the time;

量子隧穿随时随刻都在发生；

in fact, it's the reason our Sun shines.

实际上，这也是太阳发光的原因。

The particles fuse together,

粒子融合在一起，

and the Sun turns hydrogen into helium through quantum tunneling.

然后太阳通过量子隧穿将氢转化为氦。

Back in the 70s and 80s, it was discovered that quantum tunneling also takes place

七八十年代的时候，人们发现活细胞中

inside living cells.

也有量子隧穿。

Enzymes, those workhorses of life, the catalysts of chemical reactions --

酶，为维持生命努力运作着，是化学反应的催化剂——

enzymes are biomolecules that speed up chemical reactions in living cells,

酶这种生物分子加快了活细胞中的化学反应，

by many, many orders of magnitude.

规模大小不一。

And it's always been a mystery how they do this.

但它们是如何做到这点的，至今任是一个谜。

Well, it was discovered

嗯，人们发现

that one of the tricks that enzymes have evolved to make use of,

酶发展出了一种方法，

is by transferring subatomic particles, like electrons and indeed protons,

就是通过传送亚原子粒子，例如电子和当然还有质子这种，

from one part of a molecule to another via quantum tunneling.

酶通过量子隧穿将它们从分子的一部分传输到另一部分。

It's efficient, it's fast, it can disappear --

这效率非常高，很快，它——

a proton can disappear from one place, and reappear on the other.

一个质子能从一个地方消失，然后在另一个地方再出现。

Enzymes help this take place.

而酶使之成为可能。

This is research that's been carried out back in the 80s,

这个研究是在80年代进行的，

particularly by a group in Berkeley, Judith Klinman.

其中Judith Klinman带领的一个伯克利的团队作用尤其突出。

Other groups in the UK have now also confirmed

另一些英国的团队现在也已肯定

that enzymes really do this.

酶有这种能力。

Research carried out by my group --

我的团队做的研究——

so as I mentioned, I'm a nuclear physicist,

我之前说过，我是个核物理学家，

but I've realized I've got these tools of using quantum mechanics

但我也意识到，我已在原子核领域应用了量子力学，

in atomic nuclei, and so can apply those tools in other areas as well.

那么我也可以把它也应用到其他领域。

One question we asked

我们提出的一个问题是

is whether quantum tunneling plays a role in mutations in DNA.

量子隧穿在DNA变异中是否也发挥着作用。

Again, this is not a new idea; it goes all the way back to the early 60s.

这仍然不是个新概念；它任然要追溯到60年代早期。

The two strands of DNA, the double-helix structure,

DNA分子链，即双螺旋结构，

are held together by rungs; it's like a twisted ladder.

是由像阶梯一样的东西连接在一起的；像是个扭曲的梯子一样。

And those rungs of the ladder are hydrogen bonds --

而这些梯子上的阶梯就是氢键——

protons, that act as the glue between the two strands.

质子，其作用是将两束分子链黏合在一起。

So if you zoom in, what they're doing is holding these large molecules --

那么放大来看，你就会发现它们将这些大分子——

nucleotides -- together.

核苷酸——聚合在一起。

Zoom in a bit more.

再放大一点看：

So, this a computer simulation.

这是个电脑模拟。

The two white balls in the middle are protons,

中间的两个白色的球是质子，

and you can see that it's a double hydrogen bond.

你们看得到这是双氢键。

One prefers to sit on one side; the other, on the other side

其中一个喜欢待在这端；另一个，则待在双链的另一端，

of the two strands of the vertical lines going down, which you can't see.

这是纵向走向的，你们看不到。

It can happen that these two protons can hop over.

这两个质子也有可能跳到另一端。

Watch the two white balls.

看着两个白球。

They can jump over to the other side.

它们可以跳到另外一端。

If the two strands of DNA then separate, leading to the process of replication,

如果DNA双链分开了，引发复制过程，

and the two protons are in the wrong positions,

而恰好这两个质子的位置错了，

this can lead to a mutation.

那么就会导致变异。

This has been known for half a century.

这个现象已为人所知半个世纪了。

The question is: How likely are they to do that,

但问题来了：它们发生错误的概率是多大，

and if they do, how do they do it?

如果它们出错了，又是怎么出错的呢？

Do they jump across, like the ball going over the wall?

它们就这样跳到另一端，就好像那个球越过那堵墙那样吗？

Or can they quantum-tunnel across, even if they don't have enough energy?

还是它们在没有足够能量的情况下，也能实现量子隧穿那样的穿越呢？

Early indications suggest that quantum tunneling can play a role here.

早期研究提出量子隧穿可能在这发挥了作用。

We still don't know yet how important it is;

我们还不知道其重要性有多大；

this is still an open question.

目前还没有确切答案。

It's speculative,

现在只有推测，

but it's one of those questions that is so important

但如果说量子力学会影响变异的话，

that if quantum mechanics plays a role in mutations,

这就是个非常重要的问题之一了，

surely this must have big implications,

对于理解某些类型的变异，

to understand certain types of mutations,

甚至是可能导致细胞癌变的变异，

possibly even those that lead to turning a cell cancerous.

这当然这有着非常重大的意义。

Another example of quantum mechanics in biology is quantum coherence,

生物学中另一个量子力学的例子是，

in one of the most important processes in biology,

生物学中最重要的一个过程之一，

photosynthesis: plants and bacteria taking sunlight,

光合作用里的量子相干性：植物和细菌吸收了光照，

and using that energy to create biomass.

并利用其中的能量来制造生物质。

Quantum coherence is the idea of quantum entities multitasking.

量子相关性指的是量子实体同时执行多任务的现象。

It's the quantum skier.

这是个量子滑雪者。

It's an object that behaves like a wave,

这个物体表现得像波一样，

so that it doesn't just move in one direction or the other,

所以它的移动不是单一方向的，

but can follow multiple pathways at the same time.

而是同时能够走不同的路线。

Some years ago, the world of science was shocked

几年前，一篇论文的发布震惊了科学界，

when a paper was published showing experimental evidence

它提出实验证明量子相干性

that quantum coherence takes place inside bacteria,

存在于细菌中，

carrying out photosynthesis.

执行着光合作用。

The idea is that the photon, the particle of light, the sunlight,

这个观点说的是，光子，即光粒子，阳光，

the quantum of light captured by a chlorophyll molecule,

光量子被叶绿素捕捉到后，

is then delivered to what's called the reaction center,

被传递到叫做反应中心的地方，

where it can be turned into chemical energy.

在这里它被转化成化学能量。

And in getting there, it doesn't just follow one route;

而到达反应中心的路线不止一个；

it follows multiple pathways at once,

光量子会同时走多个路线，

to optimize the most efficient way of reaching the reaction center

最后找出最高效的路线达到反应中心，

without dissipating as waste heat.

从而不会消耗成余热。

Quantum coherence taking place inside a living cell.

量子相干性效应也存在于活细胞里。

A remarkable idea,

这是个卓越的观点，

and yet evidence is growing almost weekly, with new papers coming out,

而目前每周也都有新证据、新论文发表来证明这个观点，

confirming that this does indeed take place.

证明这个现象的确存在。

My third and final example is the most beautiful, wonderful idea.

我的第三个也是最后一个例子，是个非常美丽奇妙的观点。

It's also still very speculative, but I have to share it with you.

同样也极具推测性，但我要和你们分享一下。

The European robin migrates from Scandinavia

欧洲斯堪的纳维亚的知更鸟

down to the Mediterranean, every autumn,

每个秋天都会迁徙到地中海，

and like a lot of other marine animals and even insects,

就和许多其它海洋动物甚至是昆虫一样，

they navigate by sensing the Earth's magnetic field.

它们都靠感应地球磁场来感知方向。

Now, the Earth's magnetic field is very, very weak;

地球磁场非常的弱；

it's 100 times weaker than a fridge magnet,

它比我们的冰箱贴还弱100倍，

and yet it affects the chemistry -- somehow -- within a living organism.

然而它却影响着生物体中的化学反应。

That's not in doubt -- a German couple of ornithologists,

毋庸置疑——德国的鸟类学家夫妇

Wolfgang and Roswitha Wiltschko, in the 1970s, confirmed that indeed,

Wolfgang和Roswitha Wiltschko在20世纪70年代确认，

the robin does find its way by somehow sensing the Earth's magnetic field,

知更鸟的确通过感应地球磁场来探路，

to give it directional information -- a built-in compass.

从中获取方向信息——这是一种内置的指南针。

The puzzle, the mystery was: How does it do it?

令人不解的谜团是：它们是怎么做到的？

Well, the only theory in town --

嗯，我们现在只有一个理论--

we don't know if it's the correct theory, but the only theory in town --

我们不确定这个理论是否正确，但目前只有这么一个理论--

is that it does it via something called quantum entanglement.

就是，它们是通过一个叫做量子纠缠的效应来实现导航的。

Inside the robin's retina --

在知更鸟的视网膜里--

I kid you not -- inside the robin's retina is a protein called cryptochrome,

我可不是开玩笑啊--在知更鸟的视网膜上有一个蛋白质

which is light-sensitive.

叫做隐花色素，它对光很敏感。

Within cryptochrome, a pair of electrons are quantum-entangled.

在印花色素里，有一对相互纠缠的电子。

Now, quantum entanglement is when two particles are far apart,

量子纠缠意味着两个粒子相距甚远，

and yet somehow remain in contact with each other.

却又能彼此保持联系。

Even Einstein hated this idea;

连爱因斯坦都讨厌这个观点；

he called it "spooky action at a distance."

他把它叫做“鬼魅般的超距作用。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So if Einstein doesn't like it, then we can all be uncomfortable with it.

那么如果爱因斯坦不喜欢这个观点，那么我们就有理由也不喜欢。

Two quantum-entangled electrons within a single molecule

单细胞当中的两个有着量子纠缠关系的电子

dance a delicate dance

跳着非常微妙的舞蹈，

that is very sensitive to the direction the bird flies

并对鸟类在地球磁场里

in the Earth's magnetic field.

飞翔的方向很敏感。

We don't know if it's the correct explanation,

我不知道这么说对不对，

but wow, wouldn't it be exciting if quantum mechanics helps birds navigate?

但是哇哦，如果量子力学能帮助鸟类感知方向，这不是很激动人心的事吗？

Quantum biology is still in it infancy.

量子生物学还处在婴儿时期。

It's still speculative.

还处在推测阶段。

But I believe it's built on solid science.

不过我相信它是建立在严谨科学之上的。

I also think that in the coming decade or so,

我也认为在接下来十年左右，

we're going to start to see that actually, it pervades life --

我们会看到，其实它在生活中无处不在——

that life has evolved tricks that utilize the quantum world.

生活已经演变出了许多利用量子世界的技能。

Watch this space.

请关注这个领域。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）