Lee Cronin: Print your own medicine

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Xue Chen 校对人员: Sharon Loh

Organic chemists make molecules,

有机化学家制作分子，

very complicated molecules,

非常复杂的分子，

by chopping up a big molecule into small molecules

把大的分子割成小的

and reverse engineering.

再反过来。

And as a chemist,

作为一名化学家，

one of the things I wanted to ask my research group a couple of years ago is,

我几年前便问我的研究小组，

could we make a really cool universal chemistry set?

我们可能做出很酷的通用化学设置吗？

In essence, could we "app" chemistry?

本质上讲，我们可以把化学软件化吗？

Now what would this mean, and how would we do it?

这意味什么，我们又可以怎么做？

Well to start to do this,

这样开始吧，

we took a 3D printer

我们用一台3D打印机

and we started to print our beakers and our test tubes on one side

开始把我们烧杯和试管打印在一面

and then print the molecule at the same time on the other side

然后在另一面同时打印上分子

and combine them together in what we call reactionware.

然后将两者在我们称之为感应件的仪器当中合并。

And so by printing the vessel and doing the chemistry at the same time,

打印容器的同时，进性化学过程

we may start to access this universal toolkit of chemistry.

我们可能会开始接近这个通用的化学工具箱。

Now what could this mean?

这又意味什么？

Well if we can embed biological and chemical networks like a search engine,

如果我们可把生物和化学网络做成像搜索引擎一样，

so if you have a cell that's ill that you need to cure

当您有哪个细胞生病了，需要治愈

or bacteria that you want to kill,

或你想杀菌，

if you have this embedded in your device

若您将这组件嵌在您的设备里

at the same time, and you do the chemistry,

同时，你进行化学过程

you may be able to make drugs in a new way.

您便可以用新方法做出药品。

So how are we doing this in the lab?

那么，我们如何在实验室中做这个呢？

Well it requires software, it requires hardware

它需要软件和硬件

and it requires chemical inks.

它也需要化学油墨。

And so the really cool bit is,

最酷的一点是，

the idea is that we want to have a universal set of inks

我们想要一套通用的油墨

that we put out with the printer,

可以和打印机一同推出

and you download the blueprint, the organic chemistry for that molecule

您下载蓝图，您需要的分子的有机化学过程

and you make it in the device.

在该设备里做。

And so you can make your molecule in the printer using this software.

因此，你可以用这套软件造你的分子。

So what could this mean?

这意味什么？

Well, ultimately, it could mean that you could print your own medicine.

最终，这意味您可以打印你自己的药。

And this is what we're doing in the lab at the moment.

而这是我们目前在实验室里所做。

But to take baby steps to get there,

但是，要一步步的达到那里，

first of all we want to look at drug design and production,

首先，我们在看药物的设计和产品，

or drug discovery and manufacturing.

或药物的发现和制造。

Because if we can manufacture it after we've discovered it,

因为如果我们能找到它，制造它，

we could deploy it anywhere.

我们便可以任何地方调配它。

You don't need to go to the chemist anymore.

您再也不需要去找化学家。

We can print drugs at point of need.

我们可以打印需要的药品。

We can download new diagnostics.

我们可以下载新的诊断方法。

Say a new super bug has emerged.

那么说，一个新的超级"bug"已经出现。

You put it in your search engine,

把它放到你的搜索引擎，

and you create the drug to treat the threat.

您就可以创建药物来治疗病痛。

So this allows you on-the-fly molecular assembly.

这允许您随时进行分子组装。

But perhaps for me the core bit going into the future

但，对我来说，未来最核心的部分

is this idea of taking your own stem cells,

是照你自己的干细胞，

with your genes and your environment,

结合你的基因和环境，

and you print your own personal medicine.

来打印你自己须要的药。

And if that doesn't seem fanciful enough,

如果这看起来还不够科幻的话，

where do you think we're going to go?

你觉得我们该往哪方向去？

Well, you're going to have your own personal matter fabricator.

嗯，你也要有自己的计划喔。

Beam me up, Scotty.

把我传上飞船。（电视剧"Star Trek"的标志性台词）

(Applause)

（掌声）