Craig Venter: On the verge of creating synthetic life

翻译人员: Boyang Zhu 校对人员: Tony Yet

You know, I've talked about some of these projects before --

在这之前我已经讨论过这些项目中的一部分

about the human genome and what that might mean,

关于人类基因组和它们的意义。

and discovering new sets of genes.

以及发现新的基因组。

We're actually starting at a new point:

这次我们要从一个新的角度来看：

we've been digitizing biology,

我们在从事数字化生物学的工作。

and now we're trying to go from that digital code

并且现在我们正尝试从那些数字代码走向

into a new phase of biology

一个生物学的全新阶段,

with designing and synthesizing life.

设计与人工合成生命。

So, we've always been trying to ask big questions.

我们经常试图提出一些较大的问题。

"What is life?" is something that I think many biologists

“生命是什么”我想是许多生物学家

have been trying to understand

不断地尝试在

at various levels.

在不同层面去理解的问题。

We've tried various approaches,

我们尝试了许多方法，

paring it down to minimal components.

把它分解到最小的组成部分。

We've been digitizing it now for almost 20 years;

到目前我们几乎已经用了20年来将其数字化。

when we sequenced the human genome,

当我们在排序人类基因组的时候，

it was going from the analog world of biology

它从生物学的模拟分析世界

into the digital world of the computer.

走进了计算机的数字世界。

Now we're trying to ask, "Can we regenerate life

现在我们在尝试提问，我们是否能够再造生命，

or can we create new life

或者我们是否从这个数字世界中

out of this digital universe?"

能创造新的生命?

This is the map of a small organism,

这是一种微生物的基因序列图,

Mycoplasma genitalium,

生殖支原体,

that has the smallest genome for a species

它有着对于一个物种来说最小的基因组

that can self-replicate in the laboratory,

能使其在实验室中自我复制。

and we've been trying to just see if

并且我们在尝试了解是否

we can come up with an even smaller genome.

我们能找到一种更小的基因组。

We're able to knock out on the order of 100 genes

我们能够从500组基因中

out of the 500 or so that are here.

分离出一百组就是我们眼前的这些。

When we look at its metabolic map,

但当我们来看它的新陈代谢的时候，

it's relatively simple

这其实是相对简单的

compared to ours --

相对我们的来说。

trust me, this is simple --

相信我，这算简单的。

but when we look at all the genes

但当我们在看所有这些

that we can knock out one at a time,

我们能一个一个分离出的基因组的时候，

it's very unlikely that this would yield

很难相信它们能产生出

a living cell.

一个活生生的细胞。

So we decided the only way forward

所以，我们认为唯一能继续研究的方法

was to actually synthesize this chromosome

就是人工合成这些染色体

so we could vary the components

以便我们能改变它的组成部分

to ask some of these most fundamental questions.

来继续提问这些最基本的问题。

And so we started down the road of:

于是我们开始沿着这条路走下去

can we synthesize a chromosome?

“我们能人工合成染色体吗？”

Can chemistry permit making

化学原则真的允许我们制造

these really large molecules

这些我们从未实现过的

where we've never been before?

超大分子吗？

And if we do, can we boot up a chromosome?

而且，就算我们可以，我们能激活它吗？

A chromosome, by the way, is just a piece of inert chemical material.

一对染色体，顺便说下，只是一些无活性的化学物质。

So, our pace of digitizing life has been increasing

我们数字化生命的速度不断地

at an exponential pace.

以指数速度加快。

Our ability to write the genetic code

我们写基因编码的能力

has been moving pretty slowly

进步地却非常慢，

but has been increasing,

不过也还是在增加的。

and our latest point would put it on, now, an exponential curve.

我们最近的状况将会把速度提升到指数曲线。

We started this over 15 years ago.

我们于15年前开始这项工作。

It took several stages, in fact,

实际上它经过了好几个阶段。

starting with a bioethical review before we did the first experiments.

在我们做最初的试验前，先进行了一次生物伦理学的评估。

But it turns out synthesizing DNA

但结果是人工合成DNA

is very difficult.

是非常困难的。

There are tens of thousands of machines around the world

全世界有十几万台设备

that make small pieces of DNA --

在制造小片断的DNA，

30 to 50 letters in length --

长度在30到50个字符，

and it's a degenerate process, so the longer you make the piece,

并且这是一个会倒退的过程，制造的片断越是长，

the more errors there are.

产生的错误就越是多。

So we had to create a new method

所以我们不得不创造一种新的方法

for putting these little pieces together and correct all the errors.

把这些小的片断排放在一起并纠正所有的错误。

And this was our first attempt, starting with the digital information

这是我们的第一次尝试，从Phi X 174基因组（噬菌体）

of the genome of phi X174.

的数字信息开始。

It's a small virus that kills bacteria.

是一种能杀死细菌的小型病毒。

We designed the pieces, went through our error correction

我们设计了它的基因片断，经过了错误纠正，

and had a DNA molecule

就拥有了一条

of about 5,000 letters.

5000字符长度的DNA。

The exciting phase came when we took this piece of inert chemical

最另人兴奋的阶段是当我们把这段没有活性的化学物质

and put it in the bacteria,

放进细菌内，

and the bacteria started to read this genetic code,

细菌开始读取基因编码，

made the viral particles.

制造了病毒粒子。

The viral particles then were released from the cells

接着细胞释放出病毒粒子，

and came back and killed the E. coli.

再返回来杀死了E.coli（革兰氏阴性菌）。

I was talking to the oil industry recently

我最近与石油行业有一些交流，

and I said they clearly understood that model.

我觉得他们对这个模式理解的非常透彻。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

They laughed more than you guys are. (Laughter)

他比你们笑的大声多了。

And so, we think this is a situation

因此我们认为这种情况实际上

where the software can actually build its own hardware

是软件能在一个生物系统内

in a biological system.

打造自己的硬件。

But we wanted to go much larger:

但我们还想再扩大规模。

we wanted to build the entire bacterial chromosome --

我们希望制造整条细菌染色体，

it's over 580,000 letters of genetic code --

一条超过580，000字符长度的基因编码。

so we thought we'd build them in cassettes the size of the viruses

我们认为应该在以病毒大小的“盒”中制造它们

so we could actually vary the cassettes

这样我们可以改变这些“盒”

to understand

来理解

what the actual components of a living cell are.

一个活的细胞的实际组成部分是什么？

Design is critical,

设计是非常重要的，

and if you're starting with digital information in the computer,

并且如果你在计算机上开始使用数字信息。

that digital information has to be really accurate.

那这些数字信息必须十分准确。

When we first sequenced this genome in 1995,

当我们在1995年第一次对这组基因排序时，

the standard of accuracy was one error per 10,000 base pairs.

准确率的标准是每10000个基本对一个错误。

We actually found, on resequencing it,

实际上我们发现，在重新排序时，

30 errors; had we used that original sequence,

平均是30个错误。如果我们使用原先的序列，

it never would have been able to be booted up.

这组基因永远不可能被启动。

Part of the design is designing pieces

设计工作的一部分是设计

that are 50 letters long

50个字符长度的片断

that have to overlap with all the other 50-letter pieces

并和其他的50字符长的片段叠加

to build smaller subunits

以构建更小的次单元。

we have to design so they can go together.

我们要设计过他们才能聚到一起。

We design unique elements into this.

其中有我们设计过的独特部分。

You may have read that we put watermarks in.

你们可能听说过我们在其中加入了水印

Think of this:

想想看

we have a four-letter genetic code -- A, C, G and T.

基因编码有四个字符：A,C,G和T。

Triplets of those letters

这些字符的三联体 - 以及这些字符

code for roughly 20 amino acids,

编成了大约20种氨基酸

such that there's a single letter designation

这样每个氨基酸就有了

for each of the amino acids.

一个字符标记

So we can use the genetic code to write out words,

所以我们能使用基因编码来书写言语

sentences, thoughts.

句子，想法。

Initially, all we did was autograph it.

最初，我们所做的就是用它来签名。

Some people were disappointed there was not poetry.

有些人有点失望我们没用它来做首诗。

We designed these pieces so

我们设计了这些片断

we can just chew back with enzymes;

并能使用酶来裁切。

there are enzymes that repair them and put them together.

有些酶是用来修复他们并把他们放到一起的。

And we started making pieces,

接着我们开始制造片断，

starting with pieces that were 5,000 to 7,000 letters,

从7000字符长度的片断开始

put those together to make 24,000-letter pieces,

把他们拼在一起制造24，000字符长度的片断

then put sets of those going up to 72,000.

再把几组片断合并，变成了72，000长的片断

At each stage, we grew up these pieces in abundance

在每个阶段，我们大量培养了这些片断

so we could sequence them

因此我们可以给他们排序

because we're trying to create a process that's extremely robust

因为我们希望创造一个异常可靠的过程

that you can see in a minute.

一分钟内你就将看见

We're trying to get to the point of automation.

我们试着达到自动化的层面

So, this looks like a basketball playoff.

这看起来就像是一场篮球赛的对阵图

When we get into these really large pieces

当这些非常大的片断超过

over 100,000 base pairs,

100，000基本对时

they won't any longer grow readily in E. coli --

他们就很难继续在E.coil里长的更长了。

it exhausts all the modern tools of molecular biology --

在试尽了各种现代分子生物学的工具后

and so we turned to other mechanisms.

我们转向其他的途径。

We knew there's a mechanism called homologous recombination

我们知道有个方法叫同源重组，

that biology uses to repair DNA

生物学上用来修复DNA，

that can put pieces together.

它能把片断组合到一起

Here's an example of it:

这里有一个例子

there's an organism called

有一种微生物叫

Deinococcus radiodurans

耐辐射球菌

that can take three millions rads of radiation.

能够承受三百万度的辐射量。

You can see in the top panel, its chromosome just gets blown apart.

你能看到在顶部的视图里，它的染色体四散在各个地方

Twelve to 24 hours later, it put it

12到24小时以后，它将自己

back together exactly as it was before.

又组合回之前的原状。

We have thousands of organisms that can do this.

我们有数千种微生物有这种能耐

These organisms can be totally desiccated;

这些微生物能够完全脱离水。

they can live in a vacuum.

他们能存活在真空中

I am absolutely certain that life can exist in outer space,

我完全确信外层空间存在着生命，

move around, find a new aqueous environment.

四处移动，遇到一个新的有水的环境

In fact, NASA has shown a lot of this is out there.

实际上，NASA已经展示过很多这样的例子。

Here's an actual micrograph of the molecule we built

这里有一组我们拍摄的这个分子的显微图像。

using these processes, actually just using yeast mechanisms

通过这些过程，其实就是前面所提到的酵母的方法

with the right design of the pieces we put them in;

同时放入经过我们正确设计的片断。

yeast puts them together automatically.

酵母自动地将他们聚合。

This is not an electron micrograph;

这并不是电子显微图像；

this is just a regular photomicrograph.

它仅仅是普通的光学显微镜。

It's such a large molecule

这是如此之大的一个分子

we can see it with a light microscope.

我们能用一个光学显微镜观察它。

These are pictures over about a six-second period.

这些是时长约为六秒的图像。

So, this is the publication we had just a short while ago.

这是我们所公开的最近的试验成果。

This is over 580,000 letters of genetic code;

这是超过580000字符长的基因编码。

it's the largest molecule ever made by humans of a defined structure.

这也是由人类设定结构并制造的最大的分子。

It's over 300 million molecular weight.

它超过了3亿分子重量。

If we printed it out at a 10 font with no spacing,

如果我们以10号字体不间隔地将其打印出来。

it takes 142 pages

总共需要142页

just to print this genetic code.

来打印这些基因编码

Well, how do we boot up a chromosome? How do we activate this?

那我们该如何来启动一段染色体，我们该如何激活它?

Obviously, with a virus it's pretty simple;

显然处理一个病毒非常简单

it's much more complicated dealing with bacteria.

处理一个细菌就复杂多了

It's also simpler when you go

处理像我们自身这样的

into eukaryotes like ourselves:

真核生物也相对简单

you can just pop out the nucleus

你能取出一个细胞核

and pop in another one,

然后塞进另一个细胞中，

and that's what you've all heard about with cloning.

这就是大家听到的关于克隆的手法

With bacteria and Archaea, the chromosome is integrated into the cell,

对于古细菌，它们的染色体与整个细胞连成一体，

but we recently showed that we can do a complete transplant

但最近我们也明确了我们能完成一个完整的移植

of a chromosome from one cell to another

将染色体从一个细胞转移到另一个细胞中

and activate it.

并激活它。

We purified a chromosome from one microbial species --

我们从一个种群的微生物中提取出染色体。

roughly, these two are as distant as human and mice --

基本上，这两个的差别就如同人类和老鼠般。

we added a few extra genes

我们加上了一些新的基因

so we could select for this chromosome,

这样我们就能选择这些染色体。

we digested it with enzymes

我们用酶来分解它们

to kill all the proteins,

去除所有的蛋白质

and it was pretty stunning when we put this in the cell --

当我们将它放入细胞时发生的情形非常惊人

and you'll appreciate

你们应该会喜欢

our very sophisticated graphics here.

我们所制作的非常精密的演示图像 --

The new chromosome went into the cell.

新的染色体进入细胞。

In fact, we thought this might be as far as it went,

实际上我们原以为这个过程就到此为止了。

but we tried to design the process a little bit further.

但是我们试图将这个过程设计得更深入一些。

This is a major mechanism of evolution right here.

这是一个重大的进化机制。

We find all kinds of species

我们发现所有接受了

that have taken up a second chromosome

第二段染色体的物种

or a third one from somewhere,

或来自其他地方的第三方染色体，

adding thousands of new traits

在一秒钟内增加了

in a second to that species.

数千种新特征到其自身。

So, people who think of evolution

原本人们所持有的在进化的过程中

as just one gene changing at a time

每次只会有一个基因发生变化

have missed much of biology.

的观念忽略了生物的许多实际情况。

There are enzymes called restriction enzymes

有一种酶叫做限制酶

that actually digest DNA.

是能够消化DNA的

The chromosome that was in the cell

原先细胞中的染色体没有这种酶

doesn't have one;

没有这种酶

the chromosome we put in does.

而当我们置入一段拥有这种酶的染色体

It got expressed and it recognized

它表现了出来，并且辨认出

the other chromosome as foreign material,

另一段染色体是外来物质，

chewed it up, and so we ended up

它就将其消化，最后我们就有了

just with a cell with the new chromosome.

一个包含有新的DNA的细胞

It turned blue because of the genes we put in it.

我们放入的基因导致它变成了蓝色。

And with a very short period of time,

在非常短的一段时间里，

all the characteristics of one species were lost

所有的原先物种的特征全部消失了，

and it converted totally into the new species

并且完全转化成了一个新物种，

based on the new software that we put in the cell.

基于我们放入细胞的新“软件”。

All the proteins changed,

所有的蛋白质都改变了，

the membranes changed;

细胞膜也改变了 --

when we read the genetic code, it's exactly what we had transferred in.

当我们读取它的基因编码，实际上就是我们植入的那种。

So, this may sound like genomic alchemy,

这可能听起来像基因炼金术，

but we can, by moving the software of DNA around,

但我们的确能通过转移DNA，

change things quite dramatically.

来急剧地改变事物。

Now I've argued, this is not genesis;

现在，我要声明这不是创世纪 --

this is building on three and a half billion years of evolution.

这是建立在35亿年的进化上的

And I've argued that we're about to perhaps

并且我认为我们可能

create a new version of the Cambrian explosion,

会创造新一版的寒武纪生命大爆发

where there's massive new speciation

出现大量基于这种数字化设计

based on this digital design.

的新物种

Why do this?

为什么要这样做？

I think this is pretty obvious in terms of some of the needs.

我认为出于一些需求我们这样做的原因是非常明显的。

We're about to go from six and a half

我们的人口将在接下来的40年中从

to nine billion people over the next 40 years.

65亿变成90亿

To put it in context for myself:

以我自己的例子来说

I was born in 1946.

我出生于1946年

There are now three people on the planet

现在世界上就变成了三个人

for every one of us that existed in 1946;

相对于我们中每一个从1946年就存在的人；

within 40 years, there'll be four.

在接下来的四十年内，就变成了四个。

We have trouble feeding, providing fresh, clean water,

我们在为65亿人提供食物，洁净的淡水，

medicines, fuel

医药，燃料上

for the six and a half billion.

都十分困难。

It's going to be a stretch to do it for nine.

换作90亿人那真是捉襟见肘了。

We use over five billion tons of coal,

我们使用超过50亿顿的煤，

30 billion-plus barrels of oil --

300多亿桶的石油。

that's a hundred million barrels a day.

也就是每天一千万桶。

When we try to think of biological processes

当我们尝试思考这个生物程序

or any process to replace that,

或者任何能替代它的程序，

it's going to be a huge challenge.

这会是一个巨大的挑战。

Then of course, there's all that

接下来，当然，是这份材料

CO2 from this material

中所显示的被排放在大气层中

that ends up in the atmosphere.

的二氧化碳。

We now, from our discovery around the world,

我们现在从全球各地的发现

have a database with about 20 million genes,

有了一个包含约两千万组基因的数据库，

and I like to think of these as the design components of the future.

并且我乐于把它们看作是未来的设计组件。

The electronics industry only had a dozen or so components,

电气行业只有十来种组件，

and look at the diversity that came out of that.

再看看从中能得到的多样性。

We're limited here primarily

目前我们主要的限制来自于

by a biological reality

生物学的现实情况

and our imagination.

以及我们的想像力。

We now have techniques,

我们现在拥有这样的技术，

because of these rapid methods of synthesis,

是因为这些能制造我们称之为“混合染色体组”的

to do what we're calling combinatorial genomics.

快速的人工合成方法。

We have the ability now to build a large robot

我们现在所拥有的制造一个大型机器人的能力

that can make a million chromosomes a day.

能让我们每天制造一百万个染色体。

When you think of processing these 20 million different genes

当你想着加工这两千万组不同的基因，

or trying to optimize processes

并尝试去优化这个步骤

to produce octane or to produce pharmaceuticals,

以产生辛烷或者制造药物制剂，

new vaccines,

以及新的疫苗，

we can just with a small team,

我们就能改变，即使是一个小团队，

do more molecular biology

也能做比过去20年科学史所做过的

than the last 20 years of all science.

更多的分子生物学工作。

And it's just standard selection:

并且这只是标准选择。

we can select for viability,

我们可以以生存能力来选择，

chemical or fuel production,

化学或燃料生产，

vaccine production, etc.

疫苗生产等等。

This is a screen snapshot

这是一张屏幕截图

of some true design software

截取的是一些我们

that we're working on to actually be able to sit down

实际坐下来工作时在电脑中

and design species in the computer.

真正用来设计物种的设计软件。

You know, we don't know necessarily what it'll look like:

我们并不一定要知道它(设计的物种)看起来是怎样。

we know exactly what their genetic code looks like.

我们确切地知道它们的基因编码究竟是什么样的。

We're focusing on now fourth-generation fuels.

我们目前把注意力放在“第四代燃料”上。

You've seen recently, corn to ethanol

你们最近看到了将谷物转化成乙醇

is just a bad experiment.

只是一个糟糕的试验。

We have second- and third-generation fuels

很快我们将会拥有

that will be coming out relatively soon

第二及第三代燃料。

that are sugar, to much higher-value fuels

就是糖转化成更高价值的燃料

like octane or different types of butanol.

例如辛烷或不同种类的丁醇。

But the only way we think that biology

但我们认为生物学唯一能

can have a major impact without

产生一个巨大影响的同时又不

further increasing the cost of food and limiting its availability

增加食物的支出与限制其可利用性的方法

is if we start with CO2 as its feedstock,

是在于我们是否能开始用二氧化碳作为它的原料。

and so we're working with designing cells to go down this road.

所以我们正在进行设计新的细胞能朝这条路发展下去。

And we think we'll have the first fourth-generation fuels

并且我们认为在18个月里我们会取得

in about 18 months.

第一份第四代燃料。

Sunlight and CO2 is one method ...

阳光和二氧化碳是其中一个方法 --

(Applause)

（掌声）

but in our discovery around the world,

-- 但我们从全世界各地的发现中，

we have all kinds of other methods.

我们还有许多种其他方法。

This is an organism we described in 1996.

这是一种微生物,1996年被记载

It lives in the deep ocean,

它生活在深海。

about a mile and a half deep,

大约1.5英里深，

almost at boiling-water temperatures.

几乎是在沸腾的水温中。

It takes CO2 to methane

它将二氧化碳转化成甲烷

using molecular hydrogen as its energy source.

使用氢分子最为它的能量来源。

We're looking to see if we can take

我们在看是否能把

captured CO2,

收集到的二氧化染,

which can easily be piped to sites,

，它们非常方便就能被引进处理站，

convert that CO2 back into fuel

转化成燃料，

to drive this process.

来驱动这个过程。

So, in a short period of time,

因此在很短的时间内，

we think that we might be able to increase

我们觉得我们或许可以增加对于"生命是什么?"

what the basic question is of "What is life?"

的基本问题的理解。

We truly, you know,

我们的确

have modest goals

有着替换整个

of replacing the whole petrol-chemical industry --

石油化工行业的小小目标。

(Laughter) (Applause)

（笑声）（掌声）

Yeah. If you can't do that at TED, where can you? --

如果你不能在TED做到这些,哪里还有可能呢?

(Laughter)

（笑声）

become a major source of energy ...

成为一项主要的能源。

But also, we're now working on using these same tools

并且我们也在使用同样的工具

to come up with instant sets of vaccines.

制造了几组即时疫苗。

You've seen this year with flu;

你们都看到今年出现的流感，

we're always a year behind and a dollar short

我们总是要慢上一年的时间并且在缺乏资金的情况下

when it comes to the right vaccine.

才等到有用的疫苗。

I think that can be changed

我认为这情形是可以通过

by building combinatorial vaccines in advance.

预先制造混合疫苗来改变的。

Here's what the future may begin to look like

这是未来可能会呈现的情况

with changing, now, the evolutionary tree,

伴随着改变,目前,进化树

speeding up evolution

随着人造细菌，古物种

with synthetic bacteria, Archaea

最后是真核生物

and, eventually, eukaryotes.

而加速进化

We're a ways away from improving people:

我们正在一条离改善人类生活越来越远的路上。

our goal is just to make sure that we have a chance

我们的目标就是确保我们能有机会活到

to survive long enough to maybe do that. Thank you very much.

足够长的时间或许就能做到这件事了。非常感谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）