Could Fungi Actually Be the Key to Humanity’s Survival? | David Andrew Quist | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Jacky He

OK, people, let's just get this out of the way.

好，我们就来谈谈这个。

Now, I know this isn't a very comfortable subject for many of you,

我知道这个话题对于 很多人有些尴尬，

but I've got to say it.

但我必须得涉及。

We have to talk about your fungus problem.

我们得聊一聊你的真菌问题。

Now, it's OK, don't be embarrassed. You know who you are.

没事儿，别害羞。 你知道自己什么样。

We can work this out. We'll get through it together.

我们可以解决这个问题。 我们将一起克服它。

Now, call them fungi, "fun-gee," "fun-guy" -- you decide.

你读作真菌、真“俊”、“争”菌， 都可以，无所谓。

But what I'd like to impress upon you

但是我想让你记住的是

is this is a new world we need to begin exploring.

这是一个尚待我们探索的新世界。

And I think we can do it in interesting ways.

我们会有很多 有趣的探索方式。

But all of us have had an issue with fungi at some point in our lives, right?

大家多多少少都经历过某种真菌问题，对吧？

Maybe even now?

还是目前遇到了？

We think of fungi, we think of fuzzy stuff

说到真菌， 我们便会想到毛茸茸的物质，

that's growing on our yogurt that we forgot in the back of the fridge.

长在冰箱角落被遗忘的的酸奶上。

Or maybe that itch you developed by wearing that favorite pair of pants,

也有可能是你穿了最喜欢的， 尺码过小的裤子，

but just got a little bit too tight?

然后出现的搔痒？

Or, you know, maybe you think of death and decay and disease,

说到真菌，也许你会联想到 死亡、腐烂、与疾病。

when you think about fungi?

But fungi, maybe some of them have a dark side.

尽管真菌确实会有不好的一面，

I mean, who of us doesn't?

谁是十全十美的呢？

But I'd like to invite you to see these misunderstood creatures

所以，我想请大家一起 以全新的视角看待这个

in a new light,

备受误解的生物，

and maybe start to appreciate

并或许开始理解

some of the positive and inspirational ways that they behave.

它们那些积极 又带来启发的行为。

So if that mold is breaking bad on that yogurt

如果霉菌又在被你

遗忘在冰箱角落的酸奶上作祟，

you forgot in the back of the fridge, again,

maybe it's not just rotting and spoiling,

也许这不只是腐烂、变质，

but maybe it's taking an act of transformation,

也许它正在经历变化、

of renewal and of new possibilities.

迭代、创造新的可能。

And it's that very act of transformation that's so central to life on our planet,

这个变化的过程 对我们星球上的生命不可或缺，

it’s been important for our own history.

它在人类历史中至关重要。

And maybe for the future,

也许在未来，

if we can learn from fungi,

假设我们向真菌学习，

we might be able to transform ourselves and our societies

我们也许能改变 我们自身和社会，

in ways that are in greater harmony with nature.

以便与大自然更好地共存。

So what do I mean when I say fungi have been important to our past?

我说真菌在过去对我们 非常重要是什么意思？

I'm not talking about that amazing mushroom trip you took

我不是指你大学时光 快乐的采蘑菇之行，

back in university,

though that was probably pretty awesome in its own right.

虽然它可能确实很不错。

What I'm talking about is the way that fungi have been central

我指的是真菌为何

to the evolution of life on the planet,

在地球生命演化中功不可没。

that virtually all life has a fungal backstory.

可以说所有生命都 以真菌为根源。

Now, think: fungi have been on the planet for a billion years ... or more.

想象一下：真菌已经在地球上 存在了十亿年，也许更久。

And during that time the Earth was just a rocky, desolate place.

当时的地球还只是 岩石构成的荒芜之地。

There wasn't a lot of life on it.

上面并没有多少生命。

Now, algae would actually escape the waters

这时，藻类脱离了水体，

and come onto land to evolve into land plants,

迁移上陆地， 进化成了陆生植物，

but only by partnering with fungi first, as its root system.

通过与真菌合作， 将其作为根系。

Soils would begin to form

土壤开始形成，

as fungi ate rock and broke it down to make the nutrients available.

随着真菌腐蚀、分解岩石， 释放出养分。

So you had this opportunity for new life to spring up.

这样新生命就有了萌发的机会。

As a result, the evolution of plants would explode across the planet,

于是，横跨地球， 植物进化纷纷涌现，

which would oxygenate the atmosphere

从而为大气层供氧，

and allow the evolution of more complex life-forms,

让更复杂的生命形态得以进化，

like us, humans.

比如我们人类。

Right?

对吧？

So being on the planet for a billion years,

真菌在地球上呆了十亿年，

fungi have developed all sorts of life strategies

进化出了各种生存策略，

to be adaptive and diverse and resilient.

变得适应性强、 品种多样、顽强坚韧。

Think about it -- they survived a billion years,

想想看—— 它们已经活了十亿年，

through great swings in climate, over hundreds of millions of years,

经受气候在这几亿年里的风云巨变，

lived through all the five great mass extinction events,

挺过了五次大灭绝事件，

where the dinosaurs went extinct and the poor little trilobites

连恐龙、不起眼的小三叶虫和其他无数

and countless other forms of life that we don't even know existed.

我们未曾听闻的生物都已灭绝。

But fungi persisted and thrived, and do to this day.

但是真菌挺过来了，繁荣至今。

And I think that's what drove them to me.

我认为这就是它们的吸引力。

It's so endearing, right?

太可爱了，对吧？

I mean, who doesn't love a good survival story?

谁不喜欢一个好的生存故事呢？

I know I do.

反正我是喜欢的。

But fungi weren't my first love. That was music, actually.

但是真菌不是我的初恋， 我的初恋是音乐。

And actually, when I was a young, young boy,

我很小很小的时候，

I was really into grunge music,

我很喜欢垃圾摇滚，

and I played in a grunge band.

还加入了垃圾摇滚乐队。

And we were awful.

我们很菜。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I didn't know that at the time,

当时我并不知道这点，

and anyhow, I had to follow my passion.

于是就坚持着我的兴趣所在。

So I put everything in my pickup truck

我把所有东西放在我的皮卡上，

and I moved from my childhood home of Kansas City to Seattle,

从我儿时的家，堪萨斯城 搬去了西雅图，

the mecca of grunge music in the ’90s.

那里是 90 年代垃圾摇滚的圣地。

And I was going to start a new band.

我想组个新乐队。

And unfortunately, none of the talent of Nirvana or Soundgarden

不幸的是，涅槃乐队和 声音花园乐队的才能

rubbed off on me.

并未吸引到我。

It would have been a quite different life had it did.

换种情况，我的生活会截然不同。

But the splendor of the Pacific Northwest forests really did.

但是太平洋西北沿海森林的 瑰丽使我流连忘返。

And it was the trees and all the life aboveground

是地上的树木和生机

that drew me there,

吸引我去了那里，

but it was the fungi and the microbes belowground

但是地表下的真菌和微生物

that kept me coming back.

使我不舍离去。

I just got even more and more interested about the way that they lived,

我对它们的生存方式、

all these bizarre forms,

各种各样的形态、

the fact that fungi are literally everywhere.

和普遍程度越来越感兴趣。

Right now, they're on your skin,

此时此刻，它们在你的皮肤上，

in your gut.

在你的肠胃里。

With every breath you take, you inhale dozens of fungal spores.

你每呼吸一次， 就吸入了许多真菌孢子。

Every move you make,

你每动一下，

you trample mushrooms and molds beneath your feet,

你脚底踩碎着土壤中的蘑菇和霉菌。

in the soil.

And their ubiquity ...

它们无处不在……

is a big reason why we know so little about fungi.

这就是我们对真菌 知之甚少的一大原因。

Despite all the tools we have at our disposal, scientific tools,

虽然我们可以使用各种工具、 各种科学手段，

we know perhaps five percent of all the fungi,

但我们现在 只了解所有真菌的 5%，

some three million species

我们认为当今世界总共

that are thought to exist in the world today.

存在大约 300 万种真菌。

Now that's a massive amount of biodiversity

我们对这大量的生物多样性

that we know virtually nothing about,

几乎一无所知，

how it lives and what it does.

我们不知道它们如何运转， 有什么作用。

And that's what really inspired me to continue to study about fungi

这也激励着我继续研究真菌，

and ask deeper questions.

提出更深层次的问题。

Could some of this biodiversity help in creating a more resilient future?

这种生物多样性是否有助于 创造一个更具韧性的未来？

What could we actually learn from fungi?

我们究竟能从真菌身上 学到一些什么？

Were there metaphors that we might apply

有没有我们可以借鉴应用于

to how we live,

我们生活方式的地方，

to create a more resilient future together?

让我们一起创造一个 更加稳定的未来？

I'd like to share with you some of those metaphors.

我想与大家分享几个可借鉴之处。

The first is that fungi are biointelligent.

第一点：真菌具有“生物智慧”。

Being on the planet for so long,

真菌在地球上栖息亿年，

fungi have created a really great ability to be good at resource efficiency

已经具备高效率、 灵活运用资源的能力，

and resilience,

and, as it turns out, spatial planning.

以及空间规划能力。

So researchers in Japan did this super cool experiment

日本的研究者 做了一个很酷炫的实验，

where they wanted to see if fungi could help engineers

他们想验证真菌能否帮助工程师

to create more efficient transport networks.

创建更高效的交通网络。

So they laid out oatmeal on a petri dish,

于是，他们在培养皿中铺上燕麦，

corresponding to the cities of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

排列方式依据 东京都地区城市的分布。

And they introduced a slime mold,

然后他们加入了一些黏菌，

a type of fungus whose favoritest food ever is oatmeal,

这种真菌最爱的食物就是燕麦，

and the fungus rapidly went through a process of self-optimization

黏菌迅速进行了自我优化，

to find the most efficient links between its favoritest-ever food source,

找出了其最爱食物之间 最高效的路线，

represented by a map of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

形似东京市的地图。

And in a matter of hours, it would recreate, largely,

也就在几个小时后， 它就几乎重现了

the existing railway map of the Tokyo metropolitan area --

东京都地区 现有的铁路线路图——

a process it took engineers decades to actually produce.

而工程师们花了几十年 完成这个过程。

Now the fungus, it has no brain,

真菌没有大脑，

it has no plan, it was given no instructions or guidance.

没有计划， 没人给它指示或引导。

But still, it created a highly optimized network.

但它依旧创建出了 一个高度优化的网络。

And this convinced me and other scientists

这使得我和其他科学家相信

that maybe fungi could have practical applications

也许真菌可以有一些实际应用，

to help solve some of our human challenges

有助于快速、高效地解决

in ways that are quick and efficient

人类面临的一些问题，

and perhaps even more imaginative than we could do

并且比我们所有人的脑子 加起来更有创意。

with all of our brains put together.

Now, another way that fungi can produce a metaphor

我们可以借鉴真菌的另一处

is being collaborative.

就是互相合作。

Now, there is most evidence in their relationship with plants.

最显著的例子就是 真菌与植物的关系。

Now remember how algae evolved into plants

记得我刚说的藻类是如何

through the help of fungi as their root system?

借助真菌成为根系， 进化成植物的吗？

Well, that love affair never ended.

这段爱恋还没结束。

Still today, 90 percent of all land plants need to have a mycorrhizal association.

时至今日，90% 的陆生植物 依旧需要菌根共生，

This is the plant-fungus-root association.

即植物和真菌的根系缔合。

So depicted here, in this highly realistic view

如图所示， 这是非常逼真的

of the underground of a forest ecosystem ...

森林生态系统的地下景象，

you can see the fungus,

你可以看到真菌，

which exists in most of its life as thin filaments,

大多数时候都以细丝状存在，

and the network of thin filaments, we call it mycelium.

我们称细丝的整体 为菌丝体（mycelium）。

And the mycelium of the fungus can tap into the root of plants

真菌菌丝体进入植物根系，

and make a symbiosis.

建立共生关系。

And thereby, they exchange nutrients

它们由此交换

that the other one isn't so good at making or capturing.

另一方不善于生产或捕获的养分。

So in case of the fungi, they're providing minerals to the plants,

以真菌为例， 它们为植物提供矿物质，

and the plants, through photosynthesis, are providing carbon.

植物通过光合作用提供碳。

And so this exchange can go on between the organisms.

这样的交换可以在有机体间进行。

But it doesn’t stop there,

但是不止于此，

because the fungi can tap into other plants at the same time,

因为真菌可以 同时渗入其他植物，

and other plants can also have other fungal partners.

其他植物也可以有别的真菌伙伴。

So what you end up with

所以最终得到的是

is this massive underground network mediated by fungi.

由真菌操盘的巨型地下网络。

Now, it's not just nutrients that are flowing,

不仅是养分在流动，

but also communication,

它们还在交流，

because plants can talk to each other through the fungal network

因为植物可以 通过真菌网络互相交流，

to create chemical signals to be able to warn of a pest attack, for example.

举个例子， 发出化学信号预警虫害。

Now, fungi are also regenerative.

真菌还会再生。

Now, their ability to decompose is important for the planet,

至少它们的分解能力 对地球很重要，

to say the least,

because fungi eat death and give it back to life, as nutrients,

因为真菌会吃掉死掉的生物， 以养分的形式让它重生，

to start the cycle anew.

开始新的循环。

In nature, there's no such thing as waste.

大自然里没有“废料”这种东西。

I mean, waste is a human concept.

废料是人类的概念。

Everything is used, everything is circular.

一切都有用处， 一切都会循环。

Everything becomes something else.

一切都会变成别的东西。

And if you don't appreciate fungi,

如果你无法欣赏真菌，

you will, for one reason,

你至少得 对它的分解能力心服口服。

and it's that decompositional ability.

I mean, think about it.

想一想。

We would be buried under kilometers of undecayed plant matter

如果没有真菌的分解能力， 我们还被埋在几千米的地底，

and dead animals and poo

被未分解的植物物质、 动物死尸和粪便环绕。

without the decompositional ability of fungi.

And that would be a pretty crappy existence,

不得不承认这种存在 也太不体面了。

you've got to admit.

So as a metaphor,

所以真菌值得我们借鉴的地方有

fungi can provide us with ways of being biointelligent,

它们的生物智慧、

collaborative and resilient.

互相合作和灵活韧性。

But I also believe that fungi have practical applications

我也相信， 真菌会对我们的材料生产

in how we produce materials.

有实际的应用。

And this is actually my very cool day job,

这也就是我很酷的日常工作，

as researcher at a fermentation science company here in Oslo

我作为奥斯陆一家 发酵技术公司的研究人员，

that’s reimagining a new world of more sustainable materials

在重构一个将可持续材料 用于日常用品的新世界。

of everyday products.

So let me give you some examples.

我来举几个例子。

One is biomaterials.

第一个例子是生物材料。

So taking a fungus,

利用真菌，

we can literally grow new materials, using agricultural residues,

我们真的可以“培育”出新材料， 使用农业废料

to replace unsustainable products like Styrofoam or Rockwool

代替聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料或岩棉 这样不可持续的材料，

that often end up in landfills or in pollution.

避免它们最终被填埋或污染环境。

So we can grow things like soundproofing panels

我们可以培育隔音板

or insulation for buildings.

或者建筑保温层。

Or we can make mushroom Frisbees.

我们可以做出蘑菇飞盘。

The possibilities are nearly endless.

存在无限可能。

We can also make textiles from fungi.

我们还可以利用真菌制造纺织品。

So, for example, animal-free leathers.

比如，无动物成分的皮革。

So usually, you have a cow,

通常情况是你养了一头牛，

and it takes about three years to make leather,

养了三年可以产牛皮，

and all the resources and animal death that is involved.

耗费了许多资源 还杀了一头动物。

Not a great way to make leather.

这么产牛皮可不太好。

If you can make it another way, like with fungi,

如果可以采取其他方式， 比如利用真菌，

it takes days to make it.

只需要几天就可以完成。

A much better way that's both efficient and ethical,

更好的方式， 更高效，更符合伦理，

and how we can make leathers in the future.

可以是我们未来制造皮革的方式。

And then, there's food,

还有个例子就是食物——

a subject I'm particularly passionate about.

我非常感兴趣的话题。

Now, with fungi, we can make

有了真菌，我们可以制作

a whole range of sustainable and delicious foods.

各种各样可持续又美味的食物。

Things like meat replacements for seafood or dairy, for example.

比如海鲜或奶制品的 肉类替代品。

Or even a new class of food that doesn't look like any of that stuff.

也可以是与任何食物 都不一样的新品种食物，

The possibilities are unlimited.

无尽可能。

And we can do it in a way

我们还可以采取一种 减少环境足迹的方式。

that has a fraction of the environmental footprint.

Now fungi are self-replicating organisms,

真菌是一种会自我复制的有机体，

so we can make it in really huge quantities,

所以我们可以大量生产真菌，

and help address the challenge of how we're going to make more food

有助于我们解决 如何生产更多的食物，

and lower our impact on the planet.

同时减少我们对地球的影响 这一问题。

It's a big challenge.

问题不简单。

We can do it with fungi.

我们可以用真菌来解决。

And last but not least, fish feed.

最后一个重要的例子：鱼饲料。

I mean, here we are in Norway, right?

我们在挪威，对吧？

The world's largest producer of salmon.

世界上最大的三文鱼产地。

And what do we feed that salmon, as proteins?

我们用什么蛋白质喂三文鱼呢？

Two things, primarily -- soy and fish meal,

主要是两样东西： 大豆和鱼粉，

neither of which are sustainable sources of protein for the future,

这两样都不算是 未来可持续的蛋白质来源，

because they contribute to overfishing in the oceans

因为它们会引发 海洋的过度捕捞和

and land-use patterns that degrade, for some of the lands.

会破坏某些土地的用地模式。

So we need to come up with more sustainable sources

所以我们需要想出鱼类喂养

in how we feed our fish.

更可持续的来源。

And what if we could do it using fungi

如果我们可以利用真菌

to create the proteins to feed those fish?

制作喂养三文鱼的蛋白质会怎样？

And we could do it in a way

我们也许可以这么做，

that we’re using byproducts of food industries

在培养真菌的时候 使用食品工业的副产品

as food for our fungus when we grew it?

作为真菌的食物来源。

It would be an amazingly sustainable system

这是个相当可持续的系统，

and, dare I say it, it would help in our self-sufficiency.

我甚至可以说， 这有助于我们的自给自足。

Now, one of the coolest things about being a fungal researcher

作为一名真菌研究者， 最酷的一点是

is, with all that diversity out there,

虽然真菌品种丰富多彩，

probably the coolest thing that fungi can do,

但也许真菌最酷的功能

we haven't even uncovered yet.

还在静待我们的发掘。

The most amazing fungal discoveries are still waiting to be made.

最惊艳的真菌发现还在路上。

We're only scratching the surface of what we might be able to achieve

我们对真菌能帮助我们实现的成果

with the help of fungi.

还只有浅薄的认识。

So I have a hope,

所以，我有这么一个希望，

and my hope is that we transfer our fungal problems

我希望我们可以将真菌产生问题

into fungal solutions,

变为用真菌解决问题，

that we look to the fungal world for new mindsets and new metaphors

我们可以通过真菌世界 寻找新思路、新联系，

and even new materials,

甚至是新材料，

as we think more collaboratively, regeneratively

我们需要更加注重合作、再生、

and with more biointelligence,

以及生物智慧，

as we approach the future,

以走向未来，如同真菌那般。

just like fungi.

Thank you very much.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）