What will humans look like in 100 years? | Juan Enriquez

1,164,198 views ・ 2016-12-15

TED


请双击下面的英文字幕来播放视频。

翻译人员: Junyi Sha 校对人员: alice leong
00:14
Here's a question that matters.
0
14760
1520
这里有一个重要的问题。
00:16
[Is it ethical to evolve the human body?]
1
16880
1976
【改造人体会出现道德问题吗】
00:18
Because we're beginning to get all the tools together to evolve ourselves.
2
18880
3496
因为我们已经开始拥有 改造自身所需的所有工具了。
00:22
And we can evolve bacteria and we can evolve plants
3
22400
2416
我们可以改造细菌, 我们可以改造植物,
00:24
and we can evolve animals,
4
24840
1416
我们也可以改造动物,
00:26
and we're now reaching a point where we really have to ask,
5
26280
2816
我们现在已经到了必须要 问这个问题的时候了,
00:29
is it really ethical and do we want to evolve human beings?
6
29120
2840
这是否会导致道德问题, 或者我们是否想要改造人类?
00:33
And as you're thinking about that,
7
33440
1896
在你们思考这个问题的时候,
00:35
let me talk about that in the context of prosthetics,
8
35360
3736
让我就假肢为例子 和你们谈谈这件事,
00:39
prosthetics past, present, future.
9
39120
2680
假肢的过去,现在和未来。
00:42
So this is the iron hand
10
42920
1576
这是一只铁制手臂,
00:44
that belonged to one of the German counts.
11
44520
2336
它属于一位德国伯爵。
00:46
Loved to fight, lost his arm in one of these battles.
12
46880
4416
嗜爱战争的他,在一场 战役中失去了他的手臂。
00:51
No problem, he just made a suit of armor,
13
51320
2456
不过也不是问题, 他做了一套战服,
00:53
put it on,
14
53800
1336
穿上它,
00:55
perfect prosthetic.
15
55160
1256
就拥有了完美的假肢。
00:56
That's where the concept of ruling with an iron fist comes from.
16
56440
3920
这就是术语“铁拳执政”的来源。
01:01
And of course these prosthetics have been getting more and more useful,
17
61600
3456
当然,这些假肢变得越来越实用,
01:05
more and more modern.
18
65080
1256
越来越现代化。
01:06
You can hold soft-boiled eggs.
19
66360
2456
你可以用它拿像水煮蛋 这样柔软的东西。
01:08
You can have all types of controls, and as you're thinking about that,
20
68840
3496
你可以做出各种控制, 当你们思考这件事的时候,
01:12
there are wonderful people like Hugh Herr
21
72360
2016
像修米・赫尔这样神奇的人
01:14
who have been building absolutely extraordinary prosthetics.
22
74400
2839
就做出了绝对不可思议的假肢。
01:17
So the wonderful Aimee Mullins will go out and say,
23
77720
2816
这就让伟大的艾米·穆林斯 (残奥会短跑冠军)能走出家门说,
01:20
how tall do I want to be tonight?
24
80560
1680
今晚我要什么身高,戴哪副假肢呢?
01:23
Or Hugh will say what type of cliff do I want to climb?
25
83040
2896
或者她会说: 我今天应该爬哪种岩壁?
01:25
Or does somebody want to run a marathon, or does somebody want to ballroom dance?
26
85960
4496
亦或者,有人想去跑个马拉松, 或是参加交际舞会吗?
01:30
And as you adapt these things,
27
90480
1976
当你适应了这些事情的时候,
01:32
the interesting thing about prosthetics is they've been coming inside the body.
28
92480
4136
有趣的是,现在的假肢 都已经能来自体内了。
01:36
So these external prosthetics have now become artificial knees.
29
96640
2976
所以这些外部假肢 就变成了人造膝盖,
01:39
They've become artificial hips.
30
99640
2056
变成了人造髋关节。
01:41
And then they've evolved further
31
101720
2216
然后它们又更进一步的发展了,
01:43
to become not just nice to have
32
103960
2016
不再只是锦上添花的东西,
而是至关重要的部分。
01:46
but essential to have.
33
106000
1200
01:47
So when you're talking about a heart pacemaker as a prosthetic,
34
107920
3856
当你把一个心脏起搏器当成假肢时,
01:51
you're talking about something that isn't just, "I'm missing my leg,"
35
111800
3696
那你就不仅仅是在说, “我缺条腿”这么简单,
01:55
it's, "if I don't have this, I can die."
36
115520
2416
而是“如果我没有这个,我就会死掉。”
01:57
And at that point, a prosthetic becomes a symbiotic relationship
37
117960
4096
在那种程度上,假肢与人体就形成了
02:02
with the human body.
38
122080
1200
一种共生关系。
02:04
And four of the smartest people that I've ever met --
39
124560
2536
而四个我见过的最聪明的人——
02:07
Ed Boyden, Hugh Herr, Joe Jacobson, Bob Lander --
40
127120
5256
艾德·鲍登,修米・赫尔, 乔・雅各布森,鲍勃・兰登——
02:12
are working on a Center for Extreme Bionics.
41
132400
2576
他们都在一家极致仿生中心工作。
而你们现在看到的 一件有趣的事情是,
02:15
And the interesting thing of what you're seeing here is
42
135000
2616
02:17
these prosthetics now get integrated into the bone.
43
137640
2416
这些假肢已经能融入人体骨骼当中,
能融入皮肤之中,
02:20
They get integrated into the skin.
44
140080
1655
02:21
They get integrated into the muscle.
45
141759
1716
也能融入肌肉组织之中。
02:24
And one of the other sides of Ed
46
144360
2976
而另一方面,艾德也开始
02:27
is he's been thinking about how to connect the brain
47
147360
2896
思考如何使用灯光或其他机制
02:30
using light or other mechanisms
48
150280
2696
使大脑能够直接和
02:33
directly to things like these prosthetics.
49
153000
2280
假肢类的东西相联结。
02:36
And if you can do that,
50
156520
1256
如果我们能做到那一点,
02:37
then you can begin changing fundamental aspects of humanity.
51
157800
3200
那么我们就可以改变 人类的基本组成部分了。
02:41
So how quickly you react to something depends on the diameter of a nerve.
52
161840
4000
你对于一个事物的反应速度 是由神经元直径决定的。
02:46
And of course, if you have nerves that are external or prosthetic,
53
166920
3880
但是当然,如果你的神经 是外缘的,或是假肢,
02:51
say with light or liquid metal,
54
171600
1880
举个例子,光线或是液态金属,
02:54
then you can increase that diameter
55
174280
1696
那么你们就能增宽神经元的直径,
从理论上来说,我们甚至 可以提升反应速度,
02:56
and you could even increase it theoretically to the point where,
56
176000
3056
快到只要能看见枪口的 闪光,就能躲开子弹。
02:59
as long as you could see the muzzle flash, you could step out of the way of a bullet.
57
179080
4040
03:03
Those are the order of magnitude of changes you're talking about.
58
183840
3120
这些就是我们准备讨论的 变化的级别。
03:08
This is a fourth sort of level of prosthetics.
59
188200
2576
这是假肢的第四种境界。
03:10
These are Phonak hearing aids,
60
190800
2536
这是一些峰力助听器,
03:13
and the reason why these are so interesting
61
193360
2056
这些东西很有趣,
原因是它们已经跨越了假肢是
03:15
is because they cross the threshold from where prosthetics are something
62
195440
3416
帮助“障碍人群”的门槛了。
03:18
for somebody who is "disabled"
63
198880
1429
03:21
and they become something that somebody who is "normal"
64
201560
4056
它们变成了“正常人群”
03:25
might want to actually have,
65
205640
1896
也想要的东西,
03:27
because what this prosthetic does, which is really interesting,
66
207560
2976
因为这种假肢所能做的, 非常有趣,
不仅仅能够帮助你听见声音,
03:30
is not only does it help you hear,
67
210560
1656
还能帮助你专注于听,
03:32
you can focus your hearing,
68
212240
1336
能帮你听见别处的声音。
03:33
so it can hear the conversation going on over there.
69
213600
2456
这样你就有了顺风耳。
03:36
You can have superhearing.
70
216080
1256
你可以听到全方位的声音。 你可以听见白噪声。
03:37
You can have hearing in 360 degrees. You can have white noise.
71
217360
2936
你可以录音,顺便提一下, 它们还可以承载手机功能。
03:40
You can record, and oh, by the way, they also put a phone into this.
72
220320
3200
03:44
So this functions as your hearing aid and also as your phone.
73
224440
2880
所以它的功能不仅是助听, 还可以成为你的手机。
03:47
And at that point, somebody might actually want to have a prosthetic voluntarily.
74
227920
5160
到了那时,就会有人 自愿去安装假肢了。
03:54
All of these thousands of loosely connected little pieces
75
234400
2696
这些成千的连接疏松的碎片
正在聚集起来,
03:57
are coming together,
76
237120
1200
是时候让我们提出疑问,
03:59
and it's about time we ask the question,
77
239120
1936
我们在下一个,或者两个世纪 打算如何改造人类?
04:01
how do we want to evolve human beings over the next century or two?
78
241080
3160
04:05
And for that we turn to a great philosopher
79
245640
2040
我们向一个伟大的哲学家求助,
04:08
who was a very smart man despite being a Yankee fan.
80
248920
3056
他是非常聪明的人, 尽管是洋基队的粉丝。
04:12
(Laughter)
81
252000
1880
(笑声)
04:14
And Yogi Berra used to say, of course, that it's very tough to make predictions,
82
254800
3816
当然,就像约吉·贝拉说过的那样, 预测不是一件简单的事情,
04:18
especially about the future.
83
258640
1376
特别是关于未来的预测。
(笑声)
04:20
(Laughter)
84
260040
1096
04:21
So instead of making a prediction about the future to begin with,
85
261160
3056
所以说,我们开篇就先不预测未来,
04:24
let's take what's happening in the present with people like Tony Atala,
86
264240
3336
让我们看看当下,发生在像 托尼・阿塔拉这样的人身上的故事吧,
04:27
who is redesigning 30-some-odd organs.
87
267600
2239
托尼身上有着30多个再设计过的器官。
04:31
And maybe the ultimate prosthetic isn't having something external, titanium.
88
271200
3576
也许最终版本的假肢已经不需要了, 例如金属钛这种外缘材料。
04:34
Maybe the ultimate prosthetic is take your own gene code,
89
274800
2696
也许会来自你们自身的基因编码,
04:37
remake your own body parts,
90
277520
1320
重新制造身体的一部分,
04:39
because that's a whole lot more effective than any kind of a prosthetic.
91
279920
3600
因为那会比任何一种假肢效果都要好。
04:44
But while you're at it, then you can take the work of Craig Venter and Ham Smith.
92
284440
4016
当你们这么想的时候,就可以看看 克雷格·文特尔和翰姆·史密斯的工作。
04:48
And one of the things that we've been doing
93
288480
2056
我们一直以来想要做的事情之一,
04:50
is trying to figure out how to reprogram cells.
94
290560
2560
就是想出如何重新编码细胞。
04:54
And if you can reprogram a cell,
95
294280
1576
如果你可以重新编码细胞,
04:55
then you can change the cells in those organs.
96
295880
2240
你就可以改变那些器官中的细胞。
04:59
So if you can change the cells in those organs,
97
299400
2216
因此,如果我们可以改变 器官中的细胞,
05:01
maybe you make those organs more radiation-resistant.
98
301640
2496
也许我们就能使得 那些细胞更加耐辐射;
也许能让它们吸收更多氧气;
05:04
Maybe you make them absorb more oxygen.
99
304160
1896
让它们更加高效的
05:06
Maybe you make them more efficient
100
306080
1656
05:07
to filter out stuff that you don't want in your body.
101
307760
2480
过滤人体所不需要的杂质。
05:11
And over the last few weeks, George Church has been in the news a lot
102
311440
3656
在过去的几周里, 乔治·丘奇经常上新闻,
05:15
because he's been talking about taking one of these programmable cells
103
315120
3296
因为他一直都在描述 一种可编码细胞,
05:18
and inserting an entire human genome
104
318440
1736
以及将整个人类基因组
05:20
into that cell.
105
320200
1200
插入那个细胞。
05:22
And once you can insert an entire human genome into a cell,
106
322480
3816
一旦我们能够将整个 人类基因组插入那个细胞当中,
05:26
then you begin to ask the question,
107
326320
2136
我们就会开始问这样的问题:
05:28
would you want to enhance any of that genome?
108
328480
2680
你们想要加强 基因中的任何部分吗?
05:33
Do you want to enhance a human body?
109
333440
2336
你们想要强化人体吗?
05:35
How would you want to enhance a human body?
110
335800
2296
你们想要怎样强化人体?
05:38
Where is it ethical to enhance a human body
111
338120
2096
怎样强化是合乎道德的?
05:40
and where is it not ethical to enhance a human body?
112
340240
3256
而怎样又是不合乎道德的?
05:43
And all of a sudden, what we're doing
113
343520
1896
突然之间,我们正在做的,
05:45
is we've got this multidimensional chess board
114
345440
2936
仿佛是得到了一个多维棋盘:
05:48
where we can change human genetics by using viruses
115
348400
3256
我们可以通过病毒来改变人类的基因,
05:51
to attack things like AIDS,
116
351680
1440
从而攻克艾滋这样的疾病,
或者我们也可以通过 改变基因序列,基因疗法,
05:54
or we can change the gene code through gene therapy
117
354120
2416
05:56
to do away with some hereditary diseases,
118
356560
2936
来对付遗传性疾病,
05:59
or we can change the environment,
119
359520
1616
又或者说,我们 可以改变我们的环境,
06:01
and change the expression of those genes in the epigenome
120
361160
2667
我们还可以改变 显性基因的基因表达,
06:03
and pass that on to the next generations.
121
363851
1960
将表象传递给下一代人。
06:07
And all of a sudden, it's not just one little bit,
122
367320
3136
一瞬之间,就变得不止是一点点了,
06:10
it's all these stacked little bits
123
370480
1856
这些一点点累积起来,
06:12
that allow you to take little portions of it
124
372360
2080
每次拿走一点点,
06:15
until all the portions coming together
125
375280
2000
直到它们汇集起来,
06:18
lead you to something that's very different.
126
378160
2080
让你变得完全不同。
06:21
And a lot of people are very scared by this stuff.
127
381600
2736
很多人对此感到害怕。
06:24
And it does sound scary, and there are risks to this stuff.
128
384360
2920
这听起来确实很恐怖, 也很有风险。
那么我们到底为什么想要这么做呢?
06:28
So why in the world would you ever want to do this stuff?
129
388040
2696
06:30
Why would we really want to alter the human body
130
390760
3016
为什么我们希望彻底的
06:33
in a fundamental way?
131
393800
1200
改变人体呢?
英国皇家天文协会的
06:37
The answer lies in part
132
397040
2296
06:39
with Lord Rees,
133
399360
1200
洛德・里斯
06:41
astronomer royal of Great Britain.
134
401240
1680
给我们提供了部分答案。
06:44
And one of his favorite sayings is the universe is 100 percent malevolent.
135
404560
3816
他最喜欢说的一句话就是: 宇宙是百分之百邪恶的。
06:48
So what does that mean?
136
408400
1216
这是什么意思呢?
06:49
It means if you take any one of your bodies at random,
137
409640
2896
意思就是,随机取下你身体的一部分
06:52
drop it anywhere in the universe,
138
412560
1896
扔在宇宙的任何地方,
06:54
drop it in space, you die.
139
414480
1720
扔在太空,你就死定了。
06:56
Drop it on the Sun, you die.
140
416720
1376
扔在太阳上,死定了。
06:58
Drop it on the surface of Mercury, you die.
141
418120
2016
扔在水星表面上,死定了。
07:00
Drop it near a supernova, you die.
142
420160
1640
扔在超新星附近,死定了。
07:02
But fortunately, it's only about 80 percent effective.
143
422240
3120
但幸运的是,这句话 只有80%是正确的。
07:06
So as a great physicist once said,
144
426640
2040
一位伟大的物理学家曾说过,
就是那些处于上游的小生物漩涡,
07:10
there's these little upstream eddies of biology
145
430000
4136
07:14
that create order in this rapid torrent of entropy.
146
434160
4640
创造了汹涌洪流当中的秩序。
所以随着宇宙不断耗散能量,
07:20
So as the universe dissipates energy,
147
440080
2976
07:23
there's these upstream eddies that create biological order.
148
443080
3480
这些处于上游的小型生命漩涡, 创造了生物界的秩序。
07:27
Now, the problem with eddies is,
149
447960
2416
现在,关于小漩涡的问题就是
07:30
they tend to disappear.
150
450400
1496
它们要消失了。
07:31
They shift. They move in rivers.
151
451920
1880
它们会在星河中移动。
07:34
And because of that, when an eddy shifts,
152
454680
1976
因为这样的原因, 当小漩涡移动的时候,
07:36
when the Earth becomes a snowball, when the Earth becomes very hot,
153
456680
3536
当地球变成雪球的时候, 变得炙热的时候,
07:40
when the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, when you have supervolcanoes,
154
460240
3256
当地球被小行星击中的时候, 当我们遇到超级火山爆发的时候,
07:43
when you have solar flares,
155
463520
1856
当我们遇到太阳耀斑 爆发的时候,
07:45
when you have potentially extinction-level events
156
465400
3336
当我们遇到潜在的 毁灭级事件的时候,
07:48
like the next election --
157
468760
1216
比如下届选举这种事——
07:50
(Laughter)
158
470000
2160
(笑声)
07:53
then all of a sudden, you can have periodic extinctions.
159
473440
3240
然后突然之间,我们就会 遇到周期性的大灭绝。
07:57
And by the way, that's happened five times on Earth,
160
477400
2440
顺便提一下,这已经在地球上 上演过五次了。
08:00
and therefore it is very likely
161
480360
2096
因此,人类有朝一日
08:02
that the human species on Earth is going to go extinct someday.
162
482480
3040
在地球上灭绝 是非常可能发生的。
08:06
Not next week,
163
486440
1496
不是下个星期,
08:07
not next month,
164
487960
1816
不是下个月,
08:09
maybe in November, but maybe 10,000 years after that.
165
489800
2880
也许就是11月, 但也许是那之后的一万年。
08:13
As you're thinking of the consequence of that,
166
493880
2816
想象一下那样的结果,
08:16
if you believe that extinctions are common and natural
167
496720
3416
如果你相信大灭绝 是平常的,自然的,
08:20
and normal and occur periodically,
168
500160
2296
会周期性发生,
08:22
it becomes a moral imperative to diversify our species.
169
502480
2880
这就成为了一个使我们的 物种多样化的道德准则。
08:26
And it becomes a moral imperative
170
506520
1616
之所以会成为道德准则,
08:28
because it's going to be really hard to live on Mars
171
508160
2976
是因为如果我们不彻底修改人体,
08:31
if we don't fundamentally modify the human body.
172
511160
2720
那么我们就很难在火星上生存。
08:34
Right?
173
514880
1216
不难理解吧?
我们都来自一个细胞,
08:36
You go from one cell,
174
516120
1336
08:37
mom and dad coming together to make one cell,
175
517480
2216
父母一起产生的一个细胞,
08:39
in a cascade to 10 trillion cells.
176
519720
2176
通过连续分裂产生了10兆个细胞。
08:41
We don't know, if you change the gravity substantially,
177
521920
4456
我们不能确定彻底改变重力时,
08:46
if the same thing will happen to create your body.
178
526400
2480
相同的事情还会发生在我们体内。
08:50
We do know that if you expose our bodies as they currently are
179
530159
3057
我们能确定的是现在将自己的身体
08:53
to a lot of radiation, we will die.
180
533240
2120
暴露在强辐射下,我们就会死。
当你这样想的时候,就会发现 仅仅是为了去火星,
08:57
So as you're thinking of that, you have to really redesign things
181
537040
3056
09:00
just to get to Mars.
182
540120
1256
我们就必须重新编码自己。
09:01
Forget about the moons of Neptune or Jupiter.
183
541400
2920
更不用说去海王星或木星的卫星了。
借用一下尼古拉·卡尔达肖夫 (前苏联天体物理学家)的话,
09:05
And to borrow from Nikolai Kardashev,
184
545000
2456
09:07
let's think about life in a series of scales.
185
547480
2176
让我们在一系列的 尺度上考虑一下生命。
09:09
So Life One civilization
186
549680
2496
在一级生命文明当中
09:12
is a civilization that begins to alter his or her looks.
187
552200
3000
可以开始改变人类的长相。
我们已经这样做了数千年了。
09:16
And we've been doing that for thousands of years.
188
556080
2296
09:18
You've got tummy tucks and you've got this and you've got that.
189
558400
3160
你可以做腹部整形, 整整这儿,整整那儿。
09:22
You alter your looks, and I'm told
190
562280
2416
你能改变你的长相,我听人说
09:24
that not all of those alterations take place for medical reasons.
191
564720
3320
不是所有改变的背后 都有医疗缘由。
09:28
(Laughter)
192
568680
2056
(笑声)
09:30
Seems odd.
193
570760
1200
看起来很奇怪。
09:32
A Life Two civilization is a different civilization.
194
572360
2520
二级生命文明就是完全不同的了。
09:36
A Life Two civilization alters fundamental aspects of the body.
195
576320
4560
二级生命文明就开始 改变人体的基本特征了。
09:41
So you put human growth hormone in, the person grows taller,
196
581840
2856
所以你可以注射生长激素, 使人长的更高,
09:44
or you put x in and the person gets fatter or loses metabolism
197
584720
3936
或者使用某种药物, 使人变胖,新陈代谢失调,
09:48
or does a whole series of things,
198
588680
1616
或者发生一系列的改变。
09:50
but you're altering the functions in a fundamental way.
199
590320
2696
但是你已经彻底改变了基础机能了。
要成为整个太阳系内文明,
09:53
To become an intrasolar civilization,
200
593040
2616
09:55
we're going to have to create a Life Three civilization,
201
595680
2720
我们必须要经历三级生命文明,
09:59
and that looks very different from what we've got here.
202
599720
2600
而且明显有别于 所提到的二级文明。
10:02
Maybe you splice in Deinococcus radiodurans
203
602840
2216
也许你会被植入耐辐射球菌,
10:05
so that the cells can resplice after a lot of exposure to radiation.
204
605080
4120
这样在大量暴露于辐射后 受损的细胞仍能复原。
10:10
Maybe you breathe by having oxygen flow through your blood
205
610320
3016
也许你就会将氧气 直接吸入血液当中
10:13
instead of through your lungs.
206
613360
1440
而不是肺中。
10:15
But you're talking about really radical redesigns,
207
615600
2720
但是我们正在讨论的 是完全彻底的重设,
10:19
and one of the interesting things that's happened in the last decade
208
619480
3216
在过去十年间 发生了一件有趣的事情,
10:22
is we've discovered a whole lot of planets out there.
209
622720
2736
那就是我们在宇宙间 发现了更多的行星。
10:25
And some of them may be Earth-like.
210
625480
1680
其中的很多都属于类地行星。
10:29
The problem is, if we ever want to get to these planets,
211
629440
3616
问题在于,如果我们 想要到达那些行星,
10:33
the fastest human objects --
212
633080
1656
人类拥有的的最快物体——
10:34
Juno and Voyager and the rest of this stuff --
213
634760
2576
朱诺和旅行者, 还有剩下类似的东西——
10:37
take tens of thousands of years
214
637360
2496
将花费我们数千万年,
10:39
to get from here to the nearest solar system.
215
639880
2120
才能从这里 到达离我们最近的恒星系。
10:42
So if you want to start exploring beaches somewhere else,
216
642720
2960
所以,如果我们想在 其他地方漫步沙滩,
10:46
or you want to see two-sun sunsets,
217
646400
2400
或者想要看双日落,
10:49
then you're talking about something that is very different,
218
649840
3136
那么我们在讨论的 一定是非常不同的东西,
因为我们必须要改变 时间维度和人体的构造
10:53
because you have to change the timescale and the body of humans
219
653000
5056
10:58
in ways which may be absolutely unrecognizable.
220
658080
2920
直到超乎想象的地步。
那就是四级生命文明。
11:02
And that's a Life Four civilization.
221
662000
1840
11:05
Now, we can't even begin to imagine what that might look like,
222
665720
2936
现在,虽然我们无法想象 我们会变成什么样,
11:08
but we're beginning to get glimpses
223
668680
2336
但是我们已经能看到
能把我们带到那里的 一些尖端设备了。
11:11
of instruments that might take us even that far.
224
671040
3360
11:14
And let me give you two examples.
225
674960
1616
我给你们举两个例子。
11:16
So this is the wonderful Floyd Romesberg,
226
676600
1953
这就是我们出色的弗洛伊德・瑞姆斯伯格, (另一位TEDMED演讲者)
11:19
and one of the things that Floyd's been doing
227
679200
2136
弗洛伊德一直在做的事情之一就是
研究基础生命化学。
11:21
is he's been playing with the basic chemistry of life.
228
681360
2536
11:23
So all life on this planet is made in ATCGs, the four letters of DNA.
229
683920
4856
地球上的所有生命都由ATCG组成, DNA链中的四个结构单元。
11:28
All bacteria, all plants, all animals, all humans, all cows,
230
688800
3136
所有的细菌,植物, 动物,人类,奶牛,
11:31
everything else.
231
691960
1200
所有的生物。
11:34
And what Floyd did is he changed out two of those base pairs,
232
694440
4176
弗洛伊德做的就是 改变了其中的两组碱基对,
11:38
so it's ATXY.
233
698640
1520
就变成了ATXY组合。
11:41
And that means that you now have a parallel system to make life,
234
701760
5696
这就意味着,你现在拥有了 一个制造生命的平行体系,
11:47
to make babies, to reproduce, to evolve,
235
707480
4296
去产生幼儿,去繁殖,去进化,
11:51
that doesn't mate with most things on Earth
236
711800
2176
不能与地球上的大多数生命配对,
或者说事实上全都不能。
11:54
or in fact maybe with nothing on Earth.
237
714000
1880
11:56
Maybe you make plants that are immune to all bacteria.
238
716880
2536
也许你能够制造出 对所有细菌免疫的植物。
11:59
Maybe you make plants that are immune to all viruses.
239
719440
2496
也许你能制造出 对所有病毒免疫的植物。
12:01
But why is that so interesting?
240
721960
1536
但是,这为什么有趣呢?
12:03
It means that we are not a unique solution.
241
723520
3160
因为这就意味着,我们 不只有唯一的解决方案了。
12:07
It means you can create alternate chemistries to us
242
727400
3736
这就意味着,我们能够造出 不同于我们的化学生物,
12:11
that could be chemistries adaptable to a very different planet
243
731160
4816
它们能够适应不同星球上的生活,
它们能创造生命,繁衍生息。
12:16
that could create life and heredity.
244
736000
2360
12:20
The second experiment,
245
740120
1240
第二个实验,
12:22
or the other implication of this experiment,
246
742480
2080
或者说是这个实验的另一个运用,
12:25
is that all of you, all life is based on 20 amino acids.
247
745360
4216
就是我们所有人,所有的 生命都基于20种氨基酸。
12:29
If you don't substitute two amino acids,
248
749600
2456
如果我们并不是 去替换其中的两种,
12:32
if you don't say ATXY, if you say ATCG + XY,
249
752080
5576
我们不用ATXY的模式, 我们用ATCG+XY的模式,
12:37
then you go from 20 building blocks to 172,
250
757680
2760
我们就能够从20种 基础氨基酸增长到172种,
12:41
and all of a sudden you've got 172 building blocks of amino acids
251
761520
3136
转瞬间,我们就有了172种 基础氨基酸的模型
12:44
to build life-forms in very different shapes.
252
764680
2800
去建造完全不同的生命形式。
12:49
The second experiment to think about is a really weird experiment
253
769480
3056
第二个实验,是在中国做的
12:52
that's been taking place in China.
254
772560
2080
一个非常诡异的实验。
12:55
So this guy has been transplanting hundreds of mouse heads.
255
775920
4040
这个家伙已经换植过 上百只老鼠的头了。
听上去怎么样?
13:00
Right?
256
780920
1376
13:02
And why is that an interesting experiment?
257
782320
2080
为什么这个实验很有趣呢?
13:05
Well, think of the first heart transplants.
258
785440
2056
想一想第一场心脏移植手术。
13:07
One of the things they used to do
259
787520
1616
他人们以前经常做的一件事
就是会把器官捐赠者的 妻子或女儿带过来,
13:09
is they used to bring in the wife or the daughter of the donor
260
789160
3536
13:12
so the donee could tell the doctors,
261
792720
3896
这样被捐赠者就可以回答医生的问题,
13:16
"Do you recognize this person? Do you love this person?
262
796640
2616
“你认识这个人吗?你爱她吗?
你看到她能感觉到什么吗?”
13:19
Do you feel anything for this person?"
263
799280
1856
13:21
We laugh about that today.
264
801160
1480
今天,我们当然会把这当笑话讲。
13:23
We laugh because we know the heart is a muscle,
265
803560
2216
我们笑是因为我们知道 心脏只是一块肌肉,
13:25
but for hundreds of thousands of years, or tens of thousands of years,
266
805800
3496
但是,在历史上的若干年间,
13:29
"I gave her my heart. She took my heart. She broke my heart."
267
809320
2896
“我把心献给了她。 她勾走了我的心。让我心碎。”
我们都把心脏当成感情的来源,
13:32
We thought this was emotion
268
812240
1376
13:33
and we thought maybe emotions were transplanted with the heart. Nope.
269
813640
3240
我们以为感情会与心相随, 一同被移植。不是这样的。
但是如果换成大脑呢?
13:38
So how about the brain?
270
818000
1480
有两种可能的结局。
13:41
Two possible outcomes to this experiment.
271
821040
2080
13:43
If you can get a mouse
272
823880
2416
如果你能成功得到
13:46
that is functional,
273
826320
1616
一只活着的老鼠,
13:47
then you can see,
274
827960
1200
你会观察到,
13:50
is the new brain a blank slate?
275
830040
1600
它的新大脑是否是一片空白?
13:53
And boy, does that have implications.
276
833280
2040
甚至,这个大脑是不是有同样的功能?
第二种可能:
13:57
Second option:
277
837120
1200
13:58
the new mouse recognizes Minnie Mouse.
278
838800
2120
新的老鼠还记得它的恋爱对象。
14:01
The new mouse remembers what it's afraid of,
279
841760
2096
新的老鼠还记得它害怕什么,
14:03
remembers how to navigate the maze,
280
843880
1696
记得迷宫的线路,
14:05
and if that is true,
281
845600
1200
如果这是真的,
我们就能够移植 我们的记忆和意识。
14:08
then you can transplant memory and consciousness.
282
848040
3320
14:13
And then the really interesting question is,
283
853080
2416
然后就引发了一个有趣的问题,
14:15
if you can transplant this, is the only input-output mechanism
284
855520
3936
移植大脑的过程, 是否是对于下半身唯一的
14:19
this down here?
285
859480
1200
输入输出信号的控制呢?
14:21
Or could you transplant that consciousness into something
286
861440
2696
或者说,我们能否将意识转入一个
14:24
that would be very different,
287
864160
1976
十分不同的东西里,
14:26
that would last in space,
288
866160
1256
使它能够在宇宙中长远留存,
14:27
that would last tens of thousands of years,
289
867440
2056
能够持续数万年,
14:29
that would be a completely redesigned body
290
869520
2000
这是身体的完全重设,
14:31
that could hold consciousness for a long, long period of time?
291
871544
3680
使我们的意识能够存在 很长,很长一段时间?
14:38
And let's come back to the first question:
292
878040
2040
那么,让我们重新回到开始的问题:
14:40
Why would you ever want to do that?
293
880560
1880
为什么我们会想要那么做?
14:44
Well, I'll tell you why.
294
884320
1256
好吧,让我来告诉你们原因。
14:45
Because this is the ultimate selfie.
295
885600
1720
因为这就是我们的终极自拍照。
(笑声)
14:48
(Laughter)
296
888000
1800
14:50
This is taken from six billion miles away,
297
890440
2560
这将来自六十亿英里以外,
14:54
and that's Earth.
298
894040
1200
那就是地球。
14:56
And that's all of us.
299
896800
1200
里面包括我们所有人。
14:59
And if that little thing goes, all of humanity goes.
300
899240
3520
如果那个小东西能够持续下去, 整个人类就会存活下去。
15:04
And the reason you want to alter the human body
301
904320
2216
我们之所以想要改变人体,
15:06
is because you eventually want a picture that says,
302
906560
2776
是因为我们最终想要 一张照片,上面写着,
15:09
that's us, and that's us,
303
909360
1936
这是我们,这是我们,
15:11
and that's us,
304
911320
1416
这也是我们,
15:12
because that's the way humanity survives long-term extinction.
305
912760
3120
因为这让人类得以 幸存于漫长的灭绝事件中。
15:17
And that's the reason why it turns out
306
917440
2256
这就是为什么结果表明,
15:19
it's actually unethical not to evolve the human body
307
919720
3936
不进化人体是不道德的。
15:23
even though it can be scary, even though it can be challenging,
308
923680
3336
即使那可能很可怕, 即使可能很困难,
15:27
but it's what's going to allow us to explore, live
309
927040
3376
但这会使我们能够去探索,生存,
15:30
and get to places we can't even dream of today,
310
930440
2520
到达当今无法想象的地方,
15:33
but which our great-great-great-great- grandchildren might someday.
311
933760
3736
也许我们的曾曾曾曾孙辈 有朝一日会实现这个目标。
15:37
Thank you very much.
312
937520
1216
非常感谢。
15:38
(Applause)
313
938760
5520
(掌声)
关于本网站

这个网站将向你介绍对学习英语有用的YouTube视频。你将看到来自世界各地的一流教师教授的英语课程。双击每个视频页面上显示的英文字幕,即可从那里播放视频。字幕会随着视频的播放而同步滚动。如果你有任何意见或要求,请使用此联系表与我们联系。

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7