How we're using DNA tech to help farmers fight crop diseases | Laura Boykin

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: NAN-KUN WU

I get out of bed for two reasons.

我起床的理由有兩個。

One, small-scale family farmers need more food.

第一，小規模家庭小農 需要更多食物。

It's crazy that in 2019 farmers that feed us are hungry.

很不可思議的是，在 2019 年，

供給我們食物的農夫竟會餓肚子。

And two, science needs to be more diverse and inclusive.

第二，科學必須要 更多元化、能包容。

If we're going to solve the toughest challenges on the planet,

如果我們要解決 地球上最困難的難題，

like food insecurity for the millions living in extreme poverty,

比如數百萬生活極度貧困的窮人 要面對「糧食不安全」的問題，

it's going to take all of us.

就需要大家同心協力。

I want to use the latest technology

我想要用最新的技術，

with the most diverse and inclusive teams on the planet

加上地球上最多元化、 最具包容性的團隊，

to help farmers have more food.

來協助農夫取得更多食物。

I'm a computational biologist.

我是計算生物學家。

I know -- what is that and how is it going to help end hunger?

我知道——那是什麼？ 又能如何協助終結飢餓問題？

Basically, I like computers and biology

基本上，我喜歡電腦和生物學，

and somehow, putting that together is a job.

而不知怎麼的， 兩者結合就成了一種工作。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I don't have a story

我並沒有那種從小就立志 成為生物學家的故事。

of wanting to be a biologist from a young age.

The truth is, I played basketball in college.

事實是，我在大學打籃球。

And part of my financial aid package was I needed a work-study job.

而我的財務支助方案包括 我需要一個可以半工半讀的工作。

So one random day,

某一天，

I wandered to the nearest building to my dorm room.

我晃到了離我宿舍最近的大樓。

And it just so happens it was the biology building.

剛好那是生物學大樓。

I went inside and looked at the job board.

我走進去，去看工作看板。

Yes, this is pre-the-internet.

是的，這是在網路出現之前。

And I saw a three-by-five card

我看到一張三乘五的名片，

advertising a job to work in the herbarium.

在廣告植物標本室裡的工作。

I quickly took down the number,

我馬上記下電話，

because it said "flexible hours,"

因為上面寫著「彈性時間」， 那就能配合我的籃球時間表了。

and I needed that to work around my basketball schedule.

I ran to the library to figure out what an herbarium was.

我跑去圖書館，去查 「植物標本室」是什麼意思。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And it turns out

結果發現，

an herbarium is where they store dead, dried plants.

植物標本室就是存放 死亡、乾燥植物的地方。

I was lucky to land the job.

我很幸運被錄用了。

So my first scientific job

於是，我的第一個科學工作

was gluing dead plants onto paper for hours on end.

是把死掉的植物黏在紙上， 且要連續做數個小時。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's so glamorous.

好吸引人。

This is how I became a computational biologist.

我就這樣變成了計算生物學家。

During that time,

在那時，

genomics and computing were coming of age.

基因組學和電腦計算還在成熟中。

And I went on to do my masters

我繼續攻讀碩士，

combining biology and computers.

把生物和電腦結合起來。

During that time,

那時，我在洛斯阿拉莫斯 國家實驗室的

I worked at Los Alamos National Lab

in the theoretical biology and biophysics group.

理論生物學及生物物理學組工作。

And it was there I had my first encounter with the supercomputer,

我在那裡和超級電腦初次相遇，

and my mind was blown.

它讓我嘆為觀止。

With the power of supercomputing,

超級電腦的運算力基本上等同於

which is basically thousands of connected PCs on steroids,

數千台個人電腦連結在一起 且狂飆起來的運算力，

we were able to uncover the complexities of influenza and hepatitis C.

有了它，我們就能揭開流行性感冒 和 C 型肝炎的複雜面紗。

And it was during this time that I saw the power

此時，我看到把電腦和生物學結合

of using computers and biology combined, for humanity.

能為人類產生多大的力量。

And I wanted this to be my career path.

我希望我的職涯能走上這條路。

So, since 1999,

所以，從 1999 年起，

I've spent the majority of my scientific career

我把我科學職涯的大部分時間

in very high-tech labs,

花在滿是昂貴設備的 超高科技實驗室中。

surrounded by really expensive equipment.

So many ask me

許多人問我，

how and why do I work for farmers in Africa.

我為什麼／如何為非洲的農夫努力。

Well, because of my computing skills,

因為我的電腦計算技能，

in 2013, a team of East African scientists

2013 年，一個由東非 科學家組成的團隊

asked me to join the team in the plight to save cassava.

請我加入他們，去拯救木薯。

Cassava is a plant whose leaves and roots feed 800 million people globally.

木薯這種植物的葉子和根

是全球八億人的食物。

And 500 million in East Africa.

以及東非五億人。

So that's nearly a billion people

所以那是約十億人

relying on this plant for their daily calories.

要仰賴這種植物來補充每日熱量。

If a small-scale family farmer has enough cassava,

如果小規模家庭小農有足夠木薯，

she can feed her family

她就可以讓家人溫飽，

and she can sell it at the market for important things like school fees,

且她可以在市場上銷售， 以支付重要的費用

如學費、醫療費，以及存錢。

medical expenses and savings.

But cassava is under attack in Africa.

但在非洲，木薯正受到攻擊。

Whiteflies and viruses are devastating cassava.

粉蝨和病毒在蹂躪木薯。

Whiteflies are tiny insects

粉蝨是一種小昆蟲，

that feed on the leaves of over 600 plants.

以六百多種植物的樹葉為食。

They are bad news.

牠們是壞消息。

There are many species;

品種很多；

they become pesticide resistant;

牠們演變成能抵抗殺蟲劑；

and they transmit hundreds of plant viruses

且牠們會傳播數百種植物病毒，

that cause cassava brown streak disease

造成木薯褐斑條紋病

and cassava mosaic disease.

以及木薯花葉病。

This completely kills the plant.

這些病會讓植物完全死亡。

And if there's no cassava,

如果沒有木薯，

there's no food or income for millions of people.

數百萬人就沒有食物或收入。

It took me one trip to Tanzania

我去了一趟坦尚尼亞，

to realize that these women need some help.

便了解到這些女子需要協助。

These amazing, strong, small-scale family farmers,

這些很了不起又堅強的 小規模家庭小農

the majority women,

多半是女性。

are doing it rough.

過得很辛苦。

They don't have enough food to feed their families,

她們沒有足夠食物可以給家人吃，

and it's a real crisis.

這是真正的危機。

What happens is

發生的狀況是

they go out and plant fields of cassava when the rains come.

雨季來時，他們到 外面的木薯田去種木薯。

Nine months later,

九個月後，

there's nothing, because of these pests and pathogens.

因為這些害蟲和病原體， 導致什麼都沒有。

And I thought to myself,

我心想，

how in the world can farmers be hungry?

農人怎麼可能會餓肚子？

So I decided to spend some time on the ground

我決定要花些時間到實地去， 和農人及科學家一起努力，

with the farmers and the scientists

to see if I had any skills that could be helpful.

看看我有沒有什麼技能 可以幫得上忙。

The situation on the ground is shocking.

實地的情況很驚人。

The whiteflies have destroyed the leaves that are eaten for protein,

粉蝨吃樹葉以取得蛋白質， 卻因此摧毀了樹葉，

and the viruses have destroyed the roots that are eaten for starch.

病毒則為了澱粉去吃根部， 因而摧毀了根部。

An entire growing season will pass,

整個生長季就要過了，

and the farmer will lose an entire year of income and food,

而小農會失去整年的收入和食物，

and the family will suffer a long hunger season.

全家要撐過難受又漫長的飢餓季。

This is completely preventable.

這完全是可以預防的。

If the farmer knew

如果小農知道

what variety of cassava to plant in her field,

她的田裡要種哪一種木薯

that was resistant to those viruses and pathogens,

可以抵抗那些病毒和病原體，

they would have more food.

就能有更多食物。

We have all the technology we need,

我們擁有所有必要的技術，

but the knowledge and the resources

但知識和資源

are not equally distributed around the globe.

在全球的分佈並不平均。

So what I mean specifically is,

所以，我確切的意思是，

the older genomic technologies

較老式基因組技術

that have been required to uncover the complexities

是可以解開這些害蟲和病原體

in these pests and pathogens --

造成的複雜問題——

these technologies were not made for sub-Saharan Africa.

但這些技術並不是為 撒哈拉以南非洲所開發的。

They cost upwards of a million dollars;

它們的成本可能要上百萬美元；

they require constant power

它們需要穩定的供電

and specialized human capacity.

和專門的人類能力。

These machines are few and far between on the continent,

在非洲大陸上，這些機器非常稀有，

which is leaving many scientists battling on the front lines no choice

讓在前線打仗的科學家別無選擇，

but to send the samples overseas.

只能把樣本送到海外。

And when you send the samples overseas,

當樣本被送到海外，

samples degrade, it costs a lot of money,

樣本就會衰變，會花更高的成本，

and trying to get the data back over weak internet

且，試圖透過很弱的網路

把資料取回，也近乎不可能。

is nearly impossible.

So sometimes it can take six months to get the results back to the farmer.

有時，可能要花六個月 才能把結果拿回來給小農。

And by then, it's too late.

那時就已經太遲了。

The crop is already gone,

作物已經死光了，

which results in further poverty and more hunger.

因而造成更嚴重的貧窮 和更多人挨餓。

We knew we could fix this.

我們知道我們能解決這個問題。

In 2017,

2017 年，

we had heard of this handheld, portable DNA sequencer

我們聽說有一種手持式 可攜帶的 DNA 定序儀，

called an Oxford Nanopore MinION.

就是 Oxford Nanopore 生技公司的 MinION。

This was being used in West Africa to fight Ebola.

過去，這種定序儀在西非 被用來對抗伊波拉。

So we thought:

於是，我們心想：

Why can't we use this in East Africa to help farmers?

我們為什麼不在東非 用它來協助小農？

So, what we did was we set out to do that.

我們便決定要這麼做。

At the time, the technology was very new,

當時，這項技術非常新，

and many doubted we could replicate this on the farm.

許多人懷疑我們能否將 同樣的做法搬到農田上。

When we set out to do this,

當我們打算這麼做時，

one of our "collaborators" in the UK

我們其中一位英國的「合作夥伴」

told us that we would never get that to work in East Africa,

告訴我們：我們永遠不可能 在東非實現這個做法，

let alone on the farm.

更不用說在農田上了。

So we accepted the challenge.

於是，我們接受了挑戰。

This person even went so far as to bet us two of the best bottles of champagne

這個人甚至賭上

兩瓶最棒的香檳，

that we would never get that to work.

賭我們做不到。

Two words:

三個字：

pay up.

交出來。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Pay up, because we did it.

交出來，因為我們做到了。

We took the entire high-tech molecular lab

我們把整個高科技分子實驗室

to the farmers of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda,

帶給坦尚尼亞、肯亞、 烏干達的小農，

and we called it Tree Lab.

我們稱它為「樹木實驗室」。

So what did we do?

我們做了什麼？

Well, first of all, we gave ourselves a team name --

首先，我們先幫我們的團隊命名——

it's called the Cassava Virus Action Project.

叫做木薯病毒行動計畫。

We made a website,

我們架了網站，

we gathered support from the genomics and computing communities,

我們從基因組和電腦計算 等領域收集支援協助，

and away we went to the farmers.

接著我們便出發前往小農那裡。

Everything that we need for our Tree Lab

樹木實驗室需要的一切，

is being carried by the team here.

都由照片上的團隊來運送。

All of the molecular and computational requirements needed

診斷生病植物所必要的

分子及計算必需品， 通通都在這裡了。

to diagnose sick plants is there.

And it's actually all on this stage here as well.

其實，也就是舞台上的這些。

We figured if we could get the data closer to the problem,

我們認為，如果我們 能讓資料更接近問題，

and closer to the farmer,

更接近小農，

the quicker we could tell her what was wrong with her plant.

我們就能更快告訴她們， 她們的植物是怎麼回事。

And not only tell her what was wrong --

不僅是告訴她們問題——

give her the solution.

還有解決方案。

And the solution is,

解決方案就是，

burn the field and plant varieties

燒掉農田，改種植不同品種，

that are resistant to the pests and pathogens she has in her field.

且是能抵抗她們農田中 那些害蟲及病原體的品種。

So the first thing that we did was we had to do a DNA extraction.

所以，我們做的 第一件事就是提取 DNA。

And we used this machine here.

我們用這一台機器。

It's called a PDQeX,

它叫做 PDQeX，

which stands for "Pretty Damn Quick Extraction."

即「么壽快的抽取」的縮寫。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I know.

我知道。

My friend Joe is really cool.

我朋友喬真的很酷。

One of the biggest challenges in doing a DNA extraction

抽取 DNA 最大的挑戰之一，

is it usually requires very expensive equipment,

就是會需要非常昂貴的設備，

and takes hours.

且要花上數小時。

But with this machine,

但有了這台機器，

we've been able to do it in 20 minutes,

我們只要二十分鐘就能做到，

at a fraction of the cost.

成本少很多。

And this runs off of a motorcycle battery.

用摩托車的電池就能讓它運轉。

From there, we take the DNA extraction and prepare it into a library,

接著，我們會把抽取出來的 DNA 準備好放到一個文庫中，

getting it ready to load on

讓它能夠被載入到

to this portable, handheld genomic sequencer,

這個手持式可攜帶基因組定序儀中，

which is here,

就在這裡，接著，

and then we plug this into a mini supercomputer,

我們把它插入到 一台迷你超級電腦中，

which is called a MinIT.

叫做 MinIT。

And both of these things are plugged into a portable battery pack.

這兩樣東西都插在 一個攜帶式電池組上面。

So we were able to eliminate

這樣我們就能不需要

the requirements of main power and internet,

主電源和網路。

which are two very limiting factors on a small-scale family farm.

這兩個因子在小規模 家庭農田裡是非常受限的。

Analyzing the data quickly can also be a problem.

快速分析資料也是個問題。

But this is where me being a computational biologist came in handy.

但，我這個計算生物學家 此時就可以派上用場了。

All that gluing of dead plants,

黏了這麼多死亡的植物，

and all that measuring,

做了這麼多測量，

and all that computing

做了這麼多計算，

finally came in handy in a real-world, real-time way.

終於，在真實世界中 即時派得上用場了。

I was able to make customized databases

我能夠做出客製化的資料庫，

and we were able to give the farmers results in three hours

我們能在三小時內把結果交給小農，

versus six months.

而不用六個月。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

The farmers were overjoyed.

小農都太高興了。

So how do we know that we're having impact?

所以，我們怎麼知道 我們有影響力？

Nine moths after our Tree Lab,

在樹木實驗室成立後九個月，

Asha went from having zero tons per hectare

艾夏每公頃的產量本來是零公噸，

to 40 tons per hectare.

變成了四十公噸。

She had enough to feed her family

她有足夠食物給家人吃，

and she was selling it at the market,

且能在市場中賣，

and she's now building a house for her family.

現在她在為她的家人建造一間房子。

Yeah, so cool.

是的，非常酷。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

So how do we scale Tree Lab?

我們要如何把樹木實驗室做大？

The thing is,

重點是，

farmers are scaled already in Africa.

在非洲，小農的規模已經變大了。

These women work in farmer groups,

這些女子在小農團體中工作，

so helping Asha actually helped 3,000 people in her village,

所以，協助艾夏其實就是 協助了她村中的三千人，

because she shared the results and also the solution.

因為她會分享結果 和解決方案給他們。

I remember every single farmer I've ever met.

我記得我見過的每一位小農。

Their pain and their joy

她們的痛苦和她們的喜悅

is engraved in my memories.

都深深烙印在我的記憶中。

Our science is for them.

我們的科學是為她們做的。

Tree Lab is our best attempt to help them become more food secure.

樹木實驗室是我們做過最棒的嘗試，

協助她們處理糧食不安全的問題。

I never dreamt

我從來沒有夢想過，

that the best science I would ever do in my life

我一生中做過最棒的科學，

would be on that blanket in East Africa,

會是在東非的那張毯子上，

with the highest-tech genomic gadgets.

用高科技基因組裝置做的科學。

But our team did dream

但，我們的團隊確實夢想過

that we could give farmers answers in three hours versus six months,

要把答案給小農的時間 從六個月縮短到三小時，

and then we did it.

我們也做到了。

Because that's the power of diversity and inclusion in science.

因為科學的多元性和包容性 就有這樣的力量。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

(Cheers)

（歡呼）