This scientist makes ears out of apples | Andrew Pelling

譯者: Deborah Lu 審譯者: 易帆 余

I've got a confession.

我要承認一件事。

I love looking through people's garbage.

我很喜歡翻人家的垃圾堆。

Now, it's not some creepy thing.

這不是什麼怪癖好。

I'm usually just looking for old electronics,

我通常只是在找，能帶回我工作室

stuff I can take to my workshop and hack.

重組的舊電子產品之類的東西。

I do have a fetish for CD-ROM drives.

我特別愛光碟機的驅動器。

Each one's got three different motors,

每個機體裡都有三種不同的馬達，

so now you can build things that move.

藉此你可以製造會移動的東西、

There's switches so you can turn things on and off.

還有按鈕可以開啟和關閉電源，

There's even a freaking laser,

而且還有一個超強雷射頭，

so you can make a cool robot into an awesome robot.

可以使一個很酷的機器人 變成超棒的機器人。

Now, I've built a lot of stuff out of garbage,

目前，我已經從垃圾堆裡 改造出很多東西，

and some of these things have even been kind of useful.

其中有些還滿有用的。

But here's the thing,

不過呢，

for me, garbage is just a chance to play,

對我來說，垃圾堆可以 讓我有機會製造出

to be creative and build things to amuse myself.

創意和娛樂自己的的東西。

This is what I love doing, so I just made it part of my day job.

這是我的愛好，所以我就將它成為 我白天工作的一部分。

I lead a university-based biological research lab,

我帶領一個大學的生物研究實驗室，

where we value curiosity and exploration above all else.

我們很重視對事物的好奇心和探索。

We aren't focused on any particular problem,

但我們並不專注在某個特定問題上，

and we're not trying to solve any particular disease.

也沒在嘗試解決某種疾病。

This is just a place where people can come

這裡只是一個讓人可以

and ask fascinating questions and find answers.

提出好玩的問題和找尋答案的地方。

And I realized a long time ago

我很久以前就意識到，

that if I challenge people to build the equipment they need

如果我讓這些人 利用我找到的這些垃圾，

out of the garbage I find,

來製造出他們所需要的設備，

it's a great way to foster creativity.

這種挑戰是培養創造力的好方法。

And what happened

接下來發生的，

was that artists and scientists from around the world

是世界各地的藝術家和科學家，

started coming to my lab.

開始來造訪我的實驗室。

And it's not just because we value unconventional ideas,

但這不僅是因為 我們著重在非常規的點子上，

it's because we test and validate them

因為我們在測試和驗證這些東西時，

with scientific rigor.

也是用嚴謹的科學來看待。

So one day I was hacking something, I was taking it apart,

有一天，我在拆卸及改造東西的時候，

and I had this sudden idea:

突然間有了個想法，

Could I treat biology like hardware?

我是否可以把生物學 弄得像硬體ㄧ樣？

Could I dismantle a biological system,

我可不可以拆解一個生物系統、

mix and match the parts

混搭不同零件，

and then put it back together in some new and creative way?

然後以創新的方式重新組合起來？

My lab started working on this,

我的實驗室開始了這方面的研究，

and I want to show you the result.

我要給各位看看實驗結果。

Can any of you guys tell me what fruit this is?

各位可以告訴我這是什麼水果嗎？

Audience: Apple!

觀眾：蘋果，

Andrew Pelling: That's right -- it's an apple.

安德魯·佩爾霖：什麼？ 正確，這是一個蘋果。

Now, I actually want you to notice as well

我其實是希望各位有注意到，

that this is a lot redder than most apples.

這比一般蘋果更紅許多。

And that's because we grew human cells into it.

那是因為我們注入了人類細胞。

We took a totally innocent Macintosh apple,

我們拿了一個很單純的 麥金塔蘋果，

removed all the apple cells and DNA

去掉所有蘋果的細胞和 DNA 後，

and then implanted human cells.

然後植入人類細胞。

And what we're left with after removing all the apple cells

在我們去除掉所有蘋果細胞後，

is this cellulose scaffold.

剩下的就是這個纖維支架。

This is the stuff that gives plants their shape and texture.

這纖維支架給了植物形狀和質感。

And these little holes that you can see,

你可以看到這些小洞，

this is where all the apple cells used to be.

它們是蘋果細胞原來存在的地方。

So then we come along,

接下來，

we implant some mammalian cells that you can see in blue.

我們植入了哺乳動物的細胞， 也就是螢幕上藍色的部份。

What happens is, these guys start multiplying

後來這些傢伙就開始繁殖，

and they fill up this entire scaffold.

直到它們填滿了整個支架。

As weird as this is,

雖然滿奇怪的，

it's actually really reminiscent of how our own tissues are organized.

但這令我們聯想起 人體的細胞組織架構。

And we found in our pre-clinical work

我們在臨床前研究中發現，

that you can implant these scaffolds into the body,

這些支架在植入入體後，

and the body will send in cells and a blood supply

人體會自行植入細胞並供給血液，

and actually keep these things alive.

使這些東西活下來。

This is the point when people started asking me,

因為這樣，人們開始問我，

"Andrew, can you make body parts out of apples?"

「安德魯，你能用蘋果 培養出身體器官嗎？」

And I'm like, "You've come to the right place."

我回答說：「你來對地方了。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I actually brought this up with my wife.

我對我妻子提起這件事。

She's a musical instrument maker,

她是一位樂器製造者，

and she does a lot of wood carving for a living.

她也以木雕工作為生。

So I asked her,

於是我問她，

"Could you, like, literally carve some ears

「你能不能幫我們用蘋果──

out of an apple for us?"

雕刻出一些耳朵？」

And she did.

她做到了。

So I took her ears to the lab.

我把她所做的耳朵帶到實驗室，

We then started preparing them.

並做了些前續處理。

Yeah, I know.

是的，我知道。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's a good lab, man.

這是一個很專業的實驗室。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And then we grew cells on them.

然後在上面培育細胞。

And this is the result.

而這就是結果。

Listen, my lab is not in the ear-manufacturing business.

我要聲明，這個實驗室並不是 以製造耳朵為業。

People have actually been working on this for decades.

其他人在這方面 已經有數十年的經驗了。

Here's the issue:

大家面臨的困難是：

commercial scaffolds can be really expensive and problematic,

商業支架很昂貴，也有許多問題，

because they're sourced from proprietary products,

因爲它們源自於專利產品、

animals or cadavers.

由動物或死屍所製成的。

We used an apple and it cost pennies.

而我們用的是蘋果，只需要幾毛錢。

What's also really cool here

另外很酷的是，

is it's not that hard to make these things.

製作起來並不困難。

The equipment you need can be built from garbage,

你所需的設備， 從廢物堆裡就能找到，

and the key processing step only requires soap and water.

而且在關鍵的處理步驟中， 僅需要肥皂和水。

So what we did was put all the instructions online as open source.

而且我們已經將所有的 製作步驟公開在網路上。

And then we founded a mission-driven company,

我們也成立了一個任務導向的公司，

and we're developing kits to make it easier

我們正在研發簡單的製作套件，

for anyone with a sink and a soldering iron

好讓任何有水槽和烙鐵的人，

to make these things at home.

都能在家裡製造。

What I'm really curious about is if one day,

我真的很好奇，如果會有一天，

it will be possible to repair, rebuild and augment our own bodies

人們能在

廚房裡修復、重建、或改造身體 那會是怎樣的世界？

with stuff we make in the kitchen.

Speaking of kitchens,

講到廚房，

here's some asparagus.

這裡有一些蘆筍。

They're tasty, and they make your pee smell funny.

它們很好吃，

而且會讓你的尿液聞起來怪怪的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, I was in my kitchen, and I was noticing

我在廚房的時候，我注意到，

that when you look down the stalks of these asparagus,

在這些蘆筍的莖內，

what you can see are all these tiny little vessels.

你可以看到這些微小的導管。

And when we image them in the lab,

從實驗室的影像上，

you can see how the cellulose forms these structures.

就能看見這些纖維結構體。

This image reminds me of two things:

這影像讓我想起兩樣東西：

our blood vessels

我們的血管

and the structure and organization of our nerves and spinal cord.

和神經脊髓的組織架構。

So here's the question:

所以問題來了，

Can we grow axons and neurons down these channels?

我們能否在這通道裡 培養軸突和神經元？

Because if we can,

如果可以，

then maybe we can use asparagus to form new connections

就能藉由蘆筍，形成一種新連接，

between the ends of damaged and severed nerves.

來修補損壞的神經、

Or maybe even a spinal cord.

或甚至脊髓。

Don't get me wrong --

請別誤會，

this is exceptionally challenging

這絕對是很大的挑戰，

and really hard work to do,

非常困難的工作。

and we are not the only ones working on this.

我們雖然不是唯一 在這方面努力的研究室，

But we are the only ones using asparagus.

但卻是唯一使用蘆筍的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Right now, we've got really promising pilot data.

目前臨床測試的數據結果很樂觀。

And we're working with tissue engineers

我們協同組織工程師，

and neurosurgeons

和神經外科醫生一起研究，

to find out what's actually possible.

可行的辦法。

So listen, all of the work I've shown you,

所以說，你們在台上所看到的一切，

the stuff that I've built that's all around me on this stage

這些我所建構的東西，

and the other projects my lab is involved in

和其它我的實驗室 所參與的研究工作，

are all a direct result of me playing with your garbage.

都是從各位不要的 廢物堆裡開始玩起的。

Play -- play is a key part of my scientific practice.

玩 ，是我科學實踐的關鍵。

It's how I train my mind to be unconventional and to be creative

它是我訓練腦力「標新立異」 和「創新」的方式，

and to decide to make human apple ears.

並決定用蘋果製作人類耳朵。

So, the next time any of you are looking at some old,

所以，下次你們看到老舊的、

broken-down, malfunctioning, piece-of-crap technology,

破損的、故障的、爛透的科技物品，

I want you to think of me.

我要你想起我。

因為我想要。

Because I want it.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Seriously, please find any way to get in touch with me,

我是說真的，請聯繫我，

and let's see what we can build.

讓我們看看，能將它改造成什麼。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）