David Bolinsky: Visualizing the wonder of a living cell

譯者: Bill Hsiung 審譯者: Mandy Lo

I'm a medical illustrator,

我是一個醫學繪圖師，

and I come from a slightly different point of view.

我的觀點和別人稍微不同。

I've been watching, since I grew up,

自從我懂事開始，我一直在追求，

the expressions of truth and beauty in the arts

藝術中真與美的表現方式,

and truth and beauty in the sciences.

以及科學中真與美的表現方式。

And while these are both wonderful things in their own right --

因為藝術與科學本身就是極美妙的事物 —

they both have very wonderful things going for them --

它們都有許多美妙的事物藏在其中 —

truth and beauty as ideals that can be looked at by the sciences

理論上，可以被科學或是數學所檢視的真與美，

and by math are almost like the ideal conjoined twins

就好像是理想中完美的連體雙胞胎，

that a scientist would want to date.

每個科學家都會想要跟他們約會。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

These are expressions of truth as awe-full things,

這些是對於「真」表示敬畏的形容詞，

by meaning they are things you can worship.

意味著，它們是你可以仰慕的事物。

They are ideals that are powerful. They are irreducible.

它們是「完美的」、「有力的」、「不可思議的」、

They are unique. They are useful --

「獨特的」、「有用的」—

sometimes, often a long time after the fact.

有時候，通常要一陣子，才會顯現出來。

And you can actually roll some of the pictures now,

事實上，你現在可以開始播放其中一些照片了，

because I don't want to look at me on the screen.

因為我不想要在螢幕上看到我自己。

Truth and beauty are things

對於不懂科學的人們，

that are often opaque to people who are not in the sciences.

他們常常不能看見真與美。

They are things that describe beauty in a way

它們所描述的美，

that is often only accessible if you understand the language

常常只有那些懂得該領域科學家

and the syntax of the person

所使用的語言與詞彙的人

who studies the subject in which truth and beauty is expressed.

才能夠領會其中的真與美。

If you look at the math, E=mc squared,

就像數學中的，E = mc 平方，

if you look at the cosmological constant,

或是宇宙學常數，

where there's an anthropic ideal, where you see that life had to evolve

隱藏著跟人類學有關的理論，從中你可以體會生命起源與

from the numbers that describe the universe --

描述宇宙的數值間的關係 —

these are things that are really difficult to understand.

這些是非常難以了解的事物。

And what I've tried to do

一直以來我想要做的是，

since I had my training as a medical illustrator --

既然我是一個醫學繪圖師 —

since I was taught animation by my father,

我的動畫技術傳自我老爸，

who was a sculptor and my visual mentor --

他也是一個雕塑家兼我的視覺藝術導師 —

I wanted to figure out a way to help people

我希望能找到一種方法，幫助人們

understand truth and beauty in the biological sciences

了解生物科學中的真與美，

by using animation, by using pictures, by telling stories

利用動畫、靜態圖片及好的劇本。

so that the things that are not necessarily evident to people

因此那些本來對於人們，可能不是很簡單明顯的事物

can be brought forth, and can be taught, and can be understood.

可以被帶到檯面上、教導與了解。

Students today are often immersed in an environment

今日的學生們常常處在一種環境中，

where what they learn is subjects that have truth and beauty

在這個環境中，雖然他們的學習主題包含著真與美，

embedded in them, but the way they're taught is compartmentalized

但是教導他們的方式是片面的、不完整的，

and it's drawn down to the point where the truth and beauty

因此常常在這個情況下，真與美

are not always evident.

並不總是顯而易見的。

It's almost like that old recipe for chicken soup

就好像關於雞湯的陳年食譜，

where you boil the chicken until the flavor is just gone.

烹煮雞肉直到香味通通散去。

We don't want to do that to our students.

我們並不想要這樣對待我們的學生。

So we have an opportunity to really open up education.

這樣我們才有機會真正開啟這方面的教育 。

And I had a telephone call from Robert Lue at Harvard,

數年前，我接到哈佛大學

in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department,

分子與細胞生物學系的

a couple of years ago. He asked me if my team and I

Robert Lue 的電話。他問我

would be interested and willing to really change

我跟我的團隊，是否有興趣徹底改變

how medical and scientific education is done at Harvard.

哈佛大學的醫學與科學教學方式。

So we embarked on a project that would explore the cell --

所以我們開始進行，一個探索細胞的計畫，

that would explore the truth and beauty inherent

這將能夠探索，分子與細胞生物學中

in molecular and cellular biology

固有的真與美，

so that students could understand a larger picture

學生也能夠了解

that they could hang all of these facts on.

這些科學事實背後的宏觀概念。

They could have a mental image of the cell

他們腦海中，將會有一個對於細胞的印象，

as a large, bustling, hugely complicated city

細胞就好像是，一個錯綜複雜的繁忙大城市，

that's occupied by micro-machines.

城市中遍佈著微機械。

And these micro-machines really are at the heart of life.

這些微機械處於生命的中樞。

These micro-machines,

這些微機械，

which are the envy of nanotechnologists the world over,

能讓全世界的奈米工程師嫉妒，

are self-directed, powerful, precise, accurate devices

它們是能自我引導、功能強大且精準的裝置，

that are made out of strings of amino acids.

它們是由胺基酸鏈所組成。

And these micro-machines power how a cell moves.

這些微機械讓細胞移動、

They power how a cell replicates. They power our hearts.

複製、它們讓我們的心臟跳動，

They power our minds.

它們組成我們的心智。

And so what we wanted to do was to figure out

因此我們希望，能夠找出一個方法，

how we could make this story into an animation

將這個細胞的故事做成動畫，

that would be the centerpiece of BioVisions at Harvard,

這就是哈佛大學 BioVisions 的主軸，

which is a website that Harvard has

它是一個哈佛大學為分子與細胞生物學學生

for its molecular and cellular biology students

所設立的網站，

that will -- in addition to all the textual information,

它將書本、講義、參考書

in addition to all the didactic stuff --

及老師授課內容以外的所有東西，

put everything together visually, so that these students

視覺化的呈現在一起，這樣這些學生

would have an internalized view of what a cell really is

能夠從細胞內發現細胞的真與美，

in all of its truth and beauty, and be able to study

並在學習過程中，能一直將此畫面

with this view in mind, so that their imaginations would be sparked,

牢記在腦海中，因而激發他們的想像力

so that their passions would be sparked

及學習熱誠，

and so that they would be able to go on

這樣他們能持續

and use these visions in their head to make new discoveries

使用他們腦中的這些畫面，來進行探索發現，

and to be able to find out, really, how life works.

我相信，最終將能發現生命的原理。

So we set out by looking at how these molecules are put together.

所以我們開始研究，這些分子之間的關聯性。

We worked with a theme, which is, you've got macrophages

我們想出了一個劇情大綱，那就是，巨噬細胞

that are streaming down a capillary,

在微血管之間穿梭著，

and they're touching the surface of the capillary wall,

它們不時接觸著微血管的管壁，

and they're picking up information from cells

它們能藉此動作，得知微血管壁上

that are on the capillary wall, and they are given this information

細胞的資訊，而這些細胞放出了，管壁外圍某處

that there's an inflammation somewhere outside,

有發炎反應正在進行的訊息，而那個地方的狀態，

where they can't see and sense.

巨噬細胞本來是無從得知的。

But they get the information that causes them to stop,

這個訊息讓它們停了下來，

causes them to internalize that they need to make

它們開始進行內化反應，它們必須製造

all of the various parts that will cause them to change their shape,

許多不同的物件，因此它們必須改變外型，

and try to get out of this capillary and find out what's going on.

離開微血管，並搞清楚到底發生什麼事。

So these molecular motors -- we had to work

因此這些分子馬達 — 我們必須與

with the Harvard scientists and databank models

哈佛的科學家一起研究，使用資料庫中真實的

of the atomically accurate molecules

原子層級模型來表示這些分子，

and figure out how they moved, and figure out what they did.

並搞清楚它們是如何移動，做了什麼事。

And figure out how to do this in a way

並想出一個辦法，能夠真實的表現

that was truthful in that it imparted what was going on,

體內正在發生的現象，

but not so truthful that the compact crowding in a cell

但是又必須將其部份簡化，否則細胞中極端擁擠的環境

would prevent the vista from happening.

將會使得這種視景變得不可能。

And so what I'm going to show you is a three-minute

我將要播放一個三分鐘，

Reader's Digest version of the first aspect of this film

我們所製作的這個影片第一部份的「讀者文摘」版，

that we produced. It's an ongoing project

這個計畫尚未完成，

that's going to go another four or five years.

預計還會進行四到五年。

And I want you to look at this

我希望你們能看著這部影片，

and see the paths that the cell manufactures --

看到細胞製造這些東西的步驟 —

these little walking machines, they're called kinesins --

這些會走路的小機械，它們是驅動蛋白 —

that take these huge loads

能夠背負這巨大的貨物，

that would challenge an ant in relative size.

這大小比例關係，可能更甚螞蟻的背負能力。

Run the movie, please.

請開始播放。

But these machines that power the inside of the cells

但這些驅動著細胞內部的機械，

are really quite amazing, and they really are the basis of all life

真的很神奇，它們真的是所有生命的基礎。

because all of these machines interact with each other.

因為所有這些機械，彼此之間都存在著互動。

They pass information to each other.

它們彼此傳遞訊息;

They cause different things to happen inside the cell.

它們導致細胞內各種不同現象的發生。

And the cell will actually manufacture the parts that it needs

細胞會利用能讀取基因的分子，

on the fly, from information

讀取由細胞核中傳來的資訊，

that's brought from the nucleus by molecules that read the genes.

以飛速的製造這些細胞所需的零件。

No life, from the smallest life to everybody here,

沒有生命，從最小的生命到今天在座的各位，

would be possible without these little micro-machines.

如果沒有這些小微機械，生命將不可能發生。

In fact, it would really, in the absence of these machines,

事實上，如果沒有這些機械，

have made the attendance here, Chris, really quite sparse.

Chris，今天的出席狀況將會非常慘烈。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Music)

（音樂）

This is the FedEx delivery guy of the cell.

這就是細胞中的 FedEx 快遞小弟：

This little guy is called the kinesin,

這小傢伙叫做驅動蛋白，

and he pulls a sack that's full of brand new manufactured proteins

它拉著一大袋新合成的蛋白質

to wherever it's needed in the cell --

到細胞所需的任何地方，

whether it's to a membrane, whether it's to an organelle,

不論是到細胞膜、胞器，

whether it's to build something or repair something.

不論將是用來製造或是修補。

And each of us has about 100,000 of these things

我們體內每個細胞，大約有十萬個這些小傢伙

running around, right now,

正在跑來跑去，

inside each one of your 100 trillion cells.

而我們有大約一百兆個細胞。

So no matter how lazy you feel,

因此不論你感覺有多懶惰，

you're not really intrinsically doing nothing.

本質上，你還是非常地忙碌的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So what I want you to do when you go home

你們回到家後，我希望你們

is think about this, and think about how powerful our cells are.

能想想這個問題，想想我們的細胞多麼地強大，

And think about some of the things

想想我們已經學到的

that we're learning about cellular mechanics.

關於細胞機械的種種事情。

Once we figure out all that's going on --

一旦我們全盤了解細胞內發生的所有事情 —

and believe me, we know almost a percent of what's going on --

相信我，我們大概才知道 1% 而已 —

once we figure out what's going on,

一旦我們了解細胞內的狀況，

we're really going to be able to have a lot of control

我們將能更好的控制

over what we do with our health,

我們的健康，

with what we do with future generations,

我們的後代，

and how long we're going to live.

我們的壽命。

And hopefully we'll be able to use this

並且，希望我們能藉此

to discover more truth, and more beauty.

發現更多的真與美。

(Music)

（音樂）

But it's really quite amazing that these cells, these micro-machines,

這些細胞，這些微機械，真的很不可思議，

are aware enough of what the cell needs that they do their bidding.

它們能察覺細胞需要它們為它做些什麼事。

They work together. They make the cell do what it needs to do.

它們同心協力; 它們使細胞能完成它所需要的事情。

And their working together helps our bodies --

它們合力使我們的身體 —

huge entities that they will never see -- function properly.

一個巨大，它們永遠無法察知的個體存在 — 正常的工作。

Enjoy the rest of the show. Thank you.

請繼續欣賞接下來的表演。謝謝各位

(Applause)

（掌聲）