Paul Rothemund: The astonishing promise of DNA folding

譯者: Bill Hsiung 審譯者: Katherine Liu

So, people argue vigorously about the definition of life.

人們一直在激烈地爭論著生命的定義。

They ask if it should have reproduction in it, or metabolism, or evolution.

他們詢問繁殖、代謝、演化，是否是所有生命共有的特徵。

And I don't know the answer to that, so I'm not going to tell you.

因為我不知道這個問題的答案，所以我不會給你們任何解答。

I will say that life involves computation.

我會說，生命跟計算有關。

So this is a computer program.

所以這是一個電腦程式。

Booted up in a cell, the program would execute,

待細胞開機後，這個程式會執行

and it could result in this person;

並產生了這個人

or with a small change, it could result in this person;

稍微做點變化，也許產生的是這個人 —

or another small change, this person;

再做點改變 — 變成了這個人，

or with a larger change, this dog,

做大一點的變化，變成這隻狗

or this tree, or this whale.

或者樹或者鯨魚。

So now, if you take this metaphor

如果你認真看待

[of] genome as program seriously,

基因體是程式這個比喻，

you have to consider that Chris Anderson

你會認為 Chris Anderson

is a computer-fabricated artifact, as is Jim Watson,

是一個電腦製成的物品，詹姆士•華生跟

Craig Venter, as are all of us.

克萊格•凡特也是，我們都是。

And in convincing yourself that this metaphor is true,

為了說服你自己這個比喻是真的，

there are lots of similarities between genetic programs

基因程式與電腦程式間極多的相似之處

and computer programs that could help to convince you.

也許能夠使你相信這是真的。

But one, to me, that's most compelling

但是對我來說最令人信服的

is the peculiar sensitivity to small changes

是他們都對於細微的改變極其敏感

that can make large changes in biological development -- the output.

這改變對於生物發展的結果可以非常的大。

A small mutation can take a two-wing fly

一個小突變可以讓本來只有一對翅膀的蒼蠅

and make it a four-wing fly.

生出兩對翅膀。

Or it could take a fly and put legs where its antennae should be.

或者它可以讓蒼蠅本來長觸角的地方生出腿來。

Or if you're familiar with "The Princess Bride,"

或者你對電影「公主新娘」比較熟悉，(或譯:綠野芳蹤)

it could create a six-fingered man.

它能夠使人生出六隻手指。

Now, a hallmark of computer programs

而電腦程式的特徵

is just this kind of sensitivity to small changes.

也不過就是這種對於細微改變的靈敏度。

If your bank account's one dollar, and you flip a single bit,

如果在你一塊錢的銀行帳號中就更動一個位元而已，

you could end up with a thousand dollars.

你就有了一千元。

So these small changes are things that I think

這些小變化使我認為

that -- they indicate to us that a complicated computation

— 它們告訴我們演化之中發生的複雜運算

in development is underlying these amplified, large changes.

都埋藏在這些被放大的差異中。

So now, all of this indicates that there are molecular programs underlying biology,

所有的這些都顯示著生物的裡層其實埋藏著分子程式，

and it shows the power of molecular programs -- biology does.

而生物現象其實就是這些分子程式威力的展現。

And what I want to do is write molecular programs,

而我想要做的事就是撰寫這些有潛力

potentially to build technology.

能用來建造科技的分子程式。

And there are a lot of people doing this,

現在有很多人在做這方面的研究，

a lot of synthetic biologists doing this, like Craig Venter.

很多合成生物學家正在做這些研究，如：克萊格•凡特

And they concentrate on using cells.

他們大多專注在利用細胞。

They're cell-oriented.

他們是細胞導向的。

So my friends, molecular programmers, and I

但是我的朋友們和我，我們這些分子程式設計師

have a sort of biomolecule-centric approach.

有著不同的生物分子中心途徑。

We're interested in using DNA, RNA and protein,

我們著迷於利用 DNA, RNA 和蛋白質

and building new languages for building things from the bottom up,

來建造能從基礎用來建造東西的新程式語言，

using biomolecules,

只是利用這些生物分子們，

potentially having nothing to do with biology.

可能跟生物一點關係都沒有。

So, these are all the machines in a cell.

這些都是細胞內的微機械。

There's a camera.

這是攝影機。

There's the solar panels of the cell,

這是細胞裡的太陽能板，

some switches that turn your genes on and off,

某些用來控制基因的開關，

the girders of the cell, motors that move your muscles.

細胞的樑柱，運動肌肉的馬達。

My little group of molecular programmers

我的分子程式設計小組

are trying to refashion all of these parts from DNA.

試圖利用 DNA 來重製這些零件。

We're not DNA zealots, but DNA is the cheapest,

我們不是 DNA 狂熱分子，但是 DNA 是最便宜，

easiest to understand and easy to program material to do this.

最容易了解，最容易用來設計程式的物質。

And as other things become easier to use --

如果當其他東西變得更容易使用 —

maybe protein -- we'll work with those.

也許是蛋白質 — 我們將會轉而使用它們。

If we succeed, what will molecular programming look like?

如果我們成功了，分子程式設計看起來會是什麼樣子？

You're going to sit in front of your computer.

你將會坐在你的電腦前面。

You're going to design something like a cell phone,

你會要設計一些類似手機的東西，

and in a high-level language, you'll describe that cell phone.

要使用高階語言來描述這個手機。

Then you're going to have a compiler

然後你將會需要一個編譯器

that's going to take that description

它將會把這些描述

and it's going to turn it into actual molecules

轉變成真正的分子

that can be sent to a synthesizer

送到合成儀去製造

and that synthesizer will pack those molecules into a seed.

而合成儀會將這些分子打包成一顆種子。

And what happens if you water and feed that seed appropriately,

然後如果你善加施肥，澆水，妥善地照顧這顆種子，

is it will do a developmental computation,

它將會開始進行發育計算，

a molecular computation, and it'll build an electronic computer.

一種分子計算，然後它將會建造出一部電子計算機。

And if I haven't revealed my prejudices already,

如果我的成見還表現得不夠明顯，

I think that life has been about molecular computers

我一直認為生命就是分子計算機

building electrochemical computers,

然後建造電子化學計算機

building electronic computers,

再建造電子計算機

which together with electrochemical computers

然後電子計算機跟電子化學計算機又一起，

will build new molecular computers,

建造出新的分子計算機

which will build new electronic computers, and so forth.

它又將會造出新的電子計算機，如此這般，不斷循環。

And if you buy all of this,

如果你相信這些我所說的，

and you think life is about computation, as I do,

你就會相信一切生命都跟計算有關，就像我一樣。

then you look at big questions through the eyes of a computer scientist.

然後你就會以電腦科學家的觀點來思考重要的問題。

So one big question is, how does a baby know when to stop growing?

其中一個重要問題是，嬰兒如何知道何時該停止成長？

And for molecular programming,

做為一個分子程式設計師，

the question is how does your cell phone know when to stop growing?

問題變成你的手機如何知道何時該停止生長？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Or how does a computer program know when to stop running?

或者是電腦程式如何知道何時該停止運作？

Or more to the point, how do you know if a program will ever stop?

或者更重要的是，你如何知道一個程式會不會停止？

There are other questions like this, too.

也還有許多其它類似的問題。

One of them is Craig Venter's question.

其中一個是克萊格•凡特的問題。

Turns out I think he's actually a computer scientist.

其實我認為他事實上是一個電腦科學家。

He asked, how big is the minimal genome

他問到：最小的基因體可以小到什麼程度

that will give me a functioning microorganism?

而仍然可以支持一個微生物的存在與運作？

How few genes can I use?

最少可以使用多少基因？

This is exactly analogous to the question,

這裡有一個與此問題完全類比的例子，

what's the smallest program I can write

我所能寫出的功能與微軟 Word

that will act exactly like Microsoft Word?

一模一樣的程式最小能有多小？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And just as he's writing, you know, bacteria that will be smaller,

就像他的文章一樣，你知道的，細菌將會再小一點，

he's writing genomes that will work,

他正在寫能夠實現這個目標的基因體，

we could write smaller programs

我們可以寫出比微軟 Word 小的程式

that would do what Microsoft Word does.

但是功能與其一模一樣。

But for molecular programming, our question is,

但是作為一個分子程式設計師，我們的問題是，

how many molecules do we need to put in that seed to get a cell phone?

如果我們需要那顆種子長成一隻手機，需要放多少分子於其中？

What's the smallest number we can get away with?

能夠完成任務的最小數量是多少？

Now, these are big questions in computer science.

現在，這些是電腦科學領域的大問題。

These are all complexity questions,

這些都是複雜的問題

and computer science tells us that these are very hard questions.

並且電腦科學告訴我們這些問題非常困難。

Almost -- many of them are impossible.

幾乎 — 它們中有許多是不可能回答的。

But for some tasks, we can start to answer them.

但是我們已經可以開始回答其中部份的問題。

So, I'm going to start asking those questions

現在，我將開始告訴你們關於接下來

for the DNA structures I'm going to talk about next.

我將會提到的關於 DNA 結構的問題。

So, this is normal DNA, what you think of as normal DNA.

這是正常的 DNA，提到普通的 DNA 你會想到什麼？

It's double-stranded, it's a double helix,

雙股雙螺旋結構，

has the As, Ts, Cs and Gs that pair to hold the strands together.

有一堆 A, T, C, G 互相配對使雙股結合在一起。

And I'm going to draw it like this sometimes,

有的時候我們會把它畫成這個樣子，

just so I don't scare you.

將其簡化使大家容易接受。

We want to look at individual strands and not think about the double helix.

我們不希望總是顧慮到雙螺旋結構，相反地我們希望把它們看成獨立的兩股。

When we synthesize it, it comes single-stranded,

當我們合成它時，它變成單股的結構，

so we can take the blue strand in one tube

所以我們可以在一支試管內放入藍股

and make an orange strand in the other tube,

另一支中放入橘股

and they're floppy when they're single-stranded.

當它們是單股結構時它們非常的鬆軟。

You mix them together and they make a rigid double helix.

但如果你將它們混合在一起，它們就會形成堅固的雙螺旋結構。

Now for the last 25 years,

在過去的 25 年裡，

Ned Seeman and a bunch of his descendants

Ned Seeman 和他的一群後繼者們

have worked very hard and made beautiful three-dimensional structures

非常辛勤的工作著並已經成功使用這種 DNA 雙股會靠在一起這種反應

using this kind of reaction of DNA strands coming together.

建立了美妙的三維立體構造。

But a lot of their approaches, though elegant, take a long time.

但是很多他們所使用的方法，雖然優雅，可是耗時太長。

They can take a couple of years, or it can be difficult to design.

有時這個時間可以長達數年，有時甚至無法設計出來。

So I came up with a new method a couple of years ago

因此數年前我發明了一個新的方法，

I call DNA origami

我稱之為 DNA 摺疊術，

that's so easy you could do it at home in your kitchen

這非常的簡單，你甚至可以用你的筆記型電腦設計出來後

and design the stuff on a laptop.

在你自己家裡面的廚房完成它。

But to do it, you need a long, single strand of DNA,

但是你需要一段長股 DNA 來當作材料，

which is technically very difficult to get.

而這個材料在技術上不容易取得。

So, you can go to a natural source.

你可以從自然資源下手尋找。

You can look in this computer-fabricated artifact,

你可以在這個電腦製成的物品中尋找

and he's got a double-stranded genome -- that's no good.

但是他所擁有的是對我們無用的雙股基因體。

You look in his intestines. There are billions of bacteria.

再往他的內臟尋找。那邊有幾十億的細菌。

They're no good either.

可是牠們也對我們無用。

Double strand again, but inside them, they're infected with a virus

也是雙股的，但是，在牠們體內，牠們被一些病毒感染了。

that has a nice, long, single-stranded genome

這就是我們所要找的一長段單股基因體，

that we can fold like a piece of paper.

我們可以將其當成一張紙一般的摺疊，

And here's how we do it.

我們是這樣做的。

This is part of that genome.

這是那個基因體的一部分。

We add a bunch of short, synthetic DNAs that I call staples.

我們加入一堆我稱之為「釘書針」的短股合成 DNA 分子。

Each one has a left half that binds the long strand in one place,

每一個的左邊可以與長股的某處相結合，

and a right half that binds it in a different place,

而右邊會與另一處結合

and brings the long strand together like this.

然後將長股像這樣摺疊在一起。

The net action of many of these on that long strand

許多這些「釘書針」對於長股的淨效應

is to fold it into something like a rectangle.

就是將之摺疊成類似長方形的形狀。

Now, we can't actually take a movie of this process,

現在，我們技術上還沒辦法將這個步驟拍攝成影片，

but Shawn Douglas at Harvard

但是哈佛的 Shawn Douglas

has made a nice visualization for us

幫我們做了一個漂亮的動畫

that begins with a long strand and has some short strands in it.

它從一個包含部份短股的長股結構開始。

And what happens is that we mix these strands together.

當我們開始混合這些 DNA 的時候。

We heat them up, we add a little bit of salt,

我們將之加熱，加入一點點鹽，

we heat them up to almost boiling and cool them down,

將他們加熱到近乎沸騰然後冷卻他們，

and as we cool them down,

當我們冷卻它們的時候，

the short strands bind the long strands

這些短股會和長股結合

and start to form structure.

並開始形成結構性的排列

And you can see a little bit of double helix forming there.

你可以看到這邊有一小部份雙螺旋結構的形成。

When you look at DNA origami,

當你研究 DNA 摺疊術的時候，

you can see that what it really is,

你可以發現它其實是 —

even though you think it's complicated,

最算你認為它很複雜 —

is a bunch of double helices that are parallel to each other,

一堆彼此平行排列在一起的雙螺旋結構

and they're held together

他們彼此間藉由短股

by places where short strands go along one helix

一端形成一個雙螺旋，另一端在遠處形成另一個

and then jump to another one.

而緊密結合在一起。

So there's a strand that goes like this, goes along one helix and binds --

所以就會有這樣的情形發生，結合成一段雙螺旋結構 —

it jumps to another helix and comes back.

再跨越到另一段雙螺旋然後折返，

That holds the long strand like this.

使長股形成這樣的形狀。

Now, to show that we could make any shape or pattern

為了顯示我們可以製造任何我們所要的

that we wanted, I tried to make this shape.

形狀或圖案，我做了這個形狀。

I wanted to fold DNA into something that goes up over the eye,

我想要將 DNA 往上順著眼睛摺疊，

down the nose, up the nose, around the forehead,

再下來鼻子，之後順著鼻子上爬，在額頭盤旋之後，

back down and end in a little loop like this.

往下回來最後形成一個像這樣的小圈圈。

And so, I thought, if this could work, anything could work.

我認為如果能夠辦到這個，任何圖案都能辦到。

So I had the computer program design the short staples to do this.

所以我讓電腦程式來設計這些將要用到的短股「釘書針」。

I ordered them; they came by FedEx.

我訂製了它們，藉由 FedEx 送到了我的手上。

I mixed them up, heated them, cooled them down,

我將它們混合，加熱，然後冷卻，

and I got 50 billion little smiley faces

最後我在一滴水中就可以得到約

floating around in a single drop of water.

五百億個這些可愛的笑臉。

And each one of these is just

你知道嗎？每一個笑臉只有

one-thousandth the width of a human hair, OK?

一根人類頭髮寬度的千分之一大小。

So, they're all floating around in solution, and to look at them,

因此它們全部都在溶液中漂浮著，為了觀察它們，

you have to get them on a surface where they stick.

你必須讓它們貼伏在一個平面上。

So, you pour them out onto a surface

所以你將它們潑撒到一個平面上

and they start to stick to that surface,

它們開始平貼在平面上，

and we take a picture using an atomic-force microscope.

然後我們使用原子力顯微鏡來照相

It's got a needle, like a record needle,

原子力顯微鏡有一個如同唱針一般的探測針，

that goes back and forth over the surface,

這隻探測針在平面上來來回回地掃描，

bumps up and down, and feels the height of the first surface.

並且藉由探針得知平面的高低起伏及凹凸處。

It feels the DNA origami.

它能偵測到 DNA 摺疊的成果。

There's the atomic-force microscope working

這就是原子力顯微鏡使用中的情形

and you can see that the landing's a little rough.

你可以看到這個平面有點粗糙。

When you zoom in, they've got, you know,

當你放大觀看，你知道，它們之中

weak jaws that flip over their heads

有些下顎翻轉與額頭重疊在一起

and some of their noses get punched out, but it's pretty good.

有些鼻子掉了出來，但是大體來說，成果非常好。

You can zoom in and even see the extra little loop,

你放大後甚至可以觀察到這個多出來的小圈圈，

this little nano-goatee.

這個奈米等級的山羊鬚。

Now, what's great about this is anybody can do this.

最棒的是，任何人都可以完成這個實驗。

And so, I got this in the mail about a year after I did this, unsolicited.

在我成功之後約一年，我收到一封不請自來的信件。

Anyone know what this is? What is it?

有任何人可以猜到這是什麼嗎？是什麼？

It's China, right?

這是中國，對吧？

So, what happened is, a graduate student in China,

事情是這樣的，一個在中國的研究生，

Lulu Qian, did a great job.

Lulu Qian，做得很好。

She wrote all her own software

她開發出她自己用來設計跟製造

to design and built this DNA origami,

這個 DNA 摺疊品的軟體，

a beautiful rendition of China, which even has Taiwan,

一個漂亮的中國示意圖，甚至連台灣都在裡面，

and you can see it's sort of on the world's shortest leash, right?

你也可以看到兩岸間那條可稱為世界上最短的繩索，對吧？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So, this works really well

這運作得非常好

and you can make patterns as well as shapes, OK?

除了形狀你也可以製造圖案，對吧？

And you can make a map of the Americas and spell DNA with DNA.

所以你可以繪製美洲地圖或是用 DNA 拼寫出「DNA」。

And what's really neat about it --

更棒的是 —

well, actually, this all looks like nano-artwork,

這麼嘛，它們都看起來像奈米藝術，

but it turns out that nano-artwork

但是這個奈米藝術

is just what you need to make nano-circuits.

剛剛好可以用來製造奈米電路。

So, you can put circuit components on the staples,

所以你可以將電路零件加入「釘書針」上，

like a light bulb and a light switch.

好比燈泡及開關。

Let the thing assemble, and you'll get some kind of a circuit.

然後讓它們自己組合，你就會得到某種電路。

And then you can maybe wash the DNA away and have the circuit left over.

然後也許你可以將 DNA 洗除，只留下電路。

So, this is what some colleagues of mine at Caltech did.

這就是我在加州理工大學一些同事們的研究。

They took a DNA origami, organized some carbon nano-tubes,

他們將 DNA 摺疊術與一些奈米碳管結合，

made a little switch, you see here, wired it up,

製造出小開關，你在這邊可以看到，通上電，

tested it and showed that it is indeed a switch.

測試後證明它是一個真正的開關。

Now, this is just a single switch

這只是一個開關

and you need half a billion for a computer, so we have a long way to go.

你需要上億個開關才能做出一個電腦，因此我們還有很長一段路要走。

But this is very promising

但是這個前景是非常真實的

because the origami can organize parts just one-tenth the size

因為利用這個方法可以做出比目前體積小十倍的電子零件

of those in a normal computer.

而我們可以利用這些零件來製造電腦。

So it's very promising for making small computers.

因此製造出小電腦是非常可行的。

Now, I want to get back to that compiler.

現在我們回來談談編譯器。

The DNA origami is a proof that that compiler actually works.

DNA 摺疊術就是編譯器運作良好的強力證明。

So, you start with something in the computer.

你可以在電腦上嘗試製作任何東西。

You get a high-level description of the computer program,

你會得到電腦程式的高階描述，

a high-level description of the origami.

關於摺疊術的高階描述。

You can compile it to molecules, send it to a synthesizer,

你將之編譯成真正的分子，送到合成器去合成

and it actually works.

然後成功的運作。

And it turns out that a company has made a nice program

結果是已經有公司開發出了一個好程式

that's much better than my code, which was kind of ugly,

比起我有點破爛的程式碼來說要好得多了，

and will allow us to do this in a nice,

並且可以讓我們在電腦輔助設計

visual, computer-aided design way.

的良好視覺環境下來完成這個工作。

So, now you can say, all right,

現在，也許你會問，好吧，

why isn't DNA origami the end of the story?

為什麼 DNA 摺疊術不是所有問題的解答？

You have your molecular compiler, you can do whatever you want.

你已經有了分子編譯器，你能做任何事。

The fact is that it does not scale.

答案是因為它不能放大量產。

So if you want to build a human from DNA origami,

因此如果你想要用 DNA 摺疊術來建造一個人，

the problem is, you need a long strand

你將會需要一股超級長

that's 10 trillion trillion bases long.

大約要十兆兆個核酸這麼長的 DNA。

That's three light years' worth of DNA,

這段 DNA 將會長達三個光年，

so we're not going to do this.

所以我們不打算這麼做。

We're going to turn to another technology,

我們打算將之轉換成另一種科技形式

called algorithmic self-assembly of tiles.

稱之為模塊演算自我組合。

It was started by Erik Winfree,

這想法是由 Erik Winfree 所提出的，

and what it does,

這個概念是這樣的，

it has tiles that are a hundredth the size of a DNA origami.

我們使用約一般 DNA 摺疊品百分之一大小的模塊。

You zoom in, there are just four DNA strands

當你將它們放大顯示來看其實就是四段短股 DNA

and they have little single-stranded bits on them

在其上有單股短鏈的存在

that can bind to other tiles, if they match.

可以用來與其他互補的模塊結合。

And we like to draw these tiles as little squares.

通常我們喜歡將這些模塊以小正方形顯示。

And if you look at their sticky ends, these little DNA bits,

如果你觀察它們上面的短股互補 DNA 鏈，

you can see that they actually form a checkerboard pattern.

你會發現它們可以形成棋盤格的排列。

So, these tiles would make a complicated, self-assembling checkerboard.

所以這些模塊可以形成能自我排列組合的複雜棋盤格。

And the point of this, if you didn't catch that,

重點是，如果你沒有跟上的話，

is that tiles are a kind of molecular program

這些模塊可以是分子程式

and they can output patterns.

而且它們可以輸出圖案。

And a really amazing part of this is

這其中最美妙的一部份是

that any computer program can be translated

任何電腦程式都可以被轉譯為

into one of these tile programs -- specifically, counting.

這些模塊程式 — 舉例來說，計數。

So, you can come up with a set of tiles

你可以設計一組模塊

that when they come together, form a little binary counter

當它們在一起的時候，形成一個二進位計數器

rather than a checkerboard.

而不是形成棋盤格。

So you can read off binary numbers five, six and seven.

所以你可以讀出二進位數字 5, 6 和 7。

And in order to get these kinds of computations started right,

為了能使這種計算成功開始，

you need some kind of input, a kind of seed.

你需要某種輸入方法，某種「種子」。

You can use DNA origami for that.

你可以使用 DNA 摺疊術來做到。

You can encode the number 32

你可以將數字 32 加密到

in the right-hand side of a DNA origami,

DNA 摺疊品的右邊

and when you add those tiles that count,

然後當你加入這些能夠計數的模塊後，

they will start to count -- they will read that 32

它們會開始計數，一直數到 32 為止

and they'll stop at 32.

然後它們就會停下來。

So, what we've done is we've figured out a way

因此，我們所做的是我們找到了一種方法

to have a molecular program know when to stop going.

能使分子程式知道何時該停止成長。

It knows when to stop growing because it can count.

因為它能計數所以它知道何時該停。

It knows how big it is.

它知道它有多大。

So, that answers that sort of first question I was talking about.

這大致上回答了我所提到的第一個問題。

It doesn't tell us how babies do it, however.

雖然它沒有告訴我們嬰兒是如何做到的。

So now, we can use this counting to try and get at much bigger things

現在，我們可以使用這個計數功能來嘗試更大的計畫

than DNA origami could otherwise.

只使用 DNA 摺疊術無法完成的計畫。

Here's the DNA origami, and what we can do

這裡是一個 DNA 摺疊品，我們可以做的是

is we can write 32 on both edges of the DNA origami,

我們將其兩邊都寫上數字 32

and we can now use our watering can

然後我們可以使用我們的灑水壺

and water with tiles, and we can start growing tiles off of that

把模塊澆在DNA摺疊品上，然後我們會見到模塊依附其生長

and create a square.

最後成為一個正方形。

The counter serves as a template

計數器的功用如同模板

to fill in a square in the middle of this thing.

將正方形內塞滿這種東西。

So, what we've done is we've succeeded

最後我們成功的完成了

in making something much bigger than a DNA origami

為了讓DNA摺疊術能夠製造出更大的東西，

by combining DNA origami with tiles.

必須還要結合模塊

And the neat thing about it is, is that it's also reprogrammable.

更好的是，它也是可以輕易變更的程式設計。

You can just change a couple of the DNA strands in this binary representation

你只要更改與二進位表示有關的數股 DNA

and you'll get 96 rather than 32.

你就能將 32 改為 96。

And if you do that, the origami's the same size,

如果你重複同樣大小的 DNA 摺疊，

but the resulting square that you get is three times bigger.

你所得到的結果是一個單邊三倍大的正方形。

So, this sort of recapitulates

這大概摘要了目前

what I was telling you about development.

我所告訴你們有關發展的重點。

You have a very sensitive computer program

你有一個非常靈敏的電腦程式

where small changes -- single, tiny, little mutations --

一些小變化 — 單一、微小、細微的突變 —

can take something that made one size square

可以使從相同大小方塊製造的東西

and make something very much bigger.

變得大得多。

Now, this -- using counting to compute

現在，這個使用計數來計算

and build these kinds of things

並且製造這樣子的東西

by this kind of developmental process

而且使用這種開發流程

is something that also has bearing on Craig Venter's question.

跟克萊格•凡特的問題也是互相關連的。

So, you can ask, how many DNA strands are required

你可以問，多少數量的 DNA 短股是

to build a square of a given size?

建造一個指定大小的正方形所必須的？

If we wanted to make a square of size 10, 100 or 1,000,

假設我們想要製作尺寸 10, 100 或 1000 的正方形，

if we used DNA origami alone,

如果我們只使用 DNA 摺疊術，

we would require a number of DNA strands that's the square

我們將會需要正方形尺寸大小平方數量

of the size of that square;

的短股 DNA，

so we'd need 100, 10,000 or a million DNA strands.

也就是我們需要分別一百、一萬、一百萬個短股 DNA。

That's really not affordable.

這是非常不可行的方法。

But if we use a little computation --

但是如果我們使用一些計算方法 —

we use origami, plus some tiles that count --

我們同時使用 DNA 摺疊術與會計數的模塊 —

then we can get away with using 100, 200 or 300 DNA strands.

這樣我們就只需要分別使用 100, 200 跟 300 個短股 DNA 就行了。

And so we can exponentially reduce the number of DNA strands we use,

這樣我們可以大量地減少我們所需使用的短股 DNA

if we use counting, if we use a little bit of computation.

只要我們使用計數方法，使用一點點數學計算。

And so computation is some very powerful way

因此計算是一個威力強大的方法

to reduce the number of molecules you need to build something,

可以減少你建造物品所需要的分子數量，

to reduce the size of the genome that you're building.

減少你所建造的基因體大小。

And finally, I'm going to get back to that sort of crazy idea

最後，我要回到這聽起來瘋狂的想法

about computers building computers.

那就是由電腦建造電腦。

If you look at the square that you build with the origami

如果你研究你用 DNA 摺疊術所建造的正方形

and some counters growing off it,

和從之成長出來的計數器，

the pattern that it has is exactly the pattern that you need

它所擁有的圖案跟你需要用來建造記憶體所需要的圖案

to make a memory.

一模一樣。

So if you affix some wires and switches to those tiles --

所以如果你在這些模塊上加上電線和開關，

rather than to the staple strands, you affix them to the tiles --

你將它們加在模塊上而不是之前提過的加在結合 DNA 短股上，

then they'll self-assemble the somewhat complicated circuits,

然後它們就會自我組合成為一個有點複雜的電路 —

the demultiplexer circuits, that you need to address this memory.

一個記憶體所需要的非多功電路器。

So you can actually make a complicated circuit

你可以真正的製造一個複雜的電路

using a little bit of computation.

只需要用上一點點計算。

It's a molecular computer building an electronic computer.

這就是分子計算器製造電子計算器。

Now, you ask me, how far have we gotten down this path?

如果你問我，我們在這個方向的進展如何？

Experimentally, this is what we've done in the last year.

實驗上來說，這就是我們去年的成果。

Here is a DNA origami rectangle,

這是一個 DNA 摺疊出來的長方形，

and here are some tiles growing from it.

一些模塊從其上長出來。

And you can see how they count.

你可以看到它們計數的情況。

One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, 10, 11, 12, 17.

一、二、三、四、五、六、九、十、11, 12, 17。

So it's got some errors, but at least it counts up.

所以，有一些錯誤產生，但至少它能繼續數上去。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So, it turns out we actually had this idea nine years ago,

事實上，我們九年前就已經有這個想法了，

and that's about the time constant for how long it takes

所以這大概就是完成這種事所需要的固定時間

to do these kinds of things, so I think we made a lot of progress.

我認為我們進步顯著。

We've got ideas about how to fix these errors.

我們已經有了如何修正這些錯誤的想法。

And I think in the next five or 10 years,

我相信在未來的五到十年內，

we'll make the kind of squares that I described

我們能夠建造出我所描述的這種正方形

and maybe even get to some of those self-assembled circuits.

甚至是一些這些自我組合的電路。

So now, what do I want you to take away from this talk?

現在，這場演講後，我希望你們記得什麼？

I want you to remember that

我希望你們能夠記得

to create life's very diverse and complex forms,

為了能夠建造生命這種極端歧異複雜的形體，

life uses computation to do that.

生命使用了計算來完成。

And the computations that it uses, they're molecular computations,

祂所使用的計算，是分子層次的計算，

and in order to understand this and get a better handle on it,

為了能夠了解它的原理並能夠更好的控制它，

as Feynman said, you know,

就像費曼說的，你知道的，

we need to build something to understand it.

為了真正了解事物，我們必須親身建造之。

And so we are going to use molecules and refashion this thing,

因此我們將要使用分子來重新設計這個東西，

rebuild everything from the bottom up,

從基礎開始重建所有事物，

using DNA in ways that nature never intended,

用一種自然從來沒有想過的方式來使用 DNA，

using DNA origami,

使用 DNA 摺疊術，

and DNA origami to seed this algorithmic self-assembly.

用 DNA 摺疊術來做為自我組合演算的種子。

You know, so this is all very cool,

你能想像，這一切都非常吸引人，

but what I'd like you to take from the talk,

但是我真正希望你們這場演講後記得的是，

hopefully from some of those big questions,

希望是這些重大問題之一，

is that this molecular programming isn't just about making gadgets.

就是分子程式設計不是只跟建造小工具有關。

It's not just making about --

不是只是建造關於 —

it's making self-assembled cell phones and circuits.

自我組合的手機或是電路。

What it's really about is taking computer science

它的真正意義是為電腦科學

and looking at big questions in a new light,

還有探究重要的問題帶來一線曙光，

asking new versions of those big questions

詢問更新版本的重要問題

and trying to understand how biology

並試圖了解生物為何能夠

can make such amazing things. Thank you.

做出這麼驚人美妙的東西。謝謝你們。

(Applause)

(掌聲)