Could Fungi Actually Be the Key to Humanity’s Survival? | David Andrew Quist | TED

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Helen Chang

OK, people, let's just get this out of the way.

好的，大家，我們來解決這個問題吧！

Now, I know this isn't a very comfortable subject for many of you,

嗯，我知道這話題 對許多人來說不是很自在，

but I've got to say it.

但我得提出來。

We have to talk about your fungus problem.

我們必須來談談你的真菌困擾。

Now, it's OK, don't be embarrassed. You know who you are.

沒關係，不用尷尬。 你心知肚明。

We can work this out. We'll get through it together.

我們可以解決這個問題。 我們會一起度過難關的。

Now, call them fungi, "fun-gee," "fun-guy" -- you decide.

這些真菌，你要唸 “fun-gee”、 “fun-guy”——都可以。

But what I'd like to impress upon you

但我想告訴你的是，

is this is a new world we need to begin exploring.

我們需要開始探索這個真菌新世界。

And I think we can do it in interesting ways.

而且我認為，我們可以 用有趣的方式來做到。

But all of us have had an issue with fungi at some point in our lives, right?

我們每個人生活中有時候 會遇到真菌問題，對嗎？

甚至現在？

Maybe even now?

We think of fungi, we think of fuzzy stuff

講到真菌，我們會想到那些

塞在冰箱後方被遺忘的優格上面 長出來的毛茸茸的東西。

that's growing on our yogurt that we forgot in the back of the fridge.

Or maybe that itch you developed by wearing that favorite pair of pants,

還是你穿那條最愛的褲子時的瘙癢感，

but just got a little bit too tight?

應該只是有點太緊吧？

Or, you know, maybe you think of death and decay and disease,

或者，也許，想到真菌時， 你會聯想到死亡、腐爛和疾病？

when you think about fungi?

But fungi, maybe some of them have a dark side.

是的，也許有些真菌有陰暗面。

I mean, who of us doesn't?

不過，我們誰不是呢？

But I'd like to invite you to see these misunderstood creatures

但我想邀請你用新的眼光 看待這些被誤解的生物，

in a new light,

and maybe start to appreciate

也許開始理解它們某些 正向、啟發性的行為方式。

some of the positive and inspirational ways that they behave.

So if that mold is breaking bad on that yogurt

這麼說，當你遺忘在冰箱後方的 優格上，黴菌又開始滋生，

you forgot in the back of the fridge, again,

maybe it's not just rotting and spoiling,

也許這不只是腐爛和變質，

but maybe it's taking an act of transformation,

也可能是正在轉變、更新， 展開新的可能性。

of renewal and of new possibilities.

And it's that very act of transformation that's so central to life on our planet,

這種轉變行為正是 地球上生命的關鍵核心，

it’s been important for our own history.

對我們的歷史也很重要。

And maybe for the future,

也許在未來，

if we can learn from fungi,

如果我們能以真菌為師，

we might be able to transform ourselves and our societies

我們或許能夠改造我們自己和社會，

in ways that are in greater harmony with nature.

以更和諧的方式，與自然共處。

So what do I mean when I say fungi have been important to our past?

我剛說真菌對我們的過去 很重要，這是什麼意思呢？

I'm not talking about that amazing mushroom trip you took

我不是指你在大學參加的 那次驚奇蘑菇之旅，

back in university,

though that was probably pretty awesome in its own right.

儘管它本身應該也很讚。

What I'm talking about is the way that fungi have been central

我所說的是，真菌在地球 生命演化上一直是個核心角色，

to the evolution of life on the planet,

that virtually all life has a fungal backstory.

幾乎所有生命的背景故事裏都有真菌。

Now, think: fungi have been on the planet for a billion years ... or more.

想一想，真菌已經在地球上 存在了十億年或更久。

And during that time the Earth was just a rocky, desolate place.

在那段時間裡，地球只是 一個多岩石、荒涼的地方，

There wasn't a lot of life on it.

上面沒有多少生命。

Now, algae would actually escape the waters

接著，藻類離開水域，

and come onto land to evolve into land plants,

來到陸地上，進化成陸生植物，

but only by partnering with fungi first, as its root system.

但前提是先與真菌合作，發展其根系。

Soils would begin to form

當真菌破壞岩石並將其分解， 將養分提取出來，土壤開始形成。

as fungi ate rock and broke it down to make the nutrients available.

So you had this opportunity for new life to spring up.

因此新生命得以如雨後春筍般湧現。

As a result, the evolution of plants would explode across the planet,

結果，植物進化在整個星球上爆發，

which would oxygenate the atmosphere

為大氣層補充氧氣，

and allow the evolution of more complex life-forms,

從而讓更複雜的生命形式得以演化，

like us, humans.

例如我們人類。

Right?

是吧？

So being on the planet for a billion years,

真菌在地球上存在了十億年，

fungi have developed all sorts of life strategies

已經發展出各種生命策略，

to be adaptive and diverse and resilient.

可以適應變化，有多樣面貌和韌性。

Think about it -- they survived a billion years,

想一想，真菌存活了十億年，

through great swings in climate, over hundreds of millions of years,

經歷了劇烈氣候變動， 數億年的時間，

lived through all the five great mass extinction events,

熬過五次物種大滅絕；

where the dinosaurs went extinct and the poor little trilobites

而恐龍滅絕了，

還有可憐的小三葉蟲，

and countless other forms of life that we don't even know existed.

和無數我們毫無所知的其他生命形式。

But fungi persisted and thrived, and do to this day.

但真菌存活下來並繁衍生息， 一直延續到今天。

And I think that's what drove them to me.

我認為這就是為什麼它們會到我眼前。

It's so endearing, right?

太可愛了，對吧？

I mean, who doesn't love a good survival story?

誰不喜歡精采的求生故事？

I know I do.

我知道我喜歡。

But fungi weren't my first love. That was music, actually.

但真菌並不是我的初戀。 我的初戀其實是音樂。

And actually, when I was a young, young boy,

當我還是個小男孩的時候，

I was really into grunge music,

我真的很喜歡油漬搖滾，

and I played in a grunge band.

我在一個油漬搖滾樂團裡演奏。

And we were awful.

我們很爛。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But I didn't know that at the time,

但當時我並不覺得，

and anyhow, I had to follow my passion.

而且無論如何，我都要追隨我的真愛。

So I put everything in my pickup truck

所以我把所有家當 都裝進了我的敞篷小貨車，

and I moved from my childhood home of Kansas City to Seattle,

從我兒時居住的堪薩斯城 搬到了西雅圖，

the mecca of grunge music in the ’90s.

90 年代油漬搖滾音樂的聖地。

And I was going to start a new band.

我打算組個新樂團。

And unfortunately, none of the talent of Nirvana or Soundgarden

不幸的是，超脫樂團或聲音花園的才華

rubbed off on me.

都沒有感染給我。

It would have been a quite different life had it did.

不然那會是我截然不同的一生。

But the splendor of the Pacific Northwest forests really did.

但太平洋西北地區 森林的壯麗確實感染了我。

And it was the trees and all the life aboveground

吸引我到那裡的是 樹木和土地上所有的生命，

that drew me there,

but it was the fungi and the microbes belowground

但讓我流連忘返的 是地底下的真菌和微生物。

that kept me coming back.

I just got even more and more interested about the way that they lived,

我對他們的生命樣態越來越感興趣，

all these bizarre forms,

那麼多的奇特形式，

the fact that fungi are literally everywhere.

以及真菌無所不在的事實。

Right now, they're on your skin,

現在，它們在你的皮膚上，

in your gut.

在你的腸道裡。

With every breath you take, you inhale dozens of fungal spores.

你每吸一口氣， 就會吸入幾十個真菌孢子。

Every move you make,

你腳踏每一步，

you trample mushrooms and molds beneath your feet,

都踩在土壤中的蘑菇和黴菌上。

in the soil.

And their ubiquity ...

真菌無處不在，

is a big reason why we know so little about fungi.

正因為如此，我們對它們知之甚少。

Despite all the tools we have at our disposal, scientific tools,

儘管我們擁有一切可用的科學工具，

we know perhaps five percent of all the fungi,

但我們認識的真菌可能 只佔所有真菌的 5%，

some three million species

現今所知存在的，約三百萬種。

that are thought to exist in the world today.

Now that's a massive amount of biodiversity

所以，這麼大數量的生物多樣性，

that we know virtually nothing about,

我們幾乎一無所知，

how it lives and what it does.

不論是真菌如何生活，或者功能為何。

And that's what really inspired me to continue to study about fungi

這才是真正激勵我持續研究真菌 並提出更深入問題的原因。

and ask deeper questions.

Could some of this biodiversity help in creating a more resilient future?

這些生物多樣性是否有助於 創造更具適應力的未來？

What could we actually learn from fungi?

我們究竟能從真菌身上學到什麼？

Were there metaphors that we might apply

有哪些隱喻可以應用到 我們的生活方式中，

to how we live,

to create a more resilient future together?

共同創造一個更有韌性的的未來？

I'd like to share with you some of those metaphors.

我想和大家介紹其中一些隱喻。

The first is that fungi are biointelligent.

首先是真菌具有生物智能。

Being on the planet for so long,

在這個星球上存在了這麼久，

fungi have created a really great ability to be good at resource efficiency

真菌已發展出非常強大的能力， 擅長資源效率、韌性十足，

and resilience,

and, as it turns out, spatial planning.

而且事實證明， 它們還會進行空間規劃。

So researchers in Japan did this super cool experiment

日本研究人員做了這個超酷的實驗，

where they wanted to see if fungi could help engineers

他們想看看真菌是否可以幫助工程師

to create more efficient transport networks.

創造更高效的交通網絡。

So they laid out oatmeal on a petri dish,

因此，他們把燕麥片放在培養皿上，

corresponding to the cities of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

對應於東京都市圈的城市。

And they introduced a slime mold,

接著，他們放入粘菌，一種真菌，

a type of fungus whose favoritest food ever is oatmeal,

它們最喜歡的食物是燕麥片，

and the fungus rapidly went through a process of self-optimization

這種真菌迅速進行自我優化的過程，

to find the most efficient links between its favoritest-ever food source,

以便找出它與最喜歡的食物來源 之間最有效的聯結，

represented by a map of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

形成一張重現東京都市圈的地圖。

And in a matter of hours, it would recreate, largely,

在幾個小時內，它在很大程度上重建

the existing railway map of the Tokyo metropolitan area --

東京都市圈的現有鐵路地圖——

a process it took engineers decades to actually produce.

工程師們花了幾十年的時間 才真正完成這一過程。

Now the fungus, it has no brain,

真菌沒有大腦，

it has no plan, it was given no instructions or guidance.

沒有計劃，沒有得到任何指示或指導。

But still, it created a highly optimized network.

但是，它們仍然創建了 一個高度優化的網絡。

And this convinced me and other scientists

這讓我和其他科學家相信，

that maybe fungi could have practical applications

真菌也許有實際應用之途，

to help solve some of our human challenges

能以快速有效的方式 幫忙解決一些人類的難題，

in ways that are quick and efficient

and perhaps even more imaginative than we could do

甚至比我們集所有智慧 能夠做到的更有想像力。

with all of our brains put together.

Now, another way that fungi can produce a metaphor

再者，真菌帶來的另一種隱喻

is being collaborative.

是協作。

Now, there is most evidence in their relationship with plants.

有極多的證據顯示它們與植物的關係。

Now remember how algae evolved into plants

你還記得藻類是如何借助真菌 作為根系進化成植物嗎？

through the help of fungi as their root system?

Well, that love affair never ended.

嗯，這段戀情從未結束。

Still today, 90 percent of all land plants need to have a mycorrhizal association.

時至今日，90% 的陸生植物 需要有菌根群叢，

This is the plant-fungus-root association.

植物－真菌－根的群叢。

So depicted here, in this highly realistic view

所以在這高度逼真的

of the underground of a forest ecosystem ...

森林地下生態系統繪圖中，

you can see the fungus,

你可以看到真菌，

which exists in most of its life as thin filaments,

在其生命的大部分時間裡 以細絲的形式存在，

and the network of thin filaments, we call it mycelium.

以及細絲網絡，我們稱之為菌絲體。

And the mycelium of the fungus can tap into the root of plants

而且真菌的菌絲體可以深入植物的根部

and make a symbiosis.

形成共生關係。

And thereby, they exchange nutrients

由此，它們彼此交換

that the other one isn't so good at making or capturing.

對方不擅長製造或捕獲的營養。

So in case of the fungi, they're providing minerals to the plants,

就真菌而言，它們提供礦物質給植物，

and the plants, through photosynthesis, are providing carbon.

而植物通過光合作用提供碳。

And so this exchange can go on between the organisms.

這種交換可以在生物體之間進行。

But it doesn’t stop there,

但不止於此，

because the fungi can tap into other plants at the same time,

因為真菌可以同時連結其他植物，

and other plants can also have other fungal partners.

而其他植物也可以有其他真菌夥伴。

So what you end up with

所以最終結果是

is this massive underground network mediated by fungi.

由真菌居間連結的龐大地下網絡。

Now, it's not just nutrients that are flowing,

流動的不僅是養分，

but also communication,

還有資訊交流，

because plants can talk to each other through the fungal network

因為植物可以透過真菌網絡相互溝通，

to create chemical signals to be able to warn of a pest attack, for example.

例如產生化學信號，警告害蟲襲擊。

Now, fungi are also regenerative.

還有，真菌有再生能力。

Now, their ability to decompose is important for the planet,

至少可說，它們的分解能力 對地球很重要，

to say the least,

because fungi eat death and give it back to life, as nutrients,

因為真菌吃掉屍體， 並分解成養份還給生命，

to start the cycle anew.

開始新的循環。

In nature, there's no such thing as waste.

在自然界中，沒有東西會被浪費。

I mean, waste is a human concept.

浪費是人類的概念。

Everything is used, everything is circular.

一切都有用途，一切都會循環。

Everything becomes something else.

一切都會轉化。

And if you don't appreciate fungi,

如果你還不喜歡真菌， 聽到下個理由，你會的，

you will, for one reason,

and it's that decompositional ability.

那就是它們的分解能力。

I mean, think about it.

仔細想一想，

We would be buried under kilometers of undecayed plant matter

如果沒有真菌的分解能力， 我們會被埋在數公里深的

and dead animals and poo

未腐爛植質、動物屍體和糞便之下。

without the decompositional ability of fungi.

And that would be a pretty crappy existence,

你必須承認，那會是很糟糕的狀況。

you've got to admit.

So as a metaphor,

因此，作為一個比喻，

fungi can provide us with ways of being biointelligent,

真菌為我們展示生物智能、 協作和韌性的方式。

collaborative and resilient.

But I also believe that fungi have practical applications

但我認為在材料生產方面， 真菌也有實際的用途。

in how we produce materials.

And this is actually my very cool day job,

實際上這就是我非常酷的日常工作。

as researcher at a fermentation science company here in Oslo

我是奧斯陸一家 發酵科技公司的研究員，

that’s reimagining a new world of more sustainable materials

我們正在重構由更永續的 日常產品材料組成的新世界。

of everyday products.

So let me give you some examples.

容我舉幾個例子。

One is biomaterials.

一是生物材料。

So taking a fungus,

利用真菌，

we can literally grow new materials, using agricultural residues,

我們確實可以使用 農作物殘渣來培植新材料，

to replace unsustainable products like Styrofoam or Rockwool

來取代保麗龍或岩棉等非永續產品，

that often end up in landfills or in pollution.

這些產品通常最終被掩埋或造成污染。

So we can grow things like soundproofing panels

我們可以培植隔音板 或建築物的隔熱材料。

or insulation for buildings.

Or we can make mushroom Frisbees.

或者我們可以製作蘑菇飛盤。

The possibilities are nearly endless.

可能性幾乎是無限的。

We can also make textiles from fungi.

我們還可以用真菌製作紡織品。

So, for example, animal-free leathers.

例如，非動物皮革。

So usually, you have a cow,

通常情況下，製作皮革， 你得養頭牛，大約需要三年時間，

and it takes about three years to make leather,

and all the resources and animal death that is involved.

還要動用許多資源和殺死動物。

Not a great way to make leather.

這不是製作皮革的好方法。

If you can make it another way, like with fungi,

如果你用另一種方式製作皮革， 比如用真菌，

it takes days to make it.

那麼製作它只需要幾天時間。

A much better way that's both efficient and ethical,

既高效又合乎道德的更好方法，

and how we can make leathers in the future.

這是皮革製造的未來式。

And then, there's food,

然後是食物，

a subject I'm particularly passionate about.

這是我特別熱衷的話題。

Now, with fungi, we can make

有了真菌，我們可以製作 一系列永續、美味的食品。

a whole range of sustainable and delicious foods.

Things like meat replacements for seafood or dairy, for example.

例如，海鮮或奶製品的替代品。

Or even a new class of food that doesn't look like any of that stuff.

甚至是新一類的食物， 看起來不像現有的食物。

The possibilities are unlimited.

可能性是無限的。

And we can do it in a way

我們可以用很少的環境足跡 來做到這一點。

that has a fraction of the environmental footprint.

Now fungi are self-replicating organisms,

真菌是自我複制的生物，

so we can make it in really huge quantities,

所以我們可以大量生產，

and help address the challenge of how we're going to make more food

幫助解決如何生產更多食物的挑戰，

and lower our impact on the planet.

並且減少對地球的衝擊。

It's a big challenge.

這是一個很大的挑戰。

We can do it with fungi.

我們可以利用真菌來達成。

And last but not least, fish feed.

最後但同樣重要的是，魚飼料。

I mean, here we are in Norway, right?

我們在挪威，對吧？

The world's largest producer of salmon.

世界上最大的鮭魚生產國。

And what do we feed that salmon, as proteins?

我們用什麼來作為蛋白質餵鮭魚？

Two things, primarily -- soy and fish meal,

主要有兩種東西——大豆和魚粉，

neither of which are sustainable sources of protein for the future,

兩者都不是未來可永續的蛋白質來源，

because they contribute to overfishing in the oceans

因為它們會導致海洋過度捕撈，

and land-use patterns that degrade, for some of the lands.

以及對某些土地而言， 危害其土地利用模式，

So we need to come up with more sustainable sources

因此，在餵養魚類方面 我們需要找到更永續的來源。

in how we feed our fish.

And what if we could do it using fungi

如果我們能用真菌製造蛋白質 來餵養那些魚呢？

to create the proteins to feed those fish?

And we could do it in a way

我們可以用食品工業的副產品 作為真菌的食物來培養真菌嗎？

that we’re using byproducts of food industries

as food for our fungus when we grew it?

It would be an amazingly sustainable system

這將是一個驚人的永續發展系統，

and, dare I say it, it would help in our self-sufficiency.

我敢說，這將有助於我們自給自足。

Now, one of the coolest things about being a fungal researcher

作為一名真菌研究人員 最酷的事情之一就是，

is, with all that diversity out there,

由於真菌有那麼豐富的多樣性，

probably the coolest thing that fungi can do,

很可能真菌能做到的最酷的事情， 我們甚至還沒有發現。

we haven't even uncovered yet.

The most amazing fungal discoveries are still waiting to be made.

最驚人的真菌大發現仍有待挖掘。

We're only scratching the surface of what we might be able to achieve

對於真菌可能幫助我們實現的事情， 我們只是觸及皮毛，尚待深入。

with the help of fungi.

So I have a hope,

所以我有個願望，

and my hope is that we transfer our fungal problems

我希望我們能將真菌問題

into fungal solutions,

轉化為真菌解決方案，

that we look to the fungal world for new mindsets and new metaphors

能在真菌世界中 尋找新的思維方式和新的隱喻，

and even new materials,

甚至是新的材料，

as we think more collaboratively, regeneratively

讓我們的思維更具協作性、再生性，

and with more biointelligence,

擁有更多的生物智能，

as we approach the future,

讓我們迎向未來時，就像真菌一樣。

just like fungi.

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）