ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eva Vertes - Neuroscience and cancer researcher
Eva Vertes is a microbiology prodigy. Her discovery, at age 17, of a compound that stops fruit-fly brain cells from dying was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer's. Now she aims to find better ways to treat -- and avoid -- cancer.

Why you should listen

Eva Vertes may not yet have the answers she needs to cure cancer, but she's asking some important -- and radical questions: If smoking can cause lung cancer, and drinking can cause liver cancer, is it possible that cancer is a direct result of injury? If so, could cancer be caused by the body's own repair system going awry?

She asks this and other breathtaking questions in her conference-closing 2005 talk. Her approach marks an important shift in scientific thinking, looking in brand-new places for cancer's cause -- and its cure. Her ultimate goal, which even she calls far-fetched, is to fight cancer with cancer.

More profile about the speaker
Eva Vertes | Speaker | TED.com
TED2005

Eva Vertes: Meet the future of cancer research

伊娃·韦尔泰什对医学未来的展望

Filmed:
1,137,786 views

伊娃·韦尔泰什——一位演讲时年仅19岁的少女——介绍了她医学研究的经历和驱使她探究癌症和阿尔茨海默氏症病因的动力
- Neuroscience and cancer researcher
Eva Vertes is a microbiology prodigy. Her discovery, at age 17, of a compound that stops fruit-fly brain cells from dying was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer's. Now she aims to find better ways to treat -- and avoid -- cancer. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:26
Thank you. It's really an honor荣誉 and a privilege特权 to be here
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谢谢各位!非常荣幸能够站在这里
00:30
spending开支 my last day as a teenager青少年.
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与大家分享我19岁的最后一天
00:32
Today今天 I want to talk to you about the future未来, but
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今天我想跟大家谈谈未来
00:36
first I'm going to tell you a bit about the past过去.
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但是首先我要用一点时间讲讲我过去的经历
00:39
My story故事 starts启动 way before I was born天生.
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这个故事要从我出生之前讲起
00:43
My grandmother祖母 was on a train培养 to Auschwitz奥斯威辛, the death死亡 camp.
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我的外祖母曾经在开往死亡集中营奥斯维辛的一辆火车上
00:47
And she was going along沿 the tracks轨道, and the tracks轨道 split分裂.
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火车顺着轨道开呀开,开到一个轨道分叉处
00:52
And somehow不知何故 -- we don't really know exactly究竟 the whole整个 story故事 -- but
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然后不知怎么地——没人知道倒底怎么回事——总之
00:57
the train培养 took the wrong错误 track跟踪 and went to a work camp rather than the death死亡 camp.
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火车开上了错误的轨道,开到了一处劳动集中营,而不是奥斯维辛
01:02
My grandmother祖母 survived幸存 and married已婚 my grandfather祖父.
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我的外祖母就这样幸免于难,然后嫁给了我的外祖父
01:07
They were living活的 in Hungary匈牙利, and my mother母亲 was born天生.
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他们住在匈牙利时,生下了我母亲
01:10
And when my mother母亲 was two years年份 old,
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我母亲两岁的时候
01:12
the Hungarian匈牙利 revolution革命 was raging愤怒, and they decided决定 to escape逃逸 Hungary匈牙利.
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匈牙利革命爆发,于是外祖父母决定离开匈牙利
01:17
They got on a boat, and yet然而 another另一个 divergence差异 --
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他们上了一条船,又一次的阴差阳错
01:21
the boat was either going to Canada加拿大 or to Australia澳大利亚.
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这条船可能开往加拿大或者是澳大利亚
01:24
They got on and didn't know where they were going, and ended结束 up in Canada加拿大.
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他们上船的时候并不知道会到哪里, 最后船把他们送去了加拿大
01:28
So, to make a long story故事 short, they came来了 to Canada加拿大.
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嗯,长话短说,他们到了加拿大
01:31
My grandmother祖母 was a chemist化学家. She worked工作 at the Banting班廷 Institute研究所 in Toronto多伦多,
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我的外祖母是一名化学家,她在多伦多的班廷研究所工作
01:35
and at 44 she died死亡 of stomach cancer癌症. I never met会见 my grandmother祖母,
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44岁时死于胃癌,所以我并没有机会亲眼见到她
01:43
but I carry携带 on her name名称 -- her exact精确 name名称, Eva伊娃 VertesVERTES --
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但是我继承了她的名字——伊娃·韦尔泰什
01:47
and I like to think I carry携带 on her scientific科学 passion, too.
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我想我也继承了她对科学的热情
01:51
I found发现 this passion not far from here, actually其实, when I was nine years年份 old.
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事实上, 我找到热情的地方离这儿并不远, 那年我九岁
01:57
My family家庭 was on a road trip and we were in the Grand盛大 Canyon峡谷.
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我们全家一起自驾游到美国大峡谷
02:02
And I had never been a reader读者 when I was young年轻 --
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在那之前我一直都不喜欢阅读
02:05
my dad had tried试着 me with the Hardy哈迪 Boys男孩; I tried试着 Nancy南希 Drew德鲁;
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爸爸曾让我试着读一下哈迪男孩,我自己也试着读过南希·朱尔
02:08
I tried试着 all that -- and I just didn't like reading books图书.
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我全都试过了, 但我就是不喜欢读书
02:12
And my mother母亲 bought this book when we were at the Grand盛大 Canyon峡谷
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在大峡谷时我母亲买了一本书给我
02:16
called "The Hot Zone." It was all about the outbreak暴发 of the Ebola埃博拉病毒 virus病毒.
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叫做”高危地带“,讲的是埃博拉病毒的爆发
02:19
And something about it just kind of drew德鲁 me towards it.
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我被其中的某些部分吸引住了
02:22
There was this big sort分类 of bumpy-looking颠簸的前瞻性 virus病毒 on the cover,
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书的封面是一张表面崎岖不平的病毒的图片
02:25
and I just wanted to read it. I picked采摘的 up that book,
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我突然有了阅读它的欲望,我拿起了这本书
02:29
and as we drove开车 from the edge边缘 of the Grand盛大 Canyon峡谷
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接下来的旅途中, 从大峡谷边缘
02:32
to Big Sur苏尔, and to, actually其实, here where we are today今天, in Monterey蒙特雷,
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到大瑟尔,再到我们今天所在的蒙特雷
02:35
I read that book, and from when I was reading that book,
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我一直在读这本书,从那时起
02:40
I knew知道 that I wanted to have a life in medicine医学.
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我就知道我要把医学作为我一生的追求
02:43
I wanted to be like the explorers探险 I'd read about in the book,
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我想要像书中的探险家一样
02:46
who went into the jungles丛林 of Africa非洲,
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深入非洲的丛林
02:48
went into the research研究 labs实验室 and just tried试着 to figure数字 out
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走进实验室,试着搞清楚
02:50
what this deadly致命 virus病毒 was. So from that moment时刻 on, I read every一切 medical book
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这种致命的病毒到底是什么,从那开始,我读遍了所有我可以找到的医学书籍
02:56
I could get my hands on, and I just loved喜爱 it so much.
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并且深深沉迷于此
03:00
I was a passive被动 observer观察者 of the medical world世界.
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在医学的世界里,我是个被动的学习者
03:04
It wasn't until直到 I entered进入 high school学校 that I thought,
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一直到了高中,我才想到
03:08
"Maybe now, you know -- being存在 a big high school学校 kid孩子 --
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”我已经是高中生了,或许从现在开始
03:11
I can maybe become成为 an active活性 part部分 of this big medical world世界."
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我可以动手做点儿什么了”
03:16
I was 14, and I emailed电子邮件 professors教授 at the local本地 university大学
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那时我14岁,我给当地大学的教授发了很多封邮件
03:21
to see if maybe I could go work in their lab实验室. And hardly几乎不 anyone任何人 responded回应.
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看看有没有可能在他们的实验室里工作,几乎没有人给我答复
03:26
But I mean, why would they respond响应 to a 14-year-old-岁, anyway无论如何?
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但是,他们也没有理由理会一个14岁的小丫头片子,对吧?
03:30
And I got to go talk to one professor教授, Dr博士. Jacobs雅各布斯,
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然后我找到雅各布斯教授, 跟他谈了谈
03:34
who accepted公认 me into the lab实验室.
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他同意我进实验室
03:37
At that time, I was really interested有兴趣 in neuroscience神经科学
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那时,我对神经科学很有兴趣
03:40
and wanted to do a research研究 project项目 in neurology神经内科 --
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希望能研究一项有关神经病学的课题
03:43
specifically特别 looking at the effects效果 of heavy metals金属 on the developing发展 nervous紧张 system系统.
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尤其是研究重金属对发育中的神经系统的影响
03:48
So I started开始 that, and worked工作 in his lab实验室 for a year,
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我花了一年的时间去研究
03:53
and found发现 the results结果 that I guess猜测 you'd expect期望 to find
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最后得到了大家都能想到的结果
03:57
when you feed饲料 fruit水果 flies苍蝇 heavy metals金属 -- that it really, really impaired受损 the nervous紧张 system系统.
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如果给果蝇的食物中加入重金属——将会导致很严重的神经系统损伤
04:02
The spinal cord had breaks休息. The neurons神经元 were crossing路口 in every一切 which哪一个 way.
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脊髓会折断, 神经元也会随意交叉
04:06
And from then I wanted to look not at impairment减值, but at prevention预防 of impairment减值.
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从那时起我就把重点转移到了该如何预防损伤上面
04:11
So that's what led me to Alzheimer's老年痴呆症. I started开始 reading about Alzheimer's老年痴呆症
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这件事激发了我对阿尔茨海默氏症的兴趣。我开始阅读相关的资料
04:17
and tried试着 to familiarize熟悉 myself with the research研究,
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并使自己的熟悉相关的研究
04:20
and at the same相同 time when I was in the --
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在同一时间,当我在......
04:22
I was reading in the medical library图书馆 one day, and I read this article文章
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有一天,我在医学图书馆读到一篇文章
04:25
about something called "purine嘌呤 derivatives衍生品."
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是关于嘌呤衍生物的
04:27
And they seemed似乎 to have cell细胞 growth-promoting促生长 properties性能.
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他们似乎有促进细胞生长的功能
04:32
And being存在 naive幼稚 about the whole整个 field领域, I kind of thought,
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在对这整个领域几乎一无所知的情况下,我试想
04:35
"Oh, you have cell细胞 death死亡 in Alzheimer's老年痴呆症
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“哦,阿尔茨海默症中会有细胞死亡
04:37
which哪一个 is causing造成 the memory记忆 deficit赤字, and then you have this compound复合 --
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这导致了记忆减退,现在有这种化合物——
04:42
purine嘌呤 derivatives衍生品 -- that are promoting促进 cell细胞 growth发展."
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嘌呤衍生物——可以促进细胞的生长。“
04:44
And so I thought, "Maybe if it can promote促进 cell细胞 growth发展,
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所以我想,“如果它能促进细胞生长,
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it can inhibit抑制 cell细胞 death死亡, too."
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它也可以抑制细胞死亡。“
04:49
And so that's the project项目 that I pursued追求的 for that year,
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那一年我都在研究这种可能性
04:52
and it's continuing继续 now as well,
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研究进行的很顺利
04:55
and found发现 that a specific具体 purine嘌呤 derivative衍生物 called "guanidine"
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我发现了一种叫做胍的嘌呤衍生物
05:00
had inhibited抑制 the cell细胞 growth发展 by approximately 60 percent百分.
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可以抑制约60%的细胞生长
05:03
So I presented呈现 those results结果 at the International国际 Science科学 Fair公平,
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我向国际科学博览会提交了这项成果,
05:07
which哪一个 was just one of the most amazing惊人 experiences经验 of my life.
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这是我一生中最难忘的经历之一
05:11
And there I was awarded颁发 "Best最好 in the World世界 in Medicine医学,"
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我被授予“世界最佳医学”荣誉
05:14
which哪一个 allowed允许 me to get in, or at least最小 get a foot脚丫子 in the door of the big medical world世界.
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这使我进入了,或者至少迈出了我在医学研究领域的第一步
05:21
And from then on, since以来 I was now in this huge巨大 exciting扣人心弦 world世界,
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从那时起,既然我进入了这个精彩纷呈的世界
05:27
I wanted to explore探索 it all. I wanted it all at once一旦, but knew知道 I couldn't不能 really get that.
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我想探索一切。我希望能马上了解一切,但也知道很难做到这一点
05:32
And I stumbled迷迷糊糊 across横过 something called "cancer癌症 stem cells细胞."
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一个偶然的机会我了解到癌症干细胞的存在
05:34
And this is really what I want to talk to you about today今天 -- about cancer癌症.
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这也是我今天真正想和大家讨论的主题——癌症
05:38
At first when I heard听说 of cancer癌症 stem cells细胞,
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起初,我听到癌症干细胞这个名词
05:42
I didn't really know how to put the two together一起. I'd heard听说 of stem cells细胞,
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我真的不知道“癌症”和“干细胞”这两者是如何结合起来的。我听说的干细胞,
05:46
and I'd heard听说 of them as the panacea万能药 of the future未来 --
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是未来的灵丹妙药——
05:49
the therapy治疗 of many许多 diseases疾病 to come in the future未来, perhaps也许.
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假以时日, 或许可以治愈许多疾病
05:52
But I'd heard听说 of cancer癌症 as the most feared害怕 disease疾病 of our time,
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但是,我也听说癌症是这个时代最可怕的疾病
05:56
so how did the good and bad go together一起?
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所以好的和坏的究竟是怎么结合到一起的?
06:00
Last summer夏季 I worked工作 at Stanford斯坦福 University大学, doing some research研究 on cancer癌症 stem cells细胞.
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去年夏天,我到斯坦福大学做了一些有关癌症干细胞的研究
06:06
And while I was doing this, I was reading the cancer癌症 literature文学,
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这段时间,我读了很多有关癌症的文献
06:09
trying to -- again -- familiarize熟悉 myself with this new medical field领域.
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试图让自己熟悉这一新的医学领域。
06:14
And it seemed似乎 that tumors肿瘤 actually其实 begin开始 from a stem cell细胞.
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我了解到, 肿瘤确实是从干细胞开始的
06:22
This fascinated入迷 me. The more I read, the more I looked看着 at cancer癌症 differently不同
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这使我着迷。我读的文献越多,对癌症的的了解就越多
06:29
and almost几乎 became成为 less fearful可怕 of it.
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几乎不再惧怕癌症了
06:32
It seems似乎 that cancer癌症 is a direct直接 result结果 to injury.
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研究表明,癌症是由损伤直接导致的
06:37
If you smoke抽烟, you damage损伤 your lung tissue组织, and then lung cancer癌症 arises出现.
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如果你吸烟,损害了你的肺部组织,就会引起肺癌。
06:42
If you drink, you damage损伤 your liver, and then liver cancer癌症 occurs发生.
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如果你喝酒,损害了你的肝脏,就会引起肝癌。
06:47
And it was really interesting有趣 -- there were articles用品 correlating关联
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有趣的是, 很多文献中都有相似的研究结果
06:50
if you have a bone fracture断裂, and then bone cancer癌症 arises出现.
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如果你骨折,就会引起骨瘤。
06:53
Because what stem cells细胞 are -- they're these
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起因是干细胞的特性——这些
06:57
phenomenal非凡的 cells细胞 that really have the ability能力 to differentiate区分
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惊人细胞的确有分化的能力
07:01
into any type类型 of tissue组织.
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在任何类型的组织中。
07:03
So, if the body身体 is sensing传感 that you have damage损伤 to an organ器官
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因此,如果身体感应到有受损器官
07:08
and then it's initiating启动 cancer癌症, it's almost几乎 as if this is a repair修理 response响应.
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它就按下了癌症的启动按钮,把它当成一种修复反应
07:13
And the cancer癌症, the body身体 is saying the lung tissue组织 is damaged破损,
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身体说肺组织受到了损害
07:18
we need to repair修理 the lung. And cancer癌症 is originating始发 in the lung
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需要修复,癌症便由此而生
07:22
trying to repair修理 -- because you have this excessive过多 proliferation增殖
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试图修复的过程中, 这些细胞会过度增生
07:26
of these remarkable卓越 cells细胞 that really have the potential潜在 to become成为 lung tissue组织.
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这些细胞有成为肺组织的潜力
07:31
But it's almost几乎 as if the body身体 has originated起源 this ingenious巧妙 response响应,
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不过, 好像身体引发了这个巧妙的反应程序
07:35
but can't quite相当 control控制 it.
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却不能完全控制它
07:37
It hasn't有没有 yet然而 become成为 fine-tuned微调 enough足够 to finish what has been initiated启动.
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它不能精确调整这个已经开始的过程
07:42
So this really, really fascinated入迷 me.
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因此,这真的,真的使我着迷。
07:45
And I really think that we can't think about cancer癌症 --
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我真的认为,我们不能用非黑即白的眼光
07:50
let alone单独 any disease疾病 -- in such这样 black-and-white黑与白 terms条款.
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来看待癌症——更不用说是其他疾病了
07:53
If we eliminate消除 cancer癌症 the way we're trying to do now, with chemotherapy化疗 and radiation辐射,
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如果我们用化疗和放疗去治愈癌症
07:59
we're bombarding轰击 the body身体 or the cancer癌症 with toxins毒素, or with radiation辐射, trying to kill it.
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我们在用毒素或辐射轰击身体或癌细胞,试图杀死它。
08:04
It's almost几乎 as if we're getting得到 back to this starting开始 point.
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这可能会让我们回到起点。
08:07
We're removing去除 the cancer癌症 cells细胞, but we're revealing揭示 the previous以前 damage损伤
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我们是在消除癌细胞,但同时身体也会试图修复这些
08:12
that the body身体 has tried试着 to fix固定.
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一再被揭开的损伤
08:14
Shouldn't不能 we think about manipulation操作, rather than elimination消除?
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我们是不是应该思考如何控制癌细胞,而不是消除它们?
08:19
If somehow不知何故 we can cause原因 these cells细胞 to differentiate区分 --
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如果我们可以想办法使这些细胞分化
08:23
to become成为 bone tissue组织, lung tissue组织, liver tissue组织,
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成为骨组织,肺组织,肝组织,
08:26
whatever随你 that cancer癌症 has been put there to do --
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不管哪个部位的癌细胞
08:29
it would be a repair修理 process处理. We'd星期三 end结束 up better than we were before cancer癌症.
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那将会是一个修复损伤的过程。我们会得到比以前治疗更好的结果。
08:38
So, this really changed my view视图 of looking at cancer癌症.
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因此,这确实改变了我对癌症的看法。
08:42
And while I was reading all these articles用品 about cancer癌症,
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当我在阅读癌症的相关文献时,
08:47
it seemed似乎 that the articles用品 -- a lot of them -- focused重点 on, you know,
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发现其中很多文献都把重点放在
08:49
the genetics遗传学 of breast乳房 cancer癌症, and the genesis创世纪
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乳腺癌的基因
08:51
and the progression级数 of breast乳房 cancer癌症 --
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和乳腺癌的成因与发展
08:53
tracking追踪 the cancer癌症 through通过 the body身体, tracing追踪 where it is, where it goes.
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在身体中追踪癌症,跟踪它,看看它会扩散到哪里。
08:59
But it struck来袭 me that I'd never heard听说 of cancer癌症 of the heart,
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但让我吃惊的是,我从没听过心脏癌这种说法
09:04
or cancer癌症 of any skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 for that matter.
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或骨骼肌癌这种东西
09:07
And skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 constitutes构成 50 percent百分 of our body身体,
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骨骼肌构成我们身体的50%
09:11
or over 50 percent百分 of our body身体. And so at first I kind of thought,
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或超过50%。因此,起初我想,
09:16
"Well, maybe there's some obvious明显 explanation说明
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“嗯,也许有某种显而易见的解释
09:18
why skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 doesn't get cancer癌症 -- at least最小 not that I know of."
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骨骼肌为什么不会发生癌症 - 至少我没听说过。“
09:22
So, I looked看着 further进一步 into it, found发现 as many许多 articles用品 as I could,
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所以,我进一步调查它,我翻阅了所有能够找到的文献,
09:27
and it was amazing惊人 -- because it turned转身 out that it was very rare罕见.
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结果令我吃惊——因为它确实是非常罕见的。
09:31
Some articles用品 even went as far as to say that skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 tissue组织
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一些文献甚至说,骨骼肌肉组织
09:35
is resistant to cancer癌症, and furthermore此外, not only to cancer癌症,
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可以抵抗癌症,而且,不仅是癌症,
09:40
but of metastases转移 going to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉.
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还有癌症向骨骼肌的转移。
09:44
And what metastases转移 are is when the tumor --
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癌症的转移是指
09:47
when a piece -- breaks休息 off and travels旅行 through通过 the blood血液 stream
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部分癌细胞脱落,并随着血液流动
09:50
and goes to a different不同 organ器官. That's what a metastasis转移 is.
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进入一个不同的器官。这就叫做转移。
09:54
It's the part部分 of cancer癌症 that is the most dangerous危险.
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这是癌症最危险的一点。
09:57
If cancer癌症 was localized本地化, we could likely容易 remove去掉 it,
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如果癌症是局部的,我们有可能将其移除,
10:00
or somehow不知何故 -- you know, it's contained. It's very contained.
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或以某种方式控制它。这是可以做到的。
10:04
But once一旦 it starts启动 moving移动 throughout始终 the body身体, that's when it becomes deadly致命.
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但是,一旦它开始在整个身体种转移,结果将是致命的
10:07
So the fact事实 that not only did cancer癌症 not seem似乎 to originate起源 in skeletal骨骼 muscles肌肉,
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因此,癌症从不起源于骨骼肌,
10:12
but cancer癌症 didn't seem似乎 to go to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 --
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而且似乎也不会转移到骨骼肌的现象
10:15
there seemed似乎 to be something here.
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预示着骨骼肌具有某种特性
10:17
So these articles用品 were saying, you know, "Skeletal骨骼 --
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很多研究结果表明
10:19
metastasis转移 to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 -- is very rare罕见."
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“癌症转移到骨骼肌是非常罕见的。“
10:22
But it was left at that. No one seemed似乎 to be asking why.
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但它们在这里止步了。没有人问为什么
10:26
So I decided决定 to ask why. At first -- the first thing I did
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因此,我决定打破沙锅问到底。我做的第一件事是
10:33
was I emailed电子邮件 some professors教授 who
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发电子邮件给一些研究骨骼肌的教授
10:35
specialized专门 in skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 physiology生理, and pretty漂亮 much said,
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里面写道
10:38
"Hey, it seems似乎 like cancer癌症 doesn't really go to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉.
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“嘿,看来癌症确实不会转移到骨骼肌
10:44
Is there a reason原因 for this?" And a lot of the replies回复 I got were that
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这是为什么呢?“,我得到的答复大部分都是这样的
10:48
muscle肌肉 is terminally终末 differentiated分化 tissue组织.
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肌肉是终末分化组织。
10:52
Meaning含义 that you have muscle肌肉 cells细胞, but they're not dividing,
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这意味着你有肌肉细胞,但他们不会分裂,
10:55
so it doesn't seem似乎 like a good target目标 for cancer癌症 to hijack劫持.
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所以对癌症来说,它并不是一个好的攻击对象
10:59
But then again, this fact事实 that the metastases转移
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但话又说回来
11:02
didn't go to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 made制作 that seem似乎 unlikely不会.
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癌症没有转移到骨骼肌这一点使得这个解释变得不是那么可信
11:06
And furthermore此外, that nervous紧张 tissue组织 -- brain -- gets得到 cancer癌症,
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再者,神经组织——脑 ——也会得癌症,
11:11
and brain cells细胞 are also terminally终末 differentiated分化.
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而脑细胞也是终末分化组织。
11:14
So I decided决定 to ask why. And here's这里的 some of, I guess猜测, my hypotheses假设
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因此,我决定问为什么。这里还有一些我的假设
11:20
that I'll be starting开始 to investigate调查 this May可能 at the Sylvester西尔维斯特 Cancer癌症 Institute研究所 in Miami迈阿密.
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今年5月,我将在迈阿密的西尔维斯特癌症研究所开始这项研究。
11:29
And I guess猜测 I'll keep investigating调查 until直到 I get the answers答案.
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而且我想我会继续调查,直到我得到答案。
11:34
But I know that in science科学, once一旦 you get the answers答案,
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但我知道,在科学研究中,一旦你得到了答案,
11:37
inevitably必将 you're going to have more questions问题.
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随之而来的是更多需要解答的问题。
11:39
So I guess猜测 you could say that I'll probably大概 be doing this for the rest休息 of my life.
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所以你可能猜到, 我很可能一生都会投身于科学研究中
11:44
Some of my hypotheses假设 are that
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我的假设是
11:47
when you first think about skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉,
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当谈到骨骼肌你首先想到的是,
11:50
there's a lot of blood血液 vessels船只 going to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉.
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有很多的血管通向骨骼肌。
11:53
And the first thing that makes品牌 me think is that
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我思考的第一件事是,
11:57
blood血液 vessels船只 are like highways公路 for the tumor cells细胞.
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血管像是肿瘤细胞的公路。
12:00
Tumor cells细胞 can travel旅行 through通过 the blood血液 vessels船只.
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肿瘤细胞能够通过血管四处游弋。
12:02
And you think, the more highways公路 there are in a tissue组织,
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想一想,一个组织里有越多的”公路“,
12:06
the more likely容易 it is to get cancer癌症 or to get metastases转移.
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患癌症,或者癌症转移的的可能就越大。
12:10
So first of all I thought, you know, "Wouldn't岂不 it be favorable有利
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所以我首先想到的是,“骨骼肌里这么多的血管
12:13
to cancer癌症 getting得到 to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉?" And as well,
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不是正中癌症下怀么?“同时,
12:16
cancer癌症 tumors肿瘤 require要求 a process处理 called angiogenesis血管生成,
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癌症肿瘤需要一个被称为血管生成的过程,
12:21
which哪一个 is really, the tumor recruits新兵 the blood血液 vessels船只 to itself本身
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这是真的,肿瘤利用血管为自己服务
12:25
to supply供应 itself本身 with nutrients营养成分 so it can grow增长.
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从中汲取营养,以便继续增长。
12:28
Without没有 angiogenesis血管生成, the tumor remains遗迹 the size尺寸 of a pinpoint查明 and it's not harmful有害.
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如果没有血管生成过程,肿瘤会维持在很小的范围内,而不会形成威胁。
12:35
So angiogenesis血管生成 is really a central中央 process处理 to the pathogenesis发病 of cancer癌症.
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因此,血管生成可以称得上是癌症的发病机制的核心进程。
12:41
And one article文章 that really stood站在 out to me
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一篇文献引起了我的注意
12:44
when I was just reading about this, trying to figure数字 out why cancer癌症 doesn't go to skeletal骨骼
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我读这篇文献,试图弄清楚为什么癌症不会发生在骨骼肌
12:48
muscle肌肉, was that it had reported报道 16 percent百分 of micro-metastases微转移
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这篇文献说,解剖时
12:55
to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 upon autopsy尸检.
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发现骨骼肌里有16%的微转移
12:57
16 percent百分! Meaning含义 that there were these pinpoint查明 tumors肿瘤 in skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉,
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16%!这意味着骨骼肌肿瘤中有小范围的肿瘤
13:02
but only .16 percent百分 of actual实际 metastases转移 --
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但只有0.16%的实际转移
13:07
suggesting提示 that maybe skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 is able能够 to control控制 the angiogenesis血管生成,
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这表明骨骼肌也许是能够控制血管生成过程,
13:13
is able能够 to control控制 the tumors肿瘤 recruiting招聘 these blood血液 vessels船只.
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从而能够控制肿瘤对血管的利用。
13:18
We use skeletal骨骼 muscles肌肉 so much. It's the one portion一部分 of our body身体 --
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我们这么频繁的使用骨骼肌。这是我们身体的一个部分
13:23
our heart's心脏的 always beating跳动. We're always moving移动 our muscles肌肉.
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我们的心脏不停跳动。我们的肌肉一直处在活跃状态
13:26
Is it possible可能 that muscle肌肉 somehow不知何故 intuitively直观地 knows知道
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难道肌肉隐隐约约的”感觉“到
13:30
that it needs需求 this blood血液 supply供应? It needs需求 to be constantly经常 contracting承包,
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它需要血液供应?它需要不停地收缩
13:34
so therefore因此 it's almost几乎 selfish自私. It's grabbing its blood血液 vessels船只 for itself本身.
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因此,它几乎是自私的, 攫取血管为自己所用
13:37
Therefore因此, when a tumor comes into skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 tissue组织,
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因此,当肿瘤进入骨骼肌肉组织的时候
13:41
it can't get a blood血液 supply供应, and can't grow增长.
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它不能获得血液供应,也就不能生长
13:44
So this suggests提示 that maybe if there is an anti-angiogenic抗血管生成 factor因子
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这也许表明,如果在骨骼肌中
13:49
in skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 -- or perhaps也许 even more,
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有抗血管生成因子——或者更进一步
13:51
an angiogenic血管生成 routing路由 factor因子, so it can actually其实 direct直接 where the blood血液 vessels船只 grow增长 --
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存在控制血管生成的因子,可以调控血管生长的位置
13:56
this could be a potential潜在 future未来 therapy治疗 for cancer癌症.
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这可能会成为另一种治疗癌症的方法
14:00
And another另一个 thing that's really interesting有趣 is that
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另一件很有趣的事情是,
14:05
there's this whole整个 -- the way tumors肿瘤 move移动 throughout始终 the body身体,
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肿瘤在全身的移动
14:09
it's a very complex复杂 system系统 -- and there's something called the chemokine趋化因子 network网络.
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是一个非常复杂的系统,包含所谓的”趋化因子网络“。
14:13
And chemokines趋化因子 are essentially实质上 chemical化学 attractants引诱,
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趋化因子的本质是化学引诱物
14:17
and they're the stop and go signals信号 for cancer癌症.
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它们是癌症的红绿灯信号。
14:20
So a tumor expresses表达 chemokine趋化因子 receptors受体,
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因此,肿瘤表达为趋化因子受体
14:25
and another另一个 organ器官 -- a distant遥远 organ器官 somewhere某处 in the body身体 --
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另一器官——一个离肿瘤一定距离的器官——
14:28
will have the corresponding相应 chemokines趋化因子,
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将有相应的趋化因子
14:30
and the tumor will see these chemokines趋化因子 and migrate迁移 towards it.
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肿瘤会看到这些趋化因子,并朝向它转移
14:34
Is it possible可能 that skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 doesn't express表现 this type类型 of molecules分子?
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有没有可能骨骼肌不表达这种类型的分子?
14:39
And the other really interesting有趣 thing is that
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还有一件事情很有趣,
14:42
when skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 -- there's been several一些 reports报告 that when skeletal骨骼
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有几个报告都提到,当骨骼肌损伤和
14:46
muscle肌肉 is injured受伤, that's what correlates相关因素 with metastases转移 going to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉.
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肿瘤向骨骼肌的转移密切相关
14:53
And, furthermore此外, when skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 is injured受伤,
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此外,当骨骼肌受伤时
14:56
that's what causes原因 chemokines趋化因子 -- these signals信号 saying,
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会导致趋化因子——这些信号说:
15:00
"Cancer癌症, you can come to me," the "go signs迹象" for the tumors肿瘤 --
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“癌症,你可以来找我,”肿瘤的绿灯通行信号
15:04
it causes原因 them to highly高度 express表现 these chemokines趋化因子.
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这会导致这些趋化因子的高效表达
15:08
So, there's so much interplay相互作用 here.
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因此,这里有太多的相互作用
15:15
I mean, there are so many许多 possibilities可能性
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我的意思是,有如此多的可能性
15:17
for why tumors肿瘤 don't go to skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉.
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可以解释为什么肿瘤不出现在骨骼肌中
15:20
But it seems似乎 like by investigating调查, by attacking进攻 cancer癌症,
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通过调查,攻击癌细胞
15:24
by searching搜索 where cancer癌症 is not, there has got to be something --
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还有搜索不会发生癌症的部位都预示一定有什么
15:28
there's got to be something -- that's making制造 this tissue组织 resistant to tumors肿瘤.
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一定存在某种特性 - 使这种组织可以抗肿瘤
15:34
And can we utilize利用 -- can we take this property属性,
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那么我们能否利用 - 我们能否把这种特性
15:37
this compound复合, this receptor接收器, whatever随你 it is that's controlling控制 these
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用这种化合物,这种受体
15:41
anti-tumor抗肿瘤 properties性能 and apply应用 it to cancer癌症 therapy治疗 in general一般?
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这种控制抗肿瘤特性的因子,来治疗癌症?
15:48
Now, one thing that kind of ties联系 the resistance抵抗性 of skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 to cancer癌症 --
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现在,有一件事与骨骼肌的抗癌性有点关系
15:56
to the cancer癌症 as a repair修理 response响应 gone走了 out of control控制 in the body身体 --
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这是对由身体的修复反应引起的癌症而言
16:01
is that skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 has a factor因子 in it called "MyoDMyoD的."
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它就是骨骼肌中叫做MyoD的因子
16:09
And what MyoDMyoD的 essentially实质上 does is, it causes原因 cells细胞 to differentiate区分
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MyoD所做的就是,导致细胞分化成肌细胞
16:14
into muscle肌肉 cells细胞. So this compound复合, MyoDMyoD的,
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因此,这种物质,MyoD,
16:19
has been tested测试 on a lot of different不同 cell细胞 types类型 and been shown显示 to
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已在很多不同的细胞类型上做过测试,结果表明
16:23
actually其实 convert兑换 this variety品种 of cell细胞 types类型 into skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 cells细胞.
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它可以将多种类型的细胞转化为骨骼肌细胞。
16:27
So, is it possible可能 that the tumor cells细胞 are going to the skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 tissue组织,
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因此,有可能肿瘤细胞已经进入骨骼肌肉组织,
16:33
but once一旦 in contact联系 inside the skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 tissue组织,
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但一旦与骨骼肌内的组织接触,
16:37
MyoDMyoD的 acts行为 upon these tumor cells细胞 and causes原因 them
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MyoD的作用于这些肿瘤细胞,使它们
16:42
to become成为 skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 cells细胞?
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成为骨骼肌细胞?
16:45
Maybe tumor cells细胞 are being存在 disguised伪装 as skeletal骨骼 muscle肌肉 cells细胞,
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肿瘤细胞可能被伪装成骨骼肌细胞,
16:48
and this is why it seems似乎 as if it is so rare罕见.
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这就是为什么它在骨骼肌中如此罕见。
16:53
It's not harmful有害; it has just repaired修复 the muscle肌肉.
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这种肿瘤是无害的,它只是修复了肌肉的损伤。
16:56
Muscle肌肉 is constantly经常 being存在 used -- constantly经常 being存在 damaged破损.
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肌肉不断地被使用 - 不断地受到损坏
16:59
If every一切 time we tore撕毁 a muscle肌肉
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如果我们每次肌肉撕裂
17:02
or every一切 time we stretched拉伸 a muscle肌肉 or moved移动 in a wrong错误 way,
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或者每次以错误的方式拉伸肌肉
17:05
cancer癌症 occurred发生 -- I mean, everybody每个人 would have cancer癌症 almost几乎.
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癌症就会产生——我的意思是,几乎每个人都会有癌症
17:12
And I hate讨厌 to say that. But it seems似乎 as though虽然 muscle肌肉 cell细胞,
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我讨厌这么说。但是,肌肉细胞似乎
17:16
possibly或者 because of all its use, has adapted适应
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可能是因为其使用方式
17:19
faster更快 than other body身体 tissues组织 to respond响应 to injury,
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比其他身体组织能更快地适应损伤并对其作出反应
17:22
to fine-tune微调 this repair修理 response响应 and actually其实 be able能够 to finish the process处理
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精确调节这一修复反应以完成整个过程
17:28
which哪一个 the body身体 wants to finish. I really believe that the human人的 body身体 is very,
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达到身体本来的修复目的。我真的相信,人体是非常聪明的
17:33
very smart聪明, and we can't counteract抵消 something the body身体 is saying to do.
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我们不能逆着身体的意愿行事
17:39
It's different不同 when a bacteria comes into the body身体 --
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这与细菌进入人体的情况不同,
17:42
that's a foreign国外 object目的 -- we want that out.
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细菌是外来的异物 - 我们希望将它赶出去
17:46
But when the body身体 is actually其实 initiating启动 a process处理
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但是,当人体启动了一个反应
17:48
and we're calling调用 it a disease疾病, it doesn't seem似乎 as though虽然 elimination消除 is
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并演变成一种疾病
17:52
the right solution. So even to go from there, it's possible可能, although虽然 far-fetched牵强,
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消除它似乎不是正确的解决方案。因此,尽管牵强附会
18:00
that in the future未来 we could almost几乎 think of cancer癌症 being存在 used as a therapy治疗.
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但今后,癌症有可能成为一种治疗方法。
18:07
If those diseases疾病 where tissues组织 are deteriorating恶化 --
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如果某些疾病中,组织正在恶化
18:10
for example Alzheimer's老年痴呆症, where the brain, the brain cells细胞, die
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比如阿尔茨海默氏症中大脑细胞的死亡
18:15
and we need to restore恢复 new brain cells细胞, new functional实用 brain cells细胞 --
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而我们需要新的具有功能的脑细胞
18:19
what if we could, in the future未来, use cancer癌症? A tumor --
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我们可不可以利用癌症呢?
18:23
put it in the brain and cause原因 it to differentiate区分 into brain cells细胞?
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把肿瘤放进大脑,并使其分化为脑细胞?
18:28
That's a very far-fetched牵强 idea理念, but I really believe that it may可能 be possible可能.
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这是一个非常牵强的想法,但我真的相信这是可能的
18:34
These cells细胞 are so versatile多才多艺, these cancer癌症 cells细胞 are so versatile多才多艺 --
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这些细胞是如此多才多艺,这些癌细胞是如此多才多艺 -
18:38
we just have to manipulate操作 them in the right way.
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我们只需要以正确的方式去使用它们
18:41
And again, some of these may可能 be far-fetched牵强, but
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再次声明,有些观点是有点牵强附会,但
18:45
I figured想通 if there's anywhere随地 to present当下 far-fetched牵强 ideas思路, it's here at TEDTED, so
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如果存在一个可以表达这些奇思异想的地方, 那么它就在这里, TED
18:50
thank you very much.
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非常感谢
18:52
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by bin bin
Reviewed by Kun Tian

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eva Vertes - Neuroscience and cancer researcher
Eva Vertes is a microbiology prodigy. Her discovery, at age 17, of a compound that stops fruit-fly brain cells from dying was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer's. Now she aims to find better ways to treat -- and avoid -- cancer.

Why you should listen

Eva Vertes may not yet have the answers she needs to cure cancer, but she's asking some important -- and radical questions: If smoking can cause lung cancer, and drinking can cause liver cancer, is it possible that cancer is a direct result of injury? If so, could cancer be caused by the body's own repair system going awry?

She asks this and other breathtaking questions in her conference-closing 2005 talk. Her approach marks an important shift in scientific thinking, looking in brand-new places for cancer's cause -- and its cure. Her ultimate goal, which even she calls far-fetched, is to fight cancer with cancer.

More profile about the speaker
Eva Vertes | Speaker | TED.com