ABOUT THE SPEAKER
George Whitesides - Chemist
In his legendary career in chemistry, George Whitesides has been a pioneer in microfabrication and nanoscale self-assembly. Now, he's fabbing a diagnostic lab on a chip.

Why you should listen

Someday Harvard chemistry professor George Whitesides will take the time to look back on the 950 scientific articles he's coauthored, the dozen companies he's co-founded or the 50-plus patents on which he's named. (He works in four main areas: biochemistry, materials science, catalysis and physical organic chemistry.) In the meantime, he's trying to invent a future where medical diagnosis can be done by anyone for little or no cost. He's co-founded a nonprofit called Diagnostics for All that aims to provide dirt-cheap diagnostic devices, to provide healthcare in a world where cost is everything.

Among his solutions is a low-cost "lab-on-a-chip," made of paper and carpet tape. The paper wicks bodily fluids -- urine, for example -- and turns color to provide diagnostic information, such as how much glucose or protein is present. His goal is to distribute these simple paper diagnostic systems to developing countries, where people with basic training can administer tests and send results to distant doctors via cameraphone.

More profile about the speaker
George Whitesides | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxBoston 2009

George Whitesides: A lab the size of a postage stamp

乔治 怀特萨德:邮票大小的实验室

Filmed:
544,696 views

传统用于疾病诊断的实验室,造价都非常的昂贵且检测程序也纷繁复杂。在苛刻的环境中,不太适合。乔治·怀特萨德提出了富有创意的构想,那就是以接近零成本来完成疾病的检测。
- Chemist
In his legendary career in chemistry, George Whitesides has been a pioneer in microfabrication and nanoscale self-assembly. Now, he's fabbing a diagnostic lab on a chip. Full bio

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

00:15
The problem问题 that I want to talk with you about
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今天我想和大家一同探讨的问题是
00:18
is really the problem问题 of:
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具有现实意义的
00:20
How does one supply供应 healthcare卫生保健
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即人们如何获得基本的医疗保障
00:24
in a world世界 in which哪一个 cost成本 is everything?
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我们都知道,现在是一个成本至上的社会
00:28
How do you do that?
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对于此我们应如何取舍?
00:30
And the basic基本 paradigm范例 we want to suggest建议 to you,
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首先,我们来讨论这样一种情况
00:32
I want to suggest建议 to you, is
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这个情况是这样的
00:34
one in which哪一个 you say that in order订购 to
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如果我们想要治疗某种疾病
00:36
treat对待 disease疾病 you have to first know what you're treating治疗 --
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我们必须先弄清楚这是什么样的一种病
00:40
that's diagnostics诊断 -- and then you have to do something.
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只有通过诊断,我们才能进行相应的治疗。
00:42
So, the program程序 that we're involved参与 in is something which哪一个 we call
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同样,诊断也是我们这个项目的核心问题
00:45
Diagnostics诊断 for All, or zero-cost零成本 diagnostics诊断.
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这里,称作诊断为先,或零成本诊断。
00:49
How do you provide提供 medically医疗 relevant相应 information信息
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在座的各位或许会问
00:52
at as close as possible可能 to zero cost成本? How do you do it?
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如何才能提供零成本的医疗信息?
00:56
Let me just give you two examples例子.
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接下来,我就用两个例子予以说明。
00:58
The rigors严酷 of military军事 medicine医学
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其实,艰苦的随军医疗
01:02
are not so dissimilar相异 from the third第三 world世界 --
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与第三世界的医疗情况甚是相像
01:04
poor较差的 resources资源, a rigorous严格 environment环境,
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两者都面临,匮乏的医疗资源、艰苦的生存环境
01:07
a series系列 of problems问题 in lightweight轻量级, and things of this kind --
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及一系列因营养失衡、体重不足,而引起的问题。
01:11
and also not so different不同 from the home healthcare卫生保健
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同样,两者在普通医疗保健
01:14
and diagnostic诊断 system系统 world世界.
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和诊断方面也没有太大的区别。
01:17
So, the technology技术 that I want to talk about
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其实,今天我们在探讨的这项新技术
01:20
is for the third第三 world世界, for the developing发展 world世界,
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是非常适合第三世界与发展中国家的。
01:23
but it has, I think, much broader更广泛 application应用,
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当然,就我个人而言,我认为它还有更广泛的应用。
01:25
because information信息 is so important重要 in the healthcare卫生保健 system系统.
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因为准确的疾病诊断信息对疾病的治疗是至关重要的。
01:30
So, you see two examples例子 here.
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来 我们来看看这两张图片
01:32
One is a lab实验室 that is actually其实 a fairly相当 high-end高端 laboratory实验室 in Africa非洲.
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第一张图片是位于非洲的一家高级实验室
01:37
The second第二 is basically基本上 an entrepreneur企业家
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第二张则是一位企业家
01:39
who is set up and doing who-knows-what谁也不知道的什么 in a table in a market市场.
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他正一个集市里做着一些检验工作。
01:43
I don't know what kind of healthcare卫生保健 is delivered交付 there.
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或许这并没有传达任何有关医疗的信息。
01:46
But it's not really what is probably大概 most efficient高效.
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但同时这也说明他所作的并不是最有效的。
01:51
What is our approach途径?
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我们这一项目的目标是什么?
01:54
And the way in which哪一个 one typically一般 approaches方法
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其实我们最为关注的问题是
01:57
a problem问题 of lowering降低 cost成本,
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如何降低使用成本。
02:00
starting开始 from the perspective透视 of the United联合的 States状态,
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从美国市场的角度来看,
02:03
is to take our solution,
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如果我们想要成功推广某一方案
02:05
and then to try to cut cost成本 out of it.
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我们就必须要试图去降低它的成本。
02:07
No matter how you do that,
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因为,无论这一方案是多么有效
02:09
you're not going to start开始 with a 100,000-dollar-美元 instrument仪器
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市场也不可能把10万美元的仪器费用,
02:11
and bring带来 it down to no-cost免费. It isn't going to work.
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降至零。 这是不可能办到的。
02:14
So, the approach途径 that we took was the other way around.
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所以,我们采用了另外的方法来出奇制胜。
02:17
To ask, "What is the cheapest最便宜 possible可能 stuff东东
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有人问
02:19
that you could make a diagnostic诊断 system系统 out of,
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“世界上什么材料最廉价且适用于制造诊断疾病的仪器,
02:22
and get useful有用 information信息,
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同时能提供有用的信息,
02:24
add function功能?" And what we've我们已经 chosen选择 is paper.
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而且能增添功能?“ 对这一问题,我们的答案是纸张。
02:27
What you see here is a prototypic原型 device设备.
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现在大家看到的是,用纸做的诊断设备的模型
02:30
It's about a centimeter厘米 on the side.
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它的宽度约为1厘米
02:32
It's about the size尺寸 of a fingernail指甲.
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大小与我们的指甲差不多
02:34
The lines线 around the edges边缘 are
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纸上的线条来自于
02:36
a polymer聚合物.
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一种聚合物(可与被测物质相互反应,随后产生一系列的物理、化学变化)
02:38
It's made制作 of paper and paper, of course课程, wicks灯芯 fluid流体,
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这是纸质的,而纸是有吸附功能的。
02:42
as you know, paper, cloth -- drop下降 wine红酒 on the tablecloth桌布,
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众所周知,纸啊,布料啊,可以吸收液体。
02:46
and the wine红酒 wicks灯芯 all over everything.
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例如,我们不小心把酒洒在了桌布上,那么桌布会一片狼藉。
02:49
Put it on your shirt衬衫, it ruins废墟 the shirt衬衫.
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如果弄到了衬衣上,那么衬衣也被弄脏了。
02:51
That's what a hydrophilic亲水 surface表面 does.
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这些现象都反应了纸张的亲水特性。
02:54
So, in this device设备 the idea理念 is that you drip
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这也是我们仪器的运作原理。
02:56
the bottom底部 end结束 of it in a drop下降 of,
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我们在试片的底部,滴入一滴液体
02:58
in this case案件, urine尿.
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在这个检测中,我们使用的是尿液
03:00
The fluid流体 wicks灯芯 its way into those chambers at the top最佳.
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滴入的尿液集中在这个小槽中,
03:04
The brown棕色 color颜色 indicates指示 the amount of glucose葡萄糖 in the urine尿,
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左边棕色部分显示尿液中葡萄糖的含量
03:08
the blue蓝色 color颜色 indicates指示 the amount of protein蛋白 in the urine尿.
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右边蓝色部分则显示尿液中蛋白质的含量
03:11
And the combination组合 of those two
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随后将两部分的信息相结合,
03:13
is a first order订购 shot射击 at a number of
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我们便获得
03:15
useful有用 things that you want.
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初步所需的检测结果
03:18
So, this is an example of a device设备 made制作 from a simple简单 piece of paper.
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这就是一个用简单的纸张制成的分析仪的例子
03:21
Now, how simple简单 can you make the production生产?
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现在,我们来看看这类仪器是如何制成的?
03:24
Why do we choose选择 paper?
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第一个问题,为什么选择纸质?
03:26
There's an example of the same相同 thing on a finger手指,
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图片中手指上
03:29
showing展示 you basically基本上 what it looks容貌 like.
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呈现的也是类似刚才介绍过的分析仪
03:31
One reason原因 for using运用 paper is that it's everywhere到处.
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选择用纸质的首要原因是“纸,无处不在”
03:34
We have made制作 these kinds of devices设备 using运用
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我们可以用纸做成
03:36
napkins餐巾 and toilet厕所 paper
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餐巾纸,卫生纸等类似的许多其他纸类物品
03:39
and wraps包装, and all kinds of stuff东东.
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还有用纸来包装,等等。
03:41
So, the production生产 capability能力 is there.
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所以,产能上基本没有限制。
03:44
The second第二 is, you can put lots and lots
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其次是
03:46
of tests测试 in a very small place地点.
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“小小一片纸能完成许许多多的测试”
03:48
I'll show显示 you in a moment时刻 that the stack of paper there
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待会,我会给大家讲解一堆纸张如何
03:50
would probably大概 hold保持 something like
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可能被用来进行
03:52
100,000 tests测试, something of that kind.
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10万个检验。
03:55
And then finally最后, a point that you don't think of so much
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最后一个原因,大家往往比较容易忽略
03:58
in developed发达 world世界 medicine医学:
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因为在发达国家
04:01
it eliminates消除 sharps锐器.
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我们不太使用针刺的方法来获取检验样本
04:03
And what sharps锐器 means手段 is needles, things that stick.
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针刺法就是用针,刺穿皮肤获得检验样本,而残余样本会滞留在针里。
04:06
If you've taken采取 a sample样品 of someone's谁家 blood血液
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如果我们抽取了某人的血液样本
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and the someone有人 might威力 have hepatitis肝炎 C,
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而那个人可能携带丙肝病毒的血液样本
04:11
you don't want to make a mistake错误 and stick it in you.
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在检测后,样本是不可以随便遗弃的™
04:13
It just -- you don't want to do that.
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这时,我们就会考虑,
04:15
So, how do you dispose部署 of that? It's a problem问题 everywhere到处.
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怎样才能安全有效的清理这些医疗垃圾?
04:17
And here you simply只是 burn烧伤 it.
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最为简单的方法就是焚烧
04:19
So, it's a sort分类 of a practical实际的 approach途径
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所以,纸质的检测仪确实是一种实用的方法
04:21
to starting开始 on things.
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来采用
04:24
Now, you say, "If paper is a good idea理念,
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好了 现在
04:27
other people have surely一定 thought of it."
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在座的各位都应该认同
04:29
And the answer回答 is, of course课程, yes.
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纸是非常好用的一种材料,对。
04:32
Those half of you, roughly大致,
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这里的各位
04:34
who are women妇女,
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粗粗看来,一半都是女性
04:36
at some point may可能 have had a pregnancy怀孕 test测试.
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相信大家,可能都经历过验孕测试。
04:38
And the most common共同 of these
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大多数的验孕仪,
04:41
is in a device设备 that looks容貌 like the thing on the left.
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就像是左边图片中的那样
04:44
It's something called a lateral flow immunoassay免疫.
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学术上,我们称之为横向流动免疫测定仪。
04:46
In that particular特定 test测试,
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在这一检测中
04:48
urine尿 either, containing
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我们让
04:50
a hormone激素 called HCGHCG, does or does not
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可能含有HCG(绒毛膜促性腺激素,荷尔蒙的一种)的尿液
04:53
flow across横过 a piece of paper.
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渗透一张试纸来进行检测
04:55
And there are two bars酒吧. One bar酒吧 indicates指示 that the test测试 is working加工,
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试纸上有两条线
04:59
and if the second第二 bar酒吧 shows节目 up, you're pregnant.
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一条是用来显示试纸是否起作用的,另一条是用来检测是否怀孕的。
05:02
This is a terrific了不起 kind of test测试 in a binary二进制 world世界,
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这对于新时代而言,这是一项非常赞的发明。
05:05
and the nice不错 thing about pregnancy怀孕
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有关怀孕更重要的是
05:07
is either you are pregnant or you're not pregnant.
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你只能是怀孕了或是没有怀孕
05:09
You're not partially部分 pregnant or thinking思维 about being存在 pregnant
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你不可能是不完全的怀孕了,或是正想着而变怀孕了,
05:11
or something of that sort分类.
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或者是其它一些中间状态。
05:13
So, it works作品 very well there,
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对于上述的问题,验孕试纸能给我们很好的回答
05:15
but it doesn't work very well when you need more quantitative information信息.
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但却无法给予更多的量化的信息
05:18
There are also dipsticks试纸,
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图片中的这些,同样也是试纸。
05:20
but if you look at the dipsticks试纸, they're for
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但,这里的尿样检测
05:22
another另一个 kind of urine尿 analysis分析.
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却有了其他的意义
05:24
There are an awful可怕 lot of colors颜色 and things like that.
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试纸上有许多的颜色, 在不同的情况下,显示不同的结果
05:27
What do you actually其实 do about that in a difficult circumstance环境?
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在这种复杂的情况下,我们如何办到?
05:30
So, the approach途径 that we started开始 with is to ask:
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所以我们采用的办法就是,问我们自己
05:35
Is it really practical实际的 to make things of this sort分类?
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如何实现纸质检测的构想?
05:39
And that problem问题 is now, in a purely纯粹 engineering工程 way, solved解决了.
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其实,这个问题只要用简单的工程方法即可解决
05:43
And the procedure程序 that we have is simply只是 to start开始 with paper.
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原材料我们只用到了纸张
05:47
You run it through通过 a new kind of printer打印机 called a wax printer打印机.
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然后使用一种叫做“蜡膜打印机”的新型打印机
05:50
The wax printer打印机 does what looks容貌 like printing印花.
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这种打印机和普通的打印机,在外表几乎没有区别。
05:53
It is printing印花. You put that on, you warm it a little bit,
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启动机器,加温蜡盒
05:56
the wax prints版画 through通过 so it absorbs吸收 into the paper,
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蜡油便会渗透到纸张内
05:59
and you end结束 up with the device设备 that you want.
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然后,你想要的测试纸就被打印出来了
06:01
The printers打印机 cost成本 800 bucks雄鹿 now.
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这类打印机,现在的售价大概是每台800美元。
06:05
They'll他们会 make, we estimate估计 that if you were to run them 24 hours小时 a day
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我估算了一下,如果开足马力,连续工作24小时。
06:08
they'd他们会 make about 10 million百万 tests测试 a year.
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那么,打印后的蜡纸可供一千万的试验用量
06:11
So, it's a solved解决了 problem问题, that particular特定 problem问题 is solved解决了.
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所以,这个测试纸的构想很好的实现了
06:14
And there is an example of the kind of thing that you see.
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这里我有一个具体的实例
06:16
That's on a piece of 8 by 12 paper.
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这是由12张纸组成的,可供8次试验的试纸
06:19
That takes about two seconds to make.
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仅用2秒钟制成
06:21
And so I regard看待 that as doneDONE.
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十分的迅速
06:23
There is a very important重要 issue问题 here,
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这里还有一个非常重要的问题,
06:25
which哪一个 is that because it's a printer打印机,
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因为我们用的是彩色打印机
06:28
a color颜色 printer打印机, it prints版画 colors颜色. That's what color颜色 printers打印机 do.
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众所周知,彩色打印机可以打印出不同的颜色。
06:31
I'll show显示 you in a moment时刻, that's actually其实 quite相当 useful有用.
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待会,我再说明这个的具体用处。
06:35
Now, the next下一个 question that you would like to ask
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大家可能联想到的第二个问题是,
06:38
is: What would you like to measure测量? What would you like to analyze分析?
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怎样分析、测算试验结果?
06:41
And the thing which哪一个 you'd most like to analyze分析,
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解答前,我还要先澄清一个观点
06:44
we're a fair公平 distance距离 from.
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一直以来,大家想要分析的东西。其实,与我们想要获得的信息是有出入的。
06:46
It's what's called "fever发热 of undiagnosed确诊 origin起源."
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这类似于“发热确诊原因”的情形
06:50
Someone有人 comes into the clinic诊所,
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当病人来到诊所时,他们感到发烧,感到不适
06:52
they have a fever发热, they feel bad. What do they have?
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他们得了什么病呢?
06:54
Do they have T.B.? Do they have AIDS艾滋病?
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是肺结核?艾滋?
06:56
Do they have a common共同 cold?
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还是普通感冒?
06:58
The triage分流 problem问题. That's a hard problem问题
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这是个很复杂的问题
07:00
for reasons原因 that I won't惯于 go through通过.
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其他的可能性,在此不做深究
07:02
There are an awful可怕 lot of things that you'd like to distinguish区分 among其中.
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因为实在是有太多的可能性了
07:05
But then there are a series系列 of things:
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但这些病因
07:07
AIDS艾滋病, hepatitis肝炎, malaria疟疾,
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如艾滋、肝炎、疟疾
07:09
TBTB, others其他
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肺结核,等等
07:11
and simpler简单 ones那些, such这样 as guidance指导 of treatment治疗.
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还有包括一些简单的因素,譬如疗程指导。
07:15
Now even that's more complicated复杂 than you think.
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还个因素比我们想象的要更复杂。
07:18
A friend朋友 of mine works作品 in transcultural psychiatry精神病学,
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我有一位朋友负责跨文化精神病学的研究。
07:22
and he is interested有兴趣 in the question of
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他对于病人不按时吃药的问题
07:24
why people do and don't take their meds吃药.
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十分关注
07:27
So, Dapsone氨苯砜, or something like that,
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特别是,例如氨苯砜(抗麻风病的一种药物)
07:29
you have to take it for a while.
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及其他需要长期服用的药物
07:31
He has a wonderful精彩 story故事 of talking to a villager村民 in India印度
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他告诉我,在印度某个村庄流传着一个非常有意思的故事。
07:34
and saying, "Have you taken采取 your Dapsone氨苯砜?" "Yes."
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某日,医生问:“你是否服用氨苯砜?”病人答:“是”
07:36
"Have you taken采取 it every一切 day?" "Yes."
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医生问:“你是每天服用么?”病人答:“是”
07:39
"Have you taken采取 if for a month?" "Yes."
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医生问:“你是否服用治疗了一个月?”病人答:“是”
07:41
What the guy actually其实 meant意味着
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大家知道么,其实,那个病人真正的意思是
07:43
was that he'd他会 fed美联储 a 30-day-天 dose剂量 of Dapsone氨苯砜
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他在早晨给自家的狗
07:45
to his dog, that morning早上.
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喂了30天剂量的氨苯砜
07:47
(Laughter笑声)
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07:48
He was telling告诉 the truth真相. Because
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病人说了实话。
07:50
in a different不同 culture文化,
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因为在不同的文化背景下,
07:52
the dog is a surrogate代孕 for you,
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狗是人类的替代物
07:54
you know, "today今天," "this month," "since以来 the rainy多雨的 season季节" --
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对话中使用的,“今天”,“这个月”,“雨季前”
07:57
there are lots of opportunities机会 for misunderstanding误解,
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也会引发很多的歧义
08:00
and so an issue问题 here is to,
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这个故事
08:02
in some cases, to figure数字 out
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主要告诉我们
08:04
how to deal合同 with matters事项 that seem似乎 uninteresting枯燥,
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对于枯燥、乏味的沟通
08:07
like compliance合规.
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我们更需要明确交流双方的信息详情
08:10
Now, take a look at what a typical典型 test测试 looks容貌 like.
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言归正传,我们来看一例典型的测试
08:14
Prick a finger手指, you get some blood血液,
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首先,扎破无名指,
08:16
about 50 microliters微升.
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获得50微毫升的血液样本
08:18
That's about all you're going to get,
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这么多的血液就已经足够
08:20
because you can't use the usual通常 sort分类 of systems系统.
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因为,我们无需再使用常规的检测仪器。
08:24
You can't manipulate操作 it very well,
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你一般不能很方便的操纵这么少量的样本
08:26
although虽然 I'll show显示 something about that in a moment时刻.
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但是,等一下我将具体演示我们是怎样办到的。
08:28
So, you take the drop下降 of blood血液, no further进一步 manipulations操作,
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好了,你只要提供一滴血液样本
08:31
you put it on a little device设备,
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然后将血液擦拭在试纸仪器上
08:33
the device设备 filters过滤器 out the blood血液 cells细胞, lets让我们 the serum血清 go through通过,
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仪器过滤了血液中的细胞,唯独让血清得以通过
08:37
and you get a series系列 of colors颜色
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然后,你在试纸层上
08:39
down in the bottom底部 there.
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观察到了许多的颜色
08:41
And the colors颜色 indicate表明 "disease疾病" or "normal正常."
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这些不用的颜色,显示了相应的疾病信息
08:45
But even that's complicated复杂,
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但是,这些颜色分析起来有些复杂。
08:47
because to you, to me, colors颜色 might威力 indicate表明 "normal正常,"
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似乎,对你我而言,这些颜色看上去都挺正常的。
08:51
but, after all, we're all suffering痛苦 from
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同样,(在仪器推广使用前)我们都没有过多的精力
08:53
probably大概 an excess过量 of education教育.
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进行一定的使用培训
08:56
What you do about something which哪一个 requires要求
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那么
08:58
quantitative analysis分析?
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我们应如何处理需要定量分析的测试呢?
09:00
And so the solution that we and many许多 other people
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我们和其他很多同行
09:03
are thinking思维 about there,
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都想到
09:05
and at this point there is a dramatic戏剧性 flourish繁荣,
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当今有一种已非常的流行,
09:07
and out comes the universal普遍 solution to everything these days,
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而且已变成能几乎解决所有问题的办法,
09:10
which哪一个 is a cell细胞 phone电话. In this particular特定 case案件, a camera相机 phone电话.
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那就是手机。在我们的这个例子里,是有拍照功能的手机。
09:13
They're everywhere到处, six billion十亿 a month in India印度.
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在印度,每月大概有600万的拍照手机用户。
09:18
And the idea理念 is that what one does,
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所以,这个设想就很容易实现。
09:21
is to take the device设备,
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一张纸质分析仪
09:23
you dip it, you develop发展 the color颜色,
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你涂抹上血样,等到出现检测的颜色。
09:26
you take a picture图片, the picture图片 goes to a central中央 laboratory实验室.
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然后,拍照上传到中央实验室。
09:29
You don't have to send发送 out a doctor医生,
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你不必麻烦医生
09:31
you send发送 out somebody who can just take the sample样品,
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你只要找个能采取这些信息的人
09:34
and in the clinic诊所 either a doctor医生, or ideally理想 a computer电脑
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然后,在诊所里,一个医生,或一台智能的电脑
09:37
in this case案件, does the analysis分析.
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来分析采集到的信息。
09:39
Turns out to work actually其实 quite相当 well, particularly尤其 when your
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这个办法的效果非常好,
09:41
color颜色 printer打印机 has printed印刷的 the color颜色 bars酒吧
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特别是当彩色打印机已打印出彩色线条,这些有颜色的线条
09:43
that indicate表明 how things work.
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能让测试过程一目了然。
09:45
So, my view视图 of the health健康 care关心 worker工人 of the future未来
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因此,我认为未来的医护人员
09:48
is not a doctor医生,
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并不一定是科班出生的医生
09:50
but is an 18-year-old-岁, otherwise除此以外 unemployed失业的,
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只要他年满18周岁,无其他全职工作。
09:53
who has two things: He has a backpack背包 full充分 of these tests测试,
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在背包中有充足的试纸仪器;
09:55
and a lancet柳叶刀 to occasionally偶尔 take a blood血液 sample样品,
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一把柳叶刀,可用于突发的采血需要;
09:58
and an AK-AK-47.
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还有一把AK47
10:00
And these are the things that get him through通过 his day.
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就能解决所有的工作需要和人生安全的问题。
10:05
There's another另一个 very interesting有趣 connection连接 here,
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这里还有个非常有趣的现象
10:07
and that is that what one wants to do
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那就是
10:09
is to pass通过 through通过 useful有用 information信息
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人们如何通过错综复杂的电话系统
10:12
over what is generally通常 a pretty漂亮 awful可怕 telephone电话 system系统.
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传递有用的信息并得到回馈?
10:16
It turns out there's an enormous巨大 amount of information信息
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图片中的火星漫步者
10:19
already已经 available可得到 on that subject学科, which哪一个 is the Mars火星 rover流浪者 problem问题.
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已经成功的处理这一系列的问题
10:22
How do you get back an accurate准确 view视图 of the color颜色 on Mars火星
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如果你没有足够的带宽来进行测量,
10:26
if you have a really terrible可怕 bandwidth带宽 to do it with?
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如何才能精确的分析在火星上的颜色呢?
10:30
And the answer回答 is not complicated复杂
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这个问题的答案并不难,
10:32
but it's one which哪一个 I don't want to go through通过 here,
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但我不想在这里再说一遍了,
10:34
other than to say that the communication通讯 systems系统
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我想用这个例子说明的是,用来解决这一问题的信息系统,
10:37
for doing this are really pretty漂亮 well understood了解.
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早已存在了。
10:39
Also, a fact事实 which哪一个 you may可能 not know
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还有一点,我需要指明的就是
10:42
is that the compute计算 capability能力 of this thing
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手机的计算功能
10:45
is not so different不同 from the compute计算 capability能力
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不比你平时使用的台式机
10:47
of your desktop桌面 computer电脑.
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差多少。
10:49
This is a fantastic奇妙 device设备 which哪一个 is only beginning开始 to be tapped窃听.
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因为这是一个神奇的装置,它的巨大潜力才刚刚开启。
10:52
I don't know whether是否 the idea理念 of one computer电脑, one child儿童
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我不确定,“一台电脑,一个孩子“的构想是否可以引起下一场大变革,
10:56
makes品牌 any sense. Here's这里的 the computer电脑 of the future未来,
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但我手上拿的这个就像是未来的电脑,
10:59
because this screen屏幕 is already已经 there and they're ubiquitous普及.
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”电脑屏幕“已经在那里了,而且也有众多的使用者
11:04
All right now let me show显示 you just a little bit about advanced高级 devices设备.
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现在就让我来演示一下这些新仪器
11:06
And we'll start开始 by posing冒充 a little problem问题.
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首先
11:09
What you see here is another另一个 centimeter-sized厘米大小的 device设备,
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大家看到的是另一个厘米大小的分析仪。
11:12
and the different不同 colors颜色 are different不同 colors颜色 of dye染料.
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不同的颜色由不同的染料着色而成
11:16
And you notice注意 something which哪一个 might威力 strike罢工 you as
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大家或许已经注意到
11:18
a little bit interesting有趣,
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一个非常有趣的现象
11:20
which哪一个 is the yellow黄色 seems似乎 to disappear消失,
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似乎黄色的线条,在通过红色和蓝色的线段时,
11:23
get through通过 the blue蓝色, and then get through通过 the red.
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有些消失部分消失了
11:26
How does that happen发生? How do you make something flow through通过 something?
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这是怎么回事?我们是怎么让某种流体通过另一种流体的?
11:29
And, of course课程 the answer回答 is, "You don't."
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答案是:“当然,没有”
11:31
You make it flow under and over.
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我们只是让一种的流体从其他流体的下面或是上面通过而已
11:33
But now the question is: How do you make it flow
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但现在问题是,你如果让一种流体
11:35
under and over in a piece of paper?
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流过一张纸的上面或是下面呢?
11:38
The answer回答 is that what you do,
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具体的答案与细节原因
11:41
and the details细节 are not terribly可怕 important重要 here,
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并不复杂
11:44
is to make something more elaborate阐述:
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为了让信息更加精确,
11:46
You take several一些 different不同 layers of paper,
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我们使用多张纸
11:48
each one containing its own拥有 little fluid流体 system系统,
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每张纸都有其自己的流体系统,
11:51
and you separate分离 them by pieces of,
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然后,我们将其从纸上分开,
11:53
literally按照字面, double-sided两面性 carpet地毯 tape胶带,
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再用双面胶,将他们粘在一起。
11:56
the stuff东东 you use to stick the carpets地毯 onto the floor地板.
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这里用的双面胶就是我们日常用于地毯粘在地板上的那种。
11:59
And the fluid流体 will flow from one layer into the next下一个.
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这样一来,液体便可以从这层流到那层。
12:02
It distributes分配 itself本身, flows流动 through通过 further进一步 holes,
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它们会沿着自己的轨道流动。
12:05
distributes分配 itself本身.
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自我分流
12:07
And what you see, at the lower降低 right-hand右手 side there,
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你们在右下角看到的是
12:10
is a sample样品 in which哪一个 a single sample样品
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血液简单测试的样本
12:12
of blood血液 has been put on the top最佳,
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血液样本从最高处流入,
12:15
and it has gone走了 through通过 and distributed分散式 itself本身
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然后,自上而下从16个小孔中自我分流,
12:18
into these 16 holes on the bottom底部,
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直到试纸的最后一层。
12:21
in a piece of paper -- basically基本上 it looks容貌 like a chip芯片,
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这个纸张分析仪,看起来有些像芯片,
12:23
two pieces of paper thick.
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大概有2张纸张的厚度
12:26
And in this particular特定 case案件 we were just interested有兴趣 in
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在这个例子中,我们只对
12:28
the replicability举一反三 of that.
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检测的可重复性感兴趣。
12:30
But that is, in principle原理, the way you solve解决
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当然,这也是,帮助我们解决
12:32
the "fever发热 of unexplained原因不明 origin起源" problem问题,
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“发热本因”的基本原理。
12:34
because each one of those spots斑点 then becomes
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因为,这里的每一个点
12:36
a test测试 for a particular特定 set of markers标记
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可以用来测试
12:39
of disease疾病,
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某一种疾病特定含有的一系列生物标记。
12:41
and this will work in due应有 course课程.
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然后这种检测在适当的时候下就会发生作用。
12:43
Here is an example of a slightly more complicated复杂 device设备.
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图片中,是另一个相对复杂的检测仪。
12:46
There's the chip芯片.
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这是一粒芯片
12:48
You dip in a corner. The fluid流体 goes into the center中央.
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你在它的四个角上,沾上检验样本后,这些液体便会流向中央。
12:50
It distributes分配 itself本身 out into these various各个
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液体会自动分流,
12:53
wells or holes, and turns color颜色,
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通过不同的小井或小孔,然后发生颜色变化。
12:55
and all doneDONE with paper and carpet地毯 tape胶带.
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在这里, 我们只用到了纸张和地毯胶带。
12:58
So, I think it's as low-cost低成本
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因此,它的成本仍然非常的低。
13:00
as we're likely容易 to be able能够 to come up and make things.
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所以,我们是可以大力推广这一仪器的。
13:04
Now, I have one last, two last little stories故事
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最后,我还有些信息要与大家分享。
13:07
to tell you, in finishing精加工 off this business商业.
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这样有便于构想得更好实现
13:10
This is one: One of the things that one does occasionally偶尔
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第一是
13:13
need to do is to separate分离 blood血液 cells细胞 from serum血清.
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我们必须先将血液细胞与血清分离
13:16
And the question was,
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通常的做法是
13:19
here we do it by taking服用 a sample样品,
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先用针刺获得血样
13:21
we put it in a centrifuge离心分离机,
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然后,用离心机分离。
13:24
we spin it, and you get blood血液 cells细胞 out. Terrific了不起.
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这样的做法总有些繁琐
13:28
What happens发生 if you don't have an electricity电力,
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但问题是,当我们没有电力,
13:30
and a centrifuge离心分离机, and whatever随你?
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没有离心机时,该怎么办呢?
13:32
And we thought for a while of how you might威力 do this
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让我们仔细的想一想
13:35
and the way, in fact事实, you do it is what's shown显示 here.
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事实上,大家看,答案就在这里。
13:37
You get an eggbeater打蛋器,
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我们可以找个打蛋机,
13:39
which哪一个 is everywhere到处, and you saw off a blade,
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这东西到处都有。 然后,我们把里面的刀片去掉,
13:42
and then you take tubing管道,
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然后,你取一只管子,
13:44
and you stick it on that. You put the blood血液 in, you spin it --
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把改装过的打蛋鸡贴在上面。然后我们把血输入管子,然后旋转
13:46
somebody sits坐镇 there and spins自旋 it.
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谁都可以坐着然后慢慢的搅,
13:48
It works作品 really, really well.
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慢慢的使血清分离。
13:50
And we satSAT down, we did the physics物理 of eggbeaters打蛋器
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最后,我们声称我们研究了打蛋器的物理
13:52
and self-aligning自动调心 tubes and all the rest休息 of that kind of thing,
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和可自我调正的试管,和其他一些类似的东西,
13:55
sent发送 it off to a journal日志.
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我们把这些写成稿子发给了一个杂志社
13:57
We were very proud骄傲 of this, particularly尤其 the title标题,
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我们还很自豪的标榜文章的标题
13:59
which哪一个 was "Eggbeater打蛋器 as Centrifuge离心分离机."
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“打蛋器式的血清分离仪”
14:01
(Laughter笑声)
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14:02
And we sent发送 it off, and by return返回 mail邮件 it came来了 back.
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我们把文章寄出去后,却收到拒绝发表的通知。
14:05
I called up the editor编辑 and I said,
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我打电话给编辑
14:07
"What's going on? How is this possible可能?"
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问道:“怎么回事?这怎么可能?”
14:09
The editor编辑 said, with enormous巨大 disdain蔑视,
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编辑带着巨大的藐视回答道:
14:12
"I read this.
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“我已经读了这篇报道。
14:14
And we're not going to publish发布 it, because we only
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但是我们不会发表的,
14:16
publish发布 science科学."
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因为我们只会发表科学。”
14:18
And it's an important重要 issue问题
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这是一个非常重要的问题。
14:20
because it means手段 that we have to,
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因为
14:22
as a society社会,
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作为一个社会
14:24
think about what we value.
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我们必须得想想什么是最重要的。
14:26
And if it's just papers文件 and phys物理层. rev. letters,
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如果我们所做的仅仅是在一些物理期刊上发发文章
14:28
we've我们已经 got a problem问题.
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那么社会就会出现很大的问题。
14:31
Here is another另一个 example of something which哪一个 is --
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这里
14:34
this is a little spectrophotometer分光光度计.
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还有个关于分光光度计的例子
14:36
It measures措施 the absorption吸收 of light in a sample样品
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分光光度计是用来测量光度吸收率的一种仪器。
14:39
The neat整齐 thing about this is, you have light source资源 that flickers闪烁
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这一仪器使用的前提是,
14:42
on and off at about 1,000 hertz赫兹,
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你需要有一个以接近1000赫兹闪动的光源
14:44
another另一个 light source资源 that detects检测 that light at 1,000 hertz赫兹,
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和另一个用来检测频率在1000赫兹光波的光源。
14:48
and so you can run this system系统 in broad广阔 daylight阳光.
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然后你即使在白天也可以使用这个仪器
14:51
It performs施行 about equivalently等效
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但是,它的功能和
14:53
to a system系统 that's in the order订购 of
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造价
14:56
100,000 dollars美元.
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大概是10万美元的设备是几乎等同的
14:58
It costs成本 50 dollars美元. We can probably大概 make it for 50 cents,
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它的成本仅50美元。我们甚至可以把成本变成只有50分,
15:01
if we put our mind心神 to it.
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要是我们一心想办到的话。
15:03
Why doesn't somebody do it? And the answer回答 is,
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可为什么没有人做呢?答案是
15:05
"How do you make a profit利润 in a capitalist资本家 system系统, doing that?"
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“在这样的资本世界中,我们这样做怎能获利?”
15:09
Interesting有趣 problem问题.
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这的确是有意思的问题。
15:12
So, let me finish by saying
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最后,我们来回顾一下。
15:14
that we've我们已经 thought about this as a kind of engineering工程 problem问题.
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今天所讨论的是一个工程问题。
15:18
And we've我们已经 asked: What is the scientific科学 unifying统一 idea理念 here?
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我们也问到了什么是科学的统一思想?
15:24
And we've我们已经 decided决定 that we should think about this
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我们也决定我们应该想
15:25
not so much in terms条款 of cost成本,
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这不仅仅是成本控制的问题,
15:27
but in terms条款 of simplicity简单.
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还是简易性的问题。
15:29
Simplicity简单 is a neat整齐 word. And you've got to think about
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简易性是一个简单的词。但是我们得仔细想想
15:31
what simplicity简单 means手段.
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简易性到底意味着什么。
15:33
I know what it is but I don't actually其实 know what it means手段.
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我知道简易性,但却不知道它的深层含义。
15:37
So, I actually其实 was interested有兴趣 enough足够 in this to put together一起
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我因为太感兴趣了,我集合了
15:39
several一些 groups of people.
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一些不同的人群一同探讨
15:43
And the most recent最近 involved参与 a couple一对 of people at MITMIT,
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在与我沟通的一群人中
15:46
one of them being存在 an exceptionally异常 bright kid孩子
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有位来自麻省理工学院的孩子
15:48
who is one of the very few少数 people I would think of
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他非常的聪明
15:50
who's谁是 an authentic真实 genius天才.
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完全可以被视为纯正的天才
15:52
We all struggled挣扎 for an entire整个 day to think about simplicity简单.
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我们用了一天的时间来讨论什么是纯粹、简易。
15:56
And I want to give you the answer回答 of this
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我也想告诉大家我的
15:58
deep scientific科学 thought.
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有关这一深刻的科学思想的见解。
16:01
(Laughter笑声)
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16:04
So, in a sense, you get what you pay工资 for.
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所以就这么说,大家姑且能从我的演讲中得到一些回报吧。
16:07
Thank you very much.
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谢谢 非常感谢
16:09
(Laughter笑声)
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Translated by xiaoqiong xu
Reviewed by Qing Zhang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
George Whitesides - Chemist
In his legendary career in chemistry, George Whitesides has been a pioneer in microfabrication and nanoscale self-assembly. Now, he's fabbing a diagnostic lab on a chip.

Why you should listen

Someday Harvard chemistry professor George Whitesides will take the time to look back on the 950 scientific articles he's coauthored, the dozen companies he's co-founded or the 50-plus patents on which he's named. (He works in four main areas: biochemistry, materials science, catalysis and physical organic chemistry.) In the meantime, he's trying to invent a future where medical diagnosis can be done by anyone for little or no cost. He's co-founded a nonprofit called Diagnostics for All that aims to provide dirt-cheap diagnostic devices, to provide healthcare in a world where cost is everything.

Among his solutions is a low-cost "lab-on-a-chip," made of paper and carpet tape. The paper wicks bodily fluids -- urine, for example -- and turns color to provide diagnostic information, such as how much glucose or protein is present. His goal is to distribute these simple paper diagnostic systems to developing countries, where people with basic training can administer tests and send results to distant doctors via cameraphone.

More profile about the speaker
George Whitesides | Speaker | TED.com