Lisa Nip: How humans could evolve to survive in space
麗莎 尼普: 人類將會如何演化到能在太空生存
Lisa Nip's work focuses on how we can use synthetic biology to allow humanity to explore space Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
few and far between on Earth itself
無論以甚麼標準來衡量,
by any measure,
可以讓我們生存而已。
their homes and livelihood endangered,
家園或居住的地方有危險時,
into unfamiliar territories
coursing through our own veins.
他們游牧民族的血統。
that we have waged on each other,
糾纏不清的戰爭沖昏頭時,
this desire to explore.
對探險的渴望。
我們獨特的演化,
居住在地球,
with our living conditions
讓我們越來越自滿,
and just too busy
地球的資源是有限的,
也是有限的。
made in its name
的電影開始蓬勃發展後,
the ethos for space travel,
that our species' fragile constitution
我們人類的脆弱體質,
for long duration journeys into space.
曠日持久的太空旅途。
to your local national forest
當地的國家森林,
to survive in this lush wilderness
可以在這樣蔥翠的野外
that this local national forest
這個國家森林
would be able to survive for a few days?
認為自己可以生存個幾天?
that the only source of water available
讓我們想像一下,
被冰凍在好幾英哩的地底下。
miles below the surface.
that no vegetation can be found,
根本找不到植物,
exists to speak of.
幾乎沒有大氣存在。
of the many challenges we would face
像火星這樣的星球上後,
whose destinations are so far removed
不是去亞熱帶度假的旅程?
from Planet Earth?
運輸補給品嗎?
or impossible miles of transport belts
連結地球和目的星球的輸送帶?
to our home planet?
that grew up on Earth like us?
培養我們在地球上種植的食物?
to find a new home under a new sun,
太陽系新家園時,
going to be spending much time
世代的演化才行。
that any human has spent in space
in a microgravity environment
待在微重力的環境中,
cardiovascular problems,
肌肉萎縮、心血管疾病,
心理上的綜合症狀。
to the psychological.
in gravitational pull
will be fraught with dangers
宇宙旅行將充滿著
new piece of mechanical technology
運用這些新的機械技術,
our species safe passage in space.
太空旅程安全計畫的一部分。
I believe the time has come
我相信有一個時機已經來臨,
these bulky electronic giants
笨重電子設備的不足,
a self-generating, self-replenishing,
就可以維持生命,
in a single plastic tube.
塑膠管運輸它就可以了。
to utilize the capabilities of the microbe
which has given us antibiotics, vaccines
這門學科已經提供我們抗生素、疫苗
the physiological nuances
of nearly any organism,
速度與準確度來編輯。
of our man-made machines,
to engineer not only our food,
提供我們設計食物、
for our physical inadequacies
for space exploration,
到太空探險的例子,
to that of Hawaiian volcanic ash,
火山灰的成分類似,
could actually support plant growth
使用從地球取得的養份
we should probably ask is,
our plants cold-tolerant?
植物具有抗寒能力?
the temperature on Mars
negative 60 degrees centigrade.
攝氏零下60度。
我們應該這樣問,
our plants drought-tolerant?
具有抗旱能力?
that forms as frost
是以霜的形式存在,
than I can say the word "evaporate."
我說出「蒸發」這個詞。
we've already done things like this.
for anti-freeze protein from fish
from other plants like rice
into the plants that need them,
編輯到我們需要的植物上,
most droughts and freezes.
抗旱抗凍的植物。
基因改造食物
all the mouths of human civilization.
more precise ways to do it.
更精確的方法來做這件事情。
the genetic makeup of plants for space?
而去改變植物的基因呢?
would mean needing to engineer
建造出好幾英畝的農田,
on an entirely new planet
of atmospheric gasses
大氣層氣體,
a giant glass dome to contain it all.
來容納所有的空氣。
a high-cost cargo transport mission.
高成本的運輸任務。
食物和空氣供給的最佳方式
and the air that we need
that have been engineered
基改生物一起帶到新的星球。
to help us terraform a planet
可以幫助我們把一個星球給地球化。
be engineered to make medicine or fuel.
被改造成藥物或燃料。
to bring highly engineered plants with us,
可以做出高度改造的植物,
that we, as a species,
獨特的適應能力。
in the last five minutes
並沒有很大的改變,
and I was standing there.
我仍然站在這。
any of us on Mars right this minute,
就把幾個人丟到火星,
水、空氣和太空裝,
very unpleasant health problems
非常難受的健康問題,
that bombards the surface
or nonexistent atmosphere.
幾乎沒有大氣層的星球。
to stay holed up underground
去到每個新星球時,都躲在地底下,
on every new planet,
of protecting ourselves
方式來保護我們自己,
to wearing a suit of armor
equal to your own body weight,
to nature for inspiration.
known as extremophiles,
被稱為極端微生物,
from high school biology.
高中的生物課的話。
by the name of Deinococcus radiodurans.
叫做「耐輻射奇球菌」。
dehydration, vacuum, acid,
耐旱、耐真空、耐酸
tolerance mechanisms are known,
the relevant genes to mammals.
運用到哺乳動物上。
that go into its radiation tolerance,
有很多方面需要考量,
as transferring one gene.
基因就可以解決。
of its ability to tolerate radiation,
它的一段抗輻射能力,
than what we already have,
黑色素要好很多。
radiodurans' ability
奇異球菌的抗輻射能力,
very lethal doses of radiation.
輻射底下茁壯成長。
humans like Tibetans,
低濃度氧氣的藏族人,
who can ingest and metabolize arsenic,
代謝砷的阿根廷人,
that can kill the average human being.
對普通人而言確是致命的。
by accidental mutations
意外的突變在進行演化,
allow certain humans
生存保存下來。
that we may not always have,
而我們也不一定總是有,
to find our place in the universe,
尋找適合地方的這段旅程,
of extra functions
has termed the age of gene circumvention,
所稱的「基因風險規避的年代」
like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy
臨時的外部補給品
像是囊性纖維化或肌肉萎縮症。
of volitional evolution,
決定我們自己基因命運的年代。
for ourselves our own genetic destiny.
with new abilities
of any living organisms,
and ethical quandaries.
道德和倫理上的矛盾。
make us less human?
變得沒有人性嗎?
that happens to be conscious?
意識狀況嗎?
應該往哪個方向去?
to sit back and marvel at it.
胡思亂想只是浪費時間。
from the external dangers
避免外來的危險?
避免彼此的傷害?
the many possibilities
科學能提供給我們甚麼的各種可能性。
and continues to afford us.
to discuss and embrace the solutions
並擁抱這些解決方案,
is the line we must cross
of our species' improbable intelligence.
貢獻出什麼樣不可思議的智慧。
will be rife with trials
將會充滿考驗,
not only who we are
to use or abandon the technology
是該利用它還是放棄它,
of our term in this universe.
在宇宙中留下人類的定義。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lisa Nip - Synthetic biologistLisa Nip's work focuses on how we can use synthetic biology to allow humanity to explore space
Why you should listen
Lisa Nip is a Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Media Lab's Molecular Machines group. She uses her training in biochemistry and biotechnology to translate synthetic biology into real-world applications. She spends much of her time concocting biological solutions to long-duration space travel and works to make them a reality.
Nip was trained as a biochemist at Boston University, and previously did research in the Douglas Lab at UCSF and the Church Lab in the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard Medical School.
Lisa Nip | Speaker | TED.com