Jaap de Roode: How butterflies self-medicate
Jaap de Roode: Gyógyszerszedő pillangók
Jaap de Roode studies the ecology and evolution of parasites, focusing on those that attack the monarch butterfly. Full bio
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are still the main cause
around the world.
of diseases such as T.B., malaria, HIV,
TB-ben, maláriában, AIDS-ben
and even in the United States.
die of seasonal flu.
bele az évszaki influenzába.
we are creative. Right?
leleményesek vagyunk.
ourselves against these diseases.
a betegségek ellen.
we learn from our experiences
Tanulunk tapasztalatainkból,
but now we know we're not.
vagyunk képesek erre.
out there that can do it too.
meg tudják ezt tenni.
a legismertebb.
to treat their intestinal parasites.
a bélrendszeri paraziták ellen.
that other animals can do it too:
más állatfajok is tudnak gyógyatani:
sheep, goats, you name it.
kecskék, s folytathatnánk még a sort.
is that recent discoveries are telling us
hogy a legújabb kutatások szerint
smaller brains can use medication too.
rendelkező állatok is tudnak gyógyítani.
as we all know,
külön kihívása köztudottan az,
that we have developed
to find new ways to discover drugs
gyógyszerek kifejlesztésére,
a betegségek ellen.
should look at these animals,
vennünk a királylepkét is,
how to treat our own diseases.
kezeléséhez tanulhatunk egyet s mást.
monarch butterflies for the last 10 years.
tanulmányozom a királylepkéket.
for their spectacular migrations
ismert ez a faj,
down to Mexico every year,
elrepülnek az USA-ból és Kanadából
They get sick like me.
can tell us a lot about drugs
rávezethet minket magunk
gyógyszerek fejlesztésére.
that monarchs get infected with
a mouthful.
meglehetősen hosszú név.
on the outside of the butterfly
in between the scales of the butterfly.
kitinpikkelyei közt, spórák milliói.
to the monarch.
before they're even adults.
in the greenhouse growing plants,
növénytermesztésből áll,
are extremely picky eaters.
species of milkweed that they can use,
is szívesen fogyasztanak.
have cardenolides in them.
tartalmaz kardenolidokat.
but not to monarchs.
de a királylepkéknek nem.
can take up the chemicals,
and it makes them toxic
maguk válnak mérgezővé
a madarak számára.
is advertise this toxicity
fekete és fehér színeik
warning colorations
a lepkék mérgezőek.
is grow plants in the greenhouse,
termesztettem az üvegházban,
the tropical milkweed,
például a trópusi selyemkóró,
of these cardenolides.
tartalmazza a kardenolidot.
They had no disease.
parazitamentes egyedek.
some of these milkweeds are medicinal,
in the monarch butterflies,
when they are infected
az az ötletem támadt,
it was a crazy idea,
hogy elment az eszem,
what if monarchs can use this?
as their own form of medicine?
a gyógyhatású növényeket?
tesznek, mint az orvosok?
started doing experiments.
and gave them a choice:
Választhattak a
non-medicinal milkweed.
of each species over their lifetime.
fogyasztottak a két fajból életük során.
in science, was boring:
kutatásoknál, unalmas volt.
Fifty percent was not.
50%-a pedig nem.
anything for their own welfare.
tettek az egészségükért.
that can medicate their offspring.
on medicinal milkweed
future offspring less sick?
over several years,
a monarch in a big cage,
a non-medicinal plant on the other side,
gyógyhatású selyemkóró van,
that the monarchs lay on each plant.
melyik növényre hány petét raknak.
is always the same.
strongly prefer the medicinal milkweed.
a gyógyhatású selyemkórót.
what these females are doing
of their eggs in the medicinal milkweed.
selyemkóróra rakják.
is they actually transmit the parasites
megfertőzik utódaikat
can lay their eggs on medicinal milkweed
gyógyhatású selyemkóróra
future offspring less sick.
egészségesebbé teszi.
important discovery, I think,
fontos felfedezés,
something cool about nature,
tökjó dolgot tudtunk meg
more about how we should find drugs.
valamit, hogyan találunk új gyógyszereket.
as very simple.
very sophisticated medication.
most of our drugs
including plants,
kultúrák sámánjai
at animals to find new drugs.
lesnek el az állatoktól egyet s mást.
how to treat stomach upset,
a gyomorrontás kezelését,
how to treat bloody diarrhea.
ellenszerét fedték fel.
though, is to move beyond
csak a nagy agytérfogattal
and give these guys more credit,
Az egyszerűbb állatoktól,
that we tend to think of
elleshetünk valamit,
with tiny little brains.
kis szerkezetnek véljük.
can also use medication
tudnak gyógyszereket használni,
we will be treating human diseases
emberi betegségeket fogunk kezelni
discovered by butterflies,
először a pillangók fedeztek fel.
worth pursuing.
nem hagyhatjuk ki.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jaap de Roode - BiologistJaap de Roode studies the ecology and evolution of parasites, focusing on those that attack the monarch butterfly.
Why you should listen
At his lab at Emory University, Jaap de Roode and his team study parasites and their hosts. Some of the questions that intrigue them: If a parasite depends on its host's survival for its own well-being, why do so many of them cause harm? In what ways are hosts able to self-medicate in order to make themselves less desirable to parasites? And are the abilities to harm hosts — and the ability of hosts to self-medicate — favored by natural selection?
The De Roode Lab focuses on the monarch butterfly and its parasites. The team has made a fascinating discovery: that female butterflies infected by a parasite choose to lay their eggs on a specific variety of milkweed that helps their offspring avoid getting sick. De Roode hopes that this insight could lead to new approaches in medications for human beings in the future.
Jaap de Roode | Speaker | TED.com