Latif Nasser: You have no idea where camels really come from
Латиф Нассер: Та тэмээний гарал үүслийг төсөөлөх ч үгүй байна
Latif Nasser is the director of research at Radiolab, where he has reported on such disparate topics as culture-bound illnesses, snowflake photography, sinking islands and 16th-century automata. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
in digging up really old dead stuff.
ухан гаргадаг гэсэн үг.
I had someone call me "Dr. Dead Things."
Үхсэн зүйлс судлаач гэж байсан.
she's particularly interesting
in the remote Canadian tundra.
ухаж гаргадаг.
the Fyles Leaf Bed,
малтлагын сайт дээр байсан бөгөөд
away from the magnetic north pole.
ердөө 10 градусын зайтай газар юм.
going to sound very exciting,
сонсогдохгүй байх л даа.
with your backpack and your GPS
дэвтрээ барьж алхаад,
anything that might be a fossil.
гэснийг хайж явдаг.
she noticed something.
it was just a splinter of wood,
модны зомгол гэж бодсон.
people had found
prehistoric plant parts.
more closely and realizing
like this has tree rings.
of that exact same bone,
It fits in a small Ziploc bag.
Жижиг амтай уутанд л багтана.
together like a jigsaw puzzle.
эвлүүлэхийг оролдсон.
into so many little tiny pieces,
хуваагдсан байсан.
and it's not looking good.
сайн болохгүй байлаа.
NR: Yeah, right?
НР: Тийм ээ.
to do it virtually.
амар болж таарсан.
when it all fits together.
мэт байсан.
that you had it right,
in the right way?
put it together a different way
No, we got this.
Бид зөв хийсэн.
was a tibia, a leg bone,
шилбэний яс байсан бөгөөд
to a cloven-hoofed mammal,
it was huge. It's a really big animal.
Маш том амьтан.
one of the fragments
ажлын хамтрагчдаа үзүүлтэл
and we nicked just the edge of it,
ирмэгийг нь хөрөөдөж үзэхэд
smell that comes from it.
in her gross anatomy lab:
хийж байхдаа олж мэдсэн үнэр буюу
structure to our bones.
like a natural freezer and preserved it.
хадгалж үлдээсэн байна.
Natalia was at a conference in Bristol,
Натали Бристолд хуралд оролцож байхдаа
of hers named Mike Buckley
ажлын хамтрагчтайгаа таарахад
that he called "collagen fingerprinting."
шинэ процессийг хөгжүүлж байлаа.
have slightly different structures
өөр өөр бүтэцтэй байдаг бөгөөд
тодорхойгүй яс олвол
of an unknown bone,
to those of known species,
It's kind of important.
Чухал шүү дээ.
and modern-day mammal species.
хөхтөн амьтадтай харьцуулсан.
the 3.5 million-year-old bone
out of the High Arctic
Наталиагийн малтсан
That's amazing -- if it's true.
Энэ үнэн бол гайхалтай биш гэж үү?
a bunch of the fragments,
of the bone that they found,
larger than modern-day camels.
30% том байлаа.
about nine feet tall,
of East and Central Asia.
Бактрийн тэмээ.
you have in your brain
like the Middle East and the Sahara,
элстэй, халуун газар амьдардаг,
for those long desert treks,
усаа хадгалдаг,
tromp over sand dunes.
зориулсан том тавхайтай.
end up in the High Arctic?
Хойд туйлд оччихов?
for a long time, turns out,
originally American.
that camels have been around,
тэмээ үүссэн бөгөөд
would they look different?
өөр харагдах болов уу?
different body sizes.
functionally like giraffes.
early ones would have been really small,
НР: Хамгийн эртнийх нь.
would not recognize.
танихгүй байх.
тэмээ тэжээмээр байна.
wouldn't that be great?
Гайхалтай биш гэж үү?
to seven million years ago,
went down to South America,
нүүдэллэж
the Bering Land Bridge
of the last ice age,
аль хэдийн мэдэж байсан ч
how Natalia found one so far north.
тайлбарлахгүй байгаа юм.
the polar opposite of the Sahara.
цаг ууртай газар.
warmer than it is now.
дулаахан байсан.
six-month-long winters
өвлийн улиралтай
of straight darkness.
Saharan superstars
those arctic conditions?
think they have an answer.
хариултыг нь олсон гэж бодож байгаа.
make the camel so well-suited
бидний боддог онцлогууд нь
get through the winter?
to tromp not over sand,
which, huge news to me,
get through that six-month-long winter,
үргэлжилдэг өвлийг
it crossed over the land bridge
for a hot desert environment?
халуун цөлд зохицохоор өөрчлөгдөв үү?
may be helpful to camels in hotter climes
тэмээнд хэрэгтэй учир нь
to have that insulation
quintessential desert nature
of its High Arctic past.
байж болох юм.
to tell this story.
анхны хүн нь биш л дээ.
to marvel at evolutionary biology
of climate change.
different reason.
a lot of scientists are historians, too.
of our planet, of life on this planet.
амьдралын түүхийг өгүүлдэг.
of how the story goes.
бодохоос л эхэлдэг.
and we stick with it,
үүндээ итгэдэг.
It's totally adapted for that.
Яг л үүнд таарсан.
uncover some tiny bit of evidence.
нотолгоо олоход
everything you thought you knew.
дахин эргэцүүлэхэд хүргэдэг.
finds this one shard
мод гэж бодсон
шинжлэх ухаанд
new and totally counterintuitive theory
Dr. Seuss-looking creature
онол гарч ирсэн.
the way I think of the camel.
орвонгоор нь өөрчилсөн.
this ridiculously niche creature
one specific environment,
that just happens to be in the Sahara,
Сахарт үлдэж таарсан,
one of these for you here.
from her regular gig
as a living reminder
is a dynamic one.
to readjust, to reimagine.
нээлттэй байхыг шаарддаг.
just one shard of bone away
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Latif Nasser - Radio researcherLatif Nasser is the director of research at Radiolab, where he has reported on such disparate topics as culture-bound illnesses, snowflake photography, sinking islands and 16th-century automata.
Why you should listen
The history of science is "brimming with tales stranger than fiction," says Latif Nasser, who wrote his PhD dissertation on the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962. A writer and researcher, Nasser is now the research director at Radiolab, a job that allows him to dive into archives, talk to interesting people and tell stories as a way to think about science and society.
Latif Nasser | Speaker | TED.com