ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paula Hammond - Medical researcher and educator
Paula Hammond, head of MIT's Department of Chemical Engineering, is developing new technologies to kill cancer cells.

Why you should listen

Professor Paula T. Hammond is the Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and David H. Koch Chair Professor in Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the MIT Energy Initiative and a founding member of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology. She has recently been named the new head of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChemE). She is the first woman and the first person of color appointed to the post. She also served as the Executive Officer (Associate Chair) of the Chemical Engineering Department (2008-2011).

Professor Hammond was elected into the 2013 Class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also the recipient of the 2013 AIChE Charles M. A. Stine Award, which is bestowed annually to a leading researcher in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of materials science and engineering, and the 2014 Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research. She was also selected to receive the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Teal Innovator Award in 2013. She has been listed in the prestigious Highly Cited Researchers 2014 list, published by Thomson Reuters in the Materials Science category. This list contains the world's most influential researchers across 21 scientific disciplines based on highly cited papers in the 2002-2012 period. She is also included in the report: The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014.

Professor Hammond serves as an Associate Editor of the American Chemical Society journal, ACS Nano. She has published over 250 scientific papers and holds over 20 patents based on her research at MIT. She was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineers, and the American Chemical Society Polymer Division. In 2010, she was named the Scientist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation.

Professor Hammond received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1984, and her M.S. from Georgia Tech in 1988 and earned her Ph.D. in 1993 from MIT.

More profile about the speaker
Paula Hammond | Speaker | TED.com
TED Talks Live

Paula Hammond: A new superweapon in the fight against cancer

Paula Hammond: Uma nova superarma na luta contra o câncer

Filmed:
1,601,223 views

O câncer é uma doença muito inteligente e adaptável. Para derrotá-lo, diz a pesquisadora médica e educadora Paula Hammond, nós precisamos de um novo e poderoso modo de ataque. Com seus colegas no MIT, Hammond construiu uma nanopartícula 100 vezes menor que a espessura de um fio de cabelo humano que pode tratar os cânceres mais agressivos e resistentes às drogas. Saiba mais sobre essa superarma molecular e junte-se à missão da Hammond para combater uma doença que afeta a todos nós.
- Medical researcher and educator
Paula Hammond, head of MIT's Department of Chemical Engineering, is developing new technologies to kill cancer cells. Full bio

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

00:12
Cancer affects all of us --
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O câncer afeta todos nós,
00:15
especially the ones that come
back over and over again,
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especialmente os que sempre retornam,
00:18
the highly invasive
and drug-resistant ones,
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os muito invasivos
e os resistentes às drogas,
00:21
the ones that defy medical treatment,
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os que resistem ao tratamento médico,
00:23
even when we throw our best drugs at them.
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mesmo quando usamos
nossas melhores drogas.
00:27
Engineering at the molecular level,
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A engenharia em nível molecular,
00:30
working at the smallest of scales,
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trabalhando na menor das escalas,
00:32
can provide exciting new ways
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pode prover novas e excitantes formas
00:35
to fight the most aggressive
forms of cancer.
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para combater os tipos
mais agressivos de câncer.
00:39
Cancer is a very clever disease.
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O câncer é uma doença muito inteligente.
00:42
There are some forms of cancer,
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Há alguns tipos de câncer,
00:43
which, fortunately, we've learned
how to address relatively well
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que, por sorte, aprendemos
como tratar relativamente bem
00:48
with known and established
drugs and surgery.
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com drogas conhecidas
e eficientes, e cirurgia.
00:52
But there are some forms of cancer
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Mas há alguns tipos de câncer
que não reagem a essas abordagens,
00:54
that don't respond to these approaches,
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00:56
and the tumor survives or comes back,
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e o tumor sobrevive ou ressurge,
00:59
even after an onslaught of drugs.
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mesmo depois de um massacre de drogas.
01:02
We can think of these
very aggressive forms of cancer
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Podemos pensar nesses tipos
muito agressivos de câncer
01:06
as kind of supervillains in a comic book.
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como supervilões
de histórias em quadrinhos.
01:09
They're clever, they're adaptable,
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Eles são inteligentes, adaptáveis,
01:12
and they're very good at staying alive.
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e muito bons em permanecer vivos.
01:15
And, like most supervillains these days,
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E, como a maioria
dos supervilões hoje em dia,
01:18
their superpowers come
from a genetic mutation.
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seus superpoderes surgem
de uma mutação genética.
01:24
The genes that are modified
inside these tumor cells
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Os genes que são modificados
dentro das células do tumor
01:27
can enable and encode for new
and unimagined modes of survival,
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podem habilitar e codificar novos
e inimagináveis modos de sobrevivência,
permitindo à célula cancerosa
sobreviver a até mesmo
01:32
allowing the cancer cell to live through
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01:35
even our best chemotherapy treatments.
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nossos melhores
tratamentos quimioterápicos.
01:38
One example is a trick
in which a gene allows a cell,
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Um exemplo é um truque
no qual um gene permite a uma célula,
01:43
even as the drug approaches the cell,
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mesmo quando a droga aborda a célula,
01:46
to push the drug out,
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expulsar a droga,
antes da droga poder ter algum efeito.
01:49
before the drug can have any effect.
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01:52
Imagine -- the cell effectively
spits out the drug.
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Imagine: a célula efetivamente
cospe a droga.
01:56
This is just one example
of the many genetic tricks
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Esse é apenas um exemplo
dos muitos truques genéticos
01:59
in the bag of our supervillain, cancer.
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na bolsa do nosso supervilão, o câncer,
02:01
All due to mutant genes.
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tudo isso devido aos genes mutantes.
02:04
So, we have a supervillain
with incredible superpowers.
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Então, nós temos um supervilão
com superpoderes inacreditáveis,
02:09
And we need a new and powerful
mode of attack.
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e precisamos de um novo
e poderoso modo de ataque.
02:13
Actually, we can turn off a gene.
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Na verdade, podemos desligar um gene.
02:17
The key is a set of molecules
known as siRNA.
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A chave é um conjunto de moléculas
conhecidas como siRNA.
02:21
siRNA are short sequences of genetic code
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As siRNA são sequências
pequenas de código genético
02:25
that guide a cell to block a certain gene.
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que guiam uma célula
para bloquear um certo gene.
02:28
Each siRNA molecule
can turn off a specific gene
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Cada molécula siRNA pode
desligar um gene específico
02:32
inside the cell.
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dentro da célula.
02:35
For many years since its discovery,
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Por muitos anos desde sua descoberta,
02:37
scientists have been very excited
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cientistas têm estado muito animados
02:39
about how we can apply
these gene blockers in medicine.
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com a possibilidade de aplicar
bloqueadores genéticos na medicina.
02:43
But, there is a problem.
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Mas, existe um problema.
02:44
siRNA works well inside the cell.
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A siRNA funciona bem dentro da célula.
02:47
But if it gets exposed to the enzymes
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Mas se ficar exposta às enzimas
02:50
that reside in our bloodstream
or our tissues,
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que vivem no nosso sangue ou tecidos,
02:53
it degrades within seconds.
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ela se degrada em segundos.
02:55
It has to be packaged, protected
through its journey through the body
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Ela tem que ser empacotada,
protegida em sua jornada pelo corpo
03:00
on its way to the final target
inside the cancer cell.
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a caminho do alvo final
dentro da célula cancerosa.
03:03
So, here's our strategy.
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Então, aqui está nossa estratégia:
03:06
First, we'll dose the cancer cell
with siRNA, the gene blocker,
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primeiro, vamos dosar a célula cancerosa
com siRNA, o bloqueador de gene,
03:10
and silence those survival genes,
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e silenciar os que sobreviverem,
03:11
and then we'll whop it with a chemo drug.
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e então vencê-lo com uma quimioterapia.
03:14
But how do we carry that out?
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Mas como vamos realizar isso?
03:16
Using molecular engineering,
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Usando engenharia molecular,
03:19
we can actually design a superweapon
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podemos na verdade projetar uma superarma
03:23
that can travel through the bloodstream.
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que pode atravessar a corrente sanguínea.
03:25
It has to be tiny enough
to get through the bloodstream,
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Tem que ser pequena o bastante
para atravessar o sangue,
03:28
it's got to be small enough
to penetrate the tumor tissue,
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suficientemente pequena
para penetrar no tecido do tumor,
03:32
and it's got to be tiny enough
to be taken up inside the cancer cell.
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e pequena o bastante para ser absorvida
dentro da célula cancerosa.
Para fazer bem esse trabalho,
03:37
To do this job well,
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03:38
it has to be about one one-hundredth
the size of a human hair.
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ela tem que ser 100 vezes menor
que a espessura de um cabelo humano.
03:44
Let's take a closer look
at how we can build this nanoparticle.
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Vamos olhar de perto como podemos
construir esta nanopartícula.
03:49
First, let's start
with the nanoparticle core.
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Primeiro, vamos começar com o seu núcleo.
03:51
It's a tiny capsule that contains
the chemotherapy drug.
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É uma cápsula minúscula
que contém a droga quimioterápica.
03:56
This is the poison that will
actually end the tumor cell's life.
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Esse é o veneno que vai acabar
com a vida da célula do tumor.
04:00
Around this core, we'll wrap a very thin,
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Em volta desse núcleo,
vamos envolver uma muito fina,
04:03
nanometers-thin blanket of siRNA.
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nanometricamente fina camada de siRNA.
Esse é o nosso bloqueador de gene.
04:06
This is our gene blocker.
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04:09
Because siRNA is strongly
negatively charged,
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Porque a siRNA tem uma carga
fortemente negativa,
04:12
we can protect it
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podemos protegê-la
com uma camada protetora
de polímero com carga positiva.
04:14
with a nice, protective layer
of positively charged polymer.
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04:19
The two oppositely charged
molecules stick together
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As duas moléculas
com cargas opostas ficam juntas
pela atração das cargas,
04:22
through charge attraction,
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04:24
and that provides us
with a protective layer
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e isso nos dá uma camada protetora
que previne a degradação
da siRNA na corrente sanguínea.
04:26
that prevents the siRNA
from degrading in the bloodstream.
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04:30
We're almost done.
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Estamos quase lá.
04:31
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:32
But there is one more big obstacle
we have to think about.
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Há mais um grande obstáculo
em que temos que pensar.
04:37
In fact, it may be the biggest
obstacle of all.
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Na verdade, pode ser
o maior obstáculo de todos.
04:39
How do we deploy this superweapon?
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Como posicionar essa superarma?
Digo, toda boa arma
precisa ser direcionada,
04:41
I mean, every good weapon
needs to be targeted,
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temos que direcionar essa superarma
para as células supervilãs
04:44
we have to target this superweapon
to the supervillain cells
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04:48
that reside in the tumor.
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que vivem no tumor.
04:50
But our bodies have a natural
immune-defense system:
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Mas nossos corpos têm um sistema
imunológico de defesa natural:
04:53
cells that reside in the bloodstream
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as células que vivem no sangue
e selecionam os corpos estranhos,
04:55
and pick out things that don't belong,
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04:58
so that it can destroy or eliminate them.
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para que os destruam ou os eliminem.
E adivinhem? Nossa nanopartícula
é considerada um objeto estranho.
05:00
And guess what? Our nanoparticle
is considered a foreign object.
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05:05
We have to sneak our nanoparticle
past the tumor defense system.
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Temos que disfarçá-la perante
o sistema de defesa do tumor..
Temos que passá-la por esse mecanismo
de se livrar do objeto estranho,
05:09
We have to get it past this mechanism
of getting rid of the foreign object
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05:16
by disguising it.
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disfarçando-a.
05:17
So we add one more
negatively charged layer
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Adicionamos mais uma camada
com carga negativa
05:21
around this nanoparticle,
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ao redor da nanopartícula,
o que serve a dois objetivos.
05:23
which serves two purposes.
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05:25
First, this outer layer is one
of the naturally charged,
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Primeiro, essa camada externa
é um dos polissacarídeos
altamente hidratados,
05:29
highly hydrated polysaccharides
that resides in our body.
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e naturalmente carregados
que vivem no nosso corpo.
05:33
It creates a cloud of water molecules
around the nanoparticle
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Ela cria uma nuvem de moléculas
de água ao redor da nanopartícula
05:38
that gives us an invisibility
cloaking effect.
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que nos dá um efeito
de capa de invisibilidade.
05:42
This invisibility cloak allows
the nanoparticle
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Essa capa de invisibilidade
permite a nanopartícula
05:44
to travel through the bloodstream
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viajar pelo sangue
05:46
long and far enough to reach the tumor,
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pelo tempo e distância suficiente
para alcançar o tumor,
05:49
without getting eliminated by the body.
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sem ser eliminada pelo corpo.
05:52
Second, this layer contains molecules
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Segundo, essa camada contém moléculas
que se ligam especificamente
à nossa célula do tumor.
05:56
which bind specifically to our tumor cell.
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06:00
Once bound, the cancer cell
takes up the nanoparticle,
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Uma vez ligadas, a célula
do câncer aceita a nanopartícula,
e agora temos nossa nanopartícula
dentro da célula do câncer
06:04
and now we have our nanoparticle
inside the cancer cell
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06:09
and ready to deploy.
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e pronta para o combate.
06:11
Alright! I feel the same way. Let's go!
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Isso aí! Eu sinto o mesmo
que vocês. Vamos lá!
06:13
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
06:20
The siRNA is deployed first.
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A siRNA entra em ação primeiro
06:24
It acts for hours,
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Ela age por horas,
06:25
giving enough time to silence
and block those survival genes.
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dando tempo suficiente para silenciar
e bloquear os genes sobreviventes.
06:31
We have now disabled
those genetic superpowers.
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Agora nós já desabilitamos
os superpoderes genéticos.
06:35
What remains is a cancer cell
with no special defenses.
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O que resta é uma célula de câncer
sem defesas especiais.
06:38
Then, the chemotherapy drug
comes out of the core
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Então, a droga quimioterápica
sai do núcleo
06:41
and destroys the tumor cell
cleanly and efficiently.
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e destrói a célula do tumor
pura e eficientemente.
06:46
With sufficient gene blockers,
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Com genes bloqueadores suficientes,
06:48
we can address many
different kinds of mutations,
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podemos abordar vários tipos
de mutações diferentes,
06:51
allowing the chance to sweep out tumors,
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permitindo a chance de varrer os tumores,
06:54
without leaving behind any bad guys.
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sem deixar para trás quaisquer vilões.
Então, como funciona nossa estratégia?
06:56
So, how does our strategy work?
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07:01
We've tested these nanostructure
particles in animals
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Nós testamos essas partículas
de nanoestrutura em animais
usando uma forma muito agressiva
de câncer de mama triplo-negativo.
07:05
using a highly aggressive form
of triple-negative breast cancer.
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Esse câncer de mama
triplo-negativo contém o gene
07:09
This triple-negative breast cancer
exhibits the gene
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07:11
that spits out cancer drug
as soon as it is delivered.
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que cospe a droga tão logo ela é entregue.
07:15
Usually, doxorubicin -- let's call
it "dox" -- is the cancer drug
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Normalmente, a doxorrubicina,
vamos chamá-la de "dox",
é a droga que se usa primeiro
no tratamento de câncer de mama.
07:20
that is the first line of treatment
for breast cancer.
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07:24
So, we first treated our animals
with a dox core, dox only.
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Então, tratamos nossos animais primeiro
com um núcleo de dox, somente dox.
07:30
The tumor slowed their rate of growth,
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O tumor reduziu sua taxa de crescimento,
07:32
but they still grew rapidly,
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mas ainda cresceu rapidamente,
dobrando de tamanho em duas semanas.
07:34
doubling in size
over a period of two weeks.
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Então, tentamos nossa
combinação de superarma.
07:37
Then, we tried
our combination superweapon.
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07:41
A nanolayer particle with siRNA
against the chemo pump,
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Uma partícula de nanocamada com siRNA
contra a bomba quimioterápica,
e mais, nós temos a dox no núcleo.
07:45
plus, we have the dox in the core.
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07:48
And look -- we found that not only
did the tumors stop growing,
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E veja, descobrimos que os tumores
não apenas pararam de crescer,
07:53
they actually decreased in size
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eles realmente diminuíram de tamanho
07:55
and were eliminated in some cases.
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e foram eliminados em alguns casos.
07:58
The tumors were actually regressing.
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Os tumores estavam realmente regredindo.
(Aplausos)
08:01
(Applause)
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08:09
What's great about this approach
is that it can be personalized.
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O que é ótimo nessa abordagem
é que pode ser personalizada.
08:13
We can add many different layers of siRNA
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Podemos adicionar várias
camadas diferentes de siRNA
08:16
to address different mutations
and tumor defense mechanisms.
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para abordar diferentes mutações
e mecanismos de defesa do tumor.
08:20
And we can put different drugs
into the nanoparticle core.
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E podemos colocar drogas variadas
no núcleo da nanopartícula.
08:23
As doctors learn how to test patients
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Uma vez que os médicos aprendam
como testar os pacientes
08:27
and understand certain
tumor genetic types,
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e entendam certos tipos
genéticos de tumor,
08:30
they can help us determine which patients
can benefit from this strategy
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podem ajudar a determinar quais pacientes
podem se beneficiar dessa estratégia
e quais bloqueadores
de genes podemos usar.
08:34
and which gene blockers we can use.
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08:38
Ovarian cancer strikes
a special chord with me.
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O câncer de ovário mexe comigo
de uma maneira especial.
08:41
It is a very aggressive cancer,
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É um câncer muito agressivo,
em parte porque é descoberto
em fases muito avançadas,
08:43
in part because it's discovered
at very late stages,
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08:46
when it's highly advanced
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quando está bem desenvolvido
08:47
and there are a number
of genetic mutations.
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e há um número grande
de mutações genéticas.
08:50
After the first round of chemotherapy,
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Depois da primeira rodada
de quimioterapia,
esse câncer volta em 75% dos pacientes.
08:53
this cancer comes back
for 75 percent of patients.
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08:58
And it usually comes back
in a drug-resistant form.
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E normalmente reaparece
numa forma resistente à droga.
09:02
High-grade ovarian cancer
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O câncer de ovário de alto grau
é um dos maiores supervilões por aí.
09:03
is one of the biggest
supervillains out there.
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09:06
And we're now directing our superweapon
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E agora estamos apontando
nossa superarma para vencê-lo.
09:08
toward its defeat.
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1316
Como pesquisadora,
09:11
As a researcher,
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1262
09:12
I usually don't get to work with patients.
165
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2855
normalmente não trabalho com pacientes.
09:16
But I recently met a mother
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2417
Mas recentemente conheci uma mãe
09:18
who is an ovarian cancer survivor,
Mimi, and her daughter, Paige.
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4897
que é uma sobrevivente de câncer
de ovário, Mimi, e sua filha, Paige.
09:24
I was deeply inspired
by the optimism and strength
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4104
Fui profundamente inspirada
pelo otimismo e força
09:28
that both mother and daughter displayed
169
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2093
que mãe e filha mostraram
09:31
and by their story of courage and support.
170
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2692
e pela história delas de coragem e apoio.
09:35
At this event, we spoke
about the different technologies
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3403
Naquele evento, falamos
sobre as diferentes tecnologias
09:38
directed at cancer.
172
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1379
direcionadas ao câncer.
E Mimi estava chorando
09:40
And Mimi was in tears
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1309
enquanto explicava como aprender
sobre esses esforços
09:41
as she explained how learning
about these efforts
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2827
09:44
gives her hope for future generations,
175
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2210
dava a ela esperança
para as gerações futuras,
09:46
including her own daughter.
176
574773
1885
incluindo sua própria filha.
09:49
This really touched me.
177
577449
1414
Isso realmente me tocou.
Não se trata apenas de construir
uma ciência realmente elegante.
09:51
It's not just about building
really elegant science.
178
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3179
09:55
It's about changing people's lives.
179
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2099
Trata-se de mudar as vidas das pessoas.
09:58
It's about understanding
the power of engineering
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É sobre entender o poder da engenharia
10:01
on the scale of molecules.
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1881
na escala das moléculas.
10:03
I know that as students like Paige
move forward in their careers,
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4083
Uma vez que estudantes como Paige
avancem em suas carreiras,
10:07
they'll open new possibilities
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595577
1440
abrirão novas possibilidades
10:09
in addressing some of the big
health problems in the world --
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3390
de enfrentar alguns dos grandes
problemas de saúde do mundo,
10:12
including ovarian cancer, neurological
disorders, infectious disease --
185
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4999
incluindo câncer de ovário, desordens
neurológicas, doenças contagiosas,
10:18
just as chemical engineering has
found a way to open doors for me,
186
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3941
assim como a engenharia química achou
uma forma de abrir portas para mim,
10:22
and has provided a way of engineering
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2634
e tem provido uma forma de engenharia
10:25
on the tiniest scale,
that of molecules,
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3532
na menor das escalas,
no nível das moléculas,
10:28
to heal on the human scale.
189
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2563
para curar na escala humana.
Obrigada.
10:31
Thank you.
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1158
10:32
(Applause)
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8560
(Aplausos)
Translated by Rafael Gidra
Reviewed by Ruy Lopes Pereira

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paula Hammond - Medical researcher and educator
Paula Hammond, head of MIT's Department of Chemical Engineering, is developing new technologies to kill cancer cells.

Why you should listen

Professor Paula T. Hammond is the Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and David H. Koch Chair Professor in Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the MIT Energy Initiative and a founding member of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology. She has recently been named the new head of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChemE). She is the first woman and the first person of color appointed to the post. She also served as the Executive Officer (Associate Chair) of the Chemical Engineering Department (2008-2011).

Professor Hammond was elected into the 2013 Class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also the recipient of the 2013 AIChE Charles M. A. Stine Award, which is bestowed annually to a leading researcher in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of materials science and engineering, and the 2014 Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research. She was also selected to receive the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Teal Innovator Award in 2013. She has been listed in the prestigious Highly Cited Researchers 2014 list, published by Thomson Reuters in the Materials Science category. This list contains the world's most influential researchers across 21 scientific disciplines based on highly cited papers in the 2002-2012 period. She is also included in the report: The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014.

Professor Hammond serves as an Associate Editor of the American Chemical Society journal, ACS Nano. She has published over 250 scientific papers and holds over 20 patents based on her research at MIT. She was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineers, and the American Chemical Society Polymer Division. In 2010, she was named the Scientist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation.

Professor Hammond received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1984, and her M.S. from Georgia Tech in 1988 and earned her Ph.D. in 1993 from MIT.

More profile about the speaker
Paula Hammond | Speaker | TED.com

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