TED2014
Ed Yong: Zombie roaches and other parasite tales
勇埃德: Ed Yong
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我们人类珍视我们的自由意志和独立。。。但是有一些暗中操控被我们所忽略。作为科普作家，勇埃德在这个吸引人，幽默，并令人不安的演讲中，令人信服地解释了寄生虫对于操控艺术的升华。但是寄生虫也在操控我们么？这真的很有可能。
Ed Yong - Science writer
Ed Yong blogs with a mission: to ignite excitement for science in everyone, regardless of their education or background. Full bio
Ed Yong blogs with a mission: to ignite excitement for science in everyone, regardless of their education or background. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
A herd of wildebeests, a shoal of fish,
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一群角马,一群鱼，
00:15
a flock of birds.
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一群鸟。
00:16
Many animals gather in large groups
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许多动物群居生活
00:18
that are among the most wonderful spectacles
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那些都是大自然中
00:20
in the natural world.
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最令人惊叹的奇观。
00:22
But why do these groups form?
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但是为什么形成这些群落？
00:25
The common answers include things like
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通常的说法包括
00:26
seeking safety in numbers or hunting in packs
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获得安全，或者方便捕猎
00:29
or gathering to mate or breed,
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或者聚集交配繁殖，
00:32
and all of these explanations,
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这些所有解释
00:34
while often true,
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虽然通常正确
00:35
make a huge assumption about animal behavior,
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但对动物行为做出了一个重要假设，
00:38
that the animals are in control of their own actions,
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那就是动物掌控它们的行为，
00:41
that they are in charge of their bodies.
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并掌控它们的身体。
00:43
And that is often not the case.
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但是通常事实并不是这样。
00:47
This is Artemia, a brine shrimp.
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这是卤虫，一种盐水虾。
00:50
You probably know it better as a sea monkey.
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你们也许更通常地称它为海猴子。
00:52
It's small, and it typically lives alone,
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它很小，典型的独居类型，
00:54
but it can gather in these large red swarms
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但是它可以聚集在这些大的红色群落中
00:57
that span for meters,
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其范围可达数米，
01:00
and these form because of a parasite.
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这些的产生是因为一种寄生虫。
01:03
These shrimp are infected with a tapeworm.
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这些虾子被一种绦虫寄生了。
01:06
A tapeworm is effectively a long, living gut
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绦虫实际上是一条长长的活着的肠子
01:08
with genitals at one end and
a hooked mouth at the other.
a hooked mouth at the other.
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它一端是生殖器，另一端是钩状的嘴。
01:11
As a freelance journalist, I sympathize.
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作为一个自由撰稿人，我对它感到同情。
01:13
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
01:15
The tapeworm drains nutrients from Artemia's body,
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绦虫从卤虫的体内摄取养分
01:18
but it also does other things.
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但它也做别的事情
01:20
It castrates them,
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它阉割卤虫,
01:22
it changes their color from transparent to bright red,
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它将卤虫从透明变为赤红色,
01:27
it makes them live longer,
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它延长卤虫的寿命,
01:28
and as biologist Nicolas Rode has found,
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就像考古学家尼古拉斯·罗德所发现的
01:31
it makes them swim in groups.
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绦虫让它们成群出没.
01:34
Why? Because the tapeworm,
like many other parasites,
like many other parasites,
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为什么呢？因为绦虫像很多别的寄生虫一样，
01:37
has a complicated life cycle
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有着复杂的生命周期
01:39
involving many different hosts.
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其中包括不同的寄主.
01:41
The shrimp are just one step on its journey.
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这些虾子只是它们旅程中的一步.
01:44
Its ultimate destination is this,
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它们最终的目标是
01:46
the greater flamingo.
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更大的火烈鸟。
01:48
Only in a flamingo can the tapeworm reproduce,
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绦虫只有在火烈鸟体内才可以繁殖，
01:51
so to get there, it manipulates its shrimp hosts
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所以为了去那里，它操纵虾子寄主们
01:54
into forming these conspicuous colored swarms
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形成这些显眼的有色群落
01:58
that are easier for a flamingo to spot
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让火烈鸟更容去发现
02:00
and to devour,
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并吞食。
02:02
and that is the secret of the Artemia swarm.
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这就是卤虫群的秘密。
02:05
They aren't sociable through their own volition,
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他们不是因为自身意志而聚集起来的，
02:07
but because they are being controlled.
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而是因为被操纵。
02:09
It's not safety in numbers.
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这不是用大数量去获得安全。
02:11
It's actually the exact opposite.
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这恰恰相反。
02:13
The tapeworm hijacks their brains and their bodies,
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这些绦虫劫持了卤虫们的大脑和身体，
02:16
turning them into vehicles
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把它们变成交通工具
02:17
for getting itself into a flamingo.
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以便于让它们进入到一只火烈鸟的体内。
02:21
And here is another example
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这里有另外一个关于
02:22
of a parasitic manipulation.
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寄生操控的例子.
02:25
This is a suicidal cricket.
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这是一个自杀蟋蟀。
02:28
This cricket swallowed the
larvae of a Gordian worm,
larvae of a Gordian worm,
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这只蟋蟀吞下了戈尔迪乌斯线虫
02:31
or horsehair worm.
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或是马鬃虫的幼虫。
02:33
The worm grew to adult size within it,
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虫子在蟋蟀体内长大成年，
02:35
but it needs to get into water in order to mate,
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但是它需要到水中进行交配，
02:38
and it does that by releasing proteins
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为了完成繁殖，它通过释放一种
02:41
that addle the cricket's brain,
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扰乱蟋蟀大脑的蛋白质，
02:43
causing it to behave erratically.
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使其行为不定。
02:45
When the cricket nears a body of water,
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当蟋蟀靠近水体时，
02:47
such as this swimming pool,
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例如这个游泳池，
02:48
it jumps in and drowns,
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它会跳入，并溺死，
02:51
and the worm wriggles out
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然后虫子从自杀蟋蟀尸体内
02:52
of its suicidal corpse.
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蠕动出来。
02:56
Crickets are really roomy. Who knew?
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蟋蟀总是胸怀宽广。谁知道呢？
03:00
The tapeworm and the Gordian worm are not alone.
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绦虫和毛细线虫并不孤单。
03:03
They are part of an entire cavalcade
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它们是全部
03:05
of mind-controlling parasites,
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专于暗中破坏，压倒寄主意志
03:07
of fungi, viruses, and worms and insects and more
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操控真菌，病毒，蠕虫，昆虫和更多其它生物的，
03:11
that all specialize in subverting and overriding
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寄生虫
03:13
the wills of their hosts.
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中的一部分。
03:16
Now, I first learned about this way of life
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在二十年前
03:17
through David Attenborough's "Trials of Life"
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我通过大卫·阿滕伯勒的纪录片《生命的审判》
03:20
about 20 years ago,
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首次了解到到关于这种生活方式，
03:22
and then later through a wonderful book called
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之后通过我的朋友卡尔 基默写的
03:23
"Parasite Rex" by my friend Carl Zimmer.
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一本叫做《寄生虫雷克斯》书的对其进一步了解。
03:26
And I've been writing about
these creatures ever since.
these creatures ever since.
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从那时起我就一直在写关于这些生物。
03:28
Few topics in biology enthrall me more.
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没有别的什么生物学话题能更让我着迷。
03:31
It's like the parasites have subverted my own brain.
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这就像寄生虫已经颠覆了我的大脑。
03:35
Because after all, they are always compelling
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因为毕竟，它们总是在控制
03:37
and they are delightfully macabre.
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并且令人欣喜的毛骨肃然。
03:38
When you write about parasites,
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当你描写寄生虫时，
03:40
your lexicon swells with phrases like
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你的用词里充满了这样的短语，
03:42
"devoured alive" and "bursts out of its body."
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”活活吞吃“和“从它的身体里炸出”。
03:45
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
03:46
But there's more to it than that.
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但是远远不止这些。
03:48
I'm a writer, and fellow writers in the audience
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我是一个作家，观众席中的作家同伙们
03:50
will know that we love stories.
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知道我们热爱故事。
03:53
Parasites invite us to resist the allure
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寄生虫使我们去排斥
03:55
of obvious stories.
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浅而易见的故事的诱惑。
03:57
Their world is one of plot twists
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它们的世界充满着
03:59
and unexpected explanations.
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扭曲的情节，和出人意料解释。
04:03
Why, for example,
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举个例子，为什么
04:04
does this caterpillar
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这只毛毛虫
04:06
start violently thrashing about
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当另外一直昆虫靠近它时
04:08
when another insect gets close to it
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开始剧烈地颤动
04:10
and those white cocoons that it seems
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并且像那些白色茧的
04:12
to be standing guard over?
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护卫一样？
04:14
Is it maybe protecting its siblings?
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难道它在保护兄弟姐妹？
04:17
No.
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不对。
04:18
This caterpillar was attacked
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这只毛毛虫受到了一只其在体内产卵的
04:20
by a parasitic wasp which laid eggs inside it.
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寄生蜂的攻击。
04:23
The eggs hatched and the young wasps
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卵孵化后，幼蜂们
04:24
devoured the caterpillar alive
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将其活活地吞吃
04:26
before bursting out of its body.
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再冲破其身体出来。
04:27
See what I mean?
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现在知道（我之前）什么意思了吧？
04:30
Now, the caterpillar didn't die.
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但是，毛毛虫没有死。
04:33
Some of the wasps seemed to stay behind
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有些马蜂们留了下来，
04:35
and controlled it into defending their siblings
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并继续控制毛毛虫去保护它们
04:38
which are metamorphosing
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正在变态到成虫过程中茧内的
04:40
into adults within those cocoons.
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兄弟姐妹们。
04:42
This caterpillar is a head-banging
zombie bodyguard
zombie bodyguard
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这只毛毛虫是一个保护着
04:46
defending the offspring
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杀死它的生物的后代的
04:47
of the creature that killed it.
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甩头僵尸保镖。
04:49
(Applause)
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（掌声）
04:53
We have a lot to get through.
I only have 13 minutes. (Laughter)
I only have 13 minutes. (Laughter)
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我们还有很多要说。我只有13分钟.（笑声）
04:57
Now, some of you are probably just
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现在，你们中有些人大概正
04:59
desperately clawing for some solace
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因为这样的一些
05:01
in the idea that these things are oddities
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自然中的怪异的事物
05:04
of the natural world, that they are outliers,
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和局外者，绝望地搜寻一些安慰
05:06
and that point of view is understandable,
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这个观点是可以理解的，
05:07
because by their nature, parasites are quite small
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因为，寄生虫体型微小
05:10
and they spend a lot of their time
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并且很大一部分时间生活在
05:11
inside the bodies of other things.
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在其他动物的体内。
05:14
They're easy to overlook,
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它们容易被忽略，
05:16
but that doesn't mean that they aren't important.
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但这不意味着它们不重要。
05:18
A few years back, a man called Kevin Lafferty
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几年前，一个叫做凯文·拉弗蒂的人
05:21
took a group of scientists
into three Californian estuaries
into three Californian estuaries
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带领一组科学家前往三个加州的河口
05:24
and they pretty much weighed and dissected
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它们基本上将所有发现的东西
05:26
and recorded everything they could find,
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称重，解剖，并记录，
05:28
and what they found
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他们所发现的是
05:29
were parasites in extreme abundance.
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寄生虫的数量极为巨大。
05:32
Especially common were trematodes,
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最常见的是吸虫，
05:34
tiny worms that specialize in castrating their hosts
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它们是小小的蠕虫，专阉割它们寄主
05:37
like this unfortunate snail.
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就像这只不幸的蜗牛。
05:39
Now, a single trematode is tiny, microscopic,
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单单一条吸虫是小的，微观的
05:42
but collectively they weighed as much
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但是它们集合起来
05:44
as all the fish in the estuaries
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和河口中的鱼等重
05:46
and three to nine times more than all the birds.
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并且是所有鸟重量的三至九倍。
05:50
And remember the Gordian worm that I showed you,
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还记得我之前向你们展示的戈尔迪乌斯线虫，
05:52
the cricket thing?
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和那个蟋蟀么？
05:53
One Japanese scientist called Takuya Sato
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一位叫佐藤拓也的日本科学家
05:56
found that in one stream,
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在一条溪流中发现,
05:58
these things drive so many crickets
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这些条虫使这么多
06:00
and grasshoppers into the water
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蟋蟀和蚱蜢淹死在水中
06:01
that the drowned insects
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以至于为当地的鲤鱼
06:02
make up some 60 percent of the diet of local trout.
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提供了百分之六十的日常饮食.
06:06
Manipulation is not an oddity.
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操控不是一种异常的现象
06:09
It is a critical and common part
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这是我们身边普遍
06:12
of the world around us,
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并且至关重要的一部分,
06:13
and scientists have now found
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科学家现在已近发现
06:15
hundreds of examples of such manipulators,
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成百上千这样操控者的例子,
06:17
and more excitingly, they're starting to understand
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更让人激动的是，他们开始去理解
06:20
exactly how these creatures control their hosts.
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这些生物是具体是如何控制它们的寄主的。
06:24
And this is one of my favorite examples.
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这我最喜欢的例子之一，
06:26
This is Ampulex compressa,
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这是扁头泥蜂，
06:29
the emerald cockroach wasp,
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翡翠蟑螂蜂，
06:31
and it is a truth universally acknowledged
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载有受精卵的蟑螂蜂
06:33
that an emerald cockroach wasp in possession
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肯定需要一只蟑螂
06:35
of some fertilized eggs
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是一个
06:37
must be in want of a cockroach.
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被普遍接受的事实。
06:39
When she finds one,
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当蟑螂蜂找到一只蟑螂，
06:41
she stabs it with a stinger
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她会用刺蛰蟑螂，
06:43
that is also a sense organ.
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那根刺又是一个感觉器官。
06:44
This discovery came out three weeks ago.
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这个发现三周前才出来。
06:47
She stabs it with a stinger that is a sense organ
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她用具感觉器官的刺蛰蟑螂
06:49
equipped with small sensory bumps
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这个器官上有着小的突起物
06:51
that allow her to feel the distinctive texture
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可以让蟑螂蜂感觉到
06:54
of a roach's brain.
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蟑螂大脑中不同的质地。
06:56
So like a person blindly rooting about in a bag,
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就像一个人在袋子里盲目地乱摸，
06:59
she finds the brain, and she injects it with venom
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蟑螂蜂找到蟑螂的大脑，将毒液注射到
07:01
into two very specific clusters of neurons.
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两簇非常具体的神经元中。
07:05
Israeli scientists Frederic Libersat and Ram Gal
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以色列科学家弗雷德里克拉波塞特和莱姆加尔
07:08
found that the venom is a
very specific chemical weapon.
very specific chemical weapon.
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发现这个毒液是一种非常特别的化学武器。
07:12
It doesn't kill the roach, nor does it sedate it.
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它不会杀死蟑螂，也不会让其昏昏欲睡。
07:15
The roach could walk away
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蟑螂如果想的话
07:17
or fly or run if it chose to,
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可以选择走开，飞走，或跑开，
07:20
but it doesn't choose to,
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但是它没有选择这样做，
07:22
because the venom nixes its motivation to walk,
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因为那个毒液使其丧失了走的意愿，
07:25
and only that.
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只是那样。
07:26
The wasp basically un-checks
the escape-from-danger box
the escape-from-danger box
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蟑螂蜂大体上关闭了
07:30
in the roach's operating system,
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蟑螂神经系统中逃避危险的本能，
07:32
allowing her to lead her helpless victim
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让蟑螂蜂能够借助蟑螂的触角
07:35
back to her lair by its antennae
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领着她无助的受害者回到她巢穴，
07:37
like a person walking a dog.
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就像一个人遛狗一样。
07:40
And once there, she lays an egg on it,
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蟑螂一到那里，蟑螂蜂就在其体内产一个卵，
07:41
egg hatches, devoured alive, bursts out of body,
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卵孵化了，幼虫将蟑螂活生生吞吃，并从其身体中迸发出来，
07:44
yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill.
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吧啦吧啦叭啦叭啦，你们知道的。
07:46
(Laughter) (Applause)
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（笑声）（掌声）
07:49
Now I would argue that, once stung,
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我认为，蟑螂一旦被刺
07:52
the cockroach isn't a roach anymore.
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它就不再是一只蟑螂了。
07:54
It's more of an extension of the wasp,
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它更像是蟑螂蜂的一个延伸体，
07:56
just like the cricket was an
extension of the Gordian worm.
extension of the Gordian worm.
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就像蟋蟀是戈尔迪乌斯线虫的延伸体一样。
07:59
These hosts won't get to survive or reproduce.
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这些寄主们不能生还和繁殖。
08:02
They have as much control over their own fates
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它们对命运的掌握
08:04
as my car.
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就像我的车的命运被我掌握一样。
08:06
Once the parasites get in,
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一旦寄生虫进入其体内，
08:07
the hosts don't get a say.
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寄主就失去了发言权。
08:10
Now humans, of course,
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当然人类对于操控
08:11
are no stranger to manipulation.
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并不陌生。
08:13
We take drugs to shift the chemistries of our brains
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我们用药物移动我们大脑中的化学物质
08:15
and to change our moods,
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去改变我们的心情，
08:17
and what are arguments or advertising or big ideas
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有什么辩论或者广告或者伟大的想法
08:21
if not an attempt to influence someone else's mind?
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不企图去影响其他人的思想呢?
08:24
But our attempts at doing this
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但是我们对其的尝试
08:26
are crude and blundering compared
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和那些寄生虫天衣无缝的专一性相比
08:28
to the fine-grained specificity of the parasites.
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是不成熟的。
08:31
Don Draper only wishes he was as elegant
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唐德雷珀只是希望他可以像翠绿的蟑螂蜂
08:33
and precise as the emerald cockroach wasp.
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一样优雅和精确。
08:38
Now, I think this is part of what makes parasites
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我认为这是让寄生虫
08:42
so sinister and so compelling.
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如此险恶并如此引人注意一部分原因。
08:45
We place such a premium on our free will
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我们如此珍视我们的自由意志
08:47
and our independence
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和独立
08:48
that the prospect of losing those qualities
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以至于我们在不可见力下
08:50
to forces unseen
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失去那些品质的可能性。
08:51
informs many of our deepest societal fears.
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揭示了许多我们最深处的社会恐慌。
08:54
Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals
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奥威尔反乌托邦作品，神出鬼没的阴谋组织
08:57
and mind-controlling supervillains --
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和会大脑操控的超级恶棍--
08:59
these are tropes that fill our darkest fiction,
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这些都是充斥着我们邪恶小说中的比喻，
09:02
but in nature, they happen all the time.
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但是在自然中，它们无时无刻不在发生。
09:07
Which leads me to an obvious
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这让我提出了一个明显
09:09
and disquieting question:
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又令人不安的问题：
09:11
Are there dark, sinister parasites
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除了美国国家安全局
09:13
that are influencing our behavior
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还有没有邪恶的寄生虫
09:15
without us knowing about it,
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在我们不知道的情况下
09:17
besides the NSA?
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影响着我们的行为？
09:20
If there are any —
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如果有的话--
09:21
(Laughter) (Applause)
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（笑声）（掌声）
09:25
I've got a red dot on my forehead now, don't I?
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现在估计有人想把我灭了吧？
09:27
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
09:30
If there are any, this is a good candidate for them.
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如果有，这是一个非常好的候选人。
09:33
This is Toxoplasma gondii, or Toxo, for short,
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这是弓形虫，简称弓虫
09:36
because the terrifying creature
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令人毛骨悚然的生物
09:37
always deserves a cute nickname.
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总是值得有一个可爱的名字。
09:40
Toxo infects mammals,
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弓虫会感染哺乳类动物，
09:42
a wide variety of mammals,
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各种各样哺乳动物，
09:43
but it can only sexually reproduce in a cat.
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但是它只可以在猫体内有性繁殖。
09:47
And scientists like Joanne Webster have shown that
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像乔安妮 韦伯斯特这样的科学家已经证明了
09:49
if Toxo gets into a rat or a mouse,
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如果弓虫进入到老鼠体内
09:52
it turns the rodent into a cat-seeking missile.
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它会将这个捏齿类动物变成寻猫导弹。
09:55
If the infected rat smells the delightful odor
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如果被感染的老鼠问到了美妙的
09:58
of cat piss,
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猫尿的味道，
09:59
it runs towards the source of the smell
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它就会跑向那气味的发源地
10:02
rather than the more sensible direction of away.
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而不是聪明的逃跑。
10:06
The cat eats the rat. Toxo gets to have sex.
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猫吃了老鼠。弓虫去交配。
10:08
It's a classic tale of Eat, Prey, Love.
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这是饮食，猎物，和爱情之间的经典故事。（笑点在于：这三个词的发音与一本畅销小说《美食、祈祷和恋爱》相似）
10:11
(Laughter) (Applause)
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（笑声）（掌声）
10:19
You're very charitable, generous people.
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你们都是善良慷慨的人啊。
10:22
Hi, Elizabeth, I loved your talk.
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嗨，伊丽莎白（《美食，祈祷和恋爱》的作者)，我很喜欢你的演讲。
10:25
How does the parasite control its host
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寄生虫是怎样
10:28
in this way?
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在这种方式下操纵其寄主的？
10:29
We don't really know.
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我不真正了解。
10:31
We know that Toxo releases an enzyme
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但我们知道弓虫释放一种酶
10:32
that makes dopamine, a substance involved
256
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这种酶制造
10:34
in reward and motivation.
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一种涉及奖励与动机的物质--多巴胺
10:36
We know it targets certain parts of a rodent's brain,
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我们知道这种酶把老鼠大脑中特定的部分作为目标
10:39
including those involved in sexual arousal.
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包括那些涉及性冲动部分。
10:41
But how those puzzle pieces fit together
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但这些拼图的碎片是怎样拼在一起的
10:43
is not immediately clear.
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现在还不是很清楚。
10:45
What is clear is that this thing
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清楚的是，弓虫
10:47
is a single cell.
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是单细胞生物。
10:49
This has no nervous system.
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它没有神经系统。
10:50
It has no consciousness.
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它没有意识。
10:51
It doesn't even have a body.
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它甚至连一个身体都没有。
10:53
But it's manipulating a mammal?
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但是它却在操控一只哺乳动物？
10:55
We are mammals.
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我们都是哺乳动物。
10:57
We are more intelligent than a mere rat, to be sure,
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毫无疑问，我们比老鼠更加智慧
10:59
but our brains have the same basic structure,
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但是我们大脑有着相同的基础构造，
11:02
the same types of cells,
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同类型的细胞，
11:03
the same chemicals running through them,
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同样的在其中穿梭的化学物质，
11:05
and the same parasites.
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以及同样的寄生虫。
11:07
Estimates vary a lot, but some figures suggest
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（对其的）推测各不相同，但数据显示
11:09
that one in three people around the world
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全世界三分之一的人
11:12
have Toxo in their brains.
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大脑里有弓虫。
11:13
Now typically, this doesn't lead to any overt illness.
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很典型的是，它们不会导致任何显性病症。
11:17
The parasite holds up in a dormant state
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寄生虫在很长的一段时间里
11:19
for a long period of time.
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保持休眠状态。
11:21
But there's some evidence that those people
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2039
但是有一些证据显示，
11:23
who are carriers score slightly differently
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那些是寄生虫载体的人在性格调查问卷中
11:26
on personality questionnaires than other people,
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和其他人得分略有不同，
11:29
that they have a slightly
higher risk of car accidents,
higher risk of car accidents,
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他们有稍微高一些车祸风险，
11:31
and there's some evidence
that people with schizophrenia
that people with schizophrenia
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有些证据显示精神分裂症的人
11:34
are more likely to be infected.
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更容易被感染。
11:36
Now, I think this evidence is still inconclusive,
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我认为这个证据是没有什么结果的，
11:39
and even among Toxo researchers,
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而且在弓虫的调查人员之间
11:40
opinion is divided as to whether the parasite
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对于是否寄生虫真正影响我们的行为
11:43
is truly influencing our behavior.
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存在着争议。
11:45
But given the widespread
nature of such manipulations,
nature of such manipulations,
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但鉴于这种操控的普遍性，
11:48
it would be completely implausible
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人类作为唯一没有
11:50
for humans to be the only species
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相同症状的物种
11:51
that weren't similarly affected.
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是难以置信的。
11:54
And I think that this capacity to constantly
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我认为这种能够颠覆
11:59
subvert our way of thinking about the world
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我们对这个世界思想方式的能力
12:02
makes parasites amazing.
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让寄生虫十分迷人。
12:03
They're constantly inviting us to
look at the natural world sideways,
look at the natural world sideways,
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它们不停地使我们从侧面去看大自然
12:06
and to ask if the behaviors we're seeing,
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并使我们去质疑所目睹的行为，
12:09
whether they're simple and obvious
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1487
无论它们是简单明了，
12:10
or baffling and puzzling,
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还是令人费解的，
12:12
are not the results of individuals
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是否不是我们我们按照自己意愿
12:14
acting through their own accord
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去行动的结果，
12:15
but because they are being bent
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而是因为它们被歪曲
12:17
to the control of something else.
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进而去控制别的东西的结果。
12:20
And while that idea may be disquieting,
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当这个想法令人不安时
12:22
and while parasites' habits may be very grisly,
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当寄生虫的行为冷人毛骨悚然时，
12:25
I think that ability to surprise us
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我想那个让我们惊讶的能力
12:27
makes them as wonderful and as charismatic
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使它们像任何熊猫，蝴蝶，或是海豚
12:30
as any panda or butterfly or dolphin.
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一样美好和有魅力。
12:33
At the end of "On the Origin of Species,"
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在“关于物种起源”的结尾，
12:35
Charles Darwin writes about the grandeur of life,
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查尔斯·达尔文写到了关于生命
12:38
and of endless forms most beautiful
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的辉煌，和无尽的最美丽的
12:41
and most wonderful,
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最美好的形态的辉煌。
12:43
and I like to think he could easily have been talking
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我认为，他很有可能在说
12:45
about a tapeworm that makes shrimp sociable
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让虾子社会化的绦虫，
12:48
or a wasp that takes cockroaches for walks.
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或者是带着蟑螂散步的马蜂。
12:52
But perhaps, that's just a parasite talking.
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但是，也许我所说的只是被寄生虫操控的结果罢了。
12:55
Thank you.
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谢谢。
12:56
(Applause)
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(掌声)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ed Yong - Science writerEd Yong blogs with a mission: to ignite excitement for science in everyone, regardless of their education or background.
Why you should listen
Whether he's exploring a possible resurrection for extinct mouth-birthing amphibians or skewering media misunderstandings of hyped hormones like oxytocin, Ed Yong has a gift for illuminating the beauty (or controversy) in difficult and complex topics.
The award-winning blog Not Exactly Rocket Science (hosted by National Geographic) is the epicenter of Yong’s formidable web and social media presence. In its posts, he tackles the hottest and most bizarre topics in science journalism. As he says, “The only one that matters to me, as far as my blog is concerned, is that something interests me. That is, excites or inspires or amuses me.” When not blogging, he also finds time to contribute to Nature, Wired, Scientific American and many other web and print outlets.
He is also the author of the book I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life.
Ed Yong | Speaker | TED.com