ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laura Boykin - Computational biologist, activist
TED Senior Fellow Laura Boykin uses technology to help farmers in East Africa have more food to feed their families.

Why you should listen

Dr. Laura Boykin is a TED Senior Fellow, Gifted Citizen and computational biologist who uses genomics and supercomputing to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa control whiteflies and viruses, which cause devastation to the local cassava crops. Cassava is a staple food that feeds more than 800 million people globally.

Boykin also works in partnership with African scientists to train local communities in genomics and high-performance computing skills, with the aim of tackling future insect and viral outbreaks. Recently, she founded The Cassava Virus Action Project along with collaborators in east Africa to roll out portable DNA sequencing and analyses to farmers in the region. Their mission is to increase cassava yields for 500 million farmers.

More profile about the speaker
Laura Boykin | Speaker | TED.com
TEDSummit 2019

Laura Boykin: How we're using DNA tech to help farmers fight crop diseases

劳拉·博伊金: 我们如何使用DNA科技来帮助农民抵抗作物疾病

Filmed:
1,215,005 views

计算生物学家、TED高级研究员劳拉·博伊金(Laura Boykin)说,全世界有近8亿人依靠木薯生存,但是这个重要的食物来源正受到完全可以预防的病毒攻击。她为我们展示了在东非的农田,她如何与一个多元化的科学家团队合作,帮助农民保持作物健康。通过使用便携式DNA实验室和微型超级计算机,他们不再需要几个月,而是在几小时内就能识别病毒。
- Computational biologist, activist
TED Senior Fellow Laura Boykin uses technology to help farmers in East Africa have more food to feed their families. Full bio

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

00:12
I get out of bed for two reasons原因.
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我早上起床为了两个原因。
00:15
One, small-scale小型 family家庭 farmers农民
need more food餐饮.
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第一,小规模农民家庭
需要更多的粮食。
00:19
It's crazy that in 2019
farmers农民 that feed饲料 us are hungry饥饿.
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2019年,为我们供应粮食的农民们
还要忍饥受饿,简直不可思议。
00:25
And two, science科学 needs需求 to be
more diverse多种 and inclusive包括的.
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第二,科学需要更多元化,更包容。
00:30
If we're going to solve解决
the toughest最艰难的 challenges挑战 on the planet行星,
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如果我们要解决地球上
最艰难的挑战,
00:34
like food餐饮 insecurity不安全 for the millions百万
living活的 in extreme极端 poverty贫穷,
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如拯救成千上万地瘠民贫
的粮食短缺,
00:38
it's going to take all of us.
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就需要我们所有人的共同努力。
00:40
I want to use the latest最新 technology技术
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我要用最先进的科技,
00:43
with the most diverse多种
and inclusive包括的 teams球队 on the planet行星
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和地球上最多元化
和包容的团队一起,
00:46
to help farmers农民 have more food餐饮.
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帮助农民们生产更多的粮食。
00:49
I'm a computational计算 biologist生物学家.
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我是一位计算生物学家。
00:51
I know -- what is that
and how is it going to help end结束 hunger饥饿?
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你们可能会好奇,那是什么?
它将如何杜绝饥饿?
00:54
Basically基本上, I like computers电脑 and biology生物学
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这么说吧,我喜欢计算机和生物学,
00:58
and somehow不知何故,
putting that together一起 is a job工作.
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于是它们以某种方式结合
在一起就成了一项工作。
01:00
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:01
I don't have a story故事
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我没有从小
01:03
of wanting希望 to be a biologist生物学家
from a young年轻 age年龄.
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要成为一个生物学家的故事。
01:06
The truth真相 is, I played发挥
basketball篮球 in college学院.
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事实是,我在大学时是打篮球的。
01:10
And part部分 of my financial金融 aid援助 package
was I needed需要 a work-study勤工俭学 job工作.
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我一部分的经济来源依赖半工半读。
01:16
So one random随机 day,
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突然有一天,
01:17
I wandered逛到 to the nearest最近的 building建造
to my dorm宿舍 room房间.
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我漫步到了宿舍
旁边的建筑物,
01:21
And it just so happens发生
it was the biology生物学 building建造.
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那刚好是生物学系。
01:24
I went inside and looked看着 at the job工作 board.
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我进去看到了招聘告示板。
01:27
Yes, this is pre-the-internet互联网前.
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是的,那是在还没有互联网的时代。
01:30
And I saw a three-by-five三乘五 card
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我看到了一张明信片大小的卡片,
01:32
advertising广告 a job工作
to work in the herbarium标本馆.
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招募人员到植物标本室工作。
01:36
I quickly很快 took down the number,
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我赶紧记下联络号码,
01:38
because it said "flexible灵活 hours小时,"
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因为它说"工作时间灵活",
01:40
and I needed需要 that to work around
my basketball篮球 schedule时间表.
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我需要那个来配合
我的篮球时间表。
01:44
I ran to the library图书馆
to figure数字 out what an herbarium标本馆 was.
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然后我跑去图书馆查
什么是植物标本室。
01:48
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:51
And it turns out
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原来
01:52
an herbarium标本馆 is where they store商店
dead, dried plants植物.
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植物标本室是来收藏
死了,干了的植物。
01:57
I was lucky幸运 to land土地 the job工作.
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我幸运地被录取了。
01:59
So my first scientific科学 job工作
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所以我的第一份科学工作
02:02
was gluing胶合 dead plants植物 onto paper
for hours小时 on end结束.
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就是花上几个小时
将枯死的植物粘在纸上。
02:07
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:11
It's so glamorous富有魅力的.
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它是如此的风光啊。
02:12
This is how I became成为
a computational计算 biologist生物学家.
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这就是我如何成为了
计算生物学家。
02:16
During that time,
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在那个时候,
02:17
genomics基因组学 and computing计算 were coming未来 of age年龄.
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基因组学和计算学如日方升。
02:20
And I went on to do my masters主人
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毕业后我开始攻读结合
02:22
combining结合 biology生物学 and computers电脑.
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生物学和计算机的硕士。
02:25
During that time,
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当时,
我在拉斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室
02:27
I worked工作 at Los洛杉矶 Alamos洛斯阿拉莫斯 National国民 Lab实验室
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02:28
in the theoretical理论 biology生物学
and biophysics生物物理学 group.
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理论生物学和生物物理学组工作。
02:31
And it was there I had my first encounter遭遇
with the supercomputer超级计算机,
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就在那里,我初次见证了超级计算机,
02:35
and my mind心神 was blown.
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真是惊为天人。
02:37
With the power功率 of supercomputing超级计算,
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借助超级计算机,
02:39
which哪一个 is basically基本上 thousands数千
of connected连接的 PCs个人电脑 on steroids类固醇,
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也就是数千台联网电脑的力量,
02:44
we were able能够 to uncover揭露 the complexities复杂性
of influenza流感 and hepatitis肝炎 C.
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我们能够发现流感病毒
和丙性肝炎的复杂性。
02:50
And it was during this time
that I saw the power功率
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正是这时候我看到了利用计算机
02:52
of using运用 computers电脑
and biology生物学 combined结合, for humanity人性.
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和生物学相结合来造福人类的力量。
02:56
And I wanted this to be my career事业 path路径.
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我想把这当作终生事业。
03:00
So, since以来 1999,
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所以,从1999年开始,
03:01
I've spent花费 the majority多数
of my scientific科学 career事业
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我大部分的科学生涯都在
03:04
in very high-tech高科技 labs实验室,
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非常高科技的实验室里度过,
03:06
surrounded包围 by really expensive昂贵 equipment设备.
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周围都是非常昂贵的设备。
03:09
So many许多 ask me
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很多人问我,
03:11
how and why do I work
for farmers农民 in Africa非洲.
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我为什么,又是如何
为非洲的农民工作的。
03:15
Well, because of my computing计算 skills技能,
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由于我的计算技能,
03:18
in 2013, a team球队 of East African非洲人 scientists科学家们
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在2013年,一个东非科学家小组
03:22
asked me to join加入 the team球队
in the plight困境 to save保存 cassava木薯.
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邀请我加入拯救木薯的队伍。
03:27
Cassava木薯 is a plant whose谁的 leaves树叶 and roots
feed饲料 800 million百万 people globally全球.
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木薯的叶子和根部
能养活全球8亿人,
03:35
And 500 million百万 in East Africa非洲.
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有5亿人在东非。
03:38
So that's nearly几乎 a billion十亿 people
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差不多有十亿人
03:41
relying依托 on this plant
for their daily日常 calories卡路里.
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依靠这种植物来供应
他们每天的卡路里。
03:44
If a small-scale小型 family家庭 farmer农民
has enough足够 cassava木薯,
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如果一个小型家庭农场主
有足够的木薯,
03:48
she can feed饲料 her family家庭
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她就可以养活她的家人,
03:50
and she can sell it at the market市场
for important重要 things like school学校 fees费用,
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并在市场上售卖这些木薯,
换取重要的东西,如学费,
03:54
medical expenses花费 and savings.
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医疗费用和储蓄。
03:57
But cassava木薯 is under attack攻击 in Africa非洲.
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但是,木薯的种植在非洲受到了冲击。
04:01
Whiteflies白蝇 and viruses病毒
are devastating破坏性的 cassava木薯.
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粉虱和病毒在摧毁着木薯。
04:06
Whiteflies白蝇 are tiny insects昆虫
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粉虱是体型微小的昆虫,
04:08
that feed饲料 on the leaves树叶
of over 600 plants植物.
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以超过600种植物的树叶为食。
04:11
They are bad news新闻.
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它们不请自来,
04:13
There are many许多 species种类;
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有很多种类,
04:14
they become成为 pesticide农药 resistant;
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具有抗药性,
04:16
and they transmit发送 hundreds数以百计
of plant viruses病毒
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还能传播数百种植物病毒,
04:21
that cause原因 cassava木薯 brown棕色 streak条纹 disease疾病
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导致木薯患上棕色条纹病
04:23
and cassava木薯 mosaic镶嵌 disease疾病.
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和木薯马赛克病。
04:26
This completely全然 kills杀死 the plant.
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这会彻底杀死作物。
04:29
And if there's no cassava木薯,
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如果没有木薯,
04:30
there's no food餐饮 or income收入
for millions百万 of people.
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那数百万人就没有食物或收入。
04:36
It took me one trip to Tanzania坦桑尼亚
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我去了一趟坦桑尼亚,
04:38
to realize实现 that these women妇女
need some help.
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意识到那里的妇女需要一些帮助。
04:41
These amazing惊人, strong强大,
small-scale小型 family家庭 farmers农民,
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这些了不起的,坚强的,
小型家庭农场主,
04:45
the majority多数 women妇女,
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大多数是妇女,
04:46
are doing it rough.
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他们的生活苦不堪言。
04:48
They don't have enough足够 food餐饮
to feed饲料 their families家庭,
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他们没有足够的食物来养活家人,
04:51
and it's a real真实 crisis危机.
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这是一场真正的危机。
04:53
What happens发生 is
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现实情况是,
04:55
they go out and plant fields领域 of cassava木薯
when the rains降雨 come.
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当雨季来临的时候,她
们到木薯田里耕种。
04:58
Nine months个月 later后来,
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九个月之后,
04:59
there's nothing, because of these
pests害虫 and pathogens病原体.
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什么都没有,都是因为
这些害虫和病原体。
05:02
And I thought to myself,
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我不禁心想,
05:05
how in the world世界 can farmers农民 be hungry饥饿?
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这世界上怎么还有食不果腹的农民呢?
05:08
So I decided决定 to spend
some time on the ground地面
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所以我决定花一段时间在田里,
05:11
with the farmers农民 and the scientists科学家们
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跟着农民和科学家们,
05:12
to see if I had any skills技能
that could be helpful有帮助.
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看看我是否有帮得上忙的技能。
05:16
The situation情况 on the ground地面 is shocking触目惊心.
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当地局势令人震惊。
05:19
The whiteflies白蝇 have destroyed销毁 the leaves树叶
that are eaten吃过 for protein蛋白,
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粉虱毁坏树叶为摄取蛋白质,
05:23
and the viruses病毒 have destroyed销毁 the roots
that are eaten吃过 for starch淀粉.
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病毒摧毁根部为摄取淀粉。
05:27
An entire整个 growing生长 season季节 will pass通过,
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在整个生长季节过去后,
05:30
and the farmer农民 will lose失去
an entire整个 year of income收入 and food餐饮,
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农民将失去整整一年
的收入和食物,
05:34
and the family家庭 will suffer遭受
a long hunger饥饿 season季节.
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他们的家庭将遭受
一个漫长的饥饿季节。
05:37
This is completely全然 preventable预防的.
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这完全是可以预防的。
05:40
If the farmer农民 knew知道
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如果农民知道
05:41
what variety品种 of cassava木薯
to plant in her field领域,
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在她的田里种植什么品种的木薯
05:44
that was resistant
to those viruses病毒 and pathogens病原体,
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可以抵抗这些病毒和病原体,
05:48
they would have more food餐饮.
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她们就会有更多的食物。
05:50
We have all the technology技术 we need,
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我们拥有我们需要的所有科技,
05:53
but the knowledge知识 and the resources资源
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但这些知识和资源
05:56
are not equally一样 distributed分散式
around the globe地球.
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在全球的分布非常不均衡。
06:00
So what I mean specifically特别 is,
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我想强调的是,
06:03
the older旧的 genomic基因组 technologies技术
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传统的基因组技术
06:05
that have been required需要
to uncover揭露 the complexities复杂性
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被用于揭露这些害虫和病原体
06:08
in these pests害虫 and pathogens病原体 --
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的复杂性——
06:11
these technologies技术 were not made制作
for sub-Saharan撒哈拉以南 Africa非洲.
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这些技术不是为
南非撒哈拉地带而设的。
06:15
They cost成本 upwards向上 of a million百万 dollars美元;
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它们的花费在一百万美元以上,
06:17
they require要求 constant不变 power功率
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需要不断的电力供应
06:19
and specialized专门 human人的 capacity容量.
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和专门的技术人员操作。
06:21
These machines are few少数
and far between之间 on the continent大陆,
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这些机器在非洲大陆上寥寥无几,
06:24
which哪一个 is leaving离开 many许多 scientists科学家们
battling作战 on the front面前 lines线 no choice选择
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让许多在前线战斗
的科学家不得不
06:29
but to send发送 the samples样本 overseas海外.
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把样品送到海外。
06:31
And when you send发送 the samples样本 overseas海外,
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当你把样品送到海外时,
06:33
samples样本 degrade降级, it costs成本 a lot of money,
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样品会降解,花费很昂贵,
06:36
and trying to get the data数据 back
over weak internet互联网
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而且在糟糕的互联网中取回数据
06:39
is nearly几乎 impossible不可能.
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几乎是不可能的。
06:41
So sometimes有时 it can take six months个月
to get the results结果 back to the farmer农民.
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所以有时可能需要六个月
的时间把结果送回农民手里。
06:45
And by then, it's too late晚了.
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那时已经太晚了。
06:47
The crop作物 is already已经 gone走了,
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作物已经被摧毁,
06:48
which哪一个 results结果 in further进一步 poverty贫穷
and more hunger饥饿.
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造成持续的贫困和更多的饥饿。
06:53
We knew知道 we could fix固定 this.
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我们知道我们可以解决这个问题。
06:55
In 2017,
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在2017年,
06:57
we had heard听说 of this handheld手持,
portable手提 DNA脱氧核糖核酸 sequencer
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我们听说了这个叫做
Oxford Nanopore MinION 的
07:02
called an Oxford牛津 Nanopore纳米波雷 MinION走狗.
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手持便携式DNA测序仪。
07:04
This was being存在 used
in West西 Africa非洲 to fight斗争 Ebola埃博拉病毒.
137
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它曾在西非抗击埃博拉时功不可没。
07:08
So we thought:
138
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因此,我们认为:
07:10
Why can't we use this
in East Africa非洲 to help farmers农民?
139
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为什么不用这个在东非帮助农民呢?
07:13
So, what we did was we set out to do that.
140
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于是,我们要做的就是开始着手行动。
07:18
At the time, the technology技术 was very new,
141
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当时,这项科技非常新颖,
07:21
and many许多 doubted怀疑 we could
replicate复制 this on the farm农场.
142
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许多人怀疑我们能否在
农地里复制相似的结果。
07:24
When we set out to do this,
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当我们开始这样做时,
07:26
one of our "collaborators合作者" in the UK联合王国
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我们有个英国的"合作伙伴"
07:30
told us that we would never
get that to work in East Africa非洲,
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告诉我们,这永远都不会发生在东非,
07:33
let alone单独 on the farm农场.
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更别说在农田里了。
07:35
So we accepted公认 the challenge挑战.
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因此,我们接受了挑战。
07:37
This person even went so far as to bet赌注 us
two of the best最好 bottles瓶子 of champagne香槟酒
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这个人甚至和我们打赌
两瓶最好的香槟,
07:44
that we would never get that to work.
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说我们永远不会实现的。
07:48
Two words:
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三个字:
07:50
pay工资 up.
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买单吧。
07:51
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:53
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
07:58
Pay工资 up, because we did it.
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买单吧,因为我们做到了。
08:00
We took the entire整个 high-tech高科技 molecular分子 lab实验室
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我们把整个高科技分子实验室
08:04
to the farmers农民 of Tanzania坦桑尼亚,
Kenya肯尼亚 and Uganda乌干达,
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带给了坦桑尼亚,肯尼亚
和乌干达的农民们,
08:07
and we called it Tree Lab实验室.
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我们称它为"树实验室"。
08:10
So what did we do?
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那我们做了什么?

08:12
Well, first of all,
we gave ourselves我们自己 a team球队 name名称 --
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首先我们给自己取了一个队名——
08:14
it's called the Cassava木薯 Virus病毒
Action行动 Project项目.
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叫做木薯病毒行动项目。
08:16
We made制作 a website网站,
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我们制作了一个网站,
08:18
we gathered云集 support支持 from the genomics基因组学
and computing计算 communities社区,
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从基因组学和计算社区中召集支持,
08:21
and away we went to the farmers农民.
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然后去农民那里。
08:24
Everything that we need for our Tree Lab实验室
164
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"树实验室"所需的一切
08:27
is being存在 carried携带的 by the team球队 here.
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由团队携带着来到这里。
08:29
All of the molecular分子 and computational计算
requirements要求 needed需要
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所有分子和计算学需要用来
08:33
to diagnose诊断 sick生病 plants植物 is there.
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诊断植物病理的条件都准备就绪了。
08:37
And it's actually其实 all
on this stage阶段 here as well.
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实际上,所有这些
全都在这个舞台上。
08:41
We figured想通 if we could get the data数据
closer接近 to the problem问题,
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我们认为,如果我们能
使数据更贴近问题,
08:44
and closer接近 to the farmer农民,
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更贴近农民,
08:46
the quicker更快 we could tell her
what was wrong错误 with her plant.
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我们就能更快地判断
她的植物出了什么问题。
08:50
And not only tell her what was wrong错误 --
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不仅能诊断出问题——
08:52
give her the solution.
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还能给她解决方案。
08:53
And the solution is,
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解决办法就是,
08:54
burn烧伤 the field领域 and plant varieties品种
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烧掉那片田地,并种上
08:57
that are resistant to the pests害虫
and pathogens病原体 she has in her field领域.
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对害虫和病原体具有
抵抗力的植物品种。
09:01
So the first thing that we did
was we had to do a DNA脱氧核糖核酸 extraction萃取.
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所以,我们必须做的第一件事
是进行DNA提取。
09:06
And we used this machine here.
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我们在这里用的是这台机器,
09:09
It's called a PDQeXPDQeX,
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叫做"PDQeX",
09:12
which哪一个 stands站立 for
"Pretty漂亮 Damn该死的 Quick Extraction萃取."
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代表“死快死快的提取"。
09:16
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
09:18
I know.
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有意思吧。
09:19
My friend朋友 Joe is really cool.
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我的朋友乔真的很酷。
09:23
One of the biggest最大 challenges挑战
in doing a DNA脱氧核糖核酸 extraction萃取
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最大的挑战之一是进行DNA提取,
09:26
is it usually平时 requires要求
very expensive昂贵 equipment设备,
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它通常需要非常昂贵的设备,
09:30
and takes hours小时.
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需要几个小时。
09:31
But with this machine,
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但是有了这台机器,
09:33
we've我们已经 been able能够 to do it in 20 minutes分钟,
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我们在二十分钟内就能完成,
09:35
at a fraction分数 of the cost成本.
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而且成本低廉,
09:37
And this runs运行 off of a motorcycle摩托车 battery电池.
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只需要摩托车的电池供电。
09:41
From there, we take the DNA脱氧核糖核酸 extraction萃取
and prepare准备 it into a library图书馆,
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我们将提取的DNA存入序列库,
09:46
getting得到 it ready准备 to load加载 on
192
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准备加载到
09:48
to this portable手提, handheld手持
genomic基因组 sequencer,
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这个便携式手持基因组测序仪中,
09:52
which哪一个 is here,
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就是这个装置,
然后我们将它连上一台
微型超级计算机,
09:53
and then we plug插头 this
into a mini微型 supercomputer超级计算机,
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09:57
which哪一个 is called a MinITMinIT.
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称为" MinIT"。
09:59
And both of these things are plugged
into a portable手提 battery电池 pack.
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这两个装置由便携式电池供电。
10:04
So we were able能够 to eliminate消除
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这样一来,我们就能够排除
10:06
the requirements要求
of main主要 power功率 and internet互联网,
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对主要电源和互联网的依赖,
10:08
which哪一个 are two very limiting限制 factors因素
on a small-scale小型 family家庭 farm农场.
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这两者是一个小型家庭农场
运作的局限因素。
10:13
Analyzing分析 the data数据 quickly很快
can also be a problem问题.
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快速分析数据也可能是个问题。
10:17
But this is where me being存在
a computational计算 biologist生物学家 came来了 in handy便利.
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但是,我这位计算生物学家
的存在派上了用场。
10:21
All that gluing胶合 of dead plants植物,
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所有枯死植物的标本,
10:23
and all that measuring测量,
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所有的测量,
10:25
and all that computing计算
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和所有的计算,
10:27
finally最后 came来了 in handy便利
in a real-world真实世界, real-time即时的 way.
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终于在现实世界中
以实时方式派上用场了。
10:31
I was able能够 to make customized定制 databases数据库
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我能够定制数据库,
10:34
and we were able能够 to give the farmers农民
results结果 in three hours小时
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在三小时内给农民结果,
10:39
versus six months个月.
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而不是六个月。
10:41
(Applause掌声)
210
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(掌声)
10:50
The farmers农民 were overjoyed喜出望外.
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农民们欣喜若狂。
10:53
So how do we know
that we're having impact碰撞?
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那么我们又怎么知道
我们的策略产生了影响呢?
10:56
Nine moths飞蛾 after our Tree Lab实验室,
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2000
"树实验室"之后的九个月,
10:58
Asha阿沙 went from having
zero tons per hectare公顷
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阿莎的收获从每公顷零吨木薯
11:01
to 40 tons per hectare公顷.
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2008
上升到了每公顷40吨木薯。
11:03
She had enough足够 to feed饲料 her family家庭
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她有足够的粮食养活她的家人,
11:05
and she was selling销售 it at the market市场,
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还有多余在市场上售卖,
11:08
and she's now building建造 a house
for her family家庭.
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现在,她已经能够为家人盖房子了。
11:12
Yeah, so cool.
219
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是的,太酷了。
11:13
(Applause掌声)
220
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(掌声)
11:17
So how do we scale规模 Tree Lab实验室?
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那么,我们如何扩展"树实验室"呢?
11:19
The thing is,
222
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事实上,
11:21
farmers农民 are scaled缩放 already已经 in Africa非洲.
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农民在非洲已颇具规模。
11:23
These women妇女 work in farmer农民 groups,
224
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这些妇女以团体为单位进行劳作,
11:25
so helping帮助 Asha阿沙 actually其实 helped帮助
3,000 people in her village,
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所以帮助阿莎,实际上就
帮助了她村子里的3000人,
11:29
because she shared共享 the results结果
and also the solution.
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因为她分享了结果以及解决方案。
11:33
I remember记得 every一切 single
farmer农民 I've ever met会见.
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我记得我见过的每一个农民。
11:38
Their pain疼痛 and their joy喜悦
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他们的痛苦和喜悦
11:42
is engraved in my memories回忆.
229
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深深的刻在我的记忆中。
11:44
Our science科学 is for them.
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我们的科学是为他们而进行的。
11:47
Tree Lab实验室 is our best最好 attempt尝试
to help them become成为 more food餐饮 secure安全.
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"树实验室"是我们在帮助他们
提升食品安全方面最好的尝试。
11:53
I never dreamt梦见
232
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我从未梦想过
11:54
that the best最好 science科学
I would ever do in my life
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我一生中做过最好的科学实验
11:57
would be on that blanket in East Africa非洲,
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会在东非的毯子上,
12:01
with the highest-tech最高技术 genomic基因组 gadgets小工具.
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用最先进的基因组工具包。
12:04
But our team球队 did dream梦想
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但我们的团队确实梦想过
12:06
that we could give farmers农民 answers答案
in three hours小时 versus six months个月,
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在三小时内给农民答案,
而不再需要六个月,
12:11
and then we did it.
238
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然后我们做到了。
12:12
Because that's the power功率
of diversity多样 and inclusion包容 in science科学.
239
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因为那是科学多元化和包容性的力量。
12:17
Thank you.
240
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谢谢。
12:18
(Applause掌声)
241
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(掌声)
12:21
(Cheers干杯)
242
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(欢呼声)
Translated by Yen Doran
Reviewed by psjmz mz

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laura Boykin - Computational biologist, activist
TED Senior Fellow Laura Boykin uses technology to help farmers in East Africa have more food to feed their families.

Why you should listen

Dr. Laura Boykin is a TED Senior Fellow, Gifted Citizen and computational biologist who uses genomics and supercomputing to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa control whiteflies and viruses, which cause devastation to the local cassava crops. Cassava is a staple food that feeds more than 800 million people globally.

Boykin also works in partnership with African scientists to train local communities in genomics and high-performance computing skills, with the aim of tackling future insect and viral outbreaks. Recently, she founded The Cassava Virus Action Project along with collaborators in east Africa to roll out portable DNA sequencing and analyses to farmers in the region. Their mission is to increase cassava yields for 500 million farmers.

More profile about the speaker
Laura Boykin | Speaker | TED.com

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