TED2014
Janet Iwasa: How animations can help scientists test a hypothesis
珍妮特·埃瓦薩: 動畫如何協助科學家研究假設
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3D動畫可以生動呈現科學假設。分子生物學家珍妮特·埃瓦薩介紹一種專為科學家設計而且開放原始碼的新動畫軟體。
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Take a look at this drawing.
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請大家看這張圖
00:14
Can you tell what it is?
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你知道這是什麼嗎?
00:16
I'm a molecular biologist by training,
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我是一個分子生物學家
00:18
and I've seen a lot of these kinds of drawings.
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我看過很多這種圖
00:21
They're usually referred to as a model figure,
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通常是分子模型圖
00:24
a drawing that shows how we think
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用來說明
00:26
a cellular or molecular process occurs.
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細胞或分子的分裂過程
00:29
This particular drawing is of a process
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這張圖是在說明
00:31
called clathrin-mediated endocytosis.
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一個由網格蛋白介導的胞吞作用的過程
00:35
It's a process by which a molecule can get
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透過這個過程
00:38
from the outside of the cell to the inside
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一個分子可以從細胞外進入細胞內
00:40
by getting captured in a bubble or a vesicle
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它先被一個泡囊包覆
00:43
that then gets internalized by the cell.
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然後再被吞入細胞內
00:46
There's a problem with this drawing, though,
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但是 這張圖有一個問題
00:47
and it's mainly in what it doesn't show.
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而且從圖中看不出來
00:50
From lots of experiments,
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從許多實驗
00:51
from lots of different scientists,
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以及科學家的研究中
00:53
we know a lot about what these molecules look like,
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我們知道這些分子長什麼樣子
00:56
how they move around in the cell,
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知道它們如何在細胞內移動
00:58
and that this is all taking place
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而且這都發生在
01:00
in an incredibly dynamic environment.
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令人難以置信的動態環境中
01:03
So in collaboration with a clathrin
expert Tomas Kirchhausen,
expert Tomas Kirchhausen,
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因此 我們和網格蛋白專家
Tomas Kirchhausen合作
Tomas Kirchhausen合作
01:06
we decided to create a new kind of model figure
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要創造一種新的分子模型圖
01:09
that showed all of that.
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來說明一切
01:11
So we start outside of the cell.
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我們從細胞外開始
01:12
Now we're looking inside.
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現在我們來看細胞內
01:14
Clathrin are these three-legged molecules
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這些三隻腳的分子是網格蛋白
01:16
that can self-assemble into soccer-ball-like shapes.
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它們可以自我組成像足球的形狀
01:19
Through connections with a membrane,
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透過與細胞膜的連結
01:21
clathrin is able to deform the membrane
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網格蛋白會使連結膜變形
01:23
and form this sort of a cup
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形成這種杯子狀
01:25
that forms this sort of a bubble, or a vesicle,
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然後形成這種小泡
01:27
that's now capturing some of the proteins
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並開始吞入
01:29
that were outside of the cell.
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原本在細胞外的蛋白質
01:30
Proteins are coming in now that
basically pinch off this vesicle,
basically pinch off this vesicle,
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被吞入的蛋白質
01:34
making it separate from the rest of the membrane,
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將小泡與膜分離
01:36
and now clathrin is basically done with its job,
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此時網格蛋白的任務基本上已完成
蛋白質已進入細胞內
01:39
and so proteins are coming in now —
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01:40
we've covered them yellow and orange —
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我們用黃色和橘色表示
01:42
that are responsible for taking
apart this clathrin cage.
apart this clathrin cage.
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它們負責將網格蛋白分解
01:45
And so all of these proteins
can get basically recycled
can get basically recycled
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基本上所有這些蛋白質
01:48
and used all over again.
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可以回收再利用
01:49
These processes are too small to be seen directly,
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這些過程太小以致於無法直接觀察
01:53
even with the best microscopes,
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即使用最好的顯微鏡也看不到
01:55
so animations like this provide a really powerful way
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因此 這樣的動畫提供了一個好方法
01:57
of visualizing a hypothesis.
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使科學假設可視化
02:00
Here's another illustration,
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這裡還有一張圖
02:02
and this is a drawing of how a researcher might think
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這張圖說明了研究人員
02:05
that the HIV virus gets into and out of cells.
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是如何想像HIV病毒進出細胞內外的
02:08
And again, this is a vast oversimplification
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但這是個過於簡單的說明
02:11
and doesn't begin to show
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並沒有表達出
02:13
what we actually know about these processes.
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我們實際上對這些過程的了解
02:15
You might be surprised to know
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你可能覺得訝異
02:17
that these simple drawings are the only way
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這些簡單的圖竟是
02:20
that most biologists visualize
their molecular hypotheses.
their molecular hypotheses.
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大部分生物學家
畫出分子假設的唯一方法
畫出分子假設的唯一方法
02:24
Why?
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為什麼?
02:25
Because creating movies of processes
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因為 依照我們認為的實際過程
02:27
as we think they actually occur is really hard.
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來設計這些移動是非常困難的
02:30
I spent months in Hollywood
learning 3D animation software,
learning 3D animation software,
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我花了幾個月
在好萊塢學習3D動畫軟體
在好萊塢學習3D動畫軟體
02:34
and I spend months on each animation,
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每個動畫又各花費了我一段時間
02:36
and that's just time that most
researchers can't afford.
researchers can't afford.
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而大部分研究人員 並沒有時間去學習
02:39
The payoffs can be huge, though.
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不過 這個報酬是可觀的
02:41
Molecular animations are unparalleled
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分子動畫無與倫比
02:44
in their ability to convey a great deal of information
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它可以向大眾傳達豐富的資訊
02:47
to broad audiences with extreme accuracy.
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並且準確無誤
02:51
And I'm working on a new project now
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我正在進行一個新的計畫
02:52
called "The Science of HIV"
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叫做"HIV的科學"
02:54
where I'll be animating the entire life cycle
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我會以動畫盡可能準確地呈現出
02:56
of the HIV virus as accurately as possible
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HIV病毒的完整生命循環
02:59
and all in molecular detail.
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以及詳細的分子資訊
03:01
The animation will feature data
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這個動畫將呈現出
03:03
from thousands of researchers
collected over decades,
collected over decades,
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眾多研究人員
數十年來蒐集到的資料
數十年來蒐集到的資料
03:06
data on what this virus looks like,
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包括病毒長什麼樣子
03:09
how it's able to infect cells in our body,
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它如何感染我們體內的細胞
03:13
and how therapeutics are
helping to combat infection.
helping to combat infection.
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以及醫學治療如何幫助我們對付感染
03:17
Over the years, I found that animations
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多年來 我發現
03:19
aren't just useful for communicating an idea,
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動畫不僅可協助溝通
03:22
but they're also really useful
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更有助於
03:23
for exploring a hypothesis.
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探討假設
03:25
Biologists for the most part are
still using a paper and pencil
still using a paper and pencil
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生物學家大多仍在使用紙筆
03:29
to visualize the processes they study,
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畫出他們所研究的過程
03:31
and with the data we have now,
that's just not good enough anymore.
that's just not good enough anymore.
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但以我們現在擁有的資料來說
這種方式不再足夠
這種方式不再足夠
03:34
The process of creating an animation
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設計動畫的過程
03:37
can act as a catalyst that allows researchers
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可以促進研究人員
03:39
to crystalize and refine their own ideas.
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將自己的想法具體化 並進一步精煉
03:42
One researcher I worked with
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有一名我合作過的研究人員
03:44
who works on the molecular mechanisms
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她的研究是
03:46
of neurodegenerative diseases
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神經退化性疾病的分子機制
03:48
came up with experiments that were related
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她想出一些實驗
03:50
directly to the animation that
she and I worked on together,
she and I worked on together,
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跟我們共同創作的動畫相關
03:53
and in this way, animation can
feed back into the research process.
feed back into the research process.
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這使得動畫可以回饋在研究過程上
03:57
I believe that animation can change biology.
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我相信動畫可以改變生物學
04:00
It can change the way that we
communicate with one another,
communicate with one another,
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它可以改變我們的溝通方式
04:02
how we explore our data
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研究數據的方式
04:04
and how we teach our students.
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以及教育學生的方式
04:05
But for that change to happen,
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但是要讓這樣的改變發生
04:07
we need more researchers creating animations,
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我們需要更多的研究人員去設計動畫
04:10
and toward that end, I brought together a team
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因此 我發起組成了一個團隊
04:12
of biologists, animators and programmers
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包括生物學家 動畫人員以及程式人員
04:15
to create a new, free, open-source software —
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設計一個新的 免費的 開放原始碼的軟體
04:18
we call it Molecular Flipbook —
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我們稱為"分子的Flipbook"
04:20
that's created just for biologists
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專門讓生物學家使用
04:22
just to create molecular animations.
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用於設計分子動畫
04:26
From our testing, we've found
that it only takes 15 minutes
that it only takes 15 minutes
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從測試中 我們發現只需要15分鐘
04:29
for a biologist who has never
touched animation software before
touched animation software before
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就可以使從未接觸過動畫軟體的生物學家
04:33
to create her first molecular animation
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設計出她的第一個分子動畫
04:35
of her own hypothesis.
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來說明她的研究假設
04:37
We're also building an online database
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我們也在建置線上資料庫
04:39
where anyone can view, download and contribute
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任何人都可以瀏覽 下載
04:42
their own animations.
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以及分享他們自己的動畫
04:43
We're really excited to announce
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我們很興奮地要告訴大家
04:45
that the beta version of the molecular animation
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這個分子動畫軟體工具包的試用版
04:48
software toolkit will be available for download today.
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在今天就可以下載使用
04:52
We are really excited to see
what biologists will create with it
what biologists will create with it
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我們很期待生物學家的創作
04:55
and what new insights they're able to gain
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以及他們可以獲得什麼樣的新啟發
04:57
from finally being able to animate
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而這個啟發來自於
04:58
their own model figures.
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得以將自己的分子模型以動畫來呈現
05:00
Thank you.
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謝謝
05:02
(Applause)
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(掌聲)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Janet Iwasa - Molecular animatorWhy you should listen
While we know a lot about molecular processes, they can’t be observed directly, and scientists have to rely on simple, two-dimensional drawings to depict complex hypotheses. That is, they did until now. Janet Iwasa’s colorful and action-packed 3D animations bring scientific hypotheses to life, showing how we think molecules look, move and interact. Not only is molecular animation a powerful way to illustrate ideas and convey information to general audiences, it’s also a powerful tools for inspiring new research. However, 3D molecular animation using commercial software requires skill and time, so Iwasa has created a simpler 3D animation software tool for biologists, allowing researchers to intuitively and quickly model molecular hypotheses. In 2014, she launched the beta of her new free, open-source animation software, Molecular Flipbook, which allows biologists to create molecular animations of their own hypotheses in just 15 minutes.
More profile about the speakerJanet Iwasa | Speaker | TED.com