TED2013
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao: Two young scientists break down plastics with bacteria
Dvije mlade znanstvenice rastavljaju plastiku bakterijama
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Kada je stvorena, plastika (gotovo) nikad ne umire. Dok su bile u četvrtom razredu srednje škole Miranda Wang i Jeanny Yao potražile su bakteriju kojom će biorazgraditi plastiku -- specifično razgradnjom ftalata, štetnog plastificizera. Pronašli su odgovor koji je bio zapanjujuće blizak početnoj ideji.
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao - Science fair winners
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. And they’re still teenagers. Full bio
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. And they’re still teenagers. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Miranda Wang: We're here to talk about accidents.
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Miranda Wang: Ovdje smo kako bismo pričali o nezgodama.
00:15
How do you feel about accidents?
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Koji je vaš stav o nezgodama?
00:17
When we think about accidents,
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Kada mislimo na nezgode,
00:19
we usually consider them to be harmful,
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obično ih smatramo štetnima,
00:21
unfortunate or even dangerous, and they certainly can be.
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nesretnima ili čak opasnima, i one to zaista mogu biti.
00:25
But are they always that bad?
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Ali jesu li uvijek tako loše?
00:28
The discovery that had led to penicillin, for example,
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Otkriće koje nas je dovelo do penicilina, na primjer,
00:30
is one of the most fortunate accidents of all time.
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je jedna od najsretnijih nezgoda svih vremena.
00:34
Without biologist Alexander Fleming's moldy accident,
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Bez pljesnive nezgode biologa Alexandra Fleminga,
00:37
caused by a neglected workstation,
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koju je prouzročilo zanemareno radno mjesto,
00:39
we wouldn't be able to fight off so many bacterial infections.
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ne bismo se mogli boriti protiv toliko bakterijskih infekcija.
00:44
Jeanny Yao: Miranda and I are here today
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Jeanny Yao: Miranda i ja smo danas ovdje
00:46
because we'd like to share how our accidents
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jer smo htjele podijeliti kako su naše nezgode
00:48
have led to discoveries.
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dovele do otkrića.
00:50
In 2011, we visited the Vancouver Waste Transfer Station
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2011. posjetili smo Postaju za prijenos otpada u Vancouveru
00:54
and saw an enormous pit of plastic waste.
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i vidjeli ogromnu jamu plastičnog otpada.
00:57
We realized that when plastics get to the dump,
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Shvatile smo da kada jednom plastika dođe u jamu,
01:00
it's difficult to sort them because they have similar densities,
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teško ju sortiraju, jer sva plastika ima podjednaku gustoću,
01:03
and when they're mixed with organic matter
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i kada je pomiješate s organskim tvarima
01:05
and construction debris, it's truly impossible
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i građevinskim otpadom, onda je zaista nemoguće
01:07
to pick them out and environmentally eliminate them.
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izvući je i ukloniti ih u skladu s okolišem.
01:10
MW: However, plastics are useful
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MW: Ipak, plastika je korisna
01:13
because they're durable, flexible,
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jer je izdržljiva, fleksibilna,
01:15
and can be easily molded into so many useful shapes.
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i može se lako oblikovati u tako puno korisnih oblika.
01:18
The downside of this convenience
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Ali loša strana korisnosti je
01:20
is that there's a high cost to this.
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ta da postoji visoka cijena koju plaćamo.
01:23
Plastics cause serious problems, such as
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Plastika uzrokuje ozbiljne probleme, kao što su
01:25
the destruction of ecosystems,
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uništavanje ekosustava,
01:27
the pollution of natural resources,
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zagađenje prirodnih resursa,
01:29
and the reduction of available land space.
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i smanjenje raspoložive zemlje.
01:31
This picture you see here is the Great Pacific Gyre.
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Ova slika koju vidite je Sjevernopacifička struja.
01:34
When you think about plastic pollution
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Kad razmišljate o zagađenju plastikom
01:36
and the marine environment,
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i morskom okolišu,
01:38
we think about the Great Pacific Gyre,
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mislimo na Sjevernopacifička struju,
01:39
which is supposed to be a floating island of plastic waste.
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koja bi trebala biti veliki plutajući otok plastičnog otpada.
01:43
But that's no longer an accurate depiction
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Ali to više nije točan opis
01:45
of plastic pollution in the marine environment.
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plastičnog zagađenja u morskom okolišu.
01:48
Right now, the ocean is actually a soup of plastic debris,
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Upravo sada, oceani su zapravo juha plastičnog otpada,
01:52
and there's nowhere you can go in the ocean
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i nema mjesta gdje možete otići u oceanu
01:54
where you wouldn't be able to find plastic particles.
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gdje nećete moći pronaći plastične komadiće.
01:57
JY: In a plastic-dependent society,
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JY: U društvu koje ovisi o plastici,
02:00
cutting down production is a good goal, but it's not enough.
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smanjiti proizvodnju je dobar cilj, ali nije dovoljan.
02:03
And what about the waste that's already been produced?
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I što s otpadom koji je već stvoren?
02:06
Plastics take hundreds to thousands of years to biodegrade.
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Plastici treba stotine do tisuća godina da se razgradi.
02:10
So we thought, you know what?
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Pa smo pomislili, znate što?
02:11
Instead of waiting for that garbage to sit there and pile up,
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Umjesto da čekamo da to smeće stoji i nagomila se,
02:15
let's find a way to break them down
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nađimo način da ga razgradimo
02:17
with bacteria.
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bakterijama.
02:19
Sounds cool, right?
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Zvuči cool, zar ne?
02:21
Audience: Yeah. JY: Thank you.
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Publika: Da. JY: Hvala vam.
02:22
But we had a problem.
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Ali imali smo problem.
02:24
You see, plastics have very complex structures
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Vidite, plastika ima jako složenu strukturu
02:27
and are difficult to biodegrade.
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i teško ju je biorazgraditi.
02:30
Anyhow, we were curious and hopeful
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Bilo kako bilo, bili smo znatiželjne i pune nade
02:32
and still wanted to give it a go.
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i još uvijek smo htjele pokušati.
02:33
MW: With this idea in mind, Jeanny and I read through
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MW: S ovom idejom na umu, Jeanny i ja pročitali smo
02:36
some hundreds of scientific articles on the Internet,
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stotine znanstvenih članaka na Internetu,
02:38
and we drafted a research proposal
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i izradili smo prijedlog za istraživanje
02:40
in the beginning of our grade 12 year.
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na početku školske godine.
02:43
We aimed to find bacteria from our local Fraser River
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Htjeli smo naći bakteriju u našoj lokalnoj rijeci Fraser
02:46
that can degrade a harmful plasticizer called phthalates.
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koja može degradirati štetne plastifikatore koji se nazivaju ftalati.
02:50
Phthalates are additives used in everyday plastic products
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Ftalati su aditivi koji se koriste u svakodnevnim plastičnim proizvodima
02:52
to increase their flexibility, durability and transparency.
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kako bismo povećali njihovu fleksibilnost, trajnost i prozirnost.
02:57
Although they're part of the plastic,
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Iako su dio plastike,
02:59
they're not covalently bonded to the plastic backbone.
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nisu kovalentno povezani s plastičnom kralježnicom.
03:01
As a result, they easily escape into our environment.
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Kao rezultat toga, lako se otpuštaju u naš okoliš.
03:04
Not only do phthalates pollute our environment,
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Ne samo da ftalati onečišćuju naš okoliš,
03:07
but they also pollute our bodies.
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oni također onečišćuju naša tijela.
03:09
To make the matter worse, phthalates are found in products
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Da stvari budu gore, ftalati se nalaze u proizvodima
03:12
to which we have a high exposure, such as babies' toys,
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kojima smo često izloženi, kao što su dječje igračke,
03:16
beverage containers, cosmetics, and even food wraps.
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boce za napitke, kozmetika, i čak omoti hrane.
03:20
Phthalates are horrible because
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Ftalati su užasni zato
03:22
they're so easily taken into our bodies.
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što ih tako lako unosimo u tijelo.
03:24
They can be absorbed by skin contact, ingested, and inhaled.
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Možemo ih absorbirati kontaktom s kožom, pojesti, i inhalirati.
03:29
JY: Every year, at least 470 million pounds of phthalates
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JY: Svake godine, barem 470 milijuna kilograma ftalata
03:32
contaminate our air, water and soil.
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zagađuje naš zrak, vodu i tlo.
03:36
The Environmental Protection Agency
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Američka Agencija za zaštitu okoliša
03:37
even classified this group as a top-priority pollutant
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ovu je grupu klasificirala kao onečišćivać visokog prioriteta
03:40
because it's been shown to cause cancer and birth defects
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jer se pokazao kao uzrok raka i nepravilnosti pri rođenju
03:44
by acting as a hormone disruptor.
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jer se ponaša kao disruptor hormona.
03:46
We read that each year, the Vancouver municipal government
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Pročitali smo kako svake godine, općinska vlast u Vancouveru
03:49
monitors phthalate concentration levels in rivers
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nadgleda koncentraciju ftalata u rijekama
03:51
to assess their safety.
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kako bi procijenila njihovu sigurnost.
03:53
So we figured, if there are places along our Fraser River
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Pa smo mislili, ako postoje mjesta na rijeci Fraser
03:56
that are contaminated with phthalates,
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koja su zagađena ftalatima,
03:58
and if there are bacteria that are able to live in these areas,
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i ako postoje bakterije koje mogu živjeti u tim područjima,
04:01
then perhaps, perhaps these bacteria could have evolved
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onda možda, možda su te bakterije evoluirale
04:05
to break down phthalates.
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da mogu rastaviti ftalate.
04:07
MW: So we presented this good idea
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MW: Tako da smo prezentirali ovu dobru ideju
04:10
to Dr. Lindsay Eltis at the University of British Columbia,
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Dr. Lindsay Eltis na sveučilištu u Britanskoj Kolumbiji,
04:13
and surprisingly, he actually took us into his lab
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i iznenađujuće, zapravo nas je odveo u laboratorij
04:16
and asked his graduate students Adam and James to help us.
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i pitao svoje diplomce Adama i Jamesa da nam pomognu.
04:20
Little did we know at that time
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U to vrijeme nismo znali
04:22
that a trip to the dump and some research on the Internet
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kako će put na smetlište i malo istraživanja na Internetu
04:25
and plucking up the courage to act upon inspiration
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te skupljanje hrabrosti da se djeluje po inspiraciji,
04:28
would take us on a life-changing journey
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odvesti nas na putovanje koje mjenja živote
04:30
of accidents and discoveries.
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prepuno nezgoda i otkrića.
04:33
JY: The first step in our project
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JY: Prvi korak u našem projektu
04:35
was to collect soil samples from three different sites
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bio je skupiti uzorke zemlje s tri različita mjesta
04:37
along the Fraser River.
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na rijeci Fraser.
04:39
Out of thousands of bacteria, we wanted to find ones
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Od tisuća bakterija, htjeli smo pronaći one
04:42
that could break down phthalates,
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koje mogu rastaviti ftalate,
04:43
so we enriched our cultures with phthalates
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tako da smo naše kulture obogatili ftalatima
04:45
as the only carbon source.
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kao jedinim izvorom ugljika.
04:47
This implied that, if anything grew in our cultures,
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Ovo je impliciralo, ako nešto raste u našim kulturama,
04:49
then they must be able to live off of phthalates.
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mora biti u mogućnosti živjeti od ftalata.
04:52
Everything went well from there,
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Odavde je sve išlo dobro,
04:54
and we became amazing scientists. (Laughter)
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i postali smo sjajne znanstvenice. (Smijeh)
04:57
MW: Um ... uh, Jeanny. JY: I'm just joking.
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MW: Um...uh, Jeanny. JY: Samo se šalim.
05:00
MW: Okay. Well, it was partially my fault.
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MW: U redu. Pa, to je djelomično bila moja krivica.
05:02
You see, I accidentally cracked the flask
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Vidite, slučajno sam razbila bočicu
05:05
that had contained our third enrichment culture,
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koja je sadržavala našu treću obogaćenu kulturu,
05:07
and as a result, we had to wipe down the incubator room
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i kao rezultat, morali smo obrisati inkubator
05:10
with bleach and ethanol twice.
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dva puta s bjelilom i etanolom.
05:12
And this is only one of the examples of the many accidents
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I ovo je samo jedan primjer mnogih nezgoda
05:15
that happened during our experimentation.
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koje su se događale tijekom našeg eksperimentiranja.
05:17
But this mistake turned out to be rather serendipitous.
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Ali ova greška je na kraju ispalo kao ugodno iznenađenje.
05:20
We noticed that the unharmed cultures
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Primjetili smo da neozlijeđene kulture
05:23
came from places of opposite contamination levels,
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dolaze sa mjesta koja imaju suprotne razine onečišćenja,
05:26
so this mistake actually led us to think that
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tako da nas je ova nezgoda odvela do toga da mislimo
05:28
perhaps we can compare
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kako možda možemo usporediti
05:30
the different degradative potentials of bacteria
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različite potencijale bakterija za razgradnju
05:33
from sites of opposite contamination levels.
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s mjesta koja imaju suprotne razine onečišćenja.
05:37
JY: Now that we grew the bacteria,
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JY: Sad kad smo uzgojili bakterije,
05:39
we wanted to isolate strains by streaking onto mediate plates,
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htjele smo izolirati crte praveći pruge
05:42
because we thought that would be
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jer smo mislile kako bi to bilo
05:44
less accident-prone, but we were wrong again.
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manje sklono nezgodama, ali opet smo pogriješile.
05:47
We poked holes in our agar while streaking
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Probušile smo rupe u našem agaru dok smo pravile pruge
05:51
and contaminated some samples and funghi.
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i zagadile neke uzorke i gljivice.
05:53
As a result, we had to streak and restreak several times.
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Kao rezultat, morali smo praviti pruge i ponovno praviti pruge, i tako nekoliko puta.
05:56
Then we monitored phthalate utilization
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Onda smo pratili korišćenje ftalata
05:59
and bacterial growth,
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i rast bakterija,
06:01
and found that they shared an inverse correlation,
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i saznali smo da dijele inverznu korelaciju,
06:03
so as bacterial populations increased,
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tako da dok su se povećavale bakterijske populacije,
06:06
phthalate concentrations decreased.
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koncentracija ftalata je opadala.
06:08
This means that our bacteria were actually living off of phthalates.
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Ovo znači da naše bakterije zapravo žive od ftalata.
06:12
MW: So now that we found bacteria that could break down phthalates,
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MW: Sada kad smo pronašle bakteriju koja može rastaviti ftalate,
06:15
we wondered what these bacteria were.
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pitale smo se što su te bakterije.
06:17
So Jeanny and I took three of our most efficient strains
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Tako da smo Jeanny i ja uzele tri naše najuspješnije crte
06:20
and then performed gene amplification sequencing on them
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i provele sekvenciranje pojačanim genima na njima
06:23
and matched our data with an online comprehensive database.
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i usporedile naše podatke s podatcima opsežne baze podataka.
06:26
We were happy to see that,
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Bile smo sretne kad smo vidjele,
06:27
although our three strains had been previously identified bacteria,
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da iako su naše tri crte bile prije identificirane bakterije,
06:31
two of them were not previously associated
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dvije se prije nisu povezivale
06:34
with phthalate degradation, so this was actually a novel discovery.
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s degradacijom ftalata, tako da je ovo zapravo bilo novo otkriće.
06:38
JY: To better understand how this biodegradation works,
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JY: Kako bismo bolje razumjele kako radi ova bio razgradnja
06:42
we wanted to verify the catabolic pathways of our three strains.
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htjele smo potvrditi kataboličke putanje naše tri crte.
06:46
To do this, we extracted enzymes from our bacteria
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Kako bismo to učinile, ekstraktirali smo enzime iz bakterija
06:49
and reacted with an intermediate of phthalic acid.
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i povezale ih s ftaličnom kiselinom.
06:52
MW: We monitored this experiment with spectrophotometry
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MW: Pratili smo ovaj eksperiment spektrofotometrijom
06:55
and obtained this beautiful graph.
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i dobile ovaj predivni graf.
06:58
This graph shows that our bacteria really do have
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Ovaj graf pokazuje da naše bakterije zaista imaju
07:00
a genetic pathway to biodegrade phthalates.
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genetički put za biodegradaciju ftalata.
07:03
Our bacteria can transform phthalates, which is a harmful toxin,
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Naše bakterije mogu transformirati ftalate, koji su štetan toksin
07:06
into end products such as carbon dioxide, water
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u završni proizvod kao što je ugljikov dioksid, voda
07:09
and alcohol.
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i alkohol.
07:10
I know some of you in the crowd are thinking,
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Znam da neki od vas u publici misle,
07:11
well, carbon dioxide is horrible, it's a greenhouse gas.
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pa, ugljik dioksid je užasan, to je staklenički plin.
07:15
But if our bacteria did not evolve to break down phthalates,
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Ali ako naše bakterije nisu evoluirale kako bi razdvojile ftalate,
07:18
they would have used some other kind of carbon source,
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koristile bi neki drugi izvor ugljika,
07:21
and aerobic respiration would have led it
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i aerobna respiracija dovela bi
07:23
to have end products such as carbon dioxide anyway.
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do toga da i tako imaju ugljik dioksid kao nusprodukt.
07:26
We were also interested to see that,
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No također nas je zanimalo da provjerimo,
07:28
although we've obtained greater diversity
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iako smo dobile veću raznolikost
07:31
of bacteria biodegraders from the bird habitat site,
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bakterijskih razrgrađivača iz nastambe ptica,
07:33
we obtained the most efficient degraders from the landfill site.
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dobile smo najučinkovitije razgrađivače iz odlagališta.
07:37
So this fully shows that nature evolves
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Tako da ovo zaista pokazuje kako priroda evoluira
07:39
through natural selection.
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kroz prirodnu selekciju.
07:42
JY: So Miranda and I shared this research
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JY: Tako smo Miranda i ja podijelile ovo istraživanje
07:44
at the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge competition and were recognized
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na Sanofi BioGENEius Izazov natjecanju i prepoznali su nas
07:47
with the greatest commercialization potential.
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kao projekt s najvećim potencijalom za komercijalizaciju.
07:50
Although we're not the first ones to find bacteria
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Iako nismo prvi koji su pronašli bakterije
07:53
that can break down phthalates,
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koje mogu razoriti ftalate,
07:54
we were the first ones to look into our local river
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mi smo prve koje smo pogledale u našu lokalnu rijeku
07:56
and find a possible solution to a local problem.
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i pronašle moguće rješenje za lokalni problem.
08:00
We have not only shown that bacteria
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Nismo samo pokazale da bakterija
08:03
can be the solution to plastic pollution, but also that
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može biti rješenje za onečišćenje plastikom, ali isto da treba
08:06
being open to uncertain outcomes and taking risks
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biti otvoren prema nesigurnim ishodima i riskirati
08:09
create opportunities for unexpected discoveries.
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stvara prilike za neočekivana otkrića.
08:13
Throughout this journey, we have also discovered our passion for science,
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Kroz ovo putovanje, mi smo također otkrile našu strast za znanost,
08:16
and are currently continuing research
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i sada nastavljamo istraživanje
08:18
on other fossil fuel chemicals in university.
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na drugim kemikalijama baziranim na fosilnim gorivima na sveučilištu.
08:21
We hope that in the near future,
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Nadamo se kako ćemo u bliskoj budućnosti,
08:23
we'll be able to create model organisms
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biti u mogućnosti stvoriti model organizma
08:25
that can break down not only phthalates
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koji može razgraditi ne samo ftalate
08:27
but a wide variety of different contaminants.
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već i širok raspon različitih onečišćivaća.
08:31
We can apply this to wastewater treatment plants
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Ovo možemo primjeniti na tvornice za tretiranje otpadnih voda
08:34
to clean up our rivers
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kako bismo očistili rijeke
08:35
and other natural resources.
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i druge prirodne resurse.
08:37
And perhaps one day we'll be able to tackle
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I možda ćemo se jednog dana moći uhvatiti u koštac
08:40
the problem of solid plastic waste.
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s problemom čvrstog plastičnog otpada.
08:44
MW: I think our journey has truly transformed
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MW: Mislim kako je naše putovanje zaista preobrazilo
08:46
our view of microorganisms,
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naše viđenje mikroorganizama,
08:48
and Jeanny and I have shown that
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i Jeanny i ja smo pokazale da
08:50
even mistakes can lead to discoveries.
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čak i greške mogu voditi do otkrića.
08:52
Einstein once said,
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Einstein je rekao,
08:53
"You can't solve problems by using the same kind
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"Ne možete riješiti probleme koristeći istu
08:56
of thinking you used when you created them."
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vrstu razmišljanja koju ste koristili kada ste ih stvorili."
08:59
If we're making plastic synthetically, then we think
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Ako radimo plastiku sintetički, onda mislimo
09:02
the solution would be to break them down biochemically.
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kako je rješenje rastaviti je biokemijski.
09:06
Thank you. JY: Thank you.
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Hvala vam. JY: Hvala vam.
09:08
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao - Science fair winnersMiranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. And they’re still teenagers.
Why you should listen
After a visit to a plastic-filled waste transfer station last year, students Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao learned that much of the plastic in trash may not degrade for 5,000 years. Synthesized into plastics are phthalates, compounds that make shower curtain liners, food wraps and other products bendable but may also adversely impact human reproductive development and health. As plastics slowly break down, these phthalates would leach into the surrounding environment.
So, the two young scientists tackled the problem and ultimately discovered strains of bacteria that have the potential to naturally degrade phthalates. Their work earned a regional first place in British Columbia for the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada, as well as a special award for the most commercial potential at the contest’s finals.
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao | Speaker | TED.com