TED2013
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao: Two young scientists break down plastics with bacteria
Dve mladi znanstvenici razgradita plastiko z bakterijami.
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Ko enkrat nastane, plastika (skoraj) nikoli ne umre. V 12. razredu sta se Miranda Wang in Jeanny Yao podali v iskanje nove bakterije, ki bi na biološki način razgradila plastiko - natančneje ftalat, škodljiv plastifikator. Odgovor sta našli presenetljivo blizu doma.
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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Tukaj sva, da bi govorili o nezgodah.
Kaj vi mislite o nezgodah?
Kaj vi mislite o nezgodah?
00:15
How do you feel about accidents?
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00:17
When we think about accidents,
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Ko pomislimo na nezgode,
jih imamo ponavadi za škodljive,
jih imamo ponavadi za škodljive,
00:19
we usually consider them to be harmful,
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00:21
unfortunate or even dangerous, and they certainly can be.
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nesrečne ali celo nevarne,
in to seveda lahko so.
in to seveda lahko so.
00:25
But are they always that bad?
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Ampak ali so vedno slabe?
00:28
The discovery that had led to penicillin, for example,
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Odkritje penicilina, na primer,
je ena najbolj srečnih nezgod vseh časov.
je ena najbolj srečnih nezgod vseh časov.
00:30
is one of the most fortunate accidents of all time.
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00:34
Without biologist Alexander Fleming's moldy accident,
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Brez plesnive nezgode
biologa Alexandra Fleminga,
biologa Alexandra Fleminga,
ki jo je povzročilo
zanemarjeno delovno mesto,
zanemarjeno delovno mesto,
00:37
caused by a neglected workstation,
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00:39
we wouldn't be able to fight off so many bacterial infections.
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se ne bi mogli boriti proti
mnogim bakterijskim infekcijam.
mnogim bakterijskim infekcijam.
00:44
Jeanny Yao: Miranda and I are here today
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Miranda in jaz sva danes tukaj,
ker bi radi delili z vami,
ker bi radi delili z vami,
00:46
because we'd like to share how our accidents
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kako so najine nezgode vodile do odkritij.
00:48
have led to discoveries.
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00:50
In 2011, we visited the Vancouver Waste Transfer Station
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Leta 2011 sva obiskali Vancouvrsko
postajo za predelavo odpadkov
postajo za predelavo odpadkov
00:54
and saw an enormous pit of plastic waste.
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in videli ogromen kup plastičnih smeti.
00:57
We realized that when plastics get to the dump,
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Spoznali sva, da ko plastika
pride do odlagališča,
pride do odlagališča,
01:00
it's difficult to sort them because they have similar densities,
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jo je težko sortirati,
ker imajo odpadki podobne gostote
ker imajo odpadki podobne gostote
01:03
and when they're mixed with organic matter
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in ko se zmeša z organsko snovjo
in konstrukcijskimi odpadki,
in konstrukcijskimi odpadki,
01:05
and construction debris, it's truly impossible
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jih je resnično nemogoče
izločiti in ekološko uničiti.
izločiti in ekološko uničiti.
01:07
to pick them out and environmentally eliminate them.
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01:10
MW: However, plastics are useful
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Kljub temu je plastika uporabna,
ker je vzdržljiva, prožna
ker je vzdržljiva, prožna
01:13
because they're durable, flexible,
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01:15
and can be easily molded into so many useful shapes.
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in se jo zlahka oblikuje
v mnoge uporabne oblike.
v mnoge uporabne oblike.
01:18
The downside of this convenience
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Slaba stran te prikladnosti pa je,
da ima visoko ceno.
da ima visoko ceno.
01:20
is that there's a high cost to this.
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01:23
Plastics cause serious problems, such as
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Plastika povzroča resne probleme,
kot na primer uničenje ekosistemov,
kot na primer uničenje ekosistemov,
01:25
the destruction of ecosystems,
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01:27
the pollution of natural resources,
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onesnaženje naravnih virov in zmanjševanje
dostopnega zemeljskega prostora.
dostopnega zemeljskega prostora.
01:29
and the reduction of available land space.
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01:31
This picture you see here is the Great Pacific Gyre.
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Na sliki vidite Veliki pacifiški otok.
01:34
When you think about plastic pollution
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Ko razmišljamo o plastičnem
onesnaževanju in morskem okolju,
onesnaževanju in morskem okolju,
01:36
and the marine environment,
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01:38
we think about the Great Pacific Gyre,
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pomislimo na Veliki pacifiški otok,
plavajoči otok plastičnih odpadkov.
plavajoči otok plastičnih odpadkov.
01:39
which is supposed to be a floating island of plastic waste.
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01:43
But that's no longer an accurate depiction
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A to ni več točen opis onesnaženja
s plastiko v morskem okolju.
s plastiko v morskem okolju.
01:45
of plastic pollution in the marine environment.
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01:48
Right now, the ocean is actually a soup of plastic debris,
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Zdaj je ocean pravzaprav
juha plastičnih naplavin
juha plastičnih naplavin
01:52
and there's nowhere you can go in the ocean
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in v oceanu ni več mesta,
kjer ne bi našli plastičnih delcev.
kjer ne bi našli plastičnih delcev.
01:54
where you wouldn't be able to find plastic particles.
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01:57
JY: In a plastic-dependent society,
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JY: V družbi, ki je odvisna od plastike,
02:00
cutting down production is a good goal, but it's not enough.
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je zmanjševanje proizvodnje
dober cilj, a ni dovolj.
dober cilj, a ni dovolj.
02:03
And what about the waste that's already been produced?
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Kam pa s smetmi, ki so že nastale?
02:06
Plastics take hundreds to thousands of years to biodegrade.
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Plastika se razkraja stotine do tisoče let,
zato sva pomislili - veste, kaj?
zato sva pomislili - veste, kaj?
02:10
So we thought, you know what?
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02:11
Instead of waiting for that garbage to sit there and pile up,
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Namesto da čakamo,
da se te smeti nakopičijo,
da se te smeti nakopičijo,
02:15
let's find a way to break them down
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poiščimo način, da jih razgradimo
02:17
with bacteria.
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z bakterijami.
02:19
Sounds cool, right?
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Zveni super, kajne?
Občinstvo: Ja. JY: Hvala.
Občinstvo: Ja. JY: Hvala.
02:21
Audience: Yeah. JY: Thank you.
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02:22
But we had a problem.
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A imeli sva problem.
02:24
You see, plastics have very complex structures
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Veste, plastika ima zelo zapletene
strukture, ki se težko razgradijo.
strukture, ki se težko razgradijo.
02:27
and are difficult to biodegrade.
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Vseeno sva bili radovedni in
polni upanja in sva hoteli poskusiti.
polni upanja in sva hoteli poskusiti.
02:30
Anyhow, we were curious and hopeful
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02:32
and still wanted to give it a go.
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02:33
MW: With this idea in mind, Jeanny and I read through
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MW: S to idejo v mislih
sva Jeanny in jaz prebrali
sva Jeanny in jaz prebrali
02:36
some hundreds of scientific articles on the Internet,
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nekaj sto znanstvenih člankov na internetu
02:38
and we drafted a research proposal
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in pripravili sva predlog za raziskavo
v začetku najinega 12. razreda.
v začetku najinega 12. razreda.
02:40
in the beginning of our grade 12 year.
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02:43
We aimed to find bacteria from our local Fraser River
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Cilj je bil, da najdeva
bakterije iz lokalne reke Fraser,
bakterije iz lokalne reke Fraser,
02:46
that can degrade a harmful plasticizer called phthalates.
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ki lahko razgradijo škodljiv
plastifikator imenovan ftalat.
plastifikator imenovan ftalat.
Ftalati so aditivi uporabljeni
v vsakdanjih plastičnih izdelkih,
v vsakdanjih plastičnih izdelkih,
02:50
Phthalates are additives used in everyday plastic products
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02:52
to increase their flexibility, durability and transparency.
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da povečajo njihovo fleksibilnost,
vzdržljivost in transparentnost.
vzdržljivost in transparentnost.
02:57
Although they're part of the plastic,
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Čeprav so del plastike, niso kovalentno
vezani na plastično hrbtenico.
vezani na plastično hrbtenico.
02:59
they're not covalently bonded to the plastic backbone.
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03:01
As a result, they easily escape into our environment.
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In zato zlahka uidejo v naše okolje.
03:04
Not only do phthalates pollute our environment,
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Ne samo, da ftalati onesnažujejo naše okolje,
onesnažujejo tudi naša telesa.
onesnažujejo tudi naša telesa.
03:07
but they also pollute our bodies.
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03:09
To make the matter worse, phthalates are found in products
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Kar je še huje,
ftalate najdemo v izdelkih,
ftalate najdemo v izdelkih,
03:12
to which we have a high exposure, such as babies' toys,
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ki smo jim zelo izpostavljeni,
kot so na primer otroške igrače,
kot so na primer otroške igrače,
03:16
beverage containers, cosmetics, and even food wraps.
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posode za pijačo, kozmetika
in celo ovitki za hrano.
in celo ovitki za hrano.
03:20
Phthalates are horrible because
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Ftalati so grozni,
ker pridejo tako zlahka v naše telo.
ker pridejo tako zlahka v naše telo.
03:22
they're so easily taken into our bodies.
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03:24
They can be absorbed by skin contact, ingested, and inhaled.
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Lahko se absorbirajo pri kontaktu s kožo,
pri zaužitju in vdihavanju.
pri zaužitju in vdihavanju.
03:29
JY: Every year, at least 470 million pounds of phthalates
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JY: Vsako leto vsaj
210 milijonov kilogramov ftalatov
210 milijonov kilogramov ftalatov
03:32
contaminate our air, water and soil.
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onesnaži naš zrak, vodo in zemljo.
03:36
The Environmental Protection Agency
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Agencija za zaščito okolja
je celo uvrstila to skupino med
je celo uvrstila to skupino med
03:37
even classified this group as a top-priority pollutant
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onesnaževalce najvišje prioritete,
ker je bilo dokazano, da povzroča raka
ker je bilo dokazano, da povzroča raka
03:40
because it's been shown to cause cancer and birth defects
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in prirojene nepravilnosti,
saj deluje kot hormonski motilec.
saj deluje kot hormonski motilec.
03:44
by acting as a hormone disruptor.
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03:46
We read that each year, the Vancouver municipal government
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Prebrali sva, da vsako leto
vancouvrska mestna uprava
vancouvrska mestna uprava
03:49
monitors phthalate concentration levels in rivers
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spremlja koncentracijo ftalatov v rekah,
da bi ocenila njihovo varnost.
da bi ocenila njihovo varnost.
03:51
to assess their safety.
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03:53
So we figured, if there are places along our Fraser River
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Če obstajajo torej mesta ob naši
reki Fraser, ki so onesnažena s ftalati
reki Fraser, ki so onesnažena s ftalati
03:56
that are contaminated with phthalates,
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03:58
and if there are bacteria that are able to live in these areas,
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in če obstajajo bakterije,
ki sposobne preživeti v teh področjih,
ki sposobne preživeti v teh področjih,
04:01
then perhaps, perhaps these bacteria could have evolved
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potem so se morda te bakterije
razvile tako, da lahko razgradijo ftalate.
razvile tako, da lahko razgradijo ftalate.
04:05
to break down phthalates.
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04:07
MW: So we presented this good idea
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MW: Zato sva predstavili to dobro idejo
04:10
to Dr. Lindsay Eltis at the University of British Columbia,
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dr. Lindsay Eltisu na
Univerzi Britanske Kolumbije
Univerzi Britanske Kolumbije
04:13
and surprisingly, he actually took us into his lab
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in presenetljivo naju je
peljal v svoj laboratorij
peljal v svoj laboratorij
04:16
and asked his graduate students Adam and James to help us.
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ter prosil svoja podiplomska študenta
Adama in Jamesa, da nama pomagata.
Adama in Jamesa, da nama pomagata.
04:20
Little did we know at that time
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Takrat se nisva zavedali, da naju bo izlet
na smetišče in raziskovanje na internetu
na smetišče in raziskovanje na internetu
04:22
that a trip to the dump and some research on the Internet
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04:25
and plucking up the courage to act upon inspiration
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ter zbiranje poguma, da slediva navdihu
04:28
would take us on a life-changing journey
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popeljal na potovanje nezgod in odkritij,
ki nama bo spremenilo življenje.
ki nama bo spremenilo življenje.
04:30
of accidents and discoveries.
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04:33
JY: The first step in our project
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JY: Prvi korak v najinem projektu
04:35
was to collect soil samples from three different sites
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je bil zbiranje vzorcev zemlje
iz treh različnih območij ob reki Fraser.
iz treh različnih območij ob reki Fraser.
04:37
along the Fraser River.
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04:39
Out of thousands of bacteria, we wanted to find ones
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Izmed tisoče bakterij sva hoteli najti
tiste, ki bi lahko razgradile ftalate,
tiste, ki bi lahko razgradile ftalate,
04:42
that could break down phthalates,
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04:43
so we enriched our cultures with phthalates
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zato sva obogatili najine kulture
s ftalati kot edinim virom ogljika.
s ftalati kot edinim virom ogljika.
04:45
as the only carbon source.
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04:47
This implied that, if anything grew in our cultures,
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Če bi torej karkoli
zraslo na najinih kulturah,
zraslo na najinih kulturah,
04:49
then they must be able to live off of phthalates.
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bi moralo biti sposobno
živeti od ftalatov.
živeti od ftalatov.
04:52
Everything went well from there,
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Od tam je šlo vse gladko in
postali sva čudoviti znanstvenici. (Smeh)
postali sva čudoviti znanstvenici. (Smeh)
04:54
and we became amazing scientists. (Laughter)
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04:57
MW: Um ... uh, Jeanny. JY: I'm just joking.
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MW: No, ... Jeanny.
JY: Samo hecam se.
JY: Samo hecam se.
05:00
MW: Okay. Well, it was partially my fault.
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MW:V redu. To je bila delno moja krivda.
Veste, nehote sem zdrobila stekleničko,
Veste, nehote sem zdrobila stekleničko,
05:02
You see, I accidentally cracked the flask
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ki je vsebovala najino
tretjo obogateno kulturo,
tretjo obogateno kulturo,
05:05
that had contained our third enrichment culture,
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05:07
and as a result, we had to wipe down the incubator room
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zato sva morali dvakrat počistiti
inkubatorsko sobo z belilom in etanolom.
inkubatorsko sobo z belilom in etanolom.
05:10
with bleach and ethanol twice.
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05:12
And this is only one of the examples of the many accidents
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In to je samo ena od mnogih nezgod, ki so
se zgodile med najinim eksperimentiranjem.
se zgodile med najinim eksperimentiranjem.
05:15
that happened during our experimentation.
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05:17
But this mistake turned out to be rather serendipitous.
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Ampak ta napaka se je
izkazala za srečo v nesreči.
izkazala za srečo v nesreči.
05:20
We noticed that the unharmed cultures
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Opazili sva, da so nepoškodovane kulture
05:23
came from places of opposite contamination levels,
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prišle iz območij z nasprotnimi
vrednostmi onesnaženosti,
vrednostmi onesnaženosti,
05:26
so this mistake actually led us to think that
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zato sva zaradi te napake začeli
razmišljati, da morda lahko primerjava
razmišljati, da morda lahko primerjava
05:28
perhaps we can compare
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05:30
the different degradative potentials of bacteria
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različne razgrajevalne
potenciale bakterij
potenciale bakterij
05:33
from sites of opposite contamination levels.
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z območij z nasprotno
stopnjo onesnaženosti.
stopnjo onesnaženosti.
05:37
JY: Now that we grew the bacteria,
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JY: Ko sva vzgojili bakterije,
05:39
we wanted to isolate strains by streaking onto mediate plates,
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sva hoteli izolirati seve
s cepljenjem na ploščo z medijem,
s cepljenjem na ploščo z medijem,
05:42
because we thought that would be
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ker sva mislili, da bi bil poskus tako manj
podvržen nesrečam, a spet sva se motili.
podvržen nesrečam, a spet sva se motili.
05:44
less accident-prone, but we were wrong again.
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05:47
We poked holes in our agar while streaking
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V agarju sva naredili luknje med cepljenjem
in onesnažile nekaj vzorcev in gliv.
in onesnažile nekaj vzorcev in gliv.
05:51
and contaminated some samples and funghi.
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Zaradi tega sva morali cepiti večkrat.
05:53
As a result, we had to streak and restreak several times.
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05:56
Then we monitored phthalate utilization
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Potem sva spremljali
izrabo ftalatov in rast bakterij
izrabo ftalatov in rast bakterij
05:59
and bacterial growth,
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06:01
and found that they shared an inverse correlation,
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ter ugotovili, da je
med njimi obratna povezava.
med njimi obratna povezava.
06:03
so as bacterial populations increased,
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Ko se je populacija bakterij povečala,
se je koncentracija ftalatov zmanjšala.
se je koncentracija ftalatov zmanjšala.
06:06
phthalate concentrations decreased.
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06:08
This means that our bacteria were actually living off of phthalates.
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To pomeni, da so najine bakterije
dejansko živele od ftalatov.
dejansko živele od ftalatov.
06:12
MW: So now that we found bacteria that could break down phthalates,
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MW: Ko sva torej našli
bakterije, ki lahko razgradijo ftalate,
bakterije, ki lahko razgradijo ftalate,
06:15
we wondered what these bacteria were.
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sva se spraševali, kaj te bakterije so.
06:17
So Jeanny and I took three of our most efficient strains
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Zato sva z Jeanny vzeli tri
najine najbolj učinkovite seve,
najine najbolj učinkovite seve,
06:20
and then performed gene amplification sequencing on them
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na njih izvedli
sekvencioniranje ojačanega gena
sekvencioniranje ojačanega gena
06:23
and matched our data with an online comprehensive database.
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in primerjali najine podatke
s celovito internetno bazo podatkov.
s celovito internetno bazo podatkov.
06:26
We were happy to see that,
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Bili sva veseli, ko sva videli,
06:27
although our three strains had been previously identified bacteria,
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da čeprav so bili najini
trije sevi že prepoznane bakterije,
trije sevi že prepoznane bakterije,
06:31
two of them were not previously associated
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dva izmed njih prej nista bila povezana
06:34
with phthalate degradation, so this was actually a novel discovery.
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z razkrojem ftalatov, zato je
bilo to pravzaprav novo odkritje.
bilo to pravzaprav novo odkritje.
06:38
JY: To better understand how this biodegradation works,
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JY: Da bi bolje razumeli,
kako to biorazgrajevanje poteka,
kako to biorazgrajevanje poteka,
06:42
we wanted to verify the catabolic pathways of our three strains.
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sva hoteli preveriti katabolne poti
najinih treh sevov.
najinih treh sevov.
06:46
To do this, we extracted enzymes from our bacteria
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Zato sva pridobili
encime iz najinih bakterij
encime iz najinih bakterij
06:49
and reacted with an intermediate of phthalic acid.
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in jih zreagirale s predhodnikom
ftalatske kisline.
ftalatske kisline.
06:52
MW: We monitored this experiment with spectrophotometry
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MW: Ta eksperiment sva spremljali s
spektrofotometrijo in dobile ta lepi graf.
spektrofotometrijo in dobile ta lepi graf.
06:55
and obtained this beautiful graph.
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06:58
This graph shows that our bacteria really do have
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Ta graf kaže, da naše
bakterije res poznajo
bakterije res poznajo
07:00
a genetic pathway to biodegrade phthalates.
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genetsko pot za razgradnjo ftalatov.
07:03
Our bacteria can transform phthalates, which is a harmful toxin,
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Najine bakterije lahko spremenijo
ftalate, ki so nevaren toksin,
ftalate, ki so nevaren toksin,
07:06
into end products such as carbon dioxide, water
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v končne produkte, kot so
ogljikov dioksid, voda in alkohol.
ogljikov dioksid, voda in alkohol.
07:09
and alcohol.
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07:10
I know some of you in the crowd are thinking,
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Gotovo nekateri v občinstvu mislite,
07:11
well, carbon dioxide is horrible, it's a greenhouse gas.
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ogljikov monoksid je grozen,
to je toplogredni plin.
to je toplogredni plin.
07:15
But if our bacteria did not evolve to break down phthalates,
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Ampak če se najine bakterije
ne bi razvile, da razgradijo ftalate,
ne bi razvile, da razgradijo ftalate,
07:18
they would have used some other kind of carbon source,
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bi uporabile kakšen drug vir ogljika in
aerobno dihanje bi v vsakem primeru vodilo
aerobno dihanje bi v vsakem primeru vodilo
07:21
and aerobic respiration would have led it
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07:23
to have end products such as carbon dioxide anyway.
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v končne produkte,
kot je ogljikov dioksid.
kot je ogljikov dioksid.
07:26
We were also interested to see that,
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Zanimivo se nama je zdelo,
da čeprav sva pridobili večjo raznolikost
da čeprav sva pridobili večjo raznolikost
07:28
although we've obtained greater diversity
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07:31
of bacteria biodegraders from the bird habitat site,
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bakterijskih biorazgrajevalcev
iz območja, kjer živijo ptiči,
iz območja, kjer živijo ptiči,
07:33
we obtained the most efficient degraders from the landfill site.
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sva najbolj učinkovite razgrajevalce
pridobili iz območja odlagališča.
pridobili iz območja odlagališča.
07:37
So this fully shows that nature evolves
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To nam celovito pokaže, da se
narava razvija skozi naravni izbor.
narava razvija skozi naravni izbor.
07:39
through natural selection.
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07:42
JY: So Miranda and I shared this research
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JY: Tako sva z Mirando delili to raziskavo
na tekmovanju Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge,
na tekmovanju Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge,
07:44
at the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge competition and were recognized
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kjer je bil sprejet kot projekt
z največjim potencialom za komercializacijo.
z največjim potencialom za komercializacijo.
07:47
with the greatest commercialization potential.
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07:50
Although we're not the first ones to find bacteria
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Čeprav nisva prvi, ki sva našli bakterije,
ki lahko razgradijo ftalate,
ki lahko razgradijo ftalate,
07:53
that can break down phthalates,
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07:54
we were the first ones to look into our local river
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sva bili prvi, ki sva pogledali
v našo lokalno reko
v našo lokalno reko
07:56
and find a possible solution to a local problem.
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in našli možno rešitev
za naš lokalni problem.
za naš lokalni problem.
08:00
We have not only shown that bacteria
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Pokazali sva, ne samo da so bakterije
08:03
can be the solution to plastic pollution, but also that
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lahko rešitev za onesnaženje
s plastiko, ampak tudi,
s plastiko, ampak tudi,
08:06
being open to uncertain outcomes and taking risks
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da odprtost do
negotovih izidov in tveganja
negotovih izidov in tveganja
08:09
create opportunities for unexpected discoveries.
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ustvari možnosti
za nepričakovana odkritja.
za nepričakovana odkritja.
08:13
Throughout this journey, we have also discovered our passion for science,
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Skozi to potovanje sva prav tako
odkrili svojo strast do znanosti
odkrili svojo strast do znanosti
08:16
and are currently continuing research
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in trenutno na univerzi
nadaljujeva raziskovanje
nadaljujeva raziskovanje
08:18
on other fossil fuel chemicals in university.
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drugih kemikalij v fosilnih gorivih.
08:21
We hope that in the near future,
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Upava, da bova v bližnji prihodnosti
lahko ustvarili vzorčne organizme,
lahko ustvarili vzorčne organizme,
08:23
we'll be able to create model organisms
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08:25
that can break down not only phthalates
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ki lahko razgradijo ne samo ftalate,
ampak najrazličnejše onesnaževalce.
ampak najrazličnejše onesnaževalce.
08:27
but a wide variety of different contaminants.
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08:31
We can apply this to wastewater treatment plants
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To lahko uporabiva pri načrtih
za čiščenje odpadnih vod,
za čiščenje odpadnih vod,
08:34
to clean up our rivers
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da očistimo naše reke
in druge naravne vire.
in druge naravne vire.
08:35
and other natural resources.
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08:37
And perhaps one day we'll be able to tackle
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In mogoče bomo nekega dne lahko reševali
problem trdnih plastičnih odpadkov.
problem trdnih plastičnih odpadkov.
08:40
the problem of solid plastic waste.
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MW: Mislim, da je najino
potovanje resnično spremenilo
potovanje resnično spremenilo
08:44
MW: I think our journey has truly transformed
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08:46
our view of microorganisms,
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najin pogled na mikroorganizme
08:48
and Jeanny and I have shown that
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in z Jeanny sva pokazali,
da lahko celo napake vodijo do odkritij.
da lahko celo napake vodijo do odkritij.
08:50
even mistakes can lead to discoveries.
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08:52
Einstein once said,
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Einstein je nekoč rekel:
08:53
"You can't solve problems by using the same kind
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"Problemov ne moreš rešiti z enakim načinom
razmišljanja, kot je do njih privedlo."
razmišljanja, kot je do njih privedlo."
08:56
of thinking you used when you created them."
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08:59
If we're making plastic synthetically, then we think
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Če plastiko delamo sintetično,
potem verjameva,
potem verjameva,
09:02
the solution would be to break them down biochemically.
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da je rešitev v biokemični razgraditvi.
09:06
Thank you. JY: Thank you.
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Hvala.
JY: Hvala.
JY: Hvala.
09:08
(Applause)
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(Aplavz)
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