ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Martin Hanczyc - Chemist
Martin Hanczyc explores the path between living and nonliving systems, using chemical droplets to study behavior of the earliest cells.

Why you should listen

Martin Hanczyc is developing novel synthetic chemical systems based on the properties of living systems, in a quest to understand how life forms. These synthetic systems, or "protocells," are model systems of primitive living cells and chemical examples of artificial life. As Rachel Armstrong puts it: "Although the protocell model system is just a chemically modified oil droplet, its dynamics are astonishingly varied and complex."

He's based at the Institute of Physics and Chemistry and the Center for Fundamental Living Technology (FLinT) in Denmark. He is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.

More profile about the speaker
Martin Hanczyc | Speaker | TED.com
TEDSalon London Spring 2011

Martin Hanczyc: The line between life and not-life

马丁・汉兹克:生命与非生命的界线

Filmed:
819,541 views

马丁・汉兹克在他的实验室里创造“原始细胞”,他创造出具有生物细胞行为特征的流体化学物质。他的研究显示生命也许最初出现于地球...或者其他地方。
- Chemist
Martin Hanczyc explores the path between living and nonliving systems, using chemical droplets to study behavior of the earliest cells. Full bio

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

00:15
So historically历史 there has
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有史以来
00:17
been a huge巨大 divide划分 between之间 what people
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人们所认识的
00:20
consider考虑 to be non-living非活 systems系统 on one
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生命体和非生命体之间
00:23
side, and living活的 systems系统 on the other side.
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是有巨大差异的
00:25
So we go from, say, this beautiful美丽 and
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比如说
00:27
complex复杂 crystal水晶 as non-life非寿险, and this rather
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这个美丽而复杂的晶体
00:30
beautiful美丽 and complex复杂 cat on the other side.
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和这个可爱而复杂的小猫之间的差异
00:33
Over the last hundred and fifty五十 years年份 or so,
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在过去约一百五十年间
00:36
science科学 has kind of blurred模糊 this distinction分别
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科学发现对
00:38
between之间 non-living非活 and living活的 systems系统, and
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生命和非生命的界线逐渐模糊
00:40
now we consider考虑 that there may可能 be a kind
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现在我们认为二者之间存在
00:42
of continuum连续 that exists存在 between之间 the two.
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连续性物质
00:45
We'll just take one example here:
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举个例子:
00:47
a virus病毒 is a natural自然 system系统, right?
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病毒是个自然系统,是吧?
00:49
But it's very simple简单. It's very simplistic简单化.
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但它非常简单
00:51
It doesn't really satisfy满足 all the requirements要求,
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它并不满足生命的所有条件
00:53
it doesn't have all the characteristics特点
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它不具备一个生命系统的
00:55
of living活的 systems系统 and is in fact事实 a parasite寄生物
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所有特征,而是一个
00:57
on other living活的 systems系统 in order订购 to, say,
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寄生于另一生命体
01:00
reproduce复制 and evolve发展.
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来繁殖和进化
01:02
But what we're going to be talking about here
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但是今晚我将谈到的
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tonight今晚 are experiments实验 doneDONE on this sort分类 of
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是更接近非生命这一端的
01:06
non-living非活 end结束 of this spectrum光谱 -- so actually其实
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实验
01:08
doing chemical化学 experiments实验 in the laboratory实验室,
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通过实验室内的化学实验
01:11
mixing混合 together一起 nonliving无生命 ingredients配料
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将非生命的物质混合
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to make new structures结构, and that these
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创造出新结构
01:15
new structures结构 might威力 have some of the
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这些新结构就很可能
01:17
characteristics特点 of living活的 systems系统.
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具有生命的一些特征
01:19
Really what I'm talking about here is
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我要说的就是
01:21
trying to create创建 a kind of artificial人造 life.
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创造人造生命
01:23
So what are these characteristics特点 that I'm
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那这些特征都是什么?
01:25
talking about? These are them.
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我们来看
01:27
We consider考虑 first that life has a body身体.
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首先是具备形体
01:29
Now this is necessary必要 to distinguish区分 the self
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这是将自身与环境区别开的
01:31
from the environment环境.
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必要条件
01:33
Life also has a metabolism代谢. Now this is a
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生命同时会新陈代谢
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process处理 by which哪一个 life can convert兑换 resources资源
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这是生命将从环境中获得的资源
01:38
from the environment环境 into building建造 blocks
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转化为维持和发展自身的
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so it can maintain保持 and build建立 itself本身.
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基本构件的一个过程
01:43
Life also has a kind of inheritable可继承 information信息.
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生命还要遗传信息
01:45
Now we, as humans人类, we store商店 our information信息
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比如人类将信息
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as DNA脱氧核糖核酸 in our genomes基因组 and we pass通过 this
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储存于基因中的DNA
01:50
information信息 on to our offspring子孙.
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将其遗传给后代
01:52
If we couple一对 the first two -- the body身体 and the metabolism代谢 --
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二者结合-形体和新陈代谢-
01:54
we can come up with a system系统 that could
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就能得到一个
01:56
perhaps也许 move移动 and replicate复制, and if we
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可以运动和复制的系统
01:58
coupled耦合 these now to inheritable可继承 information信息,
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如果结合信息遗传
02:01
we can come up with a system系统 that would be
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这个系统就更像生命
02:03
more lifelike逼真, and would perhaps也许 evolve发展.
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也许可以进化
02:05
And so these are the things we will try to do
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这些就是我们在实验室的研究
02:07
in the lab实验室, make some experiments实验 that have
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通过一些实验来创造
02:09
one or more of these characteristics特点 of life.
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这其中一个或更多的生命特征
02:12
So how do we do this? Well, we use
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我们是怎么做的呢?
02:14
a model模型 system系统 that we term术语 a protocell原始细胞.
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我们首先用一个模型系统来定义原始细胞
02:16
You might威力 think of this as kind of like a
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你也许觉得这会是种
02:18
primitive原始 cell细胞. It is a simple简单 chemical化学
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原始形态的细胞
02:20
model模型 of a living活的 cell细胞, and if you consider考虑
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它是一个活细胞的简单化学模型
02:23
for example a cell细胞 in your body身体 may可能 have
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比如说你体内的一个细胞
02:25
on the order订购 of millions百万 of different不同 types类型
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由成千上万个不同的分子
02:27
of molecules分子 that need to come together一起,
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组成起来
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play together一起 in a complex复杂 network网络
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成为一个复杂系统
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to produce生产 something that we call alive.
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来生成我们赖以生存的东西
02:34
In the laboratory实验室 what we want to do
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我们在实验室里进行的实验
02:36
is much the same相同, but with on the order订购 of
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基本就是此类工作
02:38
tens of different不同 types类型 of molecules分子 --
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但只有几十个不同的分子-
02:40
so a drastic激烈 reduction减少 in complexity复杂, but still
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复杂度大大降低
02:42
trying to produce生产 something that looks容貌 lifelike逼真.
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但是仍然能产生类似生命的物质
02:45
And so what we do is, we start开始 simple简单
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我们开始的工作很简单
02:47
and we work our way up to living活的 systems系统.
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然后一步一步向生命体迈进
02:50
Consider考虑 for a moment时刻 this quote引用 by
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试想一下
02:52
Leduc勒杜克, a hundred years年份 ago, considering考虑 a
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勒杜克在一百年前说的话
02:54
kind of synthetic合成的 biology生物学:
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是关于合成生物学的
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"The synthesis合成 of life, should it ever occur发生,
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“合成生命一旦出现
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will not be the sensational轰动的 discovery发现 which哪一个 we
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将不会像我们以为的那样
03:00
usually平时 associate关联 with the idea理念."
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耸人听闻”
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That's his first statement声明. So if we actually其实
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这是第一
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create创建 life in the laboratories实验室, it's
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如果我们真的在实验室创造出生命
03:06
probably大概 not going to impact碰撞 our lives生活 at all.
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可能对我们的生活没有任何影响
03:08
"If we accept接受 the theory理论 of evolution演化, then
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“如果我们认可进化论
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the first dawn黎明 of synthesis合成 of life must必须 consist组成
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那么合成生命的出现必然不外乎
03:12
in the production生产 of forms形式 intermediate中间
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无机和有机世界之间
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between之间 the inorganic无机 and the organic有机
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产生的形态
03:16
world世界, or between之间 the non-living非活
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或者是非生命
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and living活的 world世界, forms形式 which哪一个 possess具有
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和生命世界之间的
03:20
only some of the rudimentary初步 attributes属性 of life"
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只具备基本生命要素的物质形态”
03:22
-- so, the ones那些 I just discussed讨论 --
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那么我刚刚提到的一点
03:24
"to which哪一个 other attributes属性 will be slowly慢慢地 added添加
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“其他的要素
03:26
in the course课程 of development发展 by the
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在环境的演化进程中
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evolutionary发展的 actions行动 of the environment环境."
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慢慢加入”
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So we start开始 simple简单, we make some structures结构
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所以从简单入手 首先我创造了
03:32
that may可能 have some of these characteristics特点
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具备几个基本特征的结构
03:34
of life, and then we try to develop发展 that
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然后将其发展至
03:36
to become成为 more lifelike逼真.
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更接近生命的结构
03:38
This is how we can start开始 to make a protocell原始细胞.
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这就是我们创造原始细胞的方法
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We use this idea理念 called self-assembly自组装.
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我们应用的概念是自我集成
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What that means手段 is, I can mix混合 some
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意思就是
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chemicals化学制品 together一起 in a test测试 tube in my lab实验室,
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在我实验室,我把几种化学物质放进试管
03:46
and these chemicals化学制品 will start开始 to self-associate自联想
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这些化学物质通过自我联结
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to form形成 larger and larger structures结构.
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形成越来越大的结构
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So say on the order订购 of tens of thousands数千,
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于是成千上万的分子
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hundreds数以百计 of thousands数千 of molecules分子 will
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经上万次联结
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come together一起 to form形成 a large structure结构体
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聚集并形成之前不存在的
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that didn't exist存在 before.
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更大结构
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And in this particular特定 example,
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在这个具体例子里
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what I took is some membrane molecules分子,
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我取了一些膜分子
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mixed those together一起 in the right environment环境,
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置于适宜的环境里混合
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and within seconds it forms形式 these rather
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几秒内就形成了
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complex复杂 and beautiful美丽 structures结构 here.
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复杂而美丽的结构
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These membranes are also quite相当 similar类似,
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这些膜无论是形态或结构
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morphologically形态 and functionally功能,
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都跟你体内的膜分子
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to the membranes in your body身体,
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十分相似
04:14
and we can use these, as they say,
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我们可以用它
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to form形成 the body身体 of our protocell原始细胞.
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来形成原始细胞
04:18
Likewise同样,
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类似的
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we can work with oil and water systems系统.
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可以用在水和油上
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As you know, when you put oil and water together一起,
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众所周知水油不容
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they don't mix混合, but through通过 self-assembly自组装
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但是通过自我集成
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we can get a nice不错 oil droplet水滴 to form形成,
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就可以形成油滴
04:27
and we can actually其实 use this as a body身体 for
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并用此来形成
04:29
our artificial人造 organism生物 or for our protocell原始细胞,
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人造组织或者原始细胞
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as you will see later后来.
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一会儿你们就能看到了
04:33
So that's just forming成型 some body身体 stuff东东, right?
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这只是形成一些形体
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Some architectures架构.
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一些结构
04:37
What about the other aspects方面 of living活的 systems系统?
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那么生命系统的其他方面呢?
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So we came来了 up with this protocell原始细胞 model模型 here
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这是我们的原始细胞的
04:41
that I'm showing展示.
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模型
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We started开始 with a natural自然 occurring发生 clay粘土
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我们是从一种叫做蒙脱土的
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called montmorillonite蒙脱石.
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天然粘土着手
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This is natural自然 from the environment环境, this clay粘土.
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这种粘土在环境中自然形成
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It forms形式 a surface表面 that is, say, chemically化学 active活性.
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它形成一种具有化学活性的表面
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It could run a metabolism代谢 on it.
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可以在其上进行新成代谢活动
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Certain某些 kind of molecules分子 like to associate关联
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有种分子易于这种粘土结合
04:55
with the clay粘土. For example, in this case案件, RNARNA, shown显示 in red
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比如 红的这部分 RNA
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-- this is a relative相对的 of DNA脱氧核糖核酸,
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跟DNA相似
04:59
it's an informational信息 molecule分子 --
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是一种信息分子
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it can come along沿 and it starts启动 to associate关联
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它会跟粘土的表面
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with the surface表面 of this clay粘土.
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结合
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This structure结构体, then, can organize组织 the
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这个结构就能够在其周围
05:07
formation编队 of a membrane boundary边界 around
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形成一种膜结构
05:09
itself本身, so it can make a body身体 of
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就在周围形成
05:11
liquid液体 molecules分子 around itself本身, and that's
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液体分子
05:13
shown显示 in green绿色 here on this micrograph显微照片.
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这是显微照片上绿色部分
05:15
So just through通过 self-assembly自组装, mixing混合 things
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这样通过自我集成
05:17
together一起 in the lab实验室, we can come up with, say,
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在实验室里混合物质就得到了
05:20
a metabolic新陈代谢 surface表面 with some
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一种能代谢的表面
05:22
informational信息 molecules分子 attached
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携带有信息分子
05:24
inside of this membrane body身体, right?
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存在于膜机体的内部
05:26
So we're on a road towards living活的 systems系统.
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这样我们就越来越接近生命系统
05:30
But if you saw this protocell原始细胞, you would not
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但是你看到这个原始细胞
05:32
confuse迷惑 this with something that was actually其实 alive.
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并不会以为它是真的活细胞
05:34
It's actually其实 quite相当 lifeless死气沉沉. Once一旦 it forms形式,
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它实际上没有生命
05:36
it doesn't really do anything.
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形成以后并没有任何活动
05:38
So, something is missing失踪.
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因此有什么缺失了
05:40
Some things are missing失踪.
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有些部分缺少了
05:42
So some things that are missing失踪 is,
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这部分就是
05:44
for example, if you had a flow of energy能源
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比如说有能量流入一个系统
05:46
through通过 a system系统, what we'd星期三 want
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我们需要的是
05:48
is a protocell原始细胞 that can harvest收成
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一个能采集能量
05:50
some of that energy能源 in order订购 to maintain保持 itself本身,
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从而维持自身的原始细胞
05:52
much like living活的 systems系统 do.
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就像生命系统一样
05:54
So we came来了 up with a different不同 protocell原始细胞
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于是我们采用了一个不同的模型
05:56
model模型, and this is actually其实 simpler简单 than the previous以前 one.
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这个比之前的更简单
05:58
In this protocell原始细胞 model模型, it's just an oil droplet水滴,
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这个模型里只是个油滴
06:00
but a chemical化学 metabolism代谢 inside
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但是其内的化学代谢
06:02
that allows允许 this protocell原始细胞 to use energy能源
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能让这个原始细胞利用能量
06:04
to do something, to actually其实 become成为 dynamic动态,
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具有动态
06:07
as we'll see here.
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就像这里看到的
06:09
You add the droplet水滴 to the system系统.
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把一个油滴加入系统
06:11
It's a pool of water, and the protocell原始细胞
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这是一滩水
06:13
starts启动 moving移动 itself本身 around in the system系统.
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这个原始细胞就开始在系统里运动
06:15
Okay? Oil droplet水滴 forms形式
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油滴是通过
06:17
through通过 self-assembly自组装, has a chemical化学
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自我集成形成的
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metabolism代谢 inside so it can use energy能源,
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内部的化学代谢令其能利用能量
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and it uses使用 that energy能源 to move移动 itself本身
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让自己在环境中
06:23
around in its environment环境.
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动起来
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As we heard听说 earlier, movement运动 is very
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正如我们所知
06:27
important重要 in these kinds of living活的 systems系统.
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运动对生命系统是很重要的
06:29
It is moving移动 around, exploring探索 its environment环境,
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它在运动着 探索着周围环境
06:31
and remodeling重塑 its environment环境, as you see,
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通过形成的这些化学波
06:33
by these chemical化学 waves波浪 that are forming成型 by the protocell原始细胞.
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来改造环境
06:35
So it's acting演戏, in a sense, like a living活的 system系统
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这样它就像一个生命系统一样运动
06:37
trying to preserve保留 itself本身.
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去维持自身
06:40
We take this same相同 moving移动 protocell原始细胞 here,
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我们将同一个运动的原始细胞
06:43
and we put it in another另一个 experiment实验,
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放入另一个环境
06:45
get it moving移动. Then I'm going
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运动起来
06:47
to add some food餐饮 to the system系统,
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我对环境加入食物
06:49
and you'll你会 see that in blue蓝色 here, right?
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就是这个蓝色的
06:52
So I add some food餐饮 source资源 to the system系统.
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我对环境加入食物
06:54
The protocell原始细胞 moves移动. It encounters遭遇 the food餐饮.
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原始细胞运动着 碰上了食物
06:56
It reconfigures重新配置 itself本身 and actually其实 then
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自身重组
06:58
is able能够 to climb to the highest最高 concentration浓度
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然后到达食物的中心
07:00
of food餐饮 in that system系统 and stop there.
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并停留在那里
07:02
Alright好的? So not only do we have this system系统
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这样这个系统里
07:04
that has a body身体, it has a metabolism代谢,
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不仅具有机体,并且存在代谢
07:06
it can use energy能源, it moves移动 around.
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能消耗能量并运动
07:09
It can sense its local本地 environment环境
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能感知周围环境
07:11
and actually其实 find resources资源
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并找到环境里的
07:13
in the environment环境 to sustain支持 itself本身.
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资源来维持自身
07:15
Now, this doesn't have a brain, it doesn't have
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但它没有大脑
07:17
a neural神经 system系统. This is just a sack解雇 of
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没有神经系统
07:19
chemicals化学制品 that is able能够 to have this interesting有趣
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只是一堆化学物质
07:21
and complex复杂 lifelike逼真 behavior行为.
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具有类生命的有趣而复杂的行为
07:23
If we count计数 the number of chemicals化学制品
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如果我们算一下系统里的化学物质
07:25
in that system系统, actually其实, including包含 the water
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算上水
07:27
that's in the dish, we have five chemicals化学制品
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有五种化学物质
07:29
that can do this.
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来做到这个
07:31
So then we put these protocells原始细胞 together一起 in a
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我们把这些原始细胞
07:33
single experiment实验 to see what they would do,
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放到一个单一环境里看看会怎样
07:35
and depending根据 on the conditions条件, we have
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依据不同的环境
07:37
some protocells原始细胞 on the left that are
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左边的原始细胞
07:39
moving移动 around and it likes喜欢 to touch触摸 the other
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四处运动
07:41
structures结构 in its environment环境.
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并接触环境里的另一个结构
07:43
On the other hand we have two moving移动
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另外一边的两个原始细胞
07:45
protocells原始细胞 that like to circle each other,
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他们围着对方转圈
07:47
and they form形成 a kind of a dance舞蹈, a complex复杂 dance舞蹈 with each other.
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好像绕着对方跳着一种复杂的舞
07:49
Right? So not only do individual个人 protocells原始细胞
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这样不仅是个体原始细胞
07:51
have behavior行为, what we've我们已经 interpreted解读 as
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有行为特征
07:53
behavior行为 in this system系统, but we also have
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就是刚刚看到的在系统内的行为
07:55
basically基本上 population-level人口水平 behavior行为
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同时像生物体一样
07:58
similar类似 to what organisms生物 have.
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有群体行为
08:01
So now that you're all experts专家 on protocells原始细胞,
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现在你们都是原始细胞专家
08:04
we're going to play a game游戏 with these protocells原始细胞.
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下面我们就用这些原始细胞来做个游戏
08:06
We're going to make two different不同 kinds.
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我们创造了两种原始细胞
08:08
Protocell原始细胞 A has a certain某些 kind of chemistry化学
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A具有一种化学物质
08:11
inside that, when activated活性, the protocell原始细胞
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一旦激活
08:13
starts启动 to vibrate颤动 around, just dancing跳舞.
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这个原始细胞就开始四处跳动
08:15
So remember记得, these are primitive原始 things,
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记住这些是原始物质
08:17
so dancing跳舞 protocells原始细胞, that's very
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所以跳动的原始细胞
08:19
interesting有趣 to us. (Laughter笑声)
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是很有趣的(笑声)
08:21
The second第二 protocell原始细胞 has a different不同
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第二种原始细胞有不同的化学物质
08:23
chemistry化学 inside, and when activated活性,
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一旦激活
08:25
the protocells原始细胞 all come together一起 and they fuse保险丝
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这些细胞就聚集到一起
08:27
into one big one. Right?
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然后形成一个大的细胞
08:29
And we just put these two together一起
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我们把这两种原始细胞
08:31
in the same相同 system系统.
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放到一个系统里
08:33
So there's population人口 A,
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这是A群体
08:35
there's population人口 B, and then
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这是B群体
08:37
we activate启用 the system系统,
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然后激活系统
08:39
and protocell原始细胞 Bs烧烤, they're the blue蓝色 ones那些,
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蓝色群体B
08:41
they all come together一起. They fuse保险丝 together一起
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它们聚集一起
08:43
to form形成 one big blobBLOB, and the other protocell原始细胞
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然后形成一个大的
08:45
just dances舞蹈 around. And this just happens发生
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其他的则在周围跳动
08:47
until直到 all of the energy能源 in the system系统 is
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这样一直到
08:49
basically基本上 used up, and then, game游戏 over.
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系统的能量耗尽
08:52
So then I repeated重复 this experiment实验
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我将此实验重复了几次
08:54
a bunch of times, and one time
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有一次
08:56
something very interesting有趣 happened发生.
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发生了很有趣的现象
08:58
So, I added添加 these protocells原始细胞 together一起
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我把这些原始细胞加入系统
09:00
to the system系统, and protocell原始细胞 A and protocell原始细胞 B
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A原始细胞和B原始细胞
09:02
fused融合 together一起 to form形成 a hybrid混合动力 protocell原始细胞 ABAB.
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结合形成了AB细胞
09:04
That didn't happen发生 before. There it goes.
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这在之前都没发生过
09:06
There's a protocell原始细胞 ABAB now in this system系统.
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现在系统里有原始细胞AB了
09:09
Protocell原始细胞 ABAB likes喜欢 to dance舞蹈 around for a bit,
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AB会转圈
09:12
while protocell原始细胞 B does the fusing定影, okay?
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B会结合
09:15
But then something even more interesting有趣 happens发生.
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接下来有趣的现象发生了
09:18
Watch when these two large protocells原始细胞,
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看看这两个大的细胞
09:20
the hybrid混合动力 ones那些, fuse保险丝 together一起.
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这两个合成细胞,结合了
09:22
Now we have a dancing跳舞 protocell原始细胞
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就有了跳动的原始细胞
09:25
and a self-replication自我复制 event事件. Right. (Laughter笑声)
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和自我复制的活动 (笑声)
09:29
Just with blobs斑点 of chemicals化学制品, again.
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仅仅是通过化学物质
09:31
So the way this works作品 is, you have
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这一切发生的机制是
09:33
a simple简单 system系统 of five chemicals化学制品 here,
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一个有五种化学物质的简单系统
09:35
a simple简单 system系统 here. When they hybridize杂交,
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当它们结合的时候
09:37
you then form形成 something that's different不同 than
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形成新的形态
09:39
before, it's more complex复杂 than before,
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相比之前的更复杂
09:41
and you get the emergence紧急情况 of another另一个 kind of
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这样另一个类生命的
09:43
lifelike逼真 behavior行为 which哪一个
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行为就出现了
09:45
in this case案件 is replication复制.
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这里是复制
09:47
So since以来 we can make some interesting有趣
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既然我们能创造有趣的原始细胞
09:49
protocells原始细胞 that we like, interesting有趣 colors颜色 and
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有趣的颜色和
09:51
interesting有趣 behaviors行为, and they're very easy简单
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有趣的行为
09:53
to make, and they have interesting有趣 lifelike逼真
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而且这不是很难 它们具备有趣的生命特征
09:55
properties性能, perhaps也许 these protocells原始细胞 have
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也许这样原始细胞
09:58
something to tell us about the origin起源 of life
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能揭开地球生命起源的秘密
10:00
on the Earth地球. Perhaps也许 these represent代表 an
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也许这代表着
10:02
easily容易 accessible无障碍 step, one of the first steps脚步
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简单易行的一步
10:04
by which哪一个 life got started开始 on the early Earth地球.
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当初地球生命开始的那第一步
10:07
Certainly当然, there were molecules分子 present当下 on
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当然早期地球肯定存在多种分子
10:09
the early Earth地球, but they wouldn't不会 have been
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但是它们肯定不象是
10:11
these pure compounds化合物 that we worked工作 with
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我实验室那些实验里的
10:13
in the lab实验室 and I showed显示 in these experiments实验.
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纯化合物
10:15
Rather, they'd他们会 be a real真实 complex复杂 mixture混合物 of
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他们可能是更复杂的
10:17
all kinds of stuff东东, because
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混合物
10:19
uncontrolled不受控制 chemical化学 reactions反应 produce生产
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因为不受约制的化学反应
10:21
a diverse多种 mixture混合物 of organic有机 compounds化合物.
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会创造出多种生物结构
10:23
Think of it like a primordial原始 ooze, okay?
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就像是原始物的稀泥
10:26
And it's a pool that's too difficult to fully充分
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很难分类区别这一堆东西
10:28
characterize表征, even by modern现代 methods方法, and
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即使是用现代技术
10:30
the product产品 looks容貌 brown棕色, like this tar柏油 here
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产生物就像左边这个焦油一样棕色的
10:32
on the left. A pure compound复合
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而纯化合物
10:34
is shown显示 on the right, for contrast对比.
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则是右边用于对照的这样
10:36
So this is similar类似 to what happens发生 when you
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这就像你从厨房取一些
10:38
take pure sugar crystals晶体 in your kitchen厨房,
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纯糖
10:40
you put them in a pan, and you apply应用 energy能源.
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放在煎锅里
10:42
You turn up the heat, you start开始 making制造
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然后你点上火
10:44
or breaking破坏 chemical化学 bonds债券 in the sugar,
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糖的化学键就断开
10:46
forming成型 a brownish呈褐色的 caramel焦糖, right?
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形成棕色的焦糖
10:48
If you let that go unregulated不受管制, you'll你会
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如果不加控制继续下去
10:50
continue继续 to make and break打破 chemical化学 bonds债券,
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就会继续破坏和形成新的化学键
10:52
forming成型 an even more diverse多种 mixture混合物 of
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形成更复杂的分子化合物
10:54
molecules分子 that then forms形式 this kind of black黑色
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最后就是你煎锅里
10:56
tarry耽搁 stuff东东 in your pan, right, that's
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黑乎乎的东西
10:58
difficult to wash out. So that's what
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很难洗掉
11:00
the origin起源 of life would have looked看着 like.
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这就是生命最初的样子
11:02
You needed需要 to get life out of this junk破烂 that
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要从45亿前地球上
11:04
is present当下 on the early Earth地球,
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这样的混沌里
11:06
four, 4.5 billion十亿 years年份 ago.
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产生生命
11:08
So the challenge挑战 then is,
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挑战就是
11:10
throw away all your pure chemicals化学制品 in the lab实验室,
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抛弃实验室里纯化合物
11:12
and try to make some protocells原始细胞 with lifelike逼真
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而是从那原始物的稀泥里
11:14
properties性能 from this kind of primordial原始 ooze.
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产生出类生命的原始细胞
11:17
So we're able能够 to then see the self-assembly自组装
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我们就能看到
11:19
of these oil droplet水滴 bodies身体 again
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那些刚才见到的
11:21
that we've我们已经 seen看到 previously先前,
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油滴的自我集成
11:23
and the black黑色 spots斑点 inside of there
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内部那些黑点
11:25
represent代表 this kind of black黑色 tar柏油 -- this diverse多种,
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就代表着黑焦油
11:27
very complex复杂, organic有机 black黑色 tar柏油.
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多样的 非常复杂的 有机黑焦油
11:29
And we put them into one of these
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我们将其放到你刚刚看到
11:31
experiments实验, as you've seen看到 earlier, and then
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那些实验之一
11:33
we watch lively活泼 movement运动 that comes out.
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观察出现的活动
11:35
They look really good, very nice不错 movement运动,
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看起来非常有意思
11:37
and also they appear出现 to have some kind of
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同时也显示出
11:39
behavior行为 where they kind of circle
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相互转圈相互跟随的
11:41
around each other and follow跟随 each other,
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行为特征
11:44
similar类似 to what we've我们已经 seen看到 before -- but again,
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就像我们刚刚看到的
11:46
working加工 with just primordial原始 conditions条件,
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强调一下只是在原始物质的条件下
11:48
no pure chemicals化学制品.
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不是纯化学物
11:50
These are also, these tar-fueled焦油燃料 protocells原始细胞,
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这些焦油原始细胞
11:52
are also able能够 to locate定位 resources资源
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也能够在其环境里
11:54
in their environment环境.
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定位资源
11:55
I'm going to add some resource资源 from the left,
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我从左边加入一些资源
11:57
here, that defuses拆雷 into the system系统,
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扩散到整个系统中
11:59
and you can see, they really like that.
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你能看到它们很喜欢这个
12:01
They become成为 very energetic有活力, and able能够
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它们变的非常有活力
12:03
to find the resource资源 in the environment环境,
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能找到环境里的资源
12:05
similar类似 to what we saw before.
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就像我们刚刚看到的
12:07
But again, these are doneDONE in these primordial原始
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但是这些是在模拟原始的情况下进行的
12:09
conditions条件, really messy conditions条件,
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非常乱糟糟的环境
12:11
not sort分类 of sterile无菌 laboratory实验室 conditions条件.
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而不是无菌的实验室环境
12:13
These are very dirty little protocells原始细胞,
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就事实来说
12:15
as a matter of fact事实. (Laughter笑声)
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他们是很脏的小小的原始细胞
12:17
But they have lifelike逼真 properties性能, is the point.
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但是重要的是他们具备生命特征
12:20
So, doing these artificial人造 life experiments实验
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这些人造生命实验
12:23
helps帮助 us define确定 a potential潜在 path路径 between之间
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帮助我们找到生命和非生命间的
12:26
non-living非活 and living活的 systems系统.
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潜在路径
12:29
And not only that, but it helps帮助 us
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不仅如此
12:31
broaden扩大 our view视图 of what life is
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这也扩展了我们对生命
12:33
and what possible可能 life there could be
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和生命形式的认识
12:35
out there -- life that could be very different不同
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生命也许会和
12:37
from life that we find here on Earth地球.
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地球上的生命形式大不相同
12:40
And that leads引线 me to the next下一个
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这让我想起另外一个词
12:42
term术语, which哪一个 is "weird奇怪的 life."
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“古怪的生命”
12:44
This is a term术语 by Steve史蒂夫 Benner本纳.
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这是史蒂芬・本纳的提法
12:47
This is used in reference参考 to a report报告
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美国国家研究委员会在2007年
12:49
in 2007 by the National国民 Research研究 Council评议会
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的报告中
12:51
in the United联合的 States状态, wherein其中,
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引用了这个说法
12:53
they tried试着 to understand理解 how we can
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这个报告旨在研究
12:55
look for life elsewhere别处 in the universe宇宙, okay,
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如何在宇宙中发现其他生命
12:57
especially特别 if that life is very different不同 from life
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特别是和地球上的生命不一样的生命形式
12:59
on Earth地球. If we went to another另一个 planet行星 and
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如果我们去另一个星球
13:02
we thought there might威力 be life there,
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如果那儿有生命的话
13:04
how could we even recognize认识 it as life?
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我们怎么才知道那是生命呢?
13:06
Well, they came来了 up with three very general一般
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他们得出了三个基本标准
13:08
criteria标准. First is -- and they're listed上市 here.
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都列在这儿了
13:10
The first is, the system系统 has to be in
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第一是 系统不能是平衡的
13:12
non-equilibrium非平衡. That means手段 the system系统
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这意味着系统
13:14
cannot不能 be dead, in a matter of fact事实.
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首先不能是死的
13:15
Basically基本上 what that means手段 is, you have
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也就是要有
13:17
an input输入 of energy能源 into the system系统 that life
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能量输入系统
13:19
can use and exploit利用 to maintain保持 itself本身.
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从而生命可以利用并维持自身
13:22
This is similar类似 to having the Sun太阳 shining闪亮的
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这就像太阳照着地球
13:24
on the Earth地球, driving主动 photosynthesis光合作用,
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促进光合作用
13:26
driving主动 the ecosystem生态系统.
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和生态系统
13:28
Without没有 the Sun太阳, there's likely容易 to be
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没有太阳
13:30
no life on this planet行星.
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就没有生命
13:32
Secondly其次, life needs需求 to be in liquid液体 form形成,
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第二 生命应该是液体形式
13:34
so that means手段 even if we had some
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因为就算存在
13:36
interesting有趣 structures结构, interesting有趣 molecules分子
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有趣的结构或者分子
13:38
together一起 but they were frozen冻结的 solid固体,
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但如果他们完全是固体形态
13:40
then this is not a good place地点 for life.
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那就不是适合生命的地方
13:42
And thirdly第三, we need to be able能够 to make
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第三 要能够断开
13:44
and break打破 chemical化学 bonds债券. And again
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和结合化学键
13:46
this is important重要 because life transforms变换
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这很重要
13:48
resources资源 from the environment环境 into
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因为生命要能够将环境中的资源
13:50
building建造 blocks so it can maintain保持 itself本身.
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转化为维持自身的基本单元
13:52
Now today今天, I told you about very strange奇怪
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今天我给你们介绍了
13:54
and weird奇怪的 protocells原始细胞 -- some that contain包含 clay粘土,
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奇怪的原始细胞-有些含有粘土
13:56
some that have primordial原始 ooze in them,
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有些有原始物的稀泥
13:59
some that have basically基本上 oil
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有些含的基本是油
14:01
instead代替 of water inside of them.
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而不是水
14:03
Most of these don't contain包含 DNA脱氧核糖核酸,
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这些大部分不含DNA
14:05
but yet然而 they have lifelike逼真 properties性能.
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但具备类生命的特征
14:07
But these protocells原始细胞 satisfy满足
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但是这些原始细胞具有
14:10
these general一般 requirements要求 of living活的 systems系统.
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生命系统的这几项基本条件
14:13
So by making制造 these chemical化学, artificial人造
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通过人造生命的实验
14:15
life experiments实验, we hope希望 not only
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我们希望
14:17
to understand理解 something fundamental基本的
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对生命起源
14:19
about the origin起源 of life and the existence存在
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和其他星球生命的存在与否
14:21
of life on this planet行星, but also
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有更好的了解
14:23
what possible可能 life there could be
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也对宇宙里
14:25
out there in the universe宇宙. Thank you.
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可能存在的生命有更多认识 谢谢
14:28
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Chunxiang Qian
Reviewed by Angelia King

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Martin Hanczyc - Chemist
Martin Hanczyc explores the path between living and nonliving systems, using chemical droplets to study behavior of the earliest cells.

Why you should listen

Martin Hanczyc is developing novel synthetic chemical systems based on the properties of living systems, in a quest to understand how life forms. These synthetic systems, or "protocells," are model systems of primitive living cells and chemical examples of artificial life. As Rachel Armstrong puts it: "Although the protocell model system is just a chemically modified oil droplet, its dynamics are astonishingly varied and complex."

He's based at the Institute of Physics and Chemistry and the Center for Fundamental Living Technology (FLinT) in Denmark. He is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.

More profile about the speaker
Martin Hanczyc | Speaker | TED.com