TED2007
Paul Rothemund: Playing with DNA that self-assembles
Paul Rothemund：DNA魔法
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Paul Rothemund正在编写一种特殊的「密码」以使DNA能自己排列成星形、笑脸及其他图案。您会为之感到震惊，但您所看到的只是分子自我排列组合的小型表演，它实际上揭示了未来制造出各种东西的无限可能。
Paul Rothemund - DNA origamist
Paul Rothemund folds DNA into shapes and patterns. Which is a simple enough thing to say, but the process he has developed has vast implications for computing and manufacturing -- allowing us to create things we can now only dream of. Full bio
Paul Rothemund folds DNA into shapes and patterns. Which is a simple enough thing to say, but the process he has developed has vast implications for computing and manufacturing -- allowing us to create things we can now only dream of. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:26
There's an ancient and universal concept that words have power,
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自古以来，文字就普遍被认为具有一种魔力，
00:30
that spells exist, and that if we could only pronounce the right words,
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我们相信咒语的存在，只要我们能够正确的念出那些文字。
00:34
then -- whooosh -- you know, an avalanche would come
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然后，哈！你知道的，排山倒海之势就会从天而降
00:36
and wipe out the hobbits, right? So this is a very attractive idea
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然后歼灭哈比人，是吧？这是一个非常有吸引力的想法
00:41
because we're very lazy, like the sorcerer's apprentice,
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因为我们非常懒惰，有若巫士的学徒，
00:43
or the world's greatest computer programmer.
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或是世界上最棒的软件工程师。
00:45
And so this idea has a lot of traction with us.
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因此，这个想法对我们有极大的吸引力。
00:47
We love the idea that words, when pronounced --
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我们很喜欢这个想法是因为，当这些文字被念出来时，
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they're just little more than pure information,
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他们不仅仅是单纯的传递讯息，
00:51
but they evoke some physical action
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而且他们还能触发一些在真实世界中
00:53
in the real world that helps us do work.
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能实质上帮助我们工作的行动。
00:54
And so, of course, with lots of programmable computers
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当然，因为我们周遭有大量可编程的电脑
00:57
and robots around this is an easy thing to picture.
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以及机器人，这个概念并不难被理解。
01:00
So how many of you know what I'm talking about?
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你们当中有多少人知道我现在在讲什么的？
01:02
Raise your right hand. OK. How many of you
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请举起你们的右手。好。有多少人
01:03
don't know what I'm talking about? Raise your left hand.
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不知道我在讲什么的？请举你们的左手。好。
01:06
So that's great. So that was too easy.
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非常好。这太简单了。
01:09
You guys have very insecure computers, OK?
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你们的「电脑」非常容易出错，对吧？
01:12
So now, the thing is that this is a different kind of spell.
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我想要说的是，这是一种不同的「咒语」。
01:17
This is a computer program made of zeros and ones.
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这是一个由一堆0与1所组成的电脑程序。
01:18
It can be pronounced on a computer. It does something like this.
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它能够在电脑上被「念」出来。就像这样。
01:21
The important thing is we can write it in a high-level language.
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关键是我们可以以高阶语言去写它。
01:23
A computer magician can write this thing.
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一个电脑魔术师可以写出这种东西。
01:26
It can be compiled into this -- into zeros and ones --
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它能被编译成这样-- 变成一堆0与1--
01:29
and pronounced by a computer.
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然后被电脑念出来。
01:30
And that's what makes computers powerful:
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这就是让电脑、强大的东西：
01:32
these high-level languages that can be compiled.
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这些能被编译的高阶语言。
01:34
And so, I'm here to tell you, you don't need a computer
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然而，我在这边还想告诉你，你并不需要一台电脑
01:37
to actually have a spell. In fact, what you can do
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就能够施咒。事实上，你能够做的是
01:40
at the molecular level is that if you encode information --
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如果你将资讯编码到分子层次上 --
01:43
you encode a spell or program as molecules --
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你使用分子来撰写「咒语」或是程式--
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then physics can actually directly interpret that information
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那么这些信息可以直接透过物理作用来解译
01:49
and run a program. That's what happens in proteins.
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并且执行一个程序。蛋白质分子们就是这样的。
01:52
When this amino acid sequence gets pronounced as atoms,
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当这些胺基酸序列以原子的型态被「念」出来，
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these little letters are sticky for each other.
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这些彼此之间紧密结合在一起的字母们
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It collapses into a three-dimensional shape that turns it into
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堆叠成三维立体结构使之成为
02:00
a nanomachine that actually cuts DNA.
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一个能切割 DNA 的奈米机器。
02:02
And the interesting thing is that if you change the sequence,
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有趣的是，如果你改变序列，
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you change the three-dimensional folding.
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你也同时改变了其三维折叠的方法
02:07
You get now a DNA stapler instead. These are the kind of
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你现在得到的是一个 DNA 订书机。
02:10
molecular programs that we want to be able to write,
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这种就是我们希望能够撰写的分子程式，
02:12
but the problem is, we don't know the machine language of
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问题在于，我们不知道蛋白质的程式语言;
02:14
proteins. We don't have a compiler for proteins.
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我们没有蛋白质的编译器。
02:17
So I've joined a growing band of people that try to make
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所以我加入了一个成员逐渐增长的组织, 我们
02:19
molecular spells using DNA. We use DNA because it's cheaper.
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尝试使用 DNA 制造分子魔咒，因为使用 DNA比较便宜。
02:23
It's easier to handle. It's something that we understand really well.
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它比较容易处理。我们对它的了解已经非常透彻了。
02:25
We understand it so well, in fact, that we think we can actually write
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我们对它的了解是如此地透彻，事实上，我们认为我们可以
02:29
programming languages for DNA and have molecular compilers.
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写一个DNA 的程式语言并且拥有分子编译器。
02:32
So then, we think we can do that. And my first question doing this --
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既然我们认为我们可以做到。我的第一个问题是--
02:36
or one of my questions doing this -- was how can you make
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或者应该说我一堆问题的其中一个是-- 你如何
02:38
an arbitrary shape or pattern out of DNA? And I decided to use
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用DNA来制造任意形状或图案? 我决定使用
02:41
a type of DNA origami, where you take a long strand of DNA
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一种类似折纸的DNA 折叠艺术，你可以将一股长条DNA
02:44
and fold it into whatever shape or pattern you might want.
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折叠成你想要的各种形状或图案。
02:47
So here's a shape. I actually spent about a year in my home,
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这边是其中一种形状。事实上我在家中花了一年的时间，
02:50
in my underwear, coding, like Linus [Torvalds], in that picture before.
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只穿着内裤，编写程式，就如同之前照片中的李纳斯·托瓦兹(Linux之父)一般。
02:54
And this program takes a shape, spits out 250 DNA sequences.
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这个程式输入一个形状，列出二百五十个不同的DNA 序列。
02:57
These short DNA sequences are what are going to fold the long strand
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这些短的DNA 序列就是接下来将一长股DNA
03:00
into this shape that we want to make. So you send an e-mail
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折叠成这种我们想要的形状时会派上用场的东西。
03:03
with these sequences in it to a company, and what it does --
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所以你发一封内含这些序列的电子邮件去一家公司，
03:07
the company pronounces them on a DNA synthesizer.
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由这家公司使用DNA 合成仪去制造出这些序
03:09
It's a machine about the size of a photocopier. And what happens is,
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合成仪的大小大概与影印机差不多。
03:12
they take your e-mail and every letter in your e-mail,
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然后，他们将你的电子邮件和内含序列的每一个字
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they replace with 30-atom cluster -- one for each letter,
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变成约30个原子的群集，每一个单元就是一个字母，
03:17
A, T, C, and G in DNA. They string them up in the right sequence,
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DNA 中的 A, T, C 和 G。他们被串成正确的序列，
03:21
and then they send them back to you via FedEx.
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然后他们使用 FedEx 寄还给你。
03:23
So you get 250 of these in the mail in little tubes.
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这封信件中有一些小管子，管子里面就有着这二百五十种序列。
03:25
I mix them together, add a little bit of salt water,
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我把他们混合在一起，加一点点盐水，
03:28
and then add this long strand I was telling you about,
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然后加入这个我一直跟你提到的东西，
03:30
that I've stolen from a virus. And then what happens is,
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我从病毒中借用的长股 DNA。然后，
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you heat this whole thing up to about boiling. You cool it down
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将其整个加热至接近沸腾。再待其冷却
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to room temperature, and as you do,
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至室温，就像你平常会做的事一般，
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what happens is those short strands, they do the following thing:
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这些短股DNA 就会去做接下来的事情：
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each one of them binds that long strand in one place,
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他们每一个都会与长股中的某处结合在一起，
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and then has a second half that binds that long strand
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然而他们的另外半段则会与长股中
03:47
in a distant place, and brings those two parts of the long strand
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一段距离外的某处结合，使这长股的两部份
03:50
close together so that they stick together.
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互相靠近而黏在一起。
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And so the net effect of all 250 of these strands is to fold
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所以这两百五十种短股的净效应
03:55
the long strand into the shape that you're looking for.
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将把长股折叠成你想要的形状。
03:59
It'll approximate that shape. We do this for real in the test tube.
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它大约就是那个形状。我们真的在试管中做这个实验。
04:02
In each little drop of water you get 50 billion of these guys.
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每一小滴水中包含约五百亿个这些小东西。
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You can look with a microscope and see them on a surface.
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你可以用显微镜看到他们平躺在一个平面上。
04:08
And the neat thing is that if you change the sequence
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最棒的是如果你更改序列
04:09
and change the spell, you just change the sequence of the staples.
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改变咒语，你只要更改这些「钉书针」（指短股DNA）的序列。
04:13
You can make a molecule that looks like this, and, you know,
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你可以使一个分子看起来像这样，
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he likes to hang out with his buddies, right.
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你知道他喜欢跟朋友在一起，是吧?
04:19
And a lot of them are actually pretty good.
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这些朋友聚在一起的确挺不错的。
04:21
If you change the spell again, you change the sequence again.
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如果你改变咒语，就又改变了一次序列。
04:23
You get really nice 130 nanometer triangles. If you do it again,
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你会得到这些130奈米的三角形。你再做一次，
04:27
you can get arbitrary patterns. So on a rectangle
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你能做出任何图案。所以在一个长方形上
04:30
you can paint patterns of North and South America, or the words, "DNA."
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你可以画出南北美洲的地图，或是排出「DNA」三个字母。
04:35
So that's DNA origami. That's one way. There are many ways
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这就是 DNA 折叠艺术。而这只是目前
04:39
of casting molecular spells using DNA.
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可以使用DNA 施展分子魔咒的许多方法中的一种。
04:42
What we really want to do in the end is learn how to program
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我们真正想要做的是学习如何编辑
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self-assembly so that we can build anything, right?
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自我组合的程式，这样我们就可以建出任何东西了，对吧？
04:48
We want to be able to build technological artifacts
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我们希望能够创造出对世界有益的科技产物
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that are maybe good for the world. We want to learn
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我们希望学习的是
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how to build biological artifacts, like people and whales and trees.
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如何制造生命，如人、鲸鱼或是树木。
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And if it's the case that we can reach that level of complexity,
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如果我们真的能够建造出如此复杂的东西，
04:59
if our ability to program molecules gets to be that good,
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如果我们编写分子程式的能力真的如此强大
05:03
then that will truly be magic. Thank you very much.
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那就是真的创造奇迹了。非常谢谢你们。
05:06
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paul Rothemund - DNA origamistPaul Rothemund folds DNA into shapes and patterns. Which is a simple enough thing to say, but the process he has developed has vast implications for computing and manufacturing -- allowing us to create things we can now only dream of.
Why you should listen
Paul Rothemund won a MacArthur grant this year for a fairly mystifying study area: "folding DNA." It brings up the question: Why fold DNA? The answer is -- because the power to manipulate DNA in this way could change the way we make things at a very basic level.
Rothemund's work combines the study of self-assembly (watch the TEDTalks from Neil Gershenfeld and Saul Griffith for more on this) with the research being done in DNA nanotechnology -- and points the way toward self-assembling devices at microscale, making computer memory, for instance, smaller, faster and maybe even cheaper.
Paul Rothemund | Speaker | TED.com