ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nina Fedoroff - Molecular biologist
Nina Fedoroff writes and lectures about the history and science of genetically modified organisms.

Why you should listen

Nina Fedoroff serves as science adviser to several organizations, including OFW Law and the Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI) in Washington, DC and the Santa Fe Institute in Santa Fe, NM. With former Secretary of Agriculture Jack Block, she recently published a New York Times editorial titled "Mosquito vs. Mosquito in the Battle Over the Zika Virus."

Fedoroff was trained as a molecular biologist and geneticist at the Rockefeller University in New York City. The university awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2008 as one of its most distinguished alumni on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Fedoroff's early scientific accomplishments include analyzing a curious enzyme that replicates the RNA genome of a tiny RNA virus and sequencing of one the first genes ever to be sequenced. On the strength of this work, she was appointed a member of the scientific staff of the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Embryology. Her most important contributions began when she met the legendary biologist Barbara McClintock in 1978. She was intrigued by McClintock’s pioneering work on transposable elements, commonly known as "jumping genes," in corn plants.

McClintock's work was purely genetic, hence Fedoroff set out to study her jumping genes at the molecular level. That meant figuring out how to clone plant genes, none of which had yet been cloned. In fact, people had begun to wonder whether plant genes could be cloned at all. Solving the technical problems, Fedoroff and her students unraveled the molecular details of how these mobile DNA sequences move and how the plants exert epigenetic control of their movement. This work led to her election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1990. Her capstone book on transposable elements entitled Plant Transposons and Genome Dynamics in Evolution ,was published in 2013.

Fedoroff moved the Penn State University in 1995 as the Director of the Biotechnology Institute and Vern M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences. Here she organized a multidisciplinary graduate and research program now known as the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences. Her laboratory research shifted to understanding how plants respond to stress and how they process small regulatory RNAs from larger precursors. She also began to dance Argentine tango. And she wrote a book with science writer Nancy Marie Brown titled Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist’s View of Genetically Modified Foods.

The year 2007 was marked by two extraordinary events in Fedoroff's life. She was named a National Medal of Science laureate for 2006 and she was appointed as the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State by then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. The science advisory position gave her an unexpected bully pulpit to talk about the importance of science in diplomacy, about which she was interviewed by Claudia Dreifus of the New York Times. It also gave her many opportunities to talk about genetic modification and GMOs all over the world. Realizing that development efforts would benefit from increased involvement of scientists, she organized the GKI, an NGO that builds collaborative networks around problems requiring scientific and technological input.

Completing her advisory work at the State Department in 2010, Fedoroff was recruited to the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as a Distinguished Professor of the Life Sciences. At KAUST, Fedoroff organized a Center for Desert Agriculture, seeking to address the difficulties facing agriculture in increasingly populous dryland areas.

Today Fedoroff continues write and lecture internationally, most recently keynoting the 2017 Mantua Food and Science Festival in Mantua, Italy. She continues to dance tango, traveling to Buenos Aires each of the past couple of years. 

More profile about the speaker
Nina Fedoroff | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxMidAtlantic

Nina Fedoroff: A secret weapon against Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases

Nina Fedoroff: 对抗寨卡病毒和其他由蚊子传播病毒的秘密武器

Filmed:
1,094,918 views

寨卡病毒从何而来,我们对它能够做些什么?细胞生物学家Nina Fedoroff带领我们从全球视角理解了寨卡病毒的起源和它的传播,并建议了一种饱受争议的方式来阻止病毒的传播——以及其他致命的病毒——通过防止受感染的蚊子繁衍后代。
- Molecular biologist
Nina Fedoroff writes and lectures about the history and science of genetically modified organisms. Full bio

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

00:13
Zika兹卡 fever发热:
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寨卡病毒感染症
00:16
our newest最新 dread恐惧 disease疾病.
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我们最新发现的重大疾病。
00:19
What is it? Where'd哪儿 it come from?
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它到底是什么?源自于哪里呢?
00:22
What do we do about it?
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我们该如何对付它呢?
00:25
Well for most adults成年人,
it's a relatively相对 mild温和 disease疾病 --
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对于大部分成年人,
它只是一个相对轻微的病毒——
00:28
a little fever发热, a little headache头痛,
joint联合 pain疼痛, maybe a rash皮疹.
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些许的发烧,稍微的头痛
关节疼痛, 或许会长疹子。
00:33
In fact事实, most people who get it
don't even know they've他们已经 had it.
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事实上大部分患病的人
都不知道他们已经患病了。
00:36
But the more we find out
about the Zika兹卡 virus病毒
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但当我们越深入了解
寨卡病毒感染症时,
00:40
the more terrifying可怕的 it becomes.
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它却显得越来越恐怖。
00:42
For example, doctors医生
have noticed注意到 an uptick上扬
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例如,医生察觉到
一种疾病称作格林-巴利症候群
00:45
of something called Guillain-Barr格林-巴尔é
syndrome综合征 in recent最近 outbreaks爆发.
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在近期的病例中
有上升的趋势。
00:49
In Guillain-Barr格林-巴尔é, your immune免疫的 system系统
attacks攻击 your nerve神经 cells细胞
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格林-巴利症候群会
使你的免疫系统攻击,
00:52
it can partially部分
or even totally完全 paralyze瘫痪 you.
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你的神经细胞,
造成你部分甚至完全的瘫痪
00:56
Fortunately幸好, that's quite相当 rare罕见,
and most people recover恢复.
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可幸得是那非常稀少,
大部分的人也都有康复。
01:00
But if you're pregnant
when you're infected感染
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但如果你怀孕时患病,
01:05
you're at risk风险 of something terrible可怕.
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你就有风险获得
一个可怕的东西。
01:08
Indeed确实, a child儿童 with a deformed变形 head.
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是的,一个头畸形的小孩。
01:12
Here's这里的 a normal正常 baby宝宝.
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这是一个正常的婴儿。
01:15
Here's这里的 that infant婴儿
with what's called microcephaly小头畸形.
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这是一个患有我们所说的
“小头畸形”的婴儿。
01:19
a brain in a head that's too small.
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一个脑袋在一个太小的头颅里。
01:22
And there's no known已知 cure治愈.
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而且这并没有已知的治疗方法。
01:25
It was actually其实 doctors医生
in northeastern东北方 Brazil巴西
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其实是一群在巴西东北部的医生们
01:30
who first noticed注意到, just a year ago,
after a Zika兹卡 outbreak暴发,
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在一年前发现到
在寨卡病毒感染症爆发后,
01:36
that there was a peak
in the incidence发生率 of microcephaly小头畸形.
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小头畸形症的案例
达到高峰。
01:40
It took medical doctors医生 another另一个 year
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医生又在花了一年的时间
01:42
to be sure that it was caused造成
by the Zika兹卡 virus病毒,
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才确定这是
寨卡病毒感染症所导致的,
01:45
but they're now sure.
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但现今他们确定了。
01:46
And if you're a "bring带来 on
the evidence证据" type类型,
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如果你是
“给我证据”那类人,
01:49
check out this publication出版物.
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看看这篇出版文章吧。
01:51
So where did it come from,
and how did it get here?
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它是源自于哪里? 又怎么传到这里的呢?
01:54
And it is here.
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它的确已经在这里了
01:56
Like many许多 of our viruses病毒,
it came来了 out of Africa非洲,
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如同许多病毒一样,
它源自于非洲,
01:59
specifically特别 the Zika兹卡 forest森林 in Uganda乌干达.
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更明确的源自于
乌干达的寨卡森林。
02:03
Researchers研究人员 at the nearby附近
Yellow黄色 Fever发热 Research研究 Institute研究所
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研究者在附近的
黄热病研究中心
02:08
identified确定 an unknown未知 virus病毒
in a monkey in the Zika兹卡 forest森林
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在一只在寨卡森林里的猴子
识别了一种未知的病毒,
02:12
which哪一个 is how it got its name名称.
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也就是它名字的由来。
02:15
The first human人的 cases of Zika兹卡 fever发热
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第一个患有寨卡病毒的人类案例
02:17
surfaced浮出水面 a few少数 years年份 later后来
in Uganda-Tanzania乌干达-坦桑尼亚.
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在几年后浮现于
乌干达-坦桑尼亚。
02:21
The virus病毒 then spread传播 through通过 West西 Africa非洲
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病毒传布整个西非,
02:25
and east through通过 equatorial赤道 Asia亚洲 --
Pakistan巴基斯坦, India印度, Malaysia马来西亚, Indonesia印度尼西亚.
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向东到达赤道亚洲:
巴基斯坦,印度,马来西亚,印度尼西亚
02:32
But it was still mostly大多 in monkeys猴子
and, of course课程, mosquitoes蚊子.
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但病毒大部分还是存在于猴子,
当然,以及蚊子。
02:37
In fact事实 in the 60 years年份 between之间 the time
it was first identified确定 in 1947 and 2007
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事实上在他1947第一次被发现到2007年,
这60年间
02:43
there were only 13 reported报道 cases
of human人的 Zika兹卡 fever发热.
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只有13件已知的人类患有
寨卡病毒的案例。
02:47
And then something extraordinary非凡 happened发生
on the tiny Micronesian密克罗尼西亚 Yap islands岛屿.
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之后惊奇的事件发生了 ,
在微小的密克罗尼西亚联邦的雅浦岛,
02:53
There was an outbreak暴发 that affected受影响
fully充分 75 percent百分 of the population人口.
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寨卡病毒爆发将岛上
整整百分之七十五的人感染。
02:59
How did it get there? By air空气.
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它如何到传到那里的呢?
通过空气。
03:03
Today今天 we have two billion十亿
commercial广告 airline航空公司 passengers乘客.
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今天我们有二十亿的商业盈利航空的旅客
03:07
An infected感染 passenger乘客 can board a plane平面,
fly halfway around the world世界
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一位已患病的旅客可以在
出现患病的症状之前,
甚至没有出现任何症状,
踏上飞机,飞跃半个地球。
03:11
before developing发展 symptoms症状 --
if they develop发展 symptoms症状 at all.
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当他们着陆时,当地的蚊子将开始
叮咬他们,并且开始传播病毒。
03:16
Then when they land土地, the local本地 mosquitoes蚊子
begin开始 to bite them and spread传播 the fever发热.
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寨卡病毒感染症之后在2013
出现于法属玻里尼西亚。
03:21
Zika兹卡 fever发热 then next下一个 surfaced浮出水面
in 2013 in French法国 Polynesia波利尼西亚.
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03:27
By December十二月 of that year, it was being存在
transmitted发送 locally本地 by the mosquitoes蚊子.
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当年的12月,已由当地
的蚊子开始传染病毒。
03:33
That led to an explosive爆炸物 outbreak暴发 in which哪一个
almost几乎 30,000 people were affected受影响.
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这也因此导致了爆发性的传染
使的将近30,000人受到影响。
从那里,则开始向周围的
太平洋发散。
03:38
From there it radiated辐射 around the Pacific和平的.
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03:40
There were outbreaks爆发 in the Cook厨师
Islands岛屿, in New Caledonia喀里多尼亚,
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库克群岛,新喀里多尼亚,
瓦努阿图,索罗门群岛
03:45
in Vanuatu瓦努阿图, in the Solomon所罗门 Islands岛屿
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都陆续出现了疫情,
03:48
and almost几乎 all the way around to the coast
of South America美国 and Easter复活节 Island.
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一直到近南美洲群岛海岸和复活节群岛。
然后,2015年初期
03:53
And then, in early 2015,
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在巴西东北方的纳塔尔市
03:56
there was an upsurge高涨 of cases
of a dengue-like登革热样 syndrome综合征
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类登革热疫情的病例高涨。
04:01
in the city of Natal纳塔尔
in northeastern东北方 Brazil巴西.
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传染的病毒并非登革热,
而是寨卡,并且在迅速的传播。
04:05
The virus病毒 wasn't dengue登革热, it was Zika兹卡,
and it spread传播 rapidly急速 --
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沿岸的累西腓,作为广大的商业重镇
很快的成为了扩散的中心。
04:11
Recife累西腓 down the coast, a big metropolitan宗主
center中央, soon不久 became成为 the epicenter震中.
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有人推测或许是因为
2014的世界足球杯的球迷
04:17
Well people have speculated推测 that it was
2014 World世界 Cup杯子 soccer足球 fans球迷
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将疫情带入了当地。
04:23
that brought the virus病毒 into the country国家.
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04:25
But others其他 have speculated推测 that perhaps也许
it was Pacific和平的 Islanders岛民
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但也有人认为是因为
当年在里约所举办的
独木舟冠军大赛,
当中所参与的
04:29
participating参与 in championship锦标赛 canoe独木舟 races比赛
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04:32
that were held保持 in Rio里约热内卢 that year
that brought it in.
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太平洋岛上的居民们所传入的 。
至今,也才一年后。
04:35
Well today今天, this is only a year later后来.
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寨卡病毒已由
当地的蚊子所传播
04:39
The virus病毒 is being存在 locally本地 transmitted发送
by mosquitoes蚊子
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近乎遍布了中美洲,
南美洲,墨西哥
04:43
virtually实质上 throughout始终 South America美国,
Central中央 America美国, Mexico墨西哥
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以及加勒比群岛。
04:46
and the Caribbean加勒比 Islands岛屿
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04:48
Until直到 this year, the many许多
thousands数千 of cases
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一直到今年,在美国
所诊断出的上千个病例
04:52
that have been diagnosed确诊 in the US
were contracted签约 elsewhere别处.
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都并非在美国本土遭到传染。
04:57
But as of this summer夏季, it's being存在
transmitted发送 locally本地 in Miami迈阿密.
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但在这个夏季为止,它正在
迈阿密当地传播。
它在这里了。
05:02
It's here.
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所以我们该如何做呢?
05:03
So what do we do about it?
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要防止传染,
05:05
Well, preventing防止 infection感染
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要么在于保护民众,
要么在于消灭蚊子。
05:10
is either about protecting保护 people
or about eliminating消除 the mosquitoes蚊子.
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让我们先来把焦点放在人身上。
05:14
Let's focus焦点 on people first.
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你可以注射疫苗。
05:16
You can get vaccinated接种疫苗.
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05:19
You can not travel旅行 to Zika兹卡 areas.
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你可以避免到寨卡病毒
盛行的地区。
或者你也可以将自己包覆起来,
并且使用防蚊液。
05:23
Or you can cover up
and apply应用 insect昆虫 repellent驱蚊.
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疫苗行不通,因为寨卡病毒
的疫苗还并不存在,
05:26
Getting入门 vaccinated接种疫苗 is not an option选项,
because there isn't a vaccine疫苗 yet然而
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05:30
and there probably大概 won't惯于 be
for a couple一对 of years年份.
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并且在近几年应该
还是如此。
待在家中也不是一个
没有漏洞的办法,
05:33
Staying入住 home isn't
a foolproof简单的 protection保护 either
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因为我们现在知道
它可以透过性行为所传染。
05:37
because we now know that
it can be sexually transmitted发送.
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包覆起来并且使用防蚊液
确实行得通....
05:42
Covering覆盖 up and applying应用
insect昆虫 repellent驱蚊 does work ...
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直到你忘记为止。
05:45
until直到 you forget忘记.
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(笑声)
05:47
(Laughter笑声)
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所以焦点转到蚊子上了,
这就是我们现今控制它们的方法:
05:49
So that leaves树叶 the mosquitoes蚊子,
and here's这里的 how we control控制 them now:
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喷洒杀虫剂。
05:53
spraying insecticides杀虫剂.
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防护的装备是必须的,
因为存在着有毒的化学药物
05:56
The protective保护的 gear齿轮 is necessary必要
because these are toxic有毒的 chemicals化学制品
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足以杀死人类以及蚊虫。
06:00
that kill people as well as bugs虫子.
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当然杀死人类所需要的量
远超过杀死蚊虫所需要的量。
06:02
Although虽然 it does take quite相当 a lot more
to kill a person than to kill a bug窃听器.
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06:06
These are pictures图片 from
Brazil巴西 and Nicaragua尼加拉瓜.
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这些照片来自于
巴西以及尼加拉瓜。
但相同的情境也可以在
迈阿密,佛罗里达看到。
06:10
But it looks容貌 the same相同 in Miami迈阿密, Florida佛罗里达.
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还有当然我们可以用
飞机喷洒杀虫剂。
06:13
And we of course课程 can spray喷雾
insecticides杀虫剂 from planes飞机.
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去年的夏天 南卡罗来纳
多彻斯特郡管控蚊子的人员
06:19
Last summer夏季, mosquito蚊子 control控制 officials官员
in Dorchester多切斯特 County, South Carolina卡罗来纳州,
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在厂商的推荐之下,
在某天的早晨,
06:25
authorized合法 spraying of NaledNaled,
an insecticide杀虫剂,
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喷洒了二溴磷,
一种杀虫剂。
06:29
early one morning早上,
as recommended推荐的 by the manufacturer生产厂家.
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06:32
Later后来 that day, a beekeeper养蜂人 told reporters记者
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当天下午,一名养蜂人
告诉了记者
他的养殖蜜蜂的园区
仿佛被核武器攻击了。
06:37
that her bee蜜蜂 yard looked看着
like it had been nuked核爆.
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哎呀!
06:41
Oops哎呀.
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蜜蜂应该是好人啊
06:43
Bees蜜蜂 are the good guys.
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06:45
The citizens公民 of Florida佛罗里达 protested抗议,
but spraying continued继续.
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佛罗里达州的居民虽
提出抗议,但喷洒并未停止。
06:53
Unfortunately不幸, so did the increase增加
in the number of Zika兹卡 fever发热 cases.
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不幸的,寨卡病毒的案例
增加的数量也是如此。
那是因为,杀虫剂
并不是非常有效。
06:58
That's because insecticides杀虫剂
aren't very effective有效.
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07:02
So are there any approaches方法 that are
perhaps也许 more effective有效 than spraying
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那是否有比杀虫剂来的更有效并且
比有毒的化学药物
拥有更少的缺点的方式呢?
07:10
but with less downsides缺点
than toxic有毒的 chemicals化学制品?
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07:16
I'm a huge巨大 fan风扇 of biological生物 controls控制,
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我是生物防治的爱好者,
07:19
and I share分享 that view视图 with Rachel雷切尔 Carson卡森,
author作者 of "Silent无声 Spring弹簧,"
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而我与《寂静的春天》的作者
Rachel Carson有相同的看法,
07:24
the book that is credited with starting开始
the environmental环境的 movement运动.
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这本书被视为
环保运动的创始者。
07:29
In this book she tells告诉 the story故事,
as an example,
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这本书她讲述了一个故事,
以在上个世纪被消灭了
07:32
of how a very nasty讨厌 insect昆虫
pest虫害 of livestock家畜
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一种针对牲畜的害虫为比喻。
07:38
was eliminated淘汰 in the last century世纪.
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在今日,这个惊奇的故事不为人知。
07:42
No one knows知道 that
extraordinary非凡 story故事 today今天.
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07:44
So Jack插口 Block and I,
when we were writing写作 an editorial社论
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所以Jack Block与我
在撰写一篇有关当今蚊子问题的
07:48
about the mosquito蚊子 problem问题 today今天,
retold新编 that story故事.
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报导时重新讲述了那个故事。
简单来说,也就是蛹——
那是昆虫还未成熟的状态——
07:52
And in capsule胶囊 form形成, it's that pupae --
that's the immature未成熟的 form形成 of the insect昆虫 --
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受到辐射直到它们失去生育能力,
等到它们进入成年期之后,
07:56
were irradiated照射 until直到 they were sterile无菌,
grown长大的 to adulthood成年
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再由飞机将它们释放,
遍布整个西南到东南,
08:01
and then released发布 from planes飞机
all over the Southwest西南,
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08:05
the Southeast东南 and down into Mexico墨西哥
and into Central中央 America美国
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再往下进入墨西哥,
然后中美洲。
08:09
literally按照字面 by the hundreds数以百计 of millions百万
from little airplanes飞机,
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上百万只货真价实的小虫子,
从飞机上被释放,
最终将那糟糕的害虫
08:13
eventually终于 eliminating消除
that terrible可怕 insect昆虫 pest虫害
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从大部分的西半球移除。
08:18
for most of the Western西 Hemisphere半球.
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我们撰写这篇报导
真正的目的是要
08:22
Our real真实 purpose目的 in writing写作 this editorial社论
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08:24
was to introduce介绍 readers读者
to how we can do that today今天 --
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介绍给读者
我们如何在今日做到一样的事情——
并不是用辐射而是
用我们对基因所有的知识。
08:27
not with radiation辐射
but with our knowledge知识 of genetics遗传学.
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让我来说明。
08:32
Let me explain说明.
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这个是坏人:埃及伊蚊。
08:33
This is the bad guy: Aedes伊蚊 aegypti伊蚊.
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他是最常见的由昆虫
传染疾病的带原者,
08:36
It's the most common共同 insect昆虫
vector向量 of diseases疾病,
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不只是寨卡,还有登革热
基孔肯雅热,西尼罗河病毒
08:41
not just Zika兹卡 but dengue登革热,
Chikungunya基孔肯亚, West西 Nile尼罗河 virus病毒
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以及那古老的瘟疫,黄热病。
08:44
and that ancient plague鼠疫, yellow黄色 fever发热.
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它是一个城市型的蚊子,
08:48
It's an urban城市的 mosquito蚊子,
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08:50
and it's the female
that does the dirty work.
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而且是雌性在传染疾病。
它会叮咬取得血
来喂养它的孩子。
08:54
She bites咬伤 to get a blood血液 meal膳食
to feed饲料 her offspring子孙.
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雄性的蚊子不会叮咬,它们甚至连
用来叮咬的嘴部器官都没有。
09:00
Males男性 don't bite; they don't even
have the mouth parts部分 to bite.
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09:04
A little British英国的 company公司 called OxitecOxitec公司
genetically基因 modified改性 that mosquito蚊子
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一个名为Oxitec的英国小公司
基因改造了雌性的蚊子,
使它们与野生的雌性蚊子交配时,
它们的卵不会发展到成年期。
09:10
so that when it mates队友 with a wild野生 female,
its eggs don't develop发展 to adulthood成年.
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让我展示给你看。
09:17
Let me show显示 you.
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这个是正常的生殖周期。
09:18
This is the normal正常 reproductive生殖 cycle周期.
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Oxitec设计蚊子,
使雄性的蚊子与野生雌性蚊子交配时
09:21
OxitecOxitec公司 designed设计 the mosquito蚊子 so that
when the male mates队友 with the wild野生 female
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它们的卵不会成长。
09:27
the eggs don't develop发展.
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听起来不可能?
09:28
Sounds声音 impossible不可能?
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09:30
Well let me show显示 you
just diagrammatically图解 how they do it.
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让我来用图表解释
他们如何做到的。
这个代表蚊子细胞的细胞核,
09:34
Now this represents代表 the nucleus
of a mosquito蚊子 cell细胞,
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09:38
and that tangle纠纷 in the middle中间
represents代表 its genome基因组,
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而中间的那一团
代表的是它的基因,
它基因的总量。
09:40
the sum total of its genes基因.
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科学家多加了一个基因
09:43
Scientists科学家们 added添加 a single gene基因
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09:46
that codes代码 for a protein蛋白 represented代表
by this orange橙子 ball
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来制造图片上那橘色球的蛋白质
09:51
that feeds供稿 back on itself本身
to keep cranking起动 out more of that protein蛋白.
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这个蛋白质会持续的反馈给自己
来得到更多的蛋白质。
那多的复制品会弄乱蚊子的基因,
09:57
The extra额外 copies副本, however然而,
go and gum up the mosquitoes'蚊子 genes基因,
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10:02
killing谋杀 the organism生物.
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并使它灭亡。
为了要使它在实验室存活,
他们使用一种合成物称作四环素。
10:04
To keep it alive in the laboratory实验室
they use a compound复合 called tetracycline四环素.
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四环素会关掉那个基因,
并且允许正常的发展。
10:08
Tetracycline四环素 shuts启闭 off that gene基因
and allows允许 normal正常 development发展.
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10:14
They added添加 another另一个 little wrinkle皱纹
so that they could study研究 what happens发生.
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他们也加了一个小机关
使他们能够研究所发生的事。
也就是他们加了一个基因
使昆虫在UV光的照射下会发光,
10:18
And that is they added添加 a gene基因
that makes品牌 the insect昆虫 glow辉光 under UVUV light
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这样昆虫被释放时,他们
能确切知道它们飞的多远,
10:25
so that when they released发布 it
they could follow跟随 exactly究竟 how far it went
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活了多久,以及各种
你需要的相关的资料
10:29
how long it lived生活
and all of the kinds of data数据
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来做完整的科学研究。
10:32
for a good scientific科学 study研究.
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10:35
Now this is the pupal stage阶段,
and at this stage阶段
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现在这是蛹的阶段,
而在这个阶段,
雌性会比雄性来得大。
10:39
the females女性 are larger than the males男性.
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10:42
That allows允许 them to sort分类 them
into the males男性 and the females女性
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这使得他们能够将雄性和雌性区分开来,
10:46
and they allow允许 only the males男性
to grow增长 to adulthood成年.
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并且只让雄性成长至成年期。
10:51
And let me remind提醒 you
that males男性 don't bite.
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让我再次提醒你,
雌性不会叮咬。
10:53
From there it's pretty漂亮 simple简单.
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从这里,
一切变的非常简单。
10:55
They take beakers烧杯 full充分 of male mosquitoes蚊子,
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他们拿着充满蚊子的烧杯,
放进牛奶箱
然后开车绕着市区,
10:58
load加载 them into milk牛奶 cartons纸箱,
and drive驾驶 around the city,
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11:01
releasing释放 them guided引导 by GPS全球定位系统.
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并且根据GPS
将它们释放。
这是一个市区的市长
释放第一批
11:04
Here's这里的 the mayor市长 of a city
releasing释放 the first batch批量
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11:07
of what they call the "friendly友善 Aedes伊蚊."
170
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2987
他们所说的
“友善伊蚊“。
我希望我能跟你说
这是一个美国的城市但并不是。
11:10
Now I wish希望 I could tell you
this is an American美国 city, but it's not.
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这是巴西的皮拉西卡巴。
11:13
It's Piracicabapiracicaba, Brazil巴西.
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最惊奇的事情是
在仅仅一年的时间里,
11:16
The amazing惊人 thing is that in just a year
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11:20
it brought down the cases
of dengue登革热 by 91 percent百分.
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登革热的案例
下降了百分之九十一。
那比喷洒任何杀虫剂
所得到的成果好许多。
11:26
That's better than any insecticide杀虫剂
spraying can do.
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所以我们为何不在美国
使用这个卓越的生物防治方法呢?
11:30
So why aren't we using运用 this remarkable卓越
biological生物 control控制 in the US?
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11:35
That's because it's a GMOGMO:
a genetically基因 modified改性 organism生物.
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那是因为它是一个GMO,
一个基因改造的生物。
11:42
Notice注意 the subtitle字幕 here says
if the FDAFDA would let them
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注意副题中写到
如果FDA允许它们的话
当寨卡来到时,
它们可以在这里同样的事情。
11:47
they could do the same相同 thing here,
when Zika兹卡 arrives到达.
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11:50
And of course课程 it has arrived到达.
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当然寨卡的确来了。
11:52
So now I have to tell you the short form形成
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所以现在我必须告诉你
有关美国基因改造规范
11:56
of the long, torturous痛苦 story故事
of GMGM regulation in the US
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又长,又折磨人故事的简短版。
在美国,有三个机构
来管理基因改造的生物,
12:02
In the US, there are three agencies机构 that
regulate调节 genetically基因 modified改性 organisms生物:
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FDA ,食品药物管理局,
12:10
the FDAFDA, the Food餐饮 and Drug药物 Administration行政,
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EPA,国家环境保护局,
12:12
the EPAEPA, the Environmental环境的
Protection保护 Agency机构,
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12:14
and the USDAUSDA, US Department
of Agriculture农业.
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以及 USDA,美国农业部。
这些人花了两年的时间
才决定由食品药物管理局
12:18
Took these folks乡亲 two years年份
to decide决定 that it would be the FDAFDA
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12:23
that would regulate调节 the genetically基因
modified改性 mosquito蚊子.
188
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2903
来管理基因改造的蚊子,
12:26
And they would do it as a new animal动物 drug药物,
if that makes品牌 any sense.
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6484
并且他们将它看成一种新的动物药品,
这根本没有意义。
12:33
Took them another另一个 five years年份 going back
and forth向前 and back and forth向前
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他们又花了五年的时间,来来回回,
12:36
to convince说服 the FDAFDA
that this would not harm危害 people,
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说服了FDA这不会对人类有害,
12:42
and it would not harm危害 the environment环境.
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也不会对环境有害。
12:45
They finally最后 gave them, this summer夏季,
permission允许 to run a little test测试
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在这个夏天,他们终于被允许
在佛罗里达礁岛群做一個小小的测试,
12:50
in the Florida佛罗里达 Keys按键,
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1539
12:52
where they had been invited邀请 years年份 earlier
when they Keys按键 had an outbreak暴发 of dengue登革热.
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6484
在几年前登革热爆发的时候,
他们就被邀请这么做了。
如果这么简单就好了。
12:59
Would that it were that easy简单.
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2031
在当地的居民听到,
13:02
When the local本地 residents居民 heard听说
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13:04
that there would be genetically基因 modified改性
mosquitoes蚊子 tested测试 in their community社区
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4095
会有基因改造的蚊子被释放到
他们的社区试验时,
部分的居民就开始组织抗议行动。
13:08
some of them began开始 to organize组织 protests抗议.
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他们甚至在网上组织了一个请愿书,
还有这个可爱的标志,
13:11
They even organized有组织的 a petition请愿 on
the internet互联网 with this cuddly可爱 logo商标,
200
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5039
13:17
which哪一个 eventually终于 accumulated积累
some 160,000 signatures签名
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最终获得了160000个签名。
13:23
And they demanded要求 a referendum公投
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他们要求公投, 而且会在几个礼拜内举行,
13:25
which哪一个 will be conducted进行
in just a couple一对 of weeks
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13:28
about whether是否 the trials试验
would be permitted允许 at all.
204
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这有关测试是否应该被批准。
13:32
Well it's Miami迈阿密 that really needs需求
these better ways方法 of controlling控制 insects昆虫.
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但其实是迈阿密才真正需要
这些比较好的方法来控制蚊虫。
那里的态度也在转变。
13:38
And there the attitudes态度 are changing改变.
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事实上,最近一个包含60
多个立法者的两党组织
13:40
In fact事实, very recently最近 a bipartisan两党 group
of more than 60 legislators立法者
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6015
13:46
wrote to HHSHHS Secretary秘书 Sylvia西尔维亚 Burwell伯韦尔
208
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3182
写信给HSS部长Sylvia Burwell
请求他,在联邦的层级
加速佛罗里达得到
13:50
asking that she, at the Federal联邦 level水平,
expedite促进 access访问 for Florida佛罗里达
209
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5344
这项新科技。
13:55
to this new technology技术.
210
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2084
所以结论是:
13:58
So the bottom底部 line线 is this:
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利用生物控制来控制害虫
13:59
biological生物 control控制 of harmful有害 insects昆虫
212
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3650
可以比使用杀虫剂,
也就是有毒的化学药物
14:03
can be both more effective有效 and
very much more environmentally环保 friendly友善
213
831763
4912
来的有效,并且也
显著的对环境比较友善。
14:08
than using运用 insecticides杀虫剂,
which哪一个 are toxic有毒的 chemicals化学制品.
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4793
14:13
That was true真正 in Rachel雷切尔 Carson's卡森的
time; it's true真正 today今天.
215
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3440
这在Rachel Carson的时代是正确的,
在我们的时代也是。
不一样的是我们比那时的我们
14:16
What's different不同 is that we have
enormously巨大 more information信息
216
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5714
拥有更多有关基因的知识,
14:22
about genetics遗传学 than we had then,
217
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1897
14:24
and therefore因此 more ability能力
to use that information信息
218
852639
4134
也因此我们拥有更多的能力
运用那些信息,
来影响控制这些生物。
14:29
to affect影响 these biological生物 controls控制.
219
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2380
我希望我有引起你的好奇心,
使得你开始
14:32
And I hope希望 that what I've doneDONE
is aroused引起 your curiosity好奇心 enough足够
220
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4928
14:37
to start开始 your own拥有 inquiry查询 --
not into just GMGM mosquitoes蚊子
221
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5284
有你自己的疑问——
不只是对于基因改造的蚊子,
而是还有对于在今日
备受争议的其他基因改造生物。
14:42
but to the other genetically基因 modified改性
organisms生物 that are so controversial争论的 today今天.
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6404
我想如果你这么做,
并且你向下挖掘所有的错误信息
14:49
I think if you do that, and you dig down
through通过 all of the misinformation误传,
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4697
14:54
and the marketing营销
224
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1310
以及有机食品产业和绿色和平等的
14:55
on the part部分 of the organic有机 food餐饮 industry行业
and the GreenpeacesGreenpeaces
225
883802
3388
营销手段,
找寻科学,
那真实的科学,
14:59
and find the science科学,
the accurate准确 science科学,
226
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3150
你会感到惊讶以及满意。
15:02
you'll你会 be surprised诧异 and pleased满意.
227
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谢谢。
15:05
Thank you.
228
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(掌声)
15:06
(Applause掌声)
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2000
Translated by Lipeng Chen
Reviewed by Yinchun Rui

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nina Fedoroff - Molecular biologist
Nina Fedoroff writes and lectures about the history and science of genetically modified organisms.

Why you should listen

Nina Fedoroff serves as science adviser to several organizations, including OFW Law and the Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI) in Washington, DC and the Santa Fe Institute in Santa Fe, NM. With former Secretary of Agriculture Jack Block, she recently published a New York Times editorial titled "Mosquito vs. Mosquito in the Battle Over the Zika Virus."

Fedoroff was trained as a molecular biologist and geneticist at the Rockefeller University in New York City. The university awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2008 as one of its most distinguished alumni on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Fedoroff's early scientific accomplishments include analyzing a curious enzyme that replicates the RNA genome of a tiny RNA virus and sequencing of one the first genes ever to be sequenced. On the strength of this work, she was appointed a member of the scientific staff of the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Embryology. Her most important contributions began when she met the legendary biologist Barbara McClintock in 1978. She was intrigued by McClintock’s pioneering work on transposable elements, commonly known as "jumping genes," in corn plants.

McClintock's work was purely genetic, hence Fedoroff set out to study her jumping genes at the molecular level. That meant figuring out how to clone plant genes, none of which had yet been cloned. In fact, people had begun to wonder whether plant genes could be cloned at all. Solving the technical problems, Fedoroff and her students unraveled the molecular details of how these mobile DNA sequences move and how the plants exert epigenetic control of their movement. This work led to her election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1990. Her capstone book on transposable elements entitled Plant Transposons and Genome Dynamics in Evolution ,was published in 2013.

Fedoroff moved the Penn State University in 1995 as the Director of the Biotechnology Institute and Vern M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences. Here she organized a multidisciplinary graduate and research program now known as the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences. Her laboratory research shifted to understanding how plants respond to stress and how they process small regulatory RNAs from larger precursors. She also began to dance Argentine tango. And she wrote a book with science writer Nancy Marie Brown titled Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist’s View of Genetically Modified Foods.

The year 2007 was marked by two extraordinary events in Fedoroff's life. She was named a National Medal of Science laureate for 2006 and she was appointed as the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State by then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. The science advisory position gave her an unexpected bully pulpit to talk about the importance of science in diplomacy, about which she was interviewed by Claudia Dreifus of the New York Times. It also gave her many opportunities to talk about genetic modification and GMOs all over the world. Realizing that development efforts would benefit from increased involvement of scientists, she organized the GKI, an NGO that builds collaborative networks around problems requiring scientific and technological input.

Completing her advisory work at the State Department in 2010, Fedoroff was recruited to the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as a Distinguished Professor of the Life Sciences. At KAUST, Fedoroff organized a Center for Desert Agriculture, seeking to address the difficulties facing agriculture in increasingly populous dryland areas.

Today Fedoroff continues write and lecture internationally, most recently keynoting the 2017 Mantua Food and Science Festival in Mantua, Italy. She continues to dance tango, traveling to Buenos Aires each of the past couple of years. 

More profile about the speaker
Nina Fedoroff | Speaker | TED.com

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