ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nathan Wolfe - Virus hunter
Armed with blood samples, high-tech tools and a small army of fieldworkers, Nathan Wolfe hopes to re-invent pandemic control -- and reveal hidden secrets of the planet's dominant lifeform: the virus.

Why you should listen

Using genetic sequencing, needle-haystack research, and dogged persistence (crucial to getting spoilage-susceptible samples through the jungle and to the lab), Nathan Wolfe has proven what was science-fiction conjecture only a few decades ago -- not only do viruses jump from animals to humans, but they do so all the time. Along the way Wolfe has discovered several new viruses, and is poised to discover many more.

Wolfe's research has turned the field of epidemiology on its head, and attracted interest from philanthropists at Google.org and the Skoll foundation. Better still, the research opens the door to preventing epidemics before they happen, sidelining them via early-warning systems and alleviating the poverty from which easy transmission emerges.

More profile about the speaker
Nathan Wolfe | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Nathan Wolfe: The jungle search for viruses

內森‧沃夫 (Nathan Wolfe) 的叢林病毒獵殺之旅

Filmed:
1,660,987 views

病毒獵人內森‧沃夫搶得機先,在病毒剛剛崛起之時,便防堵其從動物傳染到人類,在因貧只能以狩獵維生的非洲獵人間蔓延。在病毒奪走百萬條生命之前,智取伺機而動的傳染病。
- Virus hunter
Armed with blood samples, high-tech tools and a small army of fieldworkers, Nathan Wolfe hopes to re-invent pandemic control -- and reveal hidden secrets of the planet's dominant lifeform: the virus. Full bio

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

00:18
When most people think about the beginnings開始
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大部分人一想到愛滋的起源
00:20
of AIDS艾滋病, they're gonna think back to the 1980s.
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就想到 1980 年代。
00:23
And certainly當然, this was the decade in which哪一個 we discovered發現 AIDS艾滋病
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的確,當時我們發現了愛滋病
00:26
and the virus病毒 that causes原因 it, HIVHIV.
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還有它的病原,HIV
00:29
But in fact事實 this virus病毒 crossed越過 over into humans人類 many許多 decades幾十年 before,
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不過,這個病毒實際上卻在幾十年前就已經滲入人類社會
00:33
from chimpanzees黑猩猩, where the virus病毒 originated起源, into humans人類 who hunt打獵 these apes類人猿.
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從病毒的源頭宿主黑猩猩,感染獵殺猩猩的人類們
00:37
This photo照片 was taken採取 before the Great Depression蕭條
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這張照片是在經濟大蕭條之前拍攝的
00:40
in Brazzaville布拉柴維爾, Congo剛果.
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地點在剛果首都布拉薩
00:42
At this time, there were thousands數千 of individuals個人,
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我們認為,當時已有上千個當地居民
00:44
we think, that were infected感染 with HIVHIV.
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感染了HIV
00:46
So I have a couple一對 of really important重要 questions問題 for you.
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那麼讓我問各位幾個很重要的問題
00:48
If this virus病毒 was in thousands數千
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如果當時已有上千名
00:49
of individuals個人 at this point,
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居民感染了病毒
00:51
why was it the case案件 that it took us until直到 1984
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為什麼我們一直要到 1984 年
00:54
to be able能夠 to discover發現 this virus病毒?
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才發現這個病毒?
00:56
OK now, more importantly重要的,
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更重要的問題是
00:58
had we been there in the '40s and '50s, '60s,
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我們在 40′ 50′ 和60年代是否去過那裡
01:01
had we seen看到 this disease疾病, had we understood了解
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是否已經看過這個疾病,是否完全了解
01:04
exactly究竟 what was going on with it, how might威力 that have changed and completely全然
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愛滋病的機制?如果是的話,是否會完全改變
01:07
transformed改造 the nature性質 of the way this pandemic流感大流行 moved移動?
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且轉化這個傳染病的自然感染途徑?
01:12
In fact事實, this is not unique獨特 to HIVHIV. The vast廣大 majority多數 of
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其實,不只是 HIV ,絕大多數的
01:15
viruses病毒 come from animals動物.
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病毒都是從動物身上發現的
01:17
And you can kind of think of this as a pyramid金字塔 of this bubbling冒泡 up of viruses病毒
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大家應該可以想像層出不窮的病毒,就像這個金字塔
01:20
from animals動物 into human人的 populations人群.
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從動物宿主傳染到人類族群
01:22
But only at the very top最佳 of this pyramid金字塔 do these things become成為 completely全然 human人的.
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但是唯有金字塔頂端的病毒才會完全轉化成人類病毒
01:25
Nevertheless雖然, we spend the vast廣大 majority多數
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然而,我們卻將絕大部份的精力
01:28
of our energy能源 focused重點 on this level水平 of the pyramid金字塔,
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專注在金字塔頂層
01:30
trying to tackle滑車 things that are already已經 completely全然 adapted適應 to human人的 beings眾生,
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想辦法對付這些已經完全適應人類
01:34
that are going to be very very difficult to address地址 --
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而且非常難處理的病毒
01:36
as we've我們已經 seen看到 in the case案件 of HIVHIV.
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HIV 就是很好的例證
01:38
So during the last 15 years年份,
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因此,過去 15 年來
01:40
I've been working加工 to actually其實 study研究 the earlier interface接口 here --
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我都在研究底層的病毒
01:43
what I've labeled標記 "viral病毒 chatter喋喋不休," which哪一個 was a term術語 coined創造
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這裡標出的「viral chatter」是個新創的名詞
01:45
by my mentor導師 Don Burke伯克.
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由我的教授 Don Burke 所創
01:47
This is the idea理念 that we can study研究 the sort分類 of
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這個觀念就是,我們可以研究
01:49
pinging查驗 of these viruses病毒 into human人的 populations人群,
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追溯病毒入侵人類族群的足跡、
01:52
the movement運動 of these agents代理 over into humans人類;
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病毒感染蔓延到人類的途徑
01:54
and by capturing捕獲 this moment時刻,
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藉著捕捉這些蛛絲馬跡
01:56
we might威力 be able能夠 to move移動 to a situation情況 where we can catch抓住 them early.
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我們或許可以早一步發現它們
01:59
OK, so this is a picture圖片, and I'm going to show顯示 you
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好的,這是其中一張照片,我會給大家看看
02:01
some pictures圖片 now from the field領域.
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一些實地勘查的照片
02:03
This is a picture圖片 of a central中央 African非洲人 hunter獵人.
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照片中的人是一名中非獵人
02:05
It's actually其實 a fairly相當 common共同 picture圖片.
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這其實是一張很普通的照片
02:07
One of the things I want you to note注意 from it
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我希望大家注意看照片中
02:09
is blood血液 -- that you see a tremendous巨大 amount of blood血液 contact聯繫.
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動物的血,你可以看到獵人與獵物有大量的血液接觸
02:12
This was absolutely絕對 key for us. This is a
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這對我們非常重要。這是一種
02:14
very intimate親密 form形成 of connection連接.
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非常直接的接觸
02:16
So if we're going to study研究 viral病毒 chatter喋喋不休, we need to
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因此,要研究病毒的蛛絲馬跡,我們必須
02:18
get to these populations人群 who have intensive集約 contact聯繫 with wild野生 animals動物.
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深入那些跟野生動物有密集接觸的居民
02:21
And so we've我們已經 been studying研究 people like this individual個人.
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因此,我們的研究樣本都是像照片中的獵人
02:25
We collect蒐集 blood血液 from them, other specimens標本.
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收集他們的血液還有其他檢體
02:28
We look at the diseases疾病, which哪一個 are in the animals動物 as well as the humans人類.
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在裡面找同時出現在動物跟人體中的疾病
02:31
And ideally理想, this is going to allow允許 us to catch抓住 these things
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希望這樣做可以讓我們抓到病毒
02:34
early on, as they're moving移動 over into human人的 populations人群.
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在它們在人類族群中蔓延前及早發現
02:37
And the basic基本 objective目的 of this work is not to just
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研究工作的基本目標不只是
02:39
go out once一旦 and look at these individuals個人,
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去勘查一次,拜訪這些居民
02:41
but to establish建立 thousands數千 of individuals個人
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而是在這些人類族群中,
02:43
in these populations人群 that we would monitor監控
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對上千個當地居民
02:46
continuously一直 on a regular定期 basis基礎.
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建立持續且規律的監控
02:48
When they were sick生病, we would collect蒐集 specimens標本 from them.
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當他們生病了,我們就會收集檢體
02:50
We would actually其實 enlist招募 them --
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我們甚至招募他們
02:52
which哪一個 we've我們已經 doneDONE now -- to collect蒐集 specimens標本 from animals動物.
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收集動物的檢體,現在已經這樣做了
02:54
We give them these little pieces of filter過濾 paper.
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我們發給他們這種小張的濾紙
02:56
When they sample樣品 from animals動物,
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當他們從動物身上取下樣本時
02:58
they collect蒐集 the blood血液 on the filter過濾 paper
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會把動物血液收集在濾紙上
03:00
and this allows允許 us to identify鑑定 yet-unknown但未知 viruses病毒 from exactly究竟 the right animals動物 --
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如此可以幫助我們在正確的動物樣本
03:04
the ones那些 that are actually其實 being存在 hunted獵殺.
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也就是獵物上鑑定出一些目前未知的病毒
03:10
(Video視頻) Narrator旁白: Deep in a remote遠程 region地區 of Cameroon喀麥隆,
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影片解說 : 在喀麥隆偏遠地帶的深處
03:12
two hunters獵人 stalk their prey獵物.
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兩個獵人正在追蹤他們的獵物
03:15
Their names are Patrice帕特里斯 and PateePatee.
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他們是派崔斯和帕帝
03:17
They're searching搜索 for bush襯套 meat;
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他們正在找尋野生獸肉
03:20
forest森林 animals動物 they can kill to feed飼料 their families家庭.
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也就是可以殺來餵飽家人的叢林野生動物
03:24
Patrice帕特里斯 and PateePatee set out most days to go out hunting狩獵
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派崔斯和帕帝大部分的時間都
03:26
in the forest森林 around their homes家園.
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在家附近的叢林中打獵
03:29
They have a series系列 of traps陷阱, of snares網羅 that they've他們已經 set up
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他們設下一連串的陷阱及機關
03:31
to catch抓住 wild野生 pigs, snakes, monkeys猴子,
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為的是想抓些野豬、蛇、猴子
03:35
rodents囓齒動物 -- anything they can, really.
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老鼠,任何能抓到的都好
03:39
Patrice帕特里斯 and PateePatee have been out for hours小時 but found發現 nothing.
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派崔斯和帕帝已經在外好幾個小時卻一無所獲
03:45
The animals動物 are simply只是 gone走了.
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動物們好像都不見了
03:49
We stop for a drink of water.
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我們停下來喝口水
03:54
Then there is a rustle沙沙 in the brush.
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然後樹叢裡傳出一陣窸窣聲
03:59
A group of hunters獵人 approach途徑,
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一群獵人向我們走來
04:04
their packs loaded with wild野生 game遊戲.
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他們背著豐碩的成果
04:08
There's at least最小 three viruses病毒
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在這種猴子身上至少可以找到
04:10
that you know about, which哪一個 are in this particular特定 monkey.
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三種已知的病毒
04:13
Nathan彌敦道 Wolfe沃爾夫: This species種類, yeah. And there's many許多 many許多 more pathogens病原體
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就在這一種猴子身上,沒錯,而且還有非常多病原體
04:15
that are present當下 in these animals動物.
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都存在這些動物體內
04:17
These individuals個人 are at specific具體 risk風險,
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這些人感染的風險特別高
04:20
particularly尤其 if there's blood血液 contact聯繫, they're at risk風險 for transmission傳輸
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特別是有血液接觸的人,很有可能被傳染
04:23
and possibly或者 infection感染 with novel小說 viruses病毒.
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且可能感染到一些新病毒
04:28
Narrator旁白: As the hunters獵人 display顯示 their kills殺死, something surprising奇怪 happens發生.
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當獵人們展示他們的成果,令我們驚訝的是
04:31
They show顯示 us filter過濾 paper they've他們已經 used to collect蒐集 the animals'動物' blood血液.
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他們拿出收集了動物血液的濾紙
04:35
The blood血液 will be tested測試 for zoonotic人畜共患 viruses病毒,
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這些血液會用來檢測寄生的病毒
04:38
part部分 of a program程序 Dr博士. Wolfe沃爾夫 has spent花費 years年份 setting設置 up.
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這是渥夫博士花了好幾年準備的研究計畫
04:41
NWNW: So this is from this animal動物 right here,
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所以這張是從這隻動物身上採集的
04:43
Greater Spot-Nosed現貨鼻 Guenon長尾.
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大白鼻長尾猴
04:45
Every一切 person who has one of those filter過濾 papers文件 has at least最小,
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每個身上帶著這些濾紙的人至少、
04:47
at a minimum最低限度, been through通過 our basic基本 health健康 education教育
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最少都受過我們基本的健康教育
04:50
about the risks風險 associated相關 with these activities活動,
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教導他們這些活動的相關風險
04:53
which哪一個 presumably想必, from our perspective透視,
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我們認為應該能
04:55
gives them the ability能力 to decrease減少 their own擁有 risk風險,
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為他們降低感染的風險
04:57
and then obviously明顯 the risk風險 to their families家庭,
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當然還能降低家人感染的風險
05:00
the village, the country國家, and the world世界.
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降低傳染村莊、國家、世界的風險
05:04
NWNW: OK, before I continue繼續, I think it's important重要 to take just a moment時刻
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好的,在我繼續進行前,我想很重要的是花點時間
05:07
to talk about bush襯套 meat. Bush襯套 meat is the hunting狩獵 of wild野生 game遊戲.
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討論野生獸肉,也就是野味
05:10
OK? And you can consider考慮 all sorts排序 of different不同 bush襯套 meat.
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好嗎?大家可以把各種野味都列入考慮
05:12
I'm going to be talking about this.
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我想討論這個議題
05:14
When your children孩子 and grandchildren孫子
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當你的子孫
05:16
sort分類 of pose提出 questions問題 to you about this period of time,
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問起這段時期
05:18
one of the things they're gonna ask you,
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他們會問你的一個問題就是
05:20
is how it was they we allowed允許 some of our closest最近的 living活的 relatives親戚們,
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我們怎麼能讓一些我們的近親物種
05:23
some of the most valuable有價值 and endangered瀕危 species種類
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那些地球上最珍貴又稀有的生物滅絕
05:25
on our planet行星, to go extinct絕種 because we
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難道是因為
05:28
weren't able能夠 to address地址 some of the issues問題
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我們沒有能力處理在世界某些地方
05:30
of poverty貧窮 in these parts部分 of the world世界.
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發生的貧困問題
05:32
But in fact事實 that's not the only question they're going to ask you about this.
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事實上他們會問的不僅如此
05:35
They're also going to ask you the question
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他們也會問你
05:37
that when we knew知道 that this was the way that HIVHIV entered進入
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我們既然知道這是 HIV 侵入
05:39
into the human人的 population人口,
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人類族群的方式
05:41
and that other diseases疾病 had the potential潛在 to enter輸入 like this,
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而其他疾病也可能循同樣方式入侵
05:43
why did we let these behaviors行為 continue繼續?
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為什麼還繼續放任這種行為 ?
05:45
Why did we not find some other solution to this?
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為什麼不找其他解決方法 ?
05:47
They're going to say, in regions地區 of profound深刻
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他們會說,在世界某些
05:50
instability不穩定 throughout始終 the world世界,
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極度動盪不安的地區
05:52
where you have intense激烈 poverty貧窮, where populations人群 are growing生長
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有嚴重的貧困問題且人口繼續增加
05:55
and you don't have sustainable可持續發展 resources資源 like this,
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如果沒有像打獵這樣穩定的生計來源
05:57
this is going to lead to food餐飲 insecurity不安全.
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就沒有穩定的食物來源
06:02
But they're also going to ask you probably大概 a different不同 question.
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不過,他們也可能會問不同的問題
06:04
It's one that I think we all need to ask ourselves我們自己,
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這也是我們需要捫心自問的
06:06
which哪一個 is, why we thought the responsibility責任 rested休息 with this individual個人 here.
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為什麼我們認為是這個人該負起責任
06:10
Now this is the individual個人 -- you can see just right up over his right shoulder --
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現在你看到的這個人,你可以注意看他右肩膀上
06:13
this is the individual個人 that hunted獵殺 the monkey
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就是這個人獵到
06:15
from the last picture圖片 that I showed顯示 you.
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上一張照片中的猴子
06:17
OK, take a look at his shirt襯衫.
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現在看看他的上衣
06:19
You know, take a look at his face面對.
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再看看他的臉
06:22
Bush襯套 meat is one of the central中央 crises危機,
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捕捉野味目前是
06:25
which哪一個 is occurring發生 in our population人口 right now,
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地球上的人類
06:27
in humanity人性, on this planet行星.
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目前在人道上最關鍵的危機
06:29
But it can't be the fault故障 of somebody like this.
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但這不是一個人需要承擔的錯誤
06:32
OK? And solving it cannot不能 be his responsibility責任 alone單獨.
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是吧 ?解決這個問題也不是他一個人的責任
06:36
There's no easy簡單 solutions解決方案,
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這沒有簡單的解決辦法
06:38
but what I'm saying to you is that we neglect忽略 this problem問題
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不過,我想和大家說,要是我們輕忽這個問題
06:40
at our own擁有 peril.
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後果自負
06:42
So, in 1998, along沿 with my mentors導師
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所以在 1998 年我跟著我的教授
06:45
Don Burke伯克 and Colonel陸軍上校 Mpoudi-NgoleMpoudi-恩戈萊,
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Don Burke 和 Colonel Mpoudi-Ngole
06:47
we went to actually其實 start開始 this work
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開始著手工作
06:49
in Central中央 Africa非洲, to work with hunters獵人
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走入中非,與當地的獵人們
06:51
in this part部分 of the world世界.
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一起合作
06:53
And my job工作 -- at that time I was a post-doctoral博士後 fellow同伴,
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我的任務是...當時我還是個博士後研究員,
06:56
and I was really tasked任務 with setting設置 this up.
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為了準備工作忙的不可開交
06:58
So I said to myself, "OK, great --
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所以我跟自己說 : 好,太棒了
07:00
we're gonna collect蒐集 all kinds of specimens標本. We're gonna go to all these
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我們要收集各種檢體,我們要到各個
07:02
different不同 locations地點. It's going to be wonderful精彩."
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不同的地區,一定很好玩
07:05
You know, I looked看著 at the map地圖; I picked採摘的 out 17 sites網站;
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就這樣,我看著地圖,挑出 17 個地點
07:07
I figured想通, no problem問題.
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我想一定沒問題
07:09
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:11
Needless不必要 to say, I was drastically大幅 wrong錯誤.
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不用說,我真是大錯特錯
07:13
This is challenging具有挑戰性的 work to do.
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這是一項極具挑戰的工作
07:15
Fortunately幸好, I had and continue繼續 to have
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很幸運地,在我的工作團隊中,
07:17
an absolutely絕對 wonderful精彩 team球隊 of colleagues同事 and collaborators合作者 in my own擁有 team球隊,
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我一直都能與一群很棒的同事及中間人合作
07:20
and that's the only way that this work can really occur發生.
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這也是研究計畫可以順利誕生的原因
07:22
We have a whole整個 range範圍 of challenges挑戰 about this work.
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在過程中我們遇到各種不同的挑戰
07:25
One of them is just obtaining獲得 trust相信
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其中之一就是得到
07:27
from individuals個人 that we work with in the field領域.
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與我們合作的居民的信任
07:29
The person you see on the right hand side is Paul保羅 DeLong-Minutu德隆 - Minutu.
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大家看到右手邊的人是 Paul DeLong-Minutu
07:33
He's one of the best最好 communicators傳播者 that I've really ever dealt處理 with.
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他是我遇過最厲害的交涉者之一
07:35
When I arrived到達 I didn't speak說話 a word of French法國,
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我剛到當地時一個法文單字都不會
07:37
and I still seemed似乎 to understand理解 what it was he was saying.
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但是我似乎可以理解他在說什麼
07:40
Paul保羅 worked工作 for years年份
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Paul 有好幾年的工作經驗
07:42
on the Cameroonian喀麥隆 national國民 radio無線電 and television電視,
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在喀麥隆的國家廣播及電視
07:44
and he spoke about health健康 issues問題. He was a health健康 correspondent通信者.
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他談論健康議題,擔任衛生醫療記者
07:47
So we figured想通 we'd星期三 hire聘請 this person -- when we got there he could
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所以我們想如果雇用這個人,當我們到達當地
07:49
be a great communicator傳播者.
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他會個很好的交涉人
07:51
When we would get to these rural鄉村 villages村莊, though雖然, what we found發現 out
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不過到了鄉下村子裡,我們才發現
07:53
is that no one had television電視,
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沒有人有電視
07:55
so they wouldn't不會 recognize認識 his face面對.
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所以居民根本認不出他
07:58
But -- when he began開始 to speak說話
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但是他一說話
08:01
they would actually其實 recognize認識 his voice語音 from the radio無線電.
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居民卻從廣播中認出他的聲音
08:03
And this was somebody who had incredible難以置信
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因此這個人非常適合
08:05
potential潛在 to spread傳播 aspects方面 of our message信息,
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替我們散佈所要傳達的觀念
08:07
whether是否 it be with regards問候 to wildlife野生動物 conservation保護
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不管是有關野生動物保育
08:10
or health健康 prevention預防.
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或是疾病預防方面
08:13
Often經常 we run into obstacles障礙. This is us coming未來 back from
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我們常遇到困難。這時我們正從
08:15
one of these very rural鄉村 sites網站,
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非常偏僻的地方要趕著回去
08:17
with specimens標本 from 200 individuals個人
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帶著 200 位居民的檢體
08:19
that we needed需要 to get back to the lab實驗室 within 48 hours小時.
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要在 48 小時之內回到實驗室
08:21
I like to show顯示 this shot射擊 -- this is
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我想讓大家看這張照片
08:23
Ubald爾德 TamoufeTamoufe, who's誰是 the lead
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他是 Ubald Tamoufe,是喀麥隆地區的
08:25
investigator研究者 in our Cameroon喀麥隆 site現場.
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領隊研究員
08:27
Ubald爾德 laughs at me when I show顯示 this photo照片
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我讓 Ubald 看這張照片時他還取笑我
08:29
because of course課程 you can't see his face面對.
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當然你們看不到他的臉
08:31
But the reason原因 I like to show顯示 the shot射擊
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我展示這張照片的原因是
08:33
is because you can see that he's about to solve解決 this problem問題.
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大家可以看到他正要解決我們的問題
08:36
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:37
Which哪一個 -- which哪一個 he did, which哪一個 he did.
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而且還成功了。
08:40
Just a few少數 quick before and after shots鏡頭.
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快速的看幾張前後期的照片
08:42
This was our laboratory實驗室 before.
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這是我們實驗室之前的樣子
08:45
This is what it looks容貌 like now.
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這是它現在的樣子
08:47
Early on, in order訂購 to ship our specimens標本,
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早期,為了要運送檢體
08:49
we had to have dry ice. To get dry ice we had to go
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必須要用到乾冰,要拿到乾冰我們必須要
08:51
to the breweries啤酒廠 -- beg, borrow, steal to get these folks鄉親 to give it to us.
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到釀酒廠,向他們討、去借、或偷才有
08:54
Now we have our own擁有 liquid液體 nitrogen.
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現在我們有自己的液態氮
08:57
I like to call our laboratory實驗室 the coldest最冷 place地點 in Central中央 Africa非洲 -- it might威力 be.
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我喜歡叫我們實驗室「中非最冷的地方」,應該算名符其實
09:02
And here's這裡的 a shot射擊 of me, this is the before shot射擊 of me.
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這張是我的照片,研究前期的照片
09:06
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:08
No comment評論.
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不予置評
09:10
So what happened發生? So during the 10 years年份 that we've我們已經 been doing
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中間發生了什麼事?在我們進行研究的 10 年中
09:12
this work, we actually其實 surprised詫異 ourselves我們自己.
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連我們自己都感到驚訝
09:15
We made製作 a number of discoveries發現.
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我們有好幾項新發現
09:18
And what we've我們已經 found發現 is that if you look in the right place地點,
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我們發現,只要研究切入點正確
09:20
you can actually其實 monitor監控 the flow
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其實可以觀察到
09:22
of these viruses病毒 into human人的 populations人群.
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這些病毒滲透到人類族群的趨勢
09:24
That gave us a tremendous巨大 amount of hope希望.
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這帶給我們很大的希望
09:26
What we've我們已經 found發現 is a whole整個 range範圍 of new viruses病毒 in these individuals個人,
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我們從居民身上找到各種不同的新病毒
09:29
including包含 new viruses病毒 in the same相同 group
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包過一些和 HIV 同類的新病毒
09:31
as HIVHIV -- so, brand new retroviruses逆轉錄病毒.
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全新的反轉錄病毒
09:34
And let's face面對 it, any new retrovirus逆轉錄病毒 in the
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讓我們面對現實,無論是何種反轉錄病毒
09:36
human人的 population人口 -- it's something we should be aware知道的 of.
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進入人類族群,就是我們應該要注意
09:39
It's something we should be following以下. It's not something
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要追蹤的大事。
09:41
that we should be surprised詫異 by.
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我們不應該因此措手不及。
09:43
Needless不必要 to say in the past過去
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不需多說,以前
09:45
these viruses病毒 entering進入 into these rural鄉村 communities社區
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這些病毒要是進入農村社區
09:47
might威力 very well have gone走了 extinct絕種.
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就幾乎等於滅絕。
09:49
That's no longer the case案件. Logging記錄 roads道路 provide提供 access訪問 to urban城市的 areas.
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現在不可同日而語,木棧道提供進入都市的管道
09:53
And critically危重, what happens發生 in central中央 Africa非洲
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嚴格來說,在中非爆發的問題
09:57
doesn't stay in Central中央 Africa非洲.
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最後也會影響全世界
10:00
So, once一旦 we discovered發現 that it was really possible可能
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所以一發現
10:02
that we could actually其實 do this monitoring監控,
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加以監控的可行性很高
10:04
we decided決定 to move移動 this from research研究, to
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我們決定將研究進一步推到
10:06
really attempt嘗試 to phase up to a global全球 monitoring監控 effort功夫.
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真正嘗試逐步進行全球監控的工作
10:10
Through通過 generous慷慨 support支持 and partnership合夥
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憑藉著慷慨的支持和
10:12
scientifically科學 with Google谷歌.org組織 and the Skoll斯科爾 Foundation基礎,
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與 Google.org 及史科爾基金會在科學上的合作
10:15
we were able能夠 to start開始 the Global全球 Viral病毒 Forecasting預測 Initiative倡議
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我們創立了全球病毒預報先遣行動
10:19
and begin開始 work in four different不同 sites網站
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開始在非洲和亞洲
10:21
in Africa非洲 and Asia亞洲.
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四個不同地方進行
10:24
Needless不必要 to say, different不同 populations人群 from different不同 parts部分 of the world世界
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不用說,世界不同地區的不同族群
10:26
have different不同 sorts排序 of contact聯繫.
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接觸病毒的方式不同
10:28
So it's not just hunters獵人 in Central中央 Africa非洲.
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所以不只是中非的獵人
10:31
It's also working加工 in live生活 animal動物 markets市場 --
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活體動物市集中也有蔓延的危險
10:33
these wet markets市場 -- which哪一個 is exactly究竟 the place地點 where
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這些潮溼的市場,也正是 SARS
10:35
SARSSARS emerged出現 in Asia亞洲.
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在亞洲爆發的地方
10:37
But really, this is just the beginning開始 from our perspective透視.
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不過這對我們來說其實只是開端
10:39
Our objective目的 right now, in addition加成 to
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我們現在的目標,
10:41
deploying部署 to these sites網站 and getting得到 everything moving移動,
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除了在這些地方部署,讓一切上軌道
10:43
is to identify鑑定 new partners夥伴
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還有找到新的夥伴
10:45
because we feel like this effort功夫 needs需求 to be extended擴展
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因為我們覺得這樣的活動需要多方同時進行
10:48
to probably大概 20 or more sites網站 throughout始終 the world世界 -- to viral病毒 hotspots熱點 --
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大約需到達 20 個以上遍佈世界各地、病毒猖獗的地方
10:52
because really the idea理念 here is to cast an incredibly令人難以置信 wide net
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因為我們提出的想法是撒下天羅地網
10:55
so that we can catch抓住 these things, ideally理想,
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希望能捕捉到病毒
10:57
before they make it to blood血液 banks銀行,
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防堵它們滲入血庫
10:59
sexual有性 networks網絡, airplanes飛機. And that's really our objective目的.
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入侵性行為網絡、航空。這就是我們的目標
11:03
There was a time not very long ago
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不久之前
11:05
when the discovery發現 of unknown未知 organisms生物
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我們還對發現未知的有機生物
11:07
was something that held保持 incredible難以置信 awe威嚴 for us.
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抱持著非常敬畏的態度
11:10
It had potential潛在 to really change更改 the way that we saw ourselves我們自己,
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這很有可能改變我們看待自己的方式
11:13
and thought about ourselves我們自己.
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和對自己的想法
11:15
Many許多 people, I think, on our planet行星 right now
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我認為現在地球上很多人
11:17
despair絕望, and they think
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感到絕望,他們認為
11:20
we've我們已經 reached到達 a point where we've我們已經 discovered發現 most of the things.
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我們已經發現絕大多數事物
11:23
I'm going tell you right now: please don't despair絕望.
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我在這裡告訴大家,請不要覺得絕望
11:26
If an intelligent智能 extra-terrestrial外星人
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如果具高等智慧的外星人
11:28
was taxed徵稅 with writing寫作 the encyclopedia百科全書 of life on our planet行星,
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要編一部地球生命的百科全書
11:31
27 out of 30 of these volumes
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30 本裡有 27 本
11:33
would be devoted忠誠 to bacteria and virus病毒,
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將會是有關細菌和病毒
11:36
with just a few少數 of the volumes left
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最後剩下的幾本
11:38
for plants植物, fungus and animals動物,
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才是寫植物、真菌和動物的
11:40
humans人類 being存在 a footnote腳註;
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人類只算得上是小小的註解
11:43
interesting有趣 footnote腳註 but a footnote腳註 nonetheless儘管如此,.
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一個內容有趣但簡短的註解
11:46
This is honestly老老實實 the most exciting扣人心弦 period
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現在真的是研究地球上未知生命型態
11:49
ever for the study研究 of unknown未知 life forms形式 on our planet行星.
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最令人興奮的一段時期
11:53
The dominant優勢 things that exist存在 here
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重點是
11:55
we know almost幾乎 nothing about.
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我們幾乎一無所知
11:57
And yet然而 finally最後, we have the tools工具, which哪一個 will allow允許 us to actually其實 explore探索 that world世界
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不過,我們終於有了工具,可供探索那個世界
12:00
and understand理解 them.
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進而增進了解
12:04
Thank you very much.
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非常感謝
12:06
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Yu-Ju Chiang
Reviewed by Ai-Ying (Erin) Chiang

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nathan Wolfe - Virus hunter
Armed with blood samples, high-tech tools and a small army of fieldworkers, Nathan Wolfe hopes to re-invent pandemic control -- and reveal hidden secrets of the planet's dominant lifeform: the virus.

Why you should listen

Using genetic sequencing, needle-haystack research, and dogged persistence (crucial to getting spoilage-susceptible samples through the jungle and to the lab), Nathan Wolfe has proven what was science-fiction conjecture only a few decades ago -- not only do viruses jump from animals to humans, but they do so all the time. Along the way Wolfe has discovered several new viruses, and is poised to discover many more.

Wolfe's research has turned the field of epidemiology on its head, and attracted interest from philanthropists at Google.org and the Skoll foundation. Better still, the research opens the door to preventing epidemics before they happen, sidelining them via early-warning systems and alleviating the poverty from which easy transmission emerges.

More profile about the speaker
Nathan Wolfe | Speaker | TED.com