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RobReid_2019-_合成生物学如何毁灭人类——以及我们如何阻止它_-
So, there's about seven and a half billion of us. 现在地球上大约有75亿人口。
The World Health Organization tells us that 300 million of us are depressed , and about 800,000 people take their lives every year. 世界卫生组织告诉我们这其中 有3000万人身患抑郁症, 每年大约有80万人选择 结束自己的生命。
Organization:n.组织;机构;体制;团体; depressed:adj.沮丧的; v.使抑郁; (depress的过去式和过去分词)
A tiny subset of them choose a profoundly nihilistic route , which is they die in the act of killing as many people as possible. 他们中的一小部分选择了 一种深刻的虚无主义路线, 那就是他们选择通过杀死 尽可能多的人的方式死去。
subset:n.[数]子集;子设备;小团体; profoundly:adv.深刻地;深深地;极度地; nihilistic:adj.虚无主义的;无政府主义的; route:n.路线;路途;固定线路;途径;v.按某路线发送;
These are some famous recent examples. 这里有一些最近比较著名的例子。
And here's a less famous one. It happened about nine weeks ago. 同时也有一个不那么出名的。 这件事发生在大约九个星期前。
If you don't remember it, it's because there's a lot of this going on. 如果你不记得了, 是因为有太多这样的事情在发生。
Wikipedia just last year counted 323 mass shootings in my home country, the United States. 维基百科仅去年就统计了 323起大规模枪击事件, 发生在我的故乡,美国。
Wikipedia:维基百科; mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集; United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
Not all of those shooters were suicidal , not all of them were maximizing their death tolls , but many, many were. 并不是所有的那些 枪击犯都想自杀, 并不是所有人都在 最大化死亡人数, 但是很多、很多人是。
shooters:n.射手;射击武器;枪;(shooter的复数) suicidal:adj.自杀的,自杀性的;自我毁灭的;自取灭亡的; maximizing:n.最大化;达到极大值;v.使…最大化;取…最大值(maximize的ing形式); tolls:n.通行费; vt.征收通行税;
An important question becomes: What limits do these people have? 一个重要的问题变成了: 这些人有上限吗？
Take the Vegas shooter. 以拉斯维加斯枪击案为例。
He slaughtered 58 people. 他屠杀了58人。
slaughtered:v.屠宰;宰杀;屠杀;杀戮;使惨败;(slaughter的过去分词和过去式)
Did he stop there because he'd had enough? 他在那里停下来是 因为他杀够了吗？
No, and we know this because he shot and injured another 422 people who he surely would have preferred to kill. 不是的,我们知道这一点是 因为他击伤了另外422人, 而这些人他肯定更愿意 选择杀死他们。
injured:adj.受伤的:委屈的: v.伤害,使受伤: n.伤员; preferred:v.较喜欢;喜欢…多于…;(prefer的过去式和过去分词)
We have no reason to think he would have stopped at 4,200. 我们没有理由去认为他可能 会在4200人时停下来。
In fact, with somebody this nihilistic, he may well have gladly killed us all. 事实上,对某些虚无主义的人来说, 他可能会非常乐意把我们都杀了。
gladly:adv.乐意地;高兴地;欢喜地;
We don't know. 我们不知道。
What we do know is this: when suicidal murderers really go all in, technology is the force multiplier . 我们知道的是: 当自杀式凶手真的全部都要杀人时, 技术则是力量倍增器。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; multiplier:n.乘数;倍数;
Here's an example. 这里有一个例子。
Several years back, there was a rash of 10 mass school attacks in China carried out with things like knives and hammers and cleavers , because guns are really hard to get there. 回到几年前,中国发生了十起 不顾后果的校园攻击, 这些攻击使用的是像刀、 铁锤和劈刀等工具, 因为在中国枪是很难获取的。
rash:adj.轻率的;鲁莽的;不顾后果的;n.[皮肤]皮疹;突然大量出现的事物; hammers:n.锤子(hammer的复数);v.锤击;使惨败(hammer的三单形式); cleavers:n.猪殃殃(其茎,实均有钩刺);
By macabre coincidence , this last attack occurred just hours before the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. 可怕的巧合是,这最后一次 袭击发生的时间 正好是康涅狄格州纽镇 大屠杀的几个小时前。
macabre:adj.可怕的;以死亡为主题的;令人毛骨悚然的(等于macaber); coincidence:n.巧合,巧事;同时存在;并存;相同; occurred:v.发生;出现;存在于;出现在;(occur的过去分词和过去式) massacre:n.屠杀;残杀;惨败;v.屠杀;杀戮;使惨败;
But that one American attack killed roughly the same number of victims as the 10 Chinese attacks combined. 但是那一次美国式袭击 受害人数量大约 是十次中国袭击的总和。
roughly:adv.粗糙地;概略地;
So we can fairly say, knife: terrible; gun: way worse. 所以我们可以说, 刀:可怕;枪:更糟糕。
fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直;
And airplane : massively worse, as pilot Andreas Lubitz showed when he forced 149 people to join him in his suicide , smashing a plane into the French Alps. 飞机:相当糟糕, 飞行员Andreas Lubitz展示过 他强迫149个人 加入他的自杀行为, 将飞机撞上了法国阿尔卑斯山脉。
airplane:n.飞机; massively:adv.大量地;沉重地;庄严地; suicide:n.自杀;自杀行为;自杀者;adj.自杀的;v.自杀;vi.自杀; smashing:adj.了不起的,极好的;粉碎性的,猛烈的;v.粉碎(smash的现在分词);
And there are other examples of this. 这有一些其它这样的例子。
And I'm afraid there are far more deadly weapons in our near future than airplanes , ones not made of metal. 我很担心在不久的未来将会有 比飞机更加致命的武器出现, 没有一个是金属制造。
deadly:adj.致命的;非常的;死一般的;adv.非常;如死一般地; airplanes:n.(美)[航]飞机(airplane的复数);
So let's consider the apocalyptic dynamics that will ensue if suicidal mass murder hitches a ride on a rapidly advancing field that for the most part holds boundless promise for society. 所以我们可以认为 如果大规模自杀式谋杀 搭上了社会快速发展的便车, 那么世界末日的动力将随之而来, 而这个领域在很大程度上 能为社会带来无限的希望。
apocalyptic:adj.启示录的;天启的; dynamics:n.动力学,力学; ensue:vi.跟着发生,接着发生;继起;vt.追求; hitches:n.套结;挂钩(hitch的复数);v.系住;猛拉(hitch的单三形式); for the most part:adv.在极大程度上,多半; boundless:adj.无限的;无边无际的;
Somewhere out there in the world, there's a tiny group of people who would attempt , however ineptly , to kill us all if they could just figure out how. 在这个世界上的某个地方, 有那么一小部分人, 如果他们知道方法, 会尝试把我们都杀光。
attempt:n.企图,试图;攻击;v.企图,试图;尝试; ineptly:adv.愚蠢地;
The Vegas shooter may or may not have been one of them, but with seven and a half billion of us, this is a nonzero population. 拉斯维加斯的枪手可能是, 也可能不是这其中的一员, 但是我们有75亿的人口, 这是个非零的总体。
nonzero:adj.非零的;
There's plenty of suicidal nihilists out there. 这世界上有很多自杀虚无主义者。
nihilists:n.虚无主义者;
We've already seen that. 我们已经见到过了。
There's people with severe mood disorders that they can't even control. 同样也有很多人有着他们自己 也无法控制的严重的情绪障碍。
severe:adj.极为恶劣的;十分严重的;严厉的;苛刻的; mood:n.情绪,语气;心境;气氛; disorders:n.无秩序,混乱; v.[电子]扰乱(disorder的单三形式);
There are people who have just suffered deranging traumas , etc. etc. 也有人经受着精神错乱的创伤,等等。
deranging:v.扰乱(秩序);使精神错乱;(deranging是derange的现在分词) traumas:n.外伤;精神创伤(trauma的复数);
As for the corollary group, its size was simply zero forever until the Cold War, when suddenly, the leaders of two global alliances attained the ability to blow up the world. 至于推论群体, 它的规模在冷战之前一直是零。 突然之间,两个全球性联盟的领导人 获得了炸毁世界的能力。
corollary:n.推论;必然的结果; global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; alliances:n.联盟,同盟;盟国(alliance的复数形式);联姻; attained:vt.取得,得到,获得(attain的过去式);
The number of people with actual doomsday buttons has stayed fairly stable since then. 从那之后,实际拥有 世界末日按钮的人数 一直保持着稳定。
doomsday:n.世界末日;最后的审判日; stable:n.马厩;牛棚;adj.稳定的;牢固的;坚定的;vi.被关在马厩;赶入马房;
But I'm afraid it's about to grow, and not just to three. 但是恐怕这个数字将会增长, 而且并不止三个,
This is going off the charts. 已经多到图表快要装不下了。
I mean, it's going to look like a tech business plan. 我的意思是,它看起来 像一个技术企业计划。
(Laughter) （笑声）
And the reason is, we're in the era of exponential technologies , which routinely take eternal impossibilities and make them the actual superpowers of one or two living geniuses and -- this is the big part -- then diffuse those powers to more or less everybody. 而原因则是, 我们处在技术爆炸的时代, 常规来说就是将永恒的不可能 变成一两个现有天才的 实实在在的超能力, 并且——这是很重要的一部分—— 然后这些能力多多少少 会扩散到每一个人。
exponential:adj.指数的;n.指数; technologies:n.技术;科技(technology的复数); routinely:adv.例行公事地;老一套地; eternal:adj.永恒的;不朽的; impossibilities:n.不可能;不可能的事; superpowers:n.超级大国;超能力;超级强权;(superpower的复数形式) geniuses:n.天才;天资;才能,本领;(genius的复数) diffuse:adj.弥漫的;散开的;v.扩散;传播;漫射; more or less:或多或少;
Now, here's a benign example. 这里有一个很好的例子。
benign:adj.良性的;和蔼的,亲切的;吉利的;
If you wanted to play checkers with a computer in 1952, you literally had to be that guy, then commandeer one of the world's 19 copies of that computer, then used your Nobel-adjacent brain to teach it checkers. 如果你想在1952年用电脑玩跳棋, 你必须得是那个家伙, 然后霸占世界上19台 电脑的其中一台, 用你媲美诺贝尔奖 的大脑教它下跳棋。
checkers:n.收银员;检查程序;检验员;审核员;(checker的第三人称单数和复数) literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: commandeer:vt.征用;霸占,没收;强取;
That was the bar. 那就是当时的门槛。
Today, you just need to know someone who knows someone who owns a telephone, because computing is an exponential technology. 今天你只需要认识一个 知道谁有电话的人, 因为计算机是指数级增长的技术。
computing:n.计算;计算机技术;信息处理技术;v.计算;求出;(compute的现在分词)
So is synthetic biology , which I'll now refer to as " synbio ." 合成生物学也是如此, 今天我会称之为 synbio 。
synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物; biology:n.(一个地区全部的)生物;生物学; synbio:新田益生菌;
And in 2011, a couple of researchers did something every bit as ingenious and unprecedented as the checkers trick with H5N1 flu. 2011年,一群研究者 用H5N1病毒做了件 就像跳棋一样非常巧妙 和史无前例的事情。
ingenious:adj.有独创性的;机灵的,精制的;心灵手巧的; unprecedented:adj.空前的;无前例的;
This is a strain that kills up to 60 percent of the people it infects , more than Ebola . H5N1这种病毒能杀死60%的感染者, 致死率超过埃博拉病毒。
strain:n.压力;品系;应力;张力;v.扭伤;拉紧;滤;损伤; infects:vt.感染,传染; Ebola:n.埃博拉病毒;
But it is so uncontagious that it's killed fewer than 50 people since 2015. 但它的传染性很弱, 自2015年以来只造成了 不到50人死亡。
So these researchers edited H5N1's genome and made it every bit as deadly, but also wildly contagious . 于是这些研究者 编辑了H5N1的基因 并使其更致命,但也具有 更广泛的传染性。
edited:v.编辑,校订;编选;编集;(edit的过去分词和过去式) genome:n.基因组;染色体组; wildly:adv.野生地;野蛮地;狂暴地;鲁莽地; contagious:adj.感染性的;会蔓延的;
The news arm of one of the world's top two scientific journals said if this thing got out, it would likely cause a pandemic with perhaps millions of deaths. 世界两大科学期刊之一 的新闻部门表示, 如果这个东西被泄露出去, 很可能会大面积传染, 导致数百万人的死亡。
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; journals:n.学术期刊(journal的复数);日记;日记账; pandemic:adj.(疾病等)全国流行的;普遍的;n.流行性疾病;
And Dr. Paul Keim said he could not think of an organism as scary as this, which is the last thing I personally want to hear from the Chairman of the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity . Paul Keim博士说, 他想不出还有什么生物体这么可怕, 这是我个人最不想从 国家生物安全科学咨询委员会 主席那里听到的。
organism:n.生物;有机体;有机组织;(尤指)微生物; personally:adv.个人;亲自;本人;就本人而言; Advisory:adj.咨询的;顾问的;劝告的;n.报告;公告; Biosecurity:生物安全性;
And by the way , Dr. Keim also said this -- 顺便说一句,Keim博士还提到:
by the way:顺便说一下;
["I don't think anthrax is scary at all compared to this."] 【“跟这些相比, 我不认为炭疽热可怕。】
anthrax:n.炭疽,炭疽热; compared:adj.比较的,对照的; v.相比; (compare的过去式和过去分词)
And he's also one of these. 他还是这群人中的一员:
[Anthrax expert] (Laughter) 【炭疽专家】 （笑声）
Now, the good news about the 2011 biohack is that the people who did it didn't mean us any harm. 好消息是2011年的生物黑客 对我们并无恶意。
They're virologists . 他们是病毒学家。
virologists:n.滤过性病原体学者;
They believed they were advancing science. 他们相信他们在推动科技发展。
The bad news is that technology does not freeze in place, and over the next few decades, their feat will become trivially easy. 坏消息是科技不会冻结在一个地方, 在接下来的几十年里, 他们的壮举将会变得非常简单。
feat:n.功绩,壮举;技艺表演;adj.合适的;灵巧的; trivially:adv.琐细地;平凡地;无能地;
In fact, it's already way easier, because as we learned yesterday morning, just two years after they did their work, the CRISPR system was harnessed for genome editing . 事实上,现在已经非常容易了, 因为我们昨天早上了解到, 仅在他们利用CRISPR系统 进行基因组编辑的两年后。
harnessed:v.给(马等)上挽具;控制,利用(以产生能量等);(harness的过去式和过去分词) editing:v.编辑,校订(文章、书籍等);编选;(edit的现在分词)
This was a radical breakthrough that makes gene editing massively easier -- so easy that CRISPR is now taught in high schools. 就有巨大的突破 使得基因编辑变得非常容易—— 简单到以至于高中 就开始教授CRISPR了。
radical:n.自由基;激进分子;游离基;adj.根本的;彻底的;完全的;全新的; breakthrough:n.突破;开始取得成功之时;adj.突破性的; gene:n.基因;遗传基因;遗传因子;
And this stuff is moving quicker than computing. 这个东西发展的速度比计算机还快。
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
That slow, stodgy white line up there? 那条缓慢的,笨重的白色线条
stodgy:adj.平凡的;塞满的;庸俗的;
That's Moore's law. 是摩尔定律。
That shows us how quickly computing is getting cheaper. 这展示了计算机是如何变便宜的。
That steep , crazy-fun green line, that shows us how quickly genetic sequencing is getting cheaper. 那条陡峭有趣的绿线, 则展示了基因测序 如何变得越来越便宜。
steep:adj.陡峭的;不合理的;夸大的;急剧升降的;v.泡;浸;使…充满;n.峭壁;浸渍; genetic:adj.基因的;遗传学的; sequencing:n.[计]排序; v.[计]定序(sequence的ing形式);
Now, gene editing and synthesis and sequencing, they're different disciplines , but they're tightly related. 基因编辑,合成和测序, 它们是不同的学科,但又紧密关联,
synthesis:n.综合,[化学]合成;综合体; disciplines:n.[管理]纪律(discipline的复数); v.训导; tightly:adv.紧紧地;坚固地;
And they're all moving in these headlong rates. 都在快速发展。
headlong:adj.轻率的;头向前的;匆促而用力的;adv.头向前地;猛然用力地;
And the keys to the kingdom are these tiny, tiny data files. 通向王国的钥匙是这些 很小很小的数据文件。
That is an excerpt of H5N1's genome. 这是H5N1基因代码的片段。
excerpt:n.摘录,引用;vt.引用,摘录;vi.摘录,引用;
The whole thing can fit on just a few pages. 只需要几张纸就能装下全部的信息。
And yeah, don't worry, you can Google this as soon as you get home. 不要担心,你回到家后 就可以谷歌搜索它了。
Google:谷歌;谷歌搜索引擎; as soon as:一…就;
It's all over the internet, right? 它在网上全都可以找到。
And the part that made it contagious could well fit on a single Post-it note. 而使它具有传染性的部分字母 用一张便利贴就能写下。
Post-it:报事贴(3M公司注册商标);
And once a genius makes a data file, any idiot can copy it, distribute it worldwide or print it. 一旦一个天才生成了一个数据文件, 任何白痴都能复制它, 在全球分发 或打印出来。
idiot:n.笨蛋,傻瓜;白痴; distribute:v.分发;分配;分销;分散; worldwide:adj.全世界的;adv.在世界各地;
And I don't just mean print it on this, but soon enough, on this. 我说的不是这样的打印, 而是不久之后,像这样。
So let's imagine a scenario . 让我们想象一个场景。
scenario:n.方案;情节;剧本;
Let's say it's 2026, to pick an arbitrary year, and a brilliant virologist, hoping to advance science and better understand pandemics , designs a new bug . 比如说在2026年,任意选择一年, 一个天才的病毒学家, 抱着推动科学进步的希望 也为了更好的理解流行病, 设计了一个新的臭虫。
arbitrary:adj.[数]任意的;武断的;专制的; pandemics:大流行;流行病; bug:n.臭虫,小虫;故障;窃听器;v.烦扰,打扰;装窃听器;
It's as contagious as chicken pox , it's as deadly as Ebola, and it incubates for months and months before causing an outbreak , so the whole world can be infected before the first sign of trouble. 它和水痘一样具有传染性, 它和埃博拉一样致命, 并且会在病毒爆发前潜伏好几个月, 所以整个世界在问题征兆 出现之前都被感染了。
pox:n.痘;疹;发疹的疾病;瘟疫; incubates:vt.孵化;培养;温育;逐渐发展;vi.孵化;酝酿;n.孵育物; outbreak:n.(战争的)爆发;(疾病的)发作;vi.爆发; infected:adj.带菌的; v.传染; (infect的过去分词和过去式)
Then, her university gets hacked . 然后,她的大学实验室被黑了。
hacked:v.砍;劈;猛踢;非法侵入(hack的过去分词和过去式)
And of course, this is not science fiction . 当然,这并非科幻故事。
science fiction:科幻小说;
In fact, just one recent US indictment documents the hacking of over 300 universities. 事实上,仅最近一份美国起诉书 就记录了对300多所大学的黑客攻击。
indictment:n.起诉书;控告; hacking:v.黑客行为;砍;劈;猛踢;(hack的现在分词)
So that file with the bug's genome on it spreads to the internet's dark corners. 于是包含那个臭虫基因的文件 被传播到互联网的黑暗角落。
And once a file is out there, it never comes back -- just ask anybody who runs a movie studio or a music label . 并且一旦文件散播出去了, 它就再也回不来了—— 只需去问问做过 电影和唱片公司的人。
studio:n.工作室;[广播][电视]演播室;画室;电影制片厂; label:n.标签;标记;谓;唱片公司;v.贴标签于;用标签标明;
So now maybe in 2026, it would take a true genius like our virologist to make the actual living critter , but 15 years later, it may just take a DNA printer you can find at any high school. 所以可能是在2026年, 只有像我们的病毒学家这样的天才 才能制造出活生生的生物, 但15年之后, 也许一台你能在任何一所高中 找到的DNA打印机就能做到。
critter:n.人;家畜;马;牛;
And if not? 假如还没有？
Give it a couple of decades. 那就再给几十年的时间。
So, a quick aside: 顺便提一下:
Remember this slide here? 记得这张幻灯片吗？
Turn your attention to these two words. 把你的注意力放在这两个词上。
If somebody tries this and is only 0.1 percent effective , eight million people die. 如果有人这样做, 并且只有0.1%奏效了, 800万人会死亡。
effective:adj.有效的,起作用的;实际的,实在的;给人深刻印象;
That's 2,500 9/11s. 那是911事件的2500倍。
Civilization would survive, but it would be permanently disfigured . 文明可能会幸存下来, 但它将永久毁容。
Civilization:n.文明;文明社会;文明世界;(特定时期和地区的)社会文明; permanently:adv.永久地,长期不变地; disfigured:v.损毁…的外形;使变丑;毁容(disfigure的过去分词和过去式)
So this means we need to be concerned about anybody who has the faintest shot on goal, not just geniuses. 所以这意味着 我们需要关注任何一个 能够直达目标的人, 而不仅仅是天才。
concerned:adj.有关的;关心的;v.关心;与…有关;(concern的过去时和过去分词) faintest:adj.一点也不的(用于否定句,加强语气);极小的;
So today, there's a tiny handful of geniuses who probably could make a doomsday bug that's .1-percent effective and maybe even a little bit more. 所以今天,只有一小撮的天才 能够制造末日害虫, 还是0.1%的效率或者更高。
They tend to be stable and successful and so not part of this group. 他们倾向于稳定和成功, 所以不属于这个群体。
So I guess I'm sorta kinda barely OK-ish with that. 所以我会勉强感觉还好。
sorta:adv.近似,有几分;可以说是; barely:adv.仅仅,勉强;几乎不;公开地;贫乏地;
But what about after technology improves and diffuses and thousands of life science grad students are enabled ? 但在技术进步, 和扩散之后, 并且成千上万的生命科学院 的学生也参与其中了呢？
improves:v.改进;改善;(improve的第三人称单数) diffuses:adj.弥漫的;散开的;vt.扩散;传播;漫射;vi.传播;四散; grad:n.毕业生;校友; enabled:v.使得;授予…权力;(enabled是enable的过去式)
Are every single one of them going to be perfectly stable? 他们每一个人都情绪稳定吗？
Or how about a few years after that, where every stress-ridden premed is fully enabled? 或者再过几年后, 每一个压力重重的 预科医学生也武装上了呢？
premed:n.医学院预科;医学预科生;术前药物处理;
At some point in that time frame , these circles are going to intersect , because we're now starting to talk about hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world. 在那个时间段的某个时间点, 这些圆就会相交, 因为现在我们谈论的是全世界 成千上万的人。
time frame:n.期间时限; intersect:v.相交,交叉;横断,横切;贯穿; throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及;
And they recently included that guy who dressed up like the Joker and shot 12 people to death at a Batman premiere . 最近还包括了那个穿得像小丑, 在蝙蝠侠首映式上射杀12人的人。
recently:adv.最近;新近; Batman:n.勤务兵;传令兵;蝙蝠侠; premiere:adj.首位的; vi.初次公演; vt.初次公演; n.初次的演出;
That was a neuroscience PhD student with an NIH grant . 他还是个获得了 国家卫生研究院资助的 神经科学博士生。
neuroscience:n.神经系统科学(指神经病学,神经化学等); grant:v.授予;允许;承认;同意;n.拨款;[法]授予物;
OK, plot twist : 好了,情节曲折:
plot:n.情节;阴谋;布局;小块土地;v.密谋;暗中策划;(在地图上)标出;绘制(图表); twist:v.捻;扭转;曲折;扭动;n.捻;拧;扭动;搓;
I think we can actually survive this one if we start focusing on it now. 我认为我们如果现在就开始关注 这个问题,实际上可以挺过这次危机。
And I say this, having spent countless hours interviewing global leaders in synbio and also researching their work for science podcasts I create. 我这样说,是基于花了无数的时间 采访全球合成生物领域的领袖, 同时也为我制作的科学播客 研究他们的工作。
countless:adj.无数的;数不尽的; interviewing:v.对(某人)进行面试;(媒体)采访,访问;(interview的现在分词) podcasts:n.播客(podcast的复数形式);
I have come to fear their work, in case I haven't gotten that out there yet -- 我开始害怕他们的工作了, 我可能还没有表达出这个意思——
(Laughter) （笑声）
but more than that, to revere its potential . 但更重要的是,要重视他们的潜力。
revere:vt.敬畏;尊敬;崇敬; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
This stuff will cure cancer , heal our environment and stop our cruel treatment of other creatures . 这些东西将可以治疗癌症, 恢复我们的环境, 并停止我们对其他生物的残忍对待。
cancer:n.癌症;恶性肿瘤; heal:v.复原;治疗(病人);使又愉快起来;(使)结束 treatment:n.治疗;疗法;对待;处理;讨论; creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数)
So how do we get all this without, you know, annihilating ourselves? 那么我们如何在不毁灭自己 的情况下实现？
annihilating:v.消灭;歼灭;毁灭;彻底击败;(annihilate的现在分词)
First thing: like it or not, synbio is here, so let's embrace the technology. 首先,不管喜欢与否, 合成生物已经出现了, 那么让我们拥抱这个科技。
embrace:n.拥抱,怀抱;v.拥抱;乐意采纳(思想、建议等);信奉;包括;
If we do a tech ban , that would only hand the wheel to bad actors. 如果我们做科技封锁, 只能把方向盘送给坏人。
ban:v.下令禁止;查禁;n.禁令; wheel:车轮,转动
Unlike nuclear programs, biology can be practiced invisibly . 跟核项目不同, 生物学可以在不可见的情况下进行。
nuclear:adj.原子能的;[细胞]细胞核的;中心的;原子核的; invisibly:adv.看不见地;看不出地;
Massive Soviet cheating on bioweapons treaties made that very clear, as does every illegal drug lab in the world. 苏联在生物武器条约上的大规模欺骗, 以及世界上所有的非法药物实验室, 都清楚地表明了这一点。
Soviet:adj.苏维埃的;苏联的;n.苏维埃(前苏联的各级代表会议);苏联人; bioweapons:n.生物武器; treaties:n.条约;协定问题(treaty的复数); illegal:adj.不合法的;非法的;n.非法移民;非法劳工;
Secondly, enlist the experts. 第二,赢得专家。
enlist:vi.支持;从军;应募;赞助;vt.使入伍;征募;谋取…的赞助或帮助;
Let's sign them up and make more of them. 让我们把他们召集起来。
For every million and one bioengineers we have, at least a million of them are going to be on our side. 对于100万零1个生物工程师, 至少有100万人要站在我们这边。
bioengineers:n.生物工程师;
I mean, Al Capone would be on our side in this one. 艾尔·卡彭会站在我们这边。
The bar to being a good guy is just so low. 成为好人的门槛是如此之低。
And massive numerical advantages do matter, even when a single bad guy can inflict grievous harm, because among many other things, they allow us to exploit the hell out of this: we have years and hopefully decades to prepare and prevent. 数量上的巨大优势确实很重要, 即便当一个坏人 也能造成巨大的伤害时, 因为在其他很多事情中, 他们让我们利用这一切: 我们有几年甚至几十年 的时间来准备和预防。
numerical:adj.数值的;数字的;用数字表示的(等于numeric); advantages:n.有利条件; v.有利于; inflict:vt.造成;使遭受(损伤,痛苦等);给予(打击等); grievous:adj.痛苦的;剧烈的; exploit:v.利用…为自己谋利;剥削;压榨;运用;发挥;
The first person to try something awful -- and there will be somebody -- may not even be born yet. 有第一个人尝试糟糕的事情—— 就会有另一个人—— 现在可能还没有出生。
Next, this needs to be an effort that spans society, and all of you need to be a part of it, because we cannot ask a tiny group of experts to be responsible for both containing and exploiting synthetic biology, 接下来,这需要跨社会的努力, 你们所有人都应该参与进来, 因为我们不能要求一小群专家 对合成生物学的开发和利用负责,
spans:n.[建]跨度;一段时间(span的复数);v.跨越;持续;贯穿(span的第三人称单数); responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的; exploiting:v.利用…为自己谋利;剥削;压榨;运用;发挥;(exploit的现在分词)
because we already tried that with the financial system, and our stewards became massively corrupted as they figured out how they could cut corners , inflict massive, massive risks on the rest of us and privatize the gains, becoming repulsively wealthy while they stuck us with the $22 trillion bill. 毕竟我们已经在金融系统中试过了, 我们的管家会变得非常腐败, 一旦他们知道如何偷工减料, 给我们其他人带来巨大的风险, 并获取私利, 他们会在变得极端富有的同时, 给我们留下22万亿美元的债务。
financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; stewards:n.干事; v.管理; corrupted:v.使腐化;使堕落;破坏;损坏;(corrupt的过去分词和过去式) cut corners:抄近路;以简便方法做事; privatize:vt.使私有化;使归私有; repulsively:冷淡地; trillion:n.[数]万亿;adj.万亿的;num.[数]万亿;
And more recently -- 还有最近——
(Applause) （鼓掌）
Are you the ones who have gotten the thank-you letters? 你们谁收到了感谢信了吗？
I'm still waiting for mine. 我想他们一定太忙而忘记感谢了。
I just figured they were too busy to be grateful. 我想他们一定太忙而忘记感谢了。
And much more recently, online privacy started looming as a huge issue , and we basically outsourced it. 最近, 在线隐私开始成为一个大问题, 我们基本上是把它外包出去。
privacy:n.隐私;秘密;隐居;隐居处; looming:v.人惊恐地隐现;显得突出;逼近(loom的现在分词) issue:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;发行; basically:adv.主要地,基本上; outsourced:v.交外办理;外购;(outsource的过去分词和过去式)
And once again: privatized gains, socialized losses. 并且再一次: 私人得益,社会受损。
privatized:使私有化(privatize的过去式和过去分词); socialized:adj.社会化;v.使社会化(socialize的过去分词);社交;
Is anybody else sick of this pattern? 有人讨厌这种模式吗？
(Applause) （鼓掌）
So we need a more inclusive way to safeguard our prosperity , our privacy and soon, our lives. 所以我们需要更包容的方法 来保护我们的繁荣, 我们的隐私, 并且很快,我们的生命。
inclusive:adj.包括的,包含的; safeguard:n.[安全]保护;保卫;保护措施;vt.[安全]保护,护卫; prosperity:n.繁荣,成功;
So how do we do all of this? 那么我们该怎么做呢？
Well, when bodies fight pathogens , they use ingenious immune systems, which are very complex and multilayered . 当身体对抗病原体时, 它们使用巧妙的免疫系统, 免疫系统相当复杂,层次丰富。
pathogens:n.[基医]病原体;病原菌;[基医]致病菌; immune:adj.免疫的;免于…的,免除的;n.免疫者;免除者; complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; multilayered:adj.多层的;
Why don't we build one of these for the whole damn ecosystem ? 我们为什么不为整个该死的 生态系统构建一个？
damn:v.谴责;该死;n.诅咒;adj.可恶的; ecosystem:n.生态系统;
There's a year of TED Talks that could be given on this first critical layer. 仅仅讨论第一个关键层面 就足以举办整整一年的TED演讲。
critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的;
So these are just a couple of many great ideas that are out there. 所以这些只是一些很好的想法。
Some R and D muscle could take the very primitive pathogen sensors that we currently have and put them on a very steep price performance curve that would quickly become ingenious and networked and gradually as widespread as smoke detectors and even smartphones . 一些研发人员 可以利用我们目前拥有的 非常原始的病原体传感器, 将它们置于一个非常陡峭 的价格性能曲线上, 这个曲线很快就会变得巧妙 而网络化, 并像烟雾探测器, 甚至智能手机那样逐渐普及。
muscle:n.肌肉;力量;v.加强;使劲搬动;使劲挤出; primitive:adj.原始的,远古的;简单的,粗糙的;n.原始人; sensors:n.[自]传感器,感应器;感测器(sensor的复数); currently:adv.当前;一般地; performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演; curve:n.曲线;弯曲;曲面;弧线;v.(使)沿曲线移动;呈曲线形; gradually:adv.渐渐地;逐步地; widespread:adj.普遍的,广泛的;分布广的; detectors:n.探测器;侦测设备(detector的复数); smartphones:智能手机(smartphone的复数);
On a very related note: vaccines have all kinds of problems when it comes to manufacturing and distribution , and once they're made, they can't adapt to new threats or mutations . 一个非常相关的事项: 疫苗在生产 和销售方面存在各种问题, 一旦生产了,它们就不能适应 新的威胁或突变。
vaccines:n.[药][计]疫苗; manufacturing:n.制造业;工业;v.制造;生产(manufacture的现在分词); distribution:n.分布;分配;分发;分销; adapt:vt.使适应;改编;vi.适应; mutations:n.[遗]突变;变化;转变(mutation的复数形式);
We need an agile biomanufacturing base extending into every single pharmacy and maybe even our homes. 我们需要一个灵活的生物制造基地, 延伸到每一个药店, 甚至我们的家庭。
agile:adj.敏捷的;机敏的;活泼的; biomanufacturing:於生物药品制造业;生物制造; extending:v.使伸长;扩大;扩展;延长;(extend的现在分词) pharmacy:n.药房;配药学,药剂学;制药业;一批备用药品;
Printer technology for vaccines and medicines is within reach if we prioritize it. 如果我们以此为先, 疫苗和药物打印技术 就会变得触手可及。
prioritize:v.按重要性排列;划分优先顺序;优先处理;
Next, mental health. 下一个,心理健康。
mental:adj.精神的;脑力的;疯的;n.精神病患者;
Many people who commit suicidal mass murder suffer from crippling , treatment-resistant depression or PTSD . 很多有自杀式谋杀行为的人 怀有严重的难以治疗的抑郁症 或创伤后应激障碍。
commit:v.犯(罪等);干(坏事等);[法]提(审);判处; crippling:adj.残废的; v.使残废; (cripple的现在分词) treatment-resistant:抗治疗; depression:n.沮丧;洼地;不景气;忧愁; PTSD:abbr.创伤后精神紧张性精神障碍(post-traumaticstressdisorder);
We need noble researchers like Rick Doblin working on this, but we also need the selfish jerks who are way more numerous to appreciate the fact that acute suffering will soon endanger all of us, not just those afflicted . 我们需要像里克·多布林这样的 高尚研究者来研究这个问题, 但我们也需要让 更多自私的傻瓜认识到, 剧烈的痛苦将很快危及我们所有人, 不仅只是那些遭受过的人。
noble:adj.高尚的;贵族的;惰性的;宏伟的;n.贵族; jerks:n.急促而猛烈的动作;傻瓜(jerk的复数);v.猛拉;突然说出(jerk的三单形式); numerous:adj.许多的,很多的; appreciate:v.欣赏;感激;感谢;理解; acute:adj.严重的,[医]急性的;敏锐的;激烈的;尖声的; endanger:v.使遭危险;危及;危害; afflicted:v.折磨;使痛苦;(afflict的过去式和过去分词)
Those jerks will then join us and Al Capone in fighting this condition. 那些傻瓜会加入我们和艾尔·卡彭 的战斗来对抗这种状态。
Third, each and every one of us can be and should be a white blood cell in this immune system . 第三,我们每个人能够且 应该成为这个免疫系统的 白细胞。
white blood cell:n.白细胞;白血球; immune system:n.免疫系统;
Suicidal mass murderers can be despicable , yes, but they're also terribly broken and sad people, and those of us who aren't need to do what we can to make sure nobody goes unloved . 自杀式大规模谋杀是可鄙的, 但他们也是陷入绝望无法自拔的人, 他们是那种不需要尽我们所能 去确保没有人爱的人。
despicable:adj.卑劣的;可鄙的; unloved:adj.不为人所爱的;
(Applause) （鼓掌）
Next, we need to make fighting these dangers core to the discipline of synthetic biology. 下一点,我们需要把对抗这些危险 置于合成生物的中心。
core:n.核心;要点;果心;[计]磁心;vt.挖...的核;
There are companies out there that at least claim they let their engineers spend 20 percent of their time doing whatever they want. 外面有些公司至少声称 他们让他们的工程师花20%的时间 做任何想做的事情。
claim:v.要求;声称;需要;认领;n.要求;声称;索赔;断言;值得;
What if those who hire bioengineers and become them give 20 percent of their time to building defenses for the common good? 如果这些雇佣生物工程师 并成为工程师的人 把他们20%的时间用在为 共同利益进行防御上会怎样？
What if:如果…怎么办?
Not a bad idea, right? 不是个糟糕的主意吧？
(Applause) （鼓掌）
Then, finally : this won't be any fun. 最后:这可不好玩。
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
But we need to let our minds go to some very, very dark places, and thank you for letting me take you there this evening. 我们需要把智慧放到 非常,非常黑暗的地方, 谢谢大家倾听我的介绍。
We survived the Cold War because every one of us understood and respected the danger, in part, because we had spent decades telling ourselves terrifying ghost stories with names like "Dr. Strangelove" 我们挺过了冷战, 因为我们每个人都理解和重视危险, 部分是因为我们花了几十年时间 为自己讲述可怕的鬼故事, 诸如“奇爱博士”
terrifying:adj.令人恐惧的;骇人的;极大的;v.使害怕,使恐怖;(terrify的现在分词) ghost:n.鬼,幽灵;v.作祟于;替…捉刀;为人代笔;
and "War Games." 和“战争游戏”。
This is no time to remain calm. 现在不是保持冷静的时候。
This is one of those rare times when it's incredibly productive to freak the hell out -- 这是一个难得的时刻,把自己吓坏 是非常有效的——
incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; productive:adj.能生产的;生产的,生产性的;多产的;富有成效的; freak:n.怪人,怪事;畸形人;反复无常;adj.奇异的,反常的;
(Laughter) （笑声）
to come up with some ghost stories and use our fear as fuel to fight this danger. 去想一些鬼故事, 并使用我们的恐惧作为能量 来对抗这个危险。
come up with:提出;想出;赶上;
Because, all these terrible scenarios I've painted -- they are not destiny . 因为,我所描述的所有恐怖场景—— 它们不是宿命。
scenarios:n.情节;脚本;情景介绍(scenario的复数); destiny:n.命运,定数,天命;
They're optional . 它们是可选的。
optional:adj.可选择的,随意的;n.选修科目;
The danger is still kind of distant . 我们离危险仍然有些距离。
distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的;
And that means it will only befall us if we allow it to. 这意味着只有我们允许, 它才会降临到我们身上。
befall:vi.降临;vt.降临;发生;
Let's not. 别让它发生。
Thank you very much for listening. 谢谢大家的倾听。
(Applause) （鼓掌）