ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Gibson - Genome writer
Dan Gibson leads a new breed of bioengineers, called genome writers, who use DNA to design and build new products powering the next industrial revolution.

Why you should listen

In 2004, Dan Gibson was drawn to a project at the J. Craig Venter Institute: to build a synthetic cell from scratch. Within days, he was on a path to creating synthetic life alongside genomics pioneers. But to build a whole genome from scratch, Gibson had to first invent new methods to assemble DNA. One method, dubbed the "Gibson Assembly," became a game changer, and a series of firsts followed: first synthetic bacterial genome, first synthetic cell, first minimal cell. Today, these discoveries inform the design of synthetic DNA used for new medicines.

Gibson's teams at SGI and SGI-DNA recently introduced the world's first biologic teleporter, called the Digital-to-Biological Converter (DBC), which turns digital code into functional biologics in the form of DNA, RNA and proteins without human intervention. Imagine a future where digital code is emailed to DBCs at hospitals around the world to deliver personalized medicine at a patient's bedside.

More profile about the speaker
Dan Gibson | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Dan Gibson: How to build synthetic DNA and send it across the internet

Dan Gibson: Como construír ADN sintético e envialo a través de internet.

Filmed:
1,461,746 views

O biólogo Dan Gibson edita e programa ADN da mesma maneira que un programador programa unha computadora. Pero o "código" que el escribe xera vida, dándolles aos científicos o poder de converter información dixital en material biolóxico, como proteínas e vacinas. Neste momento, Gibson dedica a súa atención ao "teletransporte biolóxico", un proxecto que promete enviar novos medicamentos ao outro lado do mundo a través de Internet. Aprendamos sobre esta tecnoloxía que podería mudar a nosa forma de actuar ante o brote dunha enfermidade, e permitirnos descargar receitas de medicamentos personalizados nos nosos fogares.
- Genome writer
Dan Gibson leads a new breed of bioengineers, called genome writers, who use DNA to design and build new products powering the next industrial revolution. Full bio

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

00:13
Alright, let me tell you
about building synthetic cells
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Ben, déixenme falarlles
da fabricación de células artificiais
00:16
and printing life.
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e de como imprimir vida.
00:18
But first, let me tell you a quick story.
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Pero primeiro, voulles contar
unha rápida historia.
00:21
On March 31, 2013,
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O 31 de marzo de 2013,
00:23
my team and I received an email
from an international health organization,
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o meu equipo e mais eu recibimos un correo
dunha organización de saúde internacional
00:27
alerting us that two men died in China
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que nos alertaba da morte
de dous homes en China
00:30
shortly after contracting
the H7N9 bird flu.
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pouco despois de contraer
a gripe aviaria H7N9.
00:34
There were fears of a global pandemic
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Temíase unha pandemia global,
00:36
as the virus started rapidly
moving across China.
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xa que o virus comezou a propagarse
rapidamente na China.
00:40
Although methods existed
to produce a flu vaccine
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Era posible producir
unha vacina contra a gripe
00:42
and stop the disease from spreading,
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e deter a súa propagación,
00:44
at best, it would not be available
for at least six months.
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pero isto levaría polo menos seis meses.
00:49
This is because a slow, antiquated
flu vaccine manufacturing process
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O único método de produción
que se tiña naquel momento
00:54
developed over 70 years ago
was the only option.
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era un proceso lento e anticuado,
desenvolvido había xa 70 anos.
00:59
The virus would need to be isolated
from infected patients,
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Había que illar o virus
de pacientes infectados,
01:02
packaged up and then sent to a facility
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envasalo e envialo a un laboratorio,
01:04
where scientists would inject
the virus into chicken eggs,
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onde os científicos inxectarían
o virus en ovos de galiña
01:08
and incubate those chicken eggs
for several weeks
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e incubaríanos durante varias semanas
01:11
in order to prepare the virus
for the start of a multistep,
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para preparar o virus e poder dar inicio
a un proceso de numerosas etapas
01:15
multimonth flu vaccine
manufacturing process.
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de elaboración da vacina
que levaría varios meses.
01:19
My team and I received this email
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Eu e o meu equipo recibimos ese correo
01:21
because we had just invented
a biological printer,
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porque acabábamos de inventar
unha impresora biolóxica
01:25
which would allow
for the flu vaccine instructions
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que permitiría que
as instrucións da vacina
01:27
to be instantly downloaded
from the internet and printed.
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se descargasen e imprimisen
desde Internet de forma inmediata,
01:31
Drastically speeding up the way
in which flu vaccines are made,
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acelerando drasticamente
a produción da vacina
01:34
and potentially saving thousands of lives.
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e potencialmente
salvando milleiros de vidas.
01:38
The biological printer leverages
our ability to read and write DNA
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A impresora biolóxica
fai uso da nosa habilidade
para ler e escribir ADN
01:43
and starts to bring into focus
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e achéganos ao que nos gusta chamar
"teletransporte biolóxico".
01:45
what we like to call
biological teleportation.
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01:49
I am a biologist and an engineer
who builds stuff out of DNA.
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Eu son biólogo e enxeñeiro,
e constrúo cousas con ADN.
01:54
Believe it or not,
one of my favorite things to do
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Créano ou non,
unha das cousas das que máis gozo
01:56
is to take DNA apart
and put it back together
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é desarmar ADN e xuntalo outra vez
01:59
so that I can understand
better how it works.
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entendendo mellor o seu funcionamento.
02:02
I can edit and program DNA to do things,
just like coders programing a computer.
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Podo editar e programar ADN
como se programara unha computadora.
Pero as miñas apps son diferentes.
02:07
But my apps are different.
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02:09
They create life.
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Crean vida.
02:10
Self-replicating living cells
and things like vaccines and therapeutics
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Células vivas autorreplicantes
e cousas como vacinas e terapias
02:15
that work in ways
that were previously impossible.
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que funcionan de formas
antes consideradas imposibles.
02:19
Here's National Medal of Science
recipient Craig Venter
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Aquí temos a Craig Venter,
gañador da Medalla Nacional de Ciencia,
02:22
and Nobel laureate Ham Smith.
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e ao premio Nobel Ham Smith.
02:25
These two guys shared a similar vision.
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Estes dous homes compartían a mesma idea:
02:27
That vision was, because all
of the functions and characteristics
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se todas a funcións e características
de todas as entidades biolóxicas,
02:31
of all biological entities,
including viruses and living cells,
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incluíndo os virus e as células vivas,
02:35
are written into the code of DNA,
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están escritas no código de ADN,
02:38
if one can read and write
that code of DNA,
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se se pode ler
e escribir ese código de ADN
02:41
then they can be reconstructed
in a distant location.
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pódese reconstruír
nunha localización remota.
02:46
This is what we mean
by biological teleportation.
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Isto mesmo é ao que nos referimos
con teletransporte biolóxico.
02:50
To prove out this vision,
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Para demostrar esta visión,
02:51
Craig and Ham set a goal
of creating, for the first time,
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Craig e Ham propuxéronse
crear a primeira célula artificial
02:54
a synthetic cell, starting
from DNA code in the computer.
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usando código de ADN na computadora.
02:58
I mean, come on,
as a scientist looking for a job,
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Como científico que busca traballo
03:03
doing cutting-edge research,
it doesn't get any better than this.
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en investigacións de vangarda,
é o mellor que podía pasar!
03:06
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
03:08
OK, a genome is a complete set
of DNA within an organism.
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O xenoma é a totalidade
do material xenético que ten un organismo.
03:13
Following the Human
Genome Project in 2003,
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Despois do Proxecto Xenoma Humano de 2003,
03:15
which was an international
effort to identify
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unha iniciativa internacional
para identificar
03:18
the complete genetic blueprint
of a human being,
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e cartografar o xenoma completo
do ser humano,
03:21
a genomics revolution happened.
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desatouse unha revolución
no campo da xenómica.
03:23
Scientists started mastering
the techniques for reading DNA.
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Os científicos comezaron a dominar
as técnicas para descodificar ADN
03:27
In order to determine the order
of the As, Cs, Ts and Gs
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e así poder determinar
a orde das bases A, C, T e G
03:30
within an organism.
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dentro dun organismo.
03:32
But my job was far different.
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O meu traballo foi diferente.
03:34
I needed to master
the techniques for writing DNA.
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Tiña que entender as técnicas
para escribir ADN.
03:37
Like an author of a book,
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Como o escritor dun libro,
03:38
this started out
as writing short sentences,
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comecei a escribir oracións curtas,
03:40
or sequences of DNA code,
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ou secuencias de ADN,
03:43
but this soon turned into
writing paragraphs
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que axiña se converteron en parágrafos
03:45
and then full-on novels of DNA code,
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e logo en novelas enteiras de ADN
03:47
to make important biological instructions
for proteins and living cells.
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con instrucións biolóxicas importantes
para proteínas e células vivas.
03:52
Living cells are nature's most efficient
machines at making new products,
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As células vivas, son a mellor máquina
natural para crear novos produtos,
03:55
accounting for the production
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e son responsables da produción
03:57
of 25 percent of the total
pharmaceutical market,
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do 25% do mercado farmacéutico,
04:01
which is billions of dollars.
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que vale miles de millóns de dólares.
04:03
We knew that writing DNA
would drive this bioeconomy even more,
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Sabíamos que a escritura de ADN
impulsaría aínda máis esta bioeconomía,
04:07
once cells could be programmed
just like computers.
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cando puidéramos programar células
igual que unha computadora.
04:11
We also knew that writing DNA
would enable biological teleportation ...
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Tamén sabíamos que esta escritura,
posibilitaría o teletransporte biolóxico,
04:17
the printing of defined,
biological material,
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a impresión específica
de material biolóxico
04:20
starting from DNA code.
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a partir de un código de ADN.
04:22
As a step toward bringing
these promises to fruition,
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O paso inicial
para cumprir este obxectivo,
04:25
our team set out to create,
for the first time,
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foi a pioneira creación
04:28
a synthetic bacterial cell,
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dunha célula bacteriana sintética,
04:30
starting from DNA code in the computer.
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a partir do código xenético
almacenado na computadora.
04:33
Synthetic DNA is a commodity.
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O ADN sintético é unha materia prima.
04:36
You can order very short pieces of DNA
from a number of companies,
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Existen compañías onde se pode encargar
segmentos moi curtos de ADN,
04:39
and they will start from these four
bottles of chemicals that make up DNA,
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elaborados a partir de
catro ingredientes básicos:
04:43
G, A, T and C,
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G, A, T e C.
04:44
and they will build
those very short pieces of DNA for you.
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Fabrican os segmentos de ADN a pedido.
04:48
Over the past 15 years or so,
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Durante os últimos 15 anos,
04:50
my teams have been
developing the technology
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os meus equipos desenvolveron a tecnoloxía
04:53
for stitching together
those short pieces of DNA
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para xuntar estes segmentos de ADN
04:55
into complete bacterial genomes.
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e formar xenomas bacterianos completos.
04:58
The largest genome that we constructed
contained over one million letters.
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O xenoma máis grande que construímos
tiña máis dun millón de letras.
05:03
Which is more than twice the size
of your average novel,
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É máis do dobre do tamaño
dunha novela media
05:06
and we had to put every single one
of those letters in the correct order,
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e tivemos que poñer cada letra
na orde correcta,
05:10
without a single typo.
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sen unha soa gralla.
05:11
We were able to accomplish this
by developing a procedure
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Lográmolo desenvolvendo
un procedemento que intentei bautizar
05:15
that I tried to call the "one-step
isothermal in vitro recombination method."
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"método de recombinación isotérmica
in vitro dun solo paso"
05:20
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
05:22
But, surprisingly, the science community
didn't like this technically accurate name
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Sorprendentemente, á comunidade científica
non lle gustou un nome tan preciso
05:27
and decided to call it Gibson Assembly.
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e decidiron chamarlle
"ensamblaxe de Gibson".
05:31
Gibson Assembly
is now the gold standard tool,
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A ensamblaxe de Gibson
é a ferramenta modelo
05:34
used in laboratories around the world
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que se usa hoxe
nos laboratorios de todo o mundo
05:36
for building short and long pieces of DNA.
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para construír segmentos de ADN,
sexan curtos ou longos.
05:40
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
05:45
Once we chemically synthesized
the complete bacterial genome,
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Unha vez sintetizado quimicamente
o xenoma bacteriano completo,
05:48
our next challenge was to find a way
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o seguinte era encontrar a maneira
05:51
to convert it into a free-living,
self-replicating cell.
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de convertelo nunha célula viva
independente e autorreplicante.
05:55
Our approach was to think of the genome
as the operating system of the cell,
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Para nós, o xenoma era como
o sistema operativo da célula
05:59
with the cell containing the hardware
necessary to boot up the genome.
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e a célula contiña o hardware
necesario para iniciar o xenoma.
06:04
Through a lot of trial and error,
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Logo de ensaios de proba e erro,
06:06
we developed a procedure
where we could reprogram cells
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desenvolvemos un procedemento
para reprogramar células,
06:09
and even convert one
bacterial species into another,
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e incluso converter
unha especie bacteriana noutra distinta
06:12
by replacing the genome of one cell
with that of another.
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substituíndo o xenoma dunha célula
polo xenoma doutra.
06:17
This genome transplantation
technology then paved the way
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Esta tecnoloxía de transplante dos xenomas
abriu o camiño
06:21
for the booting-up of genomes
written by scientists
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para iniciar xenomas
creados por científicos
06:24
and not by Mother Nature.
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e non pola nai natureza.
06:26
In 2010, all of the technologies
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En 2010, todas as tecnoloxías
que fomos creando
06:29
that we had been developing
for reading and writing DNA
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para ler e escribir ADN
06:32
all came together
when we announced the creation
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deron por fin os seus froitos
cando anunciamos a creación
06:35
of the first synthetic cell,
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da primeira célula sintética,
06:37
which of course, we called Synthia.
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á que loxicamente lle chamamos Synthia.
06:39
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:41
Ever since the first bacterial genome
was sequenced, back in 1995,
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Dende que se secuenciou
o primeiro xenoma bacteriano en 1995,
06:46
thousands more whole bacterial genomes
have been sequenced and stored
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milleiros de xenomas bacterianos
foron secuenciados na súa totalidade
06:49
in computer databases.
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e arquivados en bases.
06:51
Our synthetic cell work
was the proof of concept
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O noso traballo
con células artificiais demostrou
06:54
that we could reverse this process:
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que o proceso se podía reverter:
06:56
pull a complete bacterial genome
sequence out of the computer
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podíase coller dunha computadora
un xenoma bacteriano completo
06:59
and convert that information
into a free-living, self-replicating cell,
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e converter a información nunha
célula independente e autorreplicante
07:04
with all of the expected characteristics
of the species that we constructed.
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con todas as características esperables,
para a especie que creamos.
07:10
Now I can understand
why there may be concerns
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Podo entender que haxa preocupación
07:12
about the safety of this level
of genetic manipulation.
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en canto á seguridade
desta manipulación xenética.
07:16
While the technology has the potential
for great societal benefit,
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Temos claro que a tecnoloxía ten potencial
para beneficiar moito a nosa sociedade,
07:21
it also has the potential for doing harm.
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pero tamén ten potencial para facer dano.
07:24
With this in mind, even before
carrying out the very first experiment,
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Tendo esto en conta, antes de desenvolver
o primeiro experimento,
07:28
our team started to work
with the public and the government
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o noso equipo traballou
coa cidadanía e co Goberno
07:31
to find solutions together
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para achar solucións xuntos
07:33
to responsibly develop
and regulate this new technology.
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que axudaran a desenvolver
e regular esta tecnoloxía
07:38
One of the outcomes from those discussions
was to screen every customer
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Unha das solucións consistiu
en analizar cada cliente
07:42
and every customer's DNA synthesis orders,
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e cada pedido de ADN sintético
07:44
to make sure that pathogens or toxins
are not being made by bad guys,
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para asegurarse de non crear patóxenos
e toxinas por encargo de delincuentes,
07:49
or accidentally by scientists.
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ou para evitar erros dos científicos.
07:52
All suspicious orders
are reported to the FBI
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Todos os pedidos sospeitosos
son denunciados ao FBI
07:56
and other relevant
law-enforcement agencies.
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e a outros organismos de seguridade.
08:00
Synthetic cell technologies
will power the next industrial revolution
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A tecnoloxía das células artificiais
levaranos á próxima Revolución Industrial,
08:04
and transform industries and economies
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e os cambios que se xerarán
nas industrias e nas economías
08:07
in ways that address
global sustainability challenges.
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permitirannos enfrontar
o desafío global da sustentabilidade.
08:12
The possibilities are endless.
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As posibilidades son infinitas.
08:14
I mean, you can think of clothes
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Poderíamos elaborar prendas
08:15
constructed form renewable
biobased sources,
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con materiais renovables
de base biolóxica,
08:19
cars running on biofuel
from engineered microbes,
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biocombustible para vehículos
a partir de microbios modificados,
08:23
plastics made from biodegradable polymers
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plásticos a partir
de polímeros biodegradables
08:26
and customized therapies,
printed at a patient's bedside.
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e terapias personalizadas,
impresas no cuarto do paciente.
08:31
The massive efforts
to create synthetic cells
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O xigantesco traballo
que fixemos con estas células
08:33
have made us world leaders at writing DNA.
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converteunos en líderes mundiais
na xeración de ADN.
08:37
Throughout the process,
we found ways to write DNA faster,
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No noso camiño, atopamos
modos de xerar ADN moito máis rápido,
08:40
more accurately and more reliably.
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con maior exactitude e máis confianza.
08:43
Because of the robustness
of these technologies,
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A solidez destas tecnoloxías
08:46
we found that we could
readily automate the processes
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permitiunos automatizar
os procesos facilmente
08:49
and move the laboratory workflows
out of the scientist's hands
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e transferir os protocolos
de laboratorio a unha máquina.
08:52
and onto a machine.
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08:55
In 2013, we built the first DNA printer.
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En 2013 construímos
a primeira impresora de ADN.
08:58
We call it the BioXp.
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Chamámoslle "BioXp".
09:00
And it has been absolutely
essential in writing DNA
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A máquina foi crucial
no proceso de escribir ADN
09:04
across a number of applications
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nunha cantidade de aplicacións
09:05
my team and researchers
around the world are working on.
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en que o meu equipo está colaborando
con investigadores de todo o mundo.
09:10
It was shortly after we built the BioXp
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Ao pouco tempo de construir a BioXp
09:12
that we received that email
about the H7N9 bird flu scare in China.
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foi cando recibimos o correo
sobre a gripe aviaria H7N9 en China.
09:17
A team of Chinese scientists
had already isolated the virus,
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Un equipo de científicos chineses
xa conseguira illar o virus,
09:20
sequenced its DNA and uploaded
the DNA sequence to the internet.
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secuenciar o seu ADN e subilo a Internet.
09:25
At the request of the US government,
we downloaded the DNA sequence
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A pedimento do goberno de EE.UU.,
descargamos a secuencia de ADN
09:29
and in less than 12 hours,
we printed it on the BioXp.
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e en menos de 12 horas,
imprimímola na BioXp.
Os nosos colaboradores de Novartis
09:33
Our collaborators at Novartis
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09:35
then quickly started turning
that synthetic DNA into a flu vaccine.
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comezaron axiña a converter
ese ADN sintético nunha vacina antigripal.
09:39
Meanwhile, the CDC, using technology
dating back to the 1940s,
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En tanto, o Centro de Control de
Enfermidades, con tecnoloxía do anos 40,
09:44
was still waiting for the virus
to arrive from China
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aínda estaba esperando
que o virus chegara de China
09:47
so that they could begin
their egg-based approach.
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para poder comezar co método dos ovos.
09:50
For the first time, we had a flu vaccine
developed ahead of time
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Por primeira vez, tiñamos unha vacina
antigripal, en tempo récord,
09:53
for a new and potentially
dangerous strain,
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contra unha cepa nova
e potencialmente perigosa,
09:56
and the US government ordered a stockpile.
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e o Goberno dos EE.UU. fixo un pedido.
09:58
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
10:04
This was when I began
to appreciate, more than ever,
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Nese momento, comencei a apreciar
máis que nunca
10:07
the power of biological teleportation.
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o poder do teletransporte biolóxico.
10:09
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
10:11
Naturally, with this in mind,
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Como é evidente, con esto en mente,
10:13
we started to build
a biological teleporter.
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construímos un
teletransportador biolóxico.
10:16
We call it the DBC.
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Chamámoslle DBC,
10:18
That's short for
digital-to-biological converter.
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abreviatura de
"convertedor dixital-biolóxico"
10:22
Unlike the BioXp,
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1334
A diferenza da BioXp,
10:23
which starts from pre-manufactured
short pieces of DNA,
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que traballa
con segmentos curtos de ADN prefabricados
10:26
the DBC starts from digitized DNA code
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o DBC toma código de ADN dixitalizado
10:29
and converts that DNA code
into biological entities,
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e convérteo en entidades biolóxicas,
10:32
such as DNA, RNA,
proteins or even viruses.
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3533
como ADN, ARN, proteínas e incluso virus.
10:37
You can think of the BioXp
as a DVD player,
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Poderíase dicir que a BioXp
é como un reprodutor de DVD,
10:40
requiring a physical DVD to be inserted,
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que precisa que se lle insira
un disco físico,
10:43
whereas the DBC is Netflix.
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2333
mentres que o DBC é como Netflix.
10:47
To build the DBC,
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Para crear o DBC,
10:49
my team of scientists worked with
software and instrumentation engineers
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o meu equipo colaborou con enxeñeiros
en software e instrumentación
10:54
to collapse multiple laboratory workflows,
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para integrar unha multitude
de protocolos de laboratorio
10:56
all in a single box.
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1468
nunha única máquina.
10:58
This included software algorithms
to predict what DNA to build,
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Esto incluíu algoritmos para determinar
o ADN que se vai fabricar,
11:02
chemistry to link the G, A, T and C
building blocks of DNA into short pieces,
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4452
química para unir as bases de ADN
G, A, T e C e formar segmentos curtos,
11:07
Gibson Assembly to stitch together
those short pieces into much longer ones,
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4278
a ensamblaxe de Gibson para unilos
e formar outros máis longos
11:11
and biology to convert the DNA
into other biological entities,
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e bioloxía para converter o ADN
noutras entidades biolóxicas,
11:14
such as proteins.
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como as proteínas.
11:17
This is the prototype.
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Este é o prototipo.
11:18
Although it wasn't pretty,
it was effective.
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Non era bonito, pero era efectivo.
11:20
It made therapeutic drugs and vaccines.
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2293
Fabricaba medicamentos e vacinas,
11:23
And laboratory workflows
that once took weeks or months
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3774
e protocolos de laboratorio,
que antes levaban semanas ou meses,
11:27
could now be carried out
in just one to two days.
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3548
ahora podían executarse
tan só nun día ou dous.
11:30
And that's all without
any human intervention
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2587
Todo sen intervención humana
11:33
and simply activated
by the receipt of an email
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2591
e activado de forma sinxela
por un correo electrónico
11:35
which could be sent
from anywhere in the world.
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2543
que podía ser enviado
dende calquera parte do mundo.
11:39
We like to compare
the DBC to fax machines.
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3119
Gústanos comparar o DBC
coas máquinas de fax.
11:43
But whereas fax machines
received images and documents,
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A diferenza é que as máquinas de fax
recibían imaxes e documentos,
11:46
the DBC receives biological materials.
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e o DBC recibe materiais biolóxicos.
11:50
Now, consider how
fax machines have evolved.
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Pensen agora na evolución
das máquinas de fax.
11:53
The prototype of the 1840s
is unrecognizable,
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3183
O prototipo da década
de 1840 é irrecoñecible
11:56
compared with the fax machines of today.
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2518
comparado cos fax que hai hoxe.
11:59
In the 1980s, most people
still didn't know what a fax machine was,
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707958
3810
Nos anos 80, a maioría da xente
aínda non sabía o que era o fax,
12:03
and if they did,
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1396
e se o sabían,
12:05
it was difficult for them
to grasp the concept
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2359
resultaba difícil de entender o concepto
12:07
of instantly reproducing an image
on the other side of the world.
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3621
de que unha imaxe se reproducía
instantaneamente noutra parte do mundo.
12:11
But nowadays, everything
that a fax machine does
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2294
Hoxe, todas as tarefas dun fax
están integradas
12:13
is integrated on our smart phones,
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1675
nos nosos teléfonos intelixentes,
12:15
and of course, we take this rapid exchange
of digital information for granted.
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4418
e por suposto, damos por feito este
veloz intercambio de información dixital.
12:20
Here's what our DBC looks like today.
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O noso DBC hoxe en día vese así.
12:23
We imagine the DBC evolving
in similar ways as fax machines have.
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4387
Prevemos que o DBC evolucionará
de maneira similar á maquina de fax.
12:28
We're working to reduce
the size of the instrument,
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2627
Traballamos para reducir o seu tamaño,
12:30
and we're working to make
the underlying technology
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2619
e para facer que a tecnoloxía de base
12:33
more reliable, cheaper,
faster and more accurate.
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3754
sexa máis fiable, económica,
veloz e exacta.
12:38
Accuracy is extremely important
when synthesizing DNA,
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3762
A exactitude é o máis importante
na síntese de ADN,
12:41
because a single change to a DNA letter
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2016
xa que cambiar tan só unha letra do ADN
12:43
could mean the difference
between a medicine working or not
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3024
pode determinar se un medicamento
funciona ou non,
12:46
or synthetic cell being alive or dead.
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2533
ou se unha célula sintética
está viva ou morta.
12:50
The DBC will be useful
for the distributed manufacturing
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O DBC será útil na fabricación distribuída
12:53
of medicine starting from DNA.
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de medicamentos a partir de ADN.
12:56
Every hospital in the world
could use a DBC
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2763
Todos os hospitais do mundo
poderían usar un DBC
12:59
for printing personalized medicines
for a patient at their bedside.
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3731
para imprimir medicamentos personalizados
para cada paciente no seu cuarto.
13:03
I can even imagine a day
when it's routine for people to have a DBC
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5010
Ata podo imaxinar que chegará o día
no que será normal ter un DBC na casa
13:08
to connect to their
home computer or smart phone
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conectado á computadora ou ao móbil
13:11
as a means to download
their prescriptions,
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2015
para descargar receitas médicas,
13:13
such as insulin or antibody therapies.
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2119
como insulina ou terapias de anticorpos.
13:15
The DBC will also be valuable when placed
in strategic areas around the world,
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4453
O DBC tamén será útil
en sitios estratéxicos de todo o mundo
13:19
for rapid response to disease outbreaks.
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2667
para responder rapidamente
a brotes de enfermidades.
13:22
For example, the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia
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3103
Por exemplo, o CDC en Atlanta, Georgia,
13:26
could send flu vaccine instructions
to a DBC on the other side of the world,
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4793
podería enviar instrucións
a un DBC ao outro lado do mundo
13:30
where the flu vaccine is manufactured
right on the front lines.
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3944
para fabricar unha vacina antigripal
directamente onde se precisa.
13:35
That flu vaccine could even be
specifically tailored to the flu strain
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5230
Podería incluso ser unha vacina específica
para a cepa da gripe
13:40
that's circulating in that local area.
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que está circulando nesa zona.
13:43
Sending vaccines around in a digital file,
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2492
Enviar vacinas nun arquivo dixital,
13:46
rather than stockpiling those same
vaccines and shipping them out,
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3817
en lugar de almacenalas
e envialas fisicamente.
13:49
promises to save thousands of lives.
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2631
promete salvar milleiros de vidas.
13:53
Of course, the applications
go as far as the imagination goes.
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4200
Por suposto, podemos imaxinar
todo tipo de aplicacións.
13:58
It's not hard to imagine
placing a DBC on another planet.
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3995
Non é difícil imaxinar un DBC
instalado noutro planeta.
14:03
Scientists on Earth could then send
the digital instructions to that DBC
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5104
Os científicos poderían mandar a ese DBC
instrucións dixitais dende a Terra
14:08
to make new medicines
or to make synthetic organisms
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4007
para fabricar novos medicamentos
ou para crear organismos sintéticos
14:12
that produce oxygen, food,
fuel or building materials,
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que produzan osíxeno, alimento,
combustible ou materiais de construción
14:16
as a means for making the planet
more habitable for humans.
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3174
co obxectivo de facer ese planeta
máis apto para a vida humana.
14:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
14:24
With digital information
traveling at the speed of light,
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3341
Xa que a información dixital
viaxa á velocidade da luz,
14:27
it would only take minutes
to send those digital instructions
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2897
sería cuestión de minutos
enviar esas instrucións
14:30
from Earth to Mars,
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da Terra a Marte,
14:31
but it would take months
to physically deliver those same samples
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3849
pero levaríanos meses enviar
as mesmas mostras fisicamente
14:35
on a spacecraft.
264
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1150
nunha nave espacial.
14:37
But for now, I would be satisfied
beaming new medicines across the globe,
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4603
Por agora, conformaríame con enviar
novos medicamentos por todo o mundo
14:42
fully automated and on demand,
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de forma automática e baixo pedido,
14:44
saving lives from emerging
infectious diseases
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3598
salvar vidas
de novas enfermidades infecciosas
14:48
and printing personalized cancer medicines
for those who don't have time to wait.
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e imprimir menciñas contra o cancro,
para os pacientes que non poden esperar.
14:53
Thank you.
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Grazas.
14:54
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Gibson - Genome writer
Dan Gibson leads a new breed of bioengineers, called genome writers, who use DNA to design and build new products powering the next industrial revolution.

Why you should listen

In 2004, Dan Gibson was drawn to a project at the J. Craig Venter Institute: to build a synthetic cell from scratch. Within days, he was on a path to creating synthetic life alongside genomics pioneers. But to build a whole genome from scratch, Gibson had to first invent new methods to assemble DNA. One method, dubbed the "Gibson Assembly," became a game changer, and a series of firsts followed: first synthetic bacterial genome, first synthetic cell, first minimal cell. Today, these discoveries inform the design of synthetic DNA used for new medicines.

Gibson's teams at SGI and SGI-DNA recently introduced the world's first biologic teleporter, called the Digital-to-Biological Converter (DBC), which turns digital code into functional biologics in the form of DNA, RNA and proteins without human intervention. Imagine a future where digital code is emailed to DBCs at hospitals around the world to deliver personalized medicine at a patient's bedside.

More profile about the speaker
Dan Gibson | Speaker | TED.com