ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Wilker - Scientist, engineer
Jonathan Wilker explores the science and engineering happening within our oceans. He works to understand the ways that sea creatures survive and how we can adapt their technologies to create new materials.

Why you should listen

Jonathan Wilker is a professor of chemistry and materials engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, US. Prior to arriving at Purdue in 1999, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology. His research has been recognized with a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. His teaching has also received several awards at Purdue. He is always on the lookout for new projects when at the beach or while underwater scuba diving.

More profile about the speaker
Jonathan Wilker | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxPurdueU

Jonathan Wilker: What sticky sea creatures can teach us about making glue

喬納森威爾克: 黏黏的海洋生物教我們如何製造膠水

Filmed:
347,094 views

貽貝、牡蠣和藤壺──如果我們能利用這類能抵擋風大、潮濕海岸線動物所擁有之製造黏液的能力,會怎樣呢? 跟著喬納森威爾克一同探索這些能自行製造黏液的動物,觀察我們可以向牠們習得的奇妙知識。
- Scientist, engineer
Jonathan Wilker explores the science and engineering happening within our oceans. He works to understand the ways that sea creatures survive and how we can adapt their technologies to create new materials. Full bio

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

我想邀請各位跟我
來一趟野外考察之旅
00:13
So I'd like you to join加入 me
on a field領域 trip,
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帶你們全部一起去海灘
00:16
and I want to go to the beach海灘,
and take you all to the beach海灘
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享受一下海風和鹽霧
00:18
and so enjoy請享用 the sea air空氣
and the salt spray噴霧.
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然後一起下到海水邊
00:21
And let's go down to the water's水的 edge邊緣,
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你會發現海浪正打著我們
00:23
and you're going to notice注意 is
we're getting得到 knocked被撞 around by the waves波浪,
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要原地不動真的很難
00:26
and it's really difficult
to stay in place地點.
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00:28
But now, look down,
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但,現在往下看
00:30
and what you're going to see
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你會發現
石頭被海洋生物包覆著
00:32
is that the rocks岩石 are covered覆蓋
by all sorts排序 of sea creatures生物
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牠們一動也不動
00:35
that are just staying
there in place地點, no problem問題.
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一點問題也沒有
原來,如果你想在
非常困苦的環境生存
00:37
And it turns out
that if you want to survive生存
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00:40
in this really demanding嚴格 environment環境,
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製造黏液的能力
將決定你使否能夠存活
00:41
your very existence存在 is dependent依賴的
upon your ability能力 to make glue, actually其實.
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00:46
So let me introduce介紹 you
to some of the heroes英雄 of our story故事,
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現在我來介紹一下
這個故事中的幾位主角
這邊講幾個就好
00:50
just a few少數 of them.
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00:51
So these are mussels青口貝,
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這些是河蚌
00:52
and you'll你會 notice注意
they're covering覆蓋 the rocks岩石.
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你會發現牠們包覆了石頭
00:55
They've他們已經 made製作 adhesives粘合劑,
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牠們製造黏液黏在石頭上
00:56
and they're sticking癥結 down on the rocks岩石,
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00:58
and they're also sticking癥結
to each other, actually其實.
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而牠們也相互黏著
全部躲在一起
01:01
So they're hunkered蹲在 down
together一起 as a group.
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這張是牡蠣礁石的特寫照
01:03
This is a close-up特寫 photograph照片
of an oyster牡蠣 reef,
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01:06
and oysters生蠔, they're amazing驚人.
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牡蠣很奇妙
01:08
What they do is they cement水泥 to each other,
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牠們彼此緊黏
並打造這些巨大、
廣闊的礁石系統
01:11
and they build建立 these huge巨大,
extensive廣泛 reef systems系統.
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01:14
They can be kilometers公里 long,
they can be meters deep,
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它們可以長達數公里、
深達數公尺
01:17
and arguably按理說, they're the most
dominant優勢 influence影響
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他們對沿岸海洋生態系的運作
01:20
on how healthy健康 any coastal沿海
marine海洋 ecosystem生態系統 is going to be,
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可說是有最重大影響
01:23
because what they do
is they're filtering濾波 the water constantly經常,
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因為牠們時常過濾海水
把沙塵和水分開
01:26
they're holding保持 sand and dirt污垢 in place地點.
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01:28
Actually其實, other species種類 live生活
inside of these reefs珊瑚礁.
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其他生物其實也住在這些礁石裡
再來,想看看
如果暴風雨來襲會怎樣?
01:31
And then, if you think about
what happens發生 when a storm風暴 comes in,
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如果暴風雨來臨
01:34
if the storm風暴 surge浪湧
first has to hit擊中 miles英里 of these reefs珊瑚礁,
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會先打到這好幾英里長的礁石
01:38
the coast behind背後 it
is going to be protected保護.
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而後面的海岸會被保護住
01:40
So they're really quite相當 influential有影響.
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所以它們頗重要的
01:43
If you've been to any rocky岩石 beach海灘
pretty漂亮 much anywhere隨地 in the world世界,
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如果你有去過礁石海岸
全世界其實都差不多
你可能很熟悉藤壺的長相
01:47
you're probably大概 familiar
with what barnacles藤壺 look like.
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這些動物──
01:49
What these animals動物 do --
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其實還有很多其他的動物,
這裡只講了三個──
01:50
and there's many許多 others其他,
these are just three of them --
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牠們製造黏著劑
01:53
is they make adhesives粘合劑,
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彼此相黏,並黏著石頭
01:54
they stick to each other,
they stick to the rocks岩石
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然後建立群落
01:57
and they build建立 communities社區,
and by doing this,
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這樣一來,他們得到許多生存優勢
01:59
there's a lot of survival生存
advantages優點 they get.
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02:01
So one of them is that just any individual個人
is subjected to less of the turbulence動亂
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其中一個優勢是
個體受到亂流
及其他環境損傷的影響較小
02:07
and all the damaging有害 features特徵
that can happen發生 from that environment環境.
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02:11
So they're all hunkered蹲在 down there.
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所以牠們一起在那裡躲著
其他的優勢也包括安全
02:12
Then, also, there's a safety安全
in numbers數字 thing,
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02:15
because it also helps幫助 you
keep away the predators大鱷,
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因為這麼做也幫他們遠離狩獵者
因爲,假設一下
02:19
because if, say, a seagull海鷗
wants to pick you up and eat you,
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一隻海鷗想把你叼起來吃掉
02:22
it's more difficult for the seagull海鷗
if they're all stuck卡住 together一起.
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黏在一起便使海鷗比較難抓
另一點是有助於有效繁衍
02:25
And then another另一個 thing is it also helps幫助
with reproductive生殖 efficiency效率.
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想像一下,
當藤壺先生和藤壺太太決定說:
02:28
So you can imagine想像
that when Mr先生. and Mrs太太. Barnacle藤 壺 decide決定,
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02:31
"OK, it's time to have
little baby寶寶 barnacles藤壺" --
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「是生小寶寶的時候了」
我先不告訴你他們怎麼做的
02:34
I won't慣於 tell you
how they do that just yet然而 --
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02:36
but when they decide決定 it's time to do that,
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但當牠們覺得時候到了
02:39
it's a lot easier更輕鬆 and their reproductive生殖
efficiency效率 is higher更高
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住在旁邊比較方便
繁衍效率也比較高
02:42
if they're all living活的 close together一起.
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我們想了解牠們如何做到,
如何黏在一起
02:44
So we want to understand理解
how they do this, how do they stick,
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02:49
and I can't really tell you
all the details細節,
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我不能告訴你所有的細節
02:51
because it's something
we're still trying to figure數字 out,
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因為我們還在研究
但我想先讓你們看一些我們在做的事
02:54
but let me give you a little flavor味道
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02:56
of some of the things
that we're trying to do.
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這張圖片
是我們實驗室中的一個水族系統
02:58
This is a picture圖片 of one of the aquarium水族館
systems系統 we have in our lab實驗室,
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03:02
and everything in the image圖片
is part部分 of the system系統,
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圖中所有的東西都是系統的一環
03:05
and so what we do is we keep --
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我們做的就是──
03:07
and you can see in the glass玻璃 tank坦克 there
in the bottom底部, there's a bunch of mussels青口貝,
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看得到玻璃箱底部有一些河蚌──
我們將水冷卻,讓光線循環
03:11
we have the water chilled,
we have the lights燈火 cycled循環,
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我們也讓系統有亂流
03:13
we actually其實 have turbulence動亂 in the system系統
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因為當水流不穩定時
03:15
because the animals動物 make
more adhesives粘合劑 for us
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這些動物可以為我們
製造多一點黏著劑
03:17
when the water is turbulent洶湧.
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03:19
So we induce促使 them to make the adhesive膠粘劑,
we collect蒐集 it, we study研究 it.
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我們誘導他們製造黏液
並收集這些黏液做研究
03:22
They're here in Indiana印地安那.
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牠們現在在這裡,印第安納州
03:24
As far as they know,
they're in Maine緬因州 in February二月,
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但就牠們所知
牠們身處於二月的緬因州
就我們看來,牠們頗快樂的
03:27
and they seem似乎 to be pretty漂亮 happy快樂,
as far as we can tell.
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03:30
And then we also work with oysters生蠔,
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我們也研究牡蠣
上方的圖片
是個在南卡羅蘭納州的小礁石
03:32
and up top最佳, it's a photo照片
of a small reef in South Carolina卡羅來納州,
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我們最感興趣的是
牠們如何貼著彼此
03:37
and what we're most interested有興趣 in
is seeing眼看 how they attach連接 to each other,
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如何互相連結
03:41
how they connect.
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03:42
And so what you can see
in the bottom底部 image圖片
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你在下方的圖片可以看到
有兩隻牡蠣互相黏著
03:44
is there's two oysters生蠔
that are cementing固井 to each other.
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我們想知道牠們中間有什麼
03:46
And we want to know what's in between之間,
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以我們會常常把他們分開
然後觀察
03:48
and so a lot of times,
we'll cut them and look down,
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在下一組圖片可以看到
03:51
and in the next下一個 series系列
of images圖片 we have here,
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03:53
you can see, on the bottom底部,
we'll have two shells砲彈,
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下方的圖片有兩個殼
03:56
the shell貝殼 of one animal動物
and the shell貝殼 of another另一個 animal動物,
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一個動物的殼和另一個動物的殼
還有他們中間的黏著物
03:58
and the cement's水泥的 in between之間.
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如果你看右邊的圖
04:00
And if you look at the image圖片 on the right,
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你可能會看見
04:02
what you can maybe see
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04:03
is that there's structure結構體
in the shell貝殼 of each animal動物,
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每個動物的殼中都存著結構
但黏著物看起來就不一樣
04:07
but then, the cement水泥
actually其實 looks容貌 different不同.
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所以我們用了有的沒的
生物、化學儀器
04:09
And so we're using運用 all sorts排序
of fancy幻想 biology生物學 and chemistry化學 tools工具
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來了解這裡面是什麼
04:13
to understand理解 what's going on in there,
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我們發現它們的結構不同
04:15
and what we're finding發現
is the structures結構 are different不同
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04:17
and the chemistry化學 is actually其實 different不同,
and it's quite相當 interesting有趣.
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它們的化學成分也不一樣
而這頗有趣的
再來這張圖片
04:22
And then this picture圖片 --
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在告訴你們這是什麼之前
04:24
I guess猜測 let me step back
before I tell you what this is.
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我想先講一下──
04:27
So do you know the cartoon動畫片
"The Magic魔法 School學校 Bus總線"?
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你們知道卡通《魔法校車》嗎?
04:32
Or if you're a little bit older舊的,
"Fantastic奇妙 Voyage航程," right?
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或《奇幻旅程》,
如果你年紀較長的話?
那你可能記得這些卡通
04:35
And you remember記得,
they had these characters人物
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會把裡面的角色縮成微粒般
04:37
that they would shrink收縮 down
to these microscopic顯微 levels水平,
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然後在一番天旋地轉之後
04:40
and then they would sort分類 of swirl漩渦 in
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或游或飛,探索這些生物構造
04:42
and swim游泳 around and fly around
all these biological生物 structures結構?
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我把這想像成卡通那樣,
不過是真的就是了
04:45
I think of this as like that,
except for it's real真實, in this case案件.
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04:49
And so what we did is we have
two oysters生蠔 that are stuck卡住 together一起,
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我們有兩個黏在一起的牡蠣
這個區域之前全都被黏著物填滿
04:53
and this area used to be
completely全然 filled填充 in with the cement水泥,
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我們發現這個黏著物是由
04:57
and what we're finding發現 is that the cement水泥
has lots of different不同 components組件 in there,
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許多不同的成分組和而成
05:01
but broadly寬廣地 speaking請講,
there are hard, non-sticky不粘 parts部分
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但大體來說
這裡面有分為
堅硬且不具黏性的部份
05:04
and there are soft柔軟的, sticky parts部分,
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和軟黏的部份
05:05
and what we did is we removed去除
the non-sticky不粘 parts部分 selectively選擇
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我們選擇性地移除不黏的部分
然後來看
連接動物們的東西中剩下什麼
05:09
to see what's left for what's actually其實
attaching附上 the animals動物,
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我們發現這個
05:12
and what we got is this, and we can see
there's this sticky adhesive膠粘劑
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我們可以看到這個黏著劑
把兩個動物連在一起
05:16
that's holding保持 them together一起.
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我覺得這張圖真的很酷
05:17
And I just think it's a really cool image圖片,
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因為你可以想像自己飛進去
05:19
because you can imagine想像 yourself你自己 flying飛行 in
and going back there.
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以上就是我們為了解
海洋生物如何製造這些物質
05:22
Anyways無論如何, those are some of the things
we're doing to understand理解
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05:26
how marine海洋 biology生物學
is making製造 these materials物料.
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所做的研究
從根本的角度來看,
得到這些知識十分令人興奮
05:28
And from a fundamental基本的 perspective透視,
it's really exciting扣人心弦 to learn學習.
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05:32
But what we do want
to do with this information信息?
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但有了這些知識要做什麼呢?
如果我們可以利用
這些動物所生產的
05:34
Well, there's a lot
of technological技術性 applications應用
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那麼其實可有許多
科技上的運用
05:36
if we can harness馬俱
what the animals動物 are doing.
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05:39
So let me give you one example.
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給各位一個例子
05:41
So imagine想像 you're at home
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想像你在家裡
你打破最愛的小塑像
或馬克杯或類似的東西
05:43
and you break打破 your favorite喜愛 figurine塑像
or a mug or something like that?
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你想把它拼回去
05:46
You want to put it back together一起.
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05:48
So where do you go?
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你會去哪裡呢?
05:49
You go to my favorite喜愛 place地點 in town,
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會去到我最喜歡去的地方──
五金行賣膠水的走道
05:52
which哪一個 is the glue aisle走道
of the hardware硬件 store商店.
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我知道各位如何度過你們的夜晚
05:55
I know where you spend your nights,
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05:57
because you're all hip臀部,
cool people, because you're here,
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你們都很時髦,因為你們在這裡
你們會去酒吧、演唱會之類的
05:59
and you're going to the bars酒吧
and concerts音樂會 --
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而我每晚就到這裡晃晃
06:02
this is where I hang out every一切 night.
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喔,我想叫你們做的事就是
06:03
So anyways無論如何, so what I want you to do
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06:05
is get one of every一切 adhesive膠粘劑
that's on the shelf,
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把架上所有的黏膠買回去
06:08
bring帶來 it home,
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但在你把東西拼回去之前
06:09
but before you try
to put things back together一起,
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我想請你先在水下試試
06:12
I want you to try to do it
in a bucket of water.
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06:15
It's not going to work, right?
We all know this.
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拼不起來,對吧?
這是眾所皆知的
06:17
So obviously明顯, marine海洋 biology生物學
has solved解決了 this,
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很顯然海洋生物解決了這個問題
06:19
so what we need to do is figure數字 out
ways方法 to be able能夠 to copy複製 this ourselves我們自己.
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而我們需要做得事就是
想辦法複製這個解方
06:24
And one of the issues問題 here is,
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其中有個問題
06:26
you can't just go and get
the materials物料 from the beach海灘,
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你不能直接去海邊收集這些物質
06:29
because if you get a bunch of mussels青口貝
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因為如果你去抓一堆的貽貝
然後試著擠出裡面的黏液
06:30
and try to milk牛奶 them for their adhesive膠粘劑,
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你只能得到一點點
06:32
you'll你會 get a little bit of material材料,
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但那永遠不夠你拿來做事
06:34
but you're never going to have enough足夠
to do anything with,
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只能看而已
06:37
just enough足夠 to see.
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我們需要提升這個規模
06:38
We need to scale規模 this up,
ideally理想 maybe train培養 car汽車 scale規模.
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最好能有一輛列車這麼多
上面的圖片顯示的是
06:41
So on the top最佳 is an image圖片
of one of the types類型 of molecules分子
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動物們做黏膠時
會用到的一種分子
06:46
that the animals動物 are using運用
to make their glue,
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它們是種很長的分子
叫做「蛋白質」
06:48
and what they are is they're very long
molecules分子, they're called proteins蛋白質,
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這些蛋白質分子中有獨特的成分
06:51
and these proteins蛋白質 happen發生 to have
some fairly相當 unique獨特 parts部分 in them
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06:55
that bring帶來 about the adhesive膠粘劑 properties性能.
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可以產生黏著的特性
06:57
What we want to do is take
those little parts部分 of that chemistry化學,
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我們取那化學成份的一小部分
放到我們取得的其他長分子中
07:00
and we want to put it
into other long molecules分子 that we can get
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07:04
but things that we can make
on a really large scale規模,
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這要是我們能大量製造的物質
你可能稱這些物質
「塑料」或「聚合物」
07:06
so you might威力 know them
as plastics塑料 or polymers聚合物,
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我們有點簡化它們的作用
07:08
and so we're sort分類 of
simplifying簡化 what they do,
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但就是把那個
黏性化學成分放到這些大分子
07:11
but then putting that adhesion粘著 chemistry化學
into these large molecules分子.
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07:14
And we've我們已經 developed發達 many許多 different不同
adhesive膠粘劑 systems系統 in doing this,
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如此,我們研發出
許多不同的黏質系統
那當你製造出
一個看起來不錯的新黏膠
07:17
and when you make
a new adhesive膠粘劑 that looks容貌 pretty漂亮 good,
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你會怎麼做呢?
07:20
what do you do?
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你會開始在實驗室裡黏東黏西
07:21
You start開始 running賽跑 around the lab實驗室,
just sticking癥結 stuff東東 together一起.
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在這個例子裡,我們拿一點點黏膠
把兩塊金屬黏起來
07:24
We took a tiny bit of a glue
and glued膠合 together一起 two pieces of metal金屬
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然後我們想在上面掛點東西
07:27
and we wanted to hang something from it,
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07:29
so we used a pot of live生活 mussels青口貝
and thought we were very clever聰明.
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所以我們吊了一桶活貽貝
自己覺得很聰明
07:33
(Laughs)
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(笑聲)
當然我們常常把這量化了
07:34
We're obviously明顯 much more
quantitative about this most often經常,
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07:37
and so we benchmark基準
against反對 commercial廣告 adhesives粘合劑,
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所以我們拿去
跟市面上的黏著劑比較
然後發現
07:40
and we actually其實 have some materials物料 now
that are stronger than superglue強力膠.
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現在我們有一些
比強力膠還牢固的物質
07:44
So to me, that's really cool.
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對我來說這很酷
這是實驗室的好日子,
這膠比強力膠還牢固
07:45
That's a good day in the lab實驗室.
It's stronger than superglue強力膠.
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07:48
And here's這裡的 something else其他 that we can do.
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這是另一個我們能做的
07:51
So this is a tank坦克 of seawater海水,
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這是一缸的海水
那個注射器裡
有我們的黏膠配方
07:53
and then, in that syringe注射器
is one of our adhesive膠粘劑 formulations配方,
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07:57
and what we're doing is
we're dispensing配送 it completely全然 underwater水下,
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我們在水下
把黏膠擠到金屬片上
08:00
on a piece of metal金屬.
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然後我們要製造一個黏合點
08:01
And then, we want to make
an adhesive膠粘劑 bond, or joint聯合,
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所以我們拿另一片個金屬片
08:04
and so we take another另一個 piece of metal金屬
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把它放在那裡,調整好位置
08:06
and we put it on there
and just position位置 it.
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08:09
And you want to let it set up
for a while, give it a chance機會,
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之後要讓膠乾一下,給它點時間
08:13
so we'll just put a weight重量
on it, nothing fancy幻想.
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在上面施加點力,沒多複雜
08:15
This is a tube with lead shot射擊
in it, nothing fancy幻想.
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這就是個含鉛的管子
沒什麼花俏的
然後你就放著等它一下
08:18
And then you let it sit for a while.
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這完全沒有接觸到空氣,完全在水下
08:20
So this has never seen看到 air空氣.
It's completely全然 underwater水下.
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你把它拿起來
08:23
And you pick it up.
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每次到這裡我就很緊張
08:24
I never know what's going to happen發生.
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我永遠不知道會發生什麼事
08:26
I'm always very anxious here.
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拿起來…
08:28
Pick it up ...
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08:29
and it's stuck卡住.
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它黏住了
我覺得這很酷
08:31
To me, this is really cool.
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我們這有很強的水下附著力
08:32
So we can actually其實 get
very strong強大 underwater水下 adhesion粘著.
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這可能是史上最強的水下黏著劑
08:36
Possibly或者, it's the strongest最強
or at least最小 one of the strongest最強
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不然也是最強的之一
08:39
underwater水下 adhesives粘合劑
that's ever been seen看到.
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這甚至比動物製造的物質還要牢固
08:41
It's even stronger than the materials物料
that the animals動物 produce生產,
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所以對我們來說
這挺令人興奮、挺酷的
08:45
so for us, it's pretty漂亮 exciting扣人心弦.
It's pretty漂亮 cool.
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那我們拿這些東西要做什麼呢?
08:47
So what do we want to do
with these things?
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08:49
Well, here are some products製品
that you're probably大概 really familiar with.
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下面有些你可能很熟悉的產品
想一下你的手機、筆電,
大部分的膠合板
08:53
So think about your cell細胞 phone電話,
your laptop筆記本電腦, plywood合板 in most structures結構,
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08:58
the interior室內 of your car汽車, shoes,
phone電話 books圖書, things like this.
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你車子的內裝、鞋子、電話簿
諸如此類的東西
09:01
They're all held保持 together一起 with adhesives粘合劑,
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它們皆由黏著劑接合而成
09:03
and there's two main主要 problems問題
with the adhesives粘合劑
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而這些產品所用的黏著劑
有兩個大問題
09:06
used in these materials物料.
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第一,它們有毒
09:07
The first one is that they're toxic有毒的.
202
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09:09
So the worst最差 offender犯罪分子 here is plywood合板.
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最糟的是膠合板
09:12
Plywood膠合板, or a lot of furniture家具,
or wood laminate層壓 in floors地板 --
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膠合板、許多的傢俱
和木質層壓的地板
所用的黏著劑中
「甲醛」是主要的成分
09:15
a main主要 component零件 of the adhesives粘合劑
here is formaldehyde甲醛,
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也許你聽過這個物質
09:20
and it's maybe a compound複合 you've heard聽說 of.
206
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2001
09:22
It's a gas加油站, and it's also a carcinogen致癌物,
207
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它是一種氣體,也是致癌物
09:25
and so we're constructing建設
a lot of structures結構 from these adhesives粘合劑,
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所以當我們拿這些黏著劑來建構時
我們也吸入許多的致癌物
09:29
and we're also breathing呼吸
a lot of this carcinogen致癌物.
209
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09:31
So not good, obviously明顯. Right?
210
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顯然,這不太妙,對吧?
09:33
The other issue問題 is that these adhesives粘合劑
are all permanent常駐.
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另一個問題是
這些黏著劑都是永久的
09:36
And so what do you do with your shoes
or your car汽車 or even your laptop筆記本電腦
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當你的鞋子、車或筆電壽終正寢
你不想再用的時候,
你會怎麼做呢?
09:39
at the end結束 of life,
when you're doneDONE using運用 it?
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09:41
For the most part部分,
they end結束 up in landfills垃圾填埋場.
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這些東西的很大一部分
都進到垃圾掩埋場
而其中有許多貴重的原料
09:43
And there's a lot
of precious珍貴 materials物料 in there
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我們會想把它們取出來回收
09:46
we'd星期三 love to be able能夠 to get out
and recycle回收 them.
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但這並不容易做到
09:48
We can't do it so easily容易
217
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因為它們全都被膠
永遠地黏在一起
09:49
because they're all stuck卡住
together一起 permanently永久.
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為要解決這個問題
我們嘗試一個辦法
09:52
So here's這裡的 one approach途徑 we're taking服用
to try and solve解決 some of these problems問題,
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09:55
and what we've我們已經 doneDONE here
is we've我們已經 taken採取 another另一個 long molecule分子
220
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我們從玉米中
取出另一個長分子
10:00
that we can actually其實 get from corn玉米,
221
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然後將貽貝中的
黏性化學成分放入其中
10:02
and then into that molecule分子,
222
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10:04
we've我們已經 put some of the adhesion粘著
chemistry化學 from the mussels青口貝.
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2793
因為我們用了玉米
又用了貽貝
10:06
So because we've我們已經 got the corn玉米
and we've我們已經 got the mussels青口貝,
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所以我們稱它為「海田聚合物」
10:09
we call this our surf-and-turf衝浪和草皮 polymer聚合物.
225
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它黏得住
10:11
And it sticks. It sticks really well.
226
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而且成效很好,很牢固
10:13
It's very strong強大.
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同時,它主要也是由生物組成的
10:15
It's also bio-based生物基礎. That's nice不錯.
228
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這點不錯
但也許這裡更重要的一點是
它也可被分解
10:17
But maybe more importantly重要的, here,
it's also degradable可降解,
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10:19
and we can degrade降級 it
under very mild溫和 conditions條件, with water.
230
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我們可不費力地把它分解
像是用水
10:23
And so what we can do
is we can set things up
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所以,我們可以在需要時
把東西黏得很牢固
10:25
and we can bond them
strongly非常 when we want,
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而我們也可以將之拆解
10:27
but then we can also take them apart距離.
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這是我們正在研究的
10:30
It's something we're thinking思維 about.
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10:31
And here is a place地點
where a lot of us want to be.
235
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這是我們都想要的
或就這件事來說
10:35
Well, actually其實, in this specific具體 case案件,
this is a place地點 we do not want to be,
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3712
這是我們所不希望遇到的
我們想取代這個
10:39
but we'd星期三 like to replace更換 this.
237
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縫線、釘子、螺絲
10:40
So sutures縫線, staples主食, screws螺絲:
238
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2003
我們在你開完刀或有傷口時
10:42
this is how we put you back together一起
if you've had some surgery手術 or an injury.
239
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3621
會用這些工具把你拼回去
這實在很糟
10:46
It's just awful可怕. It hurts傷害.
240
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這很痛
10:48
In the case案件 of the sutures縫線,
look at how much you're making製造
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舉縫線為例
當你要縫合的時候
要集中施加多少機械力
10:53
concentrated集中, mechanical機械 stresses應力
as you pull things together一起.
242
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還會製造感染的溫床
10:56
You're making製造 sites網站 for infection感染.
243
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在健康的組織裡戳洞不太好
10:58
Poke holes in healthy健康 tissue組織.
It's not so good.
244
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11:01
Or if you need a plate盤子
to hold保持 together一起 your bones骨頭,
245
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又像是你要用一塊板子把骨頭固定住
11:04
look at how much healthy健康 bone
you have to drill鑽頭 out
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2391
看看你得鑽多少健康的骨頭
只為了把板子固定住?
11:06
just to hold保持 the plate盤子 in place地點.
247
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這真的很糟
11:08
So this is awful可怕.
248
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我覺得這些像在中古世紀
刑求室所發明的東西
11:09
To me, it looks容貌 like these were things
devised設計 in a medieval中世紀 torture拷打 chamber,
249
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但這是我們的現代外科工藝
11:13
but it's our modern現代 surgical外科 joinery細 木工.
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所以我想有一天
11:15
So I'd love it if we could replace更換
systems系統 like these with adhesives粘合劑.
251
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用這些黏著劑來取代這套系統
我們正在努力,但這並不簡單
11:20
We're working加工 on this,
but this is not easy簡單.
252
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想想看黏著劑
要應用在這些用途上
11:23
So think about what you would need
for adhesives粘合劑 in these cases.
253
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3055
需有什麼特性
11:26
So first of all, you would need
an adhesive膠粘劑 that is going to set
254
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3247
第一,它會需要耐的住潮濕的環境
11:29
in a wet environment環境.
255
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1557
如果你看一下這張呆呆的圖片
11:31
And if you look at the silly愚蠢
little picture圖片 there,
256
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這張圖說明
我們的身體有百分之 60 是水
11:33
it's just to illustrate說明 that our bodies身體
are about 60 percent百分 water,
257
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所以我們的身體是個潮濕的環境
11:38
so it's a wet environment環境.
258
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1296
11:39
It's also to illustrate說明 that this is why
I am a scientist科學家 and not an artist藝術家.
259
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4183
這張圖也說明了
我為什麼是科學家
而不是藝術家
11:43
I did not miss小姐 my calling調用 at all.
260
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我完全沒有選錯職業
11:46
So then the other requirements要求
you need for a good biomedical生物醫藥 adhesive膠粘劑:
261
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3573
一個好的生醫黏著劑
要有另一個條件
11:50
it needs需求 to bond strongly非常, of course課程,
262
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2565
當然,它要能黏合得很牢固
11:52
and it needs需求 to not be toxic有毒的.
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1733
而且它要是無毒的
11:54
You don't want to hurt傷害 the patients耐心.
264
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你不會想害你的病人
一個物質要滿足
任意兩個條件很容易
11:56
And getting得到 any two of those requirements要求
in a material材料 is pretty漂亮 easy簡單.
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這被做很多次了
12:00
It's been doneDONE many許多 times.
But getting得到 all three hasn't有沒有 been doneDONE.
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但要滿足全部三個條件
便十分困難
12:03
It's very hard.
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倘若你去問醫生,他們會很挑剔
12:04
And if you start開始 talking to surgeons外科醫生,
they get picky挑剔 --
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他們會說
12:07
"Oh, actually其實 I want the adhesive膠粘劑 to set
on the same相同 time frame as the surgery手術."
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「嗯,我想要黏著劑在手術時乾」
或是「嗯,我想要黏著劑能夠分解
12:11
Or, "Oh, I want the adhesive膠粘劑 to degrade降級
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這樣病人的組織才能重組」
12:14
so the patient's耐心 tissues組織
can remodel改裝 the site現場."
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12:16
So this is really hard.
We're working加工 on it.
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這實在很困難。我們正在努力
這是我們拍的一張照片
12:20
This is just one image圖片 we have.
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12:22
So what we're doing is we're getting得到
all sorts排序 of bones骨頭 and skin皮膚
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我們去找各種的骨頭,皮膚
軟組織,硬組織──
12:25
and soft柔軟的 and hard tissue組織, and sometimes有時
we'll whack重打 it with a hammer錘子.
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我們有時候會用鐵鎚敲擊
通常我們會把它切成精確的形狀
12:28
Usually平時, we're cutting切割 it
in precise精確 shapes形狀.
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然後再把他們黏回去
12:30
And then we glue them back together一起.
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我們得一到些令人興奮的成果
12:32
We've我們已經 got some exciting扣人心弦 results結果,
some strong強大 materials物料,
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一些強韌的物質
一些看起來無毒、耐潮的東西
12:35
some things that look
like they're not toxic有毒的,
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12:37
they set wet,
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但我不會告訴你們
我們解決了潮濕黏著的問題
12:38
but I'm not going to tell you
we've我們已經 solved解決了 the wet adhesion粘著 problem問題,
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因為我們還沒完成
12:41
because we haven't沒有,
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但這絕對是在我們的未來
可預期的目標
12:43
but it's certainly當然
in our sights景點 for the future未來.
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這是件我們希望看到
有更多發展的事
12:45
So that's one place地點 that we'd星期三 like
to see things go farther更遠 down the road.
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12:49
And there are a lot of other places地方, too,
you can imagine想像 we might威力 be better off
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你可以想像還有很多其他的領域
如果可以取得更多的黏著劑
我們的生活可能會更好
12:53
if we could get more adhesives粘合劑 in there.
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像是化妝品
12:55
Even cosmetics化妝品.
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想一下有些人戴假指甲或假睫毛
12:56
So if you think about people putting on
fake nails釘子 or eyelash睫毛 extensions擴展,
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13:01
what do they use?
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他們用什麼?
13:03
They use very toxic有毒的 adhesives粘合劑 right now.
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他們目前用的是毒性很強的黏著劑
13:05
So it's just ripe成熟 for replacement替代.
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是時候把它換掉了
這是我們想做的事
13:07
That's something we'd星期三 like to do.
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還有很多其他的領域
13:08
And then there are other places地方 too.
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想一想車子和飛機
13:10
So think about cars汽車 and planes飛機.
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它們越輕越省油
13:12
The lighter打火機 you can make them,
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13:13
the more fuel-efficient省油
they're going to be.
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所以如果我們可以
13:15
And so if we can get away from rivets鉚釘
and get away from welding焊接
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更多地以黏著劑
代替鉚釘和焊接
13:18
and put more adhesives粘合劑 in there,
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13:20
then we might威力 be better off
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我們未來的運輸和生活可能會更好
13:21
with our future未來 generation
of transportation運輸.
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13:24
So for us, this all
comes back to the beach海灘.
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對我們來說
這一切都回到沙灘
13:28
So we look around and we wonder奇蹟,
"How do these sea creatures生物 stick?
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我們看看四周,然後想問
「這些海洋生物時如何黏起來的?」
13:32
And what can we do with the technology技術?"
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「我們可以把這項技術拿來做什麼?」
我認為我們還有很多
13:34
And I would argue爭論 that we have
really a lot of things we can still learn學習
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可以向生物向大自然學習的地方
13:38
from biology生物學 and from nature性質.
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所以我想鼓勵各位在將來
13:39
So what I would like to encourage鼓勵
you all to do in the future未來
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放下你那不能回收的電腦和手機
13:43
is put down your nonrecyclable不可回收利用
laptops筆記本電腦 and cell細胞 phones手機
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13:48
and go out and explore探索 the natural自然 world世界
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走到戶外,探索大自然
並提出你你自己的問題
13:50
and then start開始 asking
some of your own擁有 questions問題.
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13:52
Thanks謝謝 very much.
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謝謝
(掌聲)
13:54
(Applause掌聲)
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Translated by Sydney Fu
Reviewed by Helen Chang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Wilker - Scientist, engineer
Jonathan Wilker explores the science and engineering happening within our oceans. He works to understand the ways that sea creatures survive and how we can adapt their technologies to create new materials.

Why you should listen

Jonathan Wilker is a professor of chemistry and materials engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, US. Prior to arriving at Purdue in 1999, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology. His research has been recognized with a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. His teaching has also received several awards at Purdue. He is always on the lookout for new projects when at the beach or while underwater scuba diving.

More profile about the speaker
Jonathan Wilker | Speaker | TED.com