The fascinating places scientists aren't exploring
-
0:01 - 0:06So I've got something that I'm
slightly embarrassed to admit to. -
0:06 - 0:07At the age of 17,
-
0:07 - 0:09as a creationist,
-
0:09 - 0:13I decided to go to university
to study evolution -
0:13 - 0:14so that I could destroy it.
-
0:14 - 0:16(Laughter)
-
0:16 - 0:17I failed.
-
0:17 - 0:21I failed so spectacularly
that I'm now an evolutionary biologist. -
0:21 - 0:24(Applause)
-
0:24 - 0:27So I'm a paleoanthropologist,
I'm a National Geographic Explorer -
0:28 - 0:30specializing in fossil hunting in caves
-
0:30 - 0:33in unstable, hostile
and disputed territories. -
0:34 - 0:37And we all know that
if I was a guy and not a girl, -
0:38 - 0:41that wouldn't be a job description,
that would be a pick-up line. -
0:41 - 0:43(Laughter)
-
0:43 - 0:45Now, here's the thing.
I do not have a death wish. -
0:45 - 0:48I'm not an adrenaline junkie.
-
0:48 - 0:50I just looked at a map.
-
0:50 - 0:54See, frontline exploratory science
does not happen as much -
0:54 - 0:57in politically unstable territories.
-
0:58 - 1:01This is a map of all the places
which the British Foreign Office -
1:01 - 1:05have declared contain
red zones, orange zones -
1:05 - 1:08or have raised some kind
of a threat warning about. -
1:08 - 1:11Now I'm going to go out on a limb here
and say that it is a tragedy -
1:11 - 1:16if we're not doing frontline exploratory
science in a huge portion of the planet. -
1:16 - 1:20And so science has a geography problem.
-
1:21 - 1:23Also, as a paleoanthropologist,
-
1:23 - 1:27guys, this is basically a map
of some of the most important places -
1:27 - 1:28in the human journey.
-
1:28 - 1:33There are almost definitely
fascinating fossils to be found here. -
1:33 - 1:35But are we looking for them?
-
1:35 - 1:39And so as an undergraduate,
I was repeatedly told -
1:39 - 1:44that humans, be they ourselves,
homo sapiens, or earlier species, -
1:44 - 1:47that we left Africa
via the Sinai of Egypt. -
1:48 - 1:51I'm English, as you can
probably tell from my accent, -
1:52 - 1:54but I am actually of Arab heritage,
-
1:54 - 1:56and I always say that I'm
very, very Arab on the outside. -
1:56 - 1:58You know, I can really be passionate.
-
1:58 - 2:00Like, "You're amazing! I love you!"
-
2:00 - 2:03But on the inside, I'm really English,
so everybody irritates me. -
2:03 - 2:06(Laughter)
-
2:08 - 2:09It's true.
-
2:10 - 2:13And the thing is,
my family are Arab from Yemen, -
2:13 - 2:17and I knew that that channel,
-
2:17 - 2:18Bab-el-Mandeb,
-
2:18 - 2:21is not that much of a feat to cross.
-
2:21 - 2:25And I kept asking myself
this really simple question: -
2:25 - 2:30if the ancestors to New World monkeys
could somehow cross the Atlantic Ocean, -
2:30 - 2:34why couldn't humans cross
that tiny stretch of water? -
2:35 - 2:36But the thing is, Yemen,
-
2:36 - 2:38compared to, let's say, Europe,
-
2:38 - 2:40was so understudied
-
2:40 - 2:44that it was something akin
to near virgin territory. -
2:45 - 2:51But that, along with its location,
made the sheer potential for discovery -
2:51 - 2:53so exciting,
-
2:54 - 2:56and I had so many questions.
-
2:56 - 2:59When did we first
start using Bab-el-Mandeb? -
2:59 - 3:04But also, which species of human
besides ourselves made it to Yemen? -
3:04 - 3:08Might we find a species
as yet unknown to science? -
3:08 - 3:13And it turned out, I wasn't the only one
who had noticed Yemen's potential. -
3:13 - 3:15There was actually
a few other academics out there. -
3:15 - 3:20But sadly, due to political instability,
they moved out, and so I moved in. -
3:20 - 3:24And I was looking for caves:
-
3:24 - 3:29caves because caves
are the original prime real estate. -
3:29 - 3:33But also because if you're looking
for fossils in that kind of heat, -
3:33 - 3:37your best bet for fossil preservation
is always going to be caves. -
3:37 - 3:41But then, Yemen took
a really sad turn for the worse, -
3:42 - 3:45and just a few days
before I was due to fly out to Yemen, -
3:45 - 3:49the civil war escalated
into a regional conflict, -
3:49 - 3:51the capital's airport was bombed
-
3:51 - 3:54and Yemen became a no-fly zone.
-
3:56 - 4:01Now, my parents made this decision
before I was born: -
4:01 - 4:03that I would be born British.
-
4:04 - 4:08I had nothing to do
with the best decision of my life. -
4:10 - 4:11And now ...
-
4:11 - 4:16Now the lucky ones
in my family have escaped, -
4:16 - 4:19and the others, the others
are being been bombed -
4:19 - 4:24and send you WhatsApp messages
that make you detest your very existence. -
4:28 - 4:30This war's been going on for four years.
-
4:30 - 4:36It's been going on for over four years,
and it has led to a humanitarian crisis. -
4:37 - 4:39There is a famine there,
-
4:39 - 4:41a man-made famine.
-
4:41 - 4:43That's a man-made famine,
so not a natural famine, -
4:43 - 4:47an entirely man-made famine
that the UN has warned -
4:47 - 4:51could be the worst famine
the world has seen in a hundred years. -
4:52 - 4:55This war has made it
clear to me more than ever -
4:55 - 4:59that no place, no people
deserve to get left behind. -
5:01 - 5:05And so I was joining these other teams,
and I was forming new collaborations -
5:05 - 5:07in other unstable places.
-
5:07 - 5:10But I was desperate
to get back into Yemen, -
5:10 - 5:13because for me, Yemen's really personal.
-
5:15 - 5:20And so I kept trying to think
of a project I could do in Yemen -
5:20 - 5:23that would help highlight
what was going on there. -
5:24 - 5:27And every idea I had just kept failing,
-
5:27 - 5:31or it was just too high-risk,
because let's be honest, -
5:31 - 5:35most of Yemen is just too dangerous
for a Western team. -
5:36 - 5:42But then I was told that Socotra,
a Yemeni island, -
5:42 - 5:45was safe once you got there.
-
5:45 - 5:49In fact, it turned out there was a few
local and international academics -
5:49 - 5:51that were still working there.
-
5:51 - 5:53And that got me really excited,
-
5:55 - 5:58because look at Socotra's
proximity to Africa. -
6:00 - 6:05And yet we have no idea
when humans arrived on that island. -
6:07 - 6:09But Socotra, for those of you who know it,
-
6:10 - 6:13well, let's just say you probably know it
for a completely different reason. -
6:13 - 6:16You probably know it
as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, -
6:16 - 6:21because it is one of the most
biodiverse places on this earth. -
6:21 - 6:24But we were also getting information
-
6:24 - 6:27that this incredibly delicate
environment and its people -
6:27 - 6:29were under threat
-
6:29 - 6:33because they were at the frontline
of both Middle Eastern politics -
6:33 - 6:35and climate change.
-
6:35 - 6:40And it slowly dawned on me
that Socotra was my Yemen project. -
6:40 - 6:45And so I wanted to put together
a huge multidisciplinary team. -
6:45 - 6:49We wanted to cross the archipelago
on foot, camel and dhow boat -
6:49 - 6:52to conduct a health check of this place.
-
6:52 - 6:56This has only been attempted
once before, and it was in 1999. -
6:56 - 7:00But the thing is, that is not
an easy thing to pull off. -
7:00 - 7:03And so we desperately needed a recce,
-
7:03 - 7:05and for those of you who aren't
familiar with British English, -
7:06 - 7:07a recce is like a scouting expedition.
-
7:07 - 7:09It's like a reconnaissance.
-
7:09 - 7:15And I often say that a really big
expedition without a recce -
7:15 - 7:19is a bit like a first date
without a Facebook stalk. -
7:19 - 7:21(Laughter)
-
7:21 - 7:23Like, it's doable, but is it wise?
-
7:23 - 7:28(Laughter)
-
7:28 - 7:30There's a few too many
knowing laughs in this room. -
7:30 - 7:37Anyway, so then our recce team thankfully
were no strangers to unstable places, -
7:37 - 7:39which, let's be honest,
is kind of important -
7:39 - 7:42because we were trying to get
to a place between Yemen and Somalia, -
7:42 - 7:47And after calling in
what felt like a million favors, -
7:47 - 7:49including to the deputy governor,
-
7:49 - 7:52we finally found ourselves on the move,
-
7:53 - 7:57albeit on a wooden cement cargo ship
-
7:57 - 8:00sailing through pirate waters
in the Indian Ocean -
8:00 - 8:02with this as a toilet.
-
8:02 - 8:03(Laughter)
-
8:04 - 8:05Can you guys see this?
-
8:07 - 8:11You know how everybody has
their worst toilet story? -
8:12 - 8:15Well, I've never swam
with dolphins before. -
8:16 - 8:19I just went straight to pooping on them.
-
8:19 - 8:21(Laughter)
-
8:23 - 8:30And also, I genuinely discovered
that I am genuinely less stressed -
8:30 - 8:32by pirate waters
-
8:32 - 8:35than I am with a cockroach infestation
-
8:35 - 8:37that was so intense
-
8:37 - 8:40that at one point I went belowdeck,
-
8:40 - 8:42and the floor was black and it was moving.
-
8:42 - 8:44(Audience moans)
-
8:44 - 8:48Yeah, and at night there was
three raised platforms to sleep on, -
8:48 - 8:51but there was only --
let's say there was four team members, -
8:52 - 8:54and the thing is, if you got
a raised platform to sleep on, -
8:54 - 8:58you only had to contend
with a few cockroaches during the night, -
8:58 - 9:00whereas if you got the floor,
good luck to you. -
9:01 - 9:05And so I was the only girl in the team
and the whole ship, -
9:05 - 9:08so I got away without
sleeping on the floor. -
9:08 - 9:10And then, on, like,
the fourth or fifth night, -
9:10 - 9:15Martin Edström looks at me and goes,
"Ella, Ella I really believe in equality." -
9:15 - 9:18(Laughter)
-
9:20 - 9:25So we were sailing on that
cement cargo ship for three days, -
9:25 - 9:28and then we slowly started seeing land.
-
9:29 - 9:32And after three years of failing,
-
9:32 - 9:34I was finally seeing Yemen.
-
9:35 - 9:40And there is no feeling on earth
like that start of an expedition. -
9:40 - 9:43It's this moment where
you jump out of a jeep -
9:43 - 9:45or you look up from a boat
-
9:45 - 9:48and you know that
there's this possibility, -
9:48 - 9:50it's small but it's still there,
-
9:50 - 9:52that you're about to find something
-
9:52 - 9:57that could add to or change our knowledge
of who we are and where we come from. -
9:58 - 10:01There is no feeling like it on earth,
-
10:01 - 10:04and it's a feeling
that so many scientists have -
10:04 - 10:08but rarely in politically unstable places.
-
10:08 - 10:13Because Western scientists
are discouraged or all-out barred -
10:13 - 10:16from working in unstable places.
-
10:17 - 10:18But here's the thing:
-
10:18 - 10:22scientists specialize in the jungle.
-
10:22 - 10:26Scientists work in deep cave systems.
-
10:26 - 10:30Scientists attach themselves to rockets
and blow themselves into outer space. -
10:30 - 10:33But apparently,
working in an unstable place -
10:33 - 10:35is deemed too high-risk.
-
10:35 - 10:38It is completely arbitrary.
-
10:38 - 10:43Who here in this room
wasn't brought up on adventure stories? -
10:43 - 10:48And most of our heroes
were actually scientists and academics. -
10:49 - 10:52Science was about going out
into the unknown. -
10:52 - 10:57It was about truly global exploration,
even if there were risks. -
10:57 - 11:03And so when did it become acceptable
to make it difficult for science to happen -
11:03 - 11:04in unstable places?
-
11:06 - 11:09And look, I'm not saying
that all scientists should go off -
11:09 - 11:11and start working in unstable places.
-
11:11 - 11:13This isn't some gung-ho call.
-
11:13 - 11:14But here's the thing:
-
11:16 - 11:20for those who have done the research,
understand security protocol -
11:21 - 11:22and are trained,
-
11:22 - 11:24stop stopping those who want to.
-
11:25 - 11:26Plus,
-
11:27 - 11:32just because one part of a country
is an active war zone -
11:32 - 11:33doesn't mean the whole country is.
-
11:34 - 11:37I'm not saying we should go
into active war zones. -
11:37 - 11:40But Iraqi Kurdistan looks
very different from Fallujah. -
11:41 - 11:45And actually, a few months
after I couldn't get into Yemen, -
11:45 - 11:47another team adopted me.
-
11:47 - 11:51So Professor Graeme Barker's team
were actually working in Iraqi Kurdistan, -
11:52 - 11:55and they were digging up Shanidar Cave.
-
11:55 - 11:58Now, Shanidar Cave a few decades earlier
-
11:58 - 12:03had unveiled a Neanderthal
known as Shanidar 1. -
12:04 - 12:08Now, for a BBC/PBS TV series
we actually brought Shanidar 1 to life, -
12:08 - 12:11and I want you guys to meet Ned,
Ned the Neanderthal. -
12:14 - 12:16Now here's the coolest thing about Ned.
-
12:16 - 12:18Ned, this guy,
-
12:18 - 12:22you're meeting him before his injuries.
-
12:22 - 12:26See, it turned out
that Ned was severely disabled. -
12:26 - 12:31He was in fact so disabled that
there is no way he could have survived -
12:31 - 12:33without the help of other Neanderthals.
-
12:33 - 12:35And so this was proof that,
-
12:35 - 12:39at least for this population
of Neanderthals at this time, -
12:39 - 12:41Neanderthals were like us,
-
12:41 - 12:45and they sometimes looked after
those who couldn't look after themselves. -
12:46 - 12:49Ned's an Iraqi Neanderthal.
-
12:49 - 12:51So what else are we missing?
-
12:51 - 12:54What incredible scientific discoveries
-
12:54 - 12:57are we not making
because we're not looking? -
12:58 - 13:02And by the way, these places,
they deserve narratives of hope, -
13:02 - 13:05and science and exploration
can be a part of that. -
13:05 - 13:09In fact, I would argue
that it can tangibly aid development, -
13:09 - 13:13and these discoveries
become a huge source of local pride. -
13:14 - 13:18And that brings me to the second reason
why science has a geography problem. -
13:20 - 13:23See, we don't empower
local academics, do we? -
13:24 - 13:26Like, it's not lost on me
-
13:26 - 13:29that in my particular field
of paleoanthropology -
13:30 - 13:32we study human origins,
-
13:32 - 13:35but we have so few diverse scientists.
-
13:36 - 13:40And the thing is, these places
are full of students and academics -
13:40 - 13:43who are desperate to collaborate,
-
13:43 - 13:44and the truth is
-
13:44 - 13:46that for them,
-
13:46 - 13:49they have fewer security issues than us.
-
13:50 - 13:54I think we constantly forget that for them
it's not a hostile environment; -
13:54 - 13:56for them it's home.
-
13:57 - 13:59I'm telling you,
-
13:59 - 14:04research done in unstable places
with local collaborators -
14:04 - 14:07can lead to incredible discoveries,
-
14:07 - 14:11and that is what we are
hoping upon hope to do in Socotra. -
14:13 - 14:14They call Socotra
-
14:15 - 14:18the most alien-looking place on earth,
-
14:18 - 14:24and myself, Leon McCarron, Martin Edström
and Rhys Thwaites-Jones could see why. -
14:24 - 14:26I mean, look at this place.
-
14:26 - 14:29These places, they're not hellholes,
they're not write-offs, -
14:29 - 14:33they're the future frontline
of science and exploration. -
14:34 - 14:3790 percent of the reptiles on this island,
-
14:38 - 14:4337 percent of the plant species
exist here and nowhere else on earth, -
14:43 - 14:46and that includes this species
of dragon's blood tree, -
14:46 - 14:48which actually bleeds this red resin.
-
14:49 - 14:51And there's something else.
-
14:51 - 14:56People on Socotra,
some of them still live in caves, -
14:56 - 14:57and that is really exciting,
-
14:57 - 15:00because it means if a cave
is prime real estate this century, -
15:00 - 15:03maybe it was a few thousand years ago.
-
15:03 - 15:07But we need the data to prove it,
the fossils, the stone tools, -
15:07 - 15:10and so our scouting team
have teamed up with other scientists, -
15:10 - 15:12anthropologists and storytellers,
-
15:12 - 15:16international as well as local,
like Ahmed Alarqbi, -
15:16 - 15:19and we are desperate
to shed a light on this place -
15:19 - 15:21before it's too late.
-
15:23 - 15:26And now, now we just somehow
need to get back -
15:26 - 15:28for that really big expedition,
-
15:28 - 15:30because science,
-
15:30 - 15:33science has a geography problem.
-
15:34 - 15:36You guys have been
a really lovely audience. -
15:36 - 15:37Thank you.
-
15:37 - 15:41(Applause)
- Title:
- The fascinating places scientists aren't exploring
- Speaker:
- Ella Al-Shamahi
- Description:
-
We're not doing frontline exploratory science in a huge portion of the world -- the places governments deem too hostile or disputed. What might we be missing because we're not looking? In this fearless, unexpectedly funny talk, paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi takes us on an expedition to the Yemeni island of Socotra -- one of the most biodiverse places on earth -- and makes the case for scientists to explore the unstable regions that could be home to incredible discoveries.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 15:53
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring |