[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.36,0:00:04.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm an ocean microbiologist\Nat the University of Tennessee,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.84,0:00:07.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I want to tell you guys\Nabout some microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.29,0:00:10.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are so strange and wonderful
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.62,0:00:14.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they're challenging our assumptions\Nabout what life is like on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.45,0:00:15.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I have a question.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.90,0:00:18.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please raise your hand if you've ever\Nthought it would be cool
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.97,0:00:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to the bottom\Nof the ocean in a submarine?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.62,0:00:23.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.75,0:00:26.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of you, because\Nthe oceans are so cool.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.23,0:00:28.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alright, now, please raise your hand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.67,0:00:30.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if the reason you raised your hand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.70,0:00:32.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to the bottom\Nof the ocean in the submarine
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.27,0:00:34.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is because it would get you\Na little bit closer
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.41,0:00:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to that exciting mud that's down there.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.00,0:00:39.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.58,0:00:41.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm the only one in this room.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.52,0:00:43.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I think about this all the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.62,0:00:45.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spend most of my waking hours
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.91,0:00:47.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to determine
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.19,0:00:49.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how deep we can go into the Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.78,0:00:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and still find something,\Nanything, that's alive,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.52,0:00:55.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we still don't know\Nthe answer to this very basic question
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.98,0:00:57.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about life on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.50,0:01:01.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in the 1980s, a scientist\Nnamed John Parks in the UK
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.08,0:01:02.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was similarly obsessed,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.82,0:01:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he came up with a crazy idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.02,0:01:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He believed that there was a vast,\Ndeep, and living microbial biosphere
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.20,0:01:13.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underneath all the world's oceans
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.14,0:01:15.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that extends hundreds\Nof meters into the seafloor,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.63,0:01:16.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is cool,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.91,0:01:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the only problem\Nis that nobody believed him,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.00,0:01:22.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the reason that nobody believed him
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.93,0:01:28.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that ocean sediments may be\Nthe most boring place on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.14,0:01:31.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no sunlight, there's no oxygen,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.46,0:01:33.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and perhaps worst of all,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.02,0:01:34.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's no fresh food deliveries
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.75,0:01:37.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for literally millions of years.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.31,0:01:39.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You don't have to have a PhD in biology
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.22,0:01:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to know that that is a bad place\Nto go looking for life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.60,0:01:47.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in 2002, John had convinced\Nenough people that he was on to something
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.41,0:01:51.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he actually got an expedition\Non this drill ship
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.44,0:01:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the Joides Resolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.30,0:01:56.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he ran it along with\NBo Barker Jørgensen of Denmark.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.62,0:02:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so they were finally able to get\Nsome really good pristine
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.04,0:02:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deep sub-surface samples
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.68,0:02:04.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without contamination\Nfrom surface microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.37,0:02:06.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This drill ship is capable of drilling
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.28,0:02:09.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of meters underneath the ocean,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.43,0:02:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the mud comes up in sequential cores,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.09,0:02:15.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one after the other, long,\Nlong cores that look like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.79,0:02:19.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is being carried by scientists\Nsuch as myself who go on these ships,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.66,0:02:21.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we process the cores on the ships\Nand then we send them home
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.99,0:02:24.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to our home laboratories\Nfor further study.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.74,0:02:29.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when John and his colleagues\Ngot these first precious
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.72,0:02:31.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deep sea pristine samples,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.67,0:02:32.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they put them under the microscope,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.45,0:02:35.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they saw images that looked\Npretty much like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.98,0:02:38.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is actually taken\Nfrom a more recent expedition
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.19,0:02:40.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by my PhD student Joy Buongiorno.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.69,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the hazy stuff\Nin the background.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:45.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's mud. That's deep sea ocean mud,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.81,0:02:49.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the bright green dots\Nstained with the green fluorescent dye
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.64,0:02:53.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are real, living microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.37,0:02:56.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I've got to tell you all something\Nreally tragic about microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.22,0:02:58.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They all look the same under a microbe,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.13,0:03:00.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, to a first approximation.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.10,0:03:03.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can take the most fascinating\Norganisms in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.28,0:03:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a microbe that literally\Nbreathes uranium,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.42,0:03:09.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and another one that makes rocket fuel,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.76,0:03:11.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mix them up with some ocean mud,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.48,0:03:13.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put them underneath a microscope,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.50,0:03:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're just little dots.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.60,0:03:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really annoying.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.05,0:03:19.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we can't use their looks\Nto tell them apart.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.43,0:03:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have to use DNA like a fingerprint
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.78,0:03:23.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to say who is who.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.44,0:03:26.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'll teach you guys\Nhow to do it right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.38,0:03:29.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I made up some data, and I'm going\Nto show you some data that are not real.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.54,0:03:31.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is to illustrate\Nwhat it would look like
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.90,0:03:35.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if a bunch of species were not\Nrelated to each other at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.75,0:03:38.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you can see each species
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.96,0:03:43.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a list of combinations\Nof A, G, C, and T,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.39,0:03:45.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are the four sub-units of DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.06,0:03:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of randomly jumbled\Nand nothing looks like anything else
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.80,0:03:51.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and these species are totally\Nunrelated to each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.34,0:03:54.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is what real DNA looks like\Nfrom a gene that these species
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.81,0:03:56.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happen to share.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.68,0:03:59.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything lines up nearly perfectly.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.61,0:04:03.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The chances of getting\Nso many of those vertical columns
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.08,0:04:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where every species has a C\Nor every species has a T
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.02,0:04:09.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by random chance is infinitesimal.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.32,0:04:14.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we know that all those species\Nhad to have had a common ancestor.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.18,0:04:16.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're all relatives of each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.21,0:04:18.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now I'll tell you who they are.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.36,0:04:21.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The top two are us and chimpanzees,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.17,0:04:25.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which y'all already knew were related,\Nbecause, I mean, obviously,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.52,0:04:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we're also related to things\Nthat we don't look like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.07,0:04:33.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like pine trees and giardia,\Nwhich is that gastrointestinal disease
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.47,0:04:36.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can get if you don't filter\Nyour water while you're hiking.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.41,0:04:39.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're also related to bacteria like e.coli
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.76,0:04:43.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Clostridium difficile, which is\Na horrible, opportunistic pathogen
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.30,0:04:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that kills lots of people.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.07,0:04:49.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's of course good microbes here,\Nlike Dehalococcoides ethenogenes,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.27,0:04:51.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which cleans up\Nour industrial waste for us.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.95,0:04:54.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if I take these DNA sequences,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.93,0:04:57.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then I use them, the similarities\Nand differences between them,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.69,0:04:59.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make a family tree for all of us
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.95,0:05:01.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you can see who is closely related,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.76,0:05:03.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then this is what it looks like.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.54,0:05:06.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you can see clearly at a glance
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.07,0:05:11.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that things like us and giardia\Nand bunnies and pine trees
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.32,0:05:13.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are all, like, siblings,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.21,0:05:16.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then the bacteria are,\Nlike, our ancient cousins.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.38,0:05:20.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we're kin to every\Nliving thing on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.28,0:05:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in my job, on a daily basis,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.92,0:05:27.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I get to produce scientific evidence\Nagainst existential loneliness.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.58,0:05:30.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we got these first DNA sequences
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.25,0:05:34.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the first crews of pristine samples\Nfrom the deep subsurface,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.53,0:05:36.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we wanted to know where they were.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.17,0:05:38.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the first thing that we discovered\Nis that they were not aliens,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.96,0:05:42.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we could get their DNA to line up\Nwith everything else on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.87,0:05:47.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But now check out where they go\Non our tree of life.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.11,0:05:50.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first thing you'll notice\Nis that there's a lot of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.79,0:05:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't just one little species that\Nmanaged to live in this horrible place.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.26,0:05:55.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's kind of a lot of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.93,0:05:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the second thing that you'll notice,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.62,0:06:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hopefully, is that they're not\Nlike anything we've ever seen before.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.68,0:06:05.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are as different from each other
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.74,0:06:08.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they are from anything\Nthat we've known before
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.49,0:06:10.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we are from pine trees.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.71,0:06:13.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So John Parks was completely correct.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.92,0:06:19.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He, and we, had discovered\Na completely new and highly diverse
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.07,0:06:20.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,microbial ecosystem on Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.97,0:06:25.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that no one even knew existed\Nbefore the 1980s.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.41,0:06:27.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now we were on a roll.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.01,0:06:30.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next step was to grow\Nthese exotic species
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.64,0:06:33.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a petri dish so that we could\Ndo real experiments on them
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.85,0:06:35.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like microbiologists are supposed to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.94,0:06:37.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no matter what we fed them,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.67,0:06:39.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they refused to grow.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.32,0:06:43.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even now, 15 years\Nand many expeditions later,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.89,0:06:49.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no human has ever gotten a single one\Nof these exotic deep subsurface microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.42,0:06:51.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to grow in a petri dish.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.21,0:06:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's not for lack of trying.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.38,0:06:55.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That may sound disappointing,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.14,0:06:57.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I actually find it exhilarating,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.13,0:07:00.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it means there are so many\Ntantalizing unknowns to work on.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.79,0:07:02.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, for instance, my colleagues\Nand I got what we thought
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.84,0:07:04.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a really great idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.24,0:07:07.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We were going to read their genes\Nlike a recipe book,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.22,0:07:10.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find out what it was they wanted to eat,\Nand put it in their petri dishes,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.91,0:07:12.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then they would grow and be happy.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.99,0:07:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then when we looked at their genes,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.40,0:07:18.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it turns out that what they wanted to eat\Nwas the food we were already feeding them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.22,0:07:20.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that was a total wash.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.48,0:07:23.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was something else\Nthat they wanted in their petri dishes
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.48,0:07:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we were just not giving them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.03,0:07:30.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So by combining measurements\Nfrom many different places
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.18,0:07:31.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.20,0:07:34.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my colleagues at the University\Nof Southern California,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.81,0:07:36.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doug LaRowe and Jan Amend,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.71,0:07:41.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were able to calculate that each one\Nof these deep sea microbial cells
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.50,0:07:44.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,requires only one zeptowatt of power,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.94,0:07:48.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and before you get your phones out,\Na zepto is 10 to the minus 21,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.86,0:07:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I know I would want\Nto look that up.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.62,0:07:52.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Humans, on the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.27,0:07:55.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,require about a hundred watts of power.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.10,0:07:58.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So a hundred watts is basically\Nif you take a pineapple
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.63,0:08:04.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and drop it from about waist height\Nto the ground 881,632 times a day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.75,0:08:07.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you did that and then\Nlinked it up to a turbine,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.14,0:08:11.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would create enough power\Nto make me happen for a day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.19,0:08:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A zeptowatt, if you put it\Nin similar terms,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.02,0:08:18.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is if you take just one grain of salt
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.25,0:08:21.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then you imagine\Na tiny, tiny, little ball
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.71,0:08:25.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is one thousandth of the mass\Nof that one grain of salt
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.47,0:08:28.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then you drop it one nanometer,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.14,0:08:32.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a hundred times smaller\Nthan the wavelength of visible light,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.18,0:08:34.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once per day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.87,0:08:38.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's all it takes to make\Nthese microbes live.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.53,0:08:44.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's less energy than we ever thought\Nwould be capable of supporting life,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.31,0:08:47.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but somehow, amazingly, beautifully,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.12,0:08:49.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.23,0:08:52.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if these deep subsurface microbes\Nhave a very different relationship
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.61,0:08:54.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with energy than we previously thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.31,0:08:56.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then it follows that they'll have to have
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.17,0:08:59.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a different relationship\Nwith time as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.10,0:09:02.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because when you live\Non such tiny energy gradients,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.10,0:09:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rapid growth is impossible.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.01,0:09:06.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If these things ever wanted\Nto colonize our throats and make us sick,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.72,0:09:09.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would get muscled out\Nby fast-growing streptococcus
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.18,0:09:11.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before they could even\Ninitiate cell division.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.77,0:09:15.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's why we never\Nfind them in our throats.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.47,0:09:19.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps the fact that the deep\Nsubsurface is so boring
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.89,0:09:22.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is actually an asset to these microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.45,0:09:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They never get washed out by a storm.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.64,0:09:27.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They never get overgrown by weeds.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.32,0:09:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All they have to do is exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.06,0:09:33.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe that thing that we were missing
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.78,0:09:36.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in our petri dishes was not food at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.88,0:09:38.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe it wasn't a chemical.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.29,0:09:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe the thing that they really want,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.20,0:09:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the nutrient that they want, is time.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.02,0:09:47.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But time is the one thing\Nthat I'll never be able to give them.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.90,0:09:50.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So even if I have a cell culture\Nthat I pass to my PhD students,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.98,0:09:53.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who pass it to their\NPhD students, and so on,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.55,0:09:56.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'd have to do that\Nfor thousands of years
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.06,0:09:59.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to mimic the exact conditions\Nof the deep subsurface,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.50,0:10:01.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all without growing any contaminants.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.84,0:10:03.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just not possible.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.88,0:10:07.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But maybe in a way we already have\Ngrown them in our petri dishes.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.02,0:10:09.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe they looked at all that food\Nthat we offered them and said,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.52,0:10:11.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thanks, I'm going to speed up so much
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.27,0:10:13.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I'm going to make\Na new cell next century.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.63,0:10:14.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ugh.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.86,0:10:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.00,0:10:21.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So why is it that the rest\Nof biology moves so fast?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.36,0:10:23.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why does a cell die after a day
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.10,0:10:25.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a human dies after\Nonly a hundred years?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.82,0:10:28.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These seem like really\Narbitrarily short limits
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.23,0:10:31.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you think about the total\Namount of time in the universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.04,0:10:34.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But these are not arbitrary limits.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.14,0:10:37.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're dictated by one simple thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.06,0:10:39.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that thing is the Sun.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.98,0:10:41.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once life figured out how to harness
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.85,0:10:43.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the energy of the Sun\Nthrough photosynthesis,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.93,0:10:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we all had to speed up and get\Non day and night cycles.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.92,0:10:50.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In that way, the Sun gave us\Nboth a reason to be fast
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.27,0:10:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the fuel to do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.99,0:10:54.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can view most of life on Earth\Nlike a circulatory system,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.69,0:10:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Sun is our beating heart.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.80,0:11:00.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the deep subsurface\Nis like a circulatory system
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.01,0:11:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's completely\Ndisconnected from the Sun.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.62,0:11:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's instead being driven\Nby long, slow geological rhythms.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.14,0:11:10.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's currently no theoretical limit
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.100,0:11:14.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the lifespan of one single cell.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.86,0:11:18.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As long as there is at least\Na tiny energy gradient to exploit,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.41,0:11:22.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,theoretically, a single cell could live\Nfor hundreds of thousands of years
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.58,0:11:26.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or more, simply by replacing\Nbroken parts over time.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.29,0:11:30.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To ask a microbe that lives like that\Nto grow in our petri dishes
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.48,0:11:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to ask them to adapt to our frenetic,\NSun-centric, fast way of living,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.34,0:11:38.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and maybe they've got\Nbetter things to do than that.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.34,0:11:39.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.58,0:11:43.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine if we could figure out\Nhow they managed to do this.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.88,0:11:46.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What if it involves some cool,\Nultra-stable compounds
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.90,0:11:49.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we could use\Nto increase the shelf life
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.25,0:11:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in biomedical or industrial applications?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.00,0:11:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or maybe if we figure out\Nthe mechanism that they use
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.26,0:11:57.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to grow so extraordinarily slowly,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.39,0:12:01.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we could mimic it in cancer cells\Nand slow runaway cell division.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.35,0:12:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.20,0:12:05.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, honestly, that is all speculation,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:05.93,0:12:08.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the only thing I know for certain
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.87,0:12:12.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that there are a hundred\Nbillion billion billlion
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.97,0:12:17.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living microbial cells underlying\Nall the world's oceans.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.29,0:12:21.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's 200 times more than the total\Nbiomass of humans on this planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.97,0:12:25.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And those microbes have\Na fundamentally different relationship
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.47,0:12:28.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with time and energy than we do.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.06,0:12:30.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What seems like a day to them
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.28,0:12:33.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,might be a thousand years to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.23,0:12:35.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don't care about the Sun,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.32,0:12:37.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they don't care about growing fast,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.43,0:12:41.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they probably don't give\Na damn about my petri dishes,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.12,0:12:45.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but if we can continue to find\Ncreative ways to study them,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.42,0:12:52.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then maybe we'll finally figure out\Nwhat life, all of life, is like on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.23,0:12:53.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.64,0:12:55.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)