[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.16,0:00:04.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm an ocean microbiologist\Nat the University of Tennessee,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.64,0:00:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I want to tell you guys\Nabout some microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.21,0:00:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are so strange and wonderful
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.42,0:00:14.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they're challenging our assumptions\Nabout what life is like on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.25,0:00:15.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I have a question.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.70,0:00:18.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please raise your hand\Nif you've ever thought it would be cool
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.77,0:00:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to the bottom\Nof the ocean in a submarine?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.37,0:00:23.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.55,0:00:25.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of you, because\Nthe oceans are so cool.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.75,0:00:28.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alright, now -- please raise your hand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.47,0:00:32.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if the reason you raised your hand\Nto go to the bottom of the ocean
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.19,0:00:34.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is because it would get you\Na little bit closer
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.50,0:00:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to that exciting mud that's down there.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.22,0:00:38.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.25,0:00:39.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.56,0:00:41.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm the only one in this room.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.41,0:00:43.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I think about this all the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.42,0:00:45.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spend most of my waking hours
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.71,0:00:49.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to determine\Nhow deep we can go into the Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.52,0:00:53.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and still find something,\Nanything, that's alive,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.30,0:00:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we still don't know\Nthe answer to this very basic question
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.42,0:00:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about life on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.64,0:01:01.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in the 1980s, a scientist\Nnamed John Parkes, in the UK,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.27,0:01:03.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was similarly obsessed,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.20,0:01:05.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he came up with a crazy idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.82,0:01:11.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He believed that there was a vast,\Ndeep, and living microbial biosphere
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.50,0:01:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underneath all the world's oceans
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.12,0:01:15.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that extends hundreds of meters\Ninto the seafloor,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.76,0:01:16.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is cool,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.93,0:01:20.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the only problem\Nis that nobody believed him,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.10,0:01:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the reason that nobody believed him
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.89,0:01:27.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that ocean sediments\Nmay be the most boring place on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.09,0:01:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.20,0:01:31.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no sunlight, there's no oxygen,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.26,0:01:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and perhaps worst of all,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.82,0:01:36.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's no fresh food deliveries\Nfor literally millions of years.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.02,0:01:38.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You don't have to have a PhD in biology
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.99,0:01:41.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to know that that is a bad place\Nto go looking for life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.65,0:01:42.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.68,0:01:45.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in 2002, [Steven D'Hondt] had\Nconvinced enough people
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.91,0:01:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he was on to something \Nthat he actually got an expedition
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.55,0:01:53.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on this drillship,\Ncalled the JOIDES Resolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.10,0:01:56.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he ran it along with\NBo Barker Jørgensen of Denmark.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.20,0:01:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so they were finally able to get
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.95,0:02:01.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,good pristine deep subsurface samples
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.34,0:02:04.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some really without contamination\Nfrom surface microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.17,0:02:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This drill ship is capable of drilling\Nthousands of meters underneath the ocean,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.47,0:02:12.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the mud comes up in sequential cores,\None after the other --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.99,0:02:15.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,long, long cores that look like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.68,0:02:19.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is being carried by scientists\Nsuch as myself who go on these ships,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.52,0:02:22.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we process the cores on the ships\Nand then we send them home
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.54,0:02:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to our home laboratories\Nfor further study.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.66,0:02:26.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when John and his colleagues
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.16,0:02:29.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got these first precious\Ndeep-sea pristine samples,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.74,0:02:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they put them under the microscope,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.65,0:02:35.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they saw images\Nthat looked pretty much like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.78,0:02:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is actually taken\Nfrom a more recent expedition
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.28,0:02:40.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by my PhD student, Joy Buongiorno.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.49,0:02:42.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the hazy stuff\Nin the background.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.80,0:02:45.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's mud. That's deep-sea ocean mud,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.61,0:02:49.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the bright green dots\Nstained with the green fluorescent dye
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.62,0:02:52.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are real, living microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.17,0:02:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I've got to tell you\Nsomething really tragic about microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.23,0:02:58.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They all look the same under a microscope,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.33,0:02:59.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, to a first approximation.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.96,0:03:03.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can take the most fascinating\Norganisms in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.58,0:03:07.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a microbe that literally\Nbreathes uranium,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.27,0:03:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and another one that makes rocket fuel,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.70,0:03:11.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mix them up with some ocean mud,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.28,0:03:13.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put them underneath a microscope,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.50,0:03:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're just little dots.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.34,0:03:16.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really annoying.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.79,0:03:19.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we can't use their looks\Nto tell them apart.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.31,0:03:21.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have to use DNA, like a fingerprint,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.49,0:03:23.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to say who is who.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.24,0:03:25.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'll teach you guys\Nhow to do it right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.52,0:03:29.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I made up some data, and I'm going\Nto show you some data that are not real.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.56,0:03:31.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is to illustrate\Nwhat it would look like
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.77,0:03:35.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if a bunch of species\Nwere not related to each other at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.72,0:03:38.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you can see each species
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.96,0:03:43.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a list of combinations\Nof A, G, C and T,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.19,0:03:44.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are the four sub-units of DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.93,0:03:48.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of randomly jumbled,\Nand nothing looks like anything else,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.74,0:03:51.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and these species\Nare totally unrelated to each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.37,0:03:53.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is what real DNA looks like,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.45,0:03:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a gene that these species\Nhappen to share.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.48,0:03:59.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything lines up nearly perfectly.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.49,0:04:02.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The chances of getting\Nso many of those vertical columns
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.93,0:04:06.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where every species has a C\Nor every species has a T,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.35,0:04:09.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by random chance, are infinitesimal.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.16,0:04:14.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we know that all those species\Nhad to have had a common ancestor.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.09,0:04:15.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're all relatives of each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.01,0:04:17.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now I'll tell you who they are.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.34,0:04:20.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The top two are us and chimpanzees,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.97,0:04:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which y'all already knew were related,\Nbecause, I mean, obviously.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.58,0:04:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.07,0:04:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we're also related to things\Nthat we don't look like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.87,0:04:33.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like pine trees and Giardia,\Nwhich is that gastrointestinal disease
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.42,0:04:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can get if you don't filter\Nyour water while you're hiking.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.45,0:04:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're also related to bacteria\Nlike E. coli and Clostridium difficile,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.39,0:04:44.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a horrible, opportunistic\Npathogen that kills lots of people.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.87,0:04:49.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's of course good microbes too,\Nlike Dehalococcoides ethenogenes,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.07,0:04:51.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which cleans up\Nour industrial waste for us.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.96,0:04:54.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if I take these DNA sequences,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.73,0:04:57.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then I use them, the similarities\Nand differences between them,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.89,0:04:59.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make a family tree for all of us
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.75,0:05:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you can see who is closely related,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.64,0:05:03.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then this is what it looks like.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.56,0:05:05.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you can see clearly, at a glance,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.87,0:05:11.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that things like us and Giardia\Nand bunnies and pine trees
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.21,0:05:12.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are all, like, siblings,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.01,0:05:16.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then the bacteria\Nare like our ancient cousins.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.12,0:05:20.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we're kin to every\Nliving thing on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.31,0:05:22.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in my job, on a daily basis,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.80,0:05:27.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I get to produce scientific evidence\Nagainst existential loneliness.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.16,0:05:30.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we got these first DNA sequences,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.05,0:05:34.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the first cruise, of pristine samples\Nfrom the deep subsurface,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.27,0:05:36.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we wanted to know where they were.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.14,0:05:39.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the first thing that we discovered\Nis that they were not aliens,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.38,0:05:42.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we could get their DNA to line up\Nwith everything else on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.99,0:05:46.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But now check out where they go\Non our tree of life.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.47,0:05:50.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first thing you'll notice\Nis that there's a lot of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.59,0:05:52.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't just one little species
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.44,0:05:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that managed to live\Nin this horrible place.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.59,0:05:56.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's kind of a lot of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.09,0:05:58.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the second thing that you'll notice,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.08,0:06:02.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hopefully, is that they're not\Nlike anything we've ever seen before.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.48,0:06:05.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are as different from each other
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.64,0:06:08.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they are from anything\Nthat we've known before
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.53,0:06:10.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we are from pine trees.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.51,0:06:13.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So John Parkes was completely correct.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.18,0:06:18.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He, and we, had discovered\Na completely new and highly diverse
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.87,0:06:20.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,microbial ecosystem on Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.86,0:06:24.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that no one even knew existed\Nbefore the 1980s.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.16,0:06:26.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now we were on a roll.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.72,0:06:31.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next step was to grow\Nthese exotic species in a petri dish
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.45,0:06:33.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that we could\Ndo real experiments on them
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.65,0:06:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like microbiologists are supposed to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.09,0:06:37.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no matter what we fed them,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.68,0:06:39.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they refused to grow.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.82,0:06:43.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even now, 15 years\Nand many expeditions later,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.86,0:06:49.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no human has ever gotten a single one\Nof these exotic deep subsurface microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.28,0:06:50.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to grow in a petri dish.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.97,0:06:52.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's not for lack of trying.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.18,0:06:55.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That may sound disappointing,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.18,0:06:56.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I actually find it exhilarating,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.93,0:07:00.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it means there are so many\Ntantalizing unknowns to work on.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.53,0:07:04.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, my colleagues and I got\Nwhat we thought was a really great idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.14,0:07:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We were going to read their genes\Nlike a recipe book,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.44,0:07:10.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find out what it was they wanted to eat\Nand put it in their petri dishes,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.94,0:07:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then they would grow and be happy.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.88,0:07:14.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when we looked at their genes,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.55,0:07:18.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it turns out that what they wanted to eat\Nwas the food we were already feeding them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.65,0:07:20.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that was a total wash.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.28,0:07:23.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was something else\Nthat they wanted in their petri dishes
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.28,0:07:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we were just not giving them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.25,0:07:29.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So by combining measurements\Nfrom many different places
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.98,0:07:31.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.16,0:07:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my colleagues at the University\Nof Southern California,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.85,0:07:36.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doug LaRowe and Jan Amend,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.58,0:07:41.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were able to calculate that each one\Nof these deep-sea microbial cells
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.30,0:07:44.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,requires only one zeptowatt of power,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.69,0:07:48.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and before you get your phones out,\Na zepto is 10 to the minus 21,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.66,0:07:50.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I know I would want\Nto look that up.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.73,0:07:52.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Humans, on the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.28,0:07:54.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,require about 100 watts of power.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.90,0:07:58.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So 100 watts is basically\Nif you take a pineapple
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.43,0:08:04.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and drop it from about waist height\Nto the ground 881,632 times a day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.67,0:08:07.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you did that\Nand then linked it up to a turbine,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.07,0:08:10.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would create enough power\Nto make me happen for a day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.18,0:08:13.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A zeptowatt, if you put it\Nin similar terms,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.99,0:08:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is if you take just one grain of salt
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.10,0:08:21.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then you imagine\Na tiny, tiny, little ball
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.74,0:08:25.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is one thousandth of the mass\Nof that one grain of salt
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.38,0:08:28.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then you drop it one nanometer,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.22,0:08:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a hundred times smaller\Nthan the wavelength of visible light,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.42,0:08:34.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once per day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.77,0:08:37.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's all it takes\Nto make these microbes live.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.72,0:08:44.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's less energy than we ever thought\Nwould be capable of supporting life,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.11,0:08:47.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but somehow, amazingly, beautifully,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.20,0:08:48.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.37,0:08:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if these deep-subsurface microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.23,0:08:54.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a very different relationship\Nwith energy than we previously thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.80,0:08:56.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then it follows that they'll have to have
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.79,0:08:58.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a different relationship\Nwith time as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.97,0:09:02.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because when you live\Non such tiny energy gradients,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.09,0:09:03.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rapid growth is impossible.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.81,0:09:06.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If these things wanted\Nto colonize our throats and make us sick,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.85,0:09:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would get muscled out\Nby fast-growing streptococcus
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.50,0:09:11.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before they could even\Ninitiate cell division.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.68,0:09:14.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's why we never\Nfind them in our throats.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.54,0:09:19.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps the fact that the deep\Nsubsurface is so boring
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.74,0:09:22.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is actually an asset to these microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.25,0:09:24.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They never get washed out by a storm.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.36,0:09:26.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They never get overgrown by weeds.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.12,0:09:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All they have to do is exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.81,0:09:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe that thing that we were missing\Nin our petri dishes
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.84,0:09:36.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was not food at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.59,0:09:38.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe it wasn't a chemical.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.09,0:09:39.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe the thing that they really want,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.94,0:09:42.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the nutrient that they want, is time.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.10,0:09:47.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But time is the one thing\Nthat I'll never be able to give them.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.70,0:09:50.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So even if I have a cell culture\Nthat I pass to my PhD students,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.93,0:09:53.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who pass it to their\NPhD students, and so on,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.45,0:09:56.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'd have to do that\Nfor thousands of years
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.04,0:09:59.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to mimic the exact conditions\Nof the deep subsurface,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.30,0:10:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all without growing any contaminants.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.64,0:10:02.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just not possible.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.64,0:10:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But maybe in a way we already have\Ngrown them in our petri dishes.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.79,0:10:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe they looked at all that food\Nwe offered them and said,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.62,0:10:11.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Thanks, I'm going to speed up so much
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.51,0:10:13.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I'm going to make\Na new cell next century.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.77,0:10:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ugh.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.96,0:10:15.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.02,0:10:21.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So why is it that the rest\Nof biology moves so fast?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.15,0:10:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why does a cell die after a day
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.08,0:10:25.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a human dies\Nafter only a hundred years?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.62,0:10:28.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These seem like really\Narbitrarily short limits
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.08,0:10:31.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you think about the total amount\Nof time in the universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.10,0:10:33.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But these are not arbitrary limits.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.94,0:10:36.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're dictated by one simple thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.86,0:10:38.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that thing is the Sun.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.78,0:10:42.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once life figured out how to harness\Nthe energy of the Sun
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.56,0:10:43.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through photosynthesis,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.74,0:10:46.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we all had to speed up\Nand get on day and night cycles.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.69,0:10:50.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In that way, the Sun gave us\Nboth a reason to be fast
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.07,0:10:51.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the fuel to do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.70,0:10:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can view most of life on Earth\Nlike a circulatory system,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.58,0:10:56.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Sun is our beating heart.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.06,0:10:59.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the deep subsurface\Nis like a circulatory system
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.92,0:11:02.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's completely\Ndisconnected from the Sun.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.38,0:11:06.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's instead being driven\Nby long, slow geological rhythms.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.93,0:11:13.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's currently no theoretical limit\Non the lifespan of one single cell.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.63,0:11:18.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As long as there is at least\Na tiny energy gradient to exploit,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.62,0:11:20.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,theoretically, a single cell could live
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.83,0:11:22.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for hundreds of thousands\Nof years or more,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.100,0:11:25.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,simply by replacing\Nbroken parts over time.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.05,0:11:30.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To ask a microbe that lives like that\Nto grow in our petri dishes
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.40,0:11:35.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to ask them to adapt to our frenetic,\NSun-centric, fast way of living,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.49,0:11:37.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and maybe they've got\Nbetter things to do than that.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.01,0:11:39.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.34,0:11:43.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine if we could figure out\Nhow they managed to do this.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.64,0:11:46.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What if it involves some cool,\Nultra-stable compounds
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.95,0:11:49.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we could use\Nto increase the shelf life
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.24,0:11:51.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in biomedical or industrial applications?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.85,0:11:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or maybe if we figure out\Nthe mechanism that they use
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.43,0:11:57.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to grow so extraordinarily slowly,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.57,0:12:00.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we could mimic it in cancer cells\Nand slow runaway cell division.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.93,0:12:03.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.14,0:12:06.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, honestly, that is all speculation,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.20,0:12:08.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the only thing I know for certain
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.67,0:12:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that there are\Na hundred billion billion billlion
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.77,0:12:14.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living microbial cells
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.90,0:12:17.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underlying all the world's oceans.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.12,0:12:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's 200 times more than the total\Nbiomass of humans on this planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.97,0:12:25.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And those microbes have\Na fundamentally different relationship
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.70,0:12:27.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with time and energy than we do.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.99,0:12:30.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What seems like a day to them
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.26,0:12:32.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,might be a thousand years to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.07,0:12:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don't care about the Sun,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.12,0:12:37.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they don't care about growing fast,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.35,0:12:40.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they probably don't give a damn\Nabout my petri dishes ...
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.27,0:12:41.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.33,0:12:45.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but if we can continue to find\Ncreative ways to study them,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.28,0:12:51.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then maybe we'll finally figure out\Nwhat life, all of life, is like on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.03,0:12:53.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.21,0:12:54.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)