How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet
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0:17 - 0:20So there are lands
few and far between on Earth itself -
0:20 - 0:24that are hospitable to humans
by any measure, -
0:24 - 0:26but survive we have.
-
0:26 - 0:31Our primitive ancestors, when they found
their homes and livelihood endangered, -
0:31 - 0:34they dared to make their way
into unfamiliar territories -
0:34 - 0:36in search of better opportunities.
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0:36 - 0:38And as the descendants of these explorers,
-
0:38 - 0:42we have their nomadic blood
coursing through our own veins. -
0:43 - 0:44But at the same time,
-
0:44 - 0:46distracted by our bread and circuses
-
0:46 - 0:50and embroiled in the wars
that we have waged on each other, -
0:50 - 0:54it seems that we have forgotten
this desire to explore. -
0:55 - 0:59We, as a species, we're evolved uniquely
-
0:59 - 1:03for Earth, on Earth, and by Earth,
-
1:04 - 1:07and so content are we
with our living conditions -
1:07 - 1:11that we have grown complacent
and just too busy -
1:11 - 1:13to notice that its resources are finite,
-
1:13 - 1:16and that our Sun's life is also finite.
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1:17 - 1:20While Mars and all the movies
made in its name -
1:20 - 1:23have reinvigorated
the ethos for space travel, -
1:23 - 1:28few of us seem to truly realize
that our species' fragile constitution -
1:28 - 1:32is woefully unprepared
for long duration journeys into space. -
1:33 - 1:35Let us take a trek
to your local national forest -
1:35 - 1:37for a quick reality check.
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1:37 - 1:38So just a quick show of hands here:
-
1:38 - 1:42how many of you think you would be able
to survive in this lush wilderness -
1:42 - 1:43for a few days?
-
1:44 - 1:46Well, that's a lot of you.
-
1:46 - 1:47How about a few weeks?
-
1:48 - 1:50That's a decent amount.
-
1:50 - 1:51How about a few months?
-
1:52 - 1:54That's pretty good too.
-
1:54 - 1:56Now, let us imagine
that this local national forest -
1:56 - 1:59experiences an eternal winter.
-
2:02 - 2:05Same questions: how many of you think you
would be able to survive for a few days? -
2:06 - 2:08That's quite a lot.
-
2:08 - 2:09How about a few weeks?
-
2:11 - 2:13That's still a lot more
than I would be able to. -
2:13 - 2:18So for a fun twist, let us imagine
that the only source of water available -
2:18 - 2:21is trapped as frozen blocks
miles below the surface. -
2:22 - 2:26Soil nutrients are so minimal
that no vegetation can be found, -
2:26 - 2:30and of course hardly any atmosphere
exists to speak of. -
2:32 - 2:36Such examples are only a few
of the many challenges we would face -
2:36 - 2:38on a planet like Mars.
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2:39 - 2:44So how do we steel ourselves for voyages
whose destinations are so far removed -
2:44 - 2:45from a tropical vacation?
-
2:46 - 2:49Will we continuously ship supplies
from Planet Earth? -
2:50 - 2:53Build space elevators,
or impossible miles of transport belts -
2:53 - 2:56that tether your planet of choice
to our home planet? -
2:57 - 3:01And how do we grow things like food
that grew up on Earth like us? -
3:03 - 3:05But I'm getting ahead of myself.
-
3:06 - 3:09In our species' journey
to find a new home under a new sun, -
3:10 - 3:14we are more likely than not
going to be spending much time -
3:14 - 3:16in the journey itself,
-
3:17 - 3:18in space,
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3:18 - 3:21on a ship, a hermetic flying can,
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3:22 - 3:24possibly for many generations.
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3:25 - 3:28The longest continuous amount of time
that any human has spent in space -
3:28 - 3:31is in the vicinity of 12 to 14 months.
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3:32 - 3:35From astronauts' experiences in space,
-
3:35 - 3:38we know that spending time
in a microgravity environment -
3:38 - 3:43means bone loss, muscle atrophy,
cardiovascular problems, -
3:43 - 3:45among many other complications
-
3:45 - 3:48that range for the physiological
to the psychological. -
3:49 - 3:50And what about macrogravity,
-
3:50 - 3:53or any other variation
in gravitational pull -
3:53 - 3:54of the planet that we find ourselves on?
-
3:56 - 3:59In short, our cosmic voyages
will be fraught with dangers -
4:00 - 4:01both known and unknown.
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4:02 - 4:06So far we've been looking to this
new piece of mechanical technology -
4:06 - 4:09or that great next generation robot
-
4:09 - 4:12as part of a lineup to ensure
our species safe passage in space. -
4:13 - 4:16Wonderful as they are,
I believe the time has come -
4:16 - 4:21for us to complement
these bulky electronic giants -
4:21 - 4:22with what nature has already invented:
-
4:24 - 4:25the microbe,
-
4:26 - 4:31a single-celled organism that is itself
a self-generating, self-replenishing, -
4:31 - 4:32living machine.
-
4:33 - 4:35It requires fairly little to maintain,
-
4:36 - 4:38offers much flexibility in design
-
4:39 - 4:42and only asks to be carried
in a single plastic tube. -
4:43 - 4:47The field of study that has enabled us
to utilize the capabilities of the microbe -
4:47 - 4:48is known as synthetic biology.
-
4:49 - 4:53It comes from molecular biology,
which has given us antibiotics, vaccines -
4:53 - 4:56and better ways to observe
the physiological nuances -
4:56 - 4:57of the human body.
-
4:59 - 5:01Using the tools of synthetic biology,
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5:01 - 5:04we can now edit the genes
of nearly any organism, -
5:04 - 5:06microscopic or not,
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5:06 - 5:09with incredible speed and fidelity.
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5:10 - 5:13Given the limitations
of our man-made machines, -
5:13 - 5:17synthetic biology will be a means for us
to engineer not only our food, -
5:17 - 5:20our fuel and our environment,
-
5:20 - 5:22but also ourselves
-
5:22 - 5:25to compensate
for our physical inadequacies -
5:25 - 5:27and to ensure our survival in space.
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5:28 - 5:30To give you an example
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5:30 - 5:33of how we can use synthetic biology
for space exploration, -
5:33 - 5:34let us return to the Mars environment.
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5:36 - 5:40The Martian soil composition is similar
to that of Hawaiian volcanic ash, -
5:40 - 5:42with trace amounts of organic material.
-
5:43 - 5:45Let's say, hypothetically,
-
5:45 - 5:48what if martian soil
could actually support plant growth -
5:48 - 5:50without using Earth-derived nutrients?
-
5:51 - 5:53The first question
we should probably ask is, -
5:53 - 5:56how would we make
our plants cold-tolerant? -
5:56 - 5:58Because, on average,
the temperature on Mars -
5:58 - 6:01is a very uninviting
negative 60 degrees centigrade. -
6:02 - 6:04The next question we should ask is,
-
6:04 - 6:06how do we make
our plants drought-tolerant? -
6:06 - 6:09Considering that most of the water
that forms as frost -
6:09 - 6:12evaporates more quickly
than I can say the word "evaporate." -
6:13 - 6:16Well, it turns out
we've already done things like this. -
6:17 - 6:20By borrowing genes
for anti-freeze protein from fish -
6:20 - 6:24and genes for drought tolerance
from other plants like rice -
6:24 - 6:26and then stitching them
into the plants that need them, -
6:26 - 6:29we now have plants that can tolerate
most droughts and freezes. -
6:30 - 6:33They're known on Earth as GMOs,
-
6:33 - 6:35or genetically modified organisms,
-
6:35 - 6:40and we rely on them to feed
all the mouths of human civilization. -
6:41 - 6:44Nature does stuff like this already,
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6:44 - 6:46without our help.
-
6:46 - 6:49We have simply found
more precise ways to do it. -
6:50 - 6:54So why would we want to change
the genetic makeup of plants for space? -
6:55 - 6:58Well, to not do so
would mean needing to engineer -
6:58 - 7:02endless acres of land
on an entirely new planet -
7:02 - 7:05by releasing trillions of gallons
of atmospheric gasses -
7:05 - 7:08and then constructing
a giant glass dome to contain it all. -
7:09 - 7:11It's an unrealistic engineering enterprise
-
7:11 - 7:15that quickly becomes
a high-cost cargo transport mission. -
7:16 - 7:17One of the best ways to ensure
-
7:17 - 7:20that we will have the food supplies
and the air that we need -
7:20 - 7:24is to bring with us organisms
that have been engineered -
7:24 - 7:26to adapt to new and harsh environments.
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7:27 - 7:31In essence, using engineered organisms
to help us terraform a planet -
7:31 - 7:33both in the short and long term.
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7:35 - 7:39These organisms can then also
be engineered to make medicine or fuel. -
7:41 - 7:44So we can use synthetic biology
to bring highly engineered plants with us, -
7:44 - 7:46but what else can we do?
-
7:46 - 7:49Well, I mentioned earlier
that we, as a species, -
7:49 - 7:52were evolved uniquely for planet Earth.
-
7:52 - 7:55That fact has not changed much
in the last five minutes -
7:55 - 7:57that you were sitting here
and I was standing there. -
7:58 - 8:02And so, if we were to dump
any of us on Mars right this minute, -
8:02 - 8:05even given ample food, water, air
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8:05 - 8:07and a suit,
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8:07 - 8:10we are likely to experience
very unpleasant health problems -
8:10 - 8:13from the amount of ionizing radiation
that bombards the surface -
8:13 - 8:17of planets like Mars that have little
or nonexistent atmosphere. -
8:19 - 8:21Unless we plan
to stay holed up underground -
8:21 - 8:24for the duration of our stay
on every new planet, -
8:24 - 8:27we must find better ways
of protecting ourselves -
8:27 - 8:29without needing to resort
to wearing a suit of armor -
8:29 - 8:32that weighs something
equal to your own body weight, -
8:32 - 8:34or needing to hide behind a wall of lead.
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8:36 - 8:38So let us appeal
to nature for inspiration. -
8:40 - 8:42Among the plethora of life here on Earth,
-
8:42 - 8:45there's a subset of organisms
known as extremophiles, -
8:45 - 8:47or lovers of extreme living conditions,
-
8:47 - 8:49if you'll remember
from high school biology. -
8:49 - 8:54And among these organisms is a bacterium
by the name of Deinococcus radiodurans. -
8:55 - 9:01It is known to be able to withstand cold,
dehydration, vacuum, acid, -
9:01 - 9:03and, most notably, radiation.
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9:04 - 9:07While its radiation
tolerance mechanisms are known, -
9:07 - 9:09we have yet to adapt
the relevant genes to mammals. -
9:10 - 9:13To do so is not particularly easy.
-
9:13 - 9:15There are many facets
that go into its radiation tolerance, -
9:16 - 9:18and it's not as simple
as transferring one gene. -
9:18 - 9:22But given a little bit of human ingenuity
-
9:22 - 9:23and a little bit of time,
-
9:23 - 9:25I think to do so is not very hard either.
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9:26 - 9:32Even if we borrow just a fraction
of its ability to tolerate radiation, -
9:33 - 9:36it would be infinitely better
than what we already have, -
9:36 - 9:38which is just the melanin in our skin.
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9:39 - 9:41Using the tools of synthetic biology,
-
9:41 - 9:44we can harness Deinococcus
radiodurans' ability -
9:44 - 9:48to thrive under otherwise
very lethal doses of radiation. -
9:50 - 9:52As difficult as it is to see,
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9:52 - 9:55homo sapiens, that is humans,
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9:56 - 9:58evolves every day,
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9:58 - 10:00and still continues to evolve.
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10:01 - 10:03Thousands of years of human evolution
-
10:03 - 10:06has not only given us
humans like Tibetans, -
10:06 - 10:08who can thrive in low-oxygen conditions,
-
10:08 - 10:13but also Argentinians,
who can ingest and metabolize arsenic, -
10:13 - 10:16the chemical element
that can kill the average human being. -
10:17 - 10:21Every day, the human body evolves
by accidental mutations -
10:21 - 10:23that equally accidentally
allow certain humans -
10:23 - 10:26to persevere in dismal situations.
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10:27 - 10:29But, and this is a big but,
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10:30 - 10:34such evolution requires two things
that we may not always have, -
10:34 - 10:36or be able to afford,
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10:37 - 10:39and they are death and time.
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10:40 - 10:43In our species' struggle
to find our place in the universe, -
10:43 - 10:46we may not always have the time necessary
-
10:46 - 10:48for the natural evolution
of extra functions -
10:48 - 10:50for survival on non-Earth planets.
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10:52 - 10:57We're living in what E.O. Wilson
has termed the age of gene circumvention, -
10:57 - 11:02during which we remedy our genetic defects
like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy -
11:02 - 11:05with temporary external supplements.
-
11:06 - 11:07But with every passing day,
-
11:08 - 11:11we approach the age
of volitional evolution, -
11:11 - 11:13a time during which we as a species
-
11:13 - 11:18will have the capacity to decide
for ourselves our own genetic destiny. -
11:19 - 11:21Augmenting the human body
with new abilities -
11:21 - 11:23is no longer a question of how,
-
11:24 - 11:25but of when.
-
11:26 - 11:28Using synthetic biology
-
11:28 - 11:31to change the genetic makeup
of any living organisms, -
11:31 - 11:32especially our own,
-
11:32 - 11:34is not without its moral
and ethical quandaries. -
11:35 - 11:38Will engineering ourselves
make us less human? -
11:39 - 11:41But then again, what is humanity
-
11:41 - 11:44but star stuff
that happens to be conscious? -
11:45 - 11:48Where should human genius direct itself?
-
11:49 - 11:53Surely it is a bit of a waste
to sit back and marvel at it. -
11:54 - 11:55How do we use our knowledge
-
11:55 - 11:59to protect ourselves
from the external dangers -
11:59 - 12:01and then protect ourselves from ourselves?
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12:03 - 12:04I pose these questions
-
12:04 - 12:07not to engender the fear of science
-
12:07 - 12:09but to bring to light
the many possibilities -
12:09 - 12:12that science has afforded
and continues to afford us. -
12:13 - 12:17We must coalesce as humans
to discuss and embrace the solutions -
12:17 - 12:19not only with caution
-
12:19 - 12:21but also with courage.
-
12:23 - 12:26Mars is a destination,
-
12:27 - 12:29but it will not be our last.
-
12:30 - 12:33Our true final frontier
is the line we must cross -
12:33 - 12:37in deciding what we can and should make
of our species' improbable intelligence. -
12:39 - 12:43Space is cold, brutal and unforgiving.
-
12:44 - 12:47Our path to the stars
will be rife with trials -
12:47 - 12:50that will bring us to question
not only who we are -
12:50 - 12:52but where we will be going.
-
12:52 - 12:56The answers will lie in our choice
to use or abandon the technology -
12:56 - 12:58that we have gleaned from life itself,
-
12:58 - 13:02and it will define us for the remainder
of our term in this universe. -
13:02 - 13:03Thank you.
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13:03 - 13:05(Applause)
- Title:
- How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet
- Description:
-
If we hope to one day leave Earth and explore the universe, our bodies are going to have to get a lot better at surviving the harsh conditions of space. Using synthetic biology, Lisa Nip hopes to harness special powers from microbes on Earth — such as the ability to withstand radiation — to make humans more fit for exploring space. "We're approaching a time during which we'll have the capacity to decide our own genetic destiny," Nip says. "Augmenting the human body with new abilities is no longer a question of how, but of when."
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 13:11
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for How humans will evolve to survive in space | Lisa Nip | TEDxBeaconStreet |