在这个尺度下，细菌同步表现得很好，但因为这些让细菌同步的分子移动速度非常快，在比较大的菌落里，将导致在相距较远的细菌个体间产生传导波动，你可以看到这样的波动从荧幕的右边向左移动。
And the bacteria synchronize quite well at this scale, but because the molecule that synchronizes them together can only travel so fast, in larger colonies of bacteria, this results in traveling waves between bacteria that are far away from each other, and you can see these waves going from right to left across the screen.
我们的遗传程序依赖于一种叫做“群体感应”的自然现象，一旦菌落达到临界密度，细菌之间就会开始激发相互协调，有时甚至会产生致命后果的行为。
Now, our genetic program relies on a natural phenomenon called quorum sensing, in which bacteria trigger coordinated and sometimes virulent behaviors once they reach a critical density.
在这段视频中，你能观察到活动中的“群体感应”现象，成长中的菌落只有在达到高密度或临界密度的时候才会开始发光。
You can observe quorum sensing in action in this movie, where a growing colony of bacteria only begins to glow once it reaches a high or critical density.
我们的基因程序在菌落向外蔓延时，有节奏地持续制造荧光蛋白。
Our genetic program continues producing these rhythmic patterns of fluorescent proteins as the colony grows outwards.
我们称这个特别的影片和这个实验为“超级新星”，因为这看起来很像星星大爆炸。
This particular movie and experiment we call The Supernova, because it looks like an exploding star.
除了编译这些美丽的图样外，我开始思考，我们还能让这些细菌做些什么？
Now, besides programming these beautiful patterns, I wondered, what else can we get these bacteria to do?
我决定探索研究要如何编程细菌去发现和治疗身体内的疾病，比如癌症。
And I decided to explore how we can program bacteria to detect and treat diseases in our bodies like cancer.
细菌的一个不可思议之处在于，它们可以在肿瘤内部自然地生长。
One of the surprising facts about bacteria is that they can naturally grow inside of tumors.
这是因为，一般的肿瘤是免疫系统涉及不到的区域，所以当细菌发现这些肿瘤时，会将肿瘤当做避风港，在其中茁壮成长。
This happens because typically tumors are areas where the immune system has no access, and so bacteria find these tumors and use them as a safe haven to grow and thrive.
我们开始使用益生菌，它们安全并且对健康有益，随后发现，当老鼠口服益生菌时，这些益生菌会选择生长在肝脏的肿瘤里。
We started using probiotic bacteria which are safe bacteria that have a health benefit, and found that when orally delivered to mice, these probiotics would selectively grow inside of liver tumors.
我们意识到最简便的标记出益生菌，进而让肿瘤现形的方式，是让这些益生菌产生可以在尿液中被检测到的信号，所以我们特别编译了这些益生菌，让它们产生可以改变你尿液颜色的分子，以此实现癌症的检测。
We realized that the most convenient way to highlight the presence of the probiotics, and hence, the presence of the tumors, was to get these bacteria to produce a signal that would be detectable in the urine, and so we specifically programmed these probiotics to make a molecule that would change the color of your urine to indicate the presence of cancer.
我们随后证明了这项技术对肝癌的检测具有高灵敏度和准确度，而肝癌很难通过其他方式检测到。
We went on to show that this technology could sensitively and specifically detect liver cancer, one that is challenging to detect otherwise.
既然知道这些细菌能准确定位肿瘤，我们又试着实现不止能检测癌症，还能治疗癌症的编译，通过从肿瘤内部产生治疗分子，让现有的肿瘤萎缩，而我们已经在用群体感应程序来实现这一过程了，就像之前影片中看到的一样。
Now, since these bacteria specifically localize to tumors, we've been programming them to not only detect cancer but also to treat cancer by producing therapeutic molecules from within the tumor environment that shrink the existing tumors, and we've been doing this using quorum sensing programs like you saw in the previous movies.
想象一下，未来可以通过服用这些编译后的细菌来检测和治疗癌症，甚至是其他疾病。
Altogether, imagine in the future taking a programmed probiotic that could detect and treat cancer, or even other diseases.
我们能够编译细菌以及生命的能力，为癌症研究打开了新的天地，为了分享这个美好的愿景，我和艺术家VikMuniz合作，创作了这个完全由细菌和癌症细胞所组成的宇宙符号。
Our ability to program bacteria and program life opens up new horizons in cancer research, and to share this vision, I worked with artist Vik Muniz to create the symbol of the universe, made entirely out of bacteria or cancer cells.
最终，我希望这个美丽的微观世界和它的存在意义，能够给未来的癌症研究方法带来新的创意。
Ultimately, my hope is that the beauty and purpose of this microscopic universe can inspire new and creative approaches for the future of cancer research.
事实上，当我在金融时报报道这一数据时有个读者开玩笑地说“这个数据只震惊了51%的人口”
And in fact, when I reported this figure in the FT, one of our readers joked and said, "This figure is only shocking to 51 percent of the population."
但我实际上更喜欢一个学生的反应有一次我在学校展示这一信息时这个孩子举手说道“我们怎么知道得出这一数据的人不是49%中的一个呢？”
But I preferred, actually, the reaction of a schoolchild when I presented at a school this information, who raised their hand and said, "How do we know that the person who made that number isn't one of the 49 percent either?"
（观众笑声）
(Laughter)
很明显，算术能力成了一个问题毕竟这是生活中的重要技能更何况我们还想为这个世纪带来许多的改变这需要我们对数字越来越应用自如
So clearly, there's a numeracy issue, because these are important skills for life, and a lot of the changes that we want to introduce in this century involve us becoming more comfortable with numbers.
统计是数学的一部分
(Laughter)
这又是一个巨大的差异
So again, a big variation.
非常感谢
Thank you very much.
（观众掌声）
(Applause)