0:00:09.000,0:00:12.073
When I was a boy,[br]I used to love playing with Legos

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It was something I was truly fond of.

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I remember I had a box[br]with a castle drawn on it

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and obviously, it came[br]with the instructions to build that castle

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and I liked taking those blocks

0:00:25.300,0:00:27.260
to build something completely different,

0:00:27.260,0:00:29.490
that had nothing to do with a castle.

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That's what I loved most about Legos,

0:00:31.896,0:00:35.123
the creative freedom they gave me.

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Of course, at some point,[br]I stopped playing with Legos,

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I finished Elementary School,[br]then High School

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and I was lucky enough to get into College

0:00:43.022,0:00:46.693
and studied Computer Sciences, here,[br]at Buenos Aires University.

0:00:46.693,0:00:50.155
I found in programming[br]that same creative freedom

0:00:50.190,0:00:53.340
I had with Legos when I was a boy.

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To me, programming has to do[br]with taking code blocks,

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pieces of code that already exist,[br]assemble them, combine them

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to build completely new software[br]with a new function.

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Two years ago,[br]during my last days as a student,

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so to speak, I came across[br]a different kind of block

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that made me feel again[br]that same creative freedom

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as those Legos did when I was little.

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Two years ago, I discovered[br]Synthetic Biology

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and came across bioblocks,[br]also called "biobricks"

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for the first time in my life.

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A biobrick is not made out[br]of plastic or code.

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A biobrick is made out of DNA,[br]one of life's essential molecules.

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DNA is the molecule that holds[br]all the genetic data of a living being.

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A biobrick is a tiny piece of DNA,

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a portion of DNA

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that codes or captures[br]a basic biological function.

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As, for example, the ability[br]that fireflies have to produce light,

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or the capacity that many plants[br]and animals have

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to emanate certain[br]odors or irradiate certain colors

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or the ability that certain microorganisms

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have to degrade sustances and materials.

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What's interesting and potentially useful[br]about biobricks

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is that just like with Legos,

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we can assemble and combine them[br]in many different ways

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in order to build new organisms[br]that don't exist in nature,

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with completely new capabilities.

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When you start to play[br]with these biobricks,

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really crazy stuff can happen!

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For instance, light sensitive[br]photographic film,

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but made out of bacterias[br]instead of chemicals.

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So, it's film that's actually alive!

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Some have built microorganisms[br]with biobricks

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able to generate light.

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Just like fireflies,[br]but they're not fireflies

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they're bacteria that only need a couple[br]of nutrients in the water they live in

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to produce light.

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Some people, using biobricks,[br]have even developed

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micro-organisms capable[br]of producing different colors.

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You may not see it clearly,[br]but they're very different colors

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as different as the colors of a rainbow.

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And working with biobricks,[br]some people went even further

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and built bacteria that can produce

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some very little filaments of spider web,

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made out of the same material[br]as spider webs,

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which is very resistent.

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But they're not spiders, they're bacteria,

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similar to those we can find in yoghurt.

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Furthermore, bacteria communities[br]that behave like digital circuits

0:03:44.175,0:03:48.043
have been built using biobricks.

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Circuits like those found[br]in our computers, our iPads.

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All those things I'm telling you

0:03:54.690,0:03:57.408
sound like Sci-fi, but they're not.

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They're things that already exist,[br]that have already been developed

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and I'm sure you're thinking,

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"OK, but I'm sure that this kind of stuff

0:04:05.414,0:04:08.243
is made by Nobel Prize winners[br]in great research centers,

0:04:08.278,0:04:10.679
with cutting-edge technology"

0:04:10.714,0:04:12.751
No, actually, they are not.

0:04:12.786,0:04:16.702
These things are made[br]by university students,

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graduate students,

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that is young people[br]aged 19, 23, under 25.

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Ok, but now you're thinking,[br]"Well, but I'm sure that these are MIT,

0:04:29.116,0:04:33.524
Harvard, Imperial College,[br]or Boston University students"

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Well, I'm sure there are people[br]from those universities

0:04:37.301,0:04:38.988
working with biobricks;

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but here at the Natural[br]and Exact Science Faculty,

0:04:41.731,0:04:44.635
part of our own Buenos Aires University,

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a group of students is[br]working and assembling biobricks.

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We, and I say "we"[br]because with these students,

0:04:53.849,0:04:56.619
there is a group of graduates with them,

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we set as our goal to use biobricks

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to tackle some important problem[br]within our country.

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An Argentinian problem.

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You may not know this, but our country[br]is one of the top 5 countries

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with the most arsenic[br]within its territory.

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Arsenic is a natural pollutant[br]that's in the ground

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and when you ingests it,[br]it has very serious consequences

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to your health in the long term.

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Cancer, for example.

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Oops.[br](Laughter)

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The problem is, there are hundreds[br]of thousands of Argentinians

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that are consuming it unknowingly.

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And they don't know it[br]because nobody checked

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if their water supply was polluted or not,

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because they don't have[br]a simple, safe and cheap way

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to check for themselves.

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And that's what we're trying[br]to achieve with biobricks.

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What did we do?[br]Well, we went to the "box" of biobricks,

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a free access central repository

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because this is open technology,[br]you don't have to pay to use it,

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and started browsing in this biobrick[br]repository to see what was available;

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and we found, on the one hand,[br]a biobrick that captured the capacity

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that some organisms have to know[br]whether there is arsenic near them.

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And on the other hand, we found[br]a biobrick that captures

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the ability of some other organisms[br]to generate color.

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We took these biobrick, assemble them

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and through a series of technical[br]intricate processes, we managed to build

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a new organism[br]that doesn't exist in nature

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and when in arsenic polluted[br]water, it produces a color.

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What has this organism got to do[br]with the problem we wanted to tackle?

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This new organism is the key technology

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behind an arsenic detection kit[br]we are building.

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I'd like to say that we're building it[br]with people

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from the F.A.D.U. (Architecture,[br]Design and Urbanism College).

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An arsenic detection kit[br]that we designed it to be palm size

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so it can be delivered[br]anywhere in the country,

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so it can be simple and safe to use,

0:07:07.446,0:07:10.021
and, above all, cheap to manufacture.

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Because no technical knowledge[br]is required to use it,

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you just need to take a sample[br]from the water tap,

0:07:15.463,0:07:20.449
the water pump, or wherever, put it[br]in the device and wait a couple of hours

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and it'll generate a color.

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The only thing left to do[br]is to observe that color.

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and the intensity[br]of that color and you'll know

0:07:28.101,0:07:33.149
if the water you were about to drink[br]had any arsenic or not.

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We really hope, at some point,

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to mass produce this device,[br]distribute it and provide a solution

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to those hundreds of thousands[br]of our compatriots

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poisoning themselves with the water[br]they drink without even knowing it.

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Now,

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think for a second

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If we, a group of fewer than[br]20 people, working a lot,

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in less than a year, and also[br]working on a side projet -

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because this wasn't our main project -

0:08:02.602,0:08:06.538
and using some biobricks,

0:08:06.538,0:08:11.460
were able to embark in the development[br]of this arsenic detection kit,

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how many other things can we build

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if we start combining[br]hundreds of biobricks

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that are available for free[br]inside that "box"?

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How many Argentinian problems

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and wordwide problems

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could we tackle with this technology?

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I'm convinced...

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I'm absolutelly convinced

0:08:35.144,0:08:38.390
that Sinthetic Biology will be[br]one of the most impotant technologies

0:08:38.390,0:08:40.227
for the years to come.

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And I'm also convinced[br]that our country, Argentina,

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and the whole region - Latin America -[br]not only has the capacity

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but also the opportunity to pioneer[br]in the development of this technology.

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What we need is that all of you,[br]who are here today,

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and also those who aren't, to dare -

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as I dared 2 years ago -

0:09:05.554,0:09:08.770
and start to play with biobricks.

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Especially the young ones, that I can see[br]are many in this auditorium.

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What I want is for young people to play[br]with biobrick at their high schools.

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I want young people to assemble[br]and build using biobricks

0:09:21.074,0:09:24.271
in universities all over the country.

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I also want young people[br]to play with biobricks

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outside the formal places of education.

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And, why not, let's say,[br]middle school students

0:09:35.056,0:09:39.125
taking their first steps[br]into Synthetic Biology.

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I know this is a very ambitious goal,[br]a huge goal.

0:09:46.396,0:09:49.499
But if there's something I learned,

0:09:49.499,0:09:52.219
it's that in this life, if you want[br]to build something big

0:09:52.254,0:09:55.715
if you want to build something really big,

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not only do you need a lot pieces[br]

0:09:58.481,0:10:01.012
but also a lot of hands.

0:10:01.012,0:10:02.144
Thank you.

0:10:02.540,0:10:04.361
(Applause)