[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.02,0:00:09.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's so obvious \Nthat it's practically proverbial.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.19,0:00:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't unboil an egg.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.09,0:00:15.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it turns out you can, sort of.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.51,0:00:18.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What thermal energy \Ndoes to the eggs' molecules,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.29,0:00:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mechanical energy can undo.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.48,0:00:24.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eggs are mostly made \Nof water and proteins.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.34,0:00:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The proteins start off \Nfolded up into intricate shapes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.03,0:00:31.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,held together by weak chemical bonds.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.01,0:00:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adding heat disrupts those bonds,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.60,0:00:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowing the proteins to unfold,\Nuncoil, unwind and wiggle freely.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.63,0:00:42.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This process is called denaturing.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.67,0:00:45.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The newly liberated proteins \Nbump up against their neighbors
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.82,0:00:48.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and start to form \Nnew bonds with each other,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.81,0:00:51.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more and more as the heat increases,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.07,0:00:56.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until finally, they're so entangled\Nthat they gel into a solid mass,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.25,0:00:58.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a boiled egg.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.18,0:01:01.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That entanglement might look \Npermanent, but it's not.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.65,0:01:03.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,According to a chemical idea
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.52,0:01:06.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the principle \Nof microscopic reversibility,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.79,0:01:10.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anything that happens, \Nlike egg proteins seizing up,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.09,0:01:14.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can theoretically unhappen\Nif you retrace your steps.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.56,0:01:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But adding more heat will tangle\Nthe proteins further,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.84,0:01:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and cooling them down\Nwill only freeze them,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.72,0:01:22.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so here's the trick:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.32,0:01:25.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spin them around ridiculously fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.27,0:01:26.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not kidding.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.72,0:01:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's how it works.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.20,0:01:31.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First, scientists dissolve \Nboiled egg whites in water
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.85,0:01:33.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a chemical called urea,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.95,0:01:38.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a small molecule that acts as a lubricant,\Ncoating the proteins' long strands
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.96,0:01:42.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and making it easier for them \Nto glide past each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.68,0:01:45.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, they spin that solution \Nin a glass tube
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.92,0:01:49.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a breakneck 5000 rotations per minute,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.23,0:01:52.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making the solution \Nspread out into a thin film.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.64,0:01:54.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's the key part.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.19,0:01:57.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The solution nearest\Nthe wall spins faster
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.23,0:01:59.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the solution closer to the middle.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.58,0:02:03.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That difference in velocity \Ncreates sheer stresses
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.17,0:02:06.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that repeatedly stretch \Nand contract the proteins
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.83,0:02:12.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until eventually they snap back\Ninto their native shapes and stay there.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.91,0:02:15.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the time the centrifuge stops spinning,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.16,0:02:20.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the egg white is back \Nin its original unboiled state.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.23,0:02:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This technique works \Nwith all sorts of proteins.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.06,0:02:27.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bigger, messier proteins can be\Nmore resistant to being pulled apart,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.19,0:02:31.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so scientists attach \Na plastic bead to one end
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.04,0:02:35.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that adds extra stress\Nand encourages it to fold up first.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.90,0:02:40.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This unboiling method won't work\Nwith a whole egg in its shell
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.10,0:02:44.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since the solution has to spread\Nthroughout a cylindrical chamber.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.28,0:02:48.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the applications go way beyond\Nuncooking your breakfast, anyhow.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.87,0:02:53.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many pharmaceuticals consist of proteins\Nthat are extremely expensive to produce,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.75,0:02:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,partly because they get stuck \Nin tangled up aggregates,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.22,0:02:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just like cooked egg whites
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.18,0:03:03.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and have to be untangled and refolded\Nbefore they can do their jobs.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.83,0:03:06.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This spinning technique has the potential
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.14,0:03:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be an easier, cheaper \Nand quicker method
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.20,0:03:11.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than other ways to refold proteins,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.57,0:03:16.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so it may allow new drugs to be made\Navailable to more people faster.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.10,0:03:18.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's one more thing \Nyou need to keep in mind
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.55,0:03:21.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before trying to uncook all of your food.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.27,0:03:25.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Boiling an egg is actually\Nan unusual cooking process
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.02,0:03:29.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because even though it changes the way\Nproteins are shaped and bound together,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.85,0:03:33.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it doesn't actually change \Ntheir chemical identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.15,0:03:36.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most types of cooking are more like\Nthe famous Maillard reaction,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.100,0:03:38.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which makes chemical changes
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.100,0:03:43.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that turn sugars and proteins\Ninto delicious caramel crunchiness
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.72,0:03:46.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and are a lot harder to undo.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.52,0:03:48.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you might be able to unboil your egg,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.98,0:03:53.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I'm sorry to say \Nyou can't unfry it...yet.