Playing with biobricks | Manuel Giménez | TEDxUBA
-
0:09 - 0:12When I was a boy,
I used to love playing with Legos -
0:13 - 0:15It was something I was truly fond of.
-
0:15 - 0:19I remember I had a box
with a castle drawn on it -
0:19 - 0:23and obviously, it came with
the instructions to build that castle -
0:23 - 0:25and I liked taking those blocks
-
0:25 - 0:27to build something completely different,
-
0:27 - 0:29that had nothing to do with a castle.
-
0:30 - 0:32That's what I loved most about Legos,
-
0:32 - 0:35the creative freedom
they gave me. -
0:35 - 0:38Of course, at some point,
I stopped playing with Legos, -
0:38 - 0:41I finished Elementary School,
then High School -
0:41 - 0:43and I was lucky enough
to get into College -
0:43 - 0:47and studied Computer Sciences, here,
at Buenos Aires University. -
0:47 - 0:50I found in programming
that same creative freedom -
0:50 - 0:53I had with Legos when I was a boy.
-
0:54 - 0:58To me, programming has to do
with taking code blocks, -
0:58 - 1:02pieces of code that already exist,
assemble them, combine them -
1:02 - 1:06to build completely new software
with a new function. -
1:06 - 1:11Two years ago,
during my last days as a student, -
1:11 - 1:16so to speak, I came across
a different kind of block -
1:16 - 1:19that made me feel again
that same creative freedom -
1:19 - 1:22as those Legos did when I was little.
-
1:22 - 1:25Two years ago, I discovered
Synthetic Biology -
1:25 - 1:28and came across bioblocks,
also called "biobricks" -
1:28 - 1:32for the first time in my life.
-
1:32 - 1:36A biobrick is not made out
of plastic or code. -
1:36 - 1:42A biobrick is made out of DNA,
one of life's essential molecules. -
1:42 - 1:47DNA is the molecule that holds
all the genetic data of a living being. -
1:47 - 1:51A biobrick is a tiny piece of DNA,
-
1:51 - 1:52a portion of DNA
-
1:52 - 1:58that codes or captures
a basic biological function. -
1:59 - 2:04As, for example, the ability
that fireflies have to produce light, -
2:04 - 2:06or the capacity that many plants
and animals have -
2:06 - 2:09to emanate certain
odors or irradiate certain colors -
2:09 - 2:12or the ability that
certain microorganisms have -
2:12 - 2:14to degrade sustances and materials.
-
2:14 - 2:18What's interesting and potentially useful
about biobricks -
2:18 - 2:21is that just like with Legos,
-
2:21 - 2:25we can assemble and combine them
in many different ways -
2:25 - 2:31in order to build new organisms
that don't exist in nature, -
2:31 - 2:33with completely new capabilities.
-
2:34 - 2:37When you start to play
with these biobricks, -
2:37 - 2:40really crazy stuff can happen!
-
2:40 - 2:47For instance, light sensitive
photographic film, -
2:47 - 2:51but made out of bacterias
instead of chemicals. -
2:51 - 2:53So, it's film that's actually alive!
-
2:53 - 2:57Some have built microorganisms
with biobricks -
2:57 - 2:59able to generate light.
-
2:59 - 3:01Just like fireflies,
but they're not fireflies -
3:01 - 3:06they're bacteria that only need a couple
of nutrients in the water they live in -
3:06 - 3:08to produce light.
-
3:08 - 3:11Some people, using biobricks,
have even developed -
3:11 - 3:14microrganisms capable of
producing different colors. -
3:14 - 3:17You may not see it clearly,
but they're very different colors -
3:17 - 3:19as different as the colors of a rainbow.
-
3:19 - 3:22And working with biobricks,
some people went even further -
3:22 - 3:27and built bacteria that can produce
-
3:27 - 3:31some very little filaments of spider web,
-
3:31 - 3:34made out of the same material
as spider webs, -
3:34 - 3:35which is very resistent.
-
3:35 - 3:37But they're not spiders, they're bacteria,
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3:37 - 3:39similar to those we can find in yoghurt.
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3:40 - 3:44Furthermore, bacteria communities
that behave like digital circuits -
3:44 - 3:48have been built using biobricks.
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3:48 - 3:52Circuits like those found
in our computers, ou iPads. -
3:52 - 3:55All those things I'm telling you
-
3:55 - 3:57sound like Sci-fi, but they're not.
-
3:57 - 4:01They're things that already exist,
that have already been developed -
4:01 - 4:03and I'm sure you're thinking:
-
4:03 - 4:05"OK, but I'm sure that this kind of stuff
-
4:05 - 4:08is made by Nobel Prize winners
in great research centers, -
4:08 - 4:11with cutting-edge technology"
-
4:11 - 4:13No, actually, they are not.
-
4:13 - 4:17These things are made
by university students, -
4:17 - 4:19graduate students,
-
4:19 - 4:22that is young people
aged 19, 23, under 25. -
4:23 - 4:29Ok, but now you're thinking:
"Well, but I'm sure that these are MIT, -
4:29 - 4:34Harvard, Imperial College,
or Boston University students" -
4:34 - 4:37Well, I'm sure there are people
from those universities -
4:37 - 4:39working with biobricks;
-
4:39 - 4:42but here at the Natural
and Exact Science Faculty, -
4:42 - 4:45part of our own
Buenos Aires University, -
4:45 - 4:49a group of students is
working and assembling biobricks. -
4:50 - 4:54We, and I say "we"
because with these students, -
4:54 - 4:57there is a group of graduates with them,
-
4:57 - 5:00we set as our goal to use biobricks
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5:00 - 5:04to tackle some important problem
within our country. -
5:04 - 5:07An Argentinian problem.
-
5:07 - 5:12You may not know this, but our country
is one of the top 5 countries -
5:12 - 5:16with the most arsenic
within its territory. -
5:16 - 5:20Arsenic is a natural pollutant
that's in the ground -
5:20 - 5:23and when you ingests it,
it has very serious consequences -
5:23 - 5:26to your health in the long term.
Cancer, for example. -
5:29 - 5:31Oops.
(Laughter) -
5:31 - 5:35The problem is, there are hundreds
of thousands of Argentinians -
5:35 - 5:38that are consuming it unknowingly.
-
5:38 - 5:41And they don't know it
because nobody checked -
5:41 - 5:43if their water supply was polluted or not,
-
5:43 - 5:46because they don't have
a simple, safe and cheap way -
5:46 - 5:48to check for themselves.
-
5:48 - 5:53And that's what we're trying
to achieve with biobricks. -
5:53 - 5:57What did we do? Well, we went
to the "box" of biobricks, -
5:57 - 5:59a free access central repository
-
5:59 - 6:03because this is open technology,
you don't have to pay to use it, -
6:03 - 6:07and started browsing in this biobrick
repository to see what was available; -
6:07 - 6:11and we found, on the one hand,
a biobrick that captured the capacity -
6:11 - 6:16that some organisms have to know
whether there is arsenic near them. -
6:17 - 6:21And on the other hand, we found
a biobrick that captures -
6:21 - 6:24the ability of some other organisms
to generate color. -
6:25 - 6:29We took these biobrick, assemble them
-
6:29 - 6:32and through a series of technical
intricate processes, we managed to build -
6:32 - 6:36a new organism
that doesn't exist in nature -
6:36 - 6:41and when in arsenic polluted
water, it produces a color. -
6:41 - 6:45What has this organism got to do
with the problem we wanted to tackle? -
6:45 - 6:50This new organism
is the key technology -
6:50 - 6:54behind an arsenic detection kit
we are building. -
6:54 - 6:57I'd like to say that
we're building it with people -
6:57 - 7:00from the F.A.D.U. ( Architecture,
Design and Urbanism College). -
7:00 - 7:03An arsenic detection kit that
we designed it to be palm size -
7:03 - 7:06so it can be delivered
anywhere in the country, -
7:06 - 7:07so it can be simple and safe to use,
-
7:07 - 7:10and, above all, cheap to manufacture.
-
7:10 - 7:13Because no technical knowledge
is required to use it, -
7:13 - 7:15you just need to take a sample
from the water tap, -
7:15 - 7:20the water pump, or wherever, put it
in the device and wait a couple of hours -
7:20 - 7:22and it'll generate a color.
-
7:22 - 7:24The only thing left to do
is to observe that color. -
7:24 - 7:28and the intensity of
that color and you'll know -
7:28 - 7:33if the water you were about to drink
had any arsenic or not. -
7:33 - 7:36We really hope, at some point,
-
7:36 - 7:40to mass produce this device,
distribute it and provide a solution -
7:40 - 7:43to those hundreds of thousands
of our compatriots -
7:43 - 7:46poisoning themselves with the water
they drink without even knowing it. -
7:48 - 7:49Now..
-
7:50 - 7:51think for a second
-
7:52 - 7:56If we, a group of fewer than
20 people, working a lot, -
7:56 - 8:00in less than a year, and also
working on a side projet -
8:00 - 8:03-- because this wasn't our main project --
-
8:03 - 8:07and using some biobricks,
-
8:07 - 8:11were able to embark in the development
of this arsenic detection kit, -
8:13 - 8:16how many other things can we build
-
8:16 - 8:19if we start combining
hundreds of biobricks -
8:20 - 8:23that are available for free
inside that "box"? -
8:23 - 8:25How many Argentinian problems
-
8:25 - 8:26and wordwide problems
-
8:26 - 8:29could we tackle with this technology?
-
8:32 - 8:33I'm convinced...
-
8:33 - 8:35I'm absolutelly convinced
-
8:35 - 8:38that Sinthetic Biology will be
one of the most impotant technologies -
8:38 - 8:40for the years to come.
-
8:40 - 8:44And I'm also convinced
that our country, Argentina, -
8:44 - 8:48and the whole region -Latin America-
not only has the capacity -
8:48 - 8:54but also the opportunity to pioneer
in the development of this technology. -
8:54 - 8:58What we need is that all of you,
who are here today, -
8:58 - 9:04and also those who aren't, to dare
-
9:04 - 9:06-as I dared 2 years ago-
-
9:06 - 9:09and start to play with biobricks.
-
9:09 - 9:13Especially the young ones, that I can see
are many in this auditorium. -
9:13 - 9:18What I want is for young people to play
with biobrick at their high schools. -
9:18 - 9:21I want young people to assemble
and build using biobricks -
9:21 - 9:24in universities all over the country.
-
9:24 - 9:28I also want young people
to play with biobricks -
9:28 - 9:31outside the formal places of education.
-
9:31 - 9:35And, why not, let's say,
middle school students -
9:35 - 9:39taking their first steps
into Synthetic Biology. -
9:39 - 9:46I know this is a very ambitious goal,
a huge goal. -
9:46 - 9:49But if there's something I learned,
-
9:49 - 9:52it's that in this life, if you want
to build something big -
9:52 - 9:56if you want to build something really big,
-
9:56 - 9:58not only do you need a lot pieces
-
9:58 - 10:01but also a lot of hands.
-
10:01 - 10:02Thank you.
-
10:03 - 10:04(applause)
- Title:
- Playing with biobricks | Manuel Giménez | TEDxUBA
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a TEDx event organized independently from TED conferences.
Manuel Giménez shows us the world of Sinthetic Biology and tells us how can we build solutionts to some of society's greater issues, one biobrick at a time.
- Video Language:
- Spanish
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 10:19
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
TED Translators admin approved English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
Elisabeth Buffard accepted English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA | ||
Emilio Oscar Marchetti edited English subtitles for Jugando con biobloques: Manuel Giménez en TEDxUBA |