Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face
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0:01 - 0:03I want you to touch your face.
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0:04 - 0:05Go on.
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0:06 - 0:07What do you feel?
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0:07 - 0:09Soft? Squishy?
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0:09 - 0:12It's you, right? You're feeling you?
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0:13 - 0:15Well, it's not quite true.
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0:15 - 0:19You're actually feeling
thousands of microscopic creatures -
0:19 - 0:21that live on our face and fingers.
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0:22 - 0:24You're feeling some of the fungi
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0:24 - 0:27that drifted down
from the air ducts today. -
0:27 - 0:29They set off our allergies
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0:29 - 0:31and smell of mildew.
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0:32 - 0:36You're feeling some
of the 100 billion bacterial cells -
0:36 - 0:38that live on our skin.
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0:38 - 0:42They've been munching away
at your skin oils and replicating, -
0:42 - 0:45producing the smells of body odor.
-
0:46 - 0:48You're likely even touching
the fecal bacteria -
0:49 - 0:52that sprayed onto you the last time
you flushed a toilet, -
0:52 - 0:55or those bacteria that live
in our water pipes -
0:55 - 0:58and sprayed onto you
with your last shower. -
0:59 - 1:00Sorry.
-
1:00 - 1:01(Laughter)
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1:01 - 1:05You're probably even giving
a microscopic high five -
1:05 - 1:09to the two species of mites
that live on our faces, -
1:09 - 1:10on all of our faces.
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1:11 - 1:14They've spent the night
squirming across your face -
1:14 - 1:16and having sex on the bridge of your nose.
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1:16 - 1:19(Laughter)
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1:20 - 1:24Many of them are now leaking
their gut contents onto your pores. -
1:24 - 1:26(Laughter)
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1:26 - 1:28Now look at your finger.
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1:28 - 1:30How's it feel? Gross?
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1:30 - 1:33In desperate need of soap or bleach?
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1:34 - 1:36That's how you feel now,
-
1:36 - 1:39but it's not going to be
how you feel in the future. -
1:39 - 1:41For the last 100 years,
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1:41 - 1:43we've had an adversarial relationship
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1:43 - 1:46with the microscopic life nearest us.
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1:46 - 1:48If I told you there was
a bug in your house -
1:48 - 1:49or bacteria in your sink,
-
1:49 - 1:52there was a human-devised
solution for that, -
1:52 - 1:55a product to eradicate, exterminate,
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1:55 - 1:56disinfect.
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1:57 - 2:01We strive to remove most
of the microscopic life in our world now. -
2:02 - 2:07But in doing so, we're ignoring
the best source of new technology -
2:07 - 2:08on this planet.
-
2:09 - 2:14The last 100 years have featured
human solutions to microbial problems, -
2:14 - 2:20but the next 100 years will feature
microbial solutions to human problems. -
2:21 - 2:23I'm a scientist, and I work
with researchers -
2:23 - 2:26at North Carolina State University
and the University of Colorado -
2:26 - 2:30to uncover the microscopic
life that is nearest us, -
2:31 - 2:35and that's often in our most intimate
and boring environments, -
2:35 - 2:38be it under our couches, in our backyards,
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2:38 - 2:39or in our belly buttons.
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2:40 - 2:43I do this work because it turns out
that we know very little -
2:43 - 2:45about the microscopic life
that's nearest us. -
2:46 - 2:49As of a few years ago,
no scientist could tell you -
2:49 - 2:51what bugs or microorganisms
live in your home -- -
2:53 - 2:56your home, the place you know
better than anywhere else. -
2:57 - 2:58And so I and teams of others
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2:58 - 3:01are armed with Q-tips and tweezers
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3:01 - 3:02and advanced DNA techniques
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3:02 - 3:05to uncover the microscopic
life nearest us. -
3:06 - 3:10In doing so, we found
over 600 species of bugs -
3:10 - 3:12that live in USA homes,
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3:12 - 3:15everything from spiders and cockroaches
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3:15 - 3:17to tiny mites that cling to feathers.
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3:18 - 3:23And we found over 100,000 species
of bacteria and fungi -
3:23 - 3:25that live in our dust bunnies,
-
3:25 - 3:29thousands more that live
on our clothes or in our showers. -
3:30 - 3:32We've gone further still,
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3:32 - 3:34and we looked at the microorganisms
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3:34 - 3:38that live inside the bodies
of each of those bugs in our home. -
3:39 - 3:42In each bug, for example, a wasp,
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3:42 - 3:46we see a microscopic jungle
unfold in a petri plate, -
3:46 - 3:49a world of hundreds of vibrant species.
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3:49 - 3:52Behold the biological cosmos!
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3:54 - 3:56So many of the species
you're looking at right now -
3:56 - 3:57don't yet have names.
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3:58 - 4:01Most of the life around us
remains unknown. -
4:02 - 4:05I remember the first time I discovered
and got to name a new species. -
4:05 - 4:09It was a fungus that lives
in the nest of a paper wasp. -
4:09 - 4:11It's white and fluffy,
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4:11 - 4:14and I named it "mucor nidicola,"
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4:14 - 4:17meaning in Latin that it lives
in the nest of another. -
4:18 - 4:21This is a picture of it
growing on a dinosaur, -
4:21 - 4:24because everyone
thinks dinosaurs are cool. -
4:25 - 4:27At the time, I was in graduate school,
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4:27 - 4:31and I was so excited
that I had found this new life form. -
4:31 - 4:33I called up my dad, and I go,
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4:33 - 4:36"Dad! I just discovered
a new microorganism species." -
4:37 - 4:38And he laughed and he goes,
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4:38 - 4:41"That's great. I hope you also
discovered a cure for it." -
4:41 - 4:43(Laughter)
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4:43 - 4:44"Cure it."
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4:45 - 4:48Now, my dad is my biggest fan,
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4:48 - 4:52so in that crushing moment where he wanted
to kill my new little life form, -
4:52 - 4:55I realized that actually I had failed him,
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4:55 - 4:57both as a daughter and a scientist.
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4:57 - 5:01In my years toiling away in labs
and in people's backyards, -
5:01 - 5:05investigating and cataloging
the microscopic life around us, -
5:05 - 5:07I'd never made clear
my true mission to him. -
5:08 - 5:10My goal is not to find technology
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5:10 - 5:13to kill the new microscopic
life around us. -
5:13 - 5:17My goal is to find new technology
from this life, that will help save us. -
5:19 - 5:25The diversity of life in our homes is more
than a list of 100,000 new species. -
5:25 - 5:29It is 100,000 new sources
of solutions to human problems. -
5:30 - 5:33I know it's hard to believe
that anything that's so small -
5:33 - 5:34or only has one cell
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5:34 - 5:36can do anything powerful,
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5:36 - 5:37but they can.
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5:37 - 5:40These creatures
are microscopic alchemists, -
5:40 - 5:43with the ability to transform
their environment -
5:43 - 5:45with an arsenal of chemical tools.
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5:46 - 5:49This means that they can live
anywhere on this planet, -
5:49 - 5:51and they can eat whatever
food is around them. -
5:53 - 5:57This means they can eat everything
from toxic waste to plastic, -
5:58 - 6:03and they can produce waste products
like oil and battery power -
6:03 - 6:05and even tiny nuggets of real gold.
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6:07 - 6:10They can transform the inedible
into nutritive. -
6:11 - 6:13They can make sugar into alcohol.
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6:14 - 6:16They give chocolate its flavor,
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6:16 - 6:18and soil the power to grow.
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6:18 - 6:20I'm here to tell you
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6:20 - 6:23that the next 100 years will feature
these microscopic creatures -
6:23 - 6:24solving more of our problems.
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6:25 - 6:27And we have a lot of problems
to choose from. -
6:28 - 6:32We've got the mundane:
bad-smelling clothes or bland food. -
6:32 - 6:35And we've got the monumental:
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6:35 - 6:38disease, pollution, war.
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6:39 - 6:41And so this is my mission:
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6:41 - 6:44to not just catalog
the microscopic life around us, -
6:44 - 6:48but to find out what it's uniquely
well-suited to help us with. -
6:49 - 6:50Here's an example.
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6:50 - 6:52We started with a pest,
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6:52 - 6:54a wasp that lives on many of our homes.
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6:55 - 7:00Inside that wasp, we plucked out
a little-known microorganism species -
7:00 - 7:01with a unique ability:
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7:02 - 7:03it could make beer.
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7:04 - 7:07This is a trait that only
a few species on this planet have. -
7:07 - 7:10In fact, all commercially produced
beer you've ever had -
7:10 - 7:14likely came from one of only
three microorganism species. -
7:15 - 7:19Yet our species, it could make
a beer that tasted like honey, -
7:20 - 7:22and it could also make
a delightfully tart beer. -
7:23 - 7:27In fact, this microorganism species
that lives in the belly of a wasp, -
7:28 - 7:30it could make a valuable sour beer
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7:30 - 7:33better than any other species
on this planet. -
7:35 - 7:38There are now four species
that produce commercial beer. -
7:39 - 7:42Where you used to see a pest,
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7:42 - 7:44now think of tasting
your future favorite beer. -
7:46 - 7:47As a second example,
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7:47 - 7:51I worked with researchers
to dig in the dirt in people's backyards. -
7:51 - 7:56There, we uncovered a microorganism
that could make novel antibiotics, -
7:56 - 7:59antibiotics that can kill
the world's worst superbugs. -
8:00 - 8:03This was an awesome thing to find,
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8:03 - 8:04but here's the secret:
-
8:05 - 8:07for the last 60 years,
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8:07 - 8:09most of the antibiotics on the market
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8:09 - 8:12have come from similar soil bacteria.
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8:12 - 8:15Every day, you and I
and everyone in this room -
8:15 - 8:17and on this planet,
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8:17 - 8:22are saved by similar soil bacteria
that produce most of our antibiotics. -
8:23 - 8:25Where you used to see dirt,
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8:25 - 8:27now think of medication.
-
8:28 - 8:31Perhaps my favorite example
comes from colleagues -
8:31 - 8:34who are studying
a pond scum microorganism, -
8:34 - 8:38which is tragically named after
the cow dung it was first found in. -
8:38 - 8:42It's pretty unremarkable
and would be unworthy of discussion, -
8:42 - 8:46except that the researchers found
that if you feed it to mice, -
8:46 - 8:48it vaccinates against PTSD.
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8:50 - 8:52It vaccinates against fear.
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8:53 - 8:57Where you used to see pond scum,
now think of hope. -
8:58 - 9:00There are so many more microbial examples
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9:01 - 9:03that I don't have time
to talk about today. -
9:03 - 9:09I gave you examples of solutions
that came from just three species, -
9:09 - 9:13but imagine what those other
100,000 species in your dust bunnies -
9:13 - 9:14might be able to do.
-
9:15 - 9:18In the future, they might be able
to make you sexier -
9:19 - 9:20or smarter
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9:21 - 9:23or perhaps live longer.
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9:24 - 9:27So I want you to look
at your finger again. -
9:27 - 9:29Think about all those
microscopic creatures -
9:29 - 9:31that are unknown.
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9:31 - 9:34Think about in the future
what they might be able to do -
9:34 - 9:35or make
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9:36 - 9:38or whose life they might be able to save.
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9:39 - 9:41How does your finger feel right now?
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9:42 - 9:43A little bit powerful?
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9:45 - 9:47That's because you're feeling the future.
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9:47 - 9:48Thank you.
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9:49 - 9:53(Applause)
- Title:
- Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face
- Speaker:
- Anne Madden
- Description:
-
Behold the microscopic jungle in and around you: tiny organisms living on your cheeks, under your sofa and in the soil in your backyard. We have an adversarial relationship with these microbes -- we sanitize, exterminate and disinfect them -- but according to microbiologist Anne Madden, they're sources of new technologies and medicines waiting to be discovered. These microscopic alchemists aren't gross, Madden says -- they're the future.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:07
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face |