TED演讲:人类基因研究需要更多样化(3)
Now despite this history of distrust, I still believe that indigenous people can benefit from genetic research.
现在,不管那段充满着怀疑的历史,我依旧相信,土著居民能够从基因研究中获利。
And if we don’t do something soon, the gap in health disparities is going to continue to widen.
如果我们不尽快采取行动,医疗健康差距的鸿沟将越来越宽。
Hawaii, for example, has the longest life expectancy on average of any state in the US,
拿夏威夷举个例子,在美国所有州中,夏威夷是最长寿的州,
yet native Hawaiians like myself die a full decade before our non-native counterparts,
但是像我这样的夏威夷人比非土著人早整整10年去世,
because we have some of the highest rates of type 2 diabetes, obesity,
因为我们有2型糖尿病、肥胖症
and the number one and number two killers in the US: cardiovascular disease and cancer.
和美国头号和二号杀手疾病:心血管疾病和癌症的最高发病率。
So how do we ensure the populations of people that need genome sequencing the most are not the last to benefit?
所以,我们该如何保证最需要基因组序列的人群不是最后获益的?
My vision is to make genetic research more native, to indigenize genome sequencing technology.
我的愿望是想让基因研究更贴近当地,来本地化基因序列研究。
Traditionally, genomes are sequenced in laboratories.
一般来说,基因序列会在实验室被排序。
Here’s an image of your classic genome sequencer.
这是一张有关基因序列测定仪的照片。
It’s huge. It’s the size of a refrigerator. There’s this obvious physical limitation.
它十分巨大,有一个冰箱大小。很明显,它对空间有一定限制。
But what if you could sequence genomes on the fly?
但是,如果你能在飞机上使用基因序列测定仪会怎么样?
What if you could fit a genome sequencer in your pocket?
如果你能用口袋装下一个基因序列测定仪会怎么样?
This nanopore-based sequencer is one 10,000th the size of your traditional genome sequencer.
这个纳米孔测序仪只有传统基因序列测定仪的万分之一大小。
It doesn’t have the same physical limitations,
它没有很多对空间的限制,它
in that it’s not tethered to a lab bench with extraneous cords, large vats of chemicals or computer monitors.
不需要被绳子拴在实验室的长凳上,它无需大量的化学物质和电脑显示器。
It allows us to de-black box genome sequencing technology development in a way that’s immersive and collaborative,
它能让我们以仿真和协作的方式来排列基因,
activating and empowering indigenous communities… as citizen scientists.
让土著居民有动力和能力研究基因序列,让他们成为科学家。
大家可能不知道的一个事实是:人类基因研究96%是基于欧洲血统的人,也就是说基因研究成果的最终受益者绝大部分将是欧裔人,世界上其它种族的人群被严重忽视了。本次TED演讲者,基因学专家Keolu Fox先生认为这是非常危险的,因为人类不同种族的人群有着不同的基因组成,所以在基因研究上不应该存在这样的不平等,我们应该让更多种族的人群加入和参与到人类基因研究中来,真正让全人类受益。