The year is 2034.

現在是2034年

Alex has just come home.

Alex 才剛回到家

It's his birthday, he turns 61 years old today.

今天是他的生日，即將邁入61歲

He comes home and before he puts his keys into the door to open the door,

他回到家，就在用鑰匙打開家門之前

he remembers something.

他想到了一些事情

He lets his arms dangle to his side for a moment.

他垂下肩膀，並等了一會兒

No shaking, no resting tremor.

發現沒有晃動、也沒有顫動

Moves his arms up and down.

他上下移動手臂

No rigidity, no signs of Parkinson's disease.

沒有僵直，沒有出現帕金森氏症的徵兆

He remembers when his mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease

他還記得當他的母親被診斷出帕金森氏症時

when she was just 50 years old, much younger than he is today.

那時她只有50 歲，比現在的他還年輕

And he remembers her frustrations with simple tasks

他還記得那時的她有多灰心，連簡單瑣事都顯得費力

like putting the keys in the door or even dressing herself.

像是用鑰匙開門，甚至是幫自己換裝

He also remembers the day

他也還記得那個日子

that he found out that he, just like his mom,

就是在那天他發現自己，就如同他母親一樣

carries a genetic mutation

帶有相同的基因突變

that makes it more likely for him to get the disease.

這讓他很有可能得到一樣的疾病

Now, he shakes it off, opens the door, and goes inside

現在他甩開手，把門打開進到家裡

and a loud noise of "Surprise!" greets him

並讓一聲巨大的"驚喜!"來歡迎他回家

as his friends and family cheer and celebrate his birthday.

朋友們以及家人歡笑著幫他慶生

His wife hands him a glass of champagne and everyone raises a toast,

妻子遞過來一杯香檳，大家舉杯致意

"To Alex!"

「敬 Alex !」

He smiles to himself.

他發自內心的笑著

Another year gone, and no sign of Parkinson's disease.

一年又過去，仍沒有出現帕金森式的徵兆

The drugs are working.

那個藥有效

He secretly raises a toast to the warriors, the champions,

他悄悄地舉杯向戰士們致意，向那些勇者們

who changed his fate.

他們改變了他的命運

Now, let's rewind, ten years.

現在讓我們倒帶，回到十年前

The year is 2024.

今年是2024

The new Parkinson's disease drug has just received FDA approval

新的帕金森氏症藥物剛通過美國食品藥物管理局核准

after showing great promise in clinical trials.

新藥在臨床試驗上表現優異

Not just in masking the symptoms of the disease, like the previous drugs,

它跟以往藥物不一樣的是，它不僅只是抑制症狀

but actually stopping the progressive degeneration.

而是真的可以阻止帕金森氏症帶來的逐漸退化

This drug is nothing short of a miracle taking less than ten years;

這藥物是不折不扣的奇蹟，在不到十年內就能得到痊癒

usually, the time line of drug development is long, over 15 years,

通常這類藥物需要更長的療程，超過十五年

and even then, a very high failure rate.

即使如此費時，失敗率仍然很高

This time, it was much faster.

這次不同，它的作用快多了

This time, there were tools that predicted interactions and successes

這次，我們能夠預測作用過程及成功的結果

and avoided a sea of failed studies and negative data.

避免了海量的失敗研究以及反面數據

Alex is still asymptomatic, but brain scans show

Alex目前仍未出現症狀，但腦部掃描顯示

there's already some degeneration in his brain.

他的腦已經出現了一些退化的徵兆

He starts treatment immediately to avoid further damage.

他立即開始服用藥物，以免腦部進一步受損

Let's keep rewinding.

現在我們繼續倒帶

The year is 2014.

時間來到2014

I stand here in front of you,

我站在你們面前

and I tell you about two progressive and debilitating brain diseases:

我正告訴你們有關兩種漸進性退化腦部疾病的事情

Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

帕金森氏症以及阿茲海默症

I tell you that this is what happens to your brain in Alzheimer's disease.

我跟你們說明這就是當你得到阿茲海默症時，腦中發生的事情

And I ask you: what would you do to keep your brain from this fate?

接著我問你們：你們願意付出多少來避免你的腦遭受如此命運

How much would you pay

願意花多少錢

to save your most precious memories, your cognition, your identity?

來保護你最珍貴的回憶、你的認知、你的自我?

What about Parkinson's disease?

那麼帕金森氏症呢?

What would you pay

你願意付出多少

to keep enough motor control, to dress yourself, feed yourself,

來保有你的行為能力，好讓你能自己換裝、自己進食

even go to the bathroom by yourself?

甚至僅僅只是自己如廁?

And I tell you that as life expectancy grows,

讓我告訴你們，隨著預期壽命的增加

we will be faced with a dramatically higher number

我們必將面對的是，這兩種病患數量

of both of these diseases with no cure.

明顯增加卻沒有解藥

But there is hope.

但別放棄希望

I tell you that we are warriors,

我告訴你們，我們都是戰士

conquerors fighting these inhumane diseases.

都是征服者，正與這些慘無人道的疾病作戰

I tell you of revolutionary advances in the field of neuroscience

我告訴你們，現在神經科學領域正發生革命性的進展

and that we are on the verge of powerful, new tools like neurostimulation.

全新的強大技術像是"神經刺激"越來越完善，讓我們有了更好的遠景

This tool uses video game technology

這項技術利用電玩遊戲的技術

to create a model of what happens inside an individual neuron or brain cell.

創造了一個模型，讓我們可以窺見腦中個別的神經細胞和腦細胞之中發生了什麼

It allows us to put together the pieces of the puzzle

讓我們可以將所有的拼圖拼湊在一起

and make our brains healthier

讓我們的腦不再受疾病威脅

which I think it's an idea worth spreading.

我認為這是一個值得分享的想法

Alex is here tonight.

Alex 今晚也在這

He hears this talk and joins the warriors.

他來這裡聽演講並加入戰士們

He decides to live better, learn more,

他選擇活得更好、學得更多

and use his skills set to contribute to research.

並運用所學為研究貢獻一份力量

While we're here already, let's keep rewinding.

既然我們都在這，就一起繼續倒帶吧

The year is 2004.

今年是2004

Scientists have just discovered a mutation in a gene called LRRK2.

科學家們剛發現一個基因突變叫做LRRK2

This genetic mutation significantly increases

該基因突變會顯著地增加

a person's likelihood of getting Parkinson's disease.

一個人得到帕金森氏症的機率

Meanwhile, Alex is with his mom at the hospital,

在這個時間點，Alex 正在醫院陪伴她的母親

watching as the neurologist performs motor tests

看著神經科醫師做動作檢測

and trying to come to grip with his mom's Parkinson's disease,

試著掌握他母親的帕金森氏症病情

helpless.

毫無希望

Neither he nor his mom have any idea

不論是他或者他的母親都沒有想到

that they both carry this newly discovered genetic mutation.

他們倆個都帶有新發現的基因突變

2004 was also the first year

2004 這年

that I attended the Society for Neuroscience Meeting.

也是我加入神經科學年會的第一個年頭

I have just started my research on Parkinson's disease,

我對帕金森氏症的研究才剛起步

and I had my first piece of data in hand.

那時我手中拿到我第一份研究數據

I was so excited

當時我好興奮

because I actually found something that no one else knew before.

因為我真正地發現了以前沒人知道的事情

Not like researching on Google.

而不是在google上搜尋到的

Actually finding something that no one knew.

"真正地"發現沒人知道的事情

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

It was like nature had whispered

這就好像大自然藉著耳語

a little secret to me that I could tell the world.

告訴了我世界的奧秘讓我可以告訴其他人

It was addictive.

這讓人欲罷不能

And when I went to this meeting,

當我抵達年會會場

I saw 25,000 other neuroscientists and trainees

看到超過25,000名神經科學家以及研究生

who were just as giddy and excited about the brain as I was.

他們和我一樣一聽到大腦就興奮得兩眼放光

Each of them unlocking the 'hows' of the brain and the nervous system.

每一個在場的人都試圖解開大腦和神經系統如何運作這塊謎團

How this fantastic system allows us to think,

如此奇妙的一個器官讓我們可以思考、

to learn, remember, to feel emotions,

學習、記憶、擁有情感

even see, hear, and move our bodies.

甚至看見、聽到以及移動我們的身體

If you had gone there, you would have, no doubt, seen a lot of nerds.

如果你人在現場，毫無疑問的，會見到一大堆書呆子

And we are quite proudly nerds.

但我們可是一群頗為自豪的書呆子

But I knew, standing there, at that moment in time,

我也知道，不論是站在這裡，或在那個會場裡

that we are warriors, explorers,

我們都是戰士，都是探險家

we boldly go where no one has gone before.

勇於探索前人未至之所在

We are people who develop and utilize new tools and techniques

設計並利用最新的工具和技術

so that we can explore the unknown,

好讓我們得以探索未知

rethink what we already know,

重新審視已知

and reshape the fate of future generations.

並重改下一代的命運

Look at the people next to you.

看看你周遭的人們

You are one of the six people directly adjacent to you

你周遭緊鄰著六個人，但同時你也緊鄰著他們

who'll get Alzheimer's disease.

這些人都將得到阿茲海默症

And while it looks bleak today, there is a bright future waiting us.

也許今日仍未見曙光，但未來仍有一線希望

But we must be diligent and there's no time to waste.

我們要不斷努力，不浪費絲毫時間

Every single one of you has the skills set,

在場的每一個人都有自己的專業

a weapon that can be used in this fight.

在這場戰鬥中都能派上用場

If you are here,

只要你願意挺身而出

if you are interested in ideas worth spreading,

如果對值得分享的知識有興趣

If you are curious enough, motivated enough,

如果有足夠的好奇心與動機

and spending your free time listening to TED talks,

使得你願意利用閒暇的時間來聽TED的演講

I have news for you,

我有訊息要告訴你

you are already one of us, you are a warrior.

就是，你已經是我們的一員了，你是一位戰士

So unsheathe your weapons and stand with us

因此，拿出武器與我們並肩

because every action that we take now,

此後我們的每個行動

will transform the fate of future generations.

都將改變未來世代的命運

For people like Alex, for people like you and me.

對於像Alex一般的人們是如此，對你我亦如是

Now, before I tell you my second story, I want to ask you a question:

現在，在我告訴你們我的第二個故事以前，我想要問你們一個問題

raise your hand if you would want to know if you have one of these genetic mutations

想要知道自己的帶有上述的基因突變的請舉手

that increases your risk for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases.

該基因突變會增加得到阿茲海默或者帕金森氏症的機會

Oh, that's good!

哦，很好

Keep on mind there's no cure still.

請務必記得，目前仍然是沒有可用藥物的

If you raised your hand, it's actually quite inexpensive,

假如你剛才舉手了，其實那只需要花一筆不算太貴的錢

only about a hundred dollars and very quick,

只需要大約一百美金，也不花時間

to get tested for this genetic mutations.

就能檢測你身上是否帶有該基因突變

If you didn't raise your hand, I guess that's something

如果你沒有舉手，我想

that we each have to decide for ourselves,

我們每個人都有自己的抉擇

but I tend to think that knowledge is always good,

但我個人認為知識無論如何都是好的

that by knowing our genetic risk,

了解自身基因缺陷帶來的風險後

we can change our environments and our lifestyle factors.

我們可以改變我們的居住環境和生活作息

We can contribute to organizations like the Michael J. Fox Foundation

可以有所貢獻，像是參與 Michael J. Fox 基金會

for Parkinson's or an Alzheimer's association.

來幫助帕金森氏症和阿茲海默症的患者

You have the power then, to reshape your own future.

你們有能力改變自己的未來

Now, for my second story.

現在，關於我的第二個故事

This story is about one tiny little neuron

這故事有關一個小小的神經細胞

inside the brain of someone with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

位於阿茲海默症或者帕金森氏症病患的腦中

You can't see it,

你無法直接看到它

it's embedded deep inside the brain and protected by a very thick skull.

它在腦部組織中的深處並被厚實的顱骨包覆

And contrary to what you may have seen in the movies, on TV, or even in this animation,

與你之前所見所聞不同，在電影、電視、甚至動畫中

we don't have any tools to be able to see this type of resolution,

我們沒有任何工具可以看見如此細微之事物

individual neurons in the brain.

腦中個別的神經細胞

Let alone the molecules inside of these neurons.

更不用說這些神經細胞中的各種分子

We can do a couple of things: we can take one of these neurons,

但現實中我們其實能做到一部分：我們可以取其中一個神經細胞

stick it in the petri dish and look at it under microscope on the laboratory.

將它放在培養皿上，並在實驗室中用顯微鏡觀察

It's very cool.

這非常酷

We can even tag different types of molecules,

我們甚至能將不同種類的分子打上標記

and we can see them move and change.

然後觀察它們如何移動以及改變

But we miss everything else, we only see what we tag.

但我們卻錯過了其他東西，我們只能看見被標記的東西

Another thing we can do is we can take these neurons,

另一件我們做得到的事情是可以取這些神經細胞

and we can look at a whole bunch of different things.

然後觀察到許多不同的東西

We can look at the concentrations of molecules inside them,

我們可以觀察細胞之中的分子濃度

the way they move, where they are located, their interactions.

像是分子移動的方式、位置、分子之間的交互作用

But we can only see it for one point in time

但我們僅能觀察到上述的某一瞬間

because once we take that neuron for analysis, it's dead,

因為一旦將神經細胞取下觀察，它就死了

we can't use it anymore.

沒辦法再次使用它

This is a huge limitation because the brain doesn't look like this.

這是一個相當大的限制，因為腦中的生理活動可不像這樣

The neurons are no static, they're incredibly dynamic,

這些神經細胞不是靜態的，它們驚人地活躍

moving, changing every millisecond.

每一毫秒都在移動、改變著

Now, I know the neuron can be intimidating.

我知道神經細胞可以變得很可怕

I'm now going to show you any pictures.

等下我會給你們看一些圖片

I just want you to imagine with me for a second.

我希望你們能跟我一起想像

I think neurons are so intimidating because they're so tiny.

我會覺得神經細胞很可怕是因為它們非常微小

Let's imagine that this tiny little neuron that we're talking about today,

現在一起想像今天的主題- 微小的神經細胞

the one in the brain of someone with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease

在阿茲海默症或帕金森氏症患者腦中的神經細胞

is actually really big.

其實大上許多

Let's say it's the size of our city.

就把它比喻成城市一般的大小好了

Neuron is actually a lot like a city.

當然神經細胞跟城市其實不太一樣

Just like there are different types of people

就像城市中有著各式各樣的人們

in the city that make it function,

使城市得以正常運作

there are different types of molecules inside a neuron that make it function.

神經細胞中也有許多不同的分子，使其功能正常

Some give it energy, others transport things back and forth,

有些提供能量，其他則將各種物質來回運送

kind of like a metro system or a railroad system.

有點像是地鐵系統或是鐵路系統

Others are border patrols controlling what goes in and out of the neuron.

另一些分子就像邊境巡警，監管著神經細胞中物質的進出

And others are neurotransmitters, they go between the neurons

還有些被稱作神經傳遞物質，它們在神經之間游走

and that's how your neurons communicate.

透過它們神經細胞之間才能互相傳遞訊息

Now, that's a normal neuron.

這是正常的神經細胞中的情形

But what happens in this particular neuron?

那麼，異常的神經細胞中的情形呢?

It's not normal,

那可一點都不正常

it's inside someone's brain with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease,

它們位於阿茲海默症或帕金森氏症患者的腦中

it's being damaged.

它們的功能損壞了

You actually all know the story already,

你們大概已經很了解這段故事了

and this is where it gets really interesting.

但其中精彩的地方才正要出現

If we go back to our city analogy, this is a city that's under attack.

假如我們回到剛才的城市比喻，這座城市正遭受攻擊

Whether it's Independence Day, or World War Z,

不論是像"ID4星際終結者"或是像"末日之戰"

what happens when a city is under attack?

那麼城市遭受攻擊後到底發生了什麼?

"Mayday, mayday, we have a problem, we are under attack, do you copy?"

"請求支援，請求支援，我們遇上麻煩了，我們正遭受攻擊，是否收到?"

All you get from the other side is hiss-hiss.

聽筒另一邊傳來的聲音唯有雜訊聲

Maybe a couple of broken words here and there.

或許還有一兩段斷斷續續不成文的句子

Because chances are other cities are under attack too.

因為相當有可能對方的城市也正遭受攻擊

That's exactly what we see in our neurons.

這正是我們在我們的神經細胞之間看到的景象

They stop communicating efficiently with each other.

神經細胞之間無法有效地溝通

What else happens in a city under attack? Widespread panic.

那除此之外城市受攻擊時還發生些什麼? 大眾恐慌

People are running and screaming with their arms up in the air.

人們到處亂竄並高聲尖叫，雙手在空中胡亂揮舞

I know you can picture it. That's exactly what happens in our neuron.

我知道你們能想像得到這畫面，正跟在神經細胞中發生的完全一致

In a normal neuron, molecules are somewhat predictable,

在正常的神經細胞中，分子的行為多少是可以預測的

you know where they might be at a given time

你知道它們在什麼時刻可能在什麼位置

or what they might be doing.

或是它們可能進行什麼作用

But when it gets damaged,

但是當這些分子不再正常

it's like they were not the same old molecules we use to know,

就好像這些分子不再是原來我們了解的分子一樣

they go places and do things they wouldn't do,

它們跑去不該去的地方，做一些從沒做過的事

and the damage begets more damage.

於是損害逐漸擴大

Speaking of damage, that's something else you see in a city under attack:

說到損害，在城市遭受攻擊時還能看到其他東西：

piles of rubble, pieces of broken buildings, cars,

成堆的瓦礫、建築物和車輛的殘骸

dead bodies clumped together.

交互倒錯的屍體

And that's what we see in our neuron too:

這也在神經細胞中發生：

we see clumps of aggregated, damaged molecules.

我們看到一大團不正常的分子集結

In Parkinson's disease, we have Lewy bodies,

在帕金森氏症中，我們會看見路易體

in Alzheimer's disease, we have tangles and plaques.

在阿茲海默症中，我們看見神經纖維纏結與β澱粉樣斑塊

And don't forget that in the midst of all of this crazy chaos,

而且別忘了在這瘋狂的一團混亂當中

we are trying to figure out what's actually killing the cell.

我們要找出是什麼真正殺死了細胞

In the movies, it's easy,

在電影當中這是很簡單的事情

it's a giant green monster running around - a green villain always seems to be -

很明顯就是那個綠色四處跑的怪物搞得鬼 (總是一個綠色的怪物)

but in our neuron, it seems to be different.

但在我們的神經細胞中，事情就不一樣了

There's no Godzilla.

那裡沒有哥吉拉

It seems that a variety of different factors contribute.

那是由一連串不同的變數所造成的結果

For example, if you work with toxins like pesticides