与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S03E01

Part 6 April 19, 2021, 2:43 p.m.

环顾四周
If you look around,
看到的是每天要用到的功能空间
what you see is some functional space used every day.
然后当来到车♥库♥的时候
And then when you go down to the garage,
一些空间是专门用来贮存的
you see some space that really is storage.
这里放着
It contains things
也许几年间，亦或永远都不会用到的东西
that we may never use for years and years on end
但我们并未扔掉它
but we haven't thrown out,
当我们搬家时
and if we move house,
可能还要把他们一同搬到新地方
probably will take it with us to the next place.
几乎每个生物都携带者多余的基因垃圾
Nearly every living thing carries this genetic junk,
一些无害的DNA序列
innocuous sequences of DNA
无数代以来，它们都忠实的传递着
that are faithfully passed along for countless generations.
保罗意识到，这些垃圾DNA
Paul realized this junk DNA
是隐藏一些编码信息的完美地方
could be the perfect hiding place for a coded message.
想像我们有一些手段，可以用某些信息
Imagine that there is some way that we could etch or embellish
雕刻或修饰DNA的结构
the fundamental structure of DNA with some sort of message,
却不影响
in such a way that it didn't compromise
生物体功能
the functionality of the organism.
这信息可以保持数千万年
Then it could endure for tens of millions of years
乃至更久
or even longer.
保罗相信，很久以前
Paul believes that long ago,
外星基因工程师已经修改了地球上的
alien genetic engineers could have rearranged sequences of DNA
生物体内的DNA序列
inside living organisms on Earth,
也许就是我们哺乳动物最早的祖先
maybe in our earliest mammalian ancestors.
他们后代都将携带这些
Their descendants would carry the message
从不引人注目的信息
through the eons unnoticed,
知道当中的一个足够聪明
until one of them is finally smart enough
从他自己的DNA中读出这些信息
to sample his own DNA and read the message.
研究人员已经开始对人和其他物种
Researchers have begun scouring the genetic code of humans
进行基因测序，寻找不寻常的DNA模式
and other species, searching for unusual patterns in DNA.
这种努力称为基因组外星智能探索
It is an endeavor called genomic SETI.
假如你看到一组质数
Supposing you saw a sequence of prime numbers
被用DNA的语言拼出
spelled out in the language of DNA,
即四种基本组分：A、G、C和T
which is the four bases -- "A," "G," "C," and "T."
没有哪一种自然选择
Well, there's no way that natural selection
会产生这些
would ever produce such a thing.
这将展现出
It would leap out at you
明显的人工起源的痕迹
as being of obviously artificial origin.
如果基因外星智慧探索确实发现了什么
If genomic SETI does find something,
一个最先提及的问题会是
one of the first questions we will ask is,
为什么外星人会克服千难万阻
"Why did aliens go through all the trouble
留下消息呢？
of sending such a message?"
人们有各种不同的想法
People have all sorts of different ideas.
有人想，这可能是宗教象征
Some people think, "Well, could be a religious symbol."
有人想，这是一个纪念碑
Some people, "it could be a monument."
例如，在埃及
We go to Egypt, for example.
有这些巨大的纪念碑
We see these huge monuments.
他们留给谁？留给后代
What are they for? Well, they're for posterity.
之所以修建，是人们觉得自己的文明
They're put there because people feel
是伟大的，是值得讲给别人听的
that their civilization was great, it has something,
告诉所有的后代
it can speak to people all down the generations,
他们想要留下什么
they want to leave something behind.
我们DNA中的一条消息
A message in our DNA
可能传达出一些更基础的信息
could also communicate something much more fundamental --
那就是DNA是星系中所有生命的语言
that DNA is the language of all life in the galaxy.
听起很疯狂，但事实并不是
It sounds like wild speculation, but it is not,
因为这个人可能发现了
because this man may have found the common bond
我们和外星人之间的共同点
between us and alien life.
我们久久凝视这星空
We have always looked to the stars
试图和外星人建立联♥系♥
in our effort to make contact with aliens.
现在，追寻可能面临着一个意想不到的转机
Now that quest could be taking an unexpected turn,
我们可能发现我们自己和外星人之间的联♥系♥
because we may find a link between ourselves and aliens,
并不在天际
not in the heavens
而在创造生命的编码中——DNA
but in the life-creating code of DNA.
在南极洲旷渺无垠的冰原中
In the vast, frozen emptiness of Antarctica,
研究者偶然发现的
researchers recently stumbled across fragments
四十亿年前陨石的碎片
of a four-billion-year-old meteorite,
一片宇宙的碎片
a piece of cosmic shrapnel
可以追溯到我们太阳系诞生初始
that dates back to the very birth of our solar system.
这是人类最宝贵的物品之一
This is one of the most precious objects known to man.
毫发无损，值一笔小钱
Unscathed, it is worth a small fortune.
但是有时科学需要牺牲
But sometimes science requires sacrifice.
我自己想的第一件事是，别搞砸了
First thing I'm thinking to myself is, "don't mess up.
别搞砸了，别冲它咳嗽
Don't mess up, and don't cough on it."
麦克·卡拉罕是
Mike Callahan is a chemist
美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心的化学家
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
他研究一种罕见类型的陨石
His studies focus on a rare type of meteorite
称为碳粒陨石
called carbonaceous chondrites.
这些陨石含碳量非常之高
These meteorites are very, very rich in carbon
并富含有机分子
and contain a wealth of organic molecules.
你可以把我们制备陨石提取物
You can think of our meteorite extractions
想像成沏茶
kind of like making a cup of tea.
当茶包放入水中时
When we place the tea bag into our liquid,
你用这种方法
you can see that you're extracting out all the herbs
就提取出了
and all the flavors
所有的草药和口味成分
into your solution,
我们也是这样做的
and this is what we're doing with our meteorite.
麦克试图酿造出确凿的证据
Mike is trying to brew up conclusive evidence
四十五亿年前的太空岩石中拥有
that molecules essential to life were present in space rocks
构成生物的必要物质
4 1/2 billion years ago.
这些年来人们已经找到了很多有趣的分子
People have found lots of interesting molecules
例如蛋白质的组分
such as amino acids,
氨基酸
which are the building blocks of your proteins,
以及其他分子，在其他陨石中
and other essential molecule in other meteorites for years.
但是一直没有找到缺少的拼图
But there was always this missing puzzle piece
碱基
with nucleobases.
这个科学问题
That's been a scientific question
已经困扰了超过50年
that's been out there for over 50 years.
核碱基，书写DNA的字母
Nucleobases are the letters of DNA --
A、G、C和T
"A," "G," "C," and "T" --
这些分子相互链接，形成双螺旋
the molecules that zip together the double helix.
数十年来，生化学家致力合成它们
For decades, biochemists have struggled to synthesize them
并为它们是如何在早期地球上形成的
and puzzle over how they could have been created
而疑惑
on our primordial earth.
但是在麦克的陨石茶中
But in Mike's meteorite tea,
答案可能终究到来
the answer may finally have arrived.
我们在陨石中发现了这些简单的组分
We find these simple building blocks,
即核碱基，如腺嘌呤和鸟嘌呤
these nucleobases, like adenine and guanine, in meteorites.
和组成地球生命
The same molecules that make up the DNA
相同的分子
common to all life on Earth
已在外太空存在了数十亿年
have existed in outer space for billions of years.
在太阳系形成初期，它们已经形成
They were created when our solar system formed.
当开始深入地看
It's amazing when you start looking
看陨石内部的时候
at what's inside these meteorites,
发现的东西令人惊叹
what you actually truly find.
现在，看着这些并思考
And now we're looking at this and thinking,
如果陨石来到地球
"well, if these meteorites are coming into Earth
它们分布在太阳系、宇宙的
"and now they're being scattered everywhere in the solar system,
每一个角落
"everywhere in the universe,
我觉得外星人看起来会和我们很像
"I think maybe aliens do look very similar to us,
也许我们都以相同的组分构成
because maybe we're all composed of the same building blocks."
麦克的发现表明
Mike's finding
DNA的组分
shows that the building blocks of DNA
可能遍布整个星系
could be scattered all over the galaxy,
DNA不仅仅是地球生命的基础
that DNA might be the basis not just of life on Earth
也许同样是外星生命的基础
but of alien life, as well.
第一次接触可能来自宇宙深处我们的表亲
First contact could be with our distant cosmic cousins.
但是这并不意味这对于他们和我们
But there's no guarantee it will be a warm family reunion
会是一次温暖的家庭团聚
for them or us.
第一次接触的影响
The impact of a first contact