每年
once a year
1000位做出卓越贡献的人相聚于加利福尼亚州的蒙特利
1000 remarkable people gather in Monterey, California
互相交流他们的
to exchange something of incalculable value
奇思妙想
Their idea
发生于这里的故事从不为人所知
what happens there has never been shared
而如今……
…until now
TED 传播一切值得传播的创意
Ideas worth spreading
这个灵感来源于与你分享创意的地方
This inspired thinking shared with you by : where great ideas live on
大自然是我的灵感源泉 激情之火
Nature’s my muse and it’s been my passion.
身为《国家地理》的摄影师 我有很多关于自然界的作品
As a photographer for National Geographic, I’ve portrayed it for many.
但五年前 在我独自旅行时
But five years ago, I went on a personal journey.
有了拍摄有关生命的故事的想法
I wanted to visualize the story of life.
那应该是我做过最难的事了
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted,
好几次我都想放弃
and there have been plenty of times when I felt like backing out.
但也有收获
But there were also revelations.
今天我将和你们分享其中的一个
And one of those I’d like to share with you today.
我去了澳大利亚的一个
I went down to a remote lagoon
偏远环礁湖 希望能看到
in Australia, hoping to see the Earth
30亿年前的地球原貌
the way it was three billion years ago,
那时候天空还没有变蓝
back before the sky turned blue.
地的下方是叠层石
There’s stromatolites down there-
第一株生物就在那里进行光合作用
the first living things to capture photosynthesis-
而它依然存在的地方 只有那里
and it’s the only place they still occur today.
往下走 如同进入了一个时间胶囊
Going down there was like entering a time capsule,
出来时 有种身处时间的洪流的感觉
and I came out with a different sense of myself in time.
我们今天所呼吸的氧气
The oxygen exhaled by those stromatolites
正是这些叠层石释放的
is what we all breathe today.
叠层石是我故事里的英雄
Stromatolites are the heroes in my story.
我希望这个故事能引起一些时代的共鸣
I hope it’s a story that has some resonance for our time.
它是关于你和我 自然和科学的故事
It’s a story about you and me, nature and science.
说到这里 我想邀请你们观赏
And with that said, I’d like to invite you for
一场短暂的穿越时间的生命旅程
a short, brief journey of life through time.
生命：一场穿越时光的旅行弗兰斯·兰亭
Life: a journey through timeFrans Lanting
这是太空
It’s the space
随着时间的推移 物质凝结成球体
where matter condenses into spheres over time…
凝固成地表 再经过火焰打磨
solidifying into surface, molded by fire.
火焰熄灭后 地球出现了
The fire gave way, Earth emerged.
但这是一个陌生的星球
But this was an alien planet.
月亮更近些 一切都不一样
The moon was closer; things were different.
星球内部的热量使间歇泉喷发
Heat from within made geysers erupt.
海洋就这样出现了
That is how the oceans were born.
水在极地周围凝结成冰
Water froze around the poles.
形成了地球的边缘
and shaped the edges of the Earth.
水是生命之源 但是冰
Water is the key to life, but in frozen form,
是一种潜在的力量
it is a latent force.
当冰消失后 地球变成火星
And when it vanishes, Earth becomes Mars.
但这个星球不一样 它内部物质不断碰撞
But this planet is different — it’s roiling inside.
新事物：生命 在能量和水相遇之处出现了
And where that energy touches water, something new emerges: life.
生命出现在地表的裂缝之间
It arises around cracks in the Earth.
酶作用物：泥土和矿物 孕育了细菌
Mud and minerals become substrate; there are bacteria.
细菌不断繁殖 越来越多
Learn to multiply, thickening in places…
外星空下 生物结构生长优化
Growing living structures under an alien sky…
氧气最先由叠层石释放
Stromatolites were the first to exhale oxygen.
它们改变了大气
And they changed the atmosphere-
改变了僵化的像铁一样的气息
A breath that’s fossilized now as iron.
陨石释放了化学物质又或是生成了细胞膜
Meteorites delivered chemistry, and perhaps membranes, too.
生物需要一个容纳自身的细胞膜
Life needs a membrane to contain itself
以便复制进化
so it can replicate and mutate.
这些是矽藻
These are diatoms
由硅骨架构成的单细胞浮游植物
single-celled phytoplankton with skeletons of silicon…
就像未来的电路板
circuit boards of the future.
浅海孕育了早期生命
Shallow seas nurtured life early on, and that’s where it morphed
生命在那里转为更复杂的形态
into more complex forms.
它随着光和氧的增加生长
It grew as light and oxygen increased.
生物变硬了 开始有了防御性
Life hardened and became defensive.
它们会移动了 也能看见了
It learned to move and began to see.
第一只眼睛出现在三叶虫身上
The first eyes grew on trilobites.
第一批离开海洋的生物——马蹄蟹
Vision was refined in horseshoe crabs,
视力变好了
among the first to leave the sea.
它们仍然不断进化 而他们的敌人早已消失
They still do what they’ve done for ages, their enemies long gone.
蝎子跟随着猎物离开了海洋
Scorpions follow prey out of the sea.
鼻涕虫变成了蜗牛
Slugs became snails.
鱼类尝试两栖生活
Fish tried amphibian life.
青蛙适应了沙漠
Frogs adapted to deserts.
地衣成群出现 真菌与附着在岩石上的藻类
Lichens arose as a co-op. Fungi married algae…
杂交 再侵蚀它们 土地变得光秃秃的了
clinging to rock, and eating it too… transforming barren land.
真正的陆生植物出现了 首先是无叶类
True land plants arose, leafless at first.
它们一学会直立生长 就开始增大体型
Once they learn how to stay upright, they grew in size and shape.
接着是基础形态的蕨类植物
The fundamental forms of ferns followed
结出了孢子 这预示种子要出现了
to bear spores that foreshadowed seeds.
湿地里一切欣欣向荣
Life flourished in swamps.
陆地上 生命已经有所变化
On land, life turned a corner.
生物体首先进化出了下巴 再是牙齿
Jaws formed first; teeth came later.
棱皮龟和大蜥蜴是那个时代的重现
Leatherbacks and tuataras are echoes from that era.
生物体花了些时间才能离开水生活
It took time for life to break away from water,
但水仍有致命的吸引力
and it still beckons all the time.
为了适应内陆 生物体变得坚硬
Life turned hard so it could venture inland.
而出现过的龙类今天依旧存在
And the dragons that arose are still among us today.
在马达加斯加的部分地区和巴西中心区域
Jurassic Park still shimmers in part of Madagascar,
仍然可以寻找到恐龙的踪迹
and the center of Brazil,
而且巴西的苏铁硬的像石头
where plants called”cycads” remain rock hard.
森林出现 孕育了飞禽类
Forests arose and nurtured things with wings.
早期生物留下的生命痕迹 恍然昨日
One early form left an imprint, like it died only yesterday.
而现代的飞行生物是在重现历史
And others fly today like echoes of the past.
鸟经常迁移
In birds, life gained new mobility.
火烈鸟遍布陆地
Flamingos covered continents.
它们不停地迁移
Migrations got underway.
鸟类见证了开花植物的出现
Birds witnessed the emergence of flowering plants.
水中百合最先出现
Water lilies were among the first.
植物呈现多样化生长 树出现了
Plants began to diversify and grew, turning into trees.
澳大利亚有株百合变成了禾木
In Australia, a lily turned into a grass tree,
夏威夷有朵雏菊变成了银剑草
and in Hawaii, a daisy became a silver sword.
在非洲 冈瓦纳大陆使山龙眼出现了
In Africa, Gondwana molded Proteas.
但当古老的大陆崩裂时 物种更丰富了
But when that ancient continent broke up, life got lusher.
热带雨林崛起 新的共生关系出现
Tropical rainforests arose, sparking new layers of interdependence.
真菌成倍增加 兰花出现
Fungi multiplied. Orchids emerged
用生殖器的形状的花引诱昆虫
genitalia shaped to lure insects…
这是地球上最大的花所共享的伎俩
a trick shared by the largest flower on Earth.
昆虫鸟类和植物的进化是同步的
Co-evolution entwined insects and birds and plants forever.
飞不了的鸟就容易受伤
When birds can’t fly, they become vulnerable.
比如鹬鸵和被困在南极洲附近的鹰
Kiwis are, and so are these hawks trapped near Antarctica.
物种灭绝进程缓慢 但有时候很快
Extinction can come slowly, but sometimes it arrives fast.
小行星撞击地球 世界被完全烧毁
An asteroid hits, and the world went down in flames.
但黑暗里的幸存者见证了一切
But there were witnesses, survivors in the dark.
天空澄澈之时 新的世界——一个适合
When the skies cleared, a new world was born.
哺乳动物生存的新世界诞生了
A world fits for mammals.
小地鼠和马岛猬都习惯了黑暗
From tiny shrews, tenrecs accustomed to the dark.
新物种诞生 如蝙蝠和麝猫
New forms became bats. Civets.
新崛起的捕食者 鬣狗 跑的越来越快
New predators, hyenas, getting faster and faster still.
草原给它们提供了猎杀机会
Grasslands created opportunities.
兽群则依靠敏锐的直觉保命
Herd safety came with sharpened senses.
体型的增加也帮了忙
Growing big was another answer
但增大体型是要付出代价的
but size always comes at a price.
一些哺乳动物又回到了水里
Some mammals turned back to water.
海象进化出脂肪层 海狮的表皮变得光滑无比
Walruses adapted with layers of fat. Sea lions got sleek.
鲸目动物回到了没有边际的海洋世界
And cetaceans moved into a world without bounds.
成为哺乳动物有很多种方法
There are many ways to be a mammal.
奥兹的单足跳袋鼠
A’roo hops in Oz;
亚洲奔跑的马
a horse runs in Asia
巴西的进化出长足的狼
and a wolf evolves stilt legs in Brazil.
丛林里初现灵长类动物——眼镜猴
Primates emerge from jungles, as tarsiers first,
而后其进化成狐猴
becoming lemurs not much later.
学习能力更强后 成群的猿猴冒险下地生活
Learning became reinforced. Bands of apes ventured into the open.
森林气候再次变得干燥
And forests dried out once more.
直立的生活方式出现
Going upright became a lifestyle.
那人类的祖先呢？是雄猩猩的同胞
So who are we? Brothers of masculine chimps,
还是雌倭黑猩猩的同胞？
sisters of feminine bonobos?
他们甚至其他动物都是我们的祖先
We are all of them, and more.
我们由同种自然力量所铸
We’re molded by the same life force.
我们手上的血管脉络
The blood veins in our hands
与地球上河水奔流所形成的脉络一致
echoed a course of water traces on the Earth.
我们引以为傲的大脑的脑回路
And our brains — our celebrated brains —
与沼泽形成的排水道网相对应
reflect a drainage of a tidal marsh.
生物本身就是一种力量
Life is a force in its own right.
它是一种改变了地球的
It is a new element.
新元素
And it has altered the Earth.
它如同皮肤般覆盖地球
It covers Earth like a skin.
而冬季的格林兰岛是唯一未被覆盖的地方
And where it doesn’t, as in Greenland in winter,
变成火星并不是件遥远的事
Mars is still not very far.
但只要冰层融化 那就不可能发生
But that likelihood fades as long as ice melts again.
流水之处都是含叶绿素的植物细胞的温床
And where water is liquid, it becomes a womb for cells green with chlorophyll —
这种分子水平上的奇迹影响很大 它为一切提供了能量
and that molecular marvel is what’s made a difference — it powers everything.
今天整个动物世界生活在细菌氧之中
The whole animal world today lives on a stockpile
这些氧气通过植物和藻类不断循环
of bacterial oxygen that is cycled constantly
我们呼吸的是其摒弃的废料
through plants and algae, and their waste is our breath,
反之亦然
and vice versa.
地球自有灵魂 我们把地球的
This Earth is alive, and it’s made its own membrane.
细胞膜称之为“大气”
We call it”atmosphere.”
这是我们旅程的标志
This is the icon of our journey.
今日在座者都可猜想并且决定我们的未来
And you all here today can imagine and will shape where we go next.
[掌声]
(Applause)
谢谢大家 谢谢
Thank you. Thank you.