I want to tell you about some research 我想告诉你一些研究
that my colleague Mike George and I have 那是我的同事迈克乔治和我
done on the anti-malarial drug called 做过抗疟疾药物叫做
artemisinin malaria is a truly dreadful 青蒿素疟疾是一个真正可怕的
disease that kills huge numbers of 疾病杀死了大量的疾病
people right across the planet and 人们就在这个星球上
artemisinin is one of the most effective 青蒿素是最有效的之一
drugs at the moment against malaria and 目前针对疟疾和疟疾的药物
we've had funding from the Bill and 我们从条例草案中获得了资金
Melinda Gates Foundation and also from 梅琳达盖茨基金会也来自
industry to try and make the process for 行业尝试和制作过程
getting this drug more efficient and 让这种药物更有效率
greener using less toxic chemicals 使用毒性较小的化学品更环保
malaria is a disease which is spread by 疟疾是一种传播的疾病
mosquitoes if you're bitten by mosquito 如果你被蚊子叮咬，蚊子就会被蚊子叮咬
carrying the Plasmodium parasite it 携带疟原虫寄生虫
injects this into your bloodstream the 把它注入你的血液中
parasite goes into your liver it 寄生虫进入你的肝脏
multiplies and then bursts out of your 倍增，然后爆发出你的
liver and inhabits the red blood cells 肝脏和栖息的红细胞
where it destroys the haemoglobin 它会破坏血红蛋白
stopping the carriage of oxygen around 停止周围的氧气运输
your body and eventually causing the red 你的身体，最终导致红色
blood cells to effectively blow up and 血细胞有效地爆炸和
the debris can clog the capillaries and 碎片会堵塞毛细血管
cause a really unpleasant death what is 什么是真正令人不愉快的死亡
needed are low-cost drugs that can treat 需要的是可以治疗的低成本药物
people who are infected and what you 被感染的人和你的人
need to do is to zap these parasites you 需要做的就是将这些寄生虫摧毁
can also kill the mosquitoes but once 也可以杀死一次蚊子
you're infected it doesn't really matter 你感染了它并不重要
about the mosquitoes except they could 关于蚊子，除了他们可以
spread the disease to someone else 将疾病传播给其他人
artemisinin or some of its derivatives 青蒿素或其衍生物
and here I've got a molecule or model of 在这里，我有一个分子或模型
artemisinin are molecules that contain a 青蒿素是含有α的分子
bond with two oxygen atoms these oxygen 用两个氧原子键合这些氧
atoms can be released in the form of 原子可以以形式释放
hydrogen peroxide which I believe then 那么我相信过氧化氢
kills the parasites artemisinin is 杀死寄生虫青蒿素是
called artemisinin because it's 叫做青蒿素，因为它是
extracted from the plant Caldwell 从Caldwell植物中提取
Thomason in annual which grows in 托马森年度增长
tropical places for example in Vietnam 热带地区，例如在越南
nobody's absolutely clear why the plant 没有人绝对清楚为什么这个工厂
makes this material and it only makes 制作这种材料，它只是制作
small amounts so you need a lot of 少量，所以你需要很多
plants to extract the material out and 植物提取出来的材料
at the moment the amount of material 此刻的材料量
that can be made from plants is 可以用植物制成的
sometimes just enough or if it is a bad 有时候就够了，或者是不好的
crop not enough so what is needed is a 收获不够，所以需要的是一个
way of making this molecule efficiently 有效地制造这种分子的方法
chemically now you can see it's a pretty 化学现在你可以看到它很漂亮
complicated molecule making this from 复杂的分子使这个
scratch although various skilled organic 刮虽然各种技术有机
chemists have done it is too expensive 化学家们做得太贵了
there are too many steps needed so there 那里需要的步骤太多了
has been some very elegant work done on 做了一些非常优雅的工作
modifying yeasts so the yeast can react 修饰酵母，使酵母反应
with glucose or eat glucose and turn it 用葡萄糖或吃葡萄糖并转动它
into a molecule which with some chemical 进入一种含有某种化学物质的分子
processes can be turned into artemisinin 过程可以变成青蒿素
the two key steps that we've been 我们过去的两个关键步骤
looking at are the addition of these two 看着这两者的加成
oxygen atoms so-called peroxide linkage 氧原子所谓的过氧化物键
here which is made by reacting the 这是通过反应而制成的
molecules with oxygen in a special form 含氧的分子以特殊形式存在
called singlet oxygen if you watched our 如果你看了我们的话，叫做单线态氧气
video on oxygen you will know that 关于氧气的视频，你会知道的
normally oxygen has unpaired electrons 通常氧气具有不成对的电子
and is paramagnetic it's attracted to 并且是吸引的顺磁性
magnets but if you have oxygen in 磁铁，但如果你有氧气
solution in the presence of some dyes 在一些染料存在下的溶液
colored compounds if you shine visible 如果你发光可见的有色化合物
light these dyes can transfer the energy 这些染料可以转移能量
of the light they absorb to the oxygen 他们吸收氧气的光
and pair up the electrons but not for 并配对电子，但不是
very long 很长
because the electrons quite quickly 因为电子很快
unpair so what you've got to do is to 取消配对，所以你要做的就是
get this oxygen to react with your 得到这氧气与你的反应
molecules before the electrons can 电子之前的分子可以
unpair again now the pharmaceutical 现在再次取消配药制药
companies developed a really neat 公司开发得非常整洁
process in which they can make up to 560 他们可以弥补560的过程
tons a year of this compound the problem 吨一年的这个复合问题
is that the process works really well 这个过程非常有效
but is still quite expensive and so 但仍然相当昂贵
we've been collaborating with them 我们一直在与他们合作
to do fundamental research to see if 做基础研究，看看是否
there ways that we can make the process 我们可以通过哪些方式来完成这一过程
cheaper and we've had some really quite 更便宜，我们有一些非常的
good success and we've come up with two 取得了圆满成功，我们提出了两个
different ways and I'm not going to go 不同的方式，我不会去
into all the details but let me just 所有的细节，但让我只是
give you a flavor the first thing is 首先给你一个味道
that when you're reacting oxygen which 当你正在反应氧气时
can make things burn you have to be very 可以使事情燃烧你必须非常
careful in your choice of solvent so 小心选择溶剂
we've done some experiments where we use 我们在使用的地方做了一些实验
as the solvent liquid co2 co2 can't burn 因为溶剂液体co2 co2不能燃烧
so that makes it safer and we have quite 所以这使它更安全，我们有相当的
a clever way which you can read about in 一个聪明的方式，你可以阅读
our paper in which we can make the dye 我们的论文中我们可以制作染料
molecules stick to a solid acid because 分子坚持固体酸，因为
you also need an acid to catalyze the 你还需要一种酸来催化它
reaction so you can have a small tube 反应所以你可以有一个小管
with everything in it that you need you 随心所欲，你需要你
shine light on it the precursor goes in 光芒照在它上面，前驱进入
and out at the bottom comes artemisinin 青蒿素在底部出现
the second experiments all set of 所有的第二组实验
experiments we did really by chance was 我们真的偶然做过的实验是
to discover that we could make 发现我们可以做到
artemisinin in a mixture of ethanol 青蒿素在乙醇混合物中
that's ether alcohol and water now you 那是你的以太酒精和水
may think that's not very surprising but 可能认为这不是很令人惊讶但是
there is a strong feeling among chemists 化学家们有一种强烈的感觉
that you can't do reactions of these 你无法做出这些反应
singlet oxygen with the paired electrons 单线态氧与配对电子
in water because water is really good at 在水中因为水真的很擅长
making the electrons unpaired again but 使电子再次不配对但是
it just turns out that the water has 事实证明，水有
other properties which push the 其他属性推动了
molecules together and make them react 分子在一起并使它们反应
faster but once you're working in water 更快，但一旦你在水中工作
and ethanol you can then use less toxic 和乙醇，你可以使用较少的毒性
acids for example dilute sulfuric acid 酸，例如稀硫酸
and the real beauty of the experiment is 而实验的真正美妙之处在于
that we discovered that at the end if 我们发现最后如果
you evaporate off some of the ethanol 你蒸发了一些乙醇
the pure product precipitates out and 纯净的产品沉淀出来
you can just filter off the crystals 你可以过滤掉水晶
normally you need to use a lot more 通常你需要使用更多
solvents to purify the 溶剂净化
product once you made it and everything 产品一旦制成，一切都是如此
else the ethanol you've distilled of the 否则你蒸馏的乙醇
remaining water the acid and everything 剩下的水是酸和一切
else can be recycled round and round the 否则可以循环回收
other possibility is that now we are 另一种可能性是现在我们是
beginning to understand the chemistry we 开始了解我们的化学反应
could make other derivatives of 可以制作其他衍生物
artemisinin already some of the malarial 青蒿素已经是一些疟疾
parasites are becoming resistant to 寄生虫正在变得耐药
artemisinin and so if we can make new 青蒿素等，如果我们能做新的
derivatives of it we may be able to zap 它的衍生物我们也许能够摧毁它
the parasites even better the thing that 寄生虫甚至更好
really excites me 真让我兴奋
is that especially the ethanol water is 是特别是乙醇水
very simple and the product is so pure 非常简单，产品是如此纯净
that we actually took one crystal and 我们实际上拿了一个水晶和
went straight from the lab to our 从实验室直奔我们的
crystallography lab that's next door and 隔壁的晶体学实验室
they produce the crystal structure in 它们产生晶体结构
hour and a half and normally it takes 一个半小时，通常需要
time to grow crystals and get them ready 时间来生长水晶并让它们做好准备
and so on and here we did it really 等等，在这里我们真的做到了
quickly the other thing is that I failed 很快，另一件事是我失败了
my exams my final exams as a student in 我的考试作为学生的期末考试
organic chemistry and it was my 有机化学，这是我的
colleague Mike George who persuaded me 同事迈克乔治说服了我
that our group could actually do 我们小组实际上可以这样做
something useful for malaria and I'm 对疟疾有用的东西，我
really grateful to him that he's made it 非常感谢他，他已经成功了
happen and if I take the liquid oxygen 如果我服用液氧，就会发生
you can see I can pull it right up here 你可以看到我可以把它拉到这里
because it's not as magnetic as my keys 因为它不像我的钥匙那么有磁性
but you can see there's a really big 但你可以看到有一个非常大的
difference it sticks to the magnet so 差异它坚持磁铁所以
you can see it really is magnetic 你可以看到它真的很有磁性