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♪

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♪

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DAVID POGUE:
What's it take to make
our modern world?

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Ah!

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(Pogue shouts)

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That's amazing!

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I'm David Pogue.

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{\an1}Join me on a high-speed chase

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{\an1}through the elements...

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and beyond.

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(explosions)

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Oh, my God!

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{\an1}As we smash our way into
the materials,

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molecules,

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and reactions...

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AMANDA CAVANAGH:It's a really cool enzyme

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{\an1}because it makes life on Earth
possible.

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POGUE:...that make the places we live,

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the bodies we live in,

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{\an1}and the stuff we can't seem
to live without.

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{\an1}The only thing between me and
certain death...

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{\an1}(explosions boom,
glass shatters)

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...is chemistry?

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{\an1}From killer snails...

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MANDEË HOLFORD:Just when you think you've heard
of everything,

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{\an1}nature will surprise you.

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POGUE:
...and exploding glass

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{\an1}to the price a pepper-eating
Pogue pays.

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{\an1}There's got to be some easier
way to learn about molecules.

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♪

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We'll dig into
the surprising way

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{\an1}different elements
combine together

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and blow apart.

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(loud explosion)

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In this hour,

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{\an1}we tackle one of the biggest
mysteries of all:

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{\an1}the origin of life.

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{\an1}How do a bunch of chemicals
get together

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{\an1}and start acting like a cell?

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POGUE:
Part of the answer
might be...

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soap?

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Cell division!

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{\an1}We explore how the chemistryof life transformed the planet.

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LISA AINSWORTH:
So everything that we eat,

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{\an1}and the air that we breathe,

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all have to do

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with the process
of photosynthesis.

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POGUE:
All right, so let's find
the lipids aisle.

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{\an1}I go shopping for the
macromolecules of my body.

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{\an1}You're telling me that that'sonly half the amount of fats

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{\an1}in my body?
Absolutely.

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(laughing)

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POGUE:And I meet an engineer who uses
nature's tools

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{\an1}to invent new molecules.

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FRANCES ARNOLD:Humans have been using microbes

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to make beer and wine.

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{\an1}Instead of making sake,
we make jet fuel.

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POGUE:
"Beyond the Elements: Life"--

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{\an1}right now on "NOVA".

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♪

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♪

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POGUE:
The world we live in is made
of atoms--

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{\an1}all listed here as elements
on the periodic table.

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{\an1}They're the building blocks
of everything around us

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{\an1}and putting atoms togetherto make molecules and compounds

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{\an1}is what we call chemistry.

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{\an1}And maybe the strangest event
in the history of chemistry

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{\an1}is the birth of biology.

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{\an1}How do a bunch of chemicals
somehow get together

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to form life?

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{\an1}And if you look back at the
conditions on early Earth,

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{\an1}how did life get off
the starting block?

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{\an1}(thunder rumbles)

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{\an1}There was a turning point,

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{\an1}the evolution of a
transformative series

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{\an1}of chemical reactions that,
over time,

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{\an1}remade the planet,

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{\an1}even allowing us to come along.

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{\an8}But first,
let's take a trip back,

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{\an8}to Life 1.0.

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(tape rewinding)

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{\an1}So, here's the ad:

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{\an1}Planet available.

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{\an7}Recently scoured by asteroids.

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{\an7}New construction.

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{\an7}Now with many water views.

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{\an8}♪

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The atmosphere?

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{\an1}Eh... a fixer-upper.

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{\an8}(loud eruption)

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{\an7}Devoid of oxygen.

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{\an7}Likely full of whatever
the volcanoes spewed forth--

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{\an7}gases like hydrogen sulfide
and methane.

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{\an8}(loud eruption)

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{\an7}Somehow in that very harsh
environment,

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{\an7}primitive life got its start.

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{\an7}But the going stayed tough.

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{\an7}Food-- molecules and minerals
that early organisms

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{\an7}could use for energy--

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{\an7}consisted of whatever was left
over from Earth's formation,

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{\an1}or was welling up
from the Earth's core

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{\an1}at places like deep sea vents.

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{\an1}But in a surprisingly short
amount of time--

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{\an1}perhaps 500 million years--

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{\an1}a new survival strategy
evolved--

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{\an1}possibly the most important
chemical process for life

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{\an1}on Earth today...

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Photosynthesis--

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the ability
to turn sunlight into fuel.

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Life now had access to the vast
power of the sun.

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{\an1}In the words of one biologist,
"When photosynthesis

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{\an1}"entered the picture,

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life connected
up to the cosmos."

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♪

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AINSWORTH:
So, everything that we eat,
what we wear,

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{\an1}the air that we breathe,

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{\an7}the ecosystem services
that we rely on--

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{\an7}so things like having
clean water--

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{\an7}all have to do with the process
of photosynthesis.

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{\an1}It's an incredibly important,

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{\an1}probably the most important,
process on the planet.

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♪

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POGUE:
Photosynthesis harnesses
the power of sunlight

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{\an1}to break down water molecules.

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{\an1}Discarding the oxygen,
it uses the electrons

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{\an1}from the hydrogen atoms
to power the assembly

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{\an1}of carbon dioxide molecules
into carbohydrates,

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{\an7}which become both
building blocks

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{\an7}and long-term energy storage.

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{\an7}It's not an overstatement to say
that all life on this planet

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{\an7}depends on photosynthesis.

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STEVE LONG:
It's exactly where
all of our food comes from--

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{\an1}directly or indirectly.

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{\an8}So understanding
how this process works

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{\an7}is so important to humanity.

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POGUE:
Steve Long and Don Ort,

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{\an1}two plant biologists

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{\an1}at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign,

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{\an1}along with thousands of otherscientists from around the world

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{\an1}have spent decades teasing apartthe workings of photosynthesis.

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{\an1}Light intensity is 900
right now?

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{\an5}Right now, yeah.
Oh yeah.
For... that makes sense.

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Sorghum is animportant grain.

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POGUE:
Now, with that knowledge
in hand,

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{\an1}there is a new international
research effort based here

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{\an1}at the university
with an audacious goal.

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♪

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{\an1}The program's called RIPE:

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{\an1}Realizing Increased
Photosynthetic Efficiency.

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WOMAN:
This year was a huge hit

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for the canola farmers
because it was too wet.

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LONG:So I've been wondering

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{\an1}whether it would be worth

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{\an1}trying to find a substitute

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as our test bed.

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{\an1}That'd be perfect.

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POGUE:
These folks

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{\an1}want to hack photosynthesis.

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♪

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{\an1}But why would you want
to do that?

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{\an1}Because experts think the Earth
is about to get

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{\an1}a whole lot more people.

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{\an1}(crowd chattering)

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{\an7}Today, the world's population
is close to eight billion.

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{\an7}And that's forecast to hit
9.7 billion by 2050.

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♪

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{\an1}Raising the question:

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{\an1}will there be enough food?

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{\an1}(harvester rumbling)

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LONG:If you look at the current rate

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{\an1}at which we're improving
crop productivity

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{\an1}per acre of land,

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{\an1}we're not going to get there.

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♪

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ORT:
Part of the answer
is going to be

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{\an1}redesigning photosynthesis.

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♪

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{\an1}(birds twittering)

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POGUE:
To learn more about
RIPE's plans,

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{\an1}I've joined Lisa Ainsworth,

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{\an1}a U.S.D.A. scientist,

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{\an1}and professor at the
University of Illinois...

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{\an1}You can see just how differentthe height is

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{\an1}just in walking from one.
Wow.

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POGUE:
...on an early morning tour
of a field

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{\an1}that contains 600 different
varieties of soybeans.

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Usually you hear about
efficiency,

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{\an1}like of a gas engine, measured
in terms of a percentage,

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{\an1}how much of the fuel

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{\an1}is ultimately converted
to energy.

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{\an1}What's the percentage efficiency
for a plant?

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{\an1}Well, in terms of

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{\an1}how much of the light energyit turns into sugar,

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{\an1}it's pretty low--

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{\an1}maybe around three percent.
Three percent?!

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That's terrible!

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{\an1}But you guys are going
to help it.

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That's the plan.
(chuckles)

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♪

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POGUE:
To improve photosynthesis,

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{\an1}two other researchers
with RIPE--

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{\an1}Amanda Cavanagh and Paul South--

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{\an1}have focused on one of
its key molecules.

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♪

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{\an1}It has a very catchy name.

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{\an1}So the molecule is what we
biologists call an enzyme.

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{\an1}And so it does the work.

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{\an8}Enzymes are like
biological workers.

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{\an8}And the enzyme's called rubisco.

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♪

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{\an8}SOUTH:
It's R.U.B.P.--

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{\an8}or ribulose bisphosphate
carboxylase oxygenase.

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♪

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CAVANAGH:
And it's,
for most plant biologists,

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{\an1}one of our favorite enzymes
on the planet.

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{\an1}Yeah, rubisco is our shortened
term for it.

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POGUE:
Mainly because
it's fun to say.

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Well, it's super fun to say.

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{\an5}(rolling R):
Rubisco.Of course.

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{\an5}♪ Rubisco.

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{\an5}But, it's also
a really cool enzyme

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{\an1}because it makes life on Earth
possible.

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♪

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POGUE:Rubisco may not look so special

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{\an1}but it is arguably the most
important enzyme on the planet

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{\an1}because of its critical role
in photosynthesis.

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{\an1}Rubisco's job is to grab
a molecule of carbon dioxide

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{\an8}and feed it into
a molecular machine

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{\an7}that's building carbon chains.

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{\an1}That means any carbon atom

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{\an1}that's part of any plant
anywhere

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{\an1}got there thanks to rubisco,
or one of its close variants.

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{\an1}And because we eat plants,
or animals that ate plants,

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{\an1}that also includes just aboutevery carbon atom in your body.

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{\an1}All approximately 800 million
billion billion of them.

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{\an1}That's 26 zeroes.

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{\an1}Not bad, rubisco, not bad.

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SOUTH:
Yeah, so, if it's ever
come from a plant,

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{\an1}it had to have gone through
that enzyme of rubisco.

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{\an1}That's wild!
Yeah.

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How come there's not like a...

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{\an1}a memorial to rubisco
in Washington?

243
00:10:43,266 --> 00:10:46,600
{\an1}("The Star-Spangled Banner"
playing)

244
00:10:46,633 --> 00:10:48,533
It seems, like,
sort of important.

245
00:10:48,566 --> 00:10:50,133
♪

246
00:10:50,166 --> 00:10:52,966
{\an7}Rubisco is important
and that's why it's the

247
00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,633
{\an7}most plentiful protein on Earth.

248
00:10:55,666 --> 00:10:58,366
{\an8}But just because
you're important

249
00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:02,200
{\an8}doesn't mean you're entirely...
competent.

250
00:11:02,233 --> 00:11:06,566
{\an1}It's... in this case, not the
best enzyme in the world.

251
00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,200
{\an1}It's got a hard job,
so it's doing its best,

252
00:11:09,233 --> 00:11:11,866
{\an1}but at the same time it exists
in an atmosphere that's not

253
00:11:11,900 --> 00:11:14,466
{\an1}predominantly carbon dioxide,
it's mostly oxygen.

254
00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:17,800
{\an1}And about one in every four or
five reactions it grabs oxygen

255
00:11:17,833 --> 00:11:19,266
{\an1}instead of carbon dioxide.

256
00:11:19,300 --> 00:11:20,866
♪

257
00:11:20,900 --> 00:11:22,133
POGUE:
That's right.

258
00:11:22,166 --> 00:11:26,033
{\an7}Rubisco screws up
about a fifth of the time.

259
00:11:26,066 --> 00:11:28,166
{\an7}Instead of attaching
a carbon dioxide

260
00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,166
{\an7}it attaches an oxygen molecule.

261
00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:32,300
{\an7}And that's trouble.

262
00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:33,466
{\an7}You're saying nature

263
00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:37,100
{\an1}has created a screwed-up
little worker enzyme?

264
00:11:37,133 --> 00:11:39,666
SOUTH:
Yeah, so,
400 million years ago,

265
00:11:39,700 --> 00:11:40,833
{\an1}when this enzyme evolved,

266
00:11:40,866 --> 00:11:42,166
{\an1}there wasn't very much oxygen
in the air.

267
00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:43,566
♪

268
00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:44,700
{\an1}All right, so I'm the little

269
00:11:44,733 --> 00:11:46,166
{\an4}rubisco enzyme...CAVANAGH:Yup.

270
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,233
{\an7}and I'm like on the
conveyor belt here.Yeah.

271
00:11:48,266 --> 00:11:50,633
{\an7}And like, okay, carbon dioxide,carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide,

272
00:11:50,666 --> 00:11:52,866
{\an7}carbon dioxide, oxygen
and I, I don't notice

273
00:11:52,900 --> 00:11:54,566
{\an7}I accidentally grabbed an oxygen
out of the box.

274
00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,133
(laughing)

275
00:11:56,166 --> 00:11:57,866
SOUTH:
And it produces

276
00:11:57,900 --> 00:12:00,300
{\an1}compounds that are inhibitory
to photosynthesis,

277
00:12:00,333 --> 00:12:01,766
{\an1}so it kind of starts to
shut things down.

278
00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:03,833
POGUE:
I mean it's been going on
for billions of years

279
00:12:03,866 --> 00:12:05,333
{\an1}and nobody has cared.Yeah, well...

280
00:12:05,366 --> 00:12:07,100
{\an1}I mean, it all...
all basically works.

281
00:12:07,133 --> 00:12:08,166
{\an1}Photosynthesis, right now,

282
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,333
{\an1}is sort of a victim
of its own success--

283
00:12:10,366 --> 00:12:11,600
{\an1}rubisco certainly is.

284
00:12:11,633 --> 00:12:14,900
{\an1}So by oxygenating the atmosphere
via photosynthesis,

285
00:12:14,933 --> 00:12:18,666
{\an1}you now have a huge amount
of oxygen in the atmosphere

286
00:12:18,700 --> 00:12:22,133
{\an1}but you need a carbon dioxide
to make the reaction work.

287
00:12:22,166 --> 00:12:24,533
(alarm blaring)

288
00:12:24,566 --> 00:12:27,100
POGUE:
So what happens when rubisco
screws up?

289
00:12:27,133 --> 00:12:28,166
(bell ringing)

290
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,733
{\an1}The result gets shipped out

291
00:12:31,766 --> 00:12:34,566
{\an1}through a couple other parts
of the cell

292
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,900
{\an1}to where the mess is taken apart
and recycled,

293
00:12:37,933 --> 00:12:39,466
{\an1}all of which consumes

294
00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:42,200
a lot of energy.

295
00:12:42,233 --> 00:12:44,933
If you could fix
this inefficiency problem,

296
00:12:44,966 --> 00:12:48,533
{\an1}the plant might make more...soybeans, corn, whatever it is?

297
00:12:48,566 --> 00:12:49,900
CAVANAGH:
That's exactly it.

298
00:12:49,933 --> 00:12:51,833
Then they will have that energy
to put towards something

299
00:12:51,866 --> 00:12:53,366
{\an1}that we would consider useful

300
00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,433
{\an1}like making more food for us
to eat.

301
00:12:55,466 --> 00:12:58,133
{\an1}Is this just a crazy theory
or is there some indication

302
00:12:58,166 --> 00:12:59,500
{\an1}that this could actually work?

303
00:12:59,533 --> 00:13:01,266
{\an1}There's quite a bit of evidence
that this is working.

304
00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:02,866
So right now,
we have this tested

305
00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:03,933
{\an1}in a couple of model species.

306
00:13:03,966 --> 00:13:07,066
♪

307
00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:08,533
POGUE:
It is tropical in here.

308
00:13:08,566 --> 00:13:13,566
{\an1}Amanda and Paul take me to the
greenhouse to see one example.

309
00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:15,300
Using two genes,

310
00:13:15,333 --> 00:13:19,100
one from algae
and the other from a pumpkin,

311
00:13:19,133 --> 00:13:21,366
they've modified tobacco plants

312
00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,766
{\an1}to address rubisco's
sloppy work.

313
00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,200
{\an1}And why are we usingtobacco plants?

314
00:13:26,233 --> 00:13:28,733
{\an1}Yeah, tobacco's a really useful
model crop for us.

315
00:13:28,766 --> 00:13:30,566
POGUE:
Why tobacco?

316
00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,100
{\an1}Turns out it's one of
the easiest plants

317
00:13:33,133 --> 00:13:34,400
{\an1}to genetically manipulate,

318
00:13:34,433 --> 00:13:37,000
{\an1}which makes it a common
test subject.

319
00:13:37,033 --> 00:13:40,233
SOUTH:
They have definitely shown
improvements in plant growth

320
00:13:40,266 --> 00:13:41,533
{\an1}and total biomass,

321
00:13:41,566 --> 00:13:44,000
{\an1}and we've been studying
the rates of photosynthesis.

322
00:13:44,033 --> 00:13:46,900
{\an1}And we are pretty confident now
that our model crop

323
00:13:46,933 --> 00:13:50,066
{\an1}is successful in this pathway,and now we're really interested

324
00:13:50,100 --> 00:13:52,100
{\an1}in moving these into something
we like to eat.

325
00:13:52,133 --> 00:13:54,000
♪

326
00:13:54,033 --> 00:13:55,533
POGUE:
Reducing the energy penalty

327
00:13:55,566 --> 00:14:00,166
crops pay for rubisco's mistakes
could be huge.

328
00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:04,833
{\an1}In soybeans, a 25% reduction

329
00:14:04,866 --> 00:14:06,933
{\an1}could result in plants
that produce

330
00:14:06,966 --> 00:14:10,433
{\an1}more than 60 million
more bushels a year.

331
00:14:10,466 --> 00:14:13,533
CAVANAGH:
This to a lot of people
is an idea

332
00:14:13,566 --> 00:14:16,200
{\an1}that might be out there,
but if we can get it,

333
00:14:16,233 --> 00:14:18,433
{\an1}if we can get this moonshot
approach to work,

334
00:14:18,466 --> 00:14:20,533
{\an1}then we're going to have
more food.

335
00:14:20,566 --> 00:14:22,000
{\an1}And so that's really what drives
what I do.

336
00:14:22,033 --> 00:14:23,800
♪

337
00:14:23,833 --> 00:14:26,300
POGUE:
The RIPE program
is international.

338
00:14:26,333 --> 00:14:29,533
{\an1}And, likely, so will be thereach of any of its discoveries.

339
00:14:29,566 --> 00:14:31,366
{\an1}♪

340
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:35,066
{\an1}But work like theirs is not
without controversy.

341
00:14:35,100 --> 00:14:39,033
{\an1}Some of RIPE's solutionsdepend on cross-breeding plants

342
00:14:39,066 --> 00:14:41,300
{\an1}chosen for their genes.

343
00:14:41,333 --> 00:14:44,133
{\an1}But other solutions,
like the rubisco work,

344
00:14:44,166 --> 00:14:46,633
{\an1}depend on genetic engineering--

345
00:14:46,666 --> 00:14:51,200
{\an1}also called genetic
modification, or GM--

346
00:14:51,233 --> 00:14:55,033
adding new genes
from other types of plants,

347
00:14:55,066 --> 00:14:58,033
{\an1}or even organisms, entirely.

348
00:14:58,066 --> 00:15:01,766
{\an1}The laws governing genetically
modified crops vary

349
00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,866
{\an1}from country to country,
especially when it comes to

350
00:15:04,900 --> 00:15:07,833
{\an1}labeling their use in food.

351
00:15:07,866 --> 00:15:09,533
{\an1}(indistinct chatter)

352
00:15:09,566 --> 00:15:11,566
{\an1}And there have been objections
to some companies

353
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:13,600
{\an1}that patent their new crops

354
00:15:13,633 --> 00:15:15,666
{\an1}and control who can plant them.

355
00:15:15,700 --> 00:15:18,300
{\an1}But the general scientific
consensus

356
00:15:18,333 --> 00:15:19,933
is that they are
no more dangerous

357
00:15:19,966 --> 00:15:21,300
{\an1}than conventional crops,

358
00:15:21,333 --> 00:15:24,400
{\an1}though they need to be carefully
studied for potential health

359
00:15:24,433 --> 00:15:26,300
{\an1}and environmental effects.

360
00:15:26,333 --> 00:15:32,800
{\an1}The U.S., unlike Europe,
has largely adopted GM plants.

361
00:15:32,833 --> 00:15:36,466
{\an1}An overwhelming percentage
of corn, soybeans, and cotton

362
00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:40,700
{\an1}grown in the United States
is genetically modified.

363
00:15:40,733 --> 00:15:42,466
♪

364
00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:45,866
LONG:I understand there are concerns.

365
00:15:45,900 --> 00:15:47,433
{\an8}As a scientist,

366
00:15:47,466 --> 00:15:52,133
{\an7}I feel those concerns
have very little validity,

367
00:15:52,166 --> 00:15:55,933
{\an1}although clearly people have
become very concerned--

368
00:15:55,966 --> 00:15:56,933
{\an1}particularly in Europe.

369
00:15:56,966 --> 00:15:59,133
Of course,
in this part of the world,

370
00:15:59,166 --> 00:16:03,833
genetically modified crops have
been grown for over 20 years.

371
00:16:03,866 --> 00:16:07,133
{\an1}This technology has spread
throughout the Americas.

372
00:16:07,166 --> 00:16:10,133
♪

373
00:16:10,166 --> 00:16:12,500
POGUE:
In fact, as the global
population grows,

374
00:16:12,533 --> 00:16:15,500
{\an1}it's in poorer countries
that RIPE's work may end up

375
00:16:15,533 --> 00:16:17,533
{\an1}having the greatest impact.

376
00:16:17,566 --> 00:16:22,233
{\an1}Especially if geneticallymodified foods gain acceptance.

377
00:16:22,266 --> 00:16:25,533
LONG:
The place where I see
the technology needed most

378
00:16:25,566 --> 00:16:28,433
{\an1}is actually in sub-Saharan
Africa.

379
00:16:28,466 --> 00:16:31,133
{\an1}And this opposition to GM

380
00:16:31,166 --> 00:16:35,000
{\an1}is having quite an influence
in Africa.

381
00:16:35,033 --> 00:16:38,200
{\an1}It's keeping the science,
which is needed, out

382
00:16:38,233 --> 00:16:39,466
and I fear that

383
00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:43,533
this could risk people starving
when we could actually

384
00:16:43,566 --> 00:16:46,466
{\an1}be giving them seed
which would allow them

385
00:16:46,500 --> 00:16:49,900
{\an1}to feed themselves
into the future.

386
00:16:49,933 --> 00:16:52,000
♪

387
00:16:52,033 --> 00:16:55,466
POGUE:
Even if scientists succeed
in improving photosynthesis,

388
00:16:55,500 --> 00:16:58,300
{\an1}it won't have anywhere near
the dramatic impact

389
00:16:58,333 --> 00:16:59,400
{\an1}of the original version

390
00:16:59,433 --> 00:17:04,733
{\an1}introduced about three billion
years ago.

391
00:17:04,766 --> 00:17:06,400
{\an1}Back then, scientists believe,

392
00:17:06,433 --> 00:17:10,300
{\an1}photosynthetic cyanobacteria
began cranking out oxygen

393
00:17:10,333 --> 00:17:14,133
{\an1}as a waste product.

394
00:17:14,166 --> 00:17:17,666
{\an1}Eventually, bacteria produced
enough oxygen

395
00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:20,833
{\an1}that it started to accumulate
in the atmosphere.

396
00:17:20,866 --> 00:17:23,833
{\an1}Which, in turn, gave rise
to one of life's

397
00:17:23,866 --> 00:17:29,700
{\an1}underappreciated molecular
allies-- the ozone layer.

398
00:17:29,733 --> 00:17:32,666
{\an1}It's in the lowest level
of the stratosphere,

399
00:17:32,700 --> 00:17:36,233
between roughly
eight and 22 miles up.

400
00:17:36,266 --> 00:17:37,800
♪

401
00:17:37,833 --> 00:17:40,300
{\an1}Atmospheric research planes
venture up here...

402
00:17:40,333 --> 00:17:41,566
(radio chatter)

403
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:42,600
{\an1}...but not much else.

404
00:17:42,633 --> 00:17:45,100
♪

405
00:17:45,133 --> 00:17:46,833
{\an1}The ozone comes from a process

406
00:17:46,866 --> 00:17:50,200
even higher up
in the stratosphere.

407
00:17:50,233 --> 00:17:53,933
{\an1}There, solar radiation
busts up O2 molecules

408
00:17:53,966 --> 00:17:57,066
{\an1}into individual oxygen atoms.

409
00:17:57,100 --> 00:17:59,500
They drift down
to the ozone layer

410
00:17:59,533 --> 00:18:06,266
where they convert O2 into O3--
ozone.

411
00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:09,033
{\an1}Despite the name,
there's not that much ozone

412
00:18:09,066 --> 00:18:10,733
{\an1}in the ozone layer--

413
00:18:10,766 --> 00:18:13,700
{\an1}less than ten parts
per million--

414
00:18:13,733 --> 00:18:16,866
{\an1}yet it's had a profound effect
on the evolution

415
00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:18,733
{\an1}of life on Earth.

416
00:18:18,766 --> 00:18:21,400
♪

417
00:18:21,433 --> 00:18:22,866
{\an1}To find out more...

418
00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:24,466
{\an1}POGUE:So ozone is O3, right?

419
00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:26,000
{\an1}KERRY HANSON:Ozone is O3.

420
00:18:26,033 --> 00:18:28,433
{\an8}POGUE:
...I travel to the University
of California, Riverside,

421
00:18:28,466 --> 00:18:30,433
{\an1}to meet Kerry Hanson...

422
00:18:30,466 --> 00:18:31,366
{\an1}We came alive because...

423
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:32,466
POGUE:
...a research chemist

424
00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:35,600
{\an1}who studies how molecules
like ozone

425
00:18:35,633 --> 00:18:39,033
{\an1}and those in sunscreens
interact with light.

426
00:18:39,066 --> 00:18:40,833
{\an1}So any moleculecan absorb light.

427
00:18:40,866 --> 00:18:42,200
POGUE:
It turns out

428
00:18:42,233 --> 00:18:47,066
{\an1}the ozone layer and sunscreens
have a lot in common.

429
00:18:47,100 --> 00:18:52,233
{\an1}This O3 gas is out there in the
atmosphere in such quantity

430
00:18:52,266 --> 00:18:54,000
{\an1}that there's an envelope
around the whole planet?

431
00:18:54,033 --> 00:18:55,200
{\an1}Yeah. It's a layer.

432
00:18:55,233 --> 00:18:56,500
{\an7}Think of like a sunscreen.

433
00:18:56,533 --> 00:18:58,500
{\an7}You know, how we use sunscreen
on our skin?
Yeah.

434
00:18:58,533 --> 00:18:59,500
{\an7}So it's the exact same thing.

435
00:18:59,533 --> 00:19:03,500
{\an7}The ozone layeris earth's sunscreen.

436
00:19:03,533 --> 00:19:05,566
♪

437
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:07,566
POGUE:
Both the ozone layer
and sunscreens

438
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:09,266
protect us
from the harmful effects

439
00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:11,500
{\an1}of ultraviolet radiation--

440
00:19:11,533 --> 00:19:14,833
or U.V.--
a kind of sunlight that,

441
00:19:14,866 --> 00:19:19,133
{\an1}unlike the colors of
the rainbow, we can't see.

442
00:19:19,166 --> 00:19:22,000
♪

443
00:19:22,033 --> 00:19:24,066
On the electromagnetic spectrum,

444
00:19:24,100 --> 00:19:27,533
{\an1}visible light sits here,

445
00:19:27,566 --> 00:19:32,500
{\an7}but U.V. sits up here
at a higher energy.

446
00:19:32,533 --> 00:19:35,766
{\an7}Scientists divide it roughly
into three kinds--

447
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,500
{\an8}A, B, and C.

448
00:19:39,533 --> 00:19:42,000
{\an1}And while A and B,
aren't good for you--

449
00:19:42,033 --> 00:19:46,400
{\an1}and they're the reason
to wear sunscreen--

450
00:19:46,433 --> 00:19:50,066
{\an1}it's C that's the big problem
for living things

451
00:19:50,100 --> 00:19:53,366
{\an1}because it's particularly
destructive to DNA.

452
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,200
♪

453
00:19:59,233 --> 00:20:01,933
{\an1}(players shouting)

454
00:20:01,966 --> 00:20:05,000
{\an1}Kerry tells me how all this
relates to ozone.

455
00:20:05,033 --> 00:20:07,766
Just another Sunday
watching volleyball.

456
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,333
{\an8}(voiceover):
And it's kind of like
volleyball.

457
00:20:10,366 --> 00:20:12,466
♪

458
00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:14,066
Oh! He's good.

459
00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:18,933
POGUE:
Well... if the balls were
different kinds of U.V.

460
00:20:18,966 --> 00:20:22,066
{\an1}In the early days
of life on Earth,

461
00:20:22,100 --> 00:20:25,600
{\an1}before photosynthetic bacteria
oxygenated our atmosphere...

462
00:20:25,633 --> 00:20:27,100
{\an1}Get it, get it, get it...
yeah, yeah, yeah!

463
00:20:27,133 --> 00:20:29,966
♪

464
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,233
{\an1}There was no ozone layer

465
00:20:31,266 --> 00:20:35,900
{\an1}and no global defense against
ultra violet radiation.

466
00:20:35,933 --> 00:20:38,000
Aw... ooh...

467
00:20:38,033 --> 00:20:41,800
The most dangerous kind, U.V.C.,
bathed the planet,

468
00:20:41,833 --> 00:20:47,900
{\an1}which may have effectively
limited where life could grow.

469
00:20:47,933 --> 00:20:49,933
{\an1}But oxygen accumulating
in the atmosphere

470
00:20:49,966 --> 00:20:51,400
{\an1}and the rise of the ozone layer

471
00:20:51,433 --> 00:20:52,633
{\an1}changed all that.

472
00:20:52,666 --> 00:20:54,800
The layer blocks

473
00:20:54,833 --> 00:20:57,566
all the U.V.C.
and most of the U.V.B.

474
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,133
from reaching
the Earth's surface.

475
00:21:01,166 --> 00:21:02,666
HANSON:Oh... good block!

476
00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:04,933
POGUE:
Here's how it works:

477
00:21:04,966 --> 00:21:09,200
{\an1}when U.V. radiation
hits a molecule of ozone,

478
00:21:09,233 --> 00:21:14,933
{\an1}it splits it into an oxygen atom
and a molecule of O2.

479
00:21:14,966 --> 00:21:18,733
{\an1}The U.V. light has been absorbed
and neutralized.

480
00:21:18,766 --> 00:21:22,933
{\an1}The lone atom quickly rejoins
another molecule of O2

481
00:21:22,966 --> 00:21:25,733
to reform ozone.

482
00:21:25,766 --> 00:21:29,600
{\an1}The net result is a conversion
of that harmful radiation

483
00:21:29,633 --> 00:21:32,333
into heat.

484
00:21:32,366 --> 00:21:35,800
{\an1}Despite the ozone layer,

485
00:21:35,833 --> 00:21:40,266
{\an1}we can still get hit
by unhealthy amounts of U.V.

486
00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:43,233
{\an1}And that's why it's a good idea
to use sunscreen.

487
00:21:43,266 --> 00:21:45,866
HANSON:
If you read the label,
and if it says broad spectrum,

488
00:21:45,900 --> 00:21:48,433
that means it's blocking U.V.B.
and U.V.A.

489
00:21:48,466 --> 00:21:50,266
{\an3}Wow.
Not U.V.C.,

490
00:21:50,300 --> 00:21:52,800
like ozone,but U.V.A. and B.

491
00:21:52,833 --> 00:21:54,500
♪

492
00:21:54,533 --> 00:21:55,700
Just like we use

493
00:21:55,733 --> 00:21:59,400
{\an1}sunscreen to block harmful
U.V.A. and B radiation

494
00:21:59,433 --> 00:22:01,900
from our skin...

495
00:22:01,933 --> 00:22:04,233
{\an1}the ozone layer protects
planet Earth from harmful

496
00:22:04,266 --> 00:22:07,466
{\an1}U.V.C. radiation...

497
00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:14,600
{\an1}that would destroy the
building blocks of life-- DNA.

498
00:22:14,633 --> 00:22:17,166
{\an1}Without the blocking of U.V.C.
by the ozone layer,

499
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,266
{\an1}life would not have been able
to come out of those oceans,

500
00:22:20,300 --> 00:22:21,666
{\an1}come up on to land,

501
00:22:21,700 --> 00:22:24,366
{\an1}and you and I wouldn't betalking here today.

502
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,100
POGUE (echoing):
Thanks, ozone!

503
00:22:28,133 --> 00:22:30,133
♪

504
00:22:30,166 --> 00:22:31,766
Without that global protection,

505
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,066
{\an1}the grand story of evolution

506
00:22:33,100 --> 00:22:36,800
that began fromsingle-cell ocean-dwelling life

507
00:22:36,833 --> 00:22:38,466
and led to the wondrous

508
00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:42,200
{\an1}complexity of multicellular
animals occupying

509
00:22:42,233 --> 00:22:47,666
{\an1}land, sea, and sky would
probably never have been told.

510
00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:49,133
{\an1}(film reel clicking,
score stops)

511
00:22:49,166 --> 00:22:50,733
(grunts)

512
00:22:50,766 --> 00:22:53,066
{\an1}And yada yada yada...

513
00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:54,466
{\an7}Yeah, yeah, I know,

514
00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:55,866
{\an7}the evolution of life
is important,

515
00:22:55,900 --> 00:23:01,300
{\an7}but let's talk about something
really important-- me!

516
00:23:01,333 --> 00:23:04,033
Or at least
me and my molecules.

517
00:23:04,066 --> 00:23:05,866
{\an1}I know what elements
I'm made of:

518
00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:11,066
{\an1}CHNOPS-- carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen,

519
00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:13,366
{\an1}phosphorus, sulfur--
CHNOPS!

520
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,066
{\an1}There are other elements
in the human body,

521
00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:20,033
{\an1}but these are the main six.

522
00:23:20,066 --> 00:23:24,833
{\an1}And, of course, a good chunk
of me by mass is good old H2O.

523
00:23:24,866 --> 00:23:28,766
{\an1}But if you take that water
away...

524
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,766
{\an1}most of what's left
is macromolecules--

525
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,733
{\an1}mostly big, long polymers--

526
00:23:36,766 --> 00:23:39,700
{\an1}chains of smaller molecules.

527
00:23:39,733 --> 00:23:42,666
{\an1}Yeah, so I once went "CHNOPing."

528
00:23:42,700 --> 00:23:44,066
That's C-H-N-O...

529
00:23:44,100 --> 00:23:45,400
(voiceover):
To learn more about them,

530
00:23:45,433 --> 00:23:47,700
{\an1}biologist Monica Hall-Porter--

531
00:23:47,733 --> 00:23:48,966
{\an1}formerly at Lasell University,

532
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,600
{\an1}now at the University of Texas--

533
00:23:51,633 --> 00:23:54,066
{\an1}offers to show me around
a local...

534
00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:56,466
supermarket?

535
00:23:56,500 --> 00:24:03,166
♪

536
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:04,533
It's kind of weird,

537
00:24:04,566 --> 00:24:06,433
I ask you aboutthe molecules of my body,

538
00:24:06,466 --> 00:24:08,766
and you bring usto a grocery store.

539
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:10,466
Yeah, so today's
shopping trip

540
00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:13,466
is about the macromolecules thatactually make up the human body.

541
00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:14,933
♪

542
00:24:14,966 --> 00:24:18,766
{\an1}Specifically protein,
lipids or fats, carbohydrates,

543
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,166
{\an1}and nucleic acid.

544
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:22,300
{\an1}And if you take a look around
the grocery store,

545
00:24:22,333 --> 00:24:24,900
{\an1}there are many examples
of those macromolecules here.

546
00:24:24,933 --> 00:24:26,333
{\an1}All right,show me the ropes.

547
00:24:26,366 --> 00:24:28,266
Let's go shopping.

548
00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:30,800
♪

549
00:24:30,833 --> 00:24:32,300
{\an1}(laughing)

550
00:24:32,333 --> 00:24:34,166
POGUE:
Our first objective?

551
00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,533
{\an1}Protein molecules.

552
00:24:36,566 --> 00:24:38,566
{\an1}Monica tells me, by weight,

553
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,566
{\an1}that's about 20% of my body.

554
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,400
Does that mean pure
masculine muscle?

555
00:24:44,433 --> 00:24:46,133
{\an1}Is that what you're saying?Well, not necessarily muscle.

556
00:24:46,166 --> 00:24:50,666
♪

557
00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:53,333
{\an1}Proteins are the molecules
that actually do work in cells.

558
00:24:53,366 --> 00:24:55,600
{\an1}So not just composing muscle

559
00:24:55,633 --> 00:24:57,566
{\an1}but also the proteins that

560
00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,366
{\an1}serve as the structural proteins

561
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,233
{\an1}in our hair,fingernails.

562
00:25:02,266 --> 00:25:06,366
{\an8}POGUE:
The most abundant protein
in your body is collagen,

563
00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:11,400
{\an7}making up fibrous tissues like
skin, tendons, and ligaments.

564
00:25:11,433 --> 00:25:17,000
{\an1}There's also collagen
in teeth and bone.

565
00:25:17,033 --> 00:25:18,633
{\an1}But even though there are
tens of thousands

566
00:25:18,666 --> 00:25:21,266
{\an1}of different proteins
in the human body--

567
00:25:21,300 --> 00:25:24,233
{\an1}maybe millions, no one is sure--

568
00:25:24,266 --> 00:25:28,600
{\an1}amazingly, they're all made from
stringing together

569
00:25:28,633 --> 00:25:31,933
{\an7}about 20 different kinds
of small molecules

570
00:25:31,966 --> 00:25:34,200
{\an7}called amino acids,

571
00:25:34,233 --> 00:25:37,733
{\an1}which we get by breaking down
the proteins we eat

572
00:25:37,766 --> 00:25:40,166
{\an1}in a variety of foods.

573
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,366
{\an1}HALL-PORTER:And so when we consume protein,like in turkey for example...

574
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:44,766
{\an1}(chortling):Whoa!

575
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,233
Our body breaks
the amino acids down

576
00:25:47,266 --> 00:25:51,200
{\an7}and then the amino acids
are incorporated into proteins

577
00:25:51,233 --> 00:25:52,533
{\an7}that our bodies synthesizes
or makes.

578
00:25:52,566 --> 00:25:54,233
Yep, there you go!

579
00:25:54,266 --> 00:25:55,600
Handsome little gobbler.

580
00:25:55,633 --> 00:26:00,466
POGUE:
Next on the macromolecule
shopping list: lipids.

581
00:26:00,500 --> 00:26:02,166
All right let's find
the lipids aisle.

582
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:03,833
Well, there's no lipidsaisle,
(laughs)

583
00:26:03,866 --> 00:26:06,266
but we can getoils and fats.

584
00:26:06,300 --> 00:26:07,800
So let's headdown this way

585
00:26:07,833 --> 00:26:10,300
{\an1}and let's get some oil.

586
00:26:10,333 --> 00:26:12,566
{\an1}This is massive,how much fats are we getting?

587
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:13,766
A lot.

588
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:14,933
POGUE:Oh, man.

589
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,500
POGUE:
This seems like we've got

590
00:26:18,533 --> 00:26:20,466
{\an1}15 pounds of fats here.

591
00:26:20,500 --> 00:26:21,966
{\an3}Yes.And you're telling me

592
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,133
{\an3}that's only half the amountin my body?

593
00:26:24,166 --> 00:26:26,600
{\an3}Absolutely, you're about
30 pounds of fat.

594
00:26:26,633 --> 00:26:30,400
{\an3}Now, I have to say I findthat a little insulting.

595
00:26:30,433 --> 00:26:31,600
Well, you shouldn't.

596
00:26:31,633 --> 00:26:33,566
{\an8}♪

597
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:35,100
{\an8}POGUE:
Compared to proteins,

598
00:26:35,133 --> 00:26:38,800
{\an8}lipids or fats do get a bad rap.

599
00:26:38,833 --> 00:26:42,000
{\an7}But in addition to their role
in cell membranes,

600
00:26:42,033 --> 00:26:45,100
{\an7}and long-term energy storage--

601
00:26:45,133 --> 00:26:47,300
{\an7}you know, body fat--

602
00:26:47,333 --> 00:26:52,066
{\an7}they also provide protection
for internal organs.

603
00:26:52,100 --> 00:26:55,133
{\an1}Oh, and don't forget
the lipids in earwax!

604
00:26:55,166 --> 00:26:56,866
HALL-PORTER:
And so literally

605
00:26:56,900 --> 00:26:59,800
there's fat
in every part of you.

606
00:26:59,833 --> 00:27:04,033
So even a slim, lean,handsome, physically fit person

607
00:27:04,066 --> 00:27:06,466
could have thirty poundsof fat in him?

608
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:07,466
Absolutely.

609
00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:09,400
♪

610
00:27:09,433 --> 00:27:13,366
POGUE:
Next up, the third most
common macromolecule type...

611
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:14,833
{\an1}Oh, this is my kind of
food group.

612
00:27:14,866 --> 00:27:15,800
Carbohydrates.

613
00:27:15,833 --> 00:27:17,633
Sugar!
Sugar!

614
00:27:17,666 --> 00:27:20,266
Does this count as carbs?
Absolutely.

615
00:27:20,300 --> 00:27:23,500
POGUE:
While I would have thought
I was sweeter,

616
00:27:23,533 --> 00:27:25,666
{\an7}turns out on average
there's only about

617
00:27:25,700 --> 00:27:28,066
{\an7}two pounds of carbs in me.

618
00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:31,833
{\an7}Glucose is the most abundant
carb in the human body.

619
00:27:31,866 --> 00:27:36,133
{\an7}It circulates to provide
energy for cells.

620
00:27:36,166 --> 00:27:38,400
{\an1}Now we're talking carbs--
carb city,

621
00:27:38,433 --> 00:27:39,966
{\an1}carb heaven, carb central...

622
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,666
{\an1}We are in the bread aisle,my friend.

623
00:27:41,700 --> 00:27:42,666
I like it!

624
00:27:42,700 --> 00:27:43,700
All right,we can toast this up

625
00:27:43,733 --> 00:27:45,566
and put some butteron it...
(laughs)

626
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,266
{\an8}POGUE:
Many glucose molecules
joined together

627
00:27:48,300 --> 00:27:49,933
{\an7}can make a plant starch,

628
00:27:49,966 --> 00:27:53,466
{\an7}the kind you find in cereals
and root vegetables.

629
00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:56,666
{\an7}It's the most common carb in the
human diet.

630
00:27:56,700 --> 00:27:58,166
{\an8}So did I under...
(indistinct voice over
loudspeaker)

631
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,533
{\an1}Hey, we're workin' here!

632
00:28:00,566 --> 00:28:02,033
So we've got lipids.

633
00:28:02,066 --> 00:28:03,533
Yeah.
Proteins.

634
00:28:03,566 --> 00:28:04,800
Yeah.
And carbohydrates.

635
00:28:04,833 --> 00:28:07,166
Yeah, the three macromoleculesof the human body.

636
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:08,633
Right,
but we're missing one.

637
00:28:08,666 --> 00:28:10,366
There's another one?
Yeah, we don't
have anything

638
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,966
that's representative
of nucleic acids.

639
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:18,233
{\an8}POGUE:
Nucleic acids are better known
as DNA and RNA.

640
00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:22,266
{\an8}DNA is the famous double helix.

641
00:28:22,300 --> 00:28:25,366
{\an1}It's usually two long chains
of molecules

642
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,133
{\an7}that wrap around each other.

643
00:28:28,166 --> 00:28:33,366
{\an7}It contains genetic instructions
for making proteins.

644
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,466
{\an7}RNA is often a long molecular
chain as well.

645
00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:42,033
{\an7}If DNA is the cookbook,
RNA is the chef,

646
00:28:42,066 --> 00:28:45,133
{\an7}reading DNA's instructions
for proteins,

647
00:28:45,166 --> 00:28:48,000
{\an7}gathering the ingredient
amino acids,

648
00:28:48,033 --> 00:28:50,033
{\an7}and assembling them in the
right order

649
00:28:50,066 --> 00:28:53,333
{\an7}in a macromolecular
protein printing machine

650
00:28:53,366 --> 00:28:56,600
{\an7}called a ribosome.

651
00:28:56,633 --> 00:28:58,400
{\an1}Life on Earth exists

652
00:28:58,433 --> 00:29:00,633
in a spectacular
variety of forms,

653
00:29:00,666 --> 00:29:02,266
{\an8}but in the end,

654
00:29:02,300 --> 00:29:04,033
{\an7}it all depends on the
arrangement

655
00:29:04,066 --> 00:29:08,033
{\an7}of a handful of different small
molecules--

656
00:29:08,066 --> 00:29:10,100
{\an7}the nucleotides--

657
00:29:10,133 --> 00:29:14,766
{\an7}in the nucleic acids DNA
and RNA.

658
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,866
{\an1}And we are now arriving
at the DNA aisle.

659
00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:18,900
All righty.

660
00:29:18,933 --> 00:29:20,200
And why strawberries?

661
00:29:20,233 --> 00:29:22,666
{\an1}Well, strawberries actually
have eight copies

662
00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:24,766
{\an1}of each chromosome per cell.

663
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:26,300
So relative
to other fruits,

664
00:29:26,333 --> 00:29:28,200
{\an1}strawberries are actually
very rich in DNA.

665
00:29:28,233 --> 00:29:29,200
{\an1}Wow, all right.

666
00:29:29,233 --> 00:29:31,966
{\an1}Here's our DNA-ey berries.

667
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,233
♪

668
00:29:34,266 --> 00:29:39,400
Actually seeing DNA-- you know,
the code of life--

669
00:29:39,433 --> 00:29:43,466
{\an7}has always seemed beyond
the reach of ordinary folks.

670
00:29:43,500 --> 00:29:47,733
{\an7}You can't just find some,
can you?

671
00:29:49,333 --> 00:29:51,666
{\an1}When you said we were going
to extract DNA

672
00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:54,666
{\an1}from strawberries, I figured
we would go to some humming,

673
00:29:54,700 --> 00:29:56,966
{\an1}high-tech lab with millions
of dollars of equipment...

674
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:58,733
{\an1}(maniacal laughter)

675
00:29:58,766 --> 00:30:01,466
{\an1}No, actually DNA extraction
from strawberries

676
00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:04,266
{\an1}is something that can be
achieved at home.

677
00:30:05,733 --> 00:30:08,600
POGUE:
As it turns out,

678
00:30:08,633 --> 00:30:11,066
{\an1}using some easily available
household items

679
00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:12,666
{\an1}like plastic bags,

680
00:30:12,700 --> 00:30:14,900
{\an1}detergent, rubbing alcohol,

681
00:30:14,933 --> 00:30:17,533
{\an1}cheesecloth and strawberries,

682
00:30:17,566 --> 00:30:19,800
{\an1}(liquid dripping)

683
00:30:22,266 --> 00:30:24,300
{\an1}along with a little bit
of waiting time,

684
00:30:24,333 --> 00:30:26,633
{\an1}you too can catch a glimpse

685
00:30:26,666 --> 00:30:30,200
{\an1}of the code of life-- DNA.

686
00:30:31,633 --> 00:30:33,300
♪

687
00:30:33,333 --> 00:30:34,600
There it is.

688
00:30:35,966 --> 00:30:38,800
You'll see an accumulation

689
00:30:38,833 --> 00:30:41,633
of white, stringy substance.

690
00:30:41,666 --> 00:30:44,533
{\an1}That's actually a very crude
prep of DNA.

691
00:30:44,566 --> 00:30:48,433
♪

692
00:30:48,466 --> 00:30:49,800
Basically, what's goingto happen is,

693
00:30:49,833 --> 00:30:51,966
it's going to clump on the endof your glass rod.

694
00:30:53,500 --> 00:30:56,700
Strawberry DNA slime,
right there.(laughs)

695
00:30:56,733 --> 00:30:58,200
♪

696
00:30:58,233 --> 00:30:59,833
POGUE:
Pretty amazing.

697
00:30:59,866 --> 00:31:01,866
{\an1}And so are the other three
macromolecules

698
00:31:01,900 --> 00:31:04,800
{\an1}that make up my body.

699
00:31:06,433 --> 00:31:07,966
{\an1}But all their wondrous
complexity

700
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,200
raises a deeply
mysterious question:

701
00:31:11,233 --> 00:31:15,300
{\an1}how did chemistry give rise
to biology?

702
00:31:15,333 --> 00:31:17,700
{\an1}How did life get its start?

703
00:31:19,533 --> 00:31:22,033
♪

704
00:31:22,066 --> 00:31:24,200
{\an1}A famous experiment in 1952

705
00:31:24,233 --> 00:31:28,233
{\an1}suggested the answer might
not be that hard to find.

706
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,066
{\an1}At the University of Chicago,graduate student Stanley Miller,

707
00:31:34,100 --> 00:31:37,433
{\an1}with help from his doctoral
advisor Harold Urey...

708
00:31:37,466 --> 00:31:39,300
(gas hissing)

709
00:31:39,333 --> 00:31:41,366
{\an7}Mixed what were then
thought to be

710
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,566
{\an7}the dominant ingredients of
Earth's early atmosphere--

711
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:50,666
{\an7}methane, ammonia, and hydrogen--
inside some sealed glassware.

712
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:54,600
{\an7}Boiling water added water vapor
to the mix.

713
00:31:58,466 --> 00:32:02,133
{\an7}Then Miller created sparks
between electrodes

714
00:32:02,166 --> 00:32:04,366
{\an7}simulating lightning,

715
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,700
{\an7}and let the mixture cool
and condense.

716
00:32:07,733 --> 00:32:10,533
{\an7}After running the experiment
for a week,

717
00:32:10,566 --> 00:32:14,100
{\an7}Miller found five amino acids...

718
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,133
{\an7}some of them critical building
blocks of proteins.

719
00:32:19,166 --> 00:32:22,533
JACK SZOSTAK:
You know, it was a dramatic
breakthrough at the time

720
00:32:22,566 --> 00:32:25,100
{\an1}for people to realize that
amino acids could be made

721
00:32:25,133 --> 00:32:26,533
in such a simple way.

722
00:32:26,566 --> 00:32:27,766
♪

723
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,033
POGUE:
At Massachusetts General
Hospital,

724
00:32:30,066 --> 00:32:33,133
{\an1}Jack Szostak runs one of the
several research labs

725
00:32:33,166 --> 00:32:35,333
{\an1}around the world that are trying
to figure out

726
00:32:35,366 --> 00:32:39,666
{\an1}how chemistry gave rise
to biology.

727
00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:40,966
{\an1}So this is like increasingthe amount of sodium hydroxide,

728
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,066
{\an1}and so increasing...
Oh, okay.

729
00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:45,600
POGUE:
Today, it's clear

730
00:32:45,633 --> 00:32:47,833
even the Miller Urey experiment,

731
00:32:47,866 --> 00:32:49,333
{\an1}while groundbreaking,

732
00:32:49,366 --> 00:32:51,433
{\an1}just scratched the surface
of the problem.

733
00:32:51,466 --> 00:32:53,200
SZOSTAK:
In retrospect,

734
00:32:53,233 --> 00:32:55,833
it kind of fooled people
into thinking that

735
00:32:55,866 --> 00:32:57,366
the answers might
be easier than

736
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,700
they turned out
to be, right?

737
00:32:59,733 --> 00:33:02,666
{\an7}Once you've got the right
chemicals, then what?

738
00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:03,766
{\an7}POGUE:Right, right.

739
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:05,000
{\an7}How do a bunch of chemicals
get together

740
00:33:05,033 --> 00:33:06,866
{\an7}and start acting like a cell?

741
00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:09,366
{\an8}♪

742
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:13,400
POGUE:
A key requirement seems
to be a container.

743
00:33:13,433 --> 00:33:14,933
{\an7}All life on Earth,

744
00:33:14,966 --> 00:33:17,366
{\an7}from the simplest
to the most complex,

745
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:21,700
{\an1}is made of cells,
with "outer membranes."

746
00:33:21,733 --> 00:33:24,733
{\an1}So on the road to life,

747
00:33:24,766 --> 00:33:26,866
{\an1}how did that happen?

748
00:33:26,900 --> 00:33:27,966
♪

749
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,300
{\an1}Scientists like Anna Wang,

750
00:33:30,333 --> 00:33:33,266
{\an1}a former post-doc in
Jack Szostak's lab,

751
00:33:33,300 --> 00:33:37,000
{\an1}now a professor at UNSW Sydney,

752
00:33:37,033 --> 00:33:39,000
{\an1}have been working with
a simple molecule

753
00:33:39,033 --> 00:33:42,766
that is one
of the prime suspects.

754
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:44,133
{\an1}It's also present here.

755
00:33:44,166 --> 00:33:45,200
{\an3}Wow.

756
00:33:45,233 --> 00:33:47,833
♪

757
00:33:47,866 --> 00:33:52,366
{\an8}POGUE:
Shaped into bars in a wide
variety of colors and scents.

758
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:54,300
{\an8}Smells good in here.
Smells amazing.

759
00:33:54,333 --> 00:33:57,366
POGUE:
At Molly's Apothecary
outside of Boston.

760
00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:58,566
Oh, that's wonderful.

761
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,233
{\an8}POGUE:
That's right... soap!

762
00:34:02,266 --> 00:34:05,600
{\an1}Soap's interesting because
a soap molecule

763
00:34:05,633 --> 00:34:08,233
{\an1}is a combination of two
different types of molecules,

764
00:34:08,266 --> 00:34:11,200
{\an1}called polar and non-polar.

765
00:34:11,233 --> 00:34:13,733
♪

766
00:34:13,766 --> 00:34:17,200
For example,
water molecules are polar.

767
00:34:17,233 --> 00:34:20,600
{\an1}Each one has a concentration
of electrons in one part,

768
00:34:20,633 --> 00:34:25,266
{\an1}making it negative, which leaves
another part more positive.

769
00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:27,866
That's polarity.

770
00:34:27,900 --> 00:34:30,466
{\an1}And it makes water molecules
want to stick together,

771
00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:32,833
{\an1}each negative part attracted

772
00:34:32,866 --> 00:34:35,633
{\an1}to another molecule's
positive part.

773
00:34:39,100 --> 00:34:42,133
An oil molecule,made up of carbon and hydrogen,

774
00:34:42,166 --> 00:34:45,500
{\an1}is an example of a non-polar
molecule.

775
00:34:45,533 --> 00:34:48,366
{\an1}It has an even distribution
of electrons--

776
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:50,200
no polarity.

777
00:34:50,233 --> 00:34:53,466
{\an7}And less stickiness
between molecules.

778
00:34:53,500 --> 00:34:59,566
{\an1}In fact, polarity is why oil
and water don't mix.

779
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:01,866
{\an1}The polar water molecules
stick together,

780
00:35:01,900 --> 00:35:05,266
{\an1}keeping the oil molecules
at bay.

781
00:35:05,300 --> 00:35:08,466
{\an1}The less dense oil floats
on top.

782
00:35:10,133 --> 00:35:11,933
{\an1}That's also why trying to clean

783
00:35:11,966 --> 00:35:14,833
{\an1}oily grease off your hands
with water alone,

784
00:35:14,866 --> 00:35:16,800
{\an1}doesn't work very well.

785
00:35:16,833 --> 00:35:19,466
{\an1}It actually won't come off,
it's super oily.

786
00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:21,400
{\an1}The two just don't interact.

787
00:35:21,433 --> 00:35:23,600
{\an8}♪

788
00:35:23,633 --> 00:35:26,600
{\an8}And that's where soap molecules
come in.

789
00:35:26,633 --> 00:35:30,433
{\an1}They're hybrids; at one end
are some negatively charged,

790
00:35:30,466 --> 00:35:33,533
{\an1}electron-rich oxygens,
ready to interact

791
00:35:33,566 --> 00:35:36,200
{\an1}with polar molecules like water,

792
00:35:36,233 --> 00:35:40,566
{\an1}but the rest is a long,
non-polar hydrocarbon tail,

793
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,466
with no positive
or negative charge.

794
00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:47,333
{\an1}It's more comfortable mixingwith other non-polar molecules,

795
00:35:47,366 --> 00:35:49,066
{\an1}like grease.

796
00:35:49,100 --> 00:35:52,100
{\an1}Put some soap on your
greasy hands...

797
00:35:52,133 --> 00:35:53,366
Soapy!

798
00:35:55,433 --> 00:35:59,700
{\an1}And the soap's non-polar tails
stick into the grease

799
00:35:59,733 --> 00:36:02,800
{\an1}while its polar heads
act like handles,

800
00:36:02,833 --> 00:36:04,733
{\an1}ready to interact with the water

801
00:36:04,766 --> 00:36:08,200
{\an1}taking the grease
along for the ride.

802
00:36:08,233 --> 00:36:10,933
{\an1}Here's another interesting
soap fact.

803
00:36:10,966 --> 00:36:13,266
{\an1}Drop some soap into water,

804
00:36:13,300 --> 00:36:16,766
{\an1}and the molecules form little
balls called micelles,

805
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,766
{\an7}with their water-loving
polar heads sticking out,

806
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:26,166
{\an7}and their water-hating non-polar
tails sticking in.

807
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,933
{\an1}That naturally occurring
little container

808
00:36:28,966 --> 00:36:31,733
{\an1}has piqued the interest
of scientists like Anna.

809
00:36:31,766 --> 00:36:33,733
{\an8}♪

810
00:36:33,766 --> 00:36:37,533
{\an7}Back at the lab, she adds some
soap molecules to water

811
00:36:37,566 --> 00:36:40,633
{\an7}containing short fragments
of RNA.

812
00:36:40,666 --> 00:36:45,266
{\an7}They've been tagged with a
molecule that makes them glow.

813
00:36:45,300 --> 00:36:47,933
{\an8}Why RNA?

814
00:36:47,966 --> 00:36:49,733
{\an8}The current scientific consensus

815
00:36:49,766 --> 00:36:54,133
{\an8}is that a primitive form of RNAmay have been the first molecule

816
00:36:54,166 --> 00:36:57,266
{\an8}with the ability
to replicate itself,

817
00:36:57,300 --> 00:37:00,200
{\an7}jump-starting evolution.

818
00:37:00,233 --> 00:37:01,600
Next stop...

819
00:37:01,633 --> 00:37:03,433
{\an1}Now we're going to go look
at it under the microscope.

820
00:37:03,466 --> 00:37:05,666
POGUE:
The microscope room...

821
00:37:06,933 --> 00:37:10,066
{\an1}where Anna loads up a sample
she prepared yesterday.

822
00:37:10,100 --> 00:37:12,933
WANG:
So this is what
our soap molecules

823
00:37:12,966 --> 00:37:14,466
{\an1}have self-assembled
into overnight.

824
00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:15,766
{\an1}POGUE:What are they, bubbles?

825
00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,133
WANG:
Yeah, they're almost
like bubbles

826
00:37:18,166 --> 00:37:19,400
{\an8}and so what
we're looking here

827
00:37:19,433 --> 00:37:21,466
{\an7}is not the soap molecules
themselves

828
00:37:21,500 --> 00:37:22,800
{\an8}but what they've
been able to trap

829
00:37:22,833 --> 00:37:25,566
{\an8}inside these
cell-sized structures.

830
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:29,266
POGUE:
Overnight, the soap micelles
have self-assembled

831
00:37:29,300 --> 00:37:34,833
{\an1}into larger spheres, trapping
the fluorescing RNA inside.

832
00:37:34,866 --> 00:37:38,566
{\an1}And if we could zoom
into one of them...

833
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:40,500
{\an7}we'd see that it actually
consists

834
00:37:40,533 --> 00:37:43,166
{\an7}of two layers of soap molecules,

835
00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:45,400
{\an7}arranged with the water-loving
heads

836
00:37:45,433 --> 00:37:48,133
{\an7}toward the inside and outside,

837
00:37:48,166 --> 00:37:51,966
{\an7}and the water-hating tails
brought together.

838
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,333
{\an7}When you have molecules
that have a polar head group

839
00:37:54,366 --> 00:37:56,233
{\an1}and a non-polar tail

840
00:37:56,266 --> 00:37:58,833
{\an1}but you don't give themany oil to interact with,

841
00:37:58,866 --> 00:38:01,766
{\an1}the oily tails actually want to
interact with each other.

842
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:02,766
{\an1}And so you end up forming

843
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,600
{\an1}these bilayer structures.

844
00:38:04,633 --> 00:38:06,300
Wait, so these are soap
molecules

845
00:38:06,333 --> 00:38:08,266
and these are also
soap molecules?

846
00:38:08,300 --> 00:38:09,766
Yeah.
And they like to...

847
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:10,866
assemble
into this position?

848
00:38:10,900 --> 00:38:12,666
Yeah, that's right,so they like to form

849
00:38:12,700 --> 00:38:14,233
these really thin envelopes,

850
00:38:14,266 --> 00:38:16,133
and you can imagine thisstructure extending onwards

851
00:38:16,166 --> 00:38:19,200
and onwards and curvingaround and forming a sphere.

852
00:38:19,233 --> 00:38:20,366
{\an1}And that's what we're
seeing here.

853
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:22,333
{\an1}We're seeing this bilayer
structure

854
00:38:22,366 --> 00:38:25,366
encapsulating some
green-dyed RNA molecules.

855
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,666
{\an8}POGUE:
This lipid, bilayer
structure isn't alive,

856
00:38:29,700 --> 00:38:32,466
{\an8}but it's familiar to biologists.

857
00:38:32,500 --> 00:38:35,633
{\an7}It's similar to the bilayer
structure of the membranes

858
00:38:35,666 --> 00:38:39,933
{\an7}that surrounds something
that is alive-- cells.

859
00:38:39,966 --> 00:38:41,933
{\an7}Of course those are much more
complicated

860
00:38:41,966 --> 00:38:44,000
{\an7}and more stable containers,

861
00:38:44,033 --> 00:38:46,366
{\an7}better at keeping things
in or out,

862
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,800
{\an7}though that feature comes
at a price.

863
00:38:49,833 --> 00:38:51,900
{\an1}If you take the membranes
that we have now

864
00:38:51,933 --> 00:38:55,266
{\an1}but get rid of all the highly
evolved protein machinery,

865
00:38:55,300 --> 00:38:57,433
{\an1}what you're left with
is just an inert sack.

866
00:38:57,466 --> 00:38:59,066
{\an1}It can't grow, it can't divide.

867
00:38:59,100 --> 00:39:00,700
{\an1}It can't even get nutrients
in and out.

868
00:39:00,733 --> 00:39:04,466
{\an8}POGUE:
That's why in the days
of proto-life,

869
00:39:04,500 --> 00:39:08,466
{\an8}less-stable membranes built out
of simpler molecules like soap

870
00:39:08,500 --> 00:39:11,333
{\an7}may have been an advantage.

871
00:39:11,366 --> 00:39:13,766
{\an1}Anna shows me an example.

872
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,200
So what I'm about
to do is I have

873
00:39:16,233 --> 00:39:18,333
some soapy water in here
and I'm just going to add it.

874
00:39:18,366 --> 00:39:21,566
♪

875
00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:25,366
WANG:
What happens is those soap
molecules start incorporating

876
00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:27,033
{\an4}onto the existing membrane...
Look at this,
look at this!

877
00:39:27,066 --> 00:39:29,000
{\an5}Yeah!
(chuckles)
It just split!

878
00:39:29,033 --> 00:39:30,700
So they look pretty
spherical now,

879
00:39:30,733 --> 00:39:32,566
but they're starting
to wiggle a bit.

880
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:34,533
And all of a sudden...

881
00:39:34,566 --> 00:39:38,066
{\an5}it looks like
they might melt.Cell division!

882
00:39:38,100 --> 00:39:39,766
{\an5}POGUE:
Wow.

883
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,266
{\an1}Our cells grow and divide

884
00:39:41,300 --> 00:39:43,300
{\an1}because we have something
giving instructions.

885
00:39:43,333 --> 00:39:44,566
{\an1}Yes.

886
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:47,333
{\an7}But you're saying that
billions of years ago,

887
00:39:47,366 --> 00:39:48,866
{\an7}none of that existed.

888
00:39:48,900 --> 00:39:50,766
{\an1}There's none of that in here,so what we're kind of simulating

889
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,966
{\an1}is a condition where maybe
these protocells have

890
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,733
{\an7}floated somewhere
down the stream,

891
00:39:55,766 --> 00:40:00,100
{\an7}and they've come across a pool
of excess soap molecules,

892
00:40:00,133 --> 00:40:03,800
{\an7}and these soap molecules can
join the membrane and grow it.

893
00:40:03,833 --> 00:40:05,233
{\an7}So I think what it means is that

894
00:40:05,266 --> 00:40:07,033
{\an1}we can still get simple cells

895
00:40:07,066 --> 00:40:09,466
{\an1}to divide by purely physical
mechanisms,

896
00:40:09,500 --> 00:40:12,233
{\an1}and that's what we're trying
to understand in the field,

897
00:40:12,266 --> 00:40:15,666
{\an1}like how do you get to do things
that kind of seem like life

898
00:40:15,700 --> 00:40:18,200
and mimic life
but without any biology?

899
00:40:18,233 --> 00:40:19,866
♪

900
00:40:19,900 --> 00:40:21,166
POGUE:
In the early days of Earth,

901
00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:23,200
{\an1}soap or similar molecules

902
00:40:23,233 --> 00:40:27,600
{\an1}may have self-assembled
into cell-like containers...

903
00:40:27,633 --> 00:40:28,966
{\an1}POGUE:Did they have the bilayerthing already?

904
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:30,600
{\an1}They have a bilayer membrane.Yeah.

905
00:40:30,633 --> 00:40:33,866
POGUE:
But Jack Szostak realizes
that's just a start.

906
00:40:33,900 --> 00:40:38,466
There are many more steps on theroad from chemistry to biology.

907
00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:40,766
Once you got the right kinds of
molecules,

908
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:42,166
{\an1}which are pretty simple,

909
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:44,633
they can assemble
into membranes.

910
00:40:44,666 --> 00:40:48,800
{\an7}But they can't actually start
to do anything interesting

911
00:40:48,833 --> 00:40:50,500
{\an7}in terms of, like,
getting more complicated

912
00:40:50,533 --> 00:40:53,000
{\an1}and being more, like,
more and more advanced life

913
00:40:53,033 --> 00:40:54,600
{\an1}until you have genetics.Yeah.

914
00:40:54,633 --> 00:40:58,933
{\an8}SZOSTAK:You need a hereditary material,
something like RNA or DNA.

915
00:40:58,966 --> 00:41:02,500
{\an7}And once you've done that,you have cycles of replication,

916
00:41:02,533 --> 00:41:04,966
{\an7}because that's got to go on
inside these protocells.

917
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,066
{\an1}And it's got to happen just by
chemistry and physics

918
00:41:08,100 --> 00:41:09,633
{\an1}because there were no enzymes.

919
00:41:09,666 --> 00:41:11,500
{\an1}There was no evolved machinery,
right?

920
00:41:11,533 --> 00:41:13,466
So, in a sense,

921
00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:15,466
{\an4}the answer has to be simple.Yeah.

922
00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:18,300
{\an1}And we just have to figure
out how it works.

923
00:41:18,333 --> 00:41:19,866
(chuckling)

924
00:41:19,900 --> 00:41:22,033
♪

925
00:41:22,066 --> 00:41:23,733
POGUE:
Scientists like Jack and Anna

926
00:41:23,766 --> 00:41:25,833
are searching
for the mysterious road

927
00:41:25,866 --> 00:41:27,733
{\an1}that led not only to life

928
00:41:27,766 --> 00:41:30,033
{\an1}but to the mechanism that's
allowed it

929
00:41:30,066 --> 00:41:32,966
{\an1}to overcome adversity--
evolution.

930
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:37,900
♪

931
00:41:37,933 --> 00:41:40,533
{\an1}Today, some scientists wonder

932
00:41:40,566 --> 00:41:43,933
{\an1}what if we could harness
evolution's creative power

933
00:41:43,966 --> 00:41:47,966
{\an1}to solve some of our own
challenges?

934
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:49,100
{\an3}Wow.

935
00:41:49,133 --> 00:41:51,400
FRANCES ARNOLD:
Nature is constantly changing.

936
00:41:51,433 --> 00:41:52,700
Hi, boys.

937
00:41:52,733 --> 00:41:56,066
Because there is this tremendous
effort to survive.

938
00:41:56,100 --> 00:41:59,933
{\an1}If you can harness that power,
that innovation

939
00:41:59,966 --> 00:42:01,866
{\an7}that nature is doing

940
00:42:01,900 --> 00:42:05,666
{\an7}and direct it in a
beneficial way,

941
00:42:05,700 --> 00:42:07,500
{\an8}then we can use
that power of innovation

942
00:42:07,533 --> 00:42:11,400
{\an1}to solve some of our really
tough problems.

943
00:42:11,433 --> 00:42:14,933
POGUE:
Harnessing the innovative
power of evolution

944
00:42:14,966 --> 00:42:16,400
{\an1}is at the heart of the work

945
00:42:16,433 --> 00:42:19,666
{\an1}of chemical engineer
Frances Arnold of Caltech

946
00:42:19,700 --> 00:42:21,700
{\an1}in Pasadena, California.

947
00:42:21,733 --> 00:42:23,633
{\an1}That could be a huge deal
in the world.

948
00:42:23,666 --> 00:42:25,166
{\an1}I hope so.

949
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,466
POGUE:
And she's used it
to engineer new molecules

950
00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:31,533
{\an1}to solve a wide range
of problems.

951
00:42:31,566 --> 00:42:34,366
{\an7}From the search for new
antibiotics,

952
00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:37,666
{\an7}or methods to convert waste
into biofuels,

953
00:42:37,700 --> 00:42:40,166
{\an7}to teaching cells
to bond elements

954
00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:42,833
{\an7}in ways never before seen
in nature.

955
00:42:43,766 --> 00:42:45,333
ARNOLD:So do come if you're interested

956
00:42:45,366 --> 00:42:47,833
in the process
of protein engineering,

957
00:42:47,866 --> 00:42:50,033
{\an1}because that's the future,
so all of you

958
00:42:50,066 --> 00:42:51,666
{\an1}who are going to do...

959
00:42:51,700 --> 00:42:53,133
POGUE:
She's achieved her successes

960
00:42:53,166 --> 00:42:56,200
{\an1}by discovering new catalysts,

961
00:42:56,233 --> 00:42:58,300
{\an1}the materials that speed up
chemical reactions

962
00:42:58,333 --> 00:43:00,733
{\an1}without getting consumed
by them.

963
00:43:00,766 --> 00:43:02,700
{\an1}In C edge functionalization...

964
00:43:02,733 --> 00:43:07,966
POGUE:
In living things,
catalysts are called enzymes--

965
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,833
for example,
the protein rubisco.

966
00:43:10,866 --> 00:43:13,333
{\an1}Enzymes help facilitate
the reactions

967
00:43:13,366 --> 00:43:15,300
{\an1}that make life possible.

968
00:43:15,333 --> 00:43:18,200
ARNOLD:
The reason that you
and I can sit here and talk

969
00:43:18,233 --> 00:43:22,633
{\an1}is that we have thousands
of catalysts in us, proteins,

970
00:43:22,666 --> 00:43:24,866
that can convert
the food we eat

971
00:43:24,900 --> 00:43:27,600
{\an1}into the thoughts
that you think...

972
00:43:27,633 --> 00:43:29,500
{\an1}and the motor mouth, right?
(chuckles)

973
00:43:29,533 --> 00:43:32,200
{\an1}These are catalysts that
do all this chemistry.

974
00:43:32,233 --> 00:43:34,200
These are chemical
transformations

975
00:43:34,233 --> 00:43:36,200
that make life possible.

976
00:43:36,233 --> 00:43:37,733
{\an8}♪

977
00:43:37,766 --> 00:43:39,700
POGUE:
In fact they work so well,

978
00:43:39,733 --> 00:43:42,333
{\an1}engineers and scientists have
wanted to find a way

979
00:43:42,366 --> 00:43:44,300
{\an1}to co-opt the idea,

980
00:43:44,333 --> 00:43:47,866
{\an1}to create new enzymes
that would do our bidding,

981
00:43:47,900 --> 00:43:50,866
{\an1}assisting reactions that
aren't found in nature at all.

982
00:43:50,900 --> 00:43:53,766
{\an1}The question is how?

983
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:59,266
ARNOLD:
Many scientists
and engineers feel that

984
00:43:59,300 --> 00:44:01,600
{\an1}in order to design
a new product,

985
00:44:01,633 --> 00:44:03,766
{\an1}you sit down and you calculate,

986
00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:07,933
{\an1}you know, the right anglesand the right weights and loads.

987
00:44:07,966 --> 00:44:09,233
{\an1}I come from a different

988
00:44:09,266 --> 00:44:12,533
{\an1}point of view, that these
very complicated things

989
00:44:12,566 --> 00:44:14,300
are the products
of evolution.

990
00:44:14,333 --> 00:44:17,933
{\an1}So I say, "Let's just
go straight to the answer,

991
00:44:17,966 --> 00:44:21,366
{\an1}using this gift given to us."

992
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:25,100
♪

993
00:44:25,133 --> 00:44:26,500
POGUE:
Frances uses an approach

994
00:44:26,533 --> 00:44:28,000
{\an1}called directed evolution.

995
00:44:28,033 --> 00:44:31,833
ARNOLD:
One way to think about
directing evolution,

996
00:44:31,866 --> 00:44:34,500
{\an1}is it's like breeding.

997
00:44:34,533 --> 00:44:37,133
{\an1}It's like breeding cats or dogs.

998
00:44:37,166 --> 00:44:38,766
{\an8}♪

999
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,700
POGUE:
With a specific end goal
in mind,

1000
00:44:42,733 --> 00:44:44,533
{\an1}She starts with DNA

1001
00:44:44,566 --> 00:44:46,833
{\an1}that encodes for some
protein catalysts

1002
00:44:46,866 --> 00:44:49,266
{\an1}that have some promising traits,

1003
00:44:49,300 --> 00:44:51,066
{\an1}depending on what
she's looking for.

1004
00:44:51,100 --> 00:44:57,300
{\an1}The DNA gets copied in a waythat produces random mutations.

1005
00:44:57,333 --> 00:45:00,466
{\an1}She puts that into
microorganisms that multiply

1006
00:45:00,500 --> 00:45:04,100
{\an1}and produce a variety of
slightly different proteins.

1007
00:45:04,133 --> 00:45:05,900
ARNOLD:
So you have a gene,

1008
00:45:05,933 --> 00:45:08,933
{\an1}the organism reads the gene,
makes the proteins,

1009
00:45:08,966 --> 00:45:10,333
and they're all
slightly different,

1010
00:45:10,366 --> 00:45:12,266
{\an1}just like your children...
(laughs)

1011
00:45:12,300 --> 00:45:16,333
but now I can decide who goes on
to parent the next generation

1012
00:45:16,366 --> 00:45:20,166
{\an1}because I measure what
those proteins do.

1013
00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,366
POGUE:
Frances tests the results

1014
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:25,033
{\an1}to see if any represent a step
in the right direction.

1015
00:45:25,066 --> 00:45:26,733
{\an1}If so, that becomes

1016
00:45:26,766 --> 00:45:31,566
{\an1}the new starting point,
and she repeats the process.

1017
00:45:33,733 --> 00:45:36,733
ARNOLD:To see how quickly you can train

1018
00:45:36,766 --> 00:45:39,033
{\an1}enzymes, that's what we're
doing, we're training them,

1019
00:45:39,066 --> 00:45:40,300
{\an1}we're breeding them...

1020
00:45:40,333 --> 00:45:45,000
{\an1}to do something that perhaps
nature never did before.

1021
00:45:45,033 --> 00:45:48,200
{\an1}When you discover that they've
learned how to do that

1022
00:45:48,233 --> 00:45:52,766
{\an1}and they do it better than anyhuman can do, it is so exciting.

1023
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:55,033
{\an1}♪

1024
00:45:55,066 --> 00:45:59,600
POGUE:
To see how directed evolution
can work outside the lab...

1025
00:45:59,633 --> 00:46:01,466
{\an1}Farming has always been about
increasing productivity.

1026
00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:03,266
POGUE:
...Frances suggested
that I contact

1027
00:46:03,300 --> 00:46:06,900
{\an1}one of her former students,
Pedro Coelho.

1028
00:46:06,933 --> 00:46:08,833
{\an1}Along with a partner,

1029
00:46:08,866 --> 00:46:12,133
{\an1}she and Pedro founded a company
Provivi,

1030
00:46:12,166 --> 00:46:13,900
{\an1}based in Santa Monica.

1031
00:46:13,933 --> 00:46:17,400
{\an1}Pedro is the CEO.

1032
00:46:17,433 --> 00:46:21,533
{\an1}Provivi makes a chemical to
fight this agricultural pest,

1033
00:46:21,566 --> 00:46:24,466
{\an1}the fall army worm.

1034
00:46:24,500 --> 00:46:26,600
COELHO:
It's a pest that is native
to the Americas,

1035
00:46:26,633 --> 00:46:30,500
{\an1}but in the last three years,
it's invaded all of Africa

1036
00:46:30,533 --> 00:46:31,833
and now, all of Asia,

1037
00:46:31,866 --> 00:46:33,933
{\an7}going from India to China,

1038
00:46:33,966 --> 00:46:36,433
{\an7}and it's a very difficult pest
to control

1039
00:46:36,466 --> 00:46:38,866
because once it
infests the corn,

1040
00:46:38,900 --> 00:46:41,433
{\an1}it hides inside the corn plant

1041
00:46:41,466 --> 00:46:44,533
{\an1}where the insecticides
can't touch it.

1042
00:46:44,566 --> 00:46:45,933
♪

1043
00:46:45,966 --> 00:46:49,166
POGUE:
But Provivi's chemical
isn't a pesticide,

1044
00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:50,866
{\an1}it doesn't kill anything.

1045
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:56,833
{\an1}Instead it disrupts the way
fall army worms mate.

1046
00:46:56,866 --> 00:46:58,866
{\an1}Here's how it works:

1047
00:46:58,900 --> 00:47:03,000
{\an7}Fall army worms eventually
become adult moths,

1048
00:47:03,033 --> 00:47:05,333
{\an7}and that's when they mate.

1049
00:47:05,366 --> 00:47:09,566
{\an7}To attract males, female moths
release a pheromone,

1050
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:14,300
{\an7}a molecule that acts
as a chemical signal.

1051
00:47:14,333 --> 00:47:17,000
{\an7}So the female moth will release
a little bit of pheromone,

1052
00:47:17,033 --> 00:47:20,166
{\an1}and then the male will pick up
that signal with his antenna

1053
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:24,333
{\an1}and will fly towards her to mate
and reproduce.

1054
00:47:24,366 --> 00:47:30,166
POGUE:
She uses only a small amount,
but it's incredibly potent.

1055
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:34,100
{\an1}It can attract males
from up to a mile away.

1056
00:47:34,133 --> 00:47:35,866
ARNOLD:These are complicated molecules.

1057
00:47:35,900 --> 00:47:38,066
These are the Chanel No. 5

1058
00:47:38,100 --> 00:47:40,466
of insects.
(laughter)

1059
00:47:40,500 --> 00:47:44,700
POGUE:
But such a powerful
"sex perfume"

1060
00:47:44,733 --> 00:47:47,833
{\an1}can become a means of control.

1061
00:47:47,866 --> 00:47:51,433
{\an1}So imagine, now, you come with
a bottle of Chanel No. 5

1062
00:47:51,466 --> 00:47:53,166
{\an1}and you spray it everywhere.

1063
00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:55,133
{\an1}(spritzing sound effect)

1064
00:47:55,166 --> 00:47:56,933
ARNOLD:
Then he can't find her,

1065
00:47:56,966 --> 00:48:01,666
{\an1}and they don't mate
and have caterpillars.

1066
00:48:01,700 --> 00:48:02,933
♪

1067
00:48:02,966 --> 00:48:04,666
POGUE:
Provivi has figured out

1068
00:48:04,700 --> 00:48:08,033
how to replicate
the fall army pheromone,

1069
00:48:08,066 --> 00:48:11,700
{\an1}and put it into a slow release
spray for crops.

1070
00:48:11,733 --> 00:48:13,566
{\an1}Which you have to imagine

1071
00:48:13,600 --> 00:48:16,633
{\an1}is very confusing
for the male moths.

1072
00:48:16,666 --> 00:48:19,600
{\an1}They have so much trouble
finding females

1073
00:48:19,633 --> 00:48:23,766
{\an1}that in the end there are fewer
eggs, and worms.

1074
00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:26,000
{\an7}So you're not killing
these things,

1075
00:48:26,033 --> 00:48:28,333
{\an7}and you're not driving
them away,

1076
00:48:28,366 --> 00:48:29,800
{\an7}you're just confusing them?

1077
00:48:29,833 --> 00:48:34,266
{\an1}Yeah, so it's not a repellant,
and it's not a kill agent,

1078
00:48:34,300 --> 00:48:36,866
{\an1}it's simply a mating disruptor.

1079
00:48:36,900 --> 00:48:39,300
♪

1080
00:48:39,333 --> 00:48:43,366
POGUE:Pedro tells me using pheromones
to combat pests isn't new.

1081
00:48:45,433 --> 00:48:47,100
But until now,
it's been expensive,

1082
00:48:47,133 --> 00:48:50,833
{\an1}and therefore limited
to high-value smaller crops

1083
00:48:50,866 --> 00:48:53,833
{\an1}like apples or grapes.

1084
00:48:53,866 --> 00:48:57,333
{\an1}So the real breakthrough at
Provivi isn't using pheromones

1085
00:48:57,366 --> 00:49:00,366
{\an1}but making them inexpensively.

1086
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:04,966
{\an1}They've studied the enzyme
catalysts the insect uses

1087
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:06,600
{\an1}to make the pheromone,

1088
00:49:06,633 --> 00:49:12,466
{\an1}and moved the genes for those
enzyme catalysts into yeast.

1089
00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:14,900
{\an1}Then, through directed
evolution,

1090
00:49:14,933 --> 00:49:17,966
{\an1}they optimize those little yeast
cell factories

1091
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:21,433
{\an1}for larger scale production
in vessels similar

1092
00:49:21,466 --> 00:49:24,133
{\an1}to those used for brewing beer.

1093
00:49:24,166 --> 00:49:25,633
(machine beeps)

1094
00:49:25,666 --> 00:49:28,333
COELHO:
And the key is that
by just changing the microbe,

1095
00:49:28,366 --> 00:49:29,900
{\an1}we can make many different
pheromones

1096
00:49:29,933 --> 00:49:31,433
{\an1}but using the same
infrastructure,

1097
00:49:31,466 --> 00:49:33,166
{\an1}which gives us the economies
of scale

1098
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:35,300
{\an1}and should make this
cost effective.

1099
00:49:35,333 --> 00:49:37,500
POGUE:
Making it possible to use

1100
00:49:37,533 --> 00:49:39,733
on staple crops grown around the
world,

1101
00:49:39,766 --> 00:49:41,133
like corn,

1102
00:49:41,166 --> 00:49:42,933
and rice.

1103
00:49:42,966 --> 00:49:44,766
COELHO:
Our mission very much

1104
00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:46,866
{\an1}is to take this proven tool
of pheromones

1105
00:49:46,900 --> 00:49:49,133
{\an1}to the largest markets
of agriculture,

1106
00:49:49,166 --> 00:49:51,300
{\an1}which are the staples
of humankind.

1107
00:49:51,333 --> 00:49:54,533
♪

1108
00:49:54,566 --> 00:49:57,200
POGUE:
Companies like Provivi aren't
the only sign

1109
00:49:57,233 --> 00:50:00,033
{\an1}that directed evolution
and cell factories

1110
00:50:00,066 --> 00:50:03,733
{\an1}are having a big impact
on manufacturing.

1111
00:50:03,766 --> 00:50:08,066
{\an1}Well, I teach this course
called Reaction Engineering

1112
00:50:08,100 --> 00:50:10,200
which is how do you take
chemical reactions

1113
00:50:10,233 --> 00:50:11,866
and scale them up?

1114
00:50:11,900 --> 00:50:17,400
POGUE:
In 2018, Frances Arnold won
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry,

1115
00:50:17,433 --> 00:50:21,633
{\an1}for her pioneering work
in directed evolution.

1116
00:50:21,666 --> 00:50:22,933
Is this idea

1117
00:50:22,966 --> 00:50:25,200
of chemistry and biology

1118
00:50:25,233 --> 00:50:27,400
to manufacture stuff,

1119
00:50:27,433 --> 00:50:30,533
is that catchingon these days?

1120
00:50:30,566 --> 00:50:33,000
It is,
it most definitely is.

1121
00:50:33,033 --> 00:50:36,700
{\an1}I think the future
is so exciting,

1122
00:50:36,733 --> 00:50:39,766
{\an1}because now what happens
is with these tools

1123
00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:43,233
{\an1}of being able to manipulate DNA,

1124
00:50:43,266 --> 00:50:45,566
{\an1}and the code of life, really,

1125
00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:50,066
we can now merge all
these beautiful mechanisms

1126
00:50:50,100 --> 00:50:51,700
of the biological world

1127
00:50:51,733 --> 00:50:54,466
with the inventions of
human chemistry.

1128
00:50:54,500 --> 00:50:58,633
And that way,
it merges in new innovations.

1129
00:50:58,666 --> 00:51:02,000
♪

1130
00:51:02,033 --> 00:51:05,300
POGUE:
That both chemists and
biologists have a lot to learn

1131
00:51:05,333 --> 00:51:08,766
{\an1}from each other should come
as no surprise.

1132
00:51:10,133 --> 00:51:12,266
{\an1}But what is surprising is that

1133
00:51:12,300 --> 00:51:15,266
{\an1}biology would arise out of
chemistry at all.

1134
00:51:15,300 --> 00:51:16,633
{\an1}Look at this, look at this!

1135
00:51:16,666 --> 00:51:18,033
{\an1}Cell division!

1136
00:51:18,066 --> 00:51:20,866
{\an1}(dramatic voice):
The blueprints of life!

1137
00:51:20,900 --> 00:51:24,133
{\an1}The origin of life
remains one of the great

1138
00:51:24,166 --> 00:51:27,200
{\an1}unsolved mysteries of science.

1139
00:51:27,233 --> 00:51:29,566
{\an1}Was the mix of chemicals
on early Earth

1140
00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:32,266
{\an1}destined to give rise to life?

1141
00:51:32,300 --> 00:51:33,633
{\an1}And once it started,

1142
00:51:33,666 --> 00:51:36,900
{\an1}was the road that lead to the
chemical complexity

1143
00:51:36,933 --> 00:51:38,366
{\an1}of photosynthesis

1144
00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:41,466
{\an1}and the harnessing of the power
of the sun...

1145
00:51:41,500 --> 00:51:43,300
{\an1}Probably the most important
process on the planet.

1146
00:51:43,333 --> 00:51:46,400
POGUE:
...the only road to be taken?

1147
00:51:46,433 --> 00:51:51,066
{\an1}Are we alone in the universe?

1148
00:51:51,100 --> 00:51:56,000
{\an1}Or just the local branch
of cosmic bio-chem?

1149
00:51:56,033 --> 00:51:59,700
{\an1}The answers to questions like
these will be found

1150
00:51:59,733 --> 00:52:02,400
{\an1}only through science...

1151
00:52:02,433 --> 00:52:05,833
{\an1}as we go beyond the elements.

1152
00:52:05,866 --> 00:52:08,966
♪

1153
00:52:33,100 --> 00:52:37,733
{\an8}♪

1154
00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:52,733
{\an7}To order this program on DVD,
visit ShopPBS

1155
00:52:52,766 --> 00:52:56,100
{\an7}or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

1156
00:52:56,133 --> 00:52:58,766
{\an7}Episodes of "NOVA" are available
with Passport.

1157
00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:02,566
{\an7}"NOVA" is also available
on Amazon Prime Video.

1158
00:53:02,600 --> 00:53:07,700
{\an8}♪