In each of nearly all of your roughly 30 trillion cells, there are 6.4 billion letters of DNA.

在大約 30 兆個細胞中，幾乎所有細胞中都有 64 億個 DNA 字母。

It's powerful stuff.

這是很強大的東西。

If the DNA in all of your cells was used to store computer data, it could hold the equivalent of all the digital data we currently store on Earth.

如果所有細胞中的 DNA 都用於儲存電腦數據，那麼它可以保存相當於我們目前在地球上儲存的所有數位數據。

I'm Paul Nurse, and I've spent much of my working life thinking about DNA, in particular how it's copied and distributed inside cells every time they divide.

我是保羅·納斯，我工作生涯的大部分時間都在思考 DNA，特別是每次細胞分裂時它如何在細胞內複製和分佈。

I was awarded the Nobel Prize for this work in 2001.

2001 年，我因此獲得了諾貝爾獎。

Our understanding of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, has grown enormously since its discovery in the 19th century.

自 19 世紀發現脫氧核糖核酸（DNA）以來，我們對它的了解已經大大加深。

DNA was shown to be responsible for genetic inheritance in 1944.

1944年，DNA被證明負責基因遺傳。

Then, in 1953, its structure was revealed using X-rays.

1953 年，人們透過 X 射線揭示了它的結構。

And DNA turns out to be a stunningly elegant molecule.

DNA 原來是一種優雅得令人驚歎的分子。

What you're looking at is the original DNA model, currently on display in the Science Museum in London.

現在你看到的是原始 DNA 模型，目前陳列在倫敦科學博物館中。

It shows two long chains of molecules spiralling around each other in a double helix, like a twisted ladder.

它顯示了兩條長鏈分子以雙螺旋形式相互纏繞，就像一個扭曲的梯子。

The rungs are pairs of four chemicals marked as A, G, C and T.

梯級由標示為 A、G、C 和 T 的四種化學物質組成。

Determining the order of these chemicals - their sequence - is known as sequencing.

決定這些化學物質的順序（它們的順序）稱為定序。

Being able to describe the DNA sequence allows scientists to identify important differences between individuals.

能夠描述 DNA 序列使科學家能夠識別個體之間的重要差異。

These unique differences have become the basis for what is known as our DNA fingerprint.

這些獨特的差異已成為我們 DNA 指紋的基礎。

The first ever recorded DNA fingerprint was made in 1984 by my friend Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester.

第一個有記錄的 DNA 指紋是 1984 年由我在萊斯特大學的朋友 Alec Jeffreys 製作的。

Using DNA taken from his technician Vicky Wilson, he described not only which parts of her DNA came from her mother and which from her father,

他利用技術人員維姬·威爾遜 (Vicky Wilson) 採集的 DNA，不僅描述了她 DNA 的哪些部分來自她的母親，哪些部分來自她的父親，

but also the unique genetic code she possessed - one shared by no other human being.

還有她所擁有的獨特遺傳密碼──這是其他人類所沒有的。

DNA fingerprints can prove identity, how we are related and more.

DNA 指紋可以證明身分、我們之間的關係等等。

DNA testing of hair, skin cells or blood found at crime scenes is now the gold standard for conviction - or exoneration - of suspects.

對犯罪現場發現的頭髮、皮膚細胞或血液進行 DNA 檢測現在是對嫌疑人定罪或無罪的黃金標準。

It has revolutionised the criminal justice system.

它徹底改變了刑事司法系統。

In 2000, the first draft human genome - all the DNA needed to build a human being - was unveiled.

2000 年，第一份人類基因組草圖——建構人類所需的全部 DNA——公佈。

And with the ability to read genomes came new insights into how the human body works and how we evolve.

隨著讀取基因組的能力的出現，人們對人體如何運作以及如何演化有了新的認識。

Analysing DNA sequences has now reached the public in the form of commercial genetic testing by companies such as Ancestry and 23andMe.

目前，Ancestry 和 23andMe 等公司已經以商業基因測試的形式向公眾提供了 DNA 序列分析技術。

By sending a saliva sample - and a fee, of course - anyone can receive a report containing information such as where their ancestors were from and who they are related to.

透過發送唾液樣本（當然還要付費），任何人都可以收到一份報告，其中包含諸如他們的祖先來自哪裡以及他們與誰有親屬關係等資訊。

This ability to analyse DNA has had a personal consequence for me.

這種 DNA 分析能力對我個人產生了影響。

It's a twist of fate that although I have a long career in genetics, I never realised that my own family had a DNA secret.

儘管我在遺傳學領域有著悠久的職業生涯，但我從未意識到我自己的家族也有 DNA 的秘密，這真是命運的捉弄。

When I was in my 50s, I found out that the person I'd thought was my sister was, in fact, my mother.

當我50多歲的時候，我發現我以為的姊姊其實是我的母親。

My parents - the people who raised me - were, in fact, my grandparents.

我的父母——撫養我長大的人——事實上是我的祖父母。

For a long time, the identity of my father remained a mystery.

長期以來，我父親的身份一直是個謎。

But amazingly, now in my 70s, recently it was possible to identify him through DNA testing.

但令人驚訝的是，我現在已經 70 多歲了，最近可以通過 DNA 檢測確定他的身份。

Analysing DNA has also enabled scientists to do many extraordinary things,

DNA 分析也讓科學家們做出許多非凡的事情，

ranging from predicting genetic diseases to studying extinct members of the human family, like Neanderthals, and extinct animals like mammoths.

從預測遺傳疾病到研究人類家族的滅絕成員（如尼安德塔人）和滅絕的動物（如猛獁象）。

A new frontier in genetics is CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that works like molecular scissors, enabling scientists to cut and paste fragments of DNA within cells.

遺傳學的新前沿是 CRISPR，這是一種基因編輯工具，其工作原理類似於分子剪刀，使科學家能夠在細胞內剪切和粘貼 DNA 片段。

This means genetic diseases such as haemophilia, muscular dystrophy and cancers, in principle, might be "corrected" by editing the DNA of human embryos.

這意味著血友病、肌肉營養不良症和癌症等遺傳疾病原則上可以透過編輯人類胚胎的 DNA 來「糾正」。

This has the potential to improve many people's lives, though more research is still required because like all new therapies, they have to be shown to be safe.

這有可能改善許多人的生活，但仍需要更多的研究，因為像所有新療法一樣，必須證明它們是安全的。

There are also questions that need to be answered about making changes that can be passed on to future generations.

關於做出可以傳遞給子孫的改變，還需要回答一些問題。

But societies have navigated the challenges that come with new scientific technologies before.

但社會以前已經應對新科學技術帶來的挑戰。

DNA is the stuff of life.

DNA 是生命之源。

It is inevitable that the more we research, the more we will understand about ourselves and the living world, and the more power we will have to change it.

不可避免的是，我們研究得越多，我們對自己和生活世界的了解就會越多，改變它的力量就越多。

All this work with DNA will give insights into human development,

所有這些與 DNA 相關的工作都將深入了解人類的發展，

allow us to study extinct species and help doctors to treat diseases like cancer with medicine better personalised for everyone's unique genetic makeup.

讓我們能夠研究滅絕的物種，並幫助醫生使用針對每個人獨特的基因組成更好的個人化藥物來治療癌症等疾病。

And we are also starting to make new genetic materials, creating new synthetic proteins that could be used, for example, to help break down pollutants or to reduce greenhouse gases.

我們也開始製造新的遺傳材料，創造新的合成蛋白質，例如可用來幫助分解污染物或減少溫室氣體。

Seven decades after the structure of DNA was first revealed, the DNA revolution continues to be exciting.

DNA 結構首次揭示七十年後，DNA 革命仍然令人興奮。

It shows no signs of slowing down.

它沒有顯示出放緩的跡象。