Have you ever experienced a moment in your life that was so painful and confusing, that all you wanted to do was learn as much as you could to make sense of it all? When I was 13, a close family friend who was like an uncle to me passed away from pancreatic cancer. When the disease hit so close to home, I knew I needed to learn more. So I went online to find answers. Using the Internet, I found a variety of statistics on pancreatic cancer, and what I had found shocked me. Over 85 percent of all pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late, when someone has less than a two percent chance of survival. Why are we so bad at detecting pancreatic cancer? The reason? Today's current "modern" medicine is a 60-year-old technique. That's older than my dad. (Laughter) But also, it's extremely expensive, costing 800 dollars per test, and it's grossly inaccurate, missing 30 percent of all pancreatic cancers. Your doctor would have to be ridiculously suspicious that you have the cancer in order to give you this test. Learning this, I knew there had to be a better way. So, I set up scientific criteria as to what a sensor would have to look like in order to effectively diagnose pancreatic cancer. The sensor would have to be: inexpensive, rapid, simple, sensitive, selective, and minimally invasive. Now, there's a reason why this test hasn't been updated in over six decades. And that's because when we're looking for pancreatic cancer, we're looking at your bloodstream, which is already abundant in all these tons and tons of protein, and you're looking for this miniscule difference in this tiny amount of protein. Just this one protein. That's next to impossible. However, undeterred due to my teenage optimism -- (Laughter) (Applause) I went online to a teenager's two best friends, Google and Wikipedia. I got everything for my homework from those two sources. (Laughter) And what I had found was an article that listed a database of over 8,000 different proteins that are found when you have pancreatic cancer. So, I decided to go and make it my new mission to go through all these proteins, and see which ones could serve as a bio-marker for pancreatic cancer. And to make it a bit simpler for myself, I decided to map out scientific criteria, and here it is. Essentially, first, the protein would have to be found in all pancreatic cancers, at high levels in the bloodstream, in the earliest stages, but also only in cancer. And so I'm just plugging and chugging through this gargantuan task, and finally, on the 4,000th try, when I'm close to losing my sanity, I find the protein. And the name of the protein I'd located was called mesothelin, and it's just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill type protein, unless, of course, you have pancreatic, ovarian or lung cancer, in which case it's found at these very high levels in your bloodstream. But also, the key is that it's found in the earliest stages of the disease, when someone has close to 100 percent chance of survival. So now that I'd found a reliable protein I could detect, I then shifted my focus to actually detecting that protein, and thus, pancreatic cancer. Now, my breakthrough came in a very unlikely place, possibly the most unlikely place for innovation -- my high school biology class, the absolute stifler of innovation. (Laughter) (Applause) And I had snuck in this article on these things called carbon nanotubes, and that's just a long, thin pipe of carbon that's an atom thick, and one 50,000th the diameter of your hair. And despite their extremely small sizes, they have these incredible properties. They're kind of like the superheroes of material science. And while I was sneakily reading this article under my desk in my biology class, we were supposed to be paying attention to these other kind of cool molecules, called antibodies. And these are pretty cool because they only react with one specific protein, but they're not nearly as interesting as carbon nanotubes. And so then, I was sitting in class, and suddenly it hit me: I could combine what I was reading about, carbon nanotubes, with what I was supposed to be thinking about, antibodies. Essentially, I could weave a bunch of these antibodies into a network of carbon nanotubes, such that you have a network that only reacts with one protein, but also, due to the properties of these nanotubes, it will change its electrical properties, based on the amount of protein present. However, there's a catch. These networks of carbon nanotubes are extremely flimsy. And since they're so delicate, they need to be supported. So that's why I chose to use paper. Making a cancer sensor out of paper is about as simple as making chocolate chip cookies, which I love. (Laughs) You start with some water, pour in some nanotubes, add antibodies, mix it up, take some paper, dip it, dry it, and you can detect cancer. (Applause) Then, suddenly, a thought occurred that kind of put a blemish on my amazing plan here. I can't really do cancer research on my kitchen countertop. My mom wouldn't really like that. So instead, I decided to go for a lab. So I typed up a budget, a materials list, a timeline, and a procedure, and I emailed it to 200 different professors at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health -- essentially, anyone that had anything to do with pancreatic cancer. I sat back waiting for these positive emails to be pouring in, saying, "You're a genius! You're going to save us all!" And -- (Laughter) Then reality took hold, and over the course of a month, I got 199 rejections out of those 200 emails. One professor even went through my entire procedure, painstakingly -- I'm not really sure where he got all this time -- and he went through and said why each and every step was like the worst mistake I could ever make. Clearly, the professors did not have as high of an opinion of my work as I did. However, there is a silver lining. One professor said, "Maybe I might be able to help you, kid." So, I went in that direction. (Laughter) As you can never say no to a kid. And so then, three months later, I finally nailed down a harsh deadline with this guy, and I get into his lab, I get all excited, and then I sit down, I start opening my mouth and talking, and five seconds later, he calls in another Ph.D. Ph.D.s just flock into this little room, and they're just firing these questions at me, and by the end, I kind of felt like I was in a clown car. There were 20 Ph.D.s, plus me and the professor crammed into this tiny office space, with them firing these rapid-fire questions at me, trying to sink my procedure. How unlikely is that? I mean, pshhh. (Laughter) However, subjecting myself to that interrogation -- I answered all their questions, and I guessed on quite a few but I got them right -- and I finally landed the lab space I needed. But it was shortly afterwards that I discovered my once brilliant procedure had something like a million holes in it, and over the course of seven months, I painstakingly filled each and every one of those holes. The result? One small paper sensor that costs three cents and takes five minutes to run. This makes it 168 times faster, over 26,000 times less expensive, and over 400 times more sensitive than our current standard for pancreatic cancer detection. (Applause) One of the best parts of the sensor, though, is that it has close to 100 percent accuracy, and can detect the cancer in the earliest stages, when someone has close to 100 percent chance of survival. And so in the next two to five years, this sensor could potentially lift the pancreatic cancer survival rates from a dismal 5.5 percent to close to 100 percent, and it would do similar for ovarian and lung cancer. But it wouldn't stop there. By switching out that antibody, you can look at a different protein, thus, a different disease -- potentially any disease in the entire world. So that ranges from heart disease, to malaria, HIV, AIDS, as well as other forms of cancer -- anything. And so, hopefully one day, we can all have that one extra uncle, that one mother, that one brother, sister, we can have that one more family member to love. And that our hearts will be rid of that one disease burden that comes from pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer, and potentially any disease. But through the Internet, anything is possible. Theories can be shared, and you don't have to be a professor with multiple degrees to have your ideas valued. It's a neutral space, where what you look like, age or gender -- it doesn't matter. It's just your ideas that count. For me, it's all about looking at the Internet in an entirely new way, to realize that there's so much more to it than just posting duck-face pictures of yourself online. (Laughter) You could be changing the world. So if a 15 year-old who didn't even know what a pancreas was could find a new way to detect pancreatic cancer -- just imagine what you could do. Thank you. (Applause)
Je umeshawahi kukutana na wakati maishani ambao ulikuwa ni wa huzuni sana kiasi kitu pekee ulichotaka kufanya ni kujifunza zaidi na zaidi ili kuelewa hali hiyo? Nilipokuwa na miaka 13, rafiki wa karibu wa familia ambaye alikuwa kama mjomba kwangu alifariki kwa kansa ya kongosho. Wakati ugonjwa ulipokumba karibu sana na nyumbani, Nilitambua nahitaji kujifunza zaidi, nikaingia mtandaoni kutafuta majibu. kwa kutumia mtandao, nikapata takwimu mbalimbali kuhusu kansa ya kongosho, na kilichonishtusha. zaidi ya asilimia 85 ya kansa zote za kongosho zinagundulika kwa kuchelewa sana, wakati mtu ana chini ya asilimia ya kuishi. kwa nini hatufanyi vizuri kugundua kansa ya kongosho? Sababu?mfumo wetu wa utabibu na dawa una umri wa miaka karibu 60 sasa. Umri huo ni mkubwa kuliko wa baba yangu (vicheko) lakini pia, ni wa gharama kubwa sana, unagharimu dola za kimarekani 800 kwa kipimo, lakini pia vipimo havina uhakika, na kushindwa kugundua asilimia 30 ya kansa zote za kongosho Daktari wako itabidi awe ni mdadisi wa ajabu sana kuamua kukuandikia kipimo hiki. nilipojua hili, nikajua lazima iwepo njia bora zaidi. kwa nikaweka kigezo cha kipimo kinavyotakiwa kuwa ili kugundua vizuri kansa ya kongosho. Kipimo kinahitajika kuwa cha gharama nafuu, haraka, rahisi,kinachogundua haraka, na kisichohitaji kuingia kwa sehemu kubwa mwilini. Kuna sababu kwa nini kipimo hiki hakijabadilishwa kwa karibia miaka sitini, kwa sababu,tunapoangalia kansa ya kongosho, tunaangalia mzunguko wako wa damu ambao tayari umejaa tani nyingi za protini, na unatafuta chembe tofauti ndogo sana katika protini ndogo sana, protini hii moja tu. jambo hili ni gumu sana lakini, bila kukatishwa tamaa kutokana na shauku ya ujana (makofi) nikaenda mtandaoni kwa marafiki wawili sana wa kijana Google na Wikipedia Nilipata kila kitu kutoka vyanzo hivyo viwili, nilichokipata ilikuwa ni chapisho ambalo lilionyesha taarifa za protini 8000 tofauti ambazo zinaonekana ukiwa na kansa ya kongosho. kwa hiyo nikaamua hii iwe kazi yangu mpya kupitia protini zote hizi na kuona zipi zinaweza kuwa kitambulishi cha kansa ya kongosho. na kunirahisishia mambo, nikachagua kigezo, na ni hiki. Kwanza, protini lazima ionekane katika kansa zote za kongosho kwa kiasi kikubwa,katika damu katika hatua za mwanzoni. Kwa hiyo nikawa nafanya majaribio katika kazi hii ngumu, na mwishowe, katika jaribio la 4000, wakati nakaribia kuwa kichaa, nikaipata hiyo protini. jina la protini niliyoiona linaitwa mesothelin, na ni protini ya kawaida tu, ikiwa tu hauna kansa ya kongosho ya kizazi au ya mapafu, ikiwa unazo,protini hii inakua nyingi sana katika damu lakini pia muhimu ni kwamba inapatikana katika hatua za mwanzo kabisa za ugonjwa, wakati mtu ana nafasi ya asilimia 100 ya kupona kabisa. baada ya kupata protini ya uhakika,kuigundua nikabadilisha mwelekeo kwenda katika kuigundua sasa, na hivyo, kugundua pia kansa ya kongosho. mafanikio yangu yalipatina mahali pasipotarajiwa kabisa, labda sehemu isiyotegemewa kwa uvumbuzi kabisa: katika darasa langu la biolojia la sekondari, mahali ambapo ubunifu unazuiwa kabisa. (vicheko)(makofi) na nilifanikiwa kuliona andiko kuhusu vitu vinaitwa tyubu ndogo sana za kaboni. ambazo upana wake ni kama wa atom na kipenyo chake moja ya hamsini ya kipenyo cha nywele yako. pamoja na udogo huu zina tabia za ajabu sana. ni kama mashujaa wa sayansi ya maada. wakati nasoma chapisho chini ya dawati katika darasa la elimu ya viumbe, tulitakiwa tuwe makini katika molekyuli ziitwazo antibodi na hizi zimetulia sana kwa kuwa zinaweza ungana tu na protini moja, lakini sio za kupendeza kama tyubu ndogo za kaboni kwa hiyo nilikuwa darasani, na ghafla nikatambua: Kwamba naweza kuunganisha nilichokuwa nasoma, tyubu ndogo za kaboni, na kile nilichotakiwa kuwaza, antibodi. naweza nikazungusha antibodi hizi katika mkusanyiko wa tyubu ndogo za kaboni kiasi kwamba unakuwa na mkusanyiko ambao unaungana na protini moja lakini,pia kutokana na tabia za tyubu ndogo za kaboni, itabadilisha tabia zake za kiumeme kulingana na kiasi cha protini kilichopo lakini kuna jambo la kuzingatia. muunganiko huu wa tybu ndogo za kaboni ni laini sana kwa kuwa ni laini sana,zinahitaji kutegemezwa ndio maana nikachagua karatasi. Kutengeneza kipimo cha kansa kwa karatasi ni rahisi kama kutengeneza biskuti za chokleti ambazo nazipenda unaanza na maji,unamimina nanotubes, ongeza antibodies, changanya, chukua karatasi,chovya,ikaushe, na unaweza ukagundua kansa. (makofi) ghafla, wazo likanijia, lililoweka doa katika mpango wangu wa ajabu. siwezi nikafanya utafiti wa kansa katika jiko langu. mama yangu hatapenda kitu hicho. kwa hiyo, nikaamua kwenda maabara. nikaandika bajeti, orodha ya vifaa, ratiba na taratibu zitakazotumika, nikatuma kama barua pepe kwa maprofesa 200 tofauti katika chuo cha Johns Hopkins na katika taasisi ya afya ya taifa, kimsingi yoyote ambaye alikuwa na chochote kuhusu kansa ya kongosho. nikakaa nikisubiri majibu mazuri kuingia, yakisema, "wewe una kipaji cha ajabu! unaenda kutusaidia sisi wote!" na - (vicheko) baadae ukweli ukaanza kuonekana, na ndani ya mwezi mmoja, nikapata majibu ya kukataa 199 kati ya barua pepe zile 200. profesa mmoja akapitia mpango wangu wote sijui alipata wapi muda wote huu -- na akaanza kusema kwa nini kila hatua ni kosa kubwa sana. wazi wazi kabisa kila profesa hakuwa na maono makubwa kuhusu kazi yangu kama nilivyokuwa mimi. lakini, kulikuwa bado na tumaini. profesa mmoja, "labda naweza kukusaidia kijana." kwa hiyo nikaenda katika mwelekeo huo. (vicheko) kwa kuwa hauwezi kumkatalia mtoto. kwa hiyo miezi mitatu baadae, nilifanikiwa kupanga kukutana na mtu huyu, nikaingia katika maabara yake, nikawa na shauku kubwa, halafu nikakaa chini nikaanza kuongea, sekunde tano baadaye akamwita Daktari wa fasafa madaktari wa falsafa wakajaa katika chumba hiki kidogo, wakawa wananiuliza maswali, na mwishowe,nikahisi kama nilikuwa katika gari lililojaa watu wengi mno Kulikuwa na madaktari wa falsafa 20, mimi na huyu Profesa tumejazana katika ofisi ndogo wakinirushia maswali ya haraka haraka wakijaribu kuzamisha mpango wangu. Jinsi gani jambo hili lilivyokuwa gumu? (vicheko) bila kujali kuhojiwa kote kule, nilijibu maswali yao yote, nilibahatisha katika baadhi ya maswali lakini nilikuwa sahihi, mwishowe nikafanikiwa kupata nafasi ya maabara niliyoihitaji. muda mfupi baadae ndipo nikagundua mpango wango mahiri kuwa na makosa karibia milioni moja, na ndani ya miezi saba, nikaanza kazi nzito ya kusahihisha makosa haya yote moja baada ya jingine. Matokeo yake? kipimo cha karatasi kikigharimu senti tatu za dola kikichukua dakika tano. hii inakifanya kiwe mara 168 haraka zaidi, kikiwa na gharama ya chini ya mara 26,000 na kikiwa cha uhakika kwa zaidi ya mara 400 kushinda kipimo cha sasa cha kansa ya kongosho (makofi) moja kati ya vitu muhimu kuhusu kipimo hiki, ni kuwa kinatoa majibu sahihi kwa karibia asilimia 100, na kinagundua kansa katika hatua za mwanzo kabisa wakati mtu ana nafasi ya asilimia 100 ya kupona. kwa hiyo ndani ya miaka miwili mpaka mitano ijayo, kipimo hiki kinaweza kikaongeza watu kupona kansa ya kongosho kutoka asilimia 5.5 mpaka karibu na asilimia 100, na pia itafanya hivyo hivyo kwa kansa ya kizazi na ya mapafu. lakini haitaishia hapo tu. Kwa kuifunga hiyo antibodi, unaweza ukaangalia protini mbalimbali, kwa hiyo pia magonjwa mbalimbali, lakini uwezo huu ni kwa ugonjwa wowote duniani kutoka ugonjwa wa moyo mpaka Malaria,HIV,AIDS, pia ni aina nyingine za kansa-- ugonjwa wowote ule. Kwa hiyo, tumaini ni kuwa siku moja wote tunaweza tukawa na yule mjomba wa ziada, yule mama,yule kaka,dada, tunaweza kuwa na ndugu wa kumpenda, na mioyo yetu itapunguziwa mzigo wa ugonjwa mmoja utokanao na kansa ya kongosho,kizazi na mapafu, au ugonjwa wowote mwingine, na kupitia mtandao mengi yanawezekana. tunaweza kushirikishana nadharia, na sio lazima uwe profesa na shahada nyingi ili mawazo yako yathaminike. ni eneo lililo wazi kwa mtu yeyote ambapo mwonekano,umri wako au jinsia, haijalishi. ni mawazo yako tu ndiyo yanayojalisha. Kwangu mimi,ni suala la kuangalia mtandao wa intaneti kwa mtazamo mpya kabisa ili kujua kuna mengi sana ndani yake badala ya kuweka picha zako tu mtandaoni. unaweza ukaibadilisha dunia. kwa hiyo kama kijana wa miaka 15 ambaye alikuwa hajui hata kongosho ni nini anaweza akavumbua njia mpya ya kugundua kansa ya kongosho. jaribu kufikiri unaweza ukafanya mangapi. Asante sana (makofi)