Il y a eu des expériences extraordinaires qui semblent tout droit sorties d'un film de science-fiction et qui auraient pu causer de graves problèmes pour le monde. Prenons *Magnaporthe grisea*, par exemple — ce champignon destructeur de riz a le potentiel d'anéantir d'énormes réserves alimentaires s'il est mal géré. Ensuite, il y a le Projet Sirius, ou l'Opération Stormfury, où les scientifiques ont tenté de contrôler les ouragans, ce qui aurait pu aboutir à des catastrophes météorologiques si les choses avaient mal tourné. Avez-vous déjà entendu parler des bactéries dévoreuses de pétrole ? Bien qu'elles soient utiles pour nettoyer les déversements de pétrole, si elles devenaient incontrôlables, elles pourraient dévorer plus que ce que nous avions prévu. Et n'oublions pas les expériences sur les collisions de particules, dont certains craignaient qu'elles ne créent des trous noirs. Ce ne sont que quelques exemples de la façon dont la science, bien que formidable, peut aussi comporter de sérieux risques ! Animation créée par Sympa. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Musique par Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com Pour ne rien perdre de Sympa, abonnez-vous!: https://goo.gl/6E4Xna ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nos réseaux sociaux : Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sympasympacom/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sympa.officiel/ Stock de fichiers (photos, vidéos et autres): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Si tu en veux encore plus, fais un tour ici: http://sympa-sympa.com
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00You are a brilliant scientist, driven by the desire to make this world better.
00:05You design a pill capable of purifying the water of any form of contamination.
00:09After throwing it in a puddle, the water immediately becomes clear.
00:13The purified water is poured into the sewers, triggering a chain reaction of purification.
00:18However, the chemical compounds present in the pill eliminate not only the harmful microbes, but also the essential bacteria.
00:26The reaction spreads to the oceans, making all the water of the planet sterile.
00:31The terrestrial ecosystem collapses, marking the beginning of an apocalypse.
00:35Oops!
00:36And yet, you only seek to improve the world.
00:39This story is fictitious, but there are real cases of scientific experiments that could, inadvertently, threaten the very existence of our world.
00:48In the 1970s, for example, scientists struggled to find a solution to treat oil leaks in the ocean.
00:55To this end, Dr. Chakrabarty, a biologist specializing in genetic engineering, altered the internal structure of a single bacteria, thus giving it the ability to decompose organic substances.
01:07By introducing several hundred billion of these bacteria into polluted water, they would begin to feed on oil and reproduce, contributing to the depollution of the oceans.
01:17It seemed promising, but researchers feared that these bacteria could suffer mutations.
01:22What would happen if, beyond oil, they began to consume plastic, paper, wood, earth, glass, metals, and everything around them?
01:32Imagine a moment when billions of proliferating omnivorous bacteria end up devouring the entire planet.
01:39Although research has shown that this scenario remained highly improbable, scientists feared, nevertheless, that these oil-eating bacteria would begin to attack other microorganisms, thus taking over the food chain of microbes.
01:54Such an imbalance would disrupt the natural order, given that some bacteria are essential to the survival of millions of species.
02:01The fragile cycle of life would then risk being broken.
02:04Fortunately, this catastrophic scenario never happened.
02:08The bacteria were limited to hydrocarbons, and Dr. Chakrabarty became the first to file a patent on a living organism.
02:15Another ambitious, but potentially risky experiment is named SETI, Extraterrestrial Intelligence Research.
02:22As the title suggests, this project has a certain danger.
02:26The program has been in progress for more than 50 years, during which specialized instruments scrutinize space in search of radio signals emitted by hypothetical extraterrestrial civilizations.
02:36The idea seems fascinating, but the problem lies in the fact that we also send our own signals, revealing our coordinates in the hope of being detected and contacted.
02:45If beings from other parts of the galaxy manage to locate us and reach our planet, it would indicate that their technology far exceeds ours.
02:54And what would happen if they were able to easily conquer the Earth?
02:58Imagine that a form of extraterrestrial life captures our signal and exclaims,
03:02Hey, look, there's a planet a few thousand light years away.
03:06Its inhabitants gave us their position. Would you like to go see?
03:10No, forget it, it's probably a trap. You've never watched science fiction.
03:14That said, our signal is unlikely to reach a stellar system potentially inhabited in the near future, because the distances to travel are immensely vast.
03:24Another striking episode took place at the end of the 1960s, when the crew of the Apollo 11 mission returned to Earth after completing its historic journey to the Moon.
03:33The three astronauts dived in a capsule somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
03:38These space pioneers had just made a giant leap for all of humanity.
03:43It was an extraordinary moment.
03:45Ships approached the floating capsule to retrieve the astronauts, who were welcomed as true heroes.
03:52But what would have happened if they had brought with them unknown microbes from the Moon?
03:57At that time, medical technologies and research capacities were not as advanced as they are today.
04:03Astronauts may not have detected the presence of certain microscopic organisms that could have clung to them.
04:10They could then have slipped into the spaceship and reached Earth,
04:15where scientists would have been stripped of their propagation or their mysterious nature.
04:20This risk does not only concern astronauts, but also space probes and satellites,
04:26likely to introduce extraterrestrial microbes on our planet.
04:30What would happen if these creatures came to consume our oxygen and proliferate uncontrollably?
04:36An expert had estimated at 99% the probability that Apollo 11 would not bring any lunar organism back to Earth.
04:44However, even a 1% risk remains significant and could have terrible consequences.
04:51Sometimes the forces of nature can turn into a destructive power in the hands of man.
04:56A mushroom, the magnaport grisea, infects rice grains and makes them unsuitable for consumption.
05:03Each year, this mushroom destroys a sufficient amount of rice to feed about 60 million people.
05:09The cattle also feed on rice, which means that the animals are also affected.
05:14Thus, magnaport grisea presents itself as one of the most formidable enemies of agriculture.
05:19Imagine that a person takes samples of this mushroom,
05:23modifies them to make them more powerful and more devastating,
05:26and that these samples end up accidentally in the fields.
05:29The mushroom would then begin to proliferate, destroying the crops.
05:34This would lead to the disappearance of rice and cattle, thus causing famine.
05:39Of course, there is no evidence that anyone plans to exploit this mushroom.
05:44However, in some regions, farmers have observed an abnormal spread of magnaport grisea.
05:51Natural balance is extremely fragile,
05:54and any change within the ecosystem of the planet can lead to unpredictable consequences.
05:59Even apparently insignificant animals, such as mice, can play a crucial role.
06:04Let's look at a concrete example of a catastrophe that occurred on the island of Gouf, located in the South Atlantic Ocean.
06:10In the 19th century, sailors accidentally introduced mice on this island.
06:15The population of these rodents quickly exploded, threatening other local species.
06:20Tristan d'Acuna's albatross, as well as dozens of other rare birds, were then in danger of extinction.
06:26Although albatross chicks are much larger than mice, they still dared to attack them.
06:32The history of this island illustrates how invasive species, such as mice,
06:37can annihilate entire animal species and disrupt biodiversity.
06:41What would happen if these rodents had no natural predators, such as cats?
06:46In this scenario, they could dominate the entire animal world.
06:49To protect the birds, experts have started to eliminate mice using poison.
06:55However, there are more appropriate methods.
06:58The toxins used can also harm other animals and contaminate the environment,
07:03thus causing disastrous consequences.
07:06Scientists have therefore developed another approach to fight invasive species, known as genetic forcing.
07:13This method modifies the genetic code of an animal, making it sterile or causing the birth of a single sex.
07:19As a result, mice end up disappearing, either because they cannot reproduce,
07:24or because they only count individuals of female or male sex.
07:28Genetic forcing proved effective when researchers tried to fight malaria-carrying mosquitos.
07:35In some regions, a few insects and milk infected by the gene were enough to destroy an entire species.
07:41Genetic-carrying mosquitos also transmitted this characteristic to their offspring,
07:46leading to the spread of infertility.
07:49Although this is an effective method to control pests,
07:52what would happen if this technique was used for other purposes?
07:56For example, if it was applied to fish or wild animals,
08:00it would never change the balance of nature.
08:03Not only animals and humans can have a negative impact on nature,
08:08but some plants can too.
08:10Among them is the coca leaf, which pushes at a rate superior to the ability of humans to eradicate it.
08:16Resistant to poison and endowed with a long life expectancy,
08:20this invasive plant takes over the fields, suffocating the surrounding vegetation.
08:25In addition, its poison can cause burns to the human skin.
08:28Although there are animals that consume the coca leaf, its propagation remains too fast.
08:34It is possible that evolution gives birth to more effective fighting methods,
08:39such as parasitic bacteria.
08:41But in the meantime, humans must find solutions on their own.
08:45We may have invested millions to eradicate this plant,
08:48it does not always work.
08:50Although it is possible to burn an invading field,
08:53if a single seed manages to survive, it will germinate quickly on the calcined soil.
08:58But what would happen if scientists managed to create a poison that,
09:01instead of destroying the plant, modified its genetic code, thus causing mutations?
09:06This could cause an increase in its size and an even faster growth.
09:11Liars and perverts would then invade the streets and could even climb on buildings.
09:16Such a scenario would be unpredictable,
09:19especially after having seen all these zombie movies and other intergalactic invaders.