In 2008, Qian Yongjian, a Chinese-American scientist, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his outstanding contributions, winning enthusiastic cheers in China.
Qian Yongjian said publicly: "I am not Chinese, I grew up in the United States, and blood does not determine a person's identity." What kind of story is hidden in this Chinese scientist?
What should we make of this thought-provoking statement in his interview? In pursuit of Qian Yongjian's oriental ancestry, we had to return to Hangzhou in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, a famous silk merchant named Qian Chengci had two sons, Qian Zefu and Qian Junfu.
Qian Junfu is Qian Xuesen's father, and Qian Zefu's son is Qian Xueyu. Qian Xuesen and Qian Xueyu, two cousins, have a close relationship, and they were both raised by Qian Junfu, so there are many similarities between them.
The two brothers have achieved excellent results at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States for further study. Their background in the same school and department made them the talents that were urgently needed when New China was first founded.
However, in the face of the call of the motherland, the brothers reacted very differently. Qian Xuesen was full of joy and longed to return to China to build the motherland, but Qian Xueyu believed that it would be difficult to realize his academic ideals when he returned to China, and the academic environment for staying in the United States was more superior.
In fact, Qian Xueyu also returned to China for a short time, but during the Anti-Japanese War, he ran into a wall with the Kuomintang. He once hoped to build an aircraft for the motherland, but found that the funds allocated to the airfield were divided among the Kuomintang at all levels and were not used for research and manufacture of aircraft.
This made Qian Xueyu feel very angry, so he decided to go to the United States again and decided not to return to China.
In 1955, Qian Xuesen finally returned to the embrace of the motherland after hardships, while his brother Qian Xueyu stayed in the United States and chose a different path of development. Years later, Qian Xuesen became a hero of China's two bombs and one satellite, and the founder of many disciplines, while Qian Xueyu served as a senior engineering consultant at Boeing and became an academician of the American Academy of Engineering.
Interestingly, their youngest son, Qian Yongjian, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008. Although Qian Yongjian grew up in the United States and can use chopsticks, he does not use them often, is not familiar with Chinese, and is not used to communicating in Chinese.
Even his uncle Qian Xuesen, Qian Yongjian has never seen it. It is said that after the easing of Sino-US relations, Qian Yongyu's family once returned to China, but due to some reasons, Qian Yongjian and Qian Xuesen could not see each other, and this was the closest moment they were to.
Although it is deeply regrettable that the uncle and nephew did not meet in the end, Qian Yongjian still has a deep respect for this uncle. He even said that his dedication to scientific research was somewhat influenced by his family: "The inheritance of the family may have made me destined to do this." ”
So, what outstanding achievements has Qian Yongjian made in scientific research? How did he win the Nobel Prize? Illuminating the path of science with fluorescent proteinsQian Yongjian has been passionate about chemistry experiments since he was a child, and the fact that he suffers from asthma and rarely goes out has given him a lot of time to conduct experiments in the basement.
With diligence and talent, 16-year-old Qian Yongjian wrote an article on the theme of "How Metals Combine with Thiocyanates", which won the Westinghouse Science Talent Award in the United States.
This award was known as the "Junior Nobel Prize" at that time, which shows its high honor.
Because of this award, Qian Yongjian successfully entered Harvard University in the United States, and received further education at the University of Cambridge and the University of California, accumulating a deep knowledge base.
Since the 80s of the last century, Qian Yongjian has made a name for himself in the American scientific community. His unique contribution was the invention of a dye molecule that could detect the concentration of calcium ions, and as a result, he was invited to give lectures on biology and chemistry, and some even joked that he was the most invited scientist in the world.
This is largely due to his extensive research in the fields of biology, chemistry and physiology, and the fact that his lectures are engaging, informative and engaging. Later, Qian Yongjian turned to the study of fluorescent proteins, and he was very interested in the phenomenon of recombinant fluorescent proteins into E. coli and nematodes, and making them continue to express them.
At first, the study of fluorescent proteins did not attract much attention because of their lack of brightness and stability. However, Qian Yongjian successfully improved this problem with his innovative genetic mutation method, making the light emitted by fluorescent proteins brighter and longer-lasting.
Based on this, his team has created a variety of fluorescent proteins that can stably release a variety of colors, including yellow, blue, red, etc., and these proteins also have the function of activating and changing color.
The fluorescent protein labels we use in our lab today come from his great work. In fact, Qian Yongjian's inspiration for this innovation stems largely from his love of color.
He loves to draw and has a high sensitivity to the harmony of colors. Even his first chemical experiments were made with a variety of chemical dyes to mix colors. His parents were very supportive of his interests, and he brought them to work, eventually creating this remarkable achievement.
Some people praise Qian Yongjian as a beacon in the scientific community, and his research on fluorescent proteins is hailed as one of the important tools of contemporary scientific research. Not only did this discovery have had a profound impact on genetically modified, cancer cells**, and more, he also developed live-cell dyes that revolutionized the field of cell physiology and neurobiology.
In addition, he pioneered the key technology of next-generation sequencing, which is one of the cores of NGS sequencers. However, he is best known for his modification of the green fluorescent protein, which led to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008, along with two other American scientists.
The news resonated with enthusiasm at home, and many people were proud of his achievements.
At a press conference, when asked whether he would consider returning to China for development, Qian Yongjian said directly: "I was born and raised in the United States, and I am an American scientist, not a Chinese scientist.
Lineage does not determine a person's identity. As soon as these words came out, the scene fell silent. After the news reached China, some people questioned Qian Yongjian's behavior, believing that he had "forgotten his roots".
So, what should we make of this? Specific problems, specific treatments. Whether scientists have "forgotten their roots" needs to be analyzed in detail. For example, Lin Ye and Yin Xi in the past are two typical examples.
Lin Ye is one of the "Geng International Students", alongside Mei Yiqi, Hu Shi and Deng Jiaxian. He excelled at Tsinghua University and achieved excellent results during his study abroad.
When Lin Ye was about to graduate, the Americans offered an annual salary of $300,000 to try to keep him, but Deng Jiaxian and others refused without hesitation and chose to return to China to serve.
However, Lin Ye failed to resist the money, chose to stay in the United States, and gave up his Chinese nationality to join the American scientific research department to help research intercontinental missiles. His behavior made people criticize him, because the motherland cultivated him, but he researched the ** pointing to China for the United States.
However, Lin Ye only pursued fame and fortune, and with his contribution to the militia system, he became the chief engineer of Boeing. It is said that in his later years, Lin Ye thought about returning to his roots and returning to his motherland, but he was ultimately rejected.
The young Yoon Hee showed remarkable talent in his youth. At the age of 12, he was admitted to the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China and completed his undergraduate studies in 5 years.
Subsequently, he received a full scholarship to Harvard University with honors to pursue a PhD in physics. However, Harvard University has a rule that postdoctoral research cannot be continued at the school after graduating from the PhD.
But for Yin Xi's sake, this rule was finally broken, which is enough to see the importance he attaches to Yin Xi. In fact, Yin Xi has in-depth research in the field of theoretical physics, especially in superstring theory.
However, the recent news of his decision to become an American citizen has caused a lot of buzz. This is because his superstring theory is a purely theoretical research, and the current research in this field is still in the theoretical stage of mathematical form, which means that there are no patents or technical barriers in this field, and even if there are results, they belong to the whole world.
The atomic bomb and the lithography machine may have national borders, but the superstring theory does not. Lin Ye and Yin Xi's "staying in the United States" cannot be compared. Lin Ye is helping the Americans to build missile systems, which undoubtedly poses a threat to the security of the motherland; Yin Xi, on the other hand, is purely theoretical in the United States, and his research results can bring benefits to the world.
Similarly, we can't generalize about Qian Yongjian. He was born and raised in the United States, but his research results have contributed to all mankind, so he deserves our respect.
After winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, he was not carried away by fame and fortune, but always remained sober. "The heroes behind the scenes also deserve a medal," he said. ”
Prei, a behind-the-scenes hero, was the first to gain insight into the genes of jellyfish proteins and successfully studied the genetic sequence of luminescent proteins. Although his research process was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and he even had to suspend all his funding, his passion for scientific exploration did not quench.
During his time at the car dealership, he still actively responded to the requests of scientists such as Qian Yongjian and generously shared his research results, including the gene sequence of the luminescent protein. The Pree agency did not regret the decision in the past, but just humorously said: "If they come to Alabama again, they should invite me to a meal." ”
In the eyes of scientists, scientific research is far more important than honors and awards. They firmly believe that scientific research knows no borders, and even more so theoretical research that contributes to all mankind.
For example, Nobel laureate Qian Yongjian, after receiving the medal honor, did not rest on his laurels, but devoted more time and energy to the application of fluorescent protein in cancer and stroke and other diseases.
On August 24, 2016, we lost Qian Yongjian, who devoted his life to scientific research, and this selfless dedication is the quality of a true scientist, worthy of our admiration and learning.
Even if we don't talk about national borders, as long as we talk about academics, their spirit is worthy of our admiration. Patriotic scientists like Qian Xuesen and Deng Jiaxian attach equal importance to their talents and conduct, and they have paid a lot for the construction of the country.
However, we can't just use them as a standard by which all scientists are measured, as this is obviously a high demand.