The Inspirational Story of Tu Youyou

Tu Youyou is the first Chinese scientist to win the Nobel Prize in Science and the first Chinese scientist to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Tu Youyou's award is the pride of the Chinese scientific community, which will surely inspire more Chinese scientists to continue to climb the world's scientific peaks and make more and more contributions to human civilization and people's well-being. How much do you know about Tu Youyou's inspirational story? The following is the inspirational story about Tu Youyouyou that I have organized for you to read!

Tu Youyou's biography

Tu Youyou, born on December 30, 1930 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, female, pharmacologist, life-long researcher and chief researcher of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CATCM), director of Artemisinin Research and Development Center (ARDC), was appointed as a master's tutor in 1980 and a doctoral tutor in 2001, and has been engaged in the research and development of Artemisinin for many years.

For many years, she has been engaged in the research of Chinese medicine and the combination of Chinese and Western medicines, and her outstanding contribution is the creation of a new type of anti-malarial drug - artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, for which she was awarded the Lasker Prize in September 2011, which is regarded as the "wind vane" of the Nobel Prize. "Lasker Prize" as the "wind vane" of the Nobel Prize in September 2011.

On October 5, 2015, Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine; on December 6, Tu Youyou attended a press conference organized by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Tu Youyou is the first local Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize in science and the first Chinese scientist to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. It is the highest award won by the Chinese medical profession so far, and also the highest award won by the achievements of Chinese medicine.

In the early morning of December 11, 2015 Beijing time, Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

On December 25, 2015, asteroid 31230 was named Tu Youyou (Tuyouyou) according to Bulletin 96939-97570 published by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Center.

In February 2016, Tu Youyou won the "Moving China 2015 Person of the Year" award.

Tu Youyou's inspirational story 1

"Plum blossom fragrance from the bitter cold", learn her "toughness". The discovery of artemisinin is not easy to talk about, Tu Youyou and her team paid what hard work, the world can hardly imagine. If there is no perseverance, it is difficult to make achievements in scientific experiments.

"Thousands of hammers and ten thousand chisels out of the mountain", learn her "drilling vigor". After the end of World War II, the malaria parasite became resistant to drugs, and scientists began to look for new drugs. During the long search, the Chinese government also launched the "523 Project", and Tu Youyou pioneered the discovery of artemisinin, which created a new method of malaria treatment. Without the courage to explore the "drilling energy", this scientific research results are likely to go down the drain.

"The darkness of the sky is a bright spot", learn from her "realization". Tu Youyou started from the systematic organization of medical records, she consulted the classic medical books, local pharmacopoeia, visited the old Chinese doctors, made more than 2000 cards, and finally organized a more than 600 kinds of (including Artemisia annua) herbs "anti-malaria single test formula collection". "Our ancestors have long had the experience of treating malaria with Artemisia annua. Why can't we do it?" Tu Youyou once again searched ancient literature for the answer. A few lines from the "Post-elbow Preparation Emergency Formula" caught her attention: "Take a handful of Artemisia annua, impregnate it with two liters of water, extract the juice by twisting it, and take it as much as you can." If there is no "realization", Tu Youyou would not have thought of combining modern science and technology, for the first time using low-temperature ether extraction, as desired to obtain the anti-malarial effect of Artemisia annua extract.

"To have the source of living water", learn from her "complementary strength". She studied Western medicine in college, and after graduation, she entered the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine), where she received two and a half years of education in "Western medicine and Chinese medicine". Tu Youyou, who studied western medicine, made outstanding contributions to TCM because of her "complementary strength". Continuously injecting new knowledge, through the essence of Chinese medicine, the formation of a profound knowledge, to reach the realm of "a glimpse of the mountains".

"Not to be afraid of the floating clouds," learn from her "boldness". Tu Youyou devoted herself to scientific research, endured loneliness and boredom, and had the courage to face the challenges, without being moved by the world, without trying to be "short and quick", and finally stood at the pinnacle of science, receiving the attention of the world.

Tu Youyou's inspirational story 2

During the Vietnam-American War, in order to help Vietnam fight the United States, to overcome the malaria in Vietnam, May 23, 1967, the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army to set up a team of attack, gathered all the experts in pharmacy at that time, there are hundreds of people to participate. It was later called Project 523. After the experts of the day and night struggle, finally developed a special drug for malaria - artemisinin, and thus become the world's chemical class of drugs, the only one developed by the Chinese. As it was in the "" period, the attribution of the results did not attract attention. In the eighties, there was a gradual realization of the results, it was proposed that since the pharmacological significance of artemisinin was so great, it should be applied for the Nobel Prize, just like penicillin. As a result, the application report was returned by the Nobel Prize Review Committee, the reason being that there are at most three people applying for a prize side by side, and the prize is not awarded to the collective. The main participants of the "Project 523" had a heated discussion and finally concluded that the biggest contributors were four people, one without the other. A four-member tie was re-applied to the Nobel Prize Committee, but the application was returned because it did not meet the requirements. Otherwise, perhaps the 1980s in the Nobel Prize in Natural Sciences in China on the zero breakthrough.

Over the next many years, these four people declared themselves academicians many times, but the results were unsuccessful because, no matter who declared themselves among the four, the other three would report him as the biggest contributor to artemisinin. I have participated in the declaration process of Prof. Li Guoqiao of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (one of the four persons), and the result was unsuccessful because of the reports from the other three persons. This may be the reason why Tu Youyou was not recognized as an academician and did not win the National Science Award. If one of these four people receives an academician, or a national award, it means that the other three are in a secondary position to the inventor of artemisinin. This problem has not been solved for decades. The dilemma was solved by the Americans in a very simple way.

In 2011, the Lasker Prize Review Committee, known as the Nobel Prize in medicine in the United States, came to China to learn about the situation of the inventors of artemisinin, the same encountered four people arguing the situation, the Lasker Prize Review Committee to the four people to put forward two questions, the first question: who should get the Lasker Prize? The second question was: If you don't win the Lasker Award, who do you think deserves it the most out of the other three? The result came out: the first question was no doubt that all of them thought they were the most deserving of the Lasker Prize; the second question, three of them wrote Tu Youyou, and as a result, this year's Lasker Prize was given to the Chinese expert Tu Youyou, the inventor of artemisinin. The Lasker Prize has been established for more than half a century, *** there are more than 300 winners, a quarter of them later won the Nobel Prize in Biomedicine. Lasker Prize jury of these two questions is not the most scientific is not good to comment, but it solves the decades-old problem. Why is this problem so difficult to solve? It is indeed very complicated. I remember when Li Guoqiao declared academician I asked this question: the answer is: this project is like a 100-meter race, some people in the beginning of the lead, some people in the middle of the lead, some people in the sprint lead, and not a person always lead. There are also alternating leads among the members of the group that inspire and promote each other.

This Project 523 office is located in the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. After Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize, we didn't understand what was going on. Yesterday, a professor, gave me a particularly clear explanation. Yesterday, I chatted with Zhao Dechang, and he said that Tu Youyou's winning the Nobel Prize was natural and uncontroversial. He said, for example, you invented the bread, he invented the cake, and someone else invented the twist, but they are all made of flour, and the person who invented "Flour is Tu Youyou" five, the results of the research on anti-malarial drugs, as well as the cooperation with Switzerland, the anti-malarial drugs to the world, but also played a big role, and finally recognized by the world. Malaria was finally recognized by the world. Then there is today's China's strong, the world status of the improvement, but also China's local scientific research to win the Nobel Prize rely on!

Tu Youyou's inspirational story 3

Who says inch grass heart, a few degrees of cold and summer to report the spring sunshine

"Youyou deer singing, eating wild apples," the famous line of the "Poetry Classic - Xiao Ya" sent Tu Youyou's parents' good expectations of her. As a pharmacy student, Tu Youyou became involved in the research and development of plants and other natural medicines when she was admitted to the medical school of Peking University. From 1955, she entered the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine), and for decades, she has been buried in her beloved career, giving back a beautiful report card to the Party and the people.

Tu Youyou joined the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine when it was in its infancy, the conditions were difficult, the equipment was scarce, and the laboratory did not even have the basic ventilation facilities, and often dealt with a variety of chemical solutions, Tu Youyou's body was soon damaged, and at one time suffered from toxic hepatitis. In addition to "shaking the bottle" in the laboratory, she often went to the field to collect samples with "sweaty head and muddy legs", and successively solved the problem of confusion of varieties of Chinese medicinal herbs and silver firewood, which contributed to the prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis; combined with the ancient books of the past dynasties and the experience of various provinces, she completed the "Experiences of Chinese Medicine Blasting". He also completed the compilation of the "Compilation of Chinese Medicine Blasting Experiences". Tu Youyou's most notable achievement was the discovery of artemisinin as a first-line drug against malaria, "which saves thousands of lives each year around the world, especially in developing countries, and generates long-term medical benefits in the ongoing battle against the deadly disease." So says the Lasker Foundation.

Heirloom, Ancient Medical Books Strike Gold

On October 4, 1971, eyes were nervously fixed on the final results of the anti-malaria experiments with Artemisia annua Extract Sample No. 191, an artemisinin extract. With the announcement of the test results, the whole laboratory is boiling: the sample on the malaria parasite inhibition rate of 100%!

May 23, 1967, China's emergency start "malaria drug research collaboration" project, code-named "523". Behind the project is the cruel reality: due to the Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine as the representative of the old generation of antimalarial drugs, how to invent new drugs has become a worldwide problem.

In the face of danger, Tu Youyou was appointed as the head of the research team of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine (I TCM) for the "523" project. The difficulty of screening thousands of herbal medicines in a short period of time under the conditions of poor facilities and information channels is no different from finding a needle in a haystack. However, these seemingly insurmountable obstacles inspired her to fight: by reading through the medical books of herbs and herbs of the past dynasties, visiting old Chinese medicine practitioners, and even not sparing the letters from the public, Tu Youyou finally compiled a collection of anti-malarial single-exam recipes containing more than 640 kinds of herbs including Artemisia annua, out of more than 2,000 kinds of recipes and medicines. However, in the initial animal experiments, the effect of Artemisia annua was not outstanding, and Tu Youyou's search was once at an impasse.

Tu Youyou once again turned to the wisdom of ancient China, re-examined in the classic medical books, suddenly, Ge Hong "after the elbow to prepare the emergency prescription" in a few words firmly grasp her eyes: "Artemisia annua a grip, with two liters of water to impregnate, twisted to extract the juice, as much as to take." Tu Youyou immediately realized that the problem may be in the commonly used "water decoction" method, because high temperature will destroy the active ingredients in the artemisia, she then found another way to use a low-boiling solvent for experimentation.

Dream chaser, endless search

Success, after 190 failures. 1971, Tu Youyou discovered the 100% antimalarial effect of Artemisia annua extract in the 191st low-boiling-point experiment, and the results were emphasized in 1972, and the researchers extracted artemisinin from the extract, which is an effective antimalarial ingredient. These achievements did not let Tu Youyou stop, in 1992, for the high cost of artemisinin, malaria is difficult to cure and other shortcomings, she invented dihydroartemisinin, the antimalarial efficacy of 10 times the former "upgraded version".

Artemisia annua, a common plant in both the north and the south, grows lushly in the mountains and fields, simple and unassuming in appearance, but contains the magic of curing the sick and saving lives. It is the scientific dreamers like Artemisia, love in the left, dedication in the right, at any time to sow, at any time to blossom, the long distance of life embellished with flowers, green and full of flavor, so that different regions, races of people together to suck the fragrance of modern science and technology.

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