On October 8, 2008, media around the world were nervously waiting for the news, because that day was the time for the winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry . Nobel Prize is the highest award in the scientific community and it will cause global media to report every year. Every Nobel Prize winner will also become a highly respected master scientist.
In the afternoon, as the news came out of Stockholm , a few minutes later, the whole world knew about the three winners of 
008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, one of them attracted a lot of attention from the media. His name is Qian Yongjian .
Qian Yongjian is a Chinese. Looking at the history of the Nobel Prize for more than 100 years, there are not many Chinese winners. Therefore, almost every award-winning Chinese scientist will receive extremely high praise in China and are regarded as the pride of the Chinese.
However, after winning the award, there has been constant controversy about Qian Yongjian. Why did the Chinese media use the label of "chilling heart" on news about him? What did he say that caused him to suffer a lot of accusations? If you think today's content is good, you can click a circle and collect it and read it slowly!
talent
1936, Qian Xueju passed the Tsinghua University studying in the United States public-funded student . He and his cousin Qian Xuesen were admitted to the MIT aviation major.
The two brothers went hand in hand during school and had excellent grades. The difference is that after graduating, Qian Xuesen entered the California Polytechnic Aviation major and studied under Von Carmen, while Qian Xueseng chose to join Boeing and served as a senior engineering consultant.
In fact, after graduating from MIT , Qian Xueju worked briefly in China for a while. At this time, he was full of passion and wanted to use the knowledge he had learned to serve his motherland.
At that time, China was in the arduous war of resistance against Japan. After Qian Xueju returned to China, he served as the chief engineer of the Aircraft Engine Factory of the National Government Aviation Commission in Guizhou, responsible for manufacturing aircraft for the National Army.
However, what disappointed Qian Xueju was that this so-called aircraft manufacturing project was just a "item" made by the National Government 2 for embezzling military expenditures. A large amount of money that should have been used to develop and manufacture aircraft was greedy for the senior military officers of the National Army. This made Qian Xueju, who was full of passion for serving the country, feel absurd. In a disheartened state, he chose to return to the United States and join Boeing.
Maybe it was because of this experience. When New China was founded in 1949, when Qian Xuesen came to persuade his cousin to return to China to participate in the construction, Qian Xueju did not follow his cousin's advice.
Qian Xueju, who has worked in the National Government, knows well that as an agricultural country, China has neither a scientific and technological foundation nor a corresponding top-level design.
Qian Xueju even advised his cousin not to go back, otherwise his talent would be useless. Faced with Qian Xueju's advice, Qian Xuesen said that he went abroad to study to serve the country. When will he not go back?
The two brothers were quarreling. In the end, Qian Xuesen took his wife away from Caltech and returned to his motherland. Qian Xuesen stayed in the United States with his family, and from then on, each of them was his own.
In 1952, Qian Xueju's youngest son was born and named Qian Yongjian. The couple hoped that the child would be happy and healthy forever. Unfortunately, things went against my wishes. Qian Yongjian was diagnosed with congenital asthma since childhood. The doctor told Qian Yongjian's parents that they should try to avoid Qian Yongjian's outdoor exercise.
Qian Yongjian, who had been able to stay at home since childhood, was fortunately, had two brothers who were considerate of him. The brothers knew that he could not go outdoors to play, so they took turns to accompany him to play at home. Although Qian Yongjian's childhood lacked some color, it was also considered wealthy and happy.
Qian Yongjian has been very interested in chemistry since he was a child. He once said: "The colors produced by chemical experiments fascinate me. This is the best thing in the world."
12 years old, when Qian Yongjian and his brother were doing chemical experiments at home, an explosion occurred due to a wrong dose allocation, which exploded and the basement collapsed.
This made Qian’s mother very scared and ordered Qian Yongjian not to do chemical experiments at home in the future.After his father Qian Xueju found out, he revoked his mother's "ban" against Qian Yongjian, and instead encouraged Qian Yongjian to stick to his interests and continue to carry out some new experiments.
With the encouragement of his father and his persistence, Qian Yongjian quickly showed his talent. In 1968, Qian Yongjian won the Westinghouse Science and Technology Talent Award for a paper on how thiocyanate is combined with metals.
This award is called the youth version of the Nobel Prize in the United States. It has strict age restrictions on candidates participating in the selection. Therefore, each winner is an outstanding and extremely young person in the field of scientific research.
Qian Yongjian was also exempted from the academic exam because he won the Westinghouse Science and Technology Talent Award and directly entered the Department of Chemistry at Harvard University. That year, Qian Yongjian was only 16 years old.
award-winning
When he was studying in Harvard , Qian Yongjian's talent was fully recognized. He quickly completed the courses in the college and began to independently change his main focus. At this time, due to the rapid development of physics, various physical testing methods continued to emerge, which promoted the in-depth development of molecular chemistry.
The emergence of solution theory, material structure, and DNA conformation prompts the interweaving and penetration of disciplines such as physics, chemistry, and biology, resulting in emerging branch disciplines such as biochemistry and physical chemistry. Qian Yongjian's interest in chemistry gradually expanded to the physical and biological directions as he deepened his research.
1972, Qian Yongjian successfully graduated from Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard successfully graduated from Harvard and received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physicsHarvard also ranked among the top in school, and Harvard gave him a wholly-owned scholarship, and later Qian Yongjian was able to successfully enter the University of Cambridge in the UK to pursue a doctorate.
During the study at the University of Cambridge, Qian Yongjian invented a dye molecule that can track the calcium level in cells. This molecule can penetrate cell wall without injection with needles, and emit a specific color of fluorescence after mixing with calcium in the cell.
This invention not only greatly reduces the cost of doing biological experiments, but also reduces the probability of cell samples being contaminated. Until now, this dye molecule has been widely used in the field of brain nerve cells and cancer research.
Qian Yongjian's invention of dye molecules made him a star in the field of molecular chemistry. At this time, he was less than 30 years old. When his mentor mentioned him, he always believed that Qian Yongjian would definitely achieve brilliant achievements in the future.
Before his doctorate graduated, many European research institutions have extended olive branches to him, such as the MaxP Research Association in Germany and the French National Institute of Science.
Faced with these invitations, Qian Yongjian was very clear-headed. He knew that in the world, the United States is the highest academic level in the field of chemistry and physics. Therefore, after completing his doctoral thesis in Cambridge, Qian Yongjian bid farewell to his supervisor and returned to University of California as a researcher in the Department of Biochemistry.
While working at the University of California, Qian Yongjian has gradually lost interest in the research of molecular chemistry. At this time, thanks to the invention of cryo lens, neuroscience began to rise. Without thinking much, Qian Yongjian plunged into the field of brain neuroscience research at that time, which was still in a black box state.
Later, Qian Yongjian was elected as a member of the American Academy of Medical Research and an academician of the American National Academy of Sciences for his outstanding contributions to brain neuroscience research.
In the 1990s, Qian Yongjian came into contact with a chemical protein called green fluorescent protein (GFP for short), a protein found in Victoria jellyfish, consisting of 238 amino acids.
is used in the research and biological detection of membrane proteins in the scientific community at that time because of its ability to emit green fluorescence under the excitation of ultraviolet rays.
1994, Qian Yongjian successfully completed the transformation of green fluorescent protein. The fluorescence emitted by the protein before the modification in the experimental reaction is relatively weak, which requires a more special experimental environment. The modified green fluorescent protein emits brighter than before and lasts longer.
Later, Qian Yongjian also prepared various green fluorescent protein variants, some of which can produce a variety of colors, some can change colors, and some need to be actively activated during the rest period.
Qian Yongjian's modified green fluorescent protein was enthusiastically sought after by academia as soon as it was released. It is widely used in cellular and molecular biological experiments. It is often used by biologists to make reporter genes and enrich the genomes of experimental animals.
Until now, the fluorescent proteins used in laboratories of all sizes in the world are the results of Qian Yongjian's transformation. It is precisely because of Qian Yongjian's research that fluorescent proteins have become a very important part of biochemical experiments.
In 2008, in order to commend Qian Yongjian's outstanding achievements, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded His Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Together with him were American biologist Martin Salfie and Japanese organic chemist Shimomura Shuo . These three were scientists who made significant contributions to green fluorescent proteins, and their awards were well deserved.
controversy
Such an excellent scientist, even if he is not a Chinese, should be the pride of Asian scientists and even more proud of Chinese people. But why do our people have controversy over Qian Yongjian?
It turns out that since Qian Yongjian won the award, he has been reported by media from all over the world. Originally, it was not uncommon for the Nobel Prize winner to receive such attention from the media.
But due to Qian Yongjian's identity, he is the 8th Chinese to win the Nobel Prize and the nephew of Chinese strategic scientist Qian Xuesen. Such a title makes him far more topical than the other two winners.
Domestic media even used the title "Qian Xuesen's nephew's honor to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry" as soon as possible to occupy the headlines of major news websites.
media interviews and questioning broke Qian Yongjian's previous quiet research career. He had to deal with various media every day until he was asked about his feelings as a Chinese when he was interviewed by a reporter.
Qian Yongjian replied, "I was born in the United States and have American nationality. I neither speak Chinese nor have I been to China. Of course I am an American."
When asked again whether I would return to China, Qian Yongjian said, "I grew up in the United States and now work at the University of California. Why should I leave here and go to a strange environment?"
This statement immediately caused an uproar. As a Chinese, Qian Yongjian's words seemed a bit "inhuman". Especially considering his family background, his uncle Qian Xuesen gave up the prosperous life in the United States in order to serve his motherland.
suffered from various difficulties by the US authorities and went through many obstacles before returning to the motherland. The purpose was to hope that the motherland could become prosperous and strong. The sharp contrast between uncle and nephew made the domestic people feel complicated. Some media even reported this with slogans such as "chilling".
When people criticize Qian Yongjian for not having patriotism, as if Qian Yongjian is just a chasing fame and fortune, Qian Yongjian actually said it in an interview with a Chinese media.
"I don't know how to speak Chinese, but if there are Chinese people who are happy and proud of winning the Nobel Prize, and more young people are inspired to become interested in science, then I think this is also a good thing."
For Qian Yongjian, he was 56 years old when he won the award, and he spent almost all his first half of his life in the United States. The United States is where he studied and grew up, and China, for him, is already a homeland of a generation.
It is true that scientists like Qian Xuesen and Deng Jiaxian who gave up their generous life for the sake of their motherland are certainly respectable, but they should not use this as a standard to require everyone else to do so.
For a country, the key to attracting scientists should be a relaxed scientific research environment and a developed academic training system, rather than relying on the theory of bloodline to determine a person's belonging.
The famous scientist in my country and the world's giant physics Yang Zhenning , was also attacked in the early years.Especially after his friend Deng Jiaxian chose to return to China and finally sacrificed his life for the national defense cause of New China, the criticism of Yang Zhenning has always existed among the people.
In fact, Yang Zhenning's principle of parity non-conservation and gauge field theory have made indelible contributions to human physics research. Until now, Mr. Yang's theoretical research on condensed matter physics has been constantly confirmed, which has influenced the subsequent research of a large number of Nobel physicists.
If Yang Zhenning chose to return to China at that time, with the domestic development level, it would be difficult to provide the research environment that Mr. Yang needed. Perhaps the research on human theoretical physics would lack an important link.
Of course, it is precisely because of the selfless dedication of older generation scientists like Qian Xuesen and Deng Jiaxian that our country can ensure its own development in the international environment surrounded by wolves at that time. Until now, it has become the world's second largest economy, and its scientific research funding investment is second only to the United States, and its growth rate has surpassed the United States early on.
It can be said that while ensuring that its own development is not wrong, my country will soon become the country with the highest investment in scientific research in the world, with the completion of various industrial branches and the development of scientific research systems in colleges and universities.
China will also attract scientists from all over the world to come here just like the United States in the last century, because it has the best scientific research environment in the world and the most complete industrial system in the world.
can quickly transform the results in the laboratory into products and enter the market. At that time, there will naturally be countless scientists like Qian Yongjian who are willing to come to China to develop, regardless of whether he is a Chinese or not.
In 2013, Qian Yongjian was rushed to the hospital due to stroke . After being rescued in time by the hospital, Qian Yongjian was able to recover.
Qian Yongjian wanted to return to work, but the doctor told his physical condition that his body was no longer suitable for high-intensity research work. Qian Yongjian had to leave his job and chose to retire.
2016 On an ordinary day, Qian Yongjian rode his bicycle out for a walk as usual. However, after a long time, Qian Yongjian did not come back.
The anxious wife called the police. When the police searched along the way, they found Qian Yongjian lying on the roadside. When they stepped forward to check, they found that they were no longer breathing, at the age of 64.
Qian Yongjian's sudden death made countless people feel regretful. People often say that science has no borders, but scientists have borders. No matter what, Qian Yongjian's research has made a significant contribution to the scientific progress of mankind.
Although Qian Yongjian believes that he is an American, his research results have ultimately brought convenience and breakthroughs to scientists around the world, and also provided more colorful life for human life.
