A power reflected in artemisinin legend

On September 23 local time, Tu Youyou, an 81 year old Chinese female scientist, received the Lasker Award in New York, USA She won the prize because, together with other Chinese scientists, she discovered artemisinin, which has a magical therapeutic effect on malaria A kind of magical substance is extracted from ordinary Artemisia annua, so that human beings can completely get rid of the perplexity of fatal diseases This is the legend of artemisinin created by Tu youyou and other older Chinese scientists Artemisinin has been discovered for decades, but the power and spirit reflected in the legend of artemisinin are still moving and inspiring There is no doubt that the discovery of artemisinin is great It brings endless benefits to human life and health The review committee of the Lasker prize, the Lasker Foundation and the World Health Organization all spoke highly of the emergence of artemisinin, saying that artemisinin "has saved millions of lives" and will "play a long-term role" in the fight against malaria, a deadly disease The discovery process of artemisinin is full of legend, which reflects the loyalty of the older generation of Chinese scientists to the motherland and the cause of science It is even more unforgettable 44 years ago, in order to find a new way to treat drug-resistant malaria, the Chinese government established the "523" project, and more than 500 experts from more than 60 research institutions gathered together with the desire to serve the country One of the details is that Tu youyou quietly put her three-year-old child in a nursery for a long time and embarked on a journey Under the arduous research conditions, Tu youyou and his colleagues looked for inspiration from the ancient Chinese medicine therapy, investigated more than 2000 single prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine, selected 640 possible schemes from them, then tested more than 200 traditional Chinese medicine treatment schemes, tested the clinical effect of 380 kinds of Chinese herbal extracts, and found that the use of ether is an effective way to extract substances for traditional Chinese medicine of Artemisia annua No wonder, the appraisal committee of Lasker prize commented that the team led by Tu youyou applied modern technology to the legacy left by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, bringing the most valuable content into the 21st century Scientific research is a long-term, gradual and continuous accumulation process, and the individual's wisdom spark must be integrated into the collective efforts In the artemisinin legend, for the common goal, the academic exchanges and cooperation among scientists are also impressive It is noted that in 1972, Tu youyou unreservedly reported the breakthrough results to other research teams under the "523" project Since then, Chinese scientists, like relay events, have made a number of major scientific research achievements around artemisinin As Tu youyou said, "this honor belongs not only to me, but also to our Chinese scientists." In short, the legend of artemisinin tells the world that collective consciousness, team concept and cooperation spirit are precious in scientific research In fact, this spirit of cooperation is not a case in point, but a common one among the older generation of Chinese scientists Its root lies in the infinite loyalty to the motherland and the cause Cell magazine, a well-known international scientific magazine, praised the success of Chinese scientists as a demonstration of the "unique spirit of cooperation" of a large number of scientists and research institutions in the development of anti abuse drugs In the 21st century, China's economic and social development is still facing a variety of serious issues The era calls for the leap forward development of science In the new environment, people hope that the new generation of Chinese scientists can inherit the tradition of the older generation of scientists and write new legends.