2019年CRI Tu Youyou: Discoverer of Artemisinin

 

An awarding ceremony for the national medals, the Friendship Medals, and honorary titles will be held on Sunday in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The laureates include a wide range of prominent figures who have made tremendous contributions in fields including science and technology, law-making, peacekeeping missions, art and culture, as well as cooperation between China and foreign countries. Starting from Monday, CRI will bring you a series of reports on some of them.

CRI's Guo Yan has the story of a Chinese scientist, whose discovery has led to a revolutionary treatment for malaria¹ and saved millions of lives, and she is a recipient² of the Medal of the Republic.

Tu youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize for the discovery of artemisinin, a drug that is now the top treatment for malaria. Tu has risked her life in her dedication³ to finding a cure for malaria.For decades, she worked almost anonymously⁴ before winning the Nobel Prize in 2015.

"Ancient Chinese medicine has valuable treasure. We should work hard to tap into the rich resources in it. Artimisinin was discovered from it. Through research, I find that Chinese medicine and western medicine each has its own advantages and can be complementary to each other. Proper combination of the two will generate bigger potentials in medical development."

Born in 1930, Tu Youyou suffered from a lung disease when she was young, but Chinese medicine saved her life. She developed a keen interest in traditional Chinese medicine, dedicating her life to being a pharmacologist.

She started her work at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and later served as head of the "Anti-malarial Chinese Herbal Medicine Group." The researcher and her team helped isolate⁵ an anti-malaria medicine inspired by an ancient, traditional remedy. The discovery of artemisinin has helped significantly reduce the mortality rates of malaria patients.

A Nobel committee judge pointed⁶ out the significance of her work.

"The discovery of Artemisinin has led to development of a new drug that has saved the lives of millions of people, halving⁷ the mortality rate of malaria during the past 15 years. Your discoveries represent a paradigm⁸ shift in medicine, which has not only provided revolutionary therapies for patients suffering from devastating⁹ parasitic¹⁰ diseases, but also promoted well-being¹¹ and prosperity for individuals and society."

The achievement didn't come easy. Tu explains that her discoveries were made after years of repeated tries and failures.

"We have many traditional Chinese medicines, but we can not use them as they are. I experimented on over 200 kinds of Chinese medicines and I tried about 380 extraction methods in total. They all failed. I named my starting point as No.91, because I found the effective component¹² after 191 experiments."

To ensure that the drug would be safe in humans, at one time Tu even tested the medicine on her own.

"I was determined¹³ to find the effects of the medicine that year. I made a report to ask for permission to test the drug on myself. I was the team leader and took the responsibility. Some of my colleagues also participated in the program. We went into Dongzhimen Hospital for the test."

Jiang Tingliang is former President of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica of the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.He says he was impressed by Tu's strong determination in conducting her research.

"I was impressed by her persistence¹⁴ in her work and scientific research without which, she couldn't have made such remarkable¹⁵ achievements. She'd been persistent¹⁶ from the very beginning. "

Dr. Ma Yue works at the Artemimsinin research center of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.She says she feels really proud of her teacher and is inspired by her achievements.

"It was several years ago that I first met with professor Tu. She looked like a kind granny. I was astonished at her achievements when she was awarded the Noble prize. Professor Tu's doctoral students tended to draw attention. So I had to work harder. My professor has spent her whole life doing research. I should learn from her down-to-earth method."

Tu Youyou also won China's top science award in 2017 for her outstanding contributions to scientific and technological¹⁷ innovation. But she didn't rest on her laurels¹⁸ after winning these awards. She continued to work at perfecting her discoveries. The 89-year-old announced in June that her team has proposed solutions to the problem of artemisinin resistance, providing new evidence that artemisinin is still "the best weapon" against malaria, the world's No. 1 insect-borne infectious disease.

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

3 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

4 anonymously   

ad.用匿名的方式

参考例句：

• The manuscripts were submitted anonymously. 原稿是匿名送交的。
• Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey 536 teachers anonymously. 方法采用自编“中小学教师职业压力问卷”对536名中小学教师进行无记名调查。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 halving   

n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现，薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
• Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半，就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网

8 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

11 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

16 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

17 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

18 laurels   

n.桂冠，荣誉

参考例句：

• The path was lined with laurels.小路两旁都种有月桂树。
• He reaped the laurels in the finals.他在决赛中荣膺冠军。