Chinese female scientists take the lead in creating "universal cells"
Researchers from the United States and Japan published papers on the 20th, announcing that they had successfully transformed human skin cells into "universal cells" similar to embryonic stem cells. Among them, the person leading the research in the United States is Yu Junying, a Chinese scientist who graduated from Peking University.
The academic community evaluates this breakthrough as a "milestone" in biological science, and it may also mean the popular embryonic stem cell cloning technology. Exit the stage.
Research: American and Japanese teams "hit the line at the same time"
Researchers used retrovirus as a vector to inject four specific genes into skin cells. Recombine the genes of skin cells to obtain specific types of human stem cells. Theoretically, this stem cell functions similarly to embryonic stem cells obtained through embryo cloning technology and can eventually be cultivated into human tissues or organs. Because this stem cell can Gene combination control, so it is known as the "universal cell"
Research teams led by James Thomson's laboratory at the University of Wisconsin in the United States and Shinya Yamanaka, a professor at Kyoto University in Japan, published two authoritative scientific magazines on the 20th. Science" and "Cell" published relevant research reports. The research methods and principles of the two groups were similar. The Yamanaka research team extracted skin cells from the face of a 36-year-old woman. The foreskin of a newborn's penis
Evaluation: "Compared to the invention of the airplane"
The academic community spoke highly of this research because of this technology called "direct transformation". Not only can it avoid the ethical controversies caused by human embryo cloning technology, its efficiency and convenience also open the door to further medical applications.
Ian Weir, the "midwife" of the world's first cloned sheep, Dolly, is a British scientist. Merter announced a few days ago that he would abandon embryonic cell cloning technology and turn to somatic cell "direct transformation" technology. Robert Lanza, chief scientist of the American Institute for Advanced Cell Technology, did not hesitate to praise this technology. The study is a remarkable scientific milestone. In a biological sense, it is equivalent to the first airplane built by the Wright brothers. "
When referring to the prospects of technology promotion, James Thomson said: "People don't know how easy it is. Thousands of laboratories in the United States can basically do it tomorrow. Shinya Yamanaka said that applying this technology, it may be possible to produce sperm and eggs from skin cells.
However, the current experimental method of this technology has potential side effects.
Character: Peking University student-led research
The Thomson Laboratory was started in 1998 and funded by the US National Health Department and local foundations. This research was led by Yu Junying. She said, This breakthrough is actually a new beginning, opening up a new situation for human beings to use cells for research in a wider range.
Yu Junying graduated from Peking University, studied at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States in 1997, and started working at TOM in 2003. He worked in the Sen Research Laboratory and started research on this new project at the same time.
An old student from Tsinghua University invented a solar-powered wheelchair that can travel 40 kilometers when fully charged.
After retirement, he should have enjoyed his life in peace. Mr. Zhao Tianyun, who is nearly eighty years old, has been busy. In the past seven years, he has applied for 13 national patents, and these days he is still trying out his newly invented solar wheelchair downstairs.
Yesterday afternoon, the reporter saw a young man wearing a green cotton coat sitting in the yard of Dongfeng Community where Mr. Zhao lives for a test drive on a solar wheelchair designed by Mr. Zhao. It was different from other wheelchairs. Yes, the wheelchair designed by Mr. Zhao has an iron frame on it, which supports a 50 cm square solar panel, and two 10 cm square and 20 cm long metal boxes are hung under the seat of the wheelchair. Mr. Zhao told the reporter. Reporter, this is the battery that drives the wheelchair.
The reporter saw that there was an operating handle installed on the armrest of the wheelchair. With gentle push and pull, the wheelchair moved back and forth freely in the open space.
Following Mr. Zhao's guidance, the reporter saw that there was an ammeter installed on the armrest of the electric wheelchair. In a place without sunlight, the reporter saw that the number displayed by the ammeter was 0.5. In a place with sunlight, the number displayed by the ammeter was 0.5. The number is 1.3. Mr. Zhao told reporters that the number displayed by the ammeter is the current of the solar battery when charging. "If there is enough sunshine, my wheelchair will only need to be charged for more than 4 hours to travel 40 kilometers." Mr. Zhao picked up a piece of paper placed on the cement platform at the door of the building. The reporter saw the paper It records the voltage of each time the wheelchair passes through the door. "I plan to let this wheelchair go around the residential building 10 times to see the power consumption." Mr. Zhao said that in addition to saving electricity and energy, he also The most outstanding feature of this designed electric wheelchair is its lightness, weighing only 36 kilograms.
When the reporter came to Mr. Zhao’s workshop downstairs, the reporter saw 3 tricycles, 3 bicycles and two wheelchairs stacked in the workshop. There was also a lathe on the ground in the middle of the room. . Pointing to these vehicles, Mr. Zhao proudly introduced that these vehicles were all designed by himself and made by others. In Mr. Zhao's home, the reporter saw 10 utility model invention patent certificates from the National Patent Office placed in his bookcase, 7 of which were related to electric vehicles. Mr. Zhao told reporters that he was born in 1929 and graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Tsinghua University. His previous work was closely related to machinery. Since his retirement in 1989, he has been constantly thinking about mechanical design. By chance, Mr. Zhao's nephew told him that an electric wheelchair produced in the United States was on display in Dongdan. Mr. Zhao visited the exhibition out of curiosity. He found that the electric wheelchair on display was easier to operate than domestic wheelchairs. It is flexible and can spin in place, but when the power is cut off, it is very difficult for the wheelchair user to operate it, and the wheelchair is also very powerful and consumes a lot of power. So he came up with the idea of ??designing a wheelchair that was both energy-saving and flexible.
"In the past few years, I have researched and designed electric vehicles and electric wheelchairs in order to make full use of clean and pollution-free energy and make my own contribution to the blue sky of the capital." Mr. Zhao told reporters that after more than two years He sent the drawings he designed to relevant manufacturers to customize the parts of the wheelchair. "The parts I bought are all the best, and the solar panels are also the most efficient." Mr. Zhao said that although he has spent hundreds of thousands of yuan on developing solar electric wheelchairs over the years, his wife is very happy. support. Mr. Zhao is full of hope for the future: "If I have the opportunity, I hope to make some contribution to the 2008 Paralympic Games so that these solar electric wheelchairs can bring convenience to those with limited mobility."