Believe it?Talking to strangers, he changed his life trajectory!

Written article ｜ Xiaoxi

"Occasionally I have to stay on a certain occasion, and there are strangers around me. Will you chat with strangers? Of course, it's not too rare to talk to strangers for a while, but because of a chat with strangers at a time, you have changed the chat with strangers. The trajectory of his life must be a bit of a story. This person has realized his dream again because of chatting with strangers, and he has to be sighing: Why do God so care about him? "

Who is so lucky? This person is the famous American biochemist Wendell Stanley. Most people may not know who Stanley is, but when viruses are abused and people have to use vaccine to resist virus infections, they should deeply thank Stanley, who have made important contributions to humans to know the virus.

Wendel Stanley (picture from the Internet)

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Want to be a coach

Stanley was born on August 16, 1904 in Ricville, Indiana, USA. When he went to college, he studied at Old College near his house to master chemistry and mathematics. Stanley's favorite rugby movement is a member of the university rugby school team. In his senior year, he was selected as the captain of the Elham Rugby School and was selected as the Indiana All -Star Rugby Team. Stanley was about to graduate in 1926, and his ambition was to become a rugby coach after receiving a bachelor's degree.

On the eve of graduation, a professor at the school asked Stanley to go to Illinois State University to solve the registration problem of a graduate student. Stanley was very happy for this. He wanted to take this opportunity to see the rugby coach at the University of Illinois for asking for some questions.

When I came to the campus of Illinois, Stanley met a stranger and talked casually after saying hello. He did not expect that this person was Roger Adams, the new department of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, and this predecessor in the field of organic chemistry. Adams was very enthusiastic and good. When he learned that Stanley, who was about to graduate from Olm College, was chemistry and mathematics, and he talked about him about his thinking about the development concept of chemistry research and how to cultivate high. The idea of ​​a level graduate student also introduced the good conditions of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Illinois. He said that he welcomed Stanley to the University of Illinois to be a graduate student.

Roger Adams (picture from the Internet)

Interesting things happened like this. Although he only talked to the strange Adams for a while, Stanley was deeply attracted by Adams' ideas and was convinced by his personal charm. Stanley made an important decision: give up his career aspirations to be a football coach, and after graduating from college, he went to the University of Illinois to continue learning chemistry from Adams!

From Adams, Stanley obtained a master's degree (1927), a doctorate degree (1929) at the University of Illinois, and became Adams' postdoctoral research assistant for one year. In 1930, he came to the University of Munich, Germany, under the guidance of the characteristics of yeast compounds under the guidance of Heinrich Wieland, director of the Department of Chemistry, Heinrich Wieland (1927). These experiences laid an important foundation for his later research.

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Major achievement

At the end of 1931, Stanley returned to the United States and served as a research assistant at the Rockefeller Institute in New York. In 1932, Stanley was invited to work to work in the Department of Dynamics and Pathology of Princeton University in New Jersey (affiliated to the Rockefeller Institute), which entered a brand new field of virus research and began to study tobacco and lobe virus.

Tobacco flower leaf disease is a disease that causes great losses that cause farmers who plant tobacco. Although scientific experiments have confirmed that tobacco flower leaf disease is not bacteria but more tiny viruses as early as 1898 (at the time, bacteria could be observed with a microscope at that time, bacteria could be observed. But the virus is not observed), but no one knows what the essence of the virus is. This was a research problem at the time.

Stanley's research ideas were very clear, and he was inspired by the experimental method of James Sumner, a chemist James Sumner. Samner has been separated from the knife bean powder and purified from the knife bean powder in the past ten years (the first time in the history of biochemistry), which proves that enzymes are protein (all life activities cannot be separated from protein). Is it a protein for tobacco flower and lobe virus? Stanley collected about one ton of tobacco leaves with severe flower and lobe disease. By smashing, juice, and fine filtering, tobacco flower leaves virus was separated, and a chemical crystalline technology was used Virus crystals.

In 1935, Stanley finally successfully obtained the crystallization of tobacco flower and lobe virus, and this crystalline body was placed for many days and then dissolved in the water can still cause tobacco to get sick. A key judgment is of great significance for human understanding of life.

The research results of Stanley's research on tobacco and leaf virus made him soon be promoted at the Rockefeller Institute, and won a series of honors and awards, such as: the American Science Promotion Association Award (1937), the first Essean University of Harvard University The Ke Adler Medical Award (1938), the Rosenberg Award of the University of Chicago (1938), the Philadelphia John Scott Award (1938), the Nichols Award (1946) of the American Institute of Chemistry (1946), etc. Wait. In 1946, he was honored to be one of the Nobel Prize winners. If Stanley did not meet Adams or meet Adams and did not chat with him, then he would not have the opportunity to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and it may be an outstanding rugby team coach.

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Once again

With the development of virus research, Stanley's deep feelings of the University of Biochemistry are scattered in different departments such as medical schools and agricultural colleges, which is very unfavorable to conducting high -level research. He hopes to build an independent biochemical department There is a special virus laboratory -this is his dream, but he has never been able to find the opportunity to realize his dream at Princeton University.

In the late spring of 1946 (a few months before he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Stanley flew from Princeton, New Jersey to the University of California to receive an honorary degree from Berkeley (one of the world's top public universities). Affected by bad weather (also said that it was due to aircraft engine faults), the plane had to stay at Wyoming Airport at the midst. The standby time was very long. Stanley met a tall elder in the airport bar, and then they talked. The principal of the University of California, Robert Sproul, the president of the University of California. At first sight, they talked about how to better carry out biochemical research.

Robert Sproul (picture from the Internet)

Stanley talked about his own ideas: The dispersion of research forces in the biochemical field in universities is worrying. It is very unfavorable to carry out high -level research. He hopes to establish an independent biochemical research. An independent biochemical department and a special virus laboratory. Spelall appreciates Stanley's point of view, and immediately expressed his willingness to set up an independent biochemical department and establish a virus laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, to gather the biochemists of each college. He is the director of this Department of Biochemistry.

Stanley never expected that the talk with a stranger during this journey gave his dream a chance to realize his dream.

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achive dreams

After returning to Princeton, Stanley began to be busy for the budget of the Department of Virus Lab and the Department of Biochemistry in Berkeley to build funds for various parties. Spelall has also been working hard for his promise. In addition to agreed to give Steinley a high salary of $ 9,600, Stanley also proposed that Stanley brought his power assistant Arthur Knight to work together to work together. When the trustee of the Rockefeller Institute decided to close its relevant agencies in the Princeton campus, Stanley moved to the University of California Berkeley in July 1948 as the director of the Viral Laboratory and Director of the Department of Biochemistry.

After several years of hard work, Berkeley's biochemical and virus laboratory building was officially completed in 1952 (named Stanley Building in 1971). The laboratory has the application of advanced molecular analysis to various bacteria, plants and animals Conditions of virus research. Stanley has formed a high -level research team based on young scientists, and has completed a number of biologists, medical clinicians, public health officials, and the virus research plan of the agricultural department of California under his guidance. The essence of the virus has made outstanding contributions. The biochemical and virus laboratory has also become one of the most important biochemical research centers in the world.

In 1969, Stanley retired from the position of director of the Virus Laboratory, and he worked at the University of California Berkeley for 20 years. On June 15, 1971, Stanley died unfortunately due to a heart attack at the age of 66.

The Stanley Building was demolished in 2003 because it was unable to meet the seismic requirements. In 2007, a 285,000 square foot New Stanley building on the original site rose. This large -scale multidisciplinary research and teaching centers can provide about 40 modern laboratories engaged in cutting -edge research on biological science. The research content involves multiple fields such as biological science, physics science and biological engineering.

Biochemistry and virus laboratory built in 1952 (picture from the Internet)

New Stanley Building in 2007 (picture from the Internet)

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Conclusion

Stanley's life is full of magical colors. Here are only the story of his twice because he changed his life because he changed his life twice because he talked with strangers for a while.

There is a problem that you may need to think: if you occasionally have to stay on a certain occasion, there are strangers around you. Still not talking? Suggestion: May wish to talk to strangers. Maybe something will happen?

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references

1. DID You get your Flu Shot? Thank Wendellstanley.https: //150.berkeley.edu/did-You-Your-yhot-Thaank-TID = All & Page = 1

2. Dr. Wendell M. Stanley Dead; Virology Won ‘46 Nobel Prize

https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/16/Archives/tr-wendell-m-Stanley-DEAD-ROLOLOGIST-46- Nobel-html

3. Wendell M. Stanley, PH.D.

https://www.ai.org/about/history/notable-members/nobel- laureates/Wendellmstanley

4. Wendell Mredith Stanley

https://bancroft.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biotech/stanley.html

5. The Fall and Rise of Stanley Hall

https://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/04/02_stanley.shtml

Edit: Chu Mo

Reprinted content only represents the author's point of view

Does not represent the position of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Source: High Energy Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Edit: Just_iu

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