At the opening ceremony of the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference held in Beijing on April 25, Yan Ning, founding president of the Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences, director of the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, and chair professor of Tsinghua University, delivered a keynote speech on her understanding of this topic.
"Human beings have been endlessly knowing, exploring, and transforming the world since they had wisdom, and how do we explore the world? Before we had tools, we mainly relied on our senses, sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell. However, she said, the universe is so vast and the particles are so subtle that they far exceed the limits of human senses. So humans are constantly developing tools.
Why are humans so obsessed with exploring, exploring, and seeing the world? Diamond and graphite, for example, are both single elements, which are carbon. Because of the different packing patterns of carbon atoms, they have different internal structures, so they have different properties. Structural biology is to understand the structure and nature of life phenomena at the atomic and molecular levels. In 2013, cryo-EM made a breakthrough, and the academic community experienced a "resolution revolution", which made it less difficult to analyze the structure of biological macromolecules, just like "climbing Mount Everest" in the past to "climbing Mount Tai" today. Since then, the continuous maturity of AI technology has made the use of huge structural libraries for drug design no longer empty talk. In Yan Ning's view, this is a vivid interpretation of science and technology changing the world and innovation making life better.
Despite the continuous progress of technology, Yan Ning also admitted that in the living world, because of the lack of suitable detection methods, there are still a large number of molecules that scientists cannot do, such as: metabolites, and a large number of sugars and lipids, which are also known as "dark matter". However, she says, it's these "puzzles" that make it really exciting in scientific research. If these "dark substances" can be monitored effectively and closely, new molecular markers of physiology and pathology may be found, thereby contributing to human life and health.
"The 'dark matter' is there. This is not only the focus of my own lab, but also the Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences and the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory. On the one hand, we look forward to taking advantage of the multidisciplinary advantages of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory to develop new methods and new tools. On the other hand, relying on the advantages of direct clinical docking between Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences, it is hoped to help diagnosis and treatment and develop new drugs. Yan Ning said that just as her team continues to explore "dark matter", she also expects young people to "travel lightly", give full play to their potential and rely on internal drive, or leave a strong mark in the history of science, or achieve scientific research results that can directly benefit mankind and stand up to the sky.
"From 2007 to 2017, I lived in Zhongguancun and experienced its development and changes. Now I am in Shenzhen Guangming Science City, and I am also witnessing and participating in how a new city welcomes talents from all over the world with an innovative attitude, a fearless spirit of exploration and an international open vision. Yan Ning said, "We hope to work with you to build an Oriental Greater Bay Area of biomedicine, build it into an international center of science, education, exchange and transformation, and create a better world with you." ”
(Photo courtesy of the organizer)
(Author: Li Ping, reporter of Shenzhen Special Zone Daily in Beijing)