Andrew Fire現為斯坦福教授，他出生在斯坦福的附屬醫院並且在舊金山灣區長大，但據說他當年是被斯坦福拒絕後才去的伯克利，現在終於如願能在斯坦福的農場做學問了。但願Fire對華裔的最大貢獻是引導了文學城曾經的名ID西西媽的的兒子投身科學研究的領域。西西媽曾著文展示兒子讀斯坦福本科期間受Fire吸引而入他實驗室做研究的經曆，她的公子後來去了麻省理工讀博，剛好也是Fire獲得博士學位的學校。
回複 '雅美之途' 的評論 : No. I didn't have the luck to know Xu. We collaborated with Andy in 2005 -2006, just the time when he won Nobel prize. So I witnessed all the excitements.
Nice to read your comments on Andy, do you know anything about the contribution of this Chinese scientist who was the second author for that landmark paper that led Fire and Mello a Nobel?
Nature. 1998 Feb 19;391(6669):806-11.
Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Fire A, Xu S, Montgomery MK, Kostas SA, Driver SE, Mello CC.
Source
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Embryology, Baltimore, Maryland 21210, USA. fire@mail1.ciwemb.edu
Abstract
Experimental introduction of RNA into cells can be used in certain biological systems to interfere with the function of an endogenous gene. Such effects have been proposed to result from a simple antisense mechanism that depends on hybridization between the injected RNA and endogenous messenger RNA transcripts. RNA interference has been used in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to manipulate gene expression. Here we investigate the requirements for structure and delivery of the interfering RNA. To our surprise, we found that double-stranded RNA was substantially more effective at producing interference than was either strand individually. After injection into adult animals, purified single strands had at most a modest effect, whereas double-stranded mixtures caused potent and specific interference. The effects of this interference were evident in both the injected animals and their progeny. Only a few molecules of injected double-stranded RNA were required per affected cell, arguing against stochiometric interference with endogenous mRNA and suggesting that there could be a catalytic or amplification component in the interference process.
＂Mary Lasker's establishment of two separate awards 60 years ago reflected her philosophy of medical research: major advances come from both the bench and the bedside. The first Lasker Awards, presented in 1946, got off to an auspicious start, setting a high standard for creativity and excellence that has persisted to this day. The first Basic Award was given to Carl Cori for the discovery of the enzymes that interconvert glucose to glycogen to glucose. One year later he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with his talented biochemist wife, Gerty Cori. Contemporary historians of science recognize Carl Cori as one of the giants of 20th century biochemistry. The Cori laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis became the Mecca for aspiring young biochemists and enzymologists in the 1940s and 1950s. Six of the scientists who trained with the Carl and Gerty Cori went on to win Nobel Prizes—Arthur Kornberg and Severo Ochoa (in 1959), Luis LeLoir (1970), Earl Sutherland (1971), Christian deDuve (1974), and Edwin Krebs (1992). Surprisingly, only two of these six Nobelists, Sutherland and Krebs, received Lasker Awards. Lasker Juries in the past were obviously not as prescient as those today!＂
Perhaps what I indicated was referring to the following facts.
Fire was continuing his MIT mentor Sharp's work on RNA as you could read some of Phil's review articles with regard of this lineage for the discovery of RNAi, and RNAi was found in C. Elegans, the common model after Sydney Brenner introduced it to study biological system.
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在繼續爭論下去之前，我們必須搞清楚“近親繁殖“的基本概念。“近親繁殖“指的是父母的親緣關係很近，基因來源相同或相近，這樣其後代的中沒有引入外來基因，導致基因純合化，失去雜種優勢。延伸到學術界指某個學生在同一所學校接受本科及研究生教育，或在同一個實驗室接受研究生和博士後訓練，沒有更多外來思想。在當年的中國，這個學生還會在同一個機構工作，繼續以同樣的方式帶他自己的學生。但是，Andy Fire的情況完全不同。他的本科學校是伯克利，專業是數學。博士是MIT， 導師是Sharp， 專業是RNA分子生物學。博士後導師是Brenner， 地點是劍橋，專業是線蟲發育遺傳。所以他的兩個導師無論是供職機構，學術背景，專業領域都毫不相幹，何來“學術近親“？你不能因為兩位導師都得了諾貝爾獎，就說兩人是“學術近親“吧？所以Andy Fire不但不是學術上“近親繁殖“的產物，相反是非常遠距離的“雜交“後代。因此，你列出的“facts" 不能不說明你的論點，而且你對這些“facts" 的描述很不準確。Fire並不是在研究RNA時發現RNAi的，他是想用antisense RNA 去knock down 某一個基因活性時，技術員搞錯了sense 和antisense 而偶然發現的，當然他在sharp那裏受到的RNA訓練幫助他揭開了RNAi processing的機理，但當時他並不是與sharp一個領域。而且，sharp後來確實做了很多RNAi和microRNA的工作，但那是sharp 老師follow學生Andy Fire， 而不是Fire 在延續老師sharp。還有，Fire雖然當時在研究線蟲，但領域和Brenner並不相同。
Perhaps what I indicated was referring to the following facts.
Fire was continuing his MIT mentor Sharp's work on RNA as you could read some of Phil's review articles with regard of this lineage for the discovery of RNAi, and RNAi was found in C. Elegans, the common model after Sydney Brenner introduced it to study biological system.
czhz 發表評論於
回複 '雅美之途' 的評論 : If I used English word of "inbreeding", it implied the same thing.
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I truly respect you, but once again, I can not agree with you. The situation here has nothing similar to "inbreeding", they are not working on the same topic, not working in the same institution. In old days of China , the students, and advisers, and grand-advisers are all working in the same institution, on the same field, bearing the same views, that is what I called "inbred".
雅美之途 發表評論於
回複 'czhz' 的評論 :
If I used English word of "inbreeding", it implied the same thing.
Andrew Fire現為斯坦福教授，他出生在斯坦福的附屬醫院並且在舊金山灣區長大，但據說他當年是被斯坦福拒絕後才去的伯克利，現在終於如願能在斯坦福的農場做學問了。但願Fire對華裔的最大貢獻是引導了文學城曾經的名ID西西媽的的兒子投身科學研究的領域。西西媽曾著文展示兒子讀斯坦福本科期間受Fire吸引而入他實驗室做研究的經曆，她的公子後來去了麻省理工讀博，剛好也是Fire獲得博士學位的學校。
