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A Love Story That Revolutionized Chemistry: Marie & Antoine Lavoisier
There are countless beautiful encounters in this world, and perhaps the most touching one is the encounter between Lavoisier, the “father of modern chemistry”, and his wife Marie. They worked together to create scientific miracles. It is no exaggeration to say that without them, there might not be a discipline of chemistry. However, when we open the PEP chemistry textbook and see the portrait of Lavoisier, we may be a little confused: Why does Lavoisier, holding a quill, neither look down at the paper nor look ahead, but turns his head? Looking to the right? In fact, this portrait is called “Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Lavoisier”, but Mary beside…
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From Fired and “Crazy” to Nobel Prize: The Unlikely Triumph of Katalin Karikó, the Unsung Hero of mRNA Vaccines
Was fired 5 times, never received tenure, found it difficult to obtain research funding, and did not even have a stable laboratory – this is how Katarin Corico, the 2023 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, turns 65 professional life. Perhaps the only thing she is proud of is raising her only daughter, Susan Francia, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in rowing. Throughout her long academic career, Katalin endured failure, contempt, and humiliation. This is related to her research direction. mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) has never been favored by the academic community, and few people are interested in it. But Katalin is convinced it can change the world. In…
