peking university scholar gu hongya visited dengshikou primary school to share the "home" and evolution history of plants
2024-09-03
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vegetables, big trees, small grasses, flowers... on the afternoon of september 2, students from dengshikou primary school in dongcheng district, beijing, gathered in the school auditorium, vying to answer the question posed by gu hongya, a professor at the school of life sciences of peking university - "what is the first thing you think of when you see the word 'plant'?"
this is the scene of the series of activities of "2024 scientist spirit leading the first lesson of the new school year". on that day, gu hongya brought the students a theme sharing of "forge ahead with the scientist spirit: plants and our lives". in the new semester of 2024, the beijing association for science and technology and the beijing news invited the "beijing propaganda team of scientist spirit" composed of academicians, veteran scientists, and young scientific and technological workers to visit more than 10 primary and secondary schools in beijing from september 1 to 2, and communicate with students face to face, using interesting science stories, popular science knowledge, scientific research experiences, etc. to convey the scientist spirit to children and stimulate their curiosity to explore the mysteries of science.
professor gu hongya of the school of life sciences of peking university shared knowledge about plants with students from dengshikou primary school. photo provided by the school
plants also have "names" and "homes"
how are chloroplasts formed, how is photosynthesis formed... at the beginning of the lecture, gu hongya shared with the students that green plants can carry out photosynthesis to produce oxygen and nutrients, which is the basis for human survival.
"every student has a name, and every student has a home." gu hongya told the primary school students that each plant also has its own name, that is, its scientific name; each plant also belongs to a "home", that is, a family.
afterwards, gu hongya shared the large "families" of plants that are closely related to human life, such as asteraceae, leguminosae, rosaceae, cruciferae, cucurbitaceae, etc. for example, asteraceae has more than 30,000 family members, and the sunflowers, jerusalem artichokes, chrysanthemums, dahlia chrysanthemums, pyrethrum, artemisia annua (artemisia annua) and so on that we see in daily life all belong to asteraceae. rosaceae has 3,000 family members, all of which are very beautiful, including various fruits such as apples, pears, hawthorns, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums, loquats, etc., as well as ornamental plants such as roses, chinese roses, roses, and cherry blossoms.
gu hongya talked about the formation of chloroplasts. photo provided by the school
millet was domesticated from foxtail grass, soybeans (soybeans, edamame) were domesticated from wild soybeans, and china is the origin center of kiwifruit... gu hongya also shared various important crops that have been successfully domesticated in china, and told students some "tips" for selecting kiwifruit: red hearts are sweet, yellow hearts are fragrant, and green hearts can be stored in the refrigerator.
at the end of the lecture, gu hongya specially designed a "look at the photo and say the plant name" quiz with prizes, which set off a climax of the on-site event. pomegranate flowers, young walnut fruits, hawthorn, wild chrysanthemum, shepherd's purse, crabapple, rehmannia, motherwort... these familiar plants in daily life became "strange", and many students actively raised their hands to try to answer. in the end, 9 primary school students successfully said the correct answer and received the small gifts brought by gu hongya.
"i didn't expect them to answer so well. primary school students now learn a lot of knowledge." gu hongya told reporters that the students' reactions surprised her. "i am very happy today. many students know a lot about plants. they said it before i even started. i hope everyone can learn more about plants and study them when they grow up."
students raised their hands to answer questions. photo provided by the school
gu hongya advises primary school students to take scientists as role models
the reporter learned that during this lecture, gu hongya also shared the scientific research stories of many scientists.
"chinese scientists have made great contributions to mankind in crop domestication and breeding and chinese medicine research." gu hongya introduced that yuan longping, the father of hybrid rice, discovered male sterile rice in the 1960s and began hybrid rice breeding research. in the 1970s, he successfully bred high-yield hybrid rice and promoted rice hybrid breeding technology to the world in the 1990s. "china's rice hybrid breeding technology is a great contribution to meeting human food security needs." gu hongya said that in 2004, yuan longping won the world food prize.
in 1969, nobel prize winner and famous chinese pharmacist tu youyou was appointed as the leader of the research team to consult traditional chinese medicine prescriptions and find a way to treat malaria. she spent three months visiting malaria patients and collected more than 2,000 prescriptions, from which she selected 640 and compiled them into the "collection of secret prescriptions for malaria". in 1972, tu youyou took the lead in conducting oral toxicity trials of artemisinin. finally, after the joint efforts of chinese scientists, the structure of artemisinin was determined, proving that artemisinin is a brand-new antimalarial drug. "artemisinin is a great contribution to the health of the world's population."
"i specifically list the years of research progress to tell everyone that scientific research requires long-term and unremitting efforts. scientists not only have a love for science and a pursuit of scientific truth, but also a persistence in science and a spirit of dedication to science." gu hongya encouraged students to take scientists as role models and learn the spirit of scientists.
it was interesting, and i learned a lot of knowledge. i didn't expect that the seemingly "unrelated" dogtail grass could actually turn into millet... after the lecture, the students of dengshikou primary school shared their gains and wonderful ideas. a primary school student asked in class that photosynthetic bacteria enter eukaryotic cells and eventually become chloroplasts, which can perform photosynthesis. "can we revive the photosynthetic bacteria and transplant them into the cells of our human body?"
regarding the student's "brain-opening" idea, gu hongya said, "do you want to ask whether we can transplant photosynthetic bacteria onto our skin so that we can bask in the sun instead of having to eat? this is a very imaginative question, and you can study it in the future."
gu hongya suggested that primary school students get closer to nature. "in nature, you will see many interesting plants and animals. you should look at them carefully and learn about them carefully. only when you know them will you be interested in studying them."
beijing news reporter yang feifei
edited by miao chenxia and proofread by jia ning
