来源丨Science、安徽医科大学等

1月6日，国际顶级期刊《科学》NextGen VOICES专栏刊登了安徽医科大学第一临床医学院2018级临床医学（“5+3”一体化）专业本科生张宁同学的通讯短评《失败的收获》（The fruits of failure）。

这也是安徽医科大学本科生首次在《科学》NextGen VOICES专栏上发表通讯短评。

同期登上science的还有来自中国科技大学的Yongsheng Ji、贵州大学的Yuan Zhi等2位同学共计3位来自国内高校同学。

据悉，《科学》杂志每月刊登一期NextGen VOICES专栏，面向全世界的青年科学家征集科学技术及相关领域新鲜问题的评论文章。本次NextGen VOICES专栏聚焦“挫折教育”，邀请青年科研工作者分享“科学生涯中经历过挫折但心存感激”的故事。

在短评中，张宁以“跨学科合作”为主题，结合自身在线粒体遗传学领域的科研经历，讲述了在建立致病线粒体DNA突变的遗传风险预测模型中遇到的困难，并最终通过跨学科合作顺利解决的故事。他认为，跨学科合作在开展学术研究和推动医学发展中发挥了重要作用，促进医学与生物工程、计算机技术和人工智能等多学科融合意义重大。该短评得到了《科学》NextGen VOICES专栏编委的认可，这也是安徽医科大学本科生首次在《科学》NextGen VOICES专栏上发表通讯短评。

张宁在校期间积极投身创新创业与志愿服务活动，曾获评安徽省“十佳大学生”、安徽“青年志愿者优秀个人”称号、中国大学生知行促进计划“榜样100”全国优秀大学生个人、安徽医科大学“十佳本科生”、“悦群十佳创新创业之星”等多项荣誉，目前，张宁已经以第一作者（或共同第一作者）在JCR 1区发表了4篇SCI，参与发表论文3篇，申报国家发明专利3项、实用新型专利1项并获得授权。

文章全文如下：

The fruits of failure

We asked young scientists: Are you grateful for a setback that you experienced? What mistake did you make, and what good came from it? In the responses below, they share the discoveries and revelations that made their would-be regrets worthwhile. Follow NextGen Voices on Twitter with hashtag #NextGenSci. —Jennifer Sills

Interdisciplinary collaboration

After many unsuccessful attempts to produce diffraction-quality protein crystals, I finally asked others for help. By doing so, I changed my routine from solo lab work to collaboration, which gave me a broader understanding of the challenges faced by experts, peers, and junior scientists. Viewing mentorship and science funding from the lens of a struggling scientist led me to a new career. I became a grants manager at a funding body, where I was responsible for science communication, grant writing workshops, collaboration, and networking events for scientists. As a science administrator, I could enhance the quality of science through funding, building capacity for addressing the “behind the scenes” matters of research. If I had not faced failure working in silos in a lab, I would never have discovered my passion.

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Two years ago, I was trying to construct mathematical models for predicting the risk of maternal inheritance of pathogenic mtDNA mutations. As a medical student, I seldom receive mathematics training. After struggling for a month, I turned to a friend studying information science for help. He solved the functions easily, making me realize the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Last year, we established an organization dedicated to promoting the integration of medicine and other disciplines, including bioengineering, computer technology, and artificial intelligence.

Ning Zhang First School of Clinical Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, China. Email: ningzhangbox@163.com

Writing opportunities

I’m currently taking 2 extra years of college because I wanted to keep up an adequate academic performance in classes and extracurricular research projects as well as prioritize my physical and mental health. I worried that the delay would mean missed opportunities, but I now have more time to participate in scientific events, develop friendships, and stand out in classes. When I found out that I was accepted to an exciting writing internship, I realized that saying no to certain options is saying yes to others. I may not graduate in the expected time for most people, but I’m graduating in the right time for me, while doing something I love: communicating science in an accessible, entertaining, and useful way.

Camila Fonseca Amorim da Silva Olá, Ciência!, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 03828-000, Brazil. Email: camilafonsecaamorim@usp.br

I signed up for a course at a local museum, hoping for a research experience. On my first day, however, I realized that I had accidentally signed up for an intensive writing seminar. Little did I know that the course would expose me to an area of science that would prove invaluable in my career. The seminar taught me how storytelling is central to sharing scientific discoveries. Were it not for that seminar, I would never have undertaken journalism internships, developed a passion for science writing, or become as thoughtful a scientist.

Divyansh Agarwal Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02108, USA. Twitter: @divyansh_aga

Reaffirmed values

Several years after publishing our research findings, we realized that we had made some errors. We promptly contacted the journal, which decided to retract the manuscript. Because we had been transparent, we were allowed to submit a corrected version, which was later accepted. Although retractions are often seen as academic failures, going through the process reminded me that integrity and honesty are the cornerstones of our research and made me feel more committed to our values as scientists.

With only a bachelor’s degree in physics and chemistry and a sense of purpose, I tried to create a hydroponic system that would lower the price margins in my country and provide fresh, organic, and affordable vegetables. The journey was rough, and the start-up suffered heavy financial losses. However, my efforts led to more fresh organic produce in Trinidad’s supermarkets, an award for ingenuity, and two publications. Those successes inspired me to venture into medical research, where I found opportunities that brought me closer to my ultimate goal of contributing meaningfully to humanity.

Stephanie Mohammed Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Email: stephanie.mohammed@sta.uwi.edu

Passion for teaching

As a first-generation undergraduate, I was excited to be accepted by a PhD program in zoology immediately after I graduated. However, I didn’t take the time to consider my career goals, and after a year of frustration, I began to doubt whether I was cut out for grad school. Because my solace from research struggles was instructing undergraduate biology, a mentor recommended looking into discipline-based education research programs. Only after I was accepted into a doctoral program in biological education did I realize how wonderful research could be.

I planned to major in chemistry and then work in the lab of some industry or research facility. However, after failing to receive a scholarship I applied for, I had to find another source of income. I had never thought of myself as a teacher before, but I took a job preparing students for their final exams. Suddenly, I realized that teaching was my vocation and quickly updated my academic plan. Now an assistant professor at the university level, I aim to help students follow this path, one I may never have found if I had secured that scholarship.

Improved procedures

After my manuscript was published, I realized, to my horror, that we had used identical reference protein images in two separate results. I checked my original data archives and discovered how difficult it was to find the raw images. After providing the right pictures to the journal, I immediately asked a computer expert to help me develop a better data storage system. Now I upload my raw data daily, all processed data is organized and saved, and all files are backed up weekly. Publishing a mistake taught me the importance of proper data management.

Yongsheng Ji Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China. Email: jiys2020@ustc.edu.cn

Once, after a chemistry experiment, I poured liquid waste containing ammonia directly into the toilet. The strong odor it produced did not go unnoticed by my supervisor. Remembering the smell and the subsequent criticism I received has motivated me to take extreme care when conducting and cleaning up experiments ever since, possibly saving me from accidents and injuries.

Yuan Zhi School of Economics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, China. Email: yzhi@gzu.edu.cn

New research avenues

One night during medical school, my last task was to take out two western blots for two different experiments and place them in antibodies specific against different proteins. The next day, I realized that in my exhaustion I had swapped the blots. Because of this silly mistake, I stumbled upon a novel modification of my protein of interest! The solution to a 2-year mystery came into focus. This serendipitous finding led me to pursue a full-time PhD course to explore a new avenue of research.

Bryce W. Q. Tan Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119228, Singapore. Email: bryce_tan@nuhs.edu.sg

After a tough semester in my undergraduate physics education, I had not completed enough courses to be eligible to continue with the mandatory undergraduate thesis project the same year. I was devastated. Soon afterward, I discovered a new field of research that sparked my interest. The field—biophysics—was outside the traditional topics offered at my institution, but I found a research group and convinced the institution to let me do a biophysics project. Had I not failed and postponed my thesis, I would probably not be working in biophysics today.

Cathrine Bergh KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 11423 Stockholm, Sweden. Email: cabergh@kth.se

Supportive relationships

Because I initially overlooked the acceptance email for a summer program, I missed the window to submit my preferences. I was auto-matched to a venom lab, where I learned to my consternation that I would be hand collecting spiders at midnight from a forest. However, this unexpected topic came with enthusiastic mentors. No snake, turtle, or scorpion went without a photo, and the group took lengthy detours just to appreciate the scenery. I was new to research, and good mentorship and memorable experiences outweighed all else. The experience fueled my interest in pursuing science as a career.

Jackson Ross Powell Vagelos Molecular Life Sciences Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Email: jrp24@sas.upenn.edu

In high school, I found a welcoming mentor who catalyzed my love for research. I asked him if I could work in his lab during the summer, and he jumped through hoops to include me. When I told him later that I had applied to other programs as well and had accepted another offer, he was understandably livid. By taking him for granted and failing to understand the logistics of lab staffing, I ruined my relationship with him. Today, remembering my mistake constantly reminds me to appreciate and communicate with my mentors.

参考信息：

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg1443

https://xcb.ahmu.edu.cn/2023/0110/c4510a131961/page.htm

原创文章，作者：菜菜欧尼酱，如若转载，请注明来源华算科技，注明出处：https://www.v-suan.com/index.php/2024/02/19/5f80de358f/

厉害了！“双非”本科生短评登上Science！

The fruits of failure

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