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High School Biology Department: The 25th Anniversary Lecture Series at SHSID

December 28, 2018

On the afternoon of December 19, 2018, a prestigious lecture was held in the auditorium of the Xianmian Building Annex. Professor Tang Huiru, a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a special professor of Fudan University, gave a wonderful lecture on "superorganisms" to the teachers and students of SHSID high school. Professor Tang has been engaged in the study of the structure and function of metabolites for more than 30 years. He has published more than 170 SCI papers and holds 4 invention patents in PNAS and other fields. As the leading scientist in the field of metabonomics in China, Professor Tang used many wonderful research photos and graphs to vividly and interestingly convey the findings in this field to the teachers and students.

We may believe that our bodies belong to "ourselves", but they actually contain about 10 times as many microbial cells as human cells. The total mass of microbes in and on a human’s body is around a few pounds, but when it comes to genetic diversity, these "hitchhikers" are far larger than their hosts—they represent 400 times the amount of human genes. Moreover, a considerable portion of the metabolites flowing through human veins also come from microorganisms. “We are not just ourselves!” Microbes have become so intimate with us that they have become part of us. They form so-called "superorganisms" that affect our survival and even the occurrence and development of diseases such as obesity.

Many students are very interested in this new understanding. After the lecture, they asked questions and exchanged ideas with Professor Tang. Professor Tang's lecture, as one in the SHSID 25th Anniversary Series, brought cutting-edge professional knowledge in the field of life sciences to the teachers and students. It also allowed many students to further explore their professional interests.

（Written by Ying Gu, Chengbo Zhou Pictures by Ying Gu）