Tu Youyou: First Chinese Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Science
Pioneering Research in Traditional Chinese Medicine that Revolutionized Malaria Treatment 💊
People in the West often criticize Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as “fake medicine” based on an archaic set of beliefs. Yet, people in East Asia are strong believers in this form of medicine, and they are also among the healthiest populations with some of the longest lifespans in the world. So, is TCM truly a scam?
Not at all! While TCM does not follow the same logic as Western medicine—where treatment typically targets one specific symptom at a time—TCM views any symptom as a result of an imbalance in the entire body. Therefore, its treatments go beyond simply addressing a single symptom. Just like Western medicine, TCM is increasingly supported by scientific research.
Did you know that one of the world’s most effective treatments for malaria was discovered by a TCM researcher, Tu Youyou? She became the first Chinese woman to win the Nobel Prize in Science for her groundbreaking discovery. Let’s take a closer look at her story!
屠呦呦60多年致力于中医药研究实践，带领团队攻坚克难，研究发现了青蒿素，解决了抗疟治疗失效难题，为中医药科技创新和人类健康事业作出巨大贡献。荣获国家最高科学技术奖、诺贝尔生理学或医学奖和“全国优秀共产党员”“全国先进工作者”“改革先锋”等称号。
致力于 (zhìlì yú): devote oneself to / be committed to
中医药 (zhōng yī yào): traditional Chinese medicine
攻坚克难 (gōng jiān kè nán): overcome difficulties / tackle tough problems
青蒿素 (qīnghāo sù): artemisinin
抗疟 (kàng nüè): anti-malaria
荣获 (rónghuò): be awarded / receive with honor
诺贝尔生理学或医学奖 (Nuòbèi’ěr shēnglǐxué huò yīxué jiǎng): Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
称号 (chēnghào): title / designation
For over 60 years, Tu Youyou dedicated herself to the research and practice of traditional Chinese medicine. She led her team through numerous challenges and discovered artemisinin, solving the problem of resistance in malaria treatment. Her work made a tremendous contribution to technological innovation in traditional Chinese medicine and to human health. She has been awarded the National Highest Science and Technology Award, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and honored with titles such as “National Outstanding Communist Party Member,” “National Advanced Worker,” and “Pioneer of Reform.”
上世纪60年代，越南因为疟疾导致的死亡不计其数，向中国提出救援。39岁的屠呦呦临危受命，接受抵抗疟疾药物研究的艰巨任务。
屠呦呦从文献研究入手，编撰了记载有640种药物的书籍，并先后进行了300余次筛选实验，确定了以中药青蒿为主的研究方向。功夫不负有心人，项目组终于得到了对疟疾抑制率达到100%的青蒿乙醚中性提取物，这是青蒿素发现史中最为关键的一步。
疟疾 (nüèjí): malaria
不计其数 (bù jì qí shù): countless / innumerable
临危受命 (lín wēi shòumìng): take on a task in a critical situation
文献 (wénxiàn): literature / documents
编撰 (biānzhuàn): compile / write
筛选 (shāixuǎn): screen / select
青蒿 (qīnghāo): Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood)
功夫不负有心人 (gōngfū bù fù yǒuxīn rén): hard work pays off
抑制率 (yìzhì lǜ): inhibition rate
乙醚 (yǐmǐ): ether
中性提取物 (zhōngxìng tíqǔwù): neutral extract
In the 1960s, Vietnam faced countless deaths due to malaria and requested aid from China. At the age of 39, Tu Youyou was entrusted with the critical task of researching antimalarial drugs.
Tu Youyou began by studying literature, compiling a book documenting 640 medicinal substances, and conducted over 300 screening experiments. She identified Qinghao (Artemisia annua) as the main research focus. Through persistent effort, her team finally obtained a neutral ether extract of Qinghao that achieved a 100% inhibition rate against malaria—this was the crucial step in the discovery of artemisinin.
20年来，青蒿素——这个中国送给世界的礼物走向国际抗疟临床，并成为全球抗疟的一线药物。
根据世界卫生组织的统计，2000年至2015年期间，全球疟疾发病率下降了37%；疟疾患者的死亡率下降了60%，全球共挽救了620万人生命。2015年，屠呦呦因发现抗疟新疗法，而成为第一位获得诺贝尔科学奖的中国本土科学家，及第一位获得诺贝尔生理学或医学奖的华人科学家。
临床 (línchuáng): clinical / clinical practice
一线药物 (yīxiàn yàowù): frontline drug
世界卫生组织 (Shìjiè Wèishēng Zǔzhī): World Health Organization (WHO)
患者 (huànzhě): patient
挽救 (wǎnjiù): save / rescue
Over the next 20 years, artemisinin—this gift from China to the world—was introduced to international clinical practice against malaria and became a frontline antimalarial drug globally.
According to WHO statistics, between 2000 and 2015, global malaria incidence dropped by 37%, and malaria mortality decreased by 60%, saving 6.2 million lives worldwide. In 2015, Tu Youyou became the first Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize in the sciences and the first Chinese scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a new antimalarial therapy.
直到今天，年近九旬的屠呦呦还在抗疟疾的领域攻坚克难，针对青蒿素的“抗药性”难题，不断产生新进展，提出新的治疗应对方案：一是适当延长用药时间，由三天疗法增至五天或七天疗法；二是更换青蒿素联合疗法中已产生抗药性的辅助药物，以增强疗效。
抗药性 (kàng yàoxìng): drug resistance
应对方案 (yìngduì fāng’àn): response plan / treatment strategy
联合疗法 (liánhé liáofǎ): combination therapy
辅助药物 (fǔzhù yàowù): auxiliary drug / adjuvant drug
Even today, nearly 90 years old, Tu Youyou continues to tackle challenges in malaria research. She focuses on the problem of artemisinin resistance and has proposed new treatment strategies: first, appropriately extending the treatment duration from three days to five or seven days; second, replacing drugs in artemisinin combination therapy that have developed resistance to enhance efficacy.
为了扩大青蒿素的适应症，在“青蒿素抗药性”研究获新进展的同时，她还带领团队发现，双氢青蒿素对治疗具有高变异性的红斑狼疮效果独特。为中医药事业培养更多的后继人才，成为她90岁以后的新目标。
适应症 (shìyìng zhèng): therapeutic indication / medical application
双氢青蒿素 (shuāng qīng qīnghāo sù): dihydroartemisinin
高变异性 (gāo biànyìxìng): high variability / highly variable
红斑狼疮 (hóngbān lángchuāng): lupus erythematosus
后继人才 (hòujì réncái): successors / next-generation talent
To expand artemisinin’s therapeutic applications, alongside advancements in artemisinin resistance research, she led her team to discover that dihydroartemisinin has a unique effect in treating highly variable lupus. Training more successors for the traditional Chinese medicine field has become her new goal after the age of 90.
What do you think of TCM? Have you tried it?
Antoine & Dorota